CHAPTER 3: COMPARATIVE INSIGHTS
C. Greek Epithets and Zeus
Moving from India back to the west, we now consider the polytheistic religion of ancient Greece. As is the case with Mesopotamian and Hindu deities, ancient Greek gods are typically worshiped at cult sites and known by cult-specific names. These names may simply indicate the locality of the cult, but descriptive epithets are also common. For
49 Biardeau 1991, 850; Klostermaier 1989, 230.
instance, in one locality, there are devotees of “Zeus the Accomplisher” and, in the next town over, devotees revere “Zeus the Kindly.” 50
Zeus’s treatment is of particular interest to the present study. His Homeric epithets include the “cloud gatherer,” “the dark-clouded,” “the thunderer on high,” and “the hurler of thunderbolts,” and his association with lightning is so pervasive that each bolt of lightning was considered a direct epiphany of the deity himself.51 In theory, any place lightning struck became a sanctuary to Zeus Kataibates (“Zeus Descending”), so that the supreme deity of the Greeks could be and was worshiped throughout the world. As the supreme king of the Greek gods, who may have already attained this highest-god status in Mycenaean times, atypical treatments or features may be expected, and this does appear to be the case. Worshiped as the Greek god parexcellence, one of his epithets recognizes him as the top Greek deity, Zeus Hellanios.52 Moreover, according to Burkert, Greek city-states and communities claimed particular deities as their patron deities, but devotion to Zeus was too pervasive for him to be claimed as a particular city’s patron god:
Zeus stands above all faction. Hardly any city can claim Zeus simply as its city god; instead there is Athena of the citadel, Apollo of the market place, or Hera, or Poseidon; but Zeus is worshipped everywhere – even as Zeus of the city, Polieus
– and the largest of temples are built in his honour.53
Burkert’s statement may reflect the historical reality that no city claimed Zeus as its patron god – not even a city as important as Athens with its monumental Zeus temple –
50 Lloyd-Jones 2001, 462. 51 Burkert 1985, 126.
52 Burkert 1985, 130; see Pindar, Paean 6.125-126; Herodotus IV 9.7 (Δία τε Ἑλλήνιον, “Zeus of the Greeks”); Pausanias, DescriptionofGreece 2.30.3 (Πανελληνίος Διὸς, “Panhellenic Zeus”).
53 Burkert 1985, 130. The temple for Zeus in Athens was so massive that its construction began under the aegis of Pisistratus in the sixth century B.C.E. and was only completed by the Roman Emperor Hadrian in the second century C.E.
but arguing that Zeus was too universal in the Pan-Hellenic world to be any city’s patron deity may simply be a hyperbolic statement to explain this away.
a. The Cretan and Chthonic Zeus
Another way in which Zeus was unique among the gods was his relationship to his cult near Knossos, Crete. Instead of an Olympian-styled Zeus, the locals worshiped an expressly Cretan Zeus, invoked as Zeus Kretagenes (“Crete-born”), who, in addition to a youthful appearance, had his own distinct set of epithets and mythology.54 This local deity was a vegetation-god, whose numerous characteristics and attributes betray a substratum that is likely pre-Olympian in nature, possibly derived from Minoan civilization. According to R. Willetts, the Cretan Zeus had more in common with Dionysus than with the Olympian Zeus because of similar mystic cult rites and dying- resurrecting god motifs.55 The Cretan Zeus shared so much with Dionysus that outside of Crete this local Zeus festival was associated with Dionysus instead of the Olympian Zeus.56
Were the history of the Cretan Zeus and his cult as simple as this confusion with Dionysus, then this cult could be dismissed as an anomaly that somehow survived apart from the rest of Greek culture, an isolated cult that was never assimilated with larger Greek religion. Could this Cretan Zeus be considered a separate Zeus, worshiped by a
54 R. F. Willetts, TheCivilizationofAncientCrete (2d updated ed.; Amsterdam: A.M. Hakkert, 1991), 198. The cult site at Idian Cave is about 20 miles southwest of Knossos, which was the political center of ancient Minoan civilization (p. 201).
55 Willetts 1991, 202. The netherworld associations with this Cretan Zeus are so strong that the inscription “Pythagoras to Zeus” proclaims, “Here Zan lies dead, whom they call Zeus.” Two different traditions laid claim to the tomb of Zeus, Dikte and Ida, and both of these places also claimed to be the birthplace of this deity (Dowden 2006, 34-35).
56 Willetts 1991, 201. Willetts notes that the similarity between the two gods is so strong that initiates into the rites of Zeus Kretagenes can be named as Bakkos, much like their Dionysian counterparts (p. 202).
particular people or civilization and who only shares the same first name with the Olympian Zeus?57 Unfortunately, this simple solution is not the case. Instead, Willets supposes that the divine name Zeus was intentionally applied to the Minoan god, who held different roles and functions from the Olympian Zeus, when the Indo-Europeans arrived; however, Willets is not willing to guess at the origin of this native Cretan deity.58 Nor does he offer an explanation for the identification – or “syncretism” in the classical religious usage of the term described above – of the Minoan and Indo-European gods. B. Powell, on the other hand, suggests that the Minoan god was the consort of the local mother goddess, who was worshiped deep within the Cretan caves, and that the resulting identification between the two male deities occurred, despite the fact that the Indo- European and this ancient, Cretan male deity are “utterly unlike.”59 The reason for this syncretism, then, was likely due to the elevated status of the local Cretan god because of his associations with his theoretical consort.60
Eventually, Greek society beyond Crete accepted the Minoan god as Zeus,61 and the birth narrative surrounding the Cretan Zeus became the most successful origins myth surrounding the Olympian Zeus and was recounted by Hesiod.62 Surprisingly, though the
57 For instance, this possibility could have arisen because the divine name “Zeus” is derived from the Indo- European root *dyeu, whose primary meaning is “to shine” (see the deva/devatā above) and from which both the words “sky” (*dyēus) and “deity” (*deiwos) also derive (“Zeus” and “dyeu,” in American HeritageCollegeDictionary 2002, 1594 and 1612). This divine name also appears as the Indic sky-god Dyauspiter, the Roman Diespiter/Juppiter, and the Germanic deity whose name survives in our weekly Tues-day (Burkert 1985, 125).
58 Willetts 1991, 116.
59 B. Powell, ClassicalMyth (Upper Saddle River: Prentice-Hall, 1995), 97.
60 Dowden agrees that foreign principal gods typically become identified with Zeus, no matter their original attributes and characteristics (Dowden 2006, 107).
61 Dowden 2006, 33. Dowden notes that the larger Greek society accepted this equation even though the local cult of Zeus died out around 500 B.C.E. at Dikte, Crete.
62 Indeed, this birth tradition beat out competing traditions that Zeus was born in Arcadia to Rhea and that he was born at Mt. Lykaion, in addition to beating out traditions where a rather generic divine child, who is later identified with Zeus, is born to a “Great Mother” (Dowden 2006, 32). Thus, in the final version told by Hesiod in his Theogony, Zeus’s birth in a Cretan cave is modified to now be the place where Zeus is
Cretan Zeus – along with other island-based geographic epithets, like Zeus Diktaios
(“The Dikte-ite”) or Zeus Idaios (“The Ida-ite”) – provided the dominant birth narrative for Greek mythology, this ancient syncretism between the Olympian and Cretan Zeuses is not without further complications. That Zeus could be considered a dying god on Crete was blasphemous to some, or at least blasphemous to one individual with a resonating voice63 Callimachus, in his third-century (B.C.E.) Hymn to Zeus, rejected the idea that Zeus could die.64 Those narratives describing his death, he wrote, were not about the Zeus that he worshiped and exalted. Instead, they were the product of lying Cretans, as Callimachus reports:
How shall we sing of him—as lord of Dicte (in Crete) or of Lycaeum (in
Arcadia)? My soul is all in doubt, since debated is his birth. O Zeus, some say that thou wert born on the hills of Ida (in Crete); others, O Zeus, say in Arcadia; did these or those, O Father, lie? “Cretans are ever liars.” Yea, a tomb, O Lord, for thee the Cretans builded; but thou didst not die, for thou art for ever (Callimachus,
HymnI. ToZeus 4-9, A. W. Mair’s translation LCL).65
According to J.-P. Vernant, Callimachus’s statement that this Cretan Zeus is not really the Olympian Zeus is likely a minority opinion.66 Thus, Callimachus is the counterpart to the elitist scribe in Mesopotamia, whereas the rest of the Greeks correspond to
hidden and nurtured by bees after his father mistakenly swallows a stone, thinking it was the newborn Zeus (Theogony 482-487). Cretan stories about Zeus’s childhood are post-Hesiodic, which relate the myth about his birth in the glow of a great fire and the rituals involved in the annual celebration (Burkert 1985, 127). 63 Burkert posits the idea that ancient discussions about a dead or chthonic Zeus may actually reference Hades as the Zeus of the netherworld (Burkert 1985, 200). Whoever this chthonic Zeus is, he is still responsible for the growth of the next year’s crops, an attribute that fits either a chthonic deity and its relationship with the fertile ground or a weather deity that provides the rains for those crops.
64 J.-P. Vernant, “Greek Religion,” in ReligionsofAntiquity (ed. R. M. Seltzer; New York: MacMillian, 1989), 171.
65 The pastor repeats this accusation against the Cretans in Titus 1:12-13: 12“It was one of them, their very own prophet, who said, ‘Cretans are always liars, vicious brutes, lazy gluttons,’ 13That testimony is true” (NRSV).
Callimachus is not the only one troubled by the identification of Zeus with foreign heads of pantheon. In the first century C.E., Lucan made his disapproval of the identification of Zeus/Jupiter with Amon of Egypt: “Jupiter, so they say, but not brandishing thunderbolts // and not similar to ours, but with twisted horns, Hammon” (Lucan, CivilWar 9.513f, Dowden’s translation [Dowden 2006, 106]).
66 Vernant 1989, 171.
Mesopotamia’s general population. Vernant argues that these different traditions and epithets merely emphasize the multiple dimensions of this supreme deity, including those Callimachus rejected. For Vernant, the identification between the two Zeuses should not be considered problematic – though they are entirely different personalities – because the tension it creates allows Zeus to manifest dominion over more (cosmic) geography. As a result of this syncretism, the ever rising king of the gods gained a stronger hold over more aspects of life, even if some of these aspects were subsequently siphoned off to the Olympian’s son Dionysus in order to reduce too much internal tension experienced by those Greeks living outside of Crete. Thus, the syncretism of the Olympian Zeus with his Cretan, chthonic counterpart is as readily accepted by modern Classicists as it appears to have been accepted by most ancient Greeks.67
In the world of Greek cultic ritual, Zeus’s dual aspect is highlighted in the
calendar of Erchia (a deme, or neighborhood political unit, of Attica), wherein the deity is celebrated as both a benevolent Zeus and as Zeus-Meilichios (“The Kindly”), the honey- god.68 At the beginning of the two-part ritual, the chthonic nature of Zeus Meilichios
takes priority, and the consumption of wine is forbidden; instead, hydromel is the
67 This ancient recognition of a Zeus with Janus-like characteristics is found in both sculptural and ritualistic realms. His bipolarity is visually manifest in second-century C.E. Corinth, where Pausanias reports that a statue of Zeus called Chthonios (“of-the-Earth”) stood alongside a statue of Zeus called Hypsistos (“the Highest”) and an unnamed statue: “The images of Zeus are also in the open; one had not a surmane, another they call Chthonius and the third Most High” (Pausanias, DescriptionofGreece 2.2.8, Jones LCL).
68 G. Sissa and M. Detienne, TheDailyLifeoftheGreekGods (trans. J. Lloyd; Mestizo spaces; Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2000), 162. “Zeus the Benevolent” is the full name used by Sissa and Detienne to distinguish this divine personality, which they consider the Olympian Zeus, from Zeus Meilichios throughout their discussion of this two-part ritual in the Erchia calendar. In fact, no Zeus divine name appears in the second portion of the ritual to be placed in contrast with Zeus Meilichios (see 606 A 40-65, with commentary on p. 629 by G. Daux [G. Daux, “La grande démarchie: Un nouveau calendrier sacrificiel d’Attique (Erchia),” BCH 87 (1963)]).
preferred drink.69 An accompanying animal sacrifice (splanchna, “roasted viscera”) separates this portion of the ritual to Zeus Meilichios from the subsequent portion devoted to “Zeus the Benevolent”70; once the meat is divided up for the celebrants, wine may be imbibed in honor of the Olympian Zeus. According to G. Sissa and M. Detienne, while the ceremony shows an overall preference for the Olympian Zeus, the only marked difference between these two Zeuses is the latter’s preference for wine over honey. For this reason, they argue against interpreting this ritual as invoking two distinct Zeuses. Their rejection of a two-Zeus interpretation is reasonable since the epithets invoked in this ritual are not geographic as are the distinctions between the Olympian Zeus and the Cretan Zeus. Moreover, the nature of Zeus or of the ritual itself from the first portion may differ from the second, but these differences seem to be affected by a process within the ritual rather than a change in worship from one entity to another. Indeed, the name Zeus itself does not reappear in the second portion of the ritual; however, numerous other Zeus epithets appear throughout the Erchia calendar, including Zeus Epakrios (“Of the
Heights”).71
b. The Nature of Zeus’s Epithets
As the Erchia ritual demonstrates, many of Zeus’s epithets express something about his nature rather than a geographic location. Members of the Greek polis appealed to Zeus for specific moments or activities. The evening before a wedding, offerings were
69 Zeus Meilichios’s preference for hydromel fits perfectly with the chthonic mythology in Crete, where the bees nursed the young Zeus in a cave (Dowden 2006, 34).
70 G. Sissa and M. Detienne 2000, 162.
71 Parker 1996, 32 n. 13; M. H. Jameson, “Sacrifice and Animal Husbandry in Classical Greece,” in EconomiesinClassicalAntiquity (ed. C. R. Whittaker; Cambridge Philological Society suppl. vol. 14; Cambridge: Cambridge Philological Society, 1988), 103.
made to Zeus Teleios (“married”), and groups who share common ancestors offer to a Zeus Phratrios (“belonging-to-the-phratry”) as had their ancestors.72 Some epithets indicate that an offering to Zeus has been made upon a different deity’s altar: Zeus
Heraios and Zeus Damatrios receive offerings from the altars of Hera and Demeter, respectively.73 Other epithets simply proclaim the nature of this deity: Zeus is loving (Zeus Philios), Zeus is gentle (Zeus Meilikhios), and Zeus is most high (Zeus Hupatos).74 At Mantineia, five forms of Zeus are honored at five cults, and each form celebrates a different virtue: Zeus Keraunos celebrates Zeus as the “thunderbolt,” a protective aspect; Zeus Sōtēr honors Zeus as a “savior” of the city; Zeus Kharmon praises a god who “rejoices” in war; Zeus Euboulos is a “good counselor”; and Zeus Epidotes recognizes the god as “bountiful.”75
Similarly, in addition to Zeus Meilichios and Zeus Epakrios, four different epithets for Zeus appear in the sacred Erchia calendar: Epopetes (“the Overseer”), Horios
(“of the Boundaries”), Polieus (“of the City”), and Teleios (an affiliation with Hera
Teleia).76 According to J. Mikalson, each of these Zeuses receives sacrifices at its own cult center, and each Zeus performs its own distinct function for the people of Erchia in Attica. The specific functions of Zeus Epakrios and Zeus Epopetes are unknown, but they likely relate to Zeus’s weather-god role of bringing rain. Zeus Horios watched over
72 L. Zaidman and P. Pantel, ReligionintheAncientGreekCity [trans. P. Cartledge; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992), 68 and 86.
73 Sissa and Detienne 2000, 162.
74 Zaidman and Pantel 1992, 177f. Regarding Zeus’s connection with thunder and lightning, Homer uses 26 epithets to mark Zeus as a storm deity (Dowden 2006, 56), including Erigdoupos (“very thundering”) seven times in the Iliad and three times in the Odyssey. Fifth-century inscriptions also mention Zeus Storpaos, Zeus Astrapaios, Zeus Keraunios (all of which mean “of lightning”), Zeus Keranunobolos and Zeus Kappotas (which relate to “falling” lightning) as well as Zeus Keraunos and Zeus Kataibatēs. Also, Zeus Ombrios (“of rain showers), Zeus Semaleos (“who gives [weather] signs”), and Zeus Hyetios (“of rain) are non-thunder names touting his control over stormy forces (p. 60), while Zeus Tropaios refers to his control of victory (p. 64), which is derived from his control over the violent storm and thunder.
75 Zaidman and Pantel 1992, 212.
76 J. Mikalson, AthenianPopularReligion (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1983), 69.
boundary stones, and Zeus Polieus watched over the city, while Zeus Meilichios watched over wealth and property.77 That each Zeus received its own sacrifices at its own cult-site within this deme is, indeed, a significant reason to consider each Zeus a distinct divine entity, especially since this has all been recorded within this one calendar.
Mikalson also claims that the various Zeus Phratrios and Zeus Boulaios (“of the Council”) manifestations were also thought of as their own distinct deities with their own independent cults.78 While each of these Zeuses had its own political framework, which would be expected given the township nature of a deme in Attica, this requires us to assume that each Zeus Phratrios represented a distinct deity despite having the same name and epithet. However, Mikalson is not the only scholar to suggest that there are multiple low-level (and politically affiliated) Zeuses. R. Parker maintains that Zeus
Phratrios, Zeus Herkeios (“Front court”), and Zeus Ktesios (“Possession”) are specific distinct deities.79 According to Parker, many of these so-called Zeuses may be distinct deities, but often they are not actually manifestations of the Olympian Zeus. Rather, he suggests that each Zeus Phratrios is the particular ancestral god of the members of each
patroos, or patrilineal family.80 Likewise, Zeus Herkeios, who guards fences, and Zeus
77 Xenophon reports that in 399 he became so poor that he had to sell his horse to finance the rest of this trip home. According to the soothsayer Eucleides that he visited, his poverty resulted from his neglect of Zeus Meilichios, to whom he had not sacrificed since beginning his journeys. To remedy his situation, he sacrificed to this Zeus, and his fortunes reversed the next day when Bion and Nausicleides arrived and repurchased the horse for Xenophon (Xenophon, Anabasis 7.8.1-6).
Zeus Teleios is associated with marriage, but this deity and epithet are very closely related to Zeus Phratrios since the marriage introduces a woman whose role is to provide a future member for the local phratry (R. Parker, AthenianReligion: AHistory [Oxford: Clarendon, 1996], 105). Given this intimate relationship between these two Zeuses, Zeus Teleios may also be understood, in part, as a guardian or protective deity (R. Parker, PolytheismandSocietyatAthens [Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005], 440).
78 Mikalson 1983, 70.
79 Parker 2005, 17-22. Zeus Herkeios appears as a household god in the Odyssey 22.335 and Herodotus III