MASTER 
 
 NEGATIVE 
 
 NO. 92-81108-11 
 
MICROFILMED 1993 
 COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES/NEW YORK 
 
 as part of the 
 "Foundations of Western Civilization Preservation Project" 
 
 Funded by the 
 NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES 
 
 Reproductions may not be made without permission from 
 
 Columbia University Library 
 
COPYRIGHT STATEMENT 
 
 The copyright law of the United States - Title 17, United 
 States Code - concerns the making of photocopies or 
 other reproductions of copyrighted material. 
 
 Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and 
 archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other 
 reproduction. One of these specified conditions is that the 
 photocopy or other reproduction is not to be "used for any 
 purpose other than private study, scholarship, or 
 research." If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a 
 photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of "fair 
 use," that user may be liable for copyright infringement. 
 
 This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a 
 copy order if, in its judgement, fulfillment of the order 
 would involve violation of the copyright law. 
 
A UTHOR : 
 
 SHIELDS, EMILY 
 LEDYARD 
 
 TITLE: 
 
 CULTS OF LESBOS 
 
 M M..^./m. \^' MZ^ « 
 
 MENASHA 
 
 DATE: 
 
 1917 
 
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES 
 PRESERVATION DEPARTMENT 
 
 Master Negative # 
 
 BIBLIOGRAPHIC MICROFORM TARGFT 
 
 Original Material as Filmed - Existing Bibliographic Record 
 
 Restrictions on Use: 
 
 F" 
 
 886 
 Sh6 
 
 '"■"4MMM*ll!>««f^«B<| 
 
 '4 
 
 Shields, Emily Ledyard, 1883- 
 
 _ ... Tlie cults of Lesbos ... by Emily Ledyard Shields. 
 Menasha, Wis., George Banta publishing company, 1917. 
 xviii, 100 p., 1 1. 24"-. 
 
 Thesis (ph. d.)— Johns Hopkins university. 1915. 
 Vita. 
 
 Bibliography: p. i95j-96. 
 
 1. Lesbos. 2. Cultus. Greek. 3. Mythology, Greek. 
 
 383^)97 " 
 
 ' ) ■ 
 
 Library of Congress ^ — ' 
 
 Johns Hookins Univ. Libr. 
 
 BL78S.SS 
 
 
 17-22695 
 
 :i 
 
 TECHNICAL MICROFORM DATA 
 REDUCTION RATIp:_i/^_ 
 
 FILM SIZE: '_ 
 
 IMAGE PLACEMENT: lA (OAi IB IIB 
 
 DATE FILMED: _2=^z2:i3 INITIALS.jSl^^l^ 
 
 HLMEDBY: RESEARCH PUBLICATIONS. INC WOODBRIDGE. CT 
 
c 
 
 \ 
 
 Association for Information and image {Management 
 
 1100 Wayne Avenue, Suite 1100 
 Silver Spring, Maryland 20910 
 
 301/587-8202 
 
 Centimeter 
 
 1 2 3 
 
 lllliiiiiliiiiliiiiliiiiln 
 
 iUJ 
 
 I I 
 
 4 5 
 
 mliiiiliiii 
 
 i I r 
 
 T 
 
 ^ 
 
 6 
 
 iiiliiii 
 
 7 8 
 
 iiiliiiili 
 
 I 
 
 9 
 
 iiliii 
 
 ITT 
 
 Inches 
 
 1 
 
 1.0 
 
 I.I 
 
 1.25 
 
 10 11 
 
 I r r 
 
 2 8 
 
 Hill T o 
 |S6 J-^ 
 
 163 
 
 2.5 
 
 m 
 
 ii u 
 bbu 
 
 36 
 
 4 
 
 1.4 
 
 2.2 
 
 2.0 
 
 1.8 
 
 1.6 
 
 12 13 14 15 mm 
 
 iiliiiiliiiiliiiiliiiiliiiiliiiil 
 I II II I I I I I II I '« 
 
 MfiNUFfiCTURED TO fillM STflNDRRDS 
 BY fiPPLIED IMAGE. INC. 
 

 Mr' r' 
 
 /: IT. 
 
 
 ■f?r-'^^' 
 
 Wi\t 3l0lftt0 1^0pkitt0 ImuprBttg 
 
 The Cults of Lesbos 
 
 A DISSERTATION 
 
 SUBMITTED TO THE BOARD OF UNIA ERSITY STUDIKSOF THE JOHNS HOPKINS 
 
 UNIVERSn-Y IN CONFORMITY VVTTH THE REQUIREMENTS 
 
 FOR THE DECREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY 
 
 
 
 BY 
 
 ElVirLY LELVARD SHIELDS 
 
 » 
 
 sK ^^ 
 
 
 Ql{« qinli»gi«tt l^tm* 
 
 GIORGE B.\NTA pt'BLISHING COMP.\NY 
 
 MEN.VsSa. WISCONSIN 
 
 1917 
 
 
{ 
 
 if %■ - 3 
 
 f^ 
 
 / 
 
 ?**"*TI ^^"•nZ^ '"*""'**^ 
 
 '^Vx'Qi 
 
 Columfjia Hnifacrsitp 
 
 intfteCitPofiJeioiaork 
 
 I. i !; R A R \- 
 
 v»» 
 
 '♦- ' 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES 
 
 This book is due on the date indicated below, or at the 
 expiration of a definite period after the date of borrowing, as 
 
 provided by the library rules or by special arrangement with 
 
 the Librarian in charge. 
 
 DATE BORROWED 
 
 DATE DUE 
 
 bEC 1 - '^^ 
 
 " Vl. 
 
 DATE BORROWED 
 
 DATE DUE 
 
 C28 (7-«i7) MlOO 
 
\ < 
 
 ■)' 
 
 I 
 
 JSii^ Mtil\m ^tipkim llntoraitg 
 
 The Cults of Lesbos 
 
 .^' 
 
 <pif»» 
 
 
 
 A DISSERTATION 
 
 SUBMITTED TO THE BOARD OF UNIVERSITY STUDIES OF THE JOHNS HOPKINS 
 
 UNIVERSITY IN CONFORMITY WITH THE REQUIREMENTS 
 
 FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY 
 
 BY 
 
 EMILY LEDYARD SHIELDS 
 
 \ * V 
 
 GBORGE BANTA PUBLISHING COMPANY 
 MENASHA, WISCONSIN 
 
 1917 
 
!. 
 
 
 % 
 
 H 
 
 
 V 
 
 <5: 
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 Page 
 introduction v 
 
 Chapter I 
 The Twelve Gods 1 
 
 Chapter II 
 The Other Deities 50 
 
 Chapter III 
 Heroes 78 
 
 Chapter IV 
 Kings and Emperors 85 
 
 Chapter V 
 Lesbian Citizens 91 
 
 bibliography 95 
 
 INDEX 97 
 
 ^ 
 
V 
 
 • X,^ f.^.fgr---'- ' ^ 
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 S. L. Plehn, in his Lesbiacorum Liber, Berlin, 1826, pp. 115-120, 
 wrote a short section entitled Res Sacrae. Although Plehn made a 
 very careful collection of the literary evidence, he had very httle 
 epigraphical or numismatic material at his disposal. But in recent 
 years the number of Lesbian inscriptions has been many times increased 
 by the Inscriptiones Graecae Insularum Lesbi Nesi Tenedi, William 
 Paton, Berlin, 1899; by Unedierte Inschriften von Mytilene, Petros 
 N. Papageorgiu, Leipzig, 1900; by '\vkKboroi 'Emy palpal AeajSov, 'Enfjiap- 
 ovriX Aavtd, Mytilene, 1913; and by other publications appearing from 
 time to time in the daily newspapers of Greek cities.^ The coins of 
 the island are unusually beautiful and varied in type. Of those pub- 
 lished in Doctrina Numorum Veterum, Joseph Eckhel, Leipzig, 1792- 
 1828, and in Description de Medailles antiques grecques et romaines, 
 Mionnet, Paris, 1806-1808, Plehn made good use. But since that 
 time there have appeared the Catalogue of Coins in the British 
 Museum— Troas, Aeolis and Lesbos, Warwick Wroth, London, 1894; 
 Historia Numorum, Barclay V. Head, Oxford, 1911; Catalogue of 
 Greek Coins in the Hunterian Collection, University of Glasgow, 
 George Macdonald, 1901; and many pubHcations in the journals of 
 numismatics.2 Not only have these collections of material been made, 
 but during the last fifty years or so important books about Lesbos, 
 of an archaeological, historical and topographical nature have been 
 written. Among these should be named, Travels and Discoveries in 
 the Levant, C. T. Newton, London, 1865; Reise auf der Insel Lesbos, 
 A. Conze, Hanover, 1865; Die Antiken Baureste der Insel Lesbos, 
 Robert Koldewey, Berlin, 1890, which treat of the antiquities. For 
 history, most valuable are Rom und Mytilene, Conrad Cichorius, 
 Leipzig, 1888; and Beitrage zur Geschichte von Lesbos im vierten 
 Jahrhundert v. Chr., Hans Pistorius, Bonn, 1913. The books dealing 
 with topography, description and modern life are most numerous of 
 all, but are only indirectly related to the subject of the ancient cults.' 
 For a clearer understanding of the legends and worship of the gods 
 
 ' For a complete list of these publications of inscriptions see 'Apx. 'E^?. 1913, 
 pp. 220-1. 
 
 2 Reference will be made to these later as the material is required. 
 
 3 For a list of these books of travel see R. Koldewey, Die Antiken Baureste 
 der Insel Lesbos, pp. 1-2. 
 
\ 
 
 / 
 
 VI 
 
 THE CULTS OF LESBOS 
 
 of Lesbos much work has been done in various articles of Pauly- 
 Wissowa's Real-Encyclopadie and in Roscher's Ausflihrliches Lexikon 
 der Griechischen und Romischen Mythologie, and in Lewis R. Far- 
 nell's Cults of the Greek States, Oxford, 1896-1909. But as no 
 account of the Lesbian cults as a whole has been pubhshed since 
 Plehn's work ninety years ago, it has seemed worth while to make 
 a special study of them. And yet, even now only a beginning has 
 been made in the collection of material; and excavations will one day 
 reveal how insignificant is our present supply of information. Especi- 
 ally do we lack evidence for the sixth and fifth centuries, since the 
 literary passages relate principally to the myths, while the earliest 
 inscription on stone dates from the beginning of the fourth century, 
 and the coins with divinities as types are from the middle of the fifth . 
 century or later. The date of excavation, however, cannot at present 
 be foretold. And so it does not seem advisable to wait during an 
 uncertain length of time for the gathering of a complete store of 
 information. Enough is already gained to show that the Lesbian 
 cults were many of them peculiarly interesting. 
 
 As the situation and prosperity of the island, the original home of 
 the inhabitants, their relations with other peoples, and their charac- 
 ter, mental and moral, all exerted a great influence doubtless on the 
 religion, these topics will be treated briefly, in order to make clearer 
 the religious history. 
 
 Lesbos, called by Strabo vrjaos 17 Xea^os \6yov a^la TrXetcrroi', lies 
 south of Troas, at the mouth of the Gulf of Adramyttium. Only a 
 narrow channel separates it from Asia Minor on the north and east, 
 so narrow that Methymna was only sixty stades distant from the 
 shore of the continent at Assus."* Also the island commands an 
 important position near the mouth of the Hellespont; and with its 
 fleets, which were from early times important, it could control much 
 of the traffic by sea from the region of the Pontus.^ Even in Homer 
 we learn that it afforded a port for those making the voyage from the 
 Troad to Greece.^ And to the great corn producing region of the 
 Euxine Lesbos, as well as Athens, could look for a great part of its 
 grain supply.^ Yet the island itself was very fertile, and especially 
 
 * Strabo, XIII, 616. 
 
 * Cf. Hdt. VI, 5. Histiaeus with eight ships from Lesbos took all the ships 
 that sailed out of the Pontus, except such as were willing to submit to him. 
 
 « Od. Ill, 169 f. 
 
 ' Thuc. Ill, 2; I. G. XII, ii, 3. Cf. Minns, Scythians and Greeks, p. 576; 
 Pistorius, Beitrage zur Geschichte von Lesbos, pp. 44 f.; English Historical 
 Review, 1914, pp. 125 f. 
 
 fi^^-^r^f 
 
 " I 
 
 \ 
 
 \ - 
 
 1 
 
 y 
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 VU 
 
 in the western part produced much wheat.* The grape and the 
 olive abounded.^ Diodorus says,^° ''The islands, exposed to the 
 winds and supplying healthful air to the inhabitants and producing 
 fruits, rejoiced in plenty and soon made those who lived there blessed. 
 For this reason they were also called the Islands of the Blessed (At6 
 Kal MaKCipoov icvoidaaQ7](jav vrjaot), the abundance of good things giving 
 rise to the appellation." 
 
 Besides Macaria, of which mention has just been made, many 
 other names and epithets were given to Lesbos in antiquity, indicative 
 of its nature and importance. Such are Aka^ov evKTifihrju, II. IX, 
 129;" MdKapos Uos, II. XXIV, 544; Aka^os r' rjyadkrj, Hymn to Apollo, 
 III, 37; Akal3os kpawa, Moschus, III, 90; Aecr/^o; kv ehbkvbpi^, C. I. G. II, 
 3019; olv-npri^ Aka^oio, Anth. Pal. VII, 501; Aka^ov es evoLvov, Athen. 
 (Hermesianax) XIII, 598c; Aeafiov epLarcKpvKov, Athen. (Archestratus) 
 III, 92d; MoLKapos ttoKlv, Strabo, VIII, 356; ax^^ov de n Kal /jltjipottoKls 
 . . . TU)P A16\lku)v TToXecoj', Strabo XIII, 616;^^ Aka^ov r evpvxopOLO, 
 Dionys. Orbis Descr. 537; Trao-ewi/ 6' karlv aoLdoTCLTrj, Stobaeus (Phan- 
 ocles) Flor. 64, 14; leprj Aeo-jSco, ibidem; h Aeo-jSw KXeLvrjs ^Epeaov irepL- 
 KVfjiovos iiaarco, Athen. Ill, 111 f.; TrepLppvru) "laay, Lycophron, Cass. 
 219;^^ inclita . . . Lesbos, Petron. Sat. 133, 3. 
 
 There is evidence to show that the island in early times had other 
 names. PUny^^ says that it was called Himerte et Lasia, Pelasgia, 
 Aegira, Aethiope,^^ Macaria. According to Callimachus it was called 
 Mytonis from Myton, son of Poseidon. ^^ Others give the names 
 Issa, Antissa.^^ These evidently originated from characteristics of 
 Lesbos or from names of places from which the Lesbians came. 
 Plehn^^ believed that Lesbos was called Aethiope because of Myrina, 
 
 « Athen. (Archestratus) III, HI f. 
 
 • Cf. Conze, Reise auf der Insel Lesbos; Newton, Travels and Discoveries. 
 
 *° Diod. Sic. V, 82. Interesting in this connection is Hesychius, s. v. rjXvaLov 
 naKapcov vrjaos . . otov ov diaXvoPTat Slto tG)v acoyudrcoz' at ypvxa-'i-- fcal oi fxltv (pact yrepl 
 AlywTov elvai, ol 8k irepl Atafiov. 
 
 " See also Od. IV, 342 and XVTI, 133. 
 
 ^2 Cf. Strabo, XIII, 622 and Eustath. Dion. Per. 536, thpvxopos . . . nrf- 
 TpoiroXis 8k Tuv AloXtKojv. 
 
 " Cf. Cicero's description, De Leg. Agr. II, 16, 40, agri iucundi et fertiles. 
 
 " Pliny, N. H. V, 139. 
 
 " Cf. Epithet elfi€pTu in I. G. XII, ii, 313. Hesych. s. v. AWio^- 6 Ata^Los. 
 
 " Steph. Byz. s. v. MuriXi7i/Tj. 
 
 ^' Strabo, I, 60; Eustath. Dion. Per. .536. 
 
 " See Plehn, Lesbiaca, pp. 3-4 for the origin of the names. 
 
 f 
 
\ 
 
 vm 
 
 THE CULTS OF LESBOS 
 
 queen of the Amazons/^ who is said to have conquered it. For the 
 Amazons, according to Zenothemis, lived in Aethiopia.^'^ It is much 
 more probable that the name was Aethopie and that it was given 
 because of Xidbiriov^ a region near the Euripus,-^ from which we know 
 that some of the early colonists came. A detailed account of these 
 settlements and of the history of Lesbos may not be attempted here. 
 Only enough will be said to show the influence of other countries on 
 Lesbos, and her intluence, in turn, on the peoples with whom she came 
 in contact. 
 
 The stories of the settlement of Lesbos indicate a close relation- 
 ship to the mainland of Greece. Diodorus Siculus- gives the longest 
 and most connected account. He says that Xanthus, son of Triopas, 
 wuth Pelasgians from the Peloponnesus^^ took possession of Lesbos, 
 which had been previously without inhabitants. Some generations 
 later Lesbos was stripped of its population by the flood of Deucalion. 
 Then came Macar or Macareus. This period seems to have been one 
 of the most important for settlement, as the sons and daughters of 
 this Macar were reputed to be the eponymous heroes and heroines 
 of the principal cities and mountains of Lesbos. ^^ Concerning the 
 parentage of Macar, Diodorus gives different accounts. In book V, 
 81, he tells that ^lacar was son of Crinacus, descendant of Zeus; 
 while in book V, 56, he calls him one of the seven sons of Helius, thus 
 indicating a Rhodian origin.--' Gruppe'-^ accepts the descent from 
 Zeus through Crinacus, and finds a connection with the Boeotian 
 region. This seems more likely than the supposition that the settlers 
 of the period came from Rhodes.-^ The Lapith Lesbus, said to be a 
 son-in-law of Macar, is certainlv a Thessalian-Minvan element. ^"^ 
 
 ^' Diod. Sic. TTI, 55. 
 
 20 Schol. Apol. Rhod. II, 965. 
 
 -' Cf. Steph. Byz. s. v. kl66iri.ov. Such mistakes in spelling are easily made. 
 Cf. Anth. Pal. VI, 269, where the codex reads Mdioirlq. for Xidoirig.. 
 
 "Diod. Sic. V, 81; Steph. Byz. s. v. MuTiX-quTj. Cf. Plehn, op. cit. p. 24, 
 and Busolt, Gr. Gesch. I, pp. 273 f. 
 
 23 There is considerable evidence for Pelasgians in Lesbos, and as Plehn {op. 
 cit. pp. 29-30) thinks, they probably came from Thessaly. 
 
 ^^ Steph. Byz. s. v. MunX^fT?. 
 
 "^ See Plehn, op. cit. p. 25, for still other accounts of the parentage of Macar. 
 
 2* Gruppe, Gr. Mythol. p. 297, n. I; Busolt, /. c. 
 
 ^^ There was certainly some connection, however, with Rhodes at this period. 
 Diod. Sic. V, 81, says Macar sent his sons into Chios, Samos, Cos and Rhodes 
 with colonies. Berard, Les Pheniciens et I'Odyss^e, II, 79; Curtius, Gr. Gesch. 
 I, 49, connects Macar with Melkar. 
 
 2' Thraemer, Pauly-Wissowa, Real-Encycl. II, 1660. 
 
 W 
 
 i 
 
 r 
 
 f\ 
 
 <f. 
 
 t 
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 IX 
 
 But Plehn is right in supposing that no man called Macar ever really 
 held the rule of Lesbos,^^ and that King Macar was an invention of 
 the mythographers. Compare for instance the more likely reason for 
 the name, MaKapo^v prjaoL, given by Diodorus and previously men- 
 tioned. But the last settlements of the island are said to have 
 taken place after the Trojan War. Then a descendant of Orestes,^^ 
 generally believed to have been Penthilus or one of his line, went to 
 Boeotia and, joined by a large band of followers, crossed to Euboea, 
 then to Lesbos. Later came Gras, and afterwards Malaus and 
 Cleues, all descendants of Agamemnon. Though these leaders were 
 reputed to have come originally from the Peloponnesus, they gathered 
 their bands of followers in the North and went direct from northern 
 Greece to Lesbos. Thus Thucydides^^ says the Aeolic colonies came 
 from Boeotia. 
 
 A study of the dialects at once brings conviction of the close 
 relationship between the people of Lesbos and of Thessaly and 
 Boeotia. For the dialects of these three regions constitute the 
 Aeolic group. ^"^ Connected with this family of dialects are also the 
 Arcadian^^ and Cyprian. The natural inference is that the peoples 
 speaking dialects which show such close resemblance must have come 
 from a common home. 
 
 In tracing the connection of the Lesbians with the peoples of 
 northern Greece, the similarity of geographical names is also useful as 
 evidence. And in pointing out cases of such similarity Gruppe^^ has 
 done important service. Some of the noteworthy instances are 
 Pyrrha, a city in Lesbos and a promontory on the shore of Thessaly; 
 Aaptcratat Trerpat, rocks north of Mytilene, and Larisa, a city of 
 Thessaly ;^^ Pylaeus, a mountain in Lesbos, and a leader of Pelas- 
 gians in the Trojan War.^*' From Euboea came the name of the 
 island Chalcis near Lesbos and the name of Mount Macistus" in Lesbos. 
 
 29 Plehn, op. cit. p. 32. 
 
 30 The name is variously given, and some say Orestes himself. See Plehn, 
 op. cit. pp. 38-39. 
 
 31 Thuc. VII, 57. 
 
 32 Buck, Gr. Dialects, p. 9; Thumb, Handbuch der Gr. Dial. pp. 51-71; Hoff- 
 mann, Gr. Dial. II, 3-8; Meister, Gr. Dial. pp. 1-8. 
 
 33 Some similarities between the Lesbian and Arcadian cults can also be 
 traced. 
 
 3< Gruppe, op. cit. pp. 296-300. Some of the resemblances are not very strik- 
 ing, however. 
 
 36 Strabo, IX, 440. 
 
 3« Strabo, XIII, 621 and II. II, 840. 
 
 37 Steph. Byz. s. v. XaXm; Pliny, H. N. V, 140. 
 
\ 
 
 X THE CULTS OF LESBOS 
 
 Eresus, a city of Lesbos, and Eiresion, a city of the Boeotians, existed.^^ 
 Brisa, the name of a promontory in Lesbos, has a resemblance to a 
 proper name occurring in northern Greece. ^^ This name Brisa was 
 already known in Lesbos at the time of Homer'^^ apparently, and the 
 name of Macar is associated with the place of this name. Andro- 
 tion^^ says that Macar founded a temple of Dionysus there. But 
 the cult of Dionysus Bpiaalos seems to have come from the mainland of 
 Greece.-^- This is perhaps another indication that the settlement 
 personified in " Macar" did not come from Rhodes, but from northern 
 Greece. 
 
 The later settlements of Lesbos seem to have occurred about the 
 time of the Dorian invasion of the Peloponnesus. The names of 
 Tantalus and Pelops, which are connected also with Lesbos and its 
 myths (in some respects analogous to those of Elis and Laconia), 
 show Peloponnesian influence.'^^ 
 
 Lesbos soon became the center of a large number of colonies, 
 which she planted in the Troad and on other neighboring coasts. 
 ''Cyme," says Strabo,"^"* "is the largest and best of the Aeolian cities. 
 This and Lesbos may be considered the capitals of the other cities, 
 about thirty in number — of which several no longer exist." Many 
 of these cities were founded by the Lesbians— such as Lamponia/^ 
 Hamaxitus, Polymedeum, Sigeum, Tragasae and Neandria by Myti- 
 lene; Assus"^ and Gargara by Methymna. Livy*^ says that Peraea 
 also was a colony of Mytilene. On the shore of Thrace, Aenus,^^ 
 
 3« Etym. Magn. s. v. ElpkaLoi', p. 303, 11. 
 
 39Steph, Byz. s. v. BpLaa; Etym. Magn. s. v. Bpiaalos, p. 214, 11; Sittig, De 
 Graecorum Nominibus Theophoris, Halle, 1911, p. 90. 
 
 *o Wilamowitz, Horn. Untersuch. pp. 409-12. 
 
 *^ Etym. Magn. /. c. 
 
 <2 See pp. 57-8. 
 
 *^ Mytilene is reported as daughter either of Macar or Pelops, Steph. Byz. 
 s. V. MuTtXi7J/i7. Wide, Lakonische Kulte, has in some instances shown excel- 
 lently the resemblance of cults of Lesbos to those of Laconia. 
 
 " Strabo, XIII, 623. 
 
 " E. Meyer, Gesch. d. .\lt. II, pp. 463 f. 
 
 *« Investigations at Assos, Papers of the Arch. Inst, of America, Series I, 
 pp. 66 f. Strabo, XIII, 610, quoting Myrsilus, says Assus was founded by people 
 of Methymna, but Stephanus, s. v. "Aaaos, says by Mytilene. 
 
 *^Livy, XXXVII, 21, 4. 
 
 " According to Hdt. VII, 58 and Thuc. VII. 57, Aenus was an Aeolic colony. 
 Scymnus of Chios, Orbis Descr. 1. 696, attributes it to Mytilene; Steph. Byz. 
 s. V. AIws, to Cyme; Strabo, VII, frg. 52, to Mytilene and Cyme. 
 
 4-^""' ^ 
 
 INTRODUCTION XI 
 
 Sestus, Madytus,^^ and in the Troad, Abydus and Arisbe^*^ were 
 according to some traditions settled by Lesbos. It is evident, there- 
 fore, that Lesbos in the early centuries exerted a great influence over 
 that region of the world. The height of her power seems to have 
 been reached about the time of Pittacus. It was then that she came 
 into conflict with Athens concerning the possession of Sigeum, and 
 lost that important stronghold by the decision of Periander. Gradu- 
 ally she lost also other territory — much of it to the Athenians, as we 
 know from a tribute list of that city of the year 425 B.C.^^ In that 
 record (z, 11. 12-20) are preserved the names of certain cities of the 
 Trojan shore which had formerly belonged to Mytilene, but had 
 later become tributary to Athens. They are Antandrus, Phocleum,^^ 
 Pordoselene, Hamaxitus, Larisa, Achilleum.^^ After the middle of 
 the second century B.C., Mytilene still held territory about the Gulf 
 of Adramyttium, for at that time a dispute arose between Mytilene 
 and Pitane^^ concerning the boundaries of their possessions. Per- 
 gamum was called upon to arbitrate the matter and gave her decision 
 in favor of Pitane. However, in the time of Strabo^^ Mytilene still 
 held villages on the Gulf of Adramyttium. 
 
 The Lesbians were able during the greater part of the fifth century 
 to maintain independence towards Athens, only furnishing the Athe- 
 nians with ships for a time."'^ But in 428 B.C. when Mytilene with- 
 drew from her allegiance to Athens and joined the side of Sparta, 
 she was defeated and given over to the Athenian Cleruchs.^^ The 
 relation of Lesbian history to that of Athens and of the whole Greek 
 world for the fourth century, Hans Pistorius has recently treated in 
 great detail.^^ At the close of this century Lesbos was under the 
 control of Lysimachus.^^ From this time until the first century B.C. 
 the records which throw light on her history are very few. 
 
 <3 Scymnus, Orbis Descr. 11. 709-10; Eustath. Comment. Dion. Per. 513* 
 
 6° Steph. Byz. s. v. 'Apia^v 
 
 "I. G. I, 37= Roberts and Gardner, Intro, to Gr. Epig. 17 (restored). 
 
 '2 Rhoiteion according to Roberts and Gardner, /. c. 
 
 " Cf. Thuc. Ill, 50, 3 and IV, 52, 3. 
 
 " Frankel, Inschr. v. Pergamon, no. 245= Dittenberger, O. G. I. no. 335. 
 Cf. Victor B6rard, De Arbitrio inter liberas Graecorum Civitates, p. 45; Rev. 
 Arch. XII, 1908, p. 195, n. 2; Tod., Gr. Internat. Arbitration, p. 39. 
 
 » Strabo, XIII, 605 and 607. 
 
 " Thuc. I, 19; III, 39; VI, 85; VII, 57. 
 
 " Thuc. Ill, 2-50. 
 
 '* Pistorius, Beitrage zur Gesch. v. Lesbos. 
 
 " Pistorius, op. cit. p. 86. 
 
 ? *^ 
 
xu 
 
 THE CULTS OF LESBOS 
 
 Before the Romans became powerful in the East, the island seems 
 to have been at least for a part of the time under the control of Egypt.®^ 
 Among the Egyptian papyri has been found a series of drafts of 
 letters dating probably from the end of the third century,^^ written to 
 various officials, and containing directions concerning the collection 
 of foreign revenues of Egypt. One is to Aphrodisius, who is directed 
 to give information about the receipt of taxes collected in Lesbos and 
 Thrace.^- This reference to taxes levied by Egypt in the island 
 implies that the influence of Egypt in Lesbos was much greater than 
 has been supposed.*^"^ From a time slightly previous comes an in- 
 scription^^ which gives the title Oeos to Ptolemy IV, Philopator (222- 
 205 B.C.). In a Ptolemaic inscription in Toronto,^^ Apollonius of 
 Mytilene is mentioned — perhaps a soldier in the royal service at 
 Fayum. As late as 194 A.D. we have record that Prosdectus of 
 Mytilene was archon of an athletic club in Egypt.^^ ' Lesbian in- 
 scriptions indicate that many Egyptians likewise resided in Lesbos. 
 But the interest in Egypt and the connection with it through travel 
 and commerce arose in the early centuries of the history of Lesbos. 
 Alcaeus^' when in exile visited Egypt; Charaxus,''^^ the brother of 
 Sappho was personally engaged in trade with it; and Sappho perhaps 
 uses epTTts,*'^ an Egyptian word for wine. Terpander is said to have 
 taken the lyre of Orpheus to Egypt. ^'^ We find according to Herodo- 
 tus that the people of Mytilene were the only Aeolians who took 
 part in the establishment of the Greek temenos called the "Hellen- 
 ion" at Naucratis.'^^ In classical times it seems that Lesbos was a cen- 
 
 *° This accounts to a great extent for the recognition of certain Egyptian gods 
 in Lesbos and for the honor given the Ptolemies there. 
 
 '' On palaeographical grounds. 
 
 «- Grenfeli, Hunt. Smyly, Tebtunis Papyri, I, pp. 66-69, dating 202-1 B. C. 
 
 «3 B. C. H. IV, 1880, pp. 434 f. 
 
 "L G. XII, ii, 498. 
 
 «* A. J. A. XIX, 1915, p. 72. 
 
 «« Gk. Papyri in Br. Mus. Ill, p. 218, 1.62. 
 
 «7 Strabo, I, 37. 
 
 ««Hdt. II, 135; Strabo, XVII, 808; Athen. XIII, 596b; Oxyrhynchus Papyri, 
 I, no. VIII; D. Mallet, Les Premiers fitablissements des Grecs en figypte, p. 155. 
 
 «» Sappho, Frg. 51 (Bergk); D. Mallet, op. cit. p. 366. 
 
 '° Nichom. Enchir. Harm. exc. I (Mus. Scriptores Graeci, p. 266). 
 
 '^ Hdt. II, 178. The other states were Chios, Teos, Phocaea, Clazomenae, 
 Rhodes, Cnidus, Halicarnassus, Phaselis. Hugo Prinz, Funde aus Naukratis, 
 p. 57; Gardner, Naukratis, II, no. 840. 
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 xni 
 
 4S^-^ 
 
 ! 
 
 ter for the manufacture of bucchero ware which it exported to Egypt.'- 
 Pape thought that there was an island in the Nile called Lesbos, since 
 he apparent^ misinterpreted a passage of Stephanus which refers to the 
 AeoHc island. '^^ 
 
 During the period when Rhodes was at the height of her power, 
 Mytilene was one of the states which sometimes cooperated with 
 her;^"* and there is record found at Eresus of a treaty between Rhodes 
 and Lesbos of the third century B.C.^^ There is no doubt that much 
 communication existed also earlier between the two islands, as Rhodes 
 furnished a convenient port at which ''to get water and rest before 
 making the long sail to Egypt. "^^ 
 
 With the history of Asia Minor, that of Lesbos was interwoven 
 even from a period before the time of the Trojan War, when Achilles 
 stormed the Lesbian towns, killed the heroes Lampetus" and Tram- 
 belus,"^^ and carried off the seven Lesbian maidens. Through the 
 colonies founded on the mainland, as has already been said, she 
 came into contact especially with the peoples of Asia. When the 
 Persian kingdom gained its great power under Darius, the Persian 
 fleet easily subdued the islands Chios, Lesbos and Tenedos;^^ so 
 that when Xerxes sent his expedition against Greece, the Lesbians 
 together with the other Aeolians furnished sixty ships. ^'^ 
 
 But when the Greeks defeated the Persians in 429 B.C., Lesbos 
 was received into the Greek federation.^! From that time, for almost 
 two centuries her face was turned towards the West, and Athens, 
 Sparta or Macedonia determined her course. Nevertheless her rela- 
 tions with the cities of the Asia Minor coast, both Aeolic and Ionic, 
 must have still been very close. In about the middle of the fourth 
 century, for instance, an inscription tells that Mytilene made an 
 agreement with Phocaea about coining of money;^^ ^nd even from 
 
 " J. H. S. XXXIV, 1914, p. 142; Gardner, Naukratis, II, pp. 47f. Loeschcke, 
 Arch. Anz. 1891, p. 18. 
 
 " Pape, Wcirterbuch der griechischen Eigennamen, s. v. Aea/Soj. Steph. Byz. s. v. 
 "E^ecros. 
 
 '* Frank, Roman Imperialism, p. 140. 
 
 " Papageorgiu, T65os Kal Aka^os, Leipzig, 1913. Cf. I. G. XII, ii, 285. 
 
 ^«Cf. Xen. Ephes. I, 11. 
 
 " Parthenius, Erot. XXI=F. H. G. IV, p. 314. 
 
 '« Parthenius, Erot. XXVI. 
 
 '' Hdt. VI, 31. 
 
 80 Hdt. VII, 95. Cf. Diod. Sic. IX, 196, who sajs 40 ships. 
 
 " Hdt. IX, 106. 
 
 " I. G. XII, ii, 1. Cf. Pistorius, op. cit. pp. 31 f. 
 
XIV 
 
 THE CULTS OF LESBOS 
 
 f 
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 XV 
 
 the early fifth century the coins show that some arrangement between 
 the two cities must have existed in regard to the mints.^^ When by 
 the decision of Antiochus (306-301 B.C.) the people of Lebedus were 
 moved to Teos, the two peoples chose Mytilene as the city to which 
 they might refer cases about the adjustment of rights.^ In the 
 first half of the second century B.C., Miletus was arbitrator between 
 Methymna and Eresus.^ When King Eumenes made pledges to his 
 soldiers (between 263 and 241 B.C.), Pergamum, Gryneum and My- 
 tilene were the cities chosen for the erection of copies of the inscrip- 
 tion.^ Likewise, in perhaps the second century B.C., the people of 
 Pergamum decided on Mytilene together with Athens and their own 
 city for the erection of an important decree. ^^ In the time of Marcus 
 Aurelius alliance coins between Mytilene and Adramyttium^^ were 
 struck; and in the time of Commodus, between Mytilene and Perga 
 in Pamphylia.^^ Some of the coins of the time of Valerian and 
 Gallienus show an alliance between Mytilene and Pergamum. ^° In 
 a decree of Mytilene iroKUaat KOLvals may possibly refer to a religious 
 union of Asiatic cities, with the common temple in Ephesus.®^ Also in 
 the West Mytilene in Hellenistic times was making alliances, as for 
 instance, with Aetolia in the third century B.C.^^ 
 
 The defeat of Antiochus by the Romans at the battle of Magnesia 
 in 190 B.C. was important for western Asia. Many Greek cities 
 obtained by it their freedom and the right to coin money — among 
 them Mytilene.®^ The history of this city under Roman control has 
 been especially treated by Cichorius in his Rom und Mytilene; and 
 
 " Wroth, Cat. of Coins in the British Museum: Troas, Aeolis, Lesbos, pp. 156 f. 
 
 •* Lebas-Waddington, Voyage Archeologique, IV, p. 43; V. B6rard, De Arbitrio 
 inter liberas Graecorum Civitates, p. 51. 
 
 « Wiegand, Milet, III, no. 152. 
 
 •« Frankel, Inschr. v. Pergamon, I, no. 13, 1.18= Dittenberger, O. G. I. no. 
 266, 1. 18. Both Frankel and Dittenberger date the inscription soon after 263 
 B. C. 
 
 •' Frankel, op. cit. I, no. 251, I. 40. 
 ■ " Wroth, op. cit. p. 214, no. 232. 
 
 "Wroth, op. cit. p. 214, no. 235. 
 % »o Wroth, op. cit. p. 214, no. 233-4. 
 
 '^ Cichorius, Athen. Mitth. XIII, 1888, p. 59. This expression may as well 
 refer to the koi.v6v Atc^luv. Plehn, op. cit. p. 59. Paton, I. G. XII, ii, 30, reads 
 TToXLeacn Koiva. 
 
 <« I. G. XII, ii, 15. Frankel, Archaeol. Zeitung, 1885, p. 150, dates 194-3 
 B. C. 
 
 " Department of Coins and Medals in the British Museum, p. 87. 
 
 ■#^ '4 
 
 for the first century by H. de la Ville de Mirmont in his article 
 Theophane de Mytilene. ^^ It is certain that Rome exerted a tremen- 
 dous influence in the island both through its government, which 
 established a peace favorable to trade and material prosperity for 
 almost one hundred years, and through individual Romans who 
 spent much time in Lesbos. ^^ In a recently published inscription 
 from Sinope (Rev. Arch. 1916, p. 355) there is a reference to the celebra- 
 tion in Roman times of games at Mitylene, possibly by the koivov 'Aaias. 
 An interesting feature in the history of Lesbos is that for many 
 centuries it served as a resort for the traveller, for the exile and for 
 the student. In Horace's Epistles Rhodes and Mytilene stand for 
 foreign travel. ^^ Because it had one of the finest locations in the 
 East, Timotheus,^^ the Athenian, chose to live there. Others who were 
 attracted there were Aristotle,^^ Epicurus,^^ Persinas,ioo p Rutilius,i<'^ 
 M'. Aquilius,io2 Mithridates,^^^ C. Memmius, Pompey the Great and 
 Cornelia his wiie,^^ Sextus Pompey,!^^ M. Brutus,io6 M. Marcellus,!"? 
 M. Agrippa,io8 Germanicus and his wife Agrippina.^^^ Besides these 
 famous men and women, there are names of others of less note, 
 recorded on grave stones and other monuments found on the island- 
 people who came from Europe, Asia and Egypt.^^^ And not only did 
 
 " Rev. des fitudes grecques, XVIII, 1905, pp. 165-206. 
 
 »» See I. G. XII, ii, Index and C. I. L. 454 and 455 for Romans in Lesbos. 
 
 ••Horace, Epp. I, 11, 17 (Wickham's note). 
 
 •^ Athen. XII, 532 b. 
 
 •• Pauly-Wissowa, Real-Encycl. II, 1014. 
 
 •» Hesych. Onomatologi, s. v. 'EiriKovpo^. 
 
 1°° Callimachus, Frg. 41. 
 
 1" Cic. pro Rab. Post. 10, 27; Val. Max. II, 10, 5. 
 
 >•» Vel. Pat. II, 18. 
 
 »«» Appian, Mithr. 52. 
 
 ''^ Cic. Ad Fam. 13, 1. Vel. Pat. II, 53. 
 
 '^ Cassius Dio, XLIX, 17. 
 
 i«» Cic. Brut. 71; Seneca, ad Helv. DC. 
 
 '" Cic. ad Fam. IV, 7; Val. Max. VIII, 11, 4. 
 
 >"• Tac. Ann. XIV, 53; Suet. Aug. 66; Suet. Tib. 10. 
 
 io» Tac. Ann. II, 54. Cassius Dio, LVI, 27, says that when Augustus gave 
 orders that no exile should spend time on the continent or in any island except 
 those distant 400 stades from the mainland, Cos and Rhodes, Sardes and Lesbos 
 alone were excepted for some reason. 
 
 ""Athens, I. G. II, ii, 306 and 307; Syracuse, I. G. XII, ii, 310; Thebes, 
 I. G. XII, ii, 493; Mende, I. G. XII, ii, 409; Olynthus, I. G. XII, ii, 202 
 (?); Byzantium, I. G. XII, ii, 443; Dacia, I. G. XII, ii, 125; Assus, I. G. XII, 
 ii, 435; Colophon, I. G. XII, ii, 309; Atarneus, I. G. XII, ii, 362; Parium, I. G. 
 
 ^ A/ 
 
 >H 
 
XVI 
 
 THE CULTS OF LESBOS 
 
 foreigners come to Lesbos, but the Lesbians themselves seem to have 
 been great travellers. Arion, Terpander, Alcaeus and Sappho went 
 far abroad in early limes; and inscriptional records are preserved 
 which name Lesbians in various parts of the ancient world. Many 
 Lesbians were in Athens/^' and others visited or settled in Olympia/^^ 
 Delphi/13 Nemea,^^-* the Isthmus, Epidaurus,'^^ Moesia,^^^ Leucas,^^^ 
 Thessaly,^^^ Samothrace,^^^ the Troad,^'-*^ Teos,^-^ the vicinity of Pan- 
 ticapaeum,^^2 Lydia,^'^^ Syria,^-^ Tenos,^^^ Delos,^'^^ Latium,i^-^ Iberia,^28 
 Egypt. ^-^ Some spent time with Alexander the Great,^*^*^ King 
 Amyntas^^^ of Macedon(?), Pompey^^^ ^nd Augustus.^^^^ The frequent 
 communication with foreigners, both at home and abroad, must have 
 had much effect on the Lesbians— an influence which was felt in their 
 cults also. 
 
 XII, ii, 387; Pergamum, I. G. XII, ii, 312; Perga, I. G. XII, ii, 308; Alabanda, 
 I. G. XII, ii, 514; Nicomedia, I. G. XII, ii, 386; Media, I. G. XII, ii, 442; Rhodes, 
 I. G. XII, ii, 311; Alexandria, I. G. XII, ii, 114 and 393; Sinope, Rev. Arch. 1916, 
 
 p. 355. 
 
 Ill I. G. II, ii, 963; II, iii, 2877, 3134, 3230 and 3231; Robinson, A. J. P. 1910, 
 pp. 384 and 391. Lesbians were also honored in Athenian decrees, I. G. II, i, 18 
 and I. G. II, i, ad. 52c, \. 29=1. G. II and III, E. M. no. 107. 
 
 11- Pans. VI, 15, I for Olympia, Delphi, Xemea, the Isthmus. For Olympia, 
 Dittenberger und Purgold, Inscr. Olymp. 173; Diod. Sic. XI, 48; Dionys. Hal. 
 
 IX, 179. 
 
 113 1. G. XII, ii, 388, also for Pergamum, Theatira and Neapolis. 
 
 "H. G. XII, ii, 133. 
 
 116 1. G. IV, 951,1. 122. 
 
 ii«C. I. L. Ill, 8213. 
 
 1^7 Athen. Mitth. XXVII, 1902, p. 361. 
 
 118 Rev. Epig. II, 1914, p. 128. 
 
 "»I. G. XII, viii, 162, 163, and 170. 
 
 120 Athen. Mitth. VI, 1881, p. 227. 
 
 121 Lebas-Waddington, op. cit. Ill, no. 91. 
 
 122 Latyschev, Ins. Ant. O. S. P. E. II, 294. 
 
 123 Keil und von Premerstein, Berichte iiber eine zweite Reise in Lydien, II, 
 
 p. 2>?>. 
 
 12* Appian, "ZvpiaK-ff, 52. 
 
 126I.G. XII,V2, 1. 
 
 i2« I. G. XI, ii, 105 and 108. 
 
 127 C. I. G. Ill, 6074 and C. I. L. VP, 8438. 
 
 128 Anth. Pal. VII, 376. 
 
 129 See pp. xii-xiii. 
 
 i30Athen. I. 20a; XII, 538 e. Hesych. s. v. AlaxP^o^^- Diod. Sic. XVII, 57. 
 Arrian, Anab. Ill, 2, 5. 
 
 "1 Pauly-Wissowa, Real. Encycl. VIII, 106. 
 
 132 H. de la Ville de Mirmont, Revue des £tudes grecques, XVIII, 1905, pp. 165 f. 
 
 133 1. G. XII, ii, 35a. 
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 xvi 
 
 Lesbos was long a center of education, from the time when Sappho 
 kept her schooP^^ until Imperial times. Interesting is a grave stone^^^ 
 which reads, 
 
 'OKTCOKatSe/cdroi' jue KaTapxofJievov \vKd^avTOs 
 apTL T€ prjTopLKTJs epya didaaKOfievov 
 
 Aeapco h evdhdpcc PapvaXyrjs vovaos t86iiJLva, 
 KOVKeT €S ljjLepTr)v yatav e^rjv 'E^etjou, 
 showing that a student came from Ephesus for rhetorical instruction. 
 We know that philosophy also flourished. Aristotle stayed in Lesbos 
 for a year and had a school, in which two of his favorite pupils were 
 Tyrtamus (to whom he gave the name Theophrastus) and Phanias.^^^ 
 Epicurus at the close of the fourth century was head of a school in 
 Mytilene,^" and a letter of his to the philosophers in that city is 
 quoted by Sextus Empiricus.^^^ Especially again in 'the first century 
 philosophy flourished, when Lesbonax^^^ and Cratippus^^^ w*ere at 
 Mytilene. Hermarchus^^^ and Echecratides,^''^ and probably Leu- 
 cippus,^^^ were Lesbian philosopers of note also. Scientific studies 
 seem to have been actively pursued, and Serenus,^^'' the mathe- 
 matician, as well as Matricetas,^^^ the astronomer, lived there. Vale- 
 rius Maximus says that when P. Rutilius went into exile in 93 B.C., 
 all the cities of the province offered him refuge, but he chose Mytilene. 
 It is likely, as Cichorius thinks, that his choice was determined by 
 the opportunity to pursue his scientific studies. ^'^ A story by Aelian^^^ 
 shows excellently the value put on education in Mytilene. He says 
 that when the people of that city ruled the sea, they imposed on all 
 
 134 The tradition still lingers. By the church of St. Therapon are ruins which 
 Koldewey saw pointed out as a temple of Apollo or the school of Sappho. Kolde- 
 wey, op. cit. p. 9. 
 
 '^ C. I. G. II, 3019= Anth. Pal. App. II, 241. 
 
 i'" See Plehn, op. cit. pp. 214 f. 
 
 1" Hesych. s. v. 'EttLkovpo^; Diog. Laert. X, 9. 
 
 ^'* Sex. Emp. adv. math. 4. 
 
 "* Cichorius, Rom und Mytilene, p. 65. 
 
 »«o Cic. Tim. I; Plut. Pompey, 75. 
 
 "^ Diog. Laert. X, 1. 
 
 "' Steph. Byz. s. v. Mr}dvi.iva. 
 
 1*' Wroth, CI. Rev. VIII, 1894, 
 appears to be a philosopher. 
 
 *♦* Manatt, Aegean Days, p. 280. 
 
 »« See p. 83. 
 
 ^** Cichorius, op. cit. p. 5. 
 
 '*' Aelian, V. H. VII, 15. 
 
 pp. 226 f. shows portrait on coin which 
 
 I 
 
XVlll 
 
 THE CULTS OF LESBOS 
 
 revolting peoples the punishment that their children should not learn 
 to read nor be taught ^ouo-t/cT?. Aelian adds that this was because they 
 thought that of all punishments the most severe was to live in igno- 
 rance and atxovaia. Ziebarth infers that in Mytilene elementary 
 schools must have been public.^^^ 
 
 The Lesbians in early times were renowned for their talent and 
 studies in music and rhythm above most peoples. ^^^ Perhaps no 
 one Greek region except Attica has produced so many writers in such 
 varied departments of literature. Plehn^^^ has collected their names, 
 and to his list it is necessary to add only Anaxion, son of Thrasy- 
 clides,^^^ who, according to an inscription of Teos, won a prize with his 
 satyr drama, Persae. The Lesbians seem to have had great love of the 
 beautiful in architecture and sculpture also, and their city Mytilene 
 was one of the most beautiful in antiquity. Cicero^^^ speaks of its 
 beauty, and likewise Longus,^'^^ ^s late as the fifth century A.D., still 
 praises it. The island furnished celebrated marble for building and 
 sculpture,^^^ so that temples and statues of the gods were many, as 
 the preliminary investigations already indicate. 
 
 The moral character of the Lesbians does not deserve such high 
 praise as do their mental qualities ;^^^ but probably too much of a 
 derogatory nature has been said against them, especially in anti- 
 quity. It is very likely that many of the charges brought against 
 them, just as in the case of Sappho, arose from statements of the 
 comic poets. Plehn almost a century ago expressed this opinion, 
 and since that time much has been done to remove the false impression 
 which comedy gave.^^^ 
 
 1*8 Ziebarth, Aus dem gr. Schulwesen, p. 26. 
 
 "9 For a long discussion of this subject see Plehn, op. cil. pp. 138-169. 
 150 Plehn, op. cit. pp. 132-218. 
 "1 Lebas-Waddington, op. cit. IV, 91. 
 
 i« Cic. De Leg. Agr. II, 16, 40. Cf. Hor. Carm. I, 7; Strabo, XIII, 617. 
 i"Longus, Past. I, 1. 
 
 15* Pliny, H. N. XXXVI, 6. I. G. XII, ii, 11 contains a contract for the repolishing 
 and restoration of a temple. Cf. Viedebantt, Hermes L, 1915, pp. 34-46. 
 1" Plehn, op. cit. pp. 121 f. 
 1" Plehn, op. cit. pp. 175 f; Wilamowitz, Sappho und Simonides. 
 
 ^^ 
 
 »?^^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 * > 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 The Twelve Gods 
 A polio 
 
 Strabo, having spoken of the islands which are between Asia and 
 Lesbos, says that along the whole shore as far as Tenedos, Apollo is 
 held in veneration, and worshipped as lltiivdtvs fj KiWalos ij Tpvuevs ^ 
 TLva a\\7)v ewoivufxlav exo)u.^ The cults of Lesbos closely resemble those 
 of the Troad, and there is evidence that each of these epithets men- 
 tioned by Strabo was also applied to Apollo in Lesbos.^ His worship 
 is perhaps the earliest that we can trace in the island, having been 
 established before the Aeolians came.^ Smintheus is not a Greek 
 word,^ and the general belief is that it passed to Rhodes and Aeolis 
 from Crete.5 Apollo Z/juvdem seems to have been a god of agriculture, 
 and originally a protector against field mice.« A. Reinach believes 
 that there was a temple on the coast of Troas near Hamaxitus, 
 dedicated to a mouse god Sminthos, before he became Apollo Smin- 
 theus of the Aeolians.7 But the name Smintheus was by confusion 
 associated with the settlement from Greece, and among the colonists 
 of the Penthelidae one leader is mentioned of this name.» The 
 colonists are said to have settled near Methymna,^ which is indeed 
 the region nearest Hamaxitus. Tiimpel, by a very cleverly con- 
 structed chain of reasoning, decides that Chryse, the home of Chryseis 
 of the Iliad, was in Lesbos, where Chryses was priest of Apollo Smin- 
 theus. He places the ''Smintheion" at Arisba, believing that with 
 
 ' Strabo, XIII, 618. 
 
 » The evidence for Apollo TpweOs depends on a restoration, however. See p 3 
 
 'Plehn, op. cit. p. 115. 
 
 * Wilamowitz, Hermes, XXXVIII, 1903, p. 575. 
 
 ^ Illberg, Roscher's Lexikon, IV, 1084. 
 
 « Preller-Robert, Gr. Myth. p. 255. Schol. II. I, 39. Cf. also A. J. P. XXIX, 
 1908, pp. 97-8, where the epithet is connected with the idea of destroyer of rats which 
 spread pestilence. 
 
 ' Rev. Epig. II, 1914, pp. 43-4. 
 
 « Plut. Sept. Sapient. Conviv. ch. 20. Another version of the same story 
 (Plut. De Soil. Animal, ch. 36) calls the name Phineus. See pp. 39-40. The name 
 IS probably inserted in the story of the Penthelidae because of early associa- 
 tions of the name Smintheus with Methymna 
 
 » Athen. XI, 466 c, 
 
XVUl 
 
 THE CULTS OF LESBOS 
 
 revolting peoples the punishment that their children should not learn 
 to read nor be taught yiovaiKr). Aelian adds that this was because they 
 thought that of all punishments the most severe was to live in igno- 
 rance and djuotata. Ziebarth infers that in Mytilene elementary 
 schools must have been public. ^''^ 
 
 The Lesbians in early times were renowned for their talent and 
 studies in music and rhythm above most peoples. ^'^'* Perhaps no 
 one Greek region except Attica has produced so many writers in such 
 varied departments of literature. Plehn^^^ has collected their names, 
 and to his list it is necessary to add only Anaxion, son of Thrasy- 
 clides,^^^ who, according to an inscription of Teos, won a prize with his 
 satyr drama, Persae. The Lesbians seem to have had great love of the 
 beautiful in architecture and sculpture also, and their city Mytilene 
 was one of the most beautiful in antiquity. Cicero^^^ speaks of its 
 beauty, and likewise Longus,^^^ as late as the fifth century A.D., still 
 praises it. The island furnished celebrated marble for building and 
 sculpture, ^^"^ so that temples and statues of the gods were many, as 
 the preliminary investigations already indicate. 
 
 The moral character of the Lesbians does not deserve such high 
 praise as do their mental qualities ;^^^ but probably too much of a 
 derogatory nature has been said against them, especially in anti- 
 quity. It is very likely that many of the charges brought against 
 them, just as in the case of Sappho, arose from statements of the 
 comic poets. Plehn almost a century ago expressed this opinion, 
 and since that time much has been done to remove the false impression 
 which comedy gave.^^ 
 
 » 
 
 '** Ziebarth, Aus dem gr. Schulwesen, p. 26. 
 
 ^*^ For a long discussion of this subject see Plehn, op. cit. pp. 138-169. 
 1^0 Plehn, op. cit. pp. 132-218. 
 ^^^ Lebas-Waddington, op. cit. IV, 91. 
 
 1" Cic. De Leg. Agr. II, 16, 40. Cf. Hor. Carm. I, 7; Strabo, XIII, 617. 
 "^ Longus, Past. I, 1. 
 
 ^*^* Pliny, H. N. XXXVI, 6. I. G. XII, ii, 11 contains a contract for the repolishing 
 and restoration of a temple. Cf. Viedebantt, Hermes L, 1915, pp. 34-46. 
 1" Plehn, op. cit. pp. 121 f. 
 '5« Plehn, op. cit. pp. 175 f; Wiiamowitz, Sappho und Simonides. 
 
 
 ♦r> 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 The Twelve Gods 
 A polio 
 
 Strabo, having spoken of the islands which are between Asia and 
 Lesbos, says that along the whole shore as far as Tenedos, Apollo is 
 held in veneration, and worshipped as I^txLvSevs ij KtXXatos ij Tpvpevs ^ 
 TLva aWrjv e7ro)vvfxlau exoov.^ The cults of Lesbos closely resemble those 
 of the Troad, and there is evidence that each of these epithets men- 
 tioned by Strabo was also applied to Apollo in Lesbos.^ His worship 
 is perhaps the earliest that we can trace in the island, having been 
 established before the Aeolians came.^ Smintheus is not a Greek 
 word,^ and the general belief is that it passed to Rhodes and Aeolis 
 from Crete.5 Apollo XfjuvdeOs seems to have been a god of agriculture, 
 and originally a protector against field mice.^ A. Reinach beheves 
 that there was a temple on the coast of Troas near Hamaxitus, 
 dedicated to a mouse god Sminthos, before he became Apollo Smin- 
 theus of the Aeolians.7 But the name Smintheus was by confusion 
 associated with the settlement from Greece, and among the colonists 
 of the PentheHdae one leader is mentioned of this name.« The 
 colonists are said to have settled near Methymna,^ which is indeed 
 the region nearest Hamaxitus. Tiimpel, by a very cleverly con- 
 structed chain of reasoning, decides that Chryse, the home of Chryseis 
 of the Iliad, was in Lesbos, where Chryses was priest of Apollo Smin- 
 theus. He places the '^Smintheion" at Arisba, believing that with 
 
 » Strabo, XIII, 618. 
 
 » The evidence for Apollo Tpwehs depends on a restoration, however. See p 3 
 
 'Plehn, op. cit. p. 115. 
 
 * Wiiamowitz, Hermes, XXXVIII, 1903, p. 575. 
 
 ' Illberg, Roscher's Lexikon, IV, 1084. 
 
 « Preller-Robert, Gr. Myth. p. 255. Schol. II. I, 39. Cf. also A. J. P. XXIX, 
 1908, pp. 97-8, where the epithet is connected with the idea of destroyer of rats which 
 spread pestilence. 
 
 ' Rev. Epig. II, 1914, pp. 43-4. 
 Plut. Sept. Sapient. Conviv. ch. 20. Another version of the same story 
 (Plut. De Soil. Animal, ch. 36) calls the name Phineus. See pp. 39-40. The name 
 IS probably inserted in the story of the PentheHdae because of early associa- 
 tions of the name Smintheus with Methymna. 
 
 » Athen. XI, 466 c. 
 
 ▼ !*'^P' 
 
2 THE CULTS OF LESBOS 
 
 the destruction of that town the cult passed on to Methymna.^^ 
 This cult must have continued to exist at Methymna during many- 
 centuries, for an inscription'^ found there and dating from Imperial 
 times mentions a prophet of Smintheus {t6v tCov y,t\ibv Troi,7]rr]v Kal 
 Trpoipy]Ty]v rov ZyuvBeuis). A quotation from Myrsilus, the Lesbian writer, 
 says that on Mt. Lepetymnus (which is near Methymna) there 
 was a temple of Apollo and an heroon of Lepetymnus, at which, just 
 as at Crannon, there were only two ravens, though there were many 
 in the regions near by.^- It would seem that the Lesbian shrine was 
 connected with the Thessalian^^ one by some tradition due to the 
 colonists from Thessaly. And so Gruppe supposes the Lesbian tem- 
 ple to be a "Filiale" of the one at Crannon. It appears, then, that 
 in this district of Methymna there were two influences at work in 
 Apollo worship, an older represented by the name Smintheus, and a 
 later brought in with the Aeolic settlements. 
 
 Strabo likewise says that there was a temple of Apollo KtXXatos 
 in Lesbos, founded from a place near Thebe,^^ where was a temple of 
 the same god. He adds that according to Daes of Colonae the 
 temple was founded first at Colonae by Aeolians, who came by sea 
 from Greece. ^^ Another tradition^^ connects the founding of the 
 temple in Lesbos with the story of Pelops and Oenomaus. When 
 Pelops buried Cillus, he built by the grave a temple, calling it that of 
 Apollo KtXXatos because of the sudden death of Cillus. A scholium to 
 Euripides' Orestes, 1. 990 (Munich) calls Oenomaus king of the Les- 
 bians; and there are several other points of contact of the myths of 
 Lesbos with those of the Peloponnesus.^^ Gruppe's suggestions^ is 
 reasonable that the Lesbian Pelopidae imitated the celebrated 
 Olympian myth with the use of local tradition. The story of Pelops 
 seems to be employed here merely to explain a cult name of Apollo. 
 The cult appears to have come directly from Asia Minor by the head 
 of the Gulf of Adramyttium, where there was a town Cilia, a moun- 
 
 ^0 Philol. XLIX, 1890, pp. 89 f. See esp. pp. 103 f. 
 " I. G. XII, ii, 519. 
 
 13 Antig. Caryst. 17= F. H. G. IV, 459, 9. 
 
 " Mt. Lepetymnus was also connected with the story of the worship of Pala- 
 medes, who, according to Gruppe, came from Locris. Gruppe, Gr. Myth. p. 298. 
 i*Cma, an AeoHan city, II. I, 38; Hdt. I, 149. 
 " Strabo, XIII, 612. 
 i« Schol. II. I, 38. 
 *' See Introduction, pp. ix-x. 
 " Gruppe, op. cit. p. 145, n. 9. 
 
 ^^ 
 
 "♦ « ^ 
 
 k> 
 
 I 
 
 THE TWELVE GODS 3 
 
 tain Cillaeus, a river Cillus, and also a temple of the god near 
 Thebe.^^ Robert thinks possibly the shrine of Cillaean Apollo in 
 Lesbos may have been an out-chapel of the Sminthian god.^^ 
 
 The third cult mentioned by Strabo,^^ that of Apollo Vpwevs, had 
 a celebrated sanctuary at Gryneum. There is evidence for the cult 
 at Mytilene if Paton's restoration of the inscription I. G. XII, ii, 
 239 is correct. Because of the space and content [Vpv\veos elpea appears 
 to be the only reasonable restoration. 
 
 Besides the very ancient cults of the Sminthian and Cillaean 
 Apollo, we find another situated at Nape in the northern plain." 
 Macrobius,23 after citing other localities where Apollo was worshipped 
 as a shepherd god, continues, *'colitur et apud Lesbios NaTratos^* 
 et multa sunt cognomina per diversas civitates ad dei pastoris 
 officium tendentia, qua propter universi pecoris antistes et vere pastor 
 agnoscitur." Gruppe accepts this interpretation and considers Apollo 
 NaTratos an example of a god of flocks.^^ The temple stood in a dis- 
 trict far from the coast,^^ and the cult was no doubt one of primitive 
 form. Farnell thinks Apollo NaTratos may have been a foundation of 
 the early Aeolic immigrants." Its seclusion and the wooded region 
 round about (which the name suggests)^^ made Nape a fitting center 
 for oracles, so that Apollo became here the god of prophecy as well as 
 of flocks. A story told in the scholia to Aristophanes' Clouds illus- 
 trates this.2^ The account is as follows, h Xka^oo 8e vairalov^'^ 'AttoX- 
 \o)vos 6 dodels IleXoTrt,^^ alTOvuTOs avrov auad7]fjLa rod Oeov ttjp apva Trjv xp^- 
 (TTJu, erepa irapexovji KeLfirjXLa. tan 5' ourcos 
 
 6 /SouXoyuat dos, /xr) didov 5' 6 jjlt) deKoo. 
 (pep€L d^ rbv xPV<^f^ov tovtop 'AvTLKXeidrjs h rots Noarots. 
 
 13 Strabo, XIII, 612. 
 
 2" Bild und Lied, p. 187. He believes that Oenomaus and Hippodamia, by 
 an older tradition, belong originally to Lesbos. 
 
 21 Strabo, XIII, 618. 
 
 22 Strabo, IX, 426. 
 23Macrob. Sat. I, 17, 45. 
 
 2* Also Steph. Byz. s. v. ^dirrj. 
 
 ^ Gruppe, op. cit. 1243, n. 2. 
 
 2« Koldewey, op. cit. pp. 35 f. and pp. 44 f. 
 
 2^ Farnell, Cults of the Greek States, IV, p. 223. 
 
 28 Suidas, S. v. NdTrr;. 
 
 2» Schol. Ar. Clouds, 1. 144. 
 
 3° TovpairaLov is the reading of the MSS, but Lobeck, Aglaoph. p. 267, rightly 
 emended. 
 
 ^1 See Introduction, p. x. 
 
THE CULTS OF LESBOS 
 
 THE TWELVE GODS 
 
 The whole story appears to have been an invention of later times and 
 the oracle given in iambic trimeter at such an early date is indeed 
 suspicious. ^^ Hendes in a dissertation on the subject of oracles^^ 
 decides that it is a forgery. The evidence, however, for the oracular 
 power of Apollo at Nape is not spoiled by this conclusion. For the 
 story must have arisen because of the oracle which from very early 
 times existed in this region of northern Lesbos.^'' Coins of Lesbos 
 with NAII on the reverse appear to bear representations of Apollo 
 
 Philostratus^^ tells of an oracle which the Greeks at Troy received 
 about Philoctetes and the bow — an oracle from Lesbos. And he 
 adds, "For the Achaeans used also the oracles at home, that at 
 Dodona and the Pythian and all the celebrated ones of Boeotia and 
 Phocis; and since Lesbos was distant only a short way from Ilium, 
 the Greeks sent to the oracle there." The question is whether 
 Philostratus is right in referring the oracle to Orpheus and not to 
 Apollo. ^^ The two were evidently associated in the giving of pro- 
 phecy. Lucian says that the lyre of Orpheus was put in the temple 
 of Apollo and for much time kept safe there,^^ and Ovid tells that the 
 head of Orpheus was protected from a serpent by Apollo. ^^ ''They 
 say that there (in Lesbos) once Orpheus was wont to rejoice in 
 prophecy"^^^ before Apollo himself gave his attention to it. For since 
 men no longer went to Gryneum for oracles, nor to Clarus, nor to the 
 place where was the tripod of Apollo, but Orpheus alone gave oracles — 
 his head having just come from Thrace — the god stood over him as 
 he prophesied and said, 'Cease from the things that belong to me, 
 for enough have I borne with thee and thy singing.' " 
 
 ^' The scholiast believes that oracles in iambic trimeter were occasionally 
 uttered, but he mentions Apollonius Molon as opposed to this opinion. 
 
 '^Hendes, Oracula Graeca, Dissert. Philologicae Halenscs, IV, pp. 11-5 (esp. 
 p. 15). 
 
 3* For a description of Nape see R. Koldevvey, op. cit. pp. 44-6. 
 
 ^^ Mionnet, Descr. Ill, p. 60, no. 188. Imhoof-Blumer, Monnaies grccques, 
 p. 280, tried to show that here was represented a long-haired garlanded Apollo, 
 but Koldewey thinks the reading is very uncertain. 
 
 3« Philostr. Heroic, ch. V, p. 306. 
 
 3^ Philostr. /. c. txpa 5c, oljuat, e^ 'Opipkoos, etc. 
 
 ^* Lucian, Adv. Indoct. 11 f. 
 
 39 Ovid, Met. XI, 55. 
 
 ^° Philostr. Vit. Apoll. IV, 14, p. 70. See also Jane Harrison, Prolegomena 
 to Gr. Religion, p. 467. 
 
 «-— > 
 
 ^. 
 
 The cult of Apollo MvpiKalos should be included when speaking of 
 oracles in Lesbos, as the tamarisk was the symbol of prophecy. 
 We know from the scholium to Nicander's Theriaca, 1. 613, that 
 because his statue held a branch of tamarisk, Apollo was called by 
 this name in the island — a name of great significance and interest. 
 It was known in only one other place, at Corope in Thessaly, where 
 the temple statue carried a branch of tamarisk in its hand, and where 
 a peculiar mode of divination was practised with a tamarisk."*^ Far- 
 nell rightly believes that a reminiscence of the Thessalian ritual was 
 preserved by the Lesbian cult. He calls attention to the fact that 
 in the north Greek tradition the prophetic office was regarded as 
 essential to Apollo, and holds it as a cause for the many mantic shrines 
 in Aeolis and the Troad.^^ jj^ f^^^^- Apollo worship in Lesbos is quite 
 in accord with a northern origin, and it is interesting to see that 
 Alcaeus sings of the sojourn of Apollo among the Hyperboreans." 
 
 Not only was Apollo closely related to Orpheus in prophecy, but 
 also in music, for the lyre of Orpheus was put in the temple of Apollo. 
 Terpander^ calls him ''Leader of the Muses" (raJMuaapxo; AaroOs vUl), 
 and Sappho^'^ depicts him as leading the dance with the Muses and the 
 Graces. Alcaeus^^ also recognized him as god of music, and the 
 coins show types of Apollo Citharoedus.^^ 
 
 Also Apollo was early a god of purification in Lesbos, if any 
 confidence can be placed in the statement of Arctinus,^^ ''Achilles 
 sailed to Lesbos, and sacrificing to Apollo and Artemis and Leto, was 
 purified of the murder of Thersites." No doubt Arctinus had in 
 mind such a function of Apollo in Lesbos, which he used as a basis 
 for his statement. But as Walter Leaf says, this idea of purification 
 from blood is one of which Homer knows nothing, and must probably 
 be regarded as creeping in by later tradition. 
 
 *' Farnell, op. cit. IV, p. 166. 
 
 ^Farnell, op. cit. IV, p. 223. "The multitude of these establishments on 
 the coast of Asia Minor is striking when we compare it with their comparative 
 paucity in the Peloponnese and in the Hellenic settlements nearer the original 
 home." 
 
 « Himer. Or. 14, 10. 
 
 ** Terpander, Frg. 3 (Bergk). 
 
 « Himer. Or. 13, 7. 
 
 *« Plut. De Mus. ch. 14. 
 
 <7 Mionnet, Descr. Ill, p. 58, no. 173; Wroth, Cat. PI. XXXV, 14. 
 
 *« Aethiopis, Epic Gr. Frg. p. 33 (Ki.). Walter Leaf, Troy, p. 308. 
 
THE CULTS OF LESBOS 
 
 At Eresus Apollo was given the special epithet 'Epeaios, according 
 to Hesychius.'*^ This statement leads to the logical conclusion that 
 in that town was a special temple of Apollo; and Boutan^*^ reported 
 that he found sites of three temples at Eresus. But although Kolde- 
 wey searched for it he did not succeed in locating the site/''^ 
 
 At the time of Alexander the Great an inscription from Eresus 
 prescribes that advocates who conduct the trial of the former tyrant 
 Eurysilaus shall take an oath by Apollo Au/cetos.^- The appearance of 
 his name in such an important connection leads us to suppose that 
 his cult was a prominent one there. It is useless to enter into a dis- 
 cussion of the contest carried on in ancient as well as modern times 
 about the origin of the epithet. It may be that here again we have 
 reference to an early god of herds,^^ though the derivation from Xvk- 
 (Latin lux) seems a more fitting origin in consideration of the use in 
 this inscription;^-* especially when we compare the similar oath sworn 
 by HeUus in the same record.^^ As the god who announced the 
 SenLTes of Zeus to men, so he watched over the sacred right of the 
 oath; and as protector of the oath it was his duty to protect agree- 
 ments. The directions for the erection of the decree are lost, but 
 perhaps the stone was set up in the temple of Apollo at Eresus. An 
 inscription of Roman times from Eresus gives a dedication to Apollo, 
 but records no cult name.^^ 
 
 At Mytilene inscriptions, literature and coins all bear witness to 
 the importance of the Apollo cult. Here the chief worship seems to 
 have been rendered him as Apollo MaXoets ; and the name, according to 
 the present evidence, was given nowhere else in the Greek world. 
 Thucydides," when narrating the events of the Peloponnesian War in 
 428 B.C., says that information was given the Athenians of a festival 
 of Apollo MaX6€ts, held outside the city of Mytilene— at which the 
 whole people kept holiday. And later in the same chapter he men- 
 tions a sanctuary of the same god. The scholium to this passage is 
 
 ♦' Hesych. s. v. 'Epeaios. 
 
 ^0 Archives des Missions scientifiques, V, p. 322. 
 *i Koldewey, op. cit. p. 25; Conze, op. cil. p. 28, n. L 
 "I. G. XII, ii, 526b, 1. 3L 
 
 " Farnell, op. cit. IV, p. 165 and 166, note b; Wernicke, Pauly-Wissowa, 
 Real-Encycl. II, 59. 
 
 ^ Reseller's Lexikon, II, 2175 f. 
 »I. G. XII, ii, 526 c, 1. 20. 
 " I. G. XII, ii, 534. 
 " Thuc. Ill, 3. 
 
 ^n 
 
 ^ I: *» ▼ 
 
 THE TWELVE GODS ' ^ 
 
 an important one, as giving an ancient opinion about the origin of 
 the cult.^^ It reads as follows, ''Apollo MaXoeis is honored by the 
 people of Mytilene from some such cause. Manto, the daughter of 
 Teiresias, when dancing in these regions, lost a golden \ir{Kov from her 
 necklace. Therefore she promised that if she should find it she would 
 found a temple to Apollo. And on finding the apple^^ she founded 
 the temple, and for this reason Apollo MaXoets is honored by them." 
 According to Stephanus of Byzantium, Hellanicus derives the name 
 from MtJXos, son of Manto. ^^ Disregarding these accounts which were 
 obviously fashioned to explain a word of which the origin was 
 unknown, many scholars derive MaXoets from "sheep," and look upon 
 this Apollo as god of flocks,^^ such as Apollo NaTraTos in the northern 
 district is supposed to be. Several other derivations suggested 
 need not be considered.^^- When we look elsewhere for names of 
 Apollo which most resemble MaXoeis, we find an important god Apollo 
 MaXearas,^^ worshipped at several places in Greece, especially in the 
 Peloponnesus. By its use in verse we know that the first a in MaX- 
 cdras is short.^^ If MaXoets is related to MaXearas, then all the 
 derivations from ^r\\ov may be disregarded. Farnell believes that the 
 two cults are related, and that they originated from a common center 
 called MaXea. He finds three places of this name which might be 
 considered^^— MaXea in southern Laconia and an Arcadian district 
 which Xenophon calls 77 MaXearts (which may have taken its name 
 from a town MaXea), as well as MaXea in Lesbos near Mytilene. He 
 rightly excludes the possibility of a Lesbian origin, and believes 
 that "the geographical distribution would well agree wdth the suppo- 
 sition that it arose either at the place in Arcadia, near Leuctra, or on 
 the famous promontory of South Laconia. "^^ Also in Thessalian 
 
 '« Rev. de Phil. I, 1877, p. 185. 
 
 " Wide, Lakonische Kulte, p. 249, regards Philomeides (Od. IV, 343; XVII, 
 134) who was localized in Lesbos, as a descendant of Atlas, and Hofer, Roscher's 
 Lexikon, III, 2349, thinks he may be connected with this story. 
 
 «° Steph. Byz. and Hesych. s. v.MaXXoets. 
 
 «i Meister, Gr. Dial. I. p. 65. See Rouse, Gr. Votive Offerings, p. 45, n. 6, 
 for epithets as god of shepherds. 
 
 « Pick, Vorgr. Ortsnamen, p. 63, suggests ^idXTj; Meister, op. cit. p. 66, thinks 
 it Semitic in origin, and thus accounts for the variation in form. 
 
 "Roscher's Lexikon, II, 2302. 
 
 " Wilamowitz, Philol. Untersuch. 1886, pp. 98 f. 
 
 «' There is also a promontory before the harbor of Phaestus called MaXeas. 
 
 •• Farnell, op. cit. IV, pp. 235 f. 
 
 % • 
 
I 
 
 8 
 
 THE CULTS OF LESBOS 
 
 Trikka^' was a cult of Maleatas, and Preller^^ thinks that this cult 
 originated in Thessaly. It seems better to suppose that the cult 
 came originally from northern Greece and spread south and to Lesbos, 
 just as so many other forms of Apollo worship seem to have come. 
 
 Certain it is that there was a site in Lesbos called MaXea, which 
 probably took its name from the cult of the god.^^ The location of 
 this place and temple is a problem most perplexing, and one which 
 has been repeatedly discussed.'*^ Strabo"^^ speaks of a promontory 
 MaXta, situated south of Mytilene, and distant seventy stades from the 
 city; whereas Thucydides, III, 4, says that the Athenians anchored 
 in MaXea, north of the city.^^ The punctuation and interpre- 
 tation of this passage have been much disputed, the tactics of the 
 Athenians in the siege of Mytilene are involved, and the question as 
 to how well Thucydides knew the geography of the region has been 
 introduced.'^ The matter is, therefore, too involved to be treated 
 here. It is enough to say that Aristotle, who spent some time in 
 Lesbos, says ei^oxXet 8e (KaiKias) rov ^lLTv\r]val(jCiv Xi/jLeua, /xdXtcrra de t6v 
 MaXoevra,^^ which confirms the statement of Thucydides that a 
 MaXea north of the city existed. The view, therefore, that the temple 
 was north of Mytilene, near the harbor, seems the better one.^^ 
 
 The festival which Thucydides brings to our attention was cele- 
 brated for more than five centuries in spite of so many vicissitudes, 
 for we find it mentioned again in an inscription of the first century 
 
 67 Isyllus, 1. 29. 
 
 "Preller, Gr. Alyth. p. 252. Preller also believes MaXoets and MaXcdras are 
 related. 
 
 •' Cf. Steph. Byz. MaXXoets" 'KiroWojv eu Aea/3aj, Kal 6 tSttos rod iepov, and Thucy- 
 dides, Xenophon, Aristode and Strabo in the passages cited below. 
 
 7° Koldewey, op. cit. pp. 14-5; Classen's note to Thuc. Ill, 4. E. Fabricius, 
 Athen. Mitth. IX, 1884, pp. 91 f., and Conze, op. cit. p. 7, put 6 MaX6ct$ north 
 of the city. 
 
 " Strabo, XIII, 617. 
 
 " Xen. Hell. I, 6, 26-7, mentions a Malea opposite Mytilene, and the schol. 
 Ar. Frogs, 1. 2>3, mentions Malia. 
 
 " Plehn, op. cit. p. 18, thinks Thuc. Ill, 4 must be wrong. L. Herbst, Philol. 
 XLII, 1883, p. 708, thinks the island forming the oldest part of the town 
 was Malea. 
 
 7* Arist. De Ventis, 973 a. Cf. Conze, op. cit. pp. 7-8. 
 
 7* Cf. I. G. XII, ii, 74, 1. 5, kv ^iaXdevn /jidpov, and 1.16, 4^ MaXeta A/xttcXcoi/ nopov, 
 treating of property in the immediate vicinity of Mytilene; but the exact location 
 is not determined. A dedicator to Hermes at Mytilene was named ... as MaXoi- 
 <rw)s in I. G. XII, ii, 96. 
 
 THE TWELVE GODS 
 
 ^ * 
 
 4^"^^ 
 
 h.DJ^ Bresus is there named as leader of the chorus of Artemis and 
 of Apollo MaXoets. His festival was almost certainly in the early 
 centuries," as well as in later times, accompanied by music and 
 dancing. 
 
 An inscription found in the ''baths of Lesbos," north of the city,^^ 
 reveals another name for Apollo. It reads, Auro/cpdropos ee[co utco 
 2e/3d(7Tco] Kal 'AttoWcovos Qepnio) . . ., and bears witness that Apollo 
 must by Roman times have assumed the cult name of the more 
 famous Artemis GepidlaJ^ Farnell thinks it is conceivable that the 
 Apollo QepfiLos of Lesbos was originally the same as the Aetolian and 
 Elean, and that his cult had been brought across the sea by some Aeolic 
 immigrants. He would then derive the name from Thermon or Thermos 
 in Aetolia. Farnell thinks Apollo may also have had his part in the 
 panegyris of Artemis.^o But the fact that Apollo is not mentioned 
 in the many inscriptions concerning the festival, nor in any of the 
 Artemis Thermia inscriptions before Imperial times, leads one to 
 doubt whether his worship was an old and long established feature 
 of the sanctuary. Here he is apparently in late times the god of 
 warm springs because of his close association with Artemis, and is 
 not connected with oaths and justice as he was at Olympia.®^ 
 
 It is very doubtful whether 'AXe^cKaKcc, in an inscription^^ found at 
 Mytilene and dating shortly before the birth of Christ, refers to 
 Apollo. For in various parts of the Greek world this epithet is 
 known to apply to Zeus, Athena, Poseidon, Heracles, Serapis and Isis. 
 From Mytilene we also have perhaps a dedication to Apollo, but with 
 no cult name mentioned. ^^ 
 
 Near the church of Saint Therapon, in the southern part of the 
 city, are ruins of buildings dating from the third century B.C. to the 
 second century A.D., where Koldewey found Doric and Ionic columns 
 of different sizes and various marbles, several Attic-Ionic bases, etc. 
 He heard the ruins pointed out as a temple of Apollo or the school of 
 
 '« I. G. XII, ii, 484. 
 
 " Callimachus, Frg. 543 (Schneider) says, 6 5'dd5u}P MaX6ct5 f/Xde xop6s. 
 
 ''I. G. XII, ii, 104=Ephem. Epig. II, p. 7, no. 27. 
 
 ^» See pp. 13-6 for Artemis Thermia. 
 
 «° Farnell, op. cit. IV, p. 167 and p. 168, note b. 
 
 «^ Pausanias, V, 15, 7, suggests that Thermios at Olympia was a local variant 
 for the Attic Thesmios, and designated the god of law and order. 
 
 «2 1. G. XII, ii, 99. 
 
 »' I. G. XII, ii, 94, of about the third century B. C. is perhaps a dedication, 
 but the evidence depends on a restoration. 
 
10 
 
 THE CULTS OF LESBOS 
 
 Sappho; but the first alternative may be as untrue as the second is 
 impossible.*"* 
 
 One of the special phases of Apollo worship was as god of the 
 calendar; and we are therefore not surprised to find at Methymna a 
 month \\to\\6:vlos.^'^ Though the inscription which records it dates 
 from Roman times, the name was probably given to the month in 
 the very early history of the city. The month Apollonios also 
 appears in another inscription,^ which Paton excludes from the 
 Lesbian Corpus, but which Boeckh,^^ Pottier and Hauvette-Besnault,^^ 
 Wilamowitz,^^ Preller,^*^ Gruppe^^ and others accept. Other definite 
 evidence for the month at Methymna is contained in an inscription 
 found at Miletus,^- where, in a decree of the people of Methymna, 
 'ATToXXwi^tos is clearly read on the stone. According to Strabo,'' 
 among the Aeolians in Asia, one of the months was called Parnopion 
 because of Apollo Parnopion. But evidence that the name of this 
 month was used among the Aeolians of Lesbos is lacking. 
 
 In the straits between Lesbos and Asia there were small islands, 
 about twenty in number (forty according to Timotheus), called by 
 the name Hecatonnesi in honor of Apollo "EKaros, says Strabo.^ 
 But the islands probably derive their name from iKarbv, '' hun- 
 dred, "^^ and not from a local cult name of the god. 
 
 **The Aeolic ApoUine worship was certainly powerful," says Far- 
 nell,^*^ "and no other in this region appears to have competed with it." 
 In Lesbos, however, Dionysus and Artemis were very close rivals in 
 the time of the Roman Empire. Farnell also points out that the 
 worship ''seems somewhat backward and local, and lacking in the 
 
 ^ Koldewey, op. cil. p. 0. Cf. Conze, op. cit. p. 9; Papageorgiu, Uned. Inschr. 
 V. Myt. p. X. 
 
 ^ I. G. XII, ii, 505. 
 
 8« C. I. G. IV, 6850. 
 
 *^ See his note, C. I. G. /. c. 
 
 «8 B. C. H. IV, 1880, p. 440. 
 
 89 Gott. Gel. Nachr. 1895, p. 232. 
 
 »o Preller-Robert, Gr. Myth. p. 868. 
 
 >i Gruppe, Gr. Myth. p. 298, n. 1. 
 
 •2 Wiegand, Milet, III, no. 152, 1. 37. 
 
 »3 Strabo, XIII, 613. 
 
 w Strabo, XIII, 618. 
 
 ^ See Jessen, Pauly-Wissowa, Real-Encycl. VII, 2799 f. 
 
 ^ Farnell, op. cit. IV, p. 168. Note Alcaeus' celebrated prooemium to Apollo, 
 Frgs. 1-4 (Bergk), and the epigram to Apollo by Archias of Mytilene, Anth. Pal. 
 IX, 19, for influence on poets of Lesbos. 
 
 ^ ^ 
 
 -i I 9 
 
 THE TWELVE GODS 
 
 11 
 
 higher interests of the Attic, Delphic, and DeHan, although Lykeios 
 and Smintheus acquired the usual political character that marks 
 this divinity. What is perhaps most significant is the lack of any 
 recorded connection between the Aeolic and the Pythian shrine." 
 The only mention of consultation of the Pythian oracle by Lesbians 
 occurs in the myths. Diodorus Siculus says that Lesbus, son of 
 Lapithes, son of Aeolus, settled Lesbos in accordance with an oracle of 
 Pythia.^^ And Pausanias, in the strange story of Dionysus of 
 Methymna, says that Delphic oracle was sought. ^^ 
 
 In Delos there seems to have been a great deal of individual inter- 
 est taken by the Lesbians of the third century B.C., and several 
 inscriptions of this date, found at Delos,^^ praise benefactors from 
 Lesbos. Lesbians likewise performed as musicians at the festival in 
 Delos at the beginning of the third century B.C.^^o In June, 1903, 
 there was found in Delos a fragment of a treaty of the early second 
 century concluded between four Lesbian cities.^^^ No continuous 
 sense can be derived from the mutilated text, but the final clauses 
 deal with the settlement of disputes between the contracting states. 
 
 Twenty-three names of men in Lesbos are derived from names of 
 Apollo, according to the tables given by Sittig in a dissertation, De 
 Graecorum Nominibus Theophoris, Halle, 1911, p. 166. The per- 
 centage is higher than for the names formed from the cult of any 
 other god in the island except Zeus. But still it is not so high as 
 for most of the countries of Asia Minor. 
 
 Coin types from the middle of the fifth century show the import- 
 ance of Apollo worship in Lesbos.^^^ j^ fact the earlier autono- 
 mous coins of Mytilene (440-200 B.C.) relate principally to Apollo; 
 and he is still represented on coins of the second and first centuries 
 B.C., though some other types are more frequent.^^^ In Roman 
 Imperial times his portrait occurs but seldom, especially in the 
 
 87 
 
 Diod. Sic. V, 81; Alcaeus, Frgs. 2-4 (Bergk) also has a hymn to Delphian 
 Apollo. 
 
 " Pans. X, 19, 3. L G. XII, ii, 388, tells of a Lesbian victor in the games at 
 Delphi. See pp. 59-60. 
 
 "I. G. XI, iv, 590, 594 and 623 and Dittenberger, Sylloge,' 588, 1. 41. 
 
 ^«oi. G. XI, ii, 105 and 108; Capps, Trans. Amer. Philol. Assoc. XXXI, 1900, 
 pp. 112 f. and Robinson, A. J. P. XXV, 1904, pp. 184 fif. 
 
 ''' B. C. H. XXIX, pp. 210 f. C. I. G. add. 2265 b, also from Delos, is con- 
 cerned with towns of Lesbos. See also Tod, Gr. Internat. Arbitration, p. 39. 
 
 ^^ Before this date few gods are represented on Lesbian coins. 
 
 ^« Wroth, Cat. p. kviii. 
 
 <ai^t- 
 
i{ 
 
 12 
 
 THE CULTS OF LESBOS 
 
 THE TWELVE GODS 
 
 13 
 
 second and third centuries A.D.^^^ The types are not unusual, 
 except that on a stater of about 400 B.C./^^ which in style does not 
 closely resemble any other Apollo head occurring on coins of Lesbos. 
 The expression is boyish, but the head is more mature than the 
 Sauroktonos type. On coins of Commodus, Apollo is represented 
 with Dionysus and Athena,^*^ and on a Caracalla coin with Zeus 
 Ammon.107 Coins not only of Mytilene, but also of Alethymna, 
 Eresus, Antissa and Nape represent Apollo. 
 
 A Hst of the coins representing Apollo in Lesbos is as follows: — 
 Lesbos: Wroth, Cat. p. 155, no. 56-57(?); p. 158, no. 28; p. 160, no. 43-6; p. 
 162, no. 60(?), 61; p. 164, no. 85-94; p. 166, no. 101-4; Eckhel, D. N. 
 II, p. 502; Macdonald, op. cit. II, p. 313, no. 9-10. 
 Mytilene: Wroth, Cat. p. 184, no. 3-36; p. 192, no. 96-105; p. 201, no. 
 172; p. 208, no. 210; Mionnet, Descr. Ill, p. 42, no. 70; p. 43, no. 73-8; 
 p. 44, no. 83, 84, 87, 88; p. 49, no. 126, 128; p. 58, no. 173; Suppl. VI, 
 p. 59, no. 41-5, 46-5 1(?); p. 61, no. 60-2; Eckhel, D. N. II, p. 503; Head, 
 H. N. p. 559 = J. H. S. 1897, p. 86 and 1904, pp. 205 f.; p. 561; p. 562; 
 Macdonald, op. cit. II, p. 316, no. 1-3, 5; p. 318, no. 17. 
 Methymna: Wroth, Cat. p. 181, no. 35; p. 182, no. 39-41(?); Mionnet, 
 Descr. Ill, p. 39, no. 52; Suppl. VI, p. 55, no. 28-9; p. 56, no. 36; Head, 
 H. N. p. 561. 
 Eresus: Wroth, Cat. p. 176, no. 1(?); Head, H. N. p. 560(?). 
 Antissa: Wroth, Cat. p. 175, no. 7, 9; Head, H. N. p. 560. 
 Nape: Mionnet, Descr. Ill, p. 60, no. 188; Suppl. VI, p. 78, no. 150, 152-3. 
 Uncertain mints: Wroth, Cat. pp. 174-5(?). 
 
 Tripod-Lesbos: Wroth, Cat. p. 168, no. 118-21. Mytilene: Wroth, Cat. p. 
 189, no. 55-7; p. 197, no. 153-7; Mionnet, Descr. Ill, p. 43, no. 79; 
 Suppl. VI, p. 61, no. 63-4; Head, H. N. p. 562. Eresus: Mionnet, 
 Descr. Ill, p. 37, no. 39. 
 
 Artemis 
 
 Because of the proximity of Lesbos to the coast of Asia Minor and 
 because of her special interest in colonies and territory on the main- 
 land, we expect Artemis to be held in high honor among the Lesbians. 
 And such is truly the case. But the Lesbian Artemis has more 
 characteristics of the Greek than of the Asiatic goddess. With these 
 
 '^ Wroth, Cat. pp. 150-216. 
 
 ^* Wroth, Cat. PI. XXXII, no. I; Farnell, op. cit. IV, p. 349; G. F. Hill, 
 J. H. S. XVII, 1897, p. 86, PI. II, 9. See also K. A. McDowall, J. H. S. XXIV, 
 1904, pp. 205 f. 
 
 ^°* See p. 66. 
 
 10^ Wroth, Cat. p. 208, no. 210; Mionnet, Descr. Ill, p. 58, no. 173. 
 
 -4L 
 
 •> "^ 
 
 two kinds of influence at work, she becomes a deity of cults very inter- 
 esting and worthy of special investigation. In her high position she 
 ranks with Apollo and Dionysus as one of the most important deities 
 of Lesbos. ''The various streams of Greek colonization in the 
 Mediterranean diffused the worship of Artemis, and we find it more 
 widely spread than that of any other Hellenic goddess; it was 
 implanted at an early time in Lemnos, in the Tauric Chersonese, 
 and along the coasts of Asia Minor. "^ 
 
 We know that one of her earliest aspects was that of a divinity 
 connected with waters and wild vegetation and beasts, as in Arcadia 
 and other places on the mainland of Greece.^ Springs are frequently 
 found in or near the temples of Artemis.^ And as a goddess of warm 
 springs and baths we find her most important in Lesbos. The wor- 
 ship for which we have most evidence, especially in Mytilene, is that 
 of Artemis Gep/xta, which seems to have had the dignity of a state 
 political cult.^ And though the oldest inscription preserved which 
 records it dates from perhaps the third century B.C., it seems to 
 have been long established. The site of the temple with the baths 
 was at Thermae, modern Thermi, a short distance north of Mytilene, 
 and not far from the coast.^ This is shown by the number of inscrip- 
 tions found there,^ and by the ferruginous hot baths which still exist. 
 Pococke saw great ruins of buildings, particularly of a colonnade 
 leading to the baths from the south, the pedestals of which remained 
 in his time."^ The inscriptions are dedications to the goddess. In an 
 inscription preserved only by copy, I. G. XII, ii, 103,8 and perhaps 
 found at this same place, we have mention of a spring and a water 
 course— no doubt for the baths. The inscription reads as follows, 
 . . . w$ Tav Kpavvav /cat ro vbpayioyiov oltto KeTxpeaz/ 'ApreMiSt Gep^ta Eua/cow. 
 Again, I.G. XII, ii, 106, which is probably correctly restored, gives a 
 like dedicationfand reads, b belva r^v Kpavvav /cat] ro e^ AOro/x[. . . 
 
 * Farnell, op. oil. II, p. 426. 
 
 2 Roscher's Lexikon, I, 559 f. 
 
 ' Springs of Thermopylae and Astyra, Marios and Phigalea were sacred to 
 her, Pauly-Wissowa, Real-Encycl. II, 1351; also springs at Corinth, Paus. II, 
 3, 5; at Derion in Laconia, Paus. Ill, 20, 7; at Mothone, Paus. IV, 35, 8. 
 
 * Farnell, op. cit. IV, p. 168, note b. 
 
 * Conze, op. cit. pp. 16 f. 
 
 * I. G. XII, ii, 101, 103, 105, 106. 
 
 ' Newton, Travels and Discoveries, I, p. 60. 
 
 'Ephem. Epig. II, p. 7=Collitz, Dial. Inschr. no. 259. Also I. G. XII, ii, 
 105, likewise a dedication to Artemis Qtptila EOokoos, is probably a copy of no. 103. 
 
14 
 
 THE CULTS OF LESBOS 
 
 THE TWELVE GODS 
 
 15 
 
 n 
 
 
 idpayd^yUijov (?) ['Apr€Mt5t Bep^la] EvaKoco Kal r(b dafxo:. As goddess of 
 warm springs and baths Artemis was worshipped in few places 
 besides Lesbos.^ Hence it is interesting to find a similar cult at 
 Baiae, in the valley of the Granicus/^ and near Poemanenum" in 
 Mysia. When Aristides Rhetor was on his way to the Asclepieum at 
 this place, he tells how he composed many hymns to Aesepus and to 
 the nymphs and to Artemis eepfxala, who has the warm springs, to 
 give him release from all his ills and to restore him. It is very prob- 
 able, as Gruppe suggests,^- that the cult at Poemanenum is a branch 
 of the Lesbian cult. And indeed in that region baths have lately been 
 found. ^^ Gruppe also connects Cenchrea, mentioned in I. G. XII, n, 
 103, with Cenchrius, a stream at the temple of Ephesian Artemis,^^ and 
 thinks thev relate to the Boeotian cult. Cenchreae was also the 
 name of a' port near Corinth, of a town south of Argos,^^ and of 
 
 one in the Troad. 
 
 A goddess of warm springs and baths could very naturally become 
 a goddess of healing ;i*^ andEuciKoos, added to Sep^la in certain inscrip- 
 tions,^^ is thought by Wernicke to be derived from aKeo^xaL and to 
 be equivalent to 'EiriiKoos}^ We find both Evolkoos and 'Ew-qKoos used 
 of Artemis in other places of the Greek world, but Jessen and 
 Weinreich^^ seem right in believing that his derivation for 
 EvoLKoos is not correct. Artemis is, indeed, considered the god- 
 dess of healing in Lesbos in connection with the baths, but 
 this epithet has nothing to do with her healing power. It refers 
 rather to a propitious hearing on the part of the goddess, and 
 may be applied to any deity. For instance, Isis bears the name 
 in another inscription from Mytilene.^^ The extensive range of the 
 
 » At Rhodes, I. G. XII, i, 24, 1. 4. In Achaea called Xovaia and Xovcnans, 
 Collitz, Dial. Inschr. 1601. Welcker, Gr. Gotterlehre, II, p. 397. 
 10 C. I. G. II, 3695e add. 
 " Aristides, I, p. 503 (Dind.). See also Curtius, Hermes, VH, 1873, p. 411; 
 
 Hasluck, Cyzicus, p. 102. 
 
 12 Gruppe, Gr. Myth. p. 315. 
 
 13 Wiegand, Athen. Mitth. XXIX, 1904, p. 284. 
 1* Gruppe, Gr. Myth. pp. 279 f. 
 
 i« Paus. II, 24, 7. 
 " Nilsson, Gr. Feste, p. 240. 
 " I. G. XII, ii, 101, 103, 105. 
 
 i» Wernicke, Pauly-Wissowa, Real-Encyd. II, 1384; Farnell, op. ctt. II, p. 467. 
 " Pauly-Wissowa, Real-Encycl. VI, 837. Athen. Mitth. XXXVII, 1912, 
 pp. 1 f. (see esp. p. 28). 
 "I. G. XII, ii, 113. 
 
 1 /- 
 
 *..^ 
 
 titles Ei-a/coos and 'EtttJ/coos has been well shown by Weinreich;^^ and 
 it looks as if Eud/coos were due to Eastern influence in the cult. Her 
 healing power perhaps rested not originally with Artemis, but was 
 acquired through her connection with Apollo.22 It is true that 
 Apollo is likewise called Gep/ztos here at this sanctuary. But though 
 abundant evidence exists for Artemis, we have only one inscription 
 of Imperial times relating to Apollo. Hence his worship in this 
 cult seems to have been a later innovation, because of his close rela- 
 tionship to Artemis.23 
 
 Her temple at Thermae was probably rich in gifts as well as 
 dedicatory tablets, and an inscription seems to catalogue sacred 
 objects.24 The site was also the center of a very important festival 
 of Artemis Thermia, which doubtless rivalled in importance that 
 of Apollo Maloeis,25 whose sanctuary was not very far away. The 
 celebration was known as the GepMta/cd Jlavayvpis, and has survived 
 even to the present day in the festival of Saint Constantine, held 
 at Thermi, to which come crowds of people from the surrounding 
 country.26 The agonistic side was emphasized, for ayo^vodeTai are 
 regularly mentioned, but sacrifices only once recorded." The 
 inscriptions relating to them are usually in the form of honor decrees 
 in which the senate and people crown the priest and high priest and 
 agonothete and panegyriarch of the Thermiaca Panegyris}"^ 
 
 On the road leading from Mytilene to Thermi was found a stone 
 of great interest. On one side it bears the inscription MeyoKi] "Ap- 
 xeMis GepMta and on the other, Ueyak-q "Vvxn MvtlXtjvtjs.'^^ This monu- 
 ment Baton believes to be either a terminus stone or an altar in the 
 
 21 Athen. Mitth. /. r. By far the greater number of such titles he says (p. 
 25), come from the islands, Asia Minor, farther East and Egypt. In this is shown 
 the predominating influence of the Oriental cult. 
 
 " Schreiber, Roscher's Lexikon, I, 583. 
 
 " See p. 9. 
 
 '* I. G. XII, ii, 13. The inscription is much broken and only a few items 
 can be read. 
 
 ^ See pp. 6-9. 
 
 2« Conze, op. cii. p. 16; Curtius, Hermes, VII, 1873, p. 411. 
 
 "I. G. XII, ii, 251. In I. G. XII, ii, 243, 1. 10= Collitz, Dial. Inschr. no. 
 241, Collitz reads also dvalon.^ for Paton's ^pwj/ats. 
 
 28 There are fourteen of these inscriptions found at Thermae, I. G. XII, ii, 
 239-252. Many give the names of priests, others of panegyriarch, strategos, 
 benefactor, gymnasiarch, prytanis. Cf. Nilsson, Gr. Feste, p. 241. 
 
 " I. G. XII, ii, 270= B. C. H. IV, 1880, p. 430, no. 14. 
 
 .:i «* 
 
I « 
 
 ! 
 
 li 
 
 ; I 
 
 ! I 
 
 « 
 
 1 
 
 16 
 
 THE CULTS OF LESBOS 
 
 precinct of the two divinities.^'' Preller and Wernicke decide that 
 we have here honored the protecting deity of the city, and that 
 Artemis Thermia and the Tyche of Mytilene are identical.^^ Very 
 seldom was she identified with the Tuxat of cities, even in Asia 
 Minor.^2 Por Mytilene the coin evidence of the second and third 
 centuries A. D., at least, is opposed to this identification. When 
 the Tyche of Mytilene is represented on coins, she often bears in 
 her hand the term of Dionysus, but rarely Artemis.^^ Numismatic 
 evidence, however, shows that Artemis was one of the most prominent 
 deities of this period. The inscribed stone would appear rather to 
 be a boundary stone between the precinct of the goddess Artemis 
 Gepfiia and the territory belonging to the city of Mytilene. 
 
 Inscriptional evidence also indicates how important was Artemis 
 in this region in the time of the Roman Emperors. A decree of the 
 senate and the people^^ directs that the penalty for disobedience 
 to a certain law be the payment of a fine to Artemis Thermia. It 
 was further voted that this decree, perpetual for the safety and 
 protection and good fortune of the city, be put up in the temple of 
 
 Artemis Thermia. 
 
 An inscription has been found at Pano-Pyrgi, another suburb 
 of Mytilene, w^hich according to Paton's restoration mentions Artemis 
 Thermia, but the restoration is very doubtful.^^ A second inscription, 
 however, at Kato-Pyrgi,^ certainly contains a dedication to her, and 
 is interesting for two additional epithets. It reads, M€7dX]a" Gew 
 'kprkiiih e€[pM]ta 'O^iovola. The dedication (a bronze statue) was made 
 by two men in Roman times, in accordance with her command and 
 oracular response. 
 
 »o See Paton's note, I. G. /. c. 
 
 " Preller-Robert, Gr. Myth. p. 543, n. 1; Pauly-Wissowa, Real-Encycl. 
 
 II, 1369. 
 
 32 Farnell, op. cit. II, p. 470. He cites as perhaps the only instance, the city 
 of Gerasa in the second century A. D., but in Pauly-Wissowa, /. c. more instances 
 
 are given. 
 
 33 See p. 76. One such representation with Artemis in the hand of Tyche 
 
 is given by Wroth, Cat. p. 212, no. 227. 
 
 ^ I. G. XII, ii, 67, esp. I. 7. 
 ; « I. G. XII, u, 275. 
 
 «» I. G. XII, ii, 108= Athen. Mitth. XI, 1886, p. 281, no. 42. 
 g^ 3^ MtTdXa must be the correct restoration here, for the title is also prefixed 
 to Artemis Thermia in two other instances, I. G. XII, ii, 270 and 514. Cf. 
 Bruno Mueller, Ukta% Geds, Halle, 1913, p. 332. 
 
 V 
 
 THE TWELVE GODS 
 
 17 
 
 This association of the oracle with Artemis is very unusual, 
 although prophecy is not entirely foreign to her. When it appears 
 in her cult it is an element borrowed from Apollo worship.^^ Jn 
 later times the oracle of Pergaia was celebrated,^^ and Artemis 
 m^pyala appears on a late coin of Mytilene ;'^o so that also in this 
 case we may have influence from Asia Minor. Homonoia, the equiv- 
 alent of the Roman Concordia, is prominent on the coins of some 
 Greek states, but the name is given to Artemis only here.^^ The 
 epithet Ueyakri or Ueyldri] is applied to Artemis in no inscription 
 of Greece proper.^^ There was, therefore, a combination of Roman 
 and Asiatic influence at work in this cult in late times. 
 
 The cult of Artemis Thermia seems also to have been recognized 
 in the central region of Lesbos. A stone now at Calloni bears an 
 inscription dating from Roman times, which dedicates a dog to 
 this goddess.43 The dedicator is Claudius Lucianus of Alabanda, 
 who is perhaps using a Lesbian cult rather than one of his home in 
 Caria.^ An inscription of about the second century B. C.'*^ reads, 
 (1. ^'y^'^lrCiv^v(T[T7)ploiv],{\.5.)Tav]'XpTeiiiv]diTidL Papageorgiu^e suggests 
 k\d]kT0i TTpos TCLP as 3, rcstoration for line 4. The inscription is entirely 
 too fragmentary to decide what relation the word pLvaTrjplccv bears 
 to Artemis two lines below; but Nilsson^^ ^^j^ks perhaps rightly 
 that there is reference to mysteries of Artemis in Mytilene. It is 
 very true that in some places, for example Arcadia,^^ Artemis enters 
 into close association with Demeter and Despoena. And the dedica- 
 tion of the dog,^9 representations of a dog or torch on Artemis coins,^^ 
 
 »« Wernicke, Pauly-Wissowa, Real-Encycl. II, 1353. 
 
 "Pauly-Wissowa, Real-Encycl. II, 1397. 
 
 *° Eckhel, D. N. II, p. 505. 
 
 " Pauly-Wissowa, Real-Encycl. VIII, 2265 f. (esp. 2268). 
 
 ** In Greece itself seldom was any Greek god named by this epithet, but 
 almost all the gods received by the Greeks are called ^ey&Xoi and nkycaToi. Muel- 
 ler, op. cit. pp. 307 and 331. 
 
 «L G. XII, ii, 514. 
 
 *" It is not clear where the stone was originally found, but the probability is 
 that it stood in the village Daphnia (Calloni), where it now is. Paton would 
 believe it was brought from Thermae, were the distance not so great. 
 
 « I. G. XII, ii, 26. 
 
 *« Papageorgiu, 'Apx- 'E<p. 1913, p. 225. 
 
 *' Nilsson, Gr. Teste, p. 241. 
 
 " For examples see Farnell, op. cit. II, p. 455 and Roscher's Lexikon, I, 570 f. 
 
 *» Bruno Mueller, op. cit. p. 333, believes I. G. XII, ii, 514 shows Artemis in 
 the character of Hecate. 
 
 " See pp. 21-2. 
 
 !|i! 
 
•M»wpw»*"«i«l 
 
 18 
 
 THE CULTS OF LESBOS 
 
 THE TWELVE GODS 
 
 HI' 
 
 the mention of mysteries, and a relief portraying Artemis-Hecate, 
 found at Plagia,^^ ail tend to prove that in late times, at any rate, 
 Artemis had some of the characteristics of Hecate. 
 
 An inscription of Hiera-^- names Bresus as ras re Wpre^iidos Kal 
 'AttoXXcows Ma\i6ev)ros dpxixopos. Paton thinks that perhaps Artemis 
 is here called MaXbeaaaP It seems much more reasonable to suppose 
 that MaX6€ts apphes only to Apollo, and that the Artemis desig- 
 nated is Artemis OepMia, who had her sanctuary in a region not 
 far distant from the Apollo temple.^^ If Artemis MaXoeaaa were 
 intended, she would scarcely be mentioned before the more famous 
 Apollo of that name. Song and dance were evidently a feature of 
 the festival of the goddess also. 
 
 Besides the very prominent Artemis Thermia, we have record 
 of another cult of Artemis in Mytilene, through an inscription dating 
 about the third century B. C.,°^ and found on the south slope of 
 the citadel, . . . Irdco 'Ep/iob^'eta 'AprefndL AWoma. We know also from 
 an epigram attributed to Sappho,^^ that Artemis had the name 
 A^^OTfta in Lesbos. An early cult of the goddess, brought over the 
 sea from Greece seems here designated. In Stephanus we find, 
 Aldiomov^' xwptoi^ Avdias irapa "TXXco r\ Tv\if](JLOv rov EuptTrou, d<^* ov i) 
 "Apre/xis Ai^ioTTta. olde, on irapa rots AWloxPl dtayovaap 'AiroWoiv iiyayev 
 avT7]v. ol 8^ T7JV avrr]V rfj ae\i]vxi, irapa to aWetP, cbs KaXXtMctXos. ol bk, 6tl 
 ij avT-f) eari rfj 'EKarr; vtls ael 5^5as Karex^t ws 'EpaToadeu-qs-^^ 
 
 It is ''hazardous to refer all words that denote fire or brightness 
 to the celestial bodies off-hand, and to conclude that At^oTrta must 
 refer to the bright faced goddess of the moon."^^ It has just been 
 said that Artemis had some of the characteristics of Hecate in Lesbos. 
 But it is much more likely that this cult had some connection with 
 
 " See p. 21. 
 
 82 1. G. XII, ii, 484, 11. 18-20. The inscription dates from the first century 
 
 A. D. Pauly-Wissowa, Real-Encycl. II, 1353. 
 "I. G. XII, ii, Index, "Res Sacrae," "Apre/iis. 
 " See pp. 6-9. 
 " I. G. XII, ii, 92; Rev. des fitudes grecques, V, 1892, p. 413; Bechtel, 
 
 Aeolica, p. 22, no. 20. 
 
 " Sappho, Epigram, 118 (Bergk)= Anth. Pal. VI, 269. ^ 
 
 " Dindorf, Westermann, etc. read AWidinou, and by one etymology it is 
 
 derived from AWLoires, but AWoiria is necessary in the epigram. See Pauly-Wisso wa 
 
 Real-Encycl. II, 1379. 
 
 " Cf. Hesych. s. v. Al^toTrirjs waUa {aWioirrjs cod. corrected to aWoirlr}^, Bentley) 
 
 and Harpocration, s. v. AidioTLov. 
 «» Farnell, op. cit. II, p. 457. 
 
 wv;. ^ 
 
 
 19 
 
 the place Aldomov of Euboea, in the region of the Euripus, as the 
 passage of Stephanus locates it. BechteP« calls attention to the 
 fact that this report of Stephanus is so much the more worthy of 
 consideration as Poseidon 'EXu/z.^os seems to have been brought 
 from over the sea.«^ It also accords well with what we know of the 
 early colonization of Lesbos,^^ and with the fact that this inscription 
 was found in the oldest part of the city. In connection with this 
 argument the name Aethiope, which Phny gives as one of the early 
 names of Lesbos, is significant.^^ j^ jg ^^^^ ^^^^ p^^j^^ attributes 
 the appellation to the occupation of the island by the Amazons.^ 
 But the importation of the name from Euboea seems more suited 
 to the facts of the case. The early importance of the cult of Artemis 
 AWoTria would then be naturally inferred. 
 
 For Methymna, Clement of Alexandria'^^ records an epithet of 
 Artemis which is very puzzling when he says, KouduXlns h MrjdvfjLujj 
 trkpa reTL^rjTai "AprefiLs. Attempts to explain KopdvXlrts are very 
 unsatisfactory.^^ It is by some associated with the epithet KoudvXedns 
 which belonged to Artemis at Condylea in Arcadia. There we have 
 the curious story as told by Pausanias,^^ ^f the ''Strangled Artemis," 
 which Farnell considers a vegetation deity. Usener suggests 'a 
 derivation from Candaules for both Arcadian and Lesbian goddess.^^ 
 Curtius derives the name from KopduXoofxat ''to swell, "^^ and believes 
 that she was a divinity of the heights and mountains. At present 
 we have not enough evidence to decide; but as the Arcadian and 
 Lesbian dialects are remotely connected, and there are faint indica- 
 tions of the Arcadian character of the goddess in Lesbos, Artemis 
 KouovXItls may perhaps be traced to the Arcadian goddess. 
 
 «" Bechtel, Aeolica, /. c. 
 
 ''Seep. 41. 
 
 '- See Introduction, pp. viii f. 
 
 " Pliny, H. N. V, 139. See Introduction, pp. vii-viii. 
 
 «* Plehn, Lesbiaca, p. 4. The form Aethiope instead of Aethopie could easily 
 be written because of confusion with the better known word, as the corrupt 
 lorms in the Greek passages show. 
 
 '' Clem. Alex. Protrep. II, 38. 
 
 "Wernicke, Pauly-Wissowa, Real-Encycl. II, 1390, suggests that h MrjOO^uv 
 rests on an error. 
 
 '^. "Paus. VIII, 23, 6. Cf. Hofer, Roscher's Lexikon, II, 1283. Farnell op cit 
 II, p. 428. -^ 
 
 " Rh. Mus. XXIII, 1868, p. 336, n. 56. 
 
 " Sitzungsber. d. k. Preuss. Ak. d. Wiss. 1887, pp. 1170 and 1179. 
 
1 I 
 
 i ! 
 
 20 
 
 THE CULTS OF LESBOS 
 
 From Eresus there is definite evidence of only one cult name, and 
 that appears to be a very doubtful reading. An inscription^^ records 
 the dedication of a stoa to Artemis Apiivda. This is the first occur- 
 rence of the epithet, and according to Papageorgiu it must equal 
 Apaveta, taking its name from dpavos.''^ 
 
 Not much emphasis must be placed on the fact that Artemis is 
 mentioned as a goddess of purification in Lesbos. Arctinus names 
 her together with Apollo and Leto/^ but she is probably introduced 
 only because of her mythological family relation to Apollo. 
 
 At the end of the third century the city of Magnesia on the Meander 
 decided to increase the importance of its worship of Artemis AevKo- 
 ippvavoL by establishing a Pan-Hellenic festival in her honor. Am- 
 bassadors were sent to many cities of Greece and the islands, among 
 them to Lesbos.^^ The festival is described in lines 12f. of the 
 inscription found at Magnesia^^ as 'AprejutSt XevKOippvava. ha irkvTt 
 heuiv dvalav Kal iravdyvpLV /cat kKex^Lplau Kal ayCiva (TTeipavirav IctottvOlov 
 liovaiKov Kal yvp,vLK6v Kal Itttlkov. Methymna and Antissa with cer- 
 tainty accepted the invitation to take part in the sacrifices and 
 games, and either Mytilene or Eresus likewise consented. We 
 do not know how long they participated, but we do know that the 
 festival continued till the middle of the second century B. C."^^ 
 
 Besides the evidence afforded by inscriptions^^ and literature, 
 the coin representations are numerous at Mytilene, but have been 
 found at none of the other sites except Nape. Even at Mytilene 
 Artemis was not used frequently as a type until the second and third 
 centuries A.D."^^ She is usually represented as clad in a short 
 chiton, and holding a quiver; sometimes as riding on a stag or in 
 a chariot drawn by two stags, or running wdth a dog beside her. On 
 a coin of Valerian' she stands before the Tyche of Mytilene,^^ ^nd on 
 another Tyche holds Artemis in her right hand.'^^ On a coin of the 
 
 '0 Papageorgiu, 'Apx- 'E<p. 1913, p. 227. 
 
 '^ Hesych. dpdvor tpyov. rpa^ts . . . hvvauL^. 
 
 " Epic. Graec. Frg. (Kinkel) p. 33. 
 
 " O. Kern, Hermes, XXXVI, 1901, pp. 491 f. 
 
 ^* Kern, Inschr. v. Magnesia, no. 52. 
 
 " Kern, Hermes, 1901, p. 515. 
 
 ^« In a dedicatory inscription from Mytilene, I. G. XII, ii, 91, Paton makes a 
 
 very doubtful restoration ['Aprc/Ln]5( 
 much more certain, 'Apr[eMt5c]. 
 
 "Wroth, Cat. pp. 198-215. 
 
 '» Wroth, Cat. p. 212, no. 226. 
 
 7» Wroth, Cat. p. 212, no. 227. 
 
 In I. G. XII, ii, 253, the restoration is 
 
 « 
 
 ^ 
 
 ir ^ ^ 
 
 (>^* 
 
 THE TWELVE GODS 
 
 21 
 
 Emperor Commodus the figure of Artemis of Perga wearing a chiton, 
 with a diplois, veil and modius, and holding in her right hand a 
 scepter (?), in her left a torch, stands before the Tyche of Mytilene. «« 
 A coin of Hadrian shows her holding a long torch with both hands ^' 
 The influence of Artemis of Ephesus^^ and Artemis of Pergamum,^ 
 who are depicted on alliance coins, doubtless spread in later times. 
 Two representations of Artemis in sculpture have been found in 
 Lesbos. One is the best piece of Lesbian sculpture yet discovered.^^ 
 It IS under life size, measuring only 1.07 m, and represents the goddess 
 leamng on a pillar. Her left hand is on her hip, her legs are crossed, 
 and the right calf and ankle appear swollen, according to Salomon 
 Remach. He says the statue belongs to a variety of the Artemis 
 type which is not often to be met with, and one which is greatly 
 mfluenced by the kindred type of Amazons. He thinks it may 
 have been inspired by one of the statues of Praxiteles. 
 
 At Plagia, on the southern shore of Lesbos, was found a slab 
 sculptured in relief representing a figure of Artemis-Hecate, running 
 with a torch in each hand, and at her side a hound. She is dressed 
 in a chiton reaching only to the knees and girded under the breast, 
 and has a small mantle about the shoulders.^ 
 
 An inscription^^ from the Troad (near Tschanakkalesi) reads, 
 kvp. Qebipikos MvrL\r)valos drjpLoreKTc^v, and has to the rieht a picture 
 of Artemis. 
 
 Nineteen names of people are derived from the Artemis cult 
 according to the table of Sittig,^^ ^ number greater than is found 
 from any other deity except Zeus and Apollo. 
 
 A list of coins representing Artemis is as follows:— 
 Lesbos: Wroth, Cat. p. 164, no. 83(?). 
 Mytilene: Wroth, Cat. p. 192, no. 96-8, 100-5 (countermark); p. 196, 
 
 •° Wroth, Cat. p. 215, no. 235. 
 
 '' Wroth, Cat. p. 205, no. 198 (see note about genuineness); Mionnet, Descr. 
 p. 51, no. 135; Eckhel, D. N. II, p. 505. Compare with the sculpture relief, below 
 
 '' The use of MeTdXr? (see p. 17) calls to mind Artemis of Ephesus. Repre- 
 sented on Alliance coins, Eckhel, D. N. II, p. 505; Mionnet, Descr. Ill, p. 46, 
 no. 101 (Cybele between Asclepius and Artemis of Ephesus) 
 
 "Wroth, Cat. p. 214, no. 234. 
 
 «^ Found about 1865, and now in the Imperial Ottoman Museum at Constan- 
 tinople. Only the right hand and left thumb are broken. PubHshed by S 
 Reinach, A. J. A. I, 1885, pp. 319 f. and PI. IX. 
 
 " Newton, Travels and Discoveries, II, p. 12; Conze, op. cit. p 49 
 
 " Athen. Mitth. VI, 1881, p. 227. 
 
 " Sittig, op. cit. p. 166. 
 
22 THE CULTS OF LESBOS 
 
 no. 145-52; p. 201, no. 175; p. 202, no. 181-2; p. 205, no. 193; p. 206, 
 no. 200; p. 207, no. 203, 205(?); p. 208, no. 209; p. 209, no. 214; p. 210, 
 no. 219; p. 212, no. 226-8; p. 213, no. 231; p. 214, no. 234 (Pergamum); 
 p. 215, no. 235 (Perga); Mionnet, Descr. Ill, p. 46, no. 101; p. 47, no. 
 114; p. 51, no. 131, 135-6; p. 56, no. 164; p. 57, no. 171(?); p. 58, no. 176; 
 p. 59, no. 178-80; p. 60, no. 185; Suppl. VI, p. 58, no. 39, 40; p. 60, no. 
 51 (countermark); p. 61, no. 60, 65-6; p. 63, no. 78-9; p. 72, no. 126-7; 
 p. 73, no. 131; p. 75, no. 138; p. 76, no. 141-2; Eckhel, D. N. II, p. 503; 
 p. 505; Head, H. N. p. 562; Macdonald, op. cit. II, p. 316, no. 5 (counter- 
 mark); p. 317, no. 13; p. 319, no. 21-2. 
 
 Eresus: Mionnet, Suppl. VI, p. 53, no. 21. 
 
 Nape: Mionnet, Descr. Ill, p. 61, no. 189. 
 
 Quiver-Mytilene: Wroth, Cat. p. 187, no. 34. 
 
 Zeus 
 
 Though in later times more popular gods such as Dionysus, Apollo 
 and Artemis surpassed Zeus in the importance of their cults in Les- 
 bos, the worship of Zeus was established among the first and always 
 held a prominent place, as literature, inscriptions and coins show. 
 One of the earliest localities where Zeus was held in honor by the 
 Greeks was Dodona, and there is a tradition which says,^ "It is 
 said that Lesbos also was once Pelasgian, and from Dodona is Pelas- 
 gian Zeus, according to the poet." Also Macar, the most famous 
 of the early settlers of Lesbos, about whom many stories center, 
 and whose sons and daughters were the eponymous heroes and 
 heroines of the cities and mountains of Lesbos, was called the grandson 
 
 of Zeus.^ 
 
 At Eresus, one of the months 'OmoXoiW seems to have been 
 named from the cult of Zeus by the early settlers. For in Thebes 
 and in other cities of Boeotia, and also in Thessaly, Zeus 'O/uoXcbtos* 
 was an important deity. A festival and month of the name existed 
 also in Boeotia.*'' 
 
 A name which must likewise go back to early times is given by 
 Hesvchius,^ who savs that Zeus was called YA)<py]\xo% in Lesbos. Farnell 
 
 ^ There was certainly a Pelasgian tradition in Lesbos, Plchn. op. cit. pp. 27-34. 
 
 »Diod. Sic. V, 81. 
 
 » I. G. XII, ii, 527, 1. 44. 
 
 * Suidas, s. v. 'OhoXojlos T^ei";. 
 
 » Pauly-Wissowa, Real-Encycl. IV, 2717. For Thessaly, Schol. Theoc. VII, 
 103. Month 'OmoXcoios in Boeotia, I. G. VII, 246, I. 3 and 270, I. 1, etc. The 
 name may go back to Mt. Homolos in Thessaly. See Wilamowitz, Hermes, 
 XXVI, 1891, pp. 215 f. and W. Radtke, Hermes, XXXVI, 1901, p. 45; Nilsson, 
 Griechische Feste, p. 13. 
 
 « Hesych. s. v. Elv^mos. Cf. Cook, Zeus. I, p. 350, n. 8. 
 
 • r • 
 
 * 
 
 TEH TWELVE GODS 
 
 23 
 
 nghtly thinks that the t.tle must have alluded to the idea of 'O.aa 
 the voice in the air as his messenger.'" Epithets of a somewhat 
 similar significance occur on the mainland of Greece, and Studniczka 
 suggests a connection between Euphemus, Eumolpus and like names 
 of legendary characters, and such old cult epithets of the god as 
 
 One of the prevailing ideas about Zeus in Lesbos was that he was 
 a god of high places, an idea which was very common also in Greece 
 Many of his epithets' as well as the lofty situation of some of his 
 temples show this^- And we find in Lesbos both the names "T^.^ros 
 and Txaro, which at first denoted the deity worshipped in high 
 
 froT^'n ^T-^T'"^ ^ '"°'"'^' significance." An inscription 
 from Mytilene'- is the most interesting of those containing this 
 epithet. It reads, ^ 
 
 "l-qvl Bfuv viraru) Tavcn-uTrn Kal nXovruvi. 
 vSi HoaadacovL Trava(T<paXioi[i] 6.vk0r)Ki 
 Zualjiri ovpavloLO Oeov (jweucra Trpocoiais 
 am Tai&i a^erepip, wavras foioi-s 5t Xa/3oOoa. 
 
 Toinaros'^^ is added the second epithet ^a..^.O;r,.," a notion which 
 originated, it would seem, from Zeus as god of the sky, or from the 
 situation of his sanctuary in a lofty place. From this inscription 
 of thanksgiving alone we should suppose that the three deities had 
 been particularly selected because they were gods of the storm 
 death and the sea respectively, by whose instrumentalitv Zosime 
 was saved. In I. G. XII, ii, 119, Zeus is also thanked because of a 
 tamily saved from a storm at sea, and in I. G. XII ii 1?6 he is 
 addressed as god of thunder. But in connection with the inscription 
 of Zosime a coin of .Mytilene'^ should be noted, which represents 
 
 ' Farnell, op. cil. I, p. 40. 
 
 ' Studniczka, Kyrene, pp. 114 f. 
 
 ■'.^' ^^^T' ^"^ '^''' '" '"''' ^'"' ^P"'' Graecos, Zutpin, 1901, pp. 27 f 
 '" Farnell, op. cit. I, p. 50. 
 
 " Farnell, op. cit. I, p. 51. 
 
 n x^lT^T'^''''. V"'"^, ^"'^l^^- ^- Myt. no.8=Athen. Mitth. XXIV, 1889, 
 
 ^A ;. ^.T/ " '^ '" '• ^- ^"' "' "5' "^' 125, 126, and Papageorgiu 
 
 Apx. •£,,. 1913, p. 228= David, 'A.M. 'E^.Tp. no. 5. ' 
 
 Z This name for Zeus is very frequent in Boeotia, Sittig, op. cit. p 13 
 
 David, op. ctt. no. 2, published independently of Papageorgiu and reads 
 
 TraveTroTTTir)) . 
 
 ^» Eckhel, D. N. II, p. 504; Mionnet, Descr. Ill, p. 46, no. 102. 
 
 (> 
 
24 
 
 THE CULTS OF LESBOS 
 
 Zeus, Pluto and Poseidon with the legend Oeol aKpaloi MvTLXrjvaiicv. 
 ''This tvpe may have arisen from the casual juxtaposition of the 
 three gods on the acropolis or on the heights above the sea.^^ This 
 seems more likely than that here in Mytilene we should have the 
 notion of a religious trinity"; though as Farnell points out, ''we may 
 discern dimly the idea of a divine One-in-Three, for having men- 
 tioned the Three Zosime adds that she was saved by the Providence 
 of God."i^ 
 
 At a place called Hyperdexion were Zeus 'Twepbk^Los and Athena 
 TTTcpSe^ia.^^ These epithets were in all probability due to the situa- 
 tion of the temples of Zeus and Athena in a high place, overlooking 
 one of the towns of Lesbos. This is more probable than that it 
 had the connotation of "superior to," "victor over," and was some- 
 what analogous to the names Zwr77p and Scbretpa. 
 
 This cult of Zeus ^corijp, which was so common through the Greek 
 world, existed in Methymna, according to an inscription^^ of the time 
 of Ptolemy IV, Philopator (221-205 B. C). In this inscription the 
 sacrifice of a bull to Zeus Zc^r-qp is recorded. From a passage of 
 Longus' Pastoral, IV, 25, it is probable that the cult prevailed also 
 at Mvtilene. 
 
 On the obverse of the coin which represents Zeus, Pluto and 
 Poseidon, there is a figure of Zeus, with the legend Zeus BovXalos.^^ 
 This is perhaps to be connected with the fact that in an important 
 decree of Mytilene-^ provision is made to place a copy irpo ru) dpui 
 ^oWevTriplu). The adjective "sacred" is probably applied to the 
 Bouleuterion because of the cult ceremonies which took place there 
 relative to the proceedings of the senate. Pausanias reports a 
 xoanon of Zeus BouXatos in the Bouleuterion at Athens.^ 
 
 " Farnell, op. cit. Ill, pp. 287-8. For other examples of Zeus dfcpalos, €7rdKpio$ 
 and Kopvipalos see Farnell, op. cit. I, p. 154; 'AKpalos. Pauly-Wissowa, Real- 
 
 Encycl. I, 1193. 
 
 1' A. B. Cook, CI. Rev. XVII, 1904, pp. 75 f. believes the coin represents 
 Zeus in a three-fold aspect, and traces the influence to a prehistoric Argive- 
 Lycian Zeus trinity. Farnell, op. cit. IV, pp. 59-60. 
 
 ^8 Steph. Byz. s. v. 'TTrepSc^io^'. 
 
 ^»I. G. XII, ii, 498=Dittenberger, O. G. I. no. 78,1. 18 = B. C. H. IV, 1880, 
 
 p. 433, no. 21. 
 
 " Occurs also on coins of Valerian and Gallienus. Wroth, Cat. p. 201, no. 177. 
 
 »il. G. XII,ii,67. 
 
 » Paus. I, 3, 5. 
 
 THE TWELVE GODS 
 
 25 
 
 f> 
 
 In I. G. XII, n, 239, there is a probable restoration rC, MacMafKriJpos], 
 and m L G. XII, ii, 70, there is mention of Mat/xaicT^pes. MaimaC 
 tenon, accordmg to Harpocration,23 took its name from Zeus Mac- 
 Ma^TT^s. Perhaps these two names signify storm deities, and in 
 some way relate to the Zeus cult. 
 
 Mkyiaros, an epithet very naturally applied to Zeus, occurs in 
 mscriptions found at Thermae and Eresus.^^ The Zeus cult most 
 easily tended to combine with the cults of the kings and emperors; 
 and Mkyiuros, having a general significance, was especially suited 
 to this use. Accordingly we find at Mytilene a prayer addressed to 
 o KpanaTos Kal ^eyiaros decbv Zeus /cat 6 deos Ze^aaTos.^^ 
 
 And likewise the inscription I. G. XII, ii, 58, connects the cults 
 of Zeus and the deified emperors, if the restoration holds. Even 
 as early as the fourth century we hear of an altar of Zeus ^lXItttlos 
 at Eresus.2« And in later times divine honors for men were fre- 
 quently signified by the title Zeus with the additional epithets 
 VUfXTTLos^'^ and 'EXevdepios.^^ 
 
 The combination of Zeus with Melius, Serapis and Isis, which was 
 common in later times in Egypt, we find also in an inscription from 
 Mytilene.29 But this dedication to Zeus "HXtos ^kyas Zapains and 
 V Kvpa n<ns was made by a citizen of Alexandria, who was probably 
 honoring the gods of Egypt. 
 
 The name 'EXevdkpios seems to have become identified in Lesbos 
 with Zeus Ammon. It is found in the inscription from Hiera,^^ 
 which records Bresus as Mos KWeplo, Kal "Afifxc^pos 'EXevSeploi . . . Kal 
 rw Aios Tu> MaLuoXUo Trapeb{p)os. Zeus Ammon was chief god in Cyrene, 
 and from that region made his way into Greece. Here his cult was 
 never very widespread,^! but the region about Mytilene seems to 
 
 " Harpocration, s. v. UaiyiaKT'npLi^v. Farnell, op. cit. I, p. 64 
 
 '' I. G. XII, ii, 100 and 542. 
 
 « I. G. XII, ii, 278. 
 
 «• I. G. XII, ii, 526 a, 1. 5. 
 
 "Hadrian regularly assumed the name. It occurs in Lesbian inscriptions 
 of Hadnan in I. G. XII, ii, 183-97; and of Augustus in I. G. XII, ii, 206, 209 
 540, 656. ' ' 
 
 "L G. XII, ii, 156 (prob. of Augustus); 185, 191-8, 214 (of Hadrian); 163 b 
 (of Theophanes of Mytilene). 
 
 "L G. XII, ii, 114. Seep. 75. 
 
 "L G. XII, ii, 484. 
 
 " Studniczka, Kyrene, pp. 6 and 84; Wide, Lakonische Kulte, p. 249- Ed 
 Meyer, Roscher's Lexikon, I, 289. 
 
26 
 
 THE CULTS OF LESBOS 
 
 ha\ e especially welcomed a. Of this the electrum hektai of Lesbos 
 (440-350 B. C.) and the coins of later times^- give conclusive testimony. 
 He is represented as horned, and sometimes with beard, sometimes 
 without. 
 
 The other names of Zeus in the Hiera inscription, AlBepios and 
 MacvoXios,^^ occur nowhere else in the present evidence from Lesbos. 
 In fact MatwXtos seems not to have been used elsewhere of Zeus, 
 but Mainoles was often applied to Dionysus and his band.^"* AWepLos 
 is not a frequent epithet of Zeus, but the connotation is natural, 
 and is appropriate to his character as god of the sky and of high 
 places, discussed in the preceding pages. ^^ 
 
 About festivals of Zeus at Mytilene there is very uncertain 
 information. An inscription"^*' conferring honor on Augustus contains 
 the expression a^Xa 6aa 6 AtaKos uo/jlos Treptexei, but the inscription 
 is too fragmentary to learn the context. A festival of Zeus would 
 thereby be inferred," however. Likewise the gravestone of a pan- 
 cratiast mentions a victory MtTvXrjvrju 'A/jLvcouria TratScoi^ Kal ayeveicjov.^^ 
 Cagnat suggests 'A/jLiicovrja, and says it belonged to the kolvop 'Aatas — 
 the festivals taking place each time in a city with a provincial tem- 
 ple. The only mention of Zeus at Eresus besides Zeus ^LXlinnos^'^ is 
 found in that same inscription against tyrants of the fourth century. 
 In the trial of the tyrant Eurysilaus the judges were to swear by Zeus 
 and Melius. As no local cult name is mentioned, however, appeal 
 is made to Zeus only because of his general function as god of oaths. 
 
 jMore names of men are derived from that of Zeus than from the 
 name of any other god in Lesbos, according to the tables of Sittig.*^ 
 This is an unusual state of things for territory about Asia Minor, 
 but very frequently the case for Greece. 
 
 32 See Ust of Zeus coins in Lesbos, p. 27. 
 
 " 'ETraiuiio) is read by Collitz in his publication, Dial. Inschr. no. 255. 
 
 3* Roscher's Lexikon, II, 2283-4. 
 
 85 Gruppe, Gr. Myth. 1101, n. 1; 1114, n. 3. Cook, Zeus, I, p. 26. 
 
 w I. G. XII, ii, 58, 1. 8. 
 
 3^ In the same inscription, 1. 15, ras 5e xar' kviavrov [dvala'> . . . kv tQ) vad 
 Tov Ai6]s Kal kv TOO Tov ':^ei3a(TTov may mean that yearly sacrifices were held in the 
 temple of Zeus, but the restoration is by no means certain. 
 
 " Rev. des fitudes grecques, 1906, p. 254 = Cagnat et Besnier, L'Ann^e Epigr. 
 1907, no. 37. 
 
 "I. G. XII, ii, 526a, 1. 5. 
 
 *o Sittig, op. cit. p. 167. 
 
 f 
 
 THE TWELVE GODS 
 
 27 
 
 
 Lesbos, as far as we know, took no part in Zeus cults elsewhere, 
 but Pausan,as« tells us that Archippus of Mytilene won the crown 
 at Olympia and at Nemea. 
 
 anl\7"'''''„°' ^'" " ""^ '"'^"^"^ °" '"^^ °bverse of coins, 
 and he s usually represented as laureate and bearded. Often i 
 IS difficult to distinguish him from Asclepius on the coins 
 Ihe coins of Lesbos which represent Zeus are as follows-— 
 
 Mytilene Wroth, Cat. p. 196, no. 139 (Silenus or Zeus), 140-4; p. 201 
 no. 1"; Mionnet, Descr. Ill, p. 45, no. 97; p. 46, no 101-2 Supp ' 
 VI p. 66 no^ 95; Eckhel, D. N. II, p. 504; Macdonald, op. it. iZp 
 317, no. 12; Riv. Ital. di Numis. 1908 p 321 
 
 Methymna: Mionnet, Descr. Ill, p. 40, no. 59; p. 42, no 67 
 
 Eresus: Mionnet, Descr. p. 37, no. 36; Suppl. VI, p. 52, no. 16. 
 
 Zeus Ammon-Lesbos: Wroth, Cat. p. 161, no. 57; p. 167, no. 110-2- 
 Macdonald, OA at. II, p. 316, no. 6; Yale Cat. of Coins, p. 18. Mytilene^ 
 
 U ' ;« ".,-'''' ""■ '*"-''• P- '''^' "°- '^«-«4; P- 208, no. 210 "• 
 
 S8 nTlTf ^ Tvt' °''"- "''P- **' ""• '^O-'^' P- 45. no. 98-100; p. 
 58, no. 173; Suppl. VI, p. 62, no. 73-6; Eckhel, D. N. II n 503- Head 
 
 H. N. pp. 559 562 Macdonald, .,. ci, II, ;. 316, no. '6-11 p'^llt 
 
 r „ ,;, t^ ?■ """• ^'- """■ "■ 2' PP- 1219 f.; 1227 f. Cook, Zeus 
 Tu F' u , ^^"■'y™"''- Mionnet, Suppl. VI, p. 55, no. 30. 
 Thunderbolt-Mytilene: Wroth, Cat. p. 185, no. 9; p. 187, no. 28; p. 191 
 
 na 80; M.onnet, Descr. Ill, p. 43, no. 76; Macdonald, op. cltU, p 
 
 1%Z, Methymna: Wroth, Cat. p. 171, no. 1-9; Head, H. N. 
 
 p. 5o9(?). Antissa: Wroth, Cat. p. 175, no I 
 
 Eagle-Mytilene: Wroth, Cat. p. 186, no. 25(?); p. 189, no. 62-5; Macdonald. 
 op. cit. 11, p. 316, no. 4. 
 
 "Paus. VI, 15, 1. 
 
 f 
 
 . Hera 
 Some of the Aeolian peoples seem to have taken no part in the 
 worship of Hera. And indeed in Lesbos she was obviously not an 
 important deity, though she met with early recognition. For there 
 was held at her sanctuary a contest of beauty for women, called the 
 KaXXtar.ca, which seems to have been long established and well 
 known. Preller, Gruppe^ and others think it was such a festival 
 that served as a pattern in the composition of the "Judgment of 
 
 'Schol. II. IX, 129. 
 
 ' ^™PP«' G"^- Myth. pp. 299 and 636; Preller-Robert, p. 163, n. 3. 
 
28 
 
 THE CULTS OF LESBOS 
 
 Paris." Athenaeus, quoting Theophrastus,^ says that these contests 
 of women about KdXXos were held among the people of Tenedos and 
 Lesbos (just as those about aojippoavvr) and oUovofxla were held in other 
 places), on the ground that beauty also must be held in honor. A 
 poem in the Anthology'' describes this contest. 
 
 "EXdere Tpos refxevos Tavpcoindos dyXaou "HpTjs 
 Aea/StSes, d/3pd irodiov ^rjpiad' l\i(T(T6p.tva.i, 
 Ma KoKbv (TTTjaaade Oefj x^poV vfifJiL 5' cnrap^ei, 
 ZaTTipo) xpv^^'-V^ x^P'^'-^ exoucra \vpi]v. 
 "OX^tat opxiOfjiOV ToKvyrjOtos' rj yXvKvv vfxvov 
 ElaateLV avrrjs do^ere KaXXtoTrr/s. 
 
 It seems that later Priapus^ became associated with the festival. 
 Hesychius calls the maidens who won Uv\audees,^ from which it is 
 likely that the contest was held in the region near Mytilene, since 
 Pylaeus was a mountain north of the city."' As Tumpel says, we 
 should expect such a contest to be associated with Aphrodite, and 
 there seems to have been an Aphrodite of Callone in the region of 
 Pyrrha. This manifestation of Hera is closely related then to 
 Aphrodite, just as in Sparta we find an Aphrodite-Hera.^ 
 
 The proper names derived from Hera are very few. Sittig^ records 
 only four, which makes a lower percentage than for any other of 
 the Olympian deities. 
 
 The coins which represent Hera are also few, and bear the same 
 type in every case, i. e., a female head wearing a Stephanos, and 
 sometimes with earrings. 
 
 The following coins of Lesbos represent Hera:— 
 
 Lesbos: Wroth, Cat. p. 163, no. 72-3; p. 167, no. 106-8(?). 
 
 Mytilene: Mionnet, Descr. Ill, p. 53, no. 144. 
 
 Methymna: Wroth, Cat. p. 171, no. 2-9(?). Head, H. N. p. 559. 
 
 »Athen. XIII, p. 610. Theophrastus, a Lesbian, is a particularly good 
 
 authority. 
 
 • Anth. Pal. IX. 189. 
 
 » Suidas,KaXXt<TT€to- roi^yap rc^j KpLuayri, ret KaXXtareia EIptdTrv ve^pWa Kai XPvakriP 
 
 rfjv8' iS€TO rpox^v. 
 
 • Hesych. s. v. 
 
 ' Strabo, XIII, 621. 
 
 •Tumpel, Philol. 1891, pp. 567-8, esp. note 12. 
 
 • Sittig, op. cii. p. 167. 
 
 f 
 
 THE TWELVE GODS 
 
 Athena 
 
 29 
 
 The Athena cult was especially important in southern Thessalv 
 
 Athena m the stones concernmg the early history of Lesbos But 
 the silence is due no doubt to the fragmentary nature of the evidence 
 The earhest recognition of her which our present mater a e"^^^ 
 IS shown by a coin^ of perhaps the sixth century, repr s n^^^^^^^ 
 Gor,on.on. This is one of the few attributes of go5s on iesb Ln 
 coins dating before 480 B. C.^ ^esoian 
 
 Two of the cult names of which we have record were, as far as we 
 
 know peculiar to Lesbos. One is Athena ^T.^pSe^U, wko with Ze" 
 
 Wef.os was honored at Hyperdexion.3 The place is otherwise 
 
 unknown, nor is it clear whether the gods received their nals from 
 
 the s te, or whether the place was designated by their cTeJZ^ 
 
 to 7 '^ ^T^"'' '''^' "^^'^ ^^'^y- The same title appHed 
 
 to Zeus and Athena as sharers of a cult is not unusual.^ ^ 
 
 The other name of Athena which occurs only in Lesbos is 'I5^.a 
 Concermng her an inscription of Roman times^ found at Plagia read" 
 
 'kippoiWa, 'keiiva. 'liiiva. "tvoKbu. 
 The last line cannot be satisfactorily interpreted. 'K^.a may be a 
 
 cult epithet of Athena cannot be explained. The form may be due 
 
 IZ""V^ 7 r^' °' ''' stone-cutter or the proper reading may 
 be Ae,.a A,.a.' It seems preferable to keep the reading 'kei^va\ii,v[ 
 until we have more information about the subject, and to cons 3 
 l^va as a cult title of the goddess peculiar to Lesbos. If '^l 
 
 ^:^:^:Xir' ^~^^^ ^° -''-- ^^^^ '^-^ 
 
 48ftT r""',.? "■."•J^"' ""• *• ^'>* Gorgoneion occurs also on a coin of about 
 tS. no. 27. ' ^^'- "■ '"■ °°- ''■■ ^""^ '""^ "-<» <" Athena, W^l Cat p 
 
 ' About 480 the famous staters and sixths coined by Mytilene and Phnr..» 
 began to be issued, and deities became more frequent^s Ces ' 
 
 Steph. Byz. s. v. •TT(pli(u>p. 
 
 • Preller-Robert, Gr. Myth. p. 220, n. 4; Gruppe, Or. Myth. p. 1217, n. 3 
 century A. d' "' '''°^°"''^' ^'^^ '"^^'''- "°- "^- ^ot earlier 'than 2nd 
 
 • Kaibel, Gr. Epigr. no. 812, note. 
 ' Kaibel, /. c. 
 
30 
 
 THE CULTS OF LESBOS 
 
 THE TWELVE GODS 
 
 31 
 
 
 The other epithets of Athena in the island are common ones. At 
 Mytilene an inscription^ of Imperial times presents a dedication 
 to Athena Scureipa by six people. This is an epithet frequently used 
 of Zeus, and suggests again her close relation to her father in Lesbos. 
 The temple to Athena in IMytilene probably stood in the oldest part 
 of the city on the acropolis,^ where two inscriptions of the fourth or 
 third century have been found, which show the importance of her 
 temple as a repository for decrees of honor. One was found at the 
 fort and honors a citizen who helped the city financially. ^"^ The 
 other was found on the south slope of the citadel, and gives dreXeta 
 and daiMa to two men of Smyrna.^^ The latter decree was put up 
 in the temple of Athena (1.16), which must have been ''the sacred 
 treasury" if Bechtel's conjecture^^ ^i^ j^ ipo^ rafji[Uio]p is correct. 
 A dedications^ of a much later date (second century A. D.) was 
 found near this site. The inscription says, 'Adr^vq. . . . Br/puXXa 
 t6[v 6<pea\fjL6v]{?). The restoration is made because of the 
 picture of an eye on the stone, just above the inscription. Dedi- 
 cations of similar form^^ make it possible that Berulla gave this 
 thank offering to Athena because her sight was restored. But it 
 seems better to connect this with the eye that occurs as a type on 
 early coins of Mytilene,^^ and to suppose that it was a symbol of 
 Athena in Lesbos. Athena would then have characteristics of Athena 
 'OivdepK-qs or 'OipdaXfj.lTLs, as at Argos and Sparta. 
 
 In I. G. XII, ii, 653, a vow which appears to be incorrectly copied 
 from the stone reads Adr^va evae^eoomjv Map/cos Uoinn]Los ROlkos 
 iroLTjTTjs euxej'.s^ Paton suggests that this may be a dedication to 
 Athen^ 'I6T?i'a. 
 
 At the town of Hiera on the southern shore, Bresus held the title 
 ras re IIoXta5os 'Adava^ irapaKeXevaTas hirkp ras TroXtos.^' There was a 
 
 •I. G. XII, ii, in. 
 
 » Where is now the fortress erected by the Turks. 
 
 10 1. G. XII, ii, 5 = Athen. Mitth. XIV, 1889, p. 255, no. 28. 
 
 "I. G. XII, ii, 12, esp. 1. 16. 
 
 12 Bechtel, AeoUca, p. 4, esp. part B, 1. 53. 
 
 "I. G. XII, ii, 121. 
 
 1* For similar offerings see Rouse, Gr. Votive Offerings, p. 215. 
 
 " Ridgeway, CI. Rev. IX, 1895, p. 334, n. 5, thinks the eye on the coins 
 is due to some Egypyian influence. 
 
 i«A restoration by Papageorgiu, Uned. Inschr. v. Myt. no. 34, 'h\d{kva is 
 too doubtful to be accepted. 
 
 " I. G. XII, ii, 484, first century A. D. 
 
 ^ 
 
 temple tor this cult of Athena Polias at Eresus also, for in an agree- 
 ment between Lesbos and Rhodes- of the third century B. C, found 
 at Eresus directions were given that the Lesbians erect a stele with 
 a copy of the decree in the temple of Athena Polias. The same 
 temple IS doubtless meant when in I. G. XII, ii, 529, directions are 
 
 ^ T^lTf ""^ ^"' '^P>^ ^^ ^^^ ^^^'^^ i^ the Athenaion, 
 
 At Methymna likewise Athena was regarded as a deity of health 
 
 TotltT-f '^."'"'ir; ^" ^"^"^P^^^" "^^^^ P-^-^ Aristophanes, 
 
 for the health and safety of the ..^^era. - The same inscription 
 directs that Aristophanes be crowned every year at the temple of 
 
 finH -""^A. ^ ^ '' ^PP'"'' '^ ^' ^^ ^^^^^^ Soteira, such as we 
 find m Mytilene, or an Athena Polias, such as at Eresus. Not only 
 
 IS her temple mentioned, but some annual celebration of a festival 
 may be inferred. 
 
 But the best evidence for the importance of Athena at Methymna 
 IS the use of her portrait on coins from the fifth century until the time 
 A the Roman Empire, almost to the exclusion of any other deity. 
 Only her head, with the crested Corinthian helmet, is as a rule 
 depicted. In later times Dionysusjand his symbols become conspicuous, 
 and coins of that city represent the two divinities together, some- 
 times with the addition of Apollo or Demeter (or Core) ^i The 
 importance of the cults is the only reason apparent for the grouping 
 
 Names derived from the cult of Athena are not so numerous as we 
 should expect. Sittig- reports only six out of 230 names derived 
 from those of gods. Paton believes that there was a garden near 
 Mytilene called 'Adrjpddiov.^ 
 
 A head of Athena,^^ of white marble, much less than life size, was 
 found m Lesbos. The hair is parted and shows in waves beneath 
 
 ^^ ^-^Papageorgiu, 'P65o. «ai Ae.^os, Leipzig, 1913= David, 'A.^.. 'e.c^,. no. 
 " I. G. XII, ii, 505. 
 "The tribe AioMs, of which Aristophanes was phylarch, is here referred to 
 
 refers to Athena in the words (II. 6 and 7) ^p6s ra dka 
 ''Seep. 66. 
 » Sittig, op. cit. p. 166. 
 
 T ^}' ^' ^"' "' ^^ ^ ^""^ P- ^^' "°^^ ' ^- P^^«" places it, however, in Index 
 I, Nonuna Virorum et Mulierum. 
 
 Mym^nr'"'"^"' ^''^' '"'''''• "• ^^'' P- ""^- ^^^ ^^^^ ^^ ^^- ''- '^^ school in 
 
 y ■ 
 
 ill! 
 
II! 
 
 32 
 
 THE CULTS OF LESBOS 
 
 h 
 
 ■■ i t 
 
 her Corinthian helmet, and the expression is pleasing, almost smiling. 
 The type is that of a young girl. 
 
 In the treasure lists cf the ''Hekatompedon " at Athens, at the 
 beginning of the fourth century, there is the entry,'^^ avl3i]vri eXe^avrim} 
 ij Tvapa MTjdvfxpaiucu kirixpi'dos. Also another item''*^ of 357—6 reads, 
 are^papos MvTL\T]PaLuop apddrjida aradiidp A A A A II |~ |- - |- I I I I C. 
 
 The following coins of Lesbos represent Athena: — 
 
 Lesbos: Wroth, Cat. p. 158, no. 27; p. 159. no. 36-7; p. 163, no. 71; p 
 164, no. 76; p. 166, no. 105; p. 167, no. 106-9; Mionnet, Descr. Ill, p 
 34, no. 20; Suppl. VI, p. 51, no. 12; Macdonald, op. cit. II, p. 313, no.5 
 
 Mytilene: Mionnet, Descr. Ill, p. 44, no. 89; Suppl. VI, p. 73, no. 132 
 
 Methymna: Wroth, Cat. p. 171, no. 1(?); p. 177, no. 1-6; p. 178, no. 9-12 
 p. 179, no. 13-5, 17-26; p. 180, no. 28-34; p. 181, no. 36-7; p. 182, no 
 39-40; p. 183, no. 43; Mionnet, Descr. Ill, p. 2>^, no. 42-51; p. 40, no 
 58; p. 41, no. 61-2; Suppl. VI, p. 55, no. 27; p. 56, no. 32-3; Eckhel 
 D. N. II, p. 502; Head, H. N. p. 559(?); p. 560; p. 561; Macdonald 
 op. cit. II, p. 314, no. 1. 
 
 Eresus: Wroth, Cat. p. 176, no. 8; Mionnet, Descr. Ill, p. 37, no. 36, 40 
 Suppl. VI, p. 53, no. 20; Head, H. N. p. 560. 
 
 Aegirus: Head, H. N. p. 559. 
 
 Gorgoneion-Lesbos: Wroth, Cat. p. 151, no. 6-8; p. 157, no. 14; p. 161, 
 no. 52-4; Head, H. N. p. 558; p. 561; Macdonald, op. cit. II, p. 312, no. 2. 
 
 Owl-Lesbos: Wroth, Cat. p. 158, no. 29. Mytilene: Wroth, Cat. p. 
 192, no. 99-105 (countermark); Mionnet, Suppl. VI, p. 62, no. 70. 
 
 ^ I. G. II, ii, 645, 1. 25 (restored); 646, 1. 10; 673; 676, 1. 22; 716, I. 11. . 
 M I. G. II, ii, 699. 
 
 A phrodite 
 
 Whether we consider Aphrodite as of Phoenician or Thessalian 
 origin, her cult would naturally reach Lesbos at a very early time, 
 either in the passage from Asia to Europe or from Europe to Asia. 
 In fact, in the Iliad she is the prominent goddess of the Troad region, 
 the protectress of the Trojans. A. Reinach has identified a site in 
 Asia Minor near Hamaxitus, where he believes there was a primitive 
 temple to a Pelasgian^ goddess (who was afterwards Aphrodite of the 
 Lesbians) and to a mouse god (who later became Apollo Smintheus 
 of the Aeolians).- Such a close relation of Aphrodite and Apollo 
 
 ^That she was Pelasgian is the view also of K. Tumpel (Pauly-Wissowa, 
 Real-Encycl. I, 2748), who has given a very complete account of Aphrodite in 
 Lesbos. 
 
 »Rev. Epig. 1914, pp. 43-4. 
 
 THE TWELVE GODS 
 
 33 
 
 ^^^ 
 
 "im,, 
 
 Pyrrha. He argues for his theory by a most ingenious weaving^ 
 of the statements of Homer, scholiasts and lexicographers. The 
 father of Chryse.s pnest of Apollo, he traces to a temple of Apollo 
 Smmtheus on the bay of Kallone. Chryseis (11. I) = AprLe (Eupho 
 non, Panhemus, ch 26; F. H. G. IV, p. 335, 2a)= Chryse-AS e 
 (Cleanthes of Assus,^ schol. BD (L) to II. Ill, 64). The site of th 
 Aphrod. e sanctuary was also then at Pyrrha, on the bay of Kallone ' 
 This Aphrodue W, or Xp..," is named by Homer, Hesiod, Stasinus 
 irg. 4, 4 K.) M.mnermus (frg. I, 1, Bergk) and Theognis (1. 1293) 
 and was doubtless the most important early manifestatL of Aphro- 
 dite. The story of Apriate's leap into the water, as told by Euphorion 
 resembles that story in which the daughter of Smintheus leaps into 
 
 from Thl" T ";'' '"r""'' ^"' ^^^° '"^^ ^'->' °f SapphJ^s leap 
 aT ^'^^L^"^^dlan rock through love of Phaon. Gruppe says 
 
 Aphrodite's beloved, Phaon, was from Boeotia; and Engel believed 
 that tales about him in Lesbos indicate that Aphrodite was wor- 
 shipped as a sea goddess.' 
 
 Sappho sometimes addresses Aphrodite or refers to her in a manner 
 which indicates that the goddess herself rather than a mere synonym 
 for love' IS meant^ In fact it has been suggested that Sappho may 
 have been the head of a kind of religious community, such as e.xistej 
 at faros, devoted to the cult of Aphrodite.' 
 
 But the evidence for her worship in Lesbos in historical times is not 
 as great as we should naturally expect. The only cult name preserved 
 IS Aphrodite n«0d,, which is contained in an inscription of the third 
 or second century.'" In earlier times Peitho seems to have been a 
 
 fifi.' 'I"'"'' ^^l^' **^*'' PP- ^'-'2"- ^P^""^''^ K-^W""- Tlimpel further iden- 
 t.6es her with Woflia. Cf. Rh. Mus. XXIII, 1868, pp. 316 f 
 
 eristence'T^ P '' f^«""",^"' ^^ieHy on a passage in Strabo, XIII, 606. and the 
 existence of a Pyrrha in Lesbos, Asia Minor and Thessaly. But the argument 
 IS more ingenious than conclusive. argument 
 
 ' Plut. Sept. Sapient. Conviv. ch. 20. 
 
 in P»^"^t' f ^^™'' "' "■ '*"• ^'' especially the story of Phaon and Aphrodite 
 
 n Palaephatus, «pi d.i,™,, XLVIII, (Myth. Gr. IIP. p. 69); Aelian V H 
 
 12 18, Serv. Aen. Ill, 279. See Wilamowitz, Hermes, XVIII, 1883, pp 414 f ' 
 
 and for further references and discussion, Tumpel, Pauly-Wissowa.T c 
 
 Sappho, Frg. 1, Bergk. ^ , <,. 
 
 p^i'^k^'t, ^'' ^'"^'•atufgesch. p. 198; Edward D. Perry, Gr. Literature 
 Columbia Univ. Press, 1912, p. 77. "lerature, 
 
 "I. G. XII, ii, 73=Keil', Philol. Suppl. II, p. 579, note. 
 
34 
 
 THE CULTS OF LESBOS 
 
 11 
 
 I : 
 
 
 I ! 
 
 separate deity, for Sappho calls her daughter of Aphrodite.^^ It 
 is interesting that this manifestation of Aphrodite Ilet^cb is found 
 elsewhere only at Pharsalus, and probably came from Thessaly to 
 Lesbos.^- The inscription gives regulations concerning the altar of 
 Aphrodite Ilet^d; and Hermes. It provides that any bird be offered 
 as a sacrifice, and any animal, male or female, except the pig. This 
 association of Aphrodite with Hermes had a wide geographical range 
 in both Greece and Asia Minor. ^^^ 
 
 Aphrodite is joined also with Athena in a dedication of Roman 
 times from the region of Mytilene, and perhaps has the added title 
 'T7rd/coos.^^ This combination of Aphrodite with Athena is not so 
 common as with Hermes, but other instances in Greece do occur. 
 
 An inscription of the time of Augustus from Kato-Pyrgi, north of 
 Mytilene, which reads, deco 'A<ppodeiTas aydXfxa ev tcj etpco. 2i;v/ca^t- 
 kpcoaav ol ttjv crKVTLKrji/ T'exvy)v epya^ojjLevoL is a dedication to Aphrodite 
 by a tanner's guild. ^^ Lolling believes that the dedicators were 
 foreigners. The temple mentioned may be one belonging to the 
 goddess in that region. 
 
 The Ionic temple at Messa, which has been excavated and is 
 at present the best known of Lesbian temples, was thought by Lol- 
 ling^^ to have been dedicated to Aphrodite, though he admitted that 
 the evidence was slender. It is based on a passage from Theophras- 
 tus, Hist. Plant. IX, 18, 10, and one from Pliny, H. N. XXXI, 2, 7, 
 which reads, ''In Pyrrha fiumen, quod Aphrodisium vocatur, steriles 
 facit. " Here Aphrodite was akin to Priapus.^^ 
 
 It is very likely that the Adonis element of the Aphrodite cult 
 in early times found its way to Lesbos from its source in Syria and 
 Phrygia. Sappho composed a poem on Adonis ;^^ but not till perhaps 
 two centuries after Sappho did the mainland of Greece receive this 
 
 " Sappho, Frg. 135, Bergk. For representation of Peitho as a separate 
 deity see Gerhard, Antike Bildwerke, PI. 59, 1. 
 
 « Roehl, I. G. A. 327 (fifth century B. C.). 
 
 » Pauly-Wissowa, Real-Encycl. I, 2734-55. See p. 36. 
 
 1* L G. XII, ii, 476. Weinreich, Athen. Mitth. 1912, p. 6, supposes 'TTdxoos 
 to apply to Aphrodite also. 
 
 »I. G. XII, ii, 109 = Lolling, Athen. Mitth. XI, 1886, p. 281, no. 43. I. G. 
 XII, ii, 70, also mentions Aphrodite, but is too fragmentary to make clear the 
 context. Cf. Rouse, Gr. Votive Offerings, p. 60. 
 
 " Koldewey, op. cit. p. 59. 
 
 " Engel, Kypros, II, p. 457. 
 
 i» Sappho, Frg. 62-3, Bergk. 
 
 THE TWELVE GODS 
 
 35 
 
 l-nA 
 
 r 
 
 worship strange and orcriastic ^^ TV.^ XA^r.- ^ 
 as a god of vegetation and fertility in the island ^o worshipped 
 
 titkAohrodrr'^"'^"'"''"' ^' '""S'^''^^ J""^ ^^-^^ honored bv the 
 near M> tilene" but such names were probably given her because o 
 
 Ug- found only one from the stem 'A^po^- and five from he steL 
 
 a IS very difficult to determine representations of Aphrodite on 
 the coins, and none have yet been identified with certainty Thos^ 
 which possibly represent Aphrodite are — 
 
 '^tpLX' '-'■ "■ '"■ -■ ''-'■' H-<^. H. X. p. 559 (Sappho or 
 
 Pyrrha: Wroth, Cat. p. 216, no 1-3 CHpiH r xt za^ 
 
 Nvmnh PvrrKn^ A^ ^ , , ^ ' ' ^^^ ^^^ ^^^' ^onsidcrs t the 
 
 iN>mph Pyrrha); Macdonald, op. cit. II, p. 320, no. 1. 
 
 '» Farnell, op. cit. II, p. 647 
 2° See p. 37. 
 '' See p. 88. 
 " See p. 89. 
 
 nn 1^7 f^'^^'^^T: ^^^^'•^^^^' II' P- 47, PI. XXI, no. 786-93: J H S X 1889 
 pp. 127 f.; Hugo Prinz, Funde aus Naukratis, p 57 ' ' 
 
 "Sittig, op. cit. p. 166. 
 
 Hermes 
 
 spread, and his cult does not appear to have taken deep root any- 
 where except in Arcadia and, as numismatic evidence leads usfo 
 suspect, at Ainos in Thrace and Eresos in Lesbos." says Farnell ' 
 Eres»!"V\"°' P^^'"'"^ t among the coin types of Greece save at 
 i-resus. But so incomplete is the supply of inscriptional material 
 
 ' Farnell, op. cit. V, p. 1. 
 
m 
 
 36 
 
 THE CULTS OF LESBOS 
 
 A 
 
 i i 
 
 I . 
 
 ■li 
 
 yet obtained, that apart from the coins- we have practically no other 
 evidence lor Hermes at that city.^ 
 
 Although at Mytilene Hermes seldom appears on the coins, the 
 caduceus was very frequent as a symbol. And here inscriptions 
 make it clear that Hermes was by no means a neglected deity. One 
 from the third or second centurv"* contains a dedication bv twelve 
 men of a statue and exedrae to Hermes ' Ev ay loulo^. What the statue 
 represented is not known. But an inscription very closely resem- 
 bling the Lesbian one and commemorating the dedication of a statue 
 and exedra to Hermes and Heracles, was found at Melos^ in the 
 neighborhood of the place where the Aphrodite of Melos was dis- 
 covered. Furtwangler*^ thought that the famous statue of Aphrodite 
 was dedicated by the Melian inscription. The connection of Aphro- 
 dite with Hermes is frequent and was recognized in Mytilene, as 
 is shown by an inscription of about this same time, which gives 
 regulations for sacrifices on the altar of Aphrodite Peitho and Her- 
 mes."^ Farnell^ suggests that Hermes might be here a god of luck, 
 and that the association in this instance could be explained ''by the 
 light and superficial reason that the lover needs luck and address 
 to win his mistress." But this combination must have a deeper 
 reason underlvincr it, and mav, as Farnell more seriouslv adds, 
 "represent the concept of a union between the male and female 
 powers of life and generation."^ In this sense Hermes may have 
 been used as an equivalent to Phales. And in this connection we 
 may note that in later times it was apparently the custom to pour 
 a libation to Hermes at the marriage banquet in Mytilene. ^'^ 
 
 2 The coins represent the head of Hermes wearing the petasos. See esp. 
 Wroth, Cat. p. 176. 
 
 3 Archestratus (Athen. HI, p. Ill f.) says of Eresus, 'Tf the gods eat barley, 
 Hermes goes and buys there for them." The peculiar turn of expression may 
 have been chosen because of the association of Hermes with Eresus. 
 
 «I. G. Xn, ii, 96= Athen. Mitth. XI, 1886, p. 22S, no. 56. 
 
 *!. G. xn, iii, 1091. 
 
 « Furtwangler, Masterpieces, pp. 376-7; Pauly-Wissowa, Real-Encycl. \TII, 
 753. 
 
 ' Tw TpMtt of the inscription should be interpreted in the genitive case, Keil, 
 Philol. Supplementbd. p. 579. 
 
 8 Farnell, op. cit. V, p. 12. Cf. Plut. Conj. Praec. 138 D. 
 
 « Preller-Robert, Gr. Myth. p. 387; Pauly-Wissowa, Real-Encycl. VHI, 
 760. In fact Hermes was associated more often with Aphrodite than with any 
 other deity perhaps, except Heracles and Apollo. Gruppe, Gr. Myth. p. 1331; 
 Farnell, /, c. 
 
 '° Longus, Past. IV, 34. Cupbearer of the gods, .AJcaeus, Frg. 8; Sappho, Fig. 51. 
 
 THE TWELVE GODS 
 
 37 
 
 .l*» 
 
 «-p i 
 
 A relief showing Hermes as companion of the Mother of the gods 
 was found by Conze" in Lesbos, and would seem to emphasize the 
 same characte„st,cs of Hermes; for his representations as cup bearer 
 
 with :h?Sw''"^ "^ '" ^ '"^^^"^ ^-'°^-^ '« ^^^ >d<" i-ge 
 
 Hermes had very lilcely a part here in the Cabiric mysteries, as in 
 
 phrTn? '''^"''' °^ '^^ ^°"'^ ^^Sean." A passage in Lyco- 
 
 ws ixfj (xe KaS/xos SapeK' iv wepippuTui 
 "laari (fVTfvaai dva/jifuaiv woSi]yiTrju 
 has a scholium explaining that Pryiis is the one meant, and that he 
 was son of Cadmus (here written for Cadmilus) and of a certain 
 nymph Issa, for whom the island was called Issa.- Apparently 
 hen th.s Hermes-Cadmilus was recognized very early among the 
 Lesbians The influence may well have come from Boeotia with 
 the Aeohc settlers.'« 
 
 The proper essential meaning of Hermes is the latent power of 
 the wind which bringing rain fructifies, and so likewise he is the god 
 of fructification in vegetation, as we find in an interesting inscription 
 discovered at Plagia," in the southern part of the island, and dating 
 perhaps second century after Christ: 
 
 Ztjj/os Kal Uaias epiKvSeos dyXaof 'Ep/x^ 
 
 fVKapTTOV (7Tfj(T(V Tij(xS( tTTl (flVTaMrji 
 
 BaKxuv ZojoCs vios, oirws acrivij Sta ttoi/tos 
 
 a^xeXos upatov Kapirov 'ixv pOTphuiv. 
 
 'AXX' t'Xaoj, ava^ ZojoCs ykvos eiippovc dv/xii 
 
 <Tw^( dLiovs aiiTois aipdovov oK^ov dei. 
 It is such an inscription as we should expect to be erected to Priapus '« 
 who was also much honored in Lesbos. There is, too, the idea of good 
 luck and gain, which are so often closely associated with the name 
 01 Hermes. 
 
 " Conze, op. cit. p. 10. 
 
 '' Conze, Arch. Zeitung, XXXVIII, 1880, p. 9. 
 
 " Farnell, op. cit. V, p. 16. 
 
 '^Lycophron, 11. 219-20. 
 
 i! ^^^^- /^,«^- XLII. Pryiis seems to be son of Hermes, and a prophet. 
 
 '' Roscher's Lexikon, II, 866. 
 
 '^ I. G. XII, ii, 476 = Kaibel, Epigr. no. 812. 
 
 " Roscher's Lexikon, I, 2361 f. (esp. 2376 f.). 
 
Pi'Jit' 
 
 38 
 
 THE CULTS OF LESBOS 
 
 At Mytilene existed in Roman times a union called the "Hermais- 
 tai."^^ This name seems to be a translation of the better known 
 Latin term '* Mercuriales. " Such Roman corporations with Mercury 
 as patron and with the temple of Mercury as place of meeting were 
 estabhshed also elsewhere in the Greek world.^o A representation 
 of Hermes as patron of commerce in Mytilene is shown on a coin 
 which portrays him on the prow of a vessel, holding in the right 
 hand a caduceus and in the left a cornucopia.^^ 
 
 Sittig^ reports 15 names, a number greater than for any other 
 except Zeus, Apollo, Artemis, and Dionysus. 
 
 For the cult of Hermes no evidence from any region in Lesbos 
 but Mytilene^s and Eresus is yet known. The coins of these two 
 cities alone represent him, though a coin of Antissa bears the caduceus 
 as a type. 
 
 The coins representing Hermes in Lesbos are as follows : — 
 
 Lesbos: Wroth, Cat. p. 163, no. 68-71; Macdonald, op. cit. II, p. 313, no. 5. 
 
 Mytilene: Mionnet, Descr. Ill, p. 46, no. 103; p. 53, no. 147. 
 
 Eresus: Wroth, Cat. p. 176, no. 1-6; Mionnet, Descr. Ill, p. 37, no. 37; 
 Head, H. N. p. 560. 
 
 Caduceus-Mytilene: Wroth, Cat. p. 186, no. 20; p. 187, no. 35; p. 188, 
 no. 44; p. 189, no. 59; Mionnet, Descr. Ill, p. 43, no. 73, 77; Mac- 
 donald, op. cit. II, p. 316, no. 2. Antissa: Wroth, Cat. p. 175, no. 2. 
 
 Pileus (?)-Mytilene: Wroth, Cat. p. 189, no. 51-3. 
 
 19 1. G. XII, ii, 22. 
 
 «o Daremberg et Saglio, Diet, des Antiquit6s, V, p. 135. Such unions are 
 traceable also in Cos and Rhodes, Pauly-Wissowa, Real-Encycl. VIII, 713. 
 
 -' Mionnet, Descr. Ill, p. 46, no. 103. 
 
 22 Sittig, op. cit. p. 167. 
 
 «I. G. XII, ii, 97 = Athen. Mitth. XIV, 1889, p. 254, no. 26, gives another 
 dedication from Mytilene. 
 
 Poseidon 
 
 The fact that Lesbos was an island and that the Lesbians from 
 very early times owned large fleets and were great travellers on the 
 sea leads us to expect Poseidon to be one of the most important 
 deities. Also the settlements from Thessaly and Boeotia^ would 
 tend to add to the importance of the god, since one of the chief 
 
 1 Roscher's Lexikon, III, 2834 f.; Gruppe, Gr. Myth. pp. 1137 f. Against 
 this view Nilsson, Gr. Feste, p. 64, has argued, saying that the festivals of Posei- 
 don are few in that region; and E. Sittig, op. cit. p. 69, that the proper names 
 from the Poseidon cult are also few. 
 
 i 
 
 *^ W i 
 
 THE TWELVE GODS 
 
 39 
 
 branches of Poseidon cult was the Minyan-Aeolic. And indeed in 
 the early settlements of Lesbos, Poseidon seems to have had much 
 mfiuence. According to Stephanus,^ Callimachus says that Lesbos 
 was called Myloms, and Parthenius that the Lesbian women were 
 called Mytonides and the men Mylones and Mytonaioi and Myti- 
 lenmot from My ton, son of Poseidon. We have here obviously an 
 attempt to obtain a derivation for the name Mytilene; and still it 
 does seem very likely that an early deity called Murco. was recog- 
 nized, and associated with Poseidon. Though there is no other 
 mention of a divinity of the name, Usener' sees a connection with the 
 Roman god of fertility, Mutunus Tutunus. It is significant that 
 Myton as a proper name occurs in Euboea only,^ and Gruppe 
 believes that Myton was associated with the old Boeotian civilization ' 
 Again, in Stephanus^ we read that Geren was a city or village of 
 Lesbos, named from Geren, son of Poseidon. The town seems to 
 have been the modern Gerani near Arisba.' This name can likewise 
 be traced to Boeotia, where we have the name r.p^«xo.; and Geres 
 from Boeotia is said to have given his name to the harbor Gcrrhaiidai'^ 
 at leos. 
 
 There are indications that human sacrifice was not unknown in 
 this early Poseidon worship. The fullest account is given by Plu- 
 tarch, Sept. Sapient. Conviv. ch. 20. An oracle directed that when 
 those who were to settle Lesbos should in their course meet with a 
 reef called Mesogeion? they should throw to Poseidon a bull and to 
 Amphitrite and the Nereids a living maiden. The lot fell to the 
 daughter of Smintheus, one of the eight leaders. But a certain 
 Enalus, of noble birth, loved her and leaped into the sea to save her. 
 
 ' Steph.Byz. s. v. MmiXiij/j,. 
 Civ! dXiV,^L ^'"''''"''"' P- ™' Q"^ ''' ^P^d Graecos Priapus, Aug. 
 
 Rhod^r"''' ^' '' ""''' ^' '^''''^^ '^^''''" '''''''' ^""^ '^"^'^ ^" inscriptions from 
 « Gruppe, Gr. Myth. p. 853, n. 6. 
 • Steph. Byz. s. v. Vkpy\v. 
 'Pauly-Wissowa, Real-Encycl. VII, 1246. 
 
 , ' ^':f ^' ^,^^! f^^; ^^^PP^' Gr. Myth. p. 293, n. 2. The name is found 
 also in Ehs. Cf. title of Nestor. Geres from Boeotia, the eponymous founder of 
 the harbor, Strabo, XIV, 633; Paus. VII, 3, 6. 
 
 » Farnell, op. cit. IV, p. 26, obviously means Lesbos, not Chios, when he says 
 the sacrifice was performed by the early immigrants who were sailing to Chios as 
 his references on p. 95, n. HI indicate. 
 
40 
 
 THE CULTS OF LESBOS 
 
 Later he appeared on land and said that he and the maiden had both 
 been carried to shore unharmed. Shortly afterwards, when a great 
 wave arose around the island and the men feared to meet it, Enalus 
 alone came with many polypi to the temple of Poseidon, the greatest 
 polypus bringing a stone, which Enalus dedicated. The myth is 
 usually connected with the settlers of Methymna.^^ Perhaps some 
 crude stone statue existed later in the Poseidon cult, and the story 
 is aetiological. Gruppc thinks that at Methymna Poseidon was 
 originally worshipped by throwing into the sea a steer and Amphi- 
 trite by the sacrifice of a maiden. ^^ Plutarch when quoting from 
 Myrsilus, the Lesbian,^'- gives a slightly different version. Enalus 
 is called the Aeolian, Smintheus is called Phineus, and the settlers 
 are the Penthelids. The maiden is thrown into the sea because of 
 an oracle of Amphitrite. Still another version published by Athe- 
 naeus,^^ connects the story definitely with the founding of Methymna. 
 It tells that when the city had been founded, Enalus appeared and 
 said that the maiden was with the Nereids, and that he himself 
 superintended the mares of Poseidon. 
 
 Eresus, situated on a coast fairly regular and affording slight pro- 
 tection for ships, ^^ had also an early cult of Poseidon, which has not 
 yet been found to exist anywhere else in the Greek world. The record 
 is with Stephanus,^^ who says, quoting Callimachus, that ^^Uaoirov- 
 TLos is Poseidon of Eresus, for thus he is honored in Eresus, a city 
 of Lesbos. The natural interpretation would be that Poseidon was 
 here given the name because his temple stood on a promontory pro- 
 jecting far into the sea. Better and more suited to the topography of 
 Eresus would be the explanation that the temple site was one of the 
 small islands just off the coast. This was the view which Koldewey 
 at first entertained, but he gave it up when he saw the surf sweep 
 over the island. He states that the elevation was only seven meters 
 above the sea. However, the present state of the island does not con- 
 clusively settle the question of suitability for the location of the 
 ancient temple, as there have been no doubt topographical changes in 
 
 ^° The name Smintheus was connected with the worship of Apollo at Methym- 
 na. See pp. 1-2. 
 
 » F. Diimmler, Philol. LVI, 1897, p. 22; Gruppe, Gr. Myth. p. 298. 
 
 >2 Plut. De Sol. Animal, ch. 36. 
 
 ^' Athen. XI, 466 c, quoting Anticlides the Athenian. 
 
 1* Koldewey, op. cit. pp. 22 f. and PI. 8 and 9. 
 
 " Steph. Byz. s. v. l\e<jo^6vTU}s. 
 
 THE TWELVE GODS 
 
 41 
 
 ff 
 
 "r' 
 
 m 
 
 the intervening centuries. But Koldewey could find no trace of the 
 remains of a temple. The only place where there were indications 
 of such a building at Eresus was towards the northwest of the old 
 site of the town.^^ Yet when Athenaeus^^ speaks of ''the sea-girt 
 hill of famous Eresus," he shows that Meo-oTro^rtos could be an 
 appropriate name for Poseidon worship there. 
 
 Another cult which may date from very early times is that of Posei- 
 don 'EKvixvLos or 'EXurios. Hesychius^^ gives both epithets as Les- 
 bian, but because of the similarity it is generally supposed that one 
 name is a corruption of the other. Jessen^^ suggests that 'EXurtos 
 may be a corruption of 'EXvyLvio^ or KXurtos. And in fact 'EXviivios 
 seems more likely to be the correct epithet, closely resembling Elym- 
 nion, a name associated with Euboea and Boeotia;^^ so that BechteP^ 
 and others think the cult was brought over the sea with the settlers. 
 Various derivations have been suggested. For instance, it may 
 come from eXuw and designate the god who rolls up the waves. Mein- 
 eke says 'EXL;^i'tos='Epu/xi'tos = 'A(r(/?aXetos, a common title for Posei- 
 don. The derivation from eXu/xa, which thus makes the god a deity 
 of farming and plowing,22 is especially interesting if we accept 
 Usener's interpretation of Myton, son of Poseidon. 
 
 There is no evidence of a Poseidon cult definitely established in 
 Mytilene before the fourth or third century B. C. Of that date we 
 have a very fragmentary metrical composition,^^ which according 
 to Paton's restoration dedicates a fountain to Poseidon. Another 
 inscription from Mytilene^^ gives the dedication of a woman Zosime, 
 saved by the providence of the heavenly god, to Zeus, Pluto and 
 Poseidon Havaa (pakios. No other occurrence of this epithet is known, 
 though it is obviously only a more emphatic form of the very common 
 
 *« Koldewey, op. cit. pp. 24-5. 
 
 "Athen. (Archestratus) III, 111 f. 
 
 " Hesych. s. v. '^Xvuvlo^ and 'EXi-Ttos. 
 
 »8 Pauly-Wissowa, Real-Encycl. V, 2476. 
 
 2° Schol. to Ar. Peace, 1126. Callistratus says Elymnion is a place of Euboea, 
 and Apollonius that it is a temple near Euboea. W. Schulze, Gotdng. Gel. Anz. 
 1897, p. 873, n. 2, derives '^Xvuvlos from Boeotian EiXu^weus. 
 
 " Bechtel, Aeolica, p. 22, says Apollo 'EXvuplos, evidently meaning Poseidon 
 
 'KXvUVLOS. 
 
 22 Pauly-Wissowa, Real-Encycl. V, 2468. Welcker, Gr. Gottedehre, II, p. 
 684, suggests derivation from eXvuos. 
 
 "I. G. XII, ii, 95 = Kaibel, Epigr. Gr. no. 780. Kaibel reads Poseidippus and 
 makes no mention of Poseidon. 
 
 2* See p. 23. 
 
 i 
 
42 
 
 THE CULTS OF LESBOS 
 
 epithet 'Aa^aXios^^ A third inscription from Mytilene,^ dating 
 later than the time of Aurelian, seems to mention a festival of Poseidon 
 and to give a list of contributors; but nothing definite can be deter- 
 mined because of the fragmentary condition of the stone. We are 
 also told by the romance of ApoUonius of Tyre^^ that Neptunalia 
 were held in Mytilene. Although this evidence is late, it is very 
 likely that the city, which had great interest in the sea from early 
 times, held for many centuries such festivals in honor of Poseidon as 
 were celebrated in Tenos.-^* 
 
 The name of a month Uoaideos is furnished by an inscription^* 
 which many scholars accept as Lesbian. 
 
 From Hiera, which is near Mytilene, an inscription of the time of 
 Tiberius tells that Bresus held among other offices that of Ilfiartas 
 'ETr](pl\as Uoaeldoji'os Muxtcu /cat Muxtas Kal tclv 'AirapaiTrjToju Qeav Kal 
 ras etpas KoXlas . . . 7rap€8{p)os.^^ Mvxt-os is very difficult to inter- 
 pret, as it may designate a special character of Poseidon or the name 
 of a distinct deity. If we take the first view, FarnelP^ beUeves that 
 the epithet arose through association, rather than identification 
 with the Chthonic gods, and that Poseidon was worshipped in a 
 cave here as elsewhere. Hofer^' reads ras [K6]pas (?) KaXtas, and 
 thinks that the naming of so many chthonic deities indicates that 
 Poseidon is connected with that worship. Gruppe^^ finds parallels 
 in Boeotian cult where Poseidon could not have been far removed 
 from Hades. Still another interpretation, and one which is very 
 likely, makes Mi;xtos and Mi^xta the god and goddess of the lower world. 
 
 Joined with the cult of Poseidon in Lesbos we find that of Amphi- 
 trite, if we can accept the story of the settlement of Methymna as 
 given by Plutarch.^-* Since her worship seems to have existed also 
 
 25 Papageorgiu, Uned. Inschr. v. Myt. p. 5; Pauly-Wissowa, Real-Encycl. 
 II, 1726. 
 
 2«I. G. XII, ii, 71. 
 
 "' De Apol. Tyrio, ch. 33. 
 
 28 C. I. G. 2330-3. For months in his honor, especially in the islands, cf. 
 Preller-Robert, Gr. Myth. p. 567, n. 6. 
 
 29 C. I. G. IV, 6850. See p. 10. 
 
 30 1. G. XII, ii, 484. Such is Paton's reading. 
 3^ Farnell, op. cit. IV, p. 51. 
 
 32 Roscher's Lexikon, II, 3298. See Bezzenberger's Beitriige, V, 134. 
 
 33 Gruppe, Gr. Myth. p. 1139, n. I. Farnell, op. cit. IV, p. 21, believes Poseidon 
 was never regarded as a chthonian god. 
 
 3* Preller-Robert, op. cit. p. 597; Gruppe, op. cit. p. 414, and others believe 
 that the worship of Amphitrite is indicated. 
 
 THE TWELVE GODS 
 
 43 
 
 # 
 
 in the islands of Tenos and Naxos, Gruppe traces its origin to East 
 Boeotia and Euboea.^^ The outline of the story must liave some 
 foundation in fact. Wernicke^^ refuses to believe, however that 
 human sacrifices'^ were offered to Amphitrite. It is likewise difficult 
 to beheve that the version given by Plutarch, De Sollertia Animalium, 
 IS correct in attributing oracles to her. There is no reason why she 
 should be connected with prophecy. 
 
 As Nereids were much honored in islands and by coasts and out- 
 lets of streams,38 we naturally expect to find references to them in 
 Lesbos, as indeed we do find in the Plutarch story. Their cult was 
 not very common in Greece. Wide quotes Pausanias^^ as saying 
 that the Nereids were sometimes associated with Achilles in cult, 
 and it is unlikely that there may have been some association in Les- 
 bos, since both had considerable honor there. Because of a fragment 
 attributed to Myrsilus, the Lesbian,^^ it is supposed that the Nereids 
 were called AevKoSeat in Lesbos. Near Plumari, on the south shore, 
 an inscription^! of late times tells that Epaphroditus dedicated a 
 thank offering to the AevKoyeiTa)u Oiaaos for his safety and that of 
 Menophilus. It is possible that Epaphroditus attributed his safety 
 to the Nereids. The feeling that such divinities inhabit hills and 
 streams and have influence for good or evil, still lingers among the 
 country people of Lesbos. W. H. D. Rouse says that in his travels 
 he met an old goatherd who told him that one night on the hills he 
 heard the sound of bells rung by the Neraidhes which made him to 
 be deaf ever after.'^^ 
 
 Sittig^3 gi^es eight names which are derived from the Poseidon 
 cult— a fairly high percentage when compared with the other states 
 of Greece. 
 
 The portrait of Poseidon appears only on the Mytilene coin repre- 
 senting the Qeol d/cpatot MvTL\r)paio}v, and on a Methymna coin 
 
 ^ Gruppe, /. c. 
 
 ^ Pauly-Wissowa, Real-Encycl. I, 1965. 
 " Plutarch, Sept. Sapient. Conviv. ch. 20. 
 " Preller-Robert, Gr. Myth. p. 557. 
 
 " Wide, Lakonische Kulte, p. 224; Preller-Robert, /. c. note 5. 
 "Etym. Mag. p. 561, 45 = F. H. G. IV, pp. 459 f. Uvpalvos is the reading. 
 Cf. Hesych. s. v. AevKodUi. 
 
 *^ I. G. XII, ii, 481. Perhaps third century A. D. 
 « Rouse, Gr. Votive Offerings, p. 46, n. 3. 
 « Sittig, op. cit. p. 167. 
 
44 
 
 THE CULTS OF LESBOS 
 
 THE TWELVE GODS 
 
 45 
 
 of the time of Geta." But his trident is depicted on two types of 
 coins, one dating from 440-350, and the other from 350-250 B. C.^^ 
 
 " See pp. 23-4. and Mionnet, Suppl. VI, p. 56, no. 35. 
 
 « Wroth. Cat. p. 168, no. 117; p. 189, no. 54; Mionnet, Suppl. VI, p. 60, no. 58. 
 
 Demeter 
 
 The source of the worship of Demeter seems to have been Thes- 
 saly,^ southwest of Mount Ossa, and from that region the cult prob- 
 ably passed to Boeotia. The early settlers of Lesbos brought it 
 with them to their new home; and here the fertility of the soil and 
 the favorable climate of the island called Macaria, furnished ample 
 reason for the continuation of the worship of Demeter. The princi- 
 pal center of her cult was in the western part of the island, around 
 Eresus, for there was the great grain growing district praised by a pas- 
 sage in Athenaeus,^ " First the gifts of fair-haired Demeter shall I call 
 to mind, dear Moschus, and do you ponder in your heart. Best, 
 yes, most excellent of all are the well made cakes of fruitful barley 
 grown in Lesbos, on the sea-girt hill of famous Eresus. Whiter 
 than driven snow are they. If the gods eat barley bread, there 
 Hermes goes and buys for them." 
 
 A coin of Eresus bears Hermes on the obverse and wheat on the 
 reverse.^ And in fact the coins of that city well illustrate the impor- 
 tance of Demeter there; for with very few exceptions, the coins 
 which have her portrait or symbols were stamped at the Eresus 
 mint. But because very few inscriptions of any kind have yet been 
 found in that part of Lesbos, epigraphical evidence is lacking.** 
 
 For the region about Mytilene there is only a passage of late 
 literature which names Demeter. It occurs in the pastoral romance 
 of Longus,^ who speaks of a sacrifice by the master, made on 
 arrival at his country estate, to all the gods who preside over ay poiKia, 
 to Demeter, Dionysus, Pan and the Nymphs. Though this passage 
 was written perhaps four centuries after Christ, such sacrifices and 
 
 ' Pauly-Wissowa, Real-Encycl. IV, 2714; Roscher's Lexikon, II, 1288. 
 
 2 Athen. Ill, 111 f., quoting Archestratus. 
 
 3 Mionnet, Descr. Ill, p. 37, no. 37. 
 
 * Kern, Pauly-Wissowa, Real-Encycl. IV, 2747, thinks the name of the month 
 'OfxoXdlos, recorded in an inscription of Eresus, may be derived from the Demeter 
 cult, but the evidence in favor of the Zeus cult is stronger. 
 
 ' Longus, Past. IV, 13. 
 
 •* ■-% ^ 
 
 rW 
 
 the relationship of Demeter to these other divinities were in all 
 probability a survival from earlier centuries.^ 
 
 Though Demeter herself is not directly mentioned by inscriptions, 
 yet from the records of divinities associated with Demeter worship 
 we know something of the importance of her influence in the country 
 around Mytilene. There is a dedication of Imperial times to Cora 
 2cbr€tpa;^ and another inscription of about the same date mentions 
 Persephone, but is so fragmentary that its contents cannot be deter- 
 mined.^ Also on a coin of the time of Hadrian we find Cora repre- 
 sented with Demeter. The grouping of the mother and daughter 
 occurs very seldom on coins, as Pick^ observes. He believes that in 
 the choice of this type of head as well as of the standing figure, Eleusi- 
 nian influence is unmistakably expressed. 
 
 The inscription concerning Bresus found at Hiera, reads [K6]pas 
 KaXtas according to Hofer. It has also been suggested that Uvxlos 
 and Mvxia are names for the god and goddess of the underworld. 
 Pnistia and Etephila of this inscription Paton joins and makes 
 apply to one deity of double name,^^ probably Persephone. The 
 name Etephila is given several times by Lesbian inscriptions^^ which 
 do not tell enough for the determination of the exact nature of the 
 goddess. Hesychius,^2 however, says that 'Eratc^tXr; is Persephone. 
 BechteP^ gives doubtless the proper derivation of the word, i. e., 
 'ET77<^tXat = 'Er€77v5tXat, "truly friendly." It would then be a euphe- 
 mistic name such as was Eumenides, and Ev^ovXevs applied to Hades. 
 
 * These customs are often preserved for centuries in the country regions. 
 Rouse, Gr. Votive Offerings, p. 50, says, ' Even a last trace of the Corn-maiden 
 seems to survive, in a curious plaited m.it made of ripe ears, hung up in the 
 peasants' houses, which bears a distant resemblance to a begowned human figure. 
 I have seen these as far east as Lesbos, where they are regular, and rarely on 
 the mainland of Greece. The people call them ^Ad^a, 'mat,' or atrapi, 'corn,' 
 and have forgotten what they once meant." Cf. also Cook, Zeus, p. 397, n. 4 
 and pi. XXVIII, where a corn-maiden from Lesbos is illustrated. 
 
 ' I. G. XII, ii, 112. The cult of Cora Soteira at Sparta was probably mystic, 
 Farnell, op. cit. Ill, p. 198. 
 
 8 1. G. XII, ii, 466. 
 
 » Jahrbuch des K. D. Arch. Inst. XIII, 1898, p. 160. Odessa is the only 
 place where the type obtained a firm hold. Gruppe, Gr. Myth. p. 1034. 
 
 »o I. G. XII, ii, Index VII, Res Sacrae. 
 
 ^' I. G. XII, ii, 239 and 255. Hiller v. Gaertringen, Pauly-Wissowa, Real- 
 Encycl. VI, 712. 
 
 ^2 Hesych. s. v. 'Erai^iX??. 
 
 " Bezzenberger's Beitrage, V, p. 124. 
 
THE TWELVE GODS 
 
 47 
 
 46 
 
 THE CULTS OF LESBOS 
 
 If Etephila is Persephone, then the plural use of the word, tepea rav 
 deap 'ETr](fl\ap, in the time of Caracalla, must apply to Demeter and 
 her daughter.^-' In this, as well as three other inscriptions, priestesses 
 of the cult are named. ^^ Some of these priestesses are known to 
 have been among the most important women of Mytilene.^^ 
 
 Pnistia occurs not only in I. G. XII, ii, 484, but in two other 
 Lesbian inscriptions;^^ and yet the name is known nowhere else 
 except Lesbos. One of these inscriptions, dating in Imperial times,^^ 
 informs us that there was a priestess of Pnistia. The other, which 
 is of the fourth or third century B. C, is restored [Kaplajaa Ili^taria.^^ 
 This restoration can be made with a fair amount of certainty because 
 of the inscription in which Aurelia is called lepea rav Bkav 'ETrjiplXap 
 /cat Kaplaaav Kal epaoipopos toov ay loot cltcjou pLVCJTap'ioiv}^ The Karissai 
 are not otherwise knowm.^^ Lesbos, therefore, adds three new names 
 to the cult of Demeter— Etephila, Pnistia, and Karissai. 
 
 An inscription of the early Roman period^^ reading, ArjurjTpos Kal 
 Beuiv Kapwoipopcjou Kal deoov To\vKapTro)v Kal Te\e(T<p6pcop, is a subject of 
 much dispute because the original is lost, and there is no certainty 
 that it was found in Lesbos.^^ Paton and Kern exclude it, Gruppe 
 and Farnell think it may possibly be Lesbian, and Preller and Stoll 
 accept it. The question cannot be settled unless perhaps the 
 bronze be found again. Kapwoipopos, however, is an epithet which 
 occurs often in Lesbian inscriptions in honor of Agrippina, wife of 
 Germanicus, and also of Archepolis Philippina, the gymnasiarch of 
 the second or third century A. D. 
 
 1* I. G. XII, ii, 255. Cf. Hiller v. Gaertringen, /. c. 
 »I. G. XII, ii, 110, 222, 263 and 264 (?). 
 
 " In I. G. XII, ii, 222, Dada, wife of Lesbonax, of a most prominent family, 
 is represented. In no. 255, Aurelia Artemisia is named as X6710S 7rp6ram Kal 
 
 17 I. G. XII, ii, 93, 136. Cf. Roscher's Lexikon, III, 2586. 
 
 i« I. G. XII, ii, 136. 
 
 i» I. G. XII, ii, 93. 
 
 20 1. G. XII, ii, 255. 
 
 2» Hofer, Roscher's Lexikon, II, 959. 
 
 "C. I. G. II, 2175. 
 
 23 Pococke, Descr. Orient. Ill, p. 15, pubHshed it among Chian and Mytile- 
 naean monuments. We do not know, therefore, to which of the islands it belongs. 
 Paton omits from Lesbian Corpus. Kern, Pauly-Wissowa, Real-Encycl. IV, 
 2747. Gruppe, Gr. Myth. p. 1179, n. 1. Farnell, op. cit. Ill, p. 318. Preller- 
 Robert, Gr. Myth. p. 766. Roscher's Lexikon, II, 1303. 
 
 
 ♦""^ * 
 
 % 
 
 ; 
 
 # 
 
 In a very late inscription cited above,^^ mention was made of the 
 kpabifopos TOiv ayLcoraTOiP jjLvaTaploiu, an indication that mysteries 
 formed a part in the service for these chthonic deities. The myste- 
 ries no doubt existed also in earlier times; but though two other 
 inscriptions definitely mention the word, they are too fragmentary 
 to reveal what the connection may be. One of these seems to tell 
 that Tiberius supplied new mysteries.^^ Hiller von Gaertringen 
 suggested x^ovIols before OkaLaL,"-^ but the restoration is rather doubt- 
 ful. The other inscription^^ has the phrase ext tC^v iivarripiijiv, but 
 is so mutilated that we cannot tell whether the mysteries are those 
 of the chthonic deities, or of Artemis or the Emperor, who are men- 
 tioned in the fragments. 
 
 For towns other than Mytilene and Eresus wt have no information 
 about the Demeter cult. But we may suppose that Methymna had 
 a cult of the goddess, for a scholium to Hesiod's Theogony^^ says, 
 '' Some say Persephone was carried off from Sicily, but Bacchyhdes says 
 from Crete, and Orpheus from the regions about Oceanus, and Phano- 
 demus from Attica, and Demades kv vairais. " The last phrase has 
 been thought to perhaps signify Nape, which was situated in the 
 plain near Methymna. The identification is very uncertain, but 
 the tradition w^hich Demades reports may have arisen because of the 
 extensive Demeter worship in that part of Lesbos. 
 
 Sittig gives nine names derived from the cult of Demeter.^^ 
 
 Of the coin representations, those worthy of special mention are 
 the small Lesbian hektai of the fourth century, which have preserved 
 an interesting type of the veiled Demeter. FarnelP^ thinks "the 
 ample brow, large surface of cheek, and strong chin are inherited 
 from the older style, but the deep-cut eye-sockets and a certain 
 maturity in the contours impart a special character to the face; there 
 is a shadow upon it and yet a certain brightness proper to the corn- 
 mother in the upturned gaze." Demeter (or Cora) with Athena 
 
 2< I. G. XII, ii, 255. 
 
 26 1. G. XII, ii, 205 = Collitz, Dial. Inschr. no. 222. Found near Mytilene, 
 on the way leading to Thermae. Cf . Hiller v. Gaertringen, Pauly-Wissowa, Real- 
 Encycl. VI, 712, and Nilsson, Gr. Feste, p. 353. 
 
 20 Pauly-Wissowa, Real-Encycl. IV, 2747. 
 
 " I. G. XII, ii, 26. 
 
 "1.914. 
 
 2» Sittig, op. cit. p. 167. 
 
 »° Farnell, op. cit. Ill, p. 272. 
 
48 
 
 THE CULTS OF LESBOS 
 
 anci Dionysus is represented on a coin of Lucius Verus,^^ but the 
 
 reaM'Ti for the grouping i? unknown. 
 
 The following coins represent Demeter: — 
 
 Lesbos: Wroth, Cat. p. 168, no. 118-21; Mionnet, SuppL VI, p. 51, no. 12. 
 
 Mytilene: Wroth, Cat. p. 199, no. 164(?). 
 
 Methymna: Mionnet, Suppl. VI, p. 56, no. 33. 
 
 Eresus: Wroth, Cat. p. 176, no. 1, Demeter or Apollo; Mionnet, Descr. 
 
 Ill, p. 36, no. 29-35; Suppl. VI, p. 52, no. 13, 14-5; Eckhel, D. N. II, 
 
 p. 501; Head, H. N. p. 560, Demeter or Apollo. 
 Koinon: Wroth, Cat. p. 169, no. 2(?). 
 Persephone-Lesbos: Wroth, Cat. p. 162, no. 65-6. Eresus: Mionnet, 
 
 Descr. Ill, p. 37, no. 38. 
 Ear of Corn-Mvtilene: Wroth, Cat. p. 188, no. 47, 48(?); p. 189, no. 49-50; 
 
 p. 190, no. 66-7(?); Eresus: Wroth, Cat. p. 176, no. 2-7; Mionnet, 
 
 Descr. Ill, p. 37, no. 37. 
 
 »i See p. 65. 
 
 Hephaestus 
 
 The proximity of Lesbos to Lemnos makes us reasonably sure 
 that the cult of Hephaestus was established among the Lesbians 
 at an early time. But the evidence is rather uncertain. Some 
 scholars believe that a month Hephaistios was known in Lesbos, 
 but the inscription which names it is not proved to be Lesbian.^ 
 Wilamowitz concludes from a passage in Pliny that there was a city 
 Hephaistia in Lesbos i^ but the text of Pliny reads Lemnos, and 
 Lemnos rather than Lesbos suits the context. Alcaeus composed 
 an ode to Hephaestus, from which we should infer a local interest 
 in the god.^ Likewise this deity is represented on a coin of Methym- 
 na;^ and at Eresus there is inscriptional record of a woman's name 
 Eaphaistis.^ Although there is no strong point in the evidence if 
 considered singly, yet taken all together, and with a consideration 
 of the geographical situation, it is sufficient to indicate that the 
 Hephaestus cult was well known in Lesbos. 
 
 !, 
 
 » C. I. G. IV, 6850. See p. 10. 
 
 » Pliny, H. N. IV, 73. WUamowitz, Gotting. Gel. Nachr. 1895, p. 232. 
 
 •Alcaeus, Erg. 11, Bergk. Sappho, Erg. 66, Bergk, mentions him. 
 
 * Mionnet, Descr. Ill, p. 39, no. 54. 
 
 • I. G. XII, ii, 535. 
 
 THE TWELVE GODS 
 
 49 
 
 Ares 
 
 A com from Lesbos^ dating 440-350 B. C, has on its obverse a 
 beardless male head, wearing a crested helmet ormanented with a 
 griffin. Wroth suggested that the head was of Ares. 
 
 1 Wroth, Cat. p. 165, no. 95-7. 
 
 S 
 
 Hestia 
 
 No real evidence for a cult of Hestia in Lesbos has yet been dis- 
 covered. The claim which has been formerly made^ that a cult of 
 Hestia Wpvravda existed at Mytilene rests on the uncertain testimony 
 of a restored inscription.^ It is true that the restoration was based 
 on similarity to an inscription from Syros^ which contained the name 
 Hestia Prytaneia. But a later reading of the stone by Paton reveals 
 letters which exclude the possibility that the restoration should 
 be correct."* Likewise incorrect is the supposition that another 
 Lesbian inscription mentions a priestess of Hestia in Mytilene;^ 
 for the words rats Upriats rfis 'Eortas refer to the Vestal Virgins in 
 Rome.^ No types on coins have yet been identified with Hestia 
 in Lesbos. 
 
 (^> 
 
 I 
 
 ^ 
 
 1 Preller-Robert, Gr. Myth. p. 425, n. 2; Gruppe, Gr. Mylh. p. 1405, n. I; 
 Farnell, op. cit. V, p. 348. 
 
 2 1. G. XII, ii, 68, 1.3 = B. C. H. IV, 1880, p. 424. 
 ' I. G. XII, vS 659-60; 662-4; 666-7. 
 
 * Cf. Pauly-Wissowa, Real-Encycl. VIII, 1285; Roscher's Lexikon, I, 2638. 
 
 * Preller-Robert, /. c. 
 
 « I. G. XII, ii, 58 b, 1. 23. 
 
I 1 
 
 II t 
 
 CHArXER II 
 Other Deities 
 
 Adrasteia 
 
 This Trojan-Phrygian goddess^ is supposed to have been a form 
 of Cybele, confused by false etymology with Nemesis and very 
 closely related to her.- She was given the name because of Adrastus, 
 the Phrygian king, who founded a shrine for her. Her worship 
 was introduced into Lesbos from Asia Minor, but at what time it 
 is impossible to tell. At any rate an inscription of the first century 
 A. D. speaks of a irdpedpos of Adrasteia, and attests that her worship 
 was established in the island by that date. On the reverse of a 
 coin of Antoninus Pius"^ there is a figure which Wroth designates as 
 Nemesis, and describes as a woman ''in a chiton and peplos, standing 
 left, her right arm bent at the elbow, and plucking the chiton at 
 her neck; at her feet a wheel." It may be that a representation of 
 Adrasteia was here intended. On another coin figures identified 
 also as Nemesis stand on each side of a group including Cybele, 
 Asclepius and Artemis of Ephesus. 
 
 1 Pauly-Wissowa, Real-Encycl. 1, 408 f.; Hasluck, Cyzicus, p. 220; Robinson, 
 A. J. A. 1912, p. 29. 
 
 ' Paton and Hicks, Inscr. from Cos, no. 29. 
 
 3 Wroth, Cat. p. 206, no. 201. Mionnet, Descr. Ill, p. 47, no. 114. No. 
 115 is also identified as Nemesis. 
 
 Asdephis 
 
 The original home of Asclepius was Thessaly^ and in Homer he is 
 named as a Thessalian physician.- But he was soon after deified, 
 and from that country his cult came to Asia Minor and the neigh- 
 boring islands. Because of the very close relation of Lesbos and 
 Thessaly we should expect Asclepius to hold an important place 
 in the religious life of the Lesbians. Indeed it is assumed that Lesbos 
 had one of the oldest cults in the East, and connecting links between 
 that island and Cos are not lacking.^ Actual evidence for the earlier 
 
 » Roscher's Lexikon, I, 623; Pauly-Wissowa, Real-Encycl. II, 1645. 
 
 2 11. II, 731; IV, 194; XI, 518. 
 
 3 Wilamowitz, Philol. Untersuch. IX, 1886, pp. 52 f.; Thraemer, Pauly- 
 Wissowa, Real-Encycl. II, 1660 f. 
 
 J" 4 
 
 < 
 
 m 
 
 OTHER DEITIES 
 
 51 
 
 centuries among the Lesbians, however, is entirely missing; and so 
 we are forced to depend on the arguments of colonization and the 
 importance of the cult in times later than the fourth century. For 
 the period after 300 B. C. there is ample testimony from both inscrip- 
 tions and coins. But the information obtained up to the present 
 time is concerned only with Mytilene and the country in its vicinity. 
 
 We know that in the third century B.C. Mytilene had an important 
 temple of Asclepius, for in the well-known inscription containing 
 pledges of Eumenes to his soldiers^ (and dating between 263 and 
 241), directions were given that copies of the document be placed 
 in the temple of Athena at Pergamum, in Gryneum, in Delos, and 
 in the temple of Asclepius in Mytilene. We know that the temples 
 in Pergamum, Gryneum^ and Delos were famous even beyond the 
 hmits of their respective territory. We infer that the temple of 
 Asclepius in Mytilene was likewise well-known. This evidence is 
 reinforced by another inscription found at Pergamum and dating 
 from the second century B. C.*^ It is a decree of the people of 
 Pergamum concerning the possession of the priesthood of Asclepius, 
 and makes provision for the erection of a copy in the temple of 
 Asclepius at Pergamum, in the temple of Athena on the Acropolis, 
 and in the temple of Asclepius at Mytilene. From Mytilene also 
 comes evidence that this temple^ was an important repository for 
 international decrees. By an inscription'^ found there we learn that 
 the Aetolians in the third century B. C. expressed friendship for 
 the people of Mytilene. The latter replied with a decree of praise, 
 and directed that this decree and that of the Aetolians be placed 
 in the temple of Asclepius. 
 
 Efforts have been made to locate this important temple. A large 
 architrave block reading, 
 
 . . . ykvqs Ipevs rd ItUiTrjpos 'Aa/cXaTrto; 5ta yheos 
 . . . Ota 'AaKKaiTLOJ adcrr^pL wepl vyeias 
 dates from the second or first century B. C.^ One end is now broken 
 away, but the stone was once very large and belonged to a fine 
 
 * Frankel, Inschr. v. Pergamon, I, no. 13, 1. 18 = Dittenberger, O. G. I. no. 
 266. Frankel thinks it dates soon after 263. 
 
 * Frankel, /. c. (note, p. 16) for the celebrated Apollo temple at Gryneum. 
 « Frankel, op. cit. II, no. 251, 1. 40. 
 
 ' A. J. A. VI, 1890, p. 355. 
 
 » I. G. XII, ii, 15, I. 34, and Raton's note. 
 
 »I. G. XII, ii, 116 = B. C. H. IV, 1880, p. 426, no. 5. 
 
 /v 
 
;;i 
 
 i:l 
 
 il; 
 
 f!i 
 
 52 
 
 THE CULTS OF LESBOS 
 
 building of Asclepius. The stone was found in the Turkish fortress 
 on the Acropolis, which was the oldest part of Mytilene. E. Fabri- 
 cius and C. Cichorius discovered in about the same place a number of 
 other inscriptions which contained public documents. ^^ Accordingly 
 Cichorius^^ decided that the temple of Asclepius was probably situated 
 on the hill of the present fortress, on the highest part of the Acropolis. 
 One of his arguments is that the architrave block is too large to have 
 been moved very far. Koldewey/^ when he examined the topography 
 of Mytilene, said that by this we cannot prove the location of the 
 temple, for at the building of the fortress, material for it was collected 
 from the whole district. An inscription of about the third century 
 B. C.^^ gives praise to Athanadas for bringing water to the Asclepieum 
 and to the city, if we accept a very probable restoration by Paton. 
 This inscription indicates with more probability a site, not on the 
 Acropolis, which in ancient times was a small island, ^"^ but on 
 the mainland, and on lower ground. Sanctuaries of Asclepius 
 were usually placed where a supply of running water was available, 
 and not on the top of a hill. Also the inscription giving praise to 
 the Aetolians v/as found in the foundations of the old church of 
 St. Symeon, between the two harbors, in the region where Koldewey 
 thinks the ancient agora was located. ^^ The common view now is 
 that the temple of Asclepius stood nearby, in the place where is the 
 new church of St. Therapon.^*^ 
 
 The cult of the temple from which the architrave block came was 
 that of Asclepius 'Zcorrjp,^'^ for this epithet is twice used upon the stone. 
 And the name is likewise recorded by two other inscriptions from 
 Mytilene ;^^ also by one from the neighboring town of Hiera.^^ One 
 
 ^° A. J. A. /. c. Fabricius thinks the compact between Rome and Mytilene 
 must have been placed in this temple, Athen. Mitth. IX, 1884, p. 86. 
 
 11 Athen. Mitth. XIII, 1888, p. 56, no. 6, note. The stone measures I. 39 m 
 in length and .41 m in width. 
 
 12 Koldewey, op. cit. p. 10. 
 13 1. G. XII, ii, 4. 
 
 1* Koldewey, op. cit. p. 3. 
 
 1* Koldewey, op. cit. p. 10. 
 
 1" Papageorgiu, Inschr. v. Myt. p. 23. 
 
 "I. G. XII, ii, 116. 
 
 i« I. G. XII, ii, 61 and 102. 
 
 i» I. G. XII, ii, 484. This inscription, as well as the two named in the pre- 
 ceding note, record names of men who served in the worship of Asclepius. The 
 title Soter is obviously a very common one for Asclepius. 
 
 1L-^ I 
 
 OTHER DEITIES 
 
 53 
 
 of these inscriptions from Mytilene reads,^^ iravlpevs Kal ipevs 5td yheos 
 rCo 'EcoTTjpos 'AcTKXaTrio) Kal ipeus 5td ^Ico Aea^ioLs] and the expression 
 6td yheos occurs also in I. G. XII, ii, 61 and 116. There was in 
 Mytilene an inherited priesthood. Thraemer thinks that these 
 priests belonged not to the family of Asclepiads derived from Poda- 
 lirius, for he was a stranger in Aeolis, and that the descent must 
 accordingly be traced from Machaon. He connects the cult here 
 with the branches at Andros, Thera, and Gortyna.^^ But Poda- 
 lirius was apparently recognized in Lesbos in the third century B. C, 
 at any rate. For in Pyrrha Uodaketpico is inscribed on a stone^^ which 
 Paton believes to be an altar. 
 
 Besides the office of inherited priest at Mytilene, we know of one 
 other office in the service of Asclepius — the Zakoros of Asclepius 
 Soter, which is inscribed on a stone found at Hiera,^^ south-east 
 of the city. 
 
 An inscription of late Imperial times^"^ gives a list of men with the 
 word dpewTos attached to their names. Lolling supposes this is a 
 list of freedmen, who as lepol stood under the protection of the sanc- 
 tuary at which their manumission had taken place. 
 
 Hygeia likewise had part in the cult. A coin of the time of Gal- 
 lienus shows Asclepius looking towards Hygeia. He holds in the 
 right hand a snake-encircled staff; Hygeia, feeds a serpent from a 
 patera.^^ 
 
 From the reign of Hadrian to that of Gallienus the coins show 
 that in almost all Asia Minor the worship of Telesphorus flourished.^ 
 This god seems to have been introduced into Asclepius cult in Roman 
 times, and to have also received a place in Lesbos. His portrait 
 has been found on coins of the island ;^^ and an inscription of Kato- 
 Pyrgi from Roman times^^ mentions a man named Telesphorus. 
 
 20 1. G. XII, ii, 102 = Kaibel, Eph. Epig. II, p. 21, XXV. 
 
 '1 Roscher's Lexikon, I, 630; Pauly-Wissowa, Real-Encycl. II, 1660 f. 
 
 « I. G. XII, ii, 477. 
 
 w I. G. XII, ii, 484. 
 
 «*I. G. XII, ii, 85 = Athen. Mitth. XI, 1886, p. 270, No. 13. I. G. XII, 
 ii, 116 and 117. 'Apxaykra occurs in a very fragmentary inscription, I. G. 
 XII, ii, 61, I. 16, from which it is impossible to determine to whom the 
 name applies. The inscription tells of an emperor and a priest of Asclepius. 
 
 ^ Wroth, Cat. p. 203, no. 183 and Mionnet, Descr. Ill, p. 51, no. 133. 
 
 ^ L. Schenck, De Telesphoro Deo, Gottingen, 1888, p. 47. 
 
 ^ He also occurs on coins of Pordoselene. Wroth, Cat. p. 219, no. 4 (time of 
 Septimius Severus). 
 
 "I. G. XII, ii, 108 = Athen. Mitth. XI, 1886, p. 281. 
 
 A 
 
', 
 
 V'l 
 
 54 
 
 THE CULTS OF LESBOS 
 
 None of the cities except Mytilene have as yet been found to have 
 stamped coins representing Asclepius. Those of Mytilene bearing 
 his type range in date from perhaps the fourth century B. C. to the 
 time of the emperors Valerian and Gallienus. On the alliance coins 
 of Mytilene and Adramyttium of this last period Asclepius occurs 
 frequently. On still another coin Tyche holds a figure of Asclepius 
 with Dionysus, thus indicating perhaps the importance of the god. 
 
 One of the types that is particularly difficult to interpret represents 
 a standing figure which is like to the youthful Asclepius, and bears 
 the legend IIANKPATIAHZ.^^ The same legend occurs also on a 
 coin with a youthful male head. Svoronos and others have thought 
 that Pankratides is an epithet of Asclepius.^^ Although the name 
 is appropriate as such a title, it seems here to denote a physician of 
 Mytilene, who was given the attributes of the deity as a mark of 
 honor. Another interesting type represents Asclepius with Cybele,^^ 
 and alliance coins of Valerian and Gallienus show him with the 
 Tyche of Mytilene.^"-^ 
 
 The coins give us the only representations of Asclepius, except 
 two reliefs which Conze'^'^ found at Methymna. The stone containing 
 the more interesting rehef is very small (Conze, PI. X, 3, gives the exact 
 size), and shows both in character and art influences of the later period 
 of antiquity. The right hand rests on a staff which is encircled 
 by a serpent, and holds a flying victor\% with a garland and 
 perhaps a palm. Before him is a plant very much like a vine 
 with grapes. Conze points out that an Asclepius Nt/cr7<^6pos is new,^"* 
 but not a thing remarkable. He suggests that the vine denotes the 
 curative properties of Lesbian wine, and calls attention to the fact 
 that the wine of Methymna was especially medicinal. 
 
 Lesbians were also interested in Asclepius cults abroad. A decree 
 of the people of Mytilene^ praises the Thessalians and provides for 
 sending to the sacrifice of Asclepius a garland and a sacrifice. 
 
 » See p. 92. 
 
 »° Svoronos, Riv. Ital. di Numis. XXI, 1908, p. 319. 
 3' Mionnet, Descr. p. 45, no. 99-100; Eckhel, D. N. II, p. 505. 
 32 Wroth, Cat. p. 214, no. 233 and 234. 
 '3 Conze, op. cit. p. 22. 
 
 3* NtKi7<^pos is applied to Zeus, Athena and Aphrodite. 
 
 '5 Papageorgiu, Uned. Inschr. v. Myt. no. 1, II. 11 f. Bechtel, Aeolica, p. 7, 
 restores Btaplav in place of artifavov. 
 
 \. 
 
 T 
 
 *-, * 
 
 I 
 
 0) 
 
 ' 
 
 \i 
 
 OTHER DEITIES 
 
 55 
 
 The well-known record of cures found at Epidaurus tells of He- 
 raieus of Mytilene who was cured of baldness in the sanctuary there.^^ 
 
 Aneicetus, son of Aneicetus, twice won the games in honor of 
 Asclepius at Pergamum,^^ and Hermias, son of Neocles of Pyrrha,^^ 
 made an offering at Epidaurus. 
 
 The following coins represent Asclepius: — 
 
 Lesbos: Wroth, Cat. p. 167, no. 113-4, Asclepius or Zeus; p. 168, no. 
 
 115-7(?); Eckhel, D. N. II, p. 505. 
 Mytilene: Wroth, Cat. p. 199, no. 161-3, Asclepius or Pankratides; p. 
 
 201, no. 177; p. 203, no. 183; p. 206, no. 202; p. 214, no. 233-4; Mionnet, 
 
 Descr. Ill, p. 45, no. 99-101; p. 51, no. 132-3, Asclepius or Pankratides; 
 
 p. 52, no. 139; p. 59, no. 183; Suppl. VI, p. 66, no. 93, Asclepius or 
 
 Pankratides; p. 67, no. 98, 100; p. 69, no. 109; p. 77, no. 148; Head, 
 
 H. N. p. 562; Riv. Ital. di Numis. XXI, p. 319. 
 Eresus: Head, H. N. p. 560(?). 
 Telesphorus-Mytilene: Mionnet, Descr. Ill, p. 44, no. 89; Suppl. VI, 
 
 p. 69, no. 110. 
 Hygeia-Mytilene: Wroth, Cat. p. 203, no. 183; Mionnet, Descr. Ill, p. 
 
 51, no. 133. 
 
 3«I. G. IV, 951, 1. 122 = Dittenberger, Syl. 802 = Michei, Recueil, 1069. Of 
 the third century B. C. doubtless. 
 
 " I. G. XII, ii, 388. The inscription was found at Mytilene, and the inference 
 is that Aneicetus lived in that city. 
 
 3^1. G. IV, 1506. Pyrrha may be in Thessaly or Caria or Lesbos. 
 
 Ca'istris 
 
 A small votive tablet from Mytilene of the early Empire^ reads 
 HeKovvba. evxw KaicrTpidL av'edriKev. Ca'istris seems to have been one 
 of the minor deities of Lesbos. 
 
 Cybele 
 
 At Eresus an inscription was found which reads "A<^ato-ris 6€o5a;- 
 pHa yvva raU Tpairk^ais Marpt.^ This dedication dates from the 
 third or second century B. C. A very interesting inscription of 
 the same city shows resistance offered to her special worship by the 
 provision that no priest of Cybele be allowed to enter the temple 
 and that women be not permitted to perform the Phrygian orgy in 
 the precinct.^ 
 
 * I. G. XII, ii, 120. Index VII Hsts it among Res Sacrae. 
 
 2 1. G. XII, ii, 535 = Collitz, Dial. Inschr. no. 289. 
 
 3 CI. Rev. XVI, 1902, p. 290. Farnell, op. cit. Ill, p. 303. 
 
 s * ^» 
 
56 
 
 THE CULTS OF LESBOS 
 
 1 
 
 U 
 
 i 
 
 if 
 
 h 
 
 r 
 
 Fick^ supposes that her cult was very early and important in the 
 region of Methymna when he suggests that the name of the town 
 was derived from two words — Ma the great Mother Goddess of 
 Asia Minor, and QvjjLPa, a place in Paphlagonia. But the derivation 
 of Methymna is still an unanswered problem. 
 
 In an inscription of Methymna dating perhaps third century B. 
 C, there is a dedication to Agdissis;^ but no deity or mortal of this 
 name is known. As the inscription occurs on what appears to be a 
 sepulchral stone, it may be the name of a person. Paton includes 
 it in the index of Nomina Virorum et Mulierum, as well as among 
 the Res Sacrae. Pausanias and others^ explain Agdistis as equiv- 
 alent to Cybele, and perhaps Agdissis here also refers to her. 
 
 At Mytilene Conze found a relief of a late period,"^ executed with 
 great crudeness. The stone is of grey marble. Cybele sits on a 
 throne and rests her left arm on a tympanum, the right on a lion 
 which lies in her lap. The locks of her hair fall over her shoulders 
 to the breast, but the head is broken away. Under her feet is a 
 foot stool. She is attended by Hermes, whose cult seems to have 
 been connected with hers.^ Also there is a small Cybele relief of 
 usual type, which Conze had placed in the British Museum.^ 
 
 On the obverse of certain coins of Lesbos a female head wearing 
 earrings and turreted headdress, ornamented with acanthus patterns, 
 is thought to be perhaps the head of Cybele. ^^ Other coins show 
 Cybele with Asclepius,^^ and Cybele with Asclepius and Artemis 
 of Ephesus.^2 
 
 Sittig reports fourteen names, a surprisingly high percentage, and 
 greater than for Greece or most points of Asia Minor. 
 
 Dionysus 
 
 Though Apollo and Artemis were probably more important dei- 
 ties in the region of Mytilene during the fifth and fourth centuries 
 
 • Fick, Vorgr. Ortsnamen, p. 62. 
 
 • I. G. XII, ii, 524. 
 
 • Paus. VII, 17, 10; Strabo, 469 and 567; Hesych. s. v. She is also named 
 in C. I. G. Ill, 3886, but the declension does not agree with that on the Lesbian 
 stone. 
 
 ' Conze, op. cit. p. 10. 
 
 • See p. 37. 
 
 • Conze, /. c. 
 
 " Wroth, Cat. p. 163, no. 69(?), 70(?). Mionnet, Descr. Ill, p. 45, no. 98. 
 
 " Mionnet, Descr. Ill, p. 45, no. 99-100. 
 
 " Mionnet, Descr. Ill, p. 46, no. 101; p. 47, no. 114. Sittig, op. cit. p. 167. 
 
 OTHER DEITIES 
 
 57 
 
 ^ * 4 
 
 
 than was Dionysus, the latter had an early established worship in 
 the island, and at Methymna in particular, he seems to have been 
 always held in the highest honor. In Roman Imperial times his 
 cult was probably the principal one throughout the whole of Lesbos, 
 as the coins of the Emperors show. And this is to be expected in 
 the island, so abundant in grapes and so celebrated for its wine.^^ 
 Besides the numismatic evidence, there are a great many inscriptions 
 and passages of hterature; practically all of which have been col- 
 lected by Wilhelm Quandt in a dissertation entitled, De Baccho ab 
 Alexan\ri Aetate in Asia Minor e Culto.^"^ 
 
 In very early times there were two important cults in the island, 
 that of Dionysus Bptaatos at the promontory of Brisa on the southern 
 shore,^^ and that by the grave of Orpheus at Antissa in the north- 
 western part. At Brisa the god was born, and brought up by the 
 Brisai; and Gruppe^^ thinks that the story of the frightening of the 
 Brisai by the Hon was also brought here from Boeotia. According 
 to Androtion, Macar, who was so important in the settlement of 
 Lesbos,^^ founded the temple of Dionysus in Brisa, and according 
 to Aelian,i8 was priest of this god. Macar was by one tradition 
 called the husband of the Sphinx.^^ We must believe that the Les- 
 bian promontory received its name from the cult, and that the name 
 Dionysus Bpiaalos was an older one imported from Greece, if we 
 accept the view of Wilamowitz and Gruppe.^o Bresadas in Boeotia,^! 
 and other proper names in northern Greece-^ are from the same 
 stem, and the nymphs were called Brisae in Ceos.^^ But most 
 important is the fact that Dionysus was worshipped in the 
 town of Bryseae on Mt. Taygetus in Laconia.^^ Here, as in a 
 
 '3 Plehn, Lesbiaca, pp. 6-8, cites the passages relating to the fame of Lesbian 
 wine. 
 
 ^* Halle, 1912, pp. 137-46. 
 
 " Steph. Byz. s. v. Bplaa. 
 
 " Gruppe, Gr. Myth. pp. 296-7. Cf. Etym. Mag. s. v. Bpiaalos, where a choice 
 for two derivations for the name are given— ^pL^nv or the name of the promontory. 
 
 ^^ See Introduction p. x. 
 
 " AeHan, V. H. 13, 2. 
 
 " F. H. G. Ill, 336, 5. 
 
 2° Called also Bprjcraalos, Hesch. s. v. See Wilamowitz, Hom. Untersuch. 
 p. 409, for variations in spelling. Gruppe, /. c. 
 
 " I. G. VII, 2556. 
 
 ^ Sittig, op. cit. pp. 89-90. 
 
 2^ Wilamowitz, /. c. 
 
 " Wide, Lakonische Kulte, p. 162. 
 
 i^k 
 
58 
 
 THE CULTS OF LESBOS 
 
 few Other cases, the myths and cults of Lesbos touch those of 
 Laconia.-^ Wide believes that the connection of Dionysus with 
 Helius in the worship on Mt. Taygetus has its parallel in the fact 
 that Macar, the priest of Dionysus in Lesbos, was called a son of 
 Helius. There seems then to be fairly conclusive evidence that the 
 Aeolians took the cult with them from Greece, and Gruppe, with 
 his suggestion of importation from Boeotia, seems nearer the truth 
 than Farnell,'-^ who thinks that ''the trail back to Boeotia is very 
 faint," and believes that the name may be derived from an autoch- 
 thonous local word of the island. Certainly the name seems well 
 established in Lesbos from an early period, and Wilamowitz has 
 asserted that the maiden Briseis, the captive of Achilles, came from 
 Lesbos." This opinion of Wilamowitz has been generally accepted. 
 An inscription shows that the name of a family of Lesbians was 
 derived from this stem;-^ and Lesbos has today a promontory called 
 Brision and a village Brisia.^^ On the promontory, in the ruined 
 chapel of Hagios Phokas, an inscription was discovered which dates 
 perhaps from the fourth century B. C., and records the dedication 
 of Megaritus, son of Aeschines, to Dionysus Bp-qaayku-q^.'^^ The cult 
 must then have flourished here for many centuries. Koldewey^^ 
 found ruins on the promontory, which allow a fairly clear recon- 
 struction of a simple Doric temple in antis dating first century B. C.; 
 and he regarded the inscription as a dedicatory tablet of this temple. 
 The Doric building would be appropriate in honor of a god remotely 
 connected with Dionvsus in Laconia. 
 
 Miss Margaret Hasluck^- believes that the cult influence went 
 out from Lesbos to Smyrna, where there is considerable evidence 
 of a Dionysus Breiseus, but none dating earlier than Hellenistic 
 times. On the coins of Smyrna we find this cult represented by a 
 bearded, elderly manifestation of Dionysus. 
 
 2s Diod. Sic. V, 56. 
 
 2« Gruppe, op. cit. p. 299. Farnell, op. cit. \, p. 116, note c. 
 " Wilamowitz, /. c. Tiimpel, Philol. 1890, pp. 89 f. puts forth the theory that 
 Chryseis also came from Lesbos. 
 
 28 1. G. XII, ii, 484, from Hiera. Both father and son have the name Bresus. 
 
 "Newton, op. cit. II, p. 13. 
 
 "I. G. XII, ii, 478 = B. C. H. IV, 1880, p. 445, no. 29. 
 
 '^ Koldewey, op. cit. pp. 63-4. 
 
 32 B. S. A. XIX, 1912-13, pp. 89 f. 
 
 OTHER DEITIES 
 
 59 
 
 I 
 
 « 
 
 Because of the story of Aelian^^ which names Macar as priest of 
 Dionysus and tells of the murder of Macar's wife and sons, it is 
 thought^^ that the Lesbian cult in early times demanded human 
 sacrifice. This view is confirmed by a passage from Clement of 
 Alexandrians which quotes Dosidas as saying that the Lesbians 
 sacrifice human beings to Dionysus. Gruppe also thinks that the 
 Muses were connected with the cult at Brisa. 
 
 The other cult of Dionysus, which probably goes back to early 
 times, seems to have had its hold in the North. Lucian^^ tells us 
 that the head of Orpheus, when it was found by the Lesbians, was 
 put in the Baccheion. Maas^^ conjectures that this sanctuary was 
 near Brisa. But as a fragment of the history of Myrsiius states 
 that the grave of Orpheus was near Antissa,^^ it is more reasonable 
 to suppose that the Baccheion was situated in that locality. Also 
 the resemblance of the story of Dionysus ^aWrjv or K€<pa\rju, which 
 is connected with Methymna, to the Orpheus legend is an argument 
 for placing the grave of Orpheus in the North. And evidently at 
 Antissa there was worship of Dionysus from primitive times, as one 
 of the coins^^ shows. It is described as having on the reverse a 
 curious head which has been called Orpheus, but which is certainly a 
 reproduction from an archaic xoanon of Dionysus ^aWrjv,*^ In 
 addition there is the testimony of Aristotle that it was the custom 
 of the people of Antissa to celebrate the Dionysia splendidly, spend- 
 ing great sums for other things, and also for costly sacrifices.^^ 
 
 In all probabiHty the cult most conspicuous in Methymna was 
 that of Dionysus ^aW^u or Ke<pa\rjp,^^ about which a strange story 
 was told. Pausanias^n says that some fishermen at Methymna 
 dragged up in their nets from the sea a mask made of olive wood. 
 
 »3 Aelian, V. H. 13, 2. 
 
 " Gruppe, Gr. Myth. p. 297. 
 
 3« Clemens Alex. Protrep. Ill, 42; F. H. G. IV, p. 400, 5; Cook, Zeus, I, p. 656. 
 3« Lucian, Adv. Indoct. 11 f. 
 " Maas, Orpheus, p. 131, n. 9. 
 " Antig. Hist. Mir. ch. 5 = F. H. G. IV, 459, 8. 
 " Head, H. N. p. 560. 
 
 *° On a coin of Antissa, dating 300-167 B. C, Wroth, Cat. p. 175, no. 8, Diony- 
 sus IS probably represented. Grapes are a symbol on this coin. 
 " Arist. Oecon. II, 1347 a, 25. 
 
 *^K€<pa\r}pa is the MS reading, ^aWrjpa is Lobeck's emendation. Lobeck, 
 Aglaoph. II, p. 1087. 
 
 "Paus. X, 19, 3. Cf. Ernst Maas, Hermes, XXIII, 1888, pp. 74-5. 
 
60 
 
 THE CULTS OF LESBOS 
 
 The features were somewhat divine but foreign and not usual in 
 Greek gods. So the people of Methymna asked the Pythian priest- 
 ess of which one of the gods or heroes it was a likeness; and she bade 
 them worship Dionysus ^a\\r]v or KeipaXrjp. Thereupon the 
 Methymnaeans, keeping the wooden image from the sea, honored it 
 with sacrifices and prayers, and sent a bronze copy to Delphi. In 
 Eusebius'^ the oracle is given as, 
 
 'AXXd Ke ^lr)dvfxin]s uaeraLS ttoXv Xcotov earat 
 
 ^aW7]u6v TifiCoai ^Lovvaoio Kaprivov. 
 From this passage it looks as if the reading of Lobeck in the Pausanias 
 passage were very probable, and it has met with general acceptance. 
 Hofer^ calls attention to the fact that the corruption to Ke(pa\i]v 
 could easily have arisen if originally ^lovvaov Ke<paXriv ^aWrjuos were 
 written and corruption arose because of the similarity of the last 
 two words. Head thinks that the coin evidence is in favor of 
 ^aWrjv.^ But Farnell^^ stands opposed, and declares that this word 
 as a cult epithet of Dionysus is a fiction of Lobeck. He admits 
 that in Eusebius the oracle is quoted ^aWrjvov, but says that Eusebius 
 in his comment, which follows, shows that he regards the adjective 
 as descriptive of the material of the head, and not as an epithet of 
 Dionysus. Farnell connects the story with that of the head of 
 Orpheus which came from the shore of Thrace. He believes in 
 Dionysus Ke(pa\r]u. But the analogy to the Orpheus legend and the 
 importance evidently given to the image in the celebration of the 
 festival, make it very likely that KecpaXrjva was a corruption and 
 that the real cult was of Dionysus ^aWrjv. 
 
 The people of Methymna must have possessed a very old statue 
 of Dionysus which was regarded with particular veneration.'*^ For 
 a Methymnaean inscription of praise^^ which reads, (11. 8f.) (jTC(^d- 
 vcocat 'Aj^a^u*;j'a 'Ava^lcovos tv rots LiiLovvuloKJi irpd rds ro) ayaKnaros irtpupo- 
 pas, bears witness that an image was carried about at the festival of 
 the Dionysia. This inscription dates perhaps from the end of the 
 
 **Euseb. Praep. Evang. V, 36; Anth. Pal. App. VI, 67. Cf. Theodoret. Graec. 
 Affect. Curatio, X, 962, for same oracle. 
 
 « Roscher's Lexikon, III, 2244. 
 
 *« Gruppe, Roscher's Lexikon, III, 1094. Head, H. N. pp. 561-2. Wroth, 
 CI. Rev. XI, 1897, pp. 227 f. 
 
 *'' Farnell, op. ciL V, p. 127, note a. 
 
 " S. Reinach, B. C. H. VII, 1883, pp. 40-1. 
 
 "I. G. XII, ii, 503 = Collitz, Dial. Inschr. no. 277. Cf. the procession with 
 the Dionysus figure at Delos and Athens, Nilsson, Gr. Feste, pp. 280-2. 
 
 OTHER DEITIES 
 
 61 
 
 ^= 4 
 
 third or the beginning of the second century B. C. One from Eresus, 
 by a very probable restoration, also reads d tQv aya\^jLdTo)v [wepi- 
 (popa], ^^ and would seem to indicate that the same kind of festival 
 took place in the south-west part of the island. 
 
 In these two cities the celebration of the Dionysia was in later 
 times, at any rate, accompanied by dramatic performances; for an 
 inscription concerning arbitration between Methymna and Eresus 
 of about 167 B. C.^^ reads (1.54) km toIs ALowalois rw ayojvL rw aKavUcjj 
 in the decree of the people of Methymna, and ewl re rots ALowaloLat 
 TO) ay(A)VL Tcov rpaydcibLov in the decree of the people of Eresus. Part of 
 the festival at Methymna is apparently described in I. G. XII, ii, 499,^^ 
 an inscription of Roman times. The lines are very fragmentary, 
 but seem to tell of service in a temple.^ Nilsson^ believes the festival 
 was in two parts; the second, the Fannychis, being celebrated by 
 women exclusively. But in the first men also took part, as the 
 masculine forms show. OvpaoL, at the end indicates, he thinks, an 
 orgiastic festival. 
 
 At Methymna one of the months was named Dionysos,^^ and at 
 Eresus the month 'x\.yeppdvLos^^ was named no doubt in honor of this 
 god. The Bacchic Agrionia was a festival wild in character, and 
 occurred especially in Boeotia.^^ From there it spread to the islands. 
 Agrionios was also a month of the Boeotian calendar. ^^ Here seems 
 to be another trace in Lesbos of northern Greek influence. 
 
 Hesychius^^ gives Mr]evtxvalos as an epithet of Dionysus and Eusta- 
 thius says Methymna was named for Dionysus, but the common 
 epithet is MedvyLvalos, derived from p,kdv and similar to Auatos, Eutos, 
 etc.,^0 and has probably nothing to do with the name of the town. 
 
 " I. G. XII, ii, 527, 1. 28. See also 11. 24 and ?,Z. 
 
 " Wiegand, MUet, III, no. 152, 11. 54, 76, 82 and 88. 
 
 '2 Published also in B. C. H. IV, 1880, pp. 440 f. = Collitz Dial. Inschr. no. 279. 
 
 " The olKovofios must not be less than 40 years old, he must keep the sanctuary 
 within and forbid all strangers to the cult, and see to the fulfillment of the laws, 
 B. C. H. /. c. 
 
 " Nilsson, op. cit. p. 283. Paton thinks this a woman's festival, I. G. XII, 
 ii, 499, note. 
 
 «I. G. XII, ii, 502,1. 12. 
 
 " I. G. XII, ii, 527, 1 45. 
 
 »' Daremberg at Saglio, Diet, des Antiq. I, p. 167. 
 
 »* Pauly-Wissowa, Real-Encycl. I, 896. It also occurs as a man's name in 
 Boeotia, Sittig, op. cit. p. 94. 
 
 " Hesychius, s. v. Eustath. Schol. D. 329, 4. 
 
 " Plut. Quaest. Conviv. Ill, 2, 1; Athen. VIII, 363 b. 
 
 A 
 
62 
 
 THE CULTS OF LESBOS 
 
 OTHER DEITIES 
 
 63 
 
 From Bresa doubtless a cult of Dionysus was later established in 
 Mvtilene. But the earliest evidence of his recosjnition in the latter 
 place is furnished by coins of the fourth and third centuries B. C, 
 on which representations of the god himself, the thyrsus, or bunches 
 of grapes appear. An archaic simulacrum of Dionysus is a familiar 
 type, and gives indication that the god of Mytilene was in some 
 respects like to the Dionysus of Methymna. Terminal figures of 
 him appear first on silver coins of the second and first centuries and 
 represent the god draped, w^ith the hair falling in two long curls. 
 On the head is a tall headdress, or an ivy garland.^^ Often the 
 figure is placed on the prow of a ship^^ as a symbol of the wine export. 
 In the time of the Emperors of the second and third centuries he 
 is most prominent of all the deities, his closest rival being Artemis. 
 The favorite type becomes the Tyche of Mytilene, seated on a throne, 
 in her right hand a patera and in her left a term of Dionysus.*^^ Wroth 
 is correct in saying that the Tyche of Mytilene holds this term 
 apparently because Dionysus was then the chief deity of the city. 
 
 Longus,^"* about four centuries after Christ, in describing the region 
 near Mytilene says, ''In the very middle of the park was an altar 
 dedicated to Dionysus. Ivy encircled the altar, and vine branches 
 the temple. Within, the temple had pictures relating to Dionysus — 
 the delivery of Semele, Ariadne sleeping, Lycurgus in fetters, Pen- 
 theus torn in pieces, the victories over the people of India and the 
 metamorphosis of the Tyrrhenian sailors. Everywhere were Satyrs 
 treading, everywhere Bacchantes; nor was Pan omitted. He was 
 represented as sitting on a rock and playing his pipe, like to him who 
 supplies the tune for the men as they tread and the w^omen as they 
 dance." In the rural districts of Lesbos, Dionysus was associated 
 very closely with Pan and the Nymphs,^^ and this description seems 
 to have been based on some real temple and altar in the vicinity of 
 the city. Though the account is late, there had probably not been 
 much change for several centuries in general appearance. 
 
 •^ Wroth, Cat. p. Lxxvi and pp. 193-4. 
 
 «2 Wroth, Cat. p. 196. 
 
 " W'roth, Cat. p. IxLx and pp. 202-15. On certain coins of the 2nd and 1st 
 century, Dionysus is represented on the obverse and a term of him on the reverse 
 of the same coin, Wroth, Cat. pp. 193 f. 
 
 " Longus, Past. IV, 3. 
 
 " Many passages in Longus indicate this. His detailed descriptions of Lesbos 
 have led scholars to believe that he was a Lesbian. Cf. Christ, Gr. Littera- 
 turgesch. II, pp. 653 f. 
 
 ^-Nf 
 
 V 
 
 The exact nature of the god at Mytilene is difficult to determine, 
 but perhaps his cult closely resembled the one at Methymna. So 
 Wroth thinks because of an archaic simulacrum^^ which is a familiar 
 type on the coins. He adds that this Dionysus is just such a type 
 as we should expect at Methymna, and belongs to a well-known series 
 of archaic representations of the wine god. TumpeP' sees in the 
 character of Dionysophanes of Longus' romance a clear Dionysus, 
 and in the poet Longus himself an dpxtpeus of Mytilene, mentioned 
 in an inscription^^ of that city, AdXos . . . os Aoyyos Aiopvalodc^pjos 
 TTttts AvlprjXlov "E]pfMo\aov; but there is no conclusive evidence for such 
 an identification. In fact the forms of the letters show that the 
 inscription is of too early a date. 
 
 The only cult name furnished by inscriptions^^ f^j. Dionysus in 
 Mytilene is that of 'E^Sofievs, which belongs to about the time of 
 Hadrian or later. The title is usually applied to Apollo, but here 
 in Lesbos it may mean that there was a sacrifice to Dionysus on 
 the seventh day, as was a custom for Apollo and other deities. ^^ It 
 is not surprising to find the number seven used among the Lesbian 
 cults, as that number plays an important role in Boeotia as well as 
 in the myths of Lesbos. ^^ 
 
 At Pyrgi, near Mytilene, was found a round altar of dark marble 
 dedicated to Aiovmo: Geco by an inscription of about the third century 
 A. D.72 ^igQ ^ dedication from Mytilene was recently pubKshed 
 by Papageorgiu. Two other inscriptions of Mytilene seem to men- 
 tion Dionysus, but need of much restoration forbids a definite 
 decision. '^^ 
 
 The Dionysia at Mytilene was a very important celebration, and 
 it was frequently decreed that men be praised in that festival for 
 
 " Wroth, Cat. p. Ixvi. See also P. Gardner, Types of Greek Coins, p. 79 
 and PI. XV, no. II. ''The head in particular is of a [distinctly non-Hellenic 
 type, with the tall headdress, and long pointed beard. " 
 
 •' Tumpel, Philol. XLVIII, 1889, p. 115, no. 31. 
 
 " I. G. XII, II, ii, 249 = B. C. H. IV, 1880, pp. 431 f. 
 
 "L G. XII, ii, 123. 
 
 '<> Eitrem, Pauly-Wissowa, Real-Encycl. VII, 2579. 
 
 '' Tumpel, Roscher's Lexikon, II, 1949 f. and Roscher, Abh. der Sachs. Gesell. 
 der Wiss. XXI, no. 14. The seven Lesbian maidens of Homer, the seven Muses 
 and the seven sons and daughters of Macar especially iUustrate this. 
 
 "I. G. XII, ii, 124. 
 
 " I. G. XII, ii, 64 and 136. No. 64 seems to be a decree placed in his temple, 
 and no. 136 a dedication. 
 
64 
 
 THE CULTS OF LESBOS 
 
 OTHER DEITIES 
 
 65 
 
 i I 
 
 ) I 
 
 their good will and benefactions to the city.''' The inscription 
 h Tols ALovvcFLOLaL TO) ajcovL [tu)p Tpaycc6U(jou\ refers to the dramatic 
 contests held in the theater west of the city. Ruins of this struc- 
 ture^^ show that the last building dates from the third century B. C, 
 or later. It must have been especially beautiful, as Pompey is said 
 to have taken a plan of it for the erection of his theater in Rome.^^ 
 Besides the Dionysia, there was also the festival Theodaisia at 
 Mytilene. According to Suidas this celebration was in honor of 
 Dionysus and the Nymphs/^ sometimes of other deities and heroes, 
 and was observed in the islands particularly.^^ The fragmentary 
 Lesbian inscription'^ seems to show that a distribution of wine was 
 ordered to the magistrates and other officials, and that choristers 
 took part in the ceremonies. ^^ The two following inscriptions of 
 the Corpus must also treat of the same festival. In nos. 69 and 
 70 the name of the god is given as Z6vvv(to%, and no. 69 appears to 
 be concerned with gifts from Dionysus, while no. 70 is connected 
 with his rites. All three inscriptions are of late Roman times. ^^ 
 In the passage from Aelian cited on page 59 he speaks of jpLer-qpibes 
 of Dionysus, which may mean that a festival in his honor was held 
 every three years in the region of Brisa, in the southern part of the 
 island. Longus describes a Dionysiac festival "at the birth of the 
 
 wme. 
 
 "82 
 
 Paton in I. G. XII, ii, 81, from Mytilene, restores so that we 
 have the name of a month [0eo]5at(7tos; but BechteP because of the 
 space reads a shorter name Aatcrtos. In either case there is probably 
 
 ^* The Dionysia is mentioned in I. G. XII, ii, 5, 1. 9 (restored); 15, 1. 29; 
 18, 1. 9; 49, I. 4 (restored, doubtful); 64; Bechtel, Aeolica, no. 38 and Papageor- 
 giu, Uned. Inschr. v. Myt. no. 1, 1. 16= Bechtel, Aeolica, no. 7; Wiegand, Milet, 
 III, no. 152 a, note (Mytilene?). 
 
 ^5 Described by Koldewey, op. cit p. 9; Conze, op. cit. p. 9. 
 
 ^* Plutarch, Pompey, 42. 
 
 '^ Suidas, s. v. ' \aTv6ponla\ Hesych. s. v. 0eo5atatos. Daremberg et Saglio, op. 
 cit. s. V. Theodaisia. 
 
 78 Farnell, op. cit. V, p. 198. 
 
 79 1. G. XII, ii, 68 = B. C. H. IV, 1880, pp. 424-5. 
 
 *° See 1. 12. Bechtel, Aeolica, no. 13, thinks he recognizes in 1. 4, EAA . . . 
 a festival like the Theodaisia, and his reading is indeed more reasonable than 
 Paton's. 
 
 81 See C. I. G. II, 2167, note, and Hoffmann, Gr. Dial. II, p. 514. 
 
 82 Longus, Past. II, 1-2. 
 
 83 Aeolica, no 18. Aat<nos is more likely because of the space, but Qeobalaiot 
 is preferable because of I. G. XI, iv. 1064. 
 
 Ik 0f W 
 
 k 
 
 influence from the Dionysus cult.^^ An inscription I. G. XI, iv, 
 1064, found at Delos, gives apparently the same name for a month 
 in Mytilene, according to Roussel's reading; which would seem to 
 confirm Paton's longer form in the Lesbian inscription. But the 
 stone reads GEAAISm, so that Bechtel gives the month the name 
 eeXato-tos,^^ deriving it from deKei ra aXaia and says that only in 
 Mytilene is this word found. One of the Lesbians recorded in I. G. 
 XII, ii, 210, has the name, and Wilhelm^^ suggests that the man is 
 named from the month. He reads Qebalam in both cases, which 
 indeed seems preferable. 
 
 From a scholium to Lycophron, 1. 212, we learn that there was a 
 Dionysus 'EwpxTys in Lesbos, called so because his mysteries were 
 performed with dancing; or because he spent his time among the 
 rows of vines and plants; or because he received the name from 
 Enorches, son of Thyestes and Daito. This epithet probably belongs 
 to the region of Mytilene, and perhaps Daito is to be connected 
 with the festival and month there. 
 
 There is the association of the Orpheus myth with the Dionysus 
 temple and one or two other indications to show that the Lesbian 
 Dionysus festivals were attended with music and song. In fact 
 it is believed by some scholars that the dithyramb may have origi- 
 nated in Lesbos. 8^ At any rate its development is closely associated 
 with the Lesbian Arion. 
 
 In Lesbos, as at Argos, there was perhaps a cult of Linus con- 
 nected with the Dionysus worship, according to statements about 
 him by Theophrastus and Myrsilus, the Lesbians. ^s 
 
 Sittig^^ gives seventeen names of people derived from the Dionysus 
 cult. Only Zeus, Apollo, and Artemis furnish a greater number. 
 
 On a coin of Mytilene of the rime of Lucius Verus,^^ and on one 
 of Methymna of the rime of Commodus, Demeter or Cora is shown 
 between Athena and Dionysus. A Marcus Aurelius coin^^ bears 
 a term on a prow between the same two divinities. On a coin of 
 
 " Dittenberger, Pauly-Wissowa, Real-Encycl. IV, 2015. 
 
 " Aeolica, p. 60. 
 
 " I. G. XI, iv, 1064, note. 
 
 •' Cf. Smyth, Gr. Melic Poets, pp. xlv and xlvi. 
 
 " F. H. G. IV, p. 459. See MuUer's note. 
 
 " Sittig, op. cit. p. 166. 
 
 •"Jahresh. des Oesterr. Arch. Inst. VII, 1904, p. 24; Mionnet, Suppl. VI, 
 p. 51, no. 12; p. 56, no. 3i. 
 
 •^ Mionnet, Descr. Ill, p. 34, no. 20. 
 
66 
 
 THE CULTS OF LESBOS 
 
 OTHER DEITIES 
 
 67 
 
 } 
 
 the time of Septimius Severus^^ Dionysus and Athena stand with 
 their attributes; and on another Commodus coin^^ Dionysus in short 
 chiton, and holding a cantharus and thyrsus, with a panther at his 
 feet stands between Apollo and Athena. An Aurelius coin groups 
 Demeter and Dionysus.^ It is rather striking that Athena and 
 Dionysus are so often depicted together. If the selection is made 
 merely because of their importance, it is surprising that Artemis 
 is not included at this period. A coin of the Antonine period repre- 
 sents Lesbonax in the character of Dionvsus. 
 
 Besides representations on coins, it is reported that a marble 
 statue was found representing perhaps a reclining Dionysus. ^^ 
 
 The representations on coins of Lesbos are as follows : — 
 
 Lesbos: Wroth, Cat. p. 159, no. 1%; p. 161, no. 56(?), 58(?), 59(?); p. 163, 
 no. 74-5; p. 164, no. 77-82; Mionnet, Descr. Ill, p. 34, no. 20; p. 41, 
 no. 62; Suppl. VI, p. 49, no. 2; p. 50, no. 5; p. 51, no. 12; Macdonald, 
 op. cit. II, p. 313, no. 7; Head, H. N. p. 559. 
 
 Mytilene: Wroth, Cat. p. 193, no. 106-39; p. 199, no. 164 (Lesbona.x); 
 p. 202, no. 178-80; p. 203, no. 184-5; p. 205, no. 195 (countermark), 
 197; p. 208, no. 210 (countermark); p. 210, no. 216; p. 211, no. 220, 
 223-4; p. 212, no. 225-6, 229; p. 213, no. 229-30; p. 214, no. 233-5; 
 Mionnet, Descr. Ill, p. 44, no. 90-4, 95(?), 96(?); p. 48, no. 116 (Les- 
 bonax); p. 54, no. 151; p 59, no. 182; Suppl. VI, p. 61, no. 67-76; p. 
 64, no. 84-6; p. 76, no. 143-5; Eckhel, D. N. II, p. 503; Macdonald, 
 op. cit. II, p. 316, no. 6-11; p. 319, no. 21-3; Head, H. N. p. 562; Abh. d. 
 Bayr. Ak. d. Wiss. 1890, p. 634. 
 
 Methymna: Wroth, Cat. p. 182, no. 39, 40, 42; Mionnet, Descr. Ill, p. 
 38, no. 41; p. 39, no. 53; p. 41, no. 62; SuppL VI, p. 56, no. 33-4; Eckhel, 
 D. N. II, p. 502; Head. H. N. p. 561; Macdonald, op. cit. II, p. 315, no. 7. 
 
 Antissa: Wroth, Cat. p. 175, no. 8; Head, H. N. p. 560 (Orpheus or Diony- 
 sus); Abh. d. Bayr. Ak. d. Wiss. 1890, p. 633. 
 
 Nape: Mionnet, Suppl. VI, p. 78, no. 151. 
 
 Koinon: Wroth, Cat. p. 169, no. 1-2; p. 170, no. 6 (countermark) (?); 
 Eckhel, D. N. II, p. 501. 
 
 Satyr or Silenus-Lesbos: Wroth, Cat. p. 159, no. 39-42; p. 164, no. 76-8; 
 Mionnet, Descr. Ill, p. 32, no. 1-13; Macdonald, op. cit. II, p. 313, 
 no. 7. MytUene: Wroth, Cat. p. 196, no. 139; Head, H. N. p. 562. 
 
 Maenad-Lesbos: Wroth, Cat. p. 162, no. 67; p. 168, no. 122. 
 
 Cantharus-Lesbos: Wroth, Cat. p. 160, no. 46. Methymna: Wroth, 
 Cat. p. 178, no. 11-2; p. 179, no. 17-9; p. 180, no. 28-34; p. 190, no. 
 72-3; Head, H. N. p. 561; Macdonald, op. cit. II, p. 315. 
 
 w Mionnet, Descr. Ill, p. 41, no. 62; Wroth,Cat. p. 169, no. 1. 
 •» Wroth, Cat. p. 182, no. 39. 
 »* W^roth, Cat. p. 169, no. 2. 
 "A. J. A. VII, 1891, p. 513. 
 
 ^^. 
 
 \ me branch or grapes- Lesbos: Wroth, Cat. p. 160, no. 46. Mytilene- 
 Wroth, Cat. p. 190, no. 68-70; p. 196, no. 144 (countermark); Mionnet' 
 Descr. Ill, p^ 44 no. 90; p. 45, no. 91-2; Suppl. VI, p. 60, no. 59; p. 
 62, no. 73. Methymna: Wroth, Cat. p. 171, no. 2; p. 179, no. 18-20- 
 p. 180, no 25-6; Mionnet, Descr. Ill, p. 39, no. 50. Eresus: Wroth,' 
 Cat. p. 1/6, no. 6. 
 
 Thyrsus-Mytilene: Wroth, Cat. p. 187, no. 30, 32; p. 191, no. 81-3(^). 
 Macdonald, op. cit. IT, p. 316, no. 1(?). 
 
 Eirene 
 
 A stone with an inscription dating from the first century B C 
 and readmg PANA2 is restored by Paton to read Elpduas or Kpduas. 
 But either restoration is very doubtful. ^^ 
 
 Eriboia 
 
 Eriboia, a name that occurs in an inscription of Mytilene which 
 treats of a Dionysus festival, cannot be identified. Paton includes 
 the name under Res Sacrae.^^ 
 
 Erinyes 
 
 The Erinyes are designated in a Lesbian inscription^^ as 'Axa- 
 palTT^roL, 'Hhe implacable, the inexorable, "^^^ and Bresus is named as 
 their attendant. The adjective is used of deities elsewhere but 
 with a more general significance.ioo This inscription implies' that 
 the Ermyes had a cult in the region of Hiera. 
 
 Eros 
 
 Sappho, perhaps following a Lesbian tradition, is said to have 
 represented Eros as the son of Ge and Uranus.i«i A passage in the 
 pastoral of Longus^^^ tells that Eros was reverenced with the Nymphs 
 and Pan, and that sacrifices were also offered to ''the winged boy 
 the companion of the Nymphs." He says that an altar of Eros 
 Hoin-nv was set up. Such a story as Daphnis and Chloe may not be 
 taken too Hterally, and moreover the evidence is late. Yet there 
 were apparently for many centuries among the shepherds of the island 
 
 ■^ I. G. XII, ii, 130, from Mytilene. 
 " I. G. XII, ii, 70 and Index VII. 
 
 " I; ^- ^^^' "' ^^^' ^- 14 = Bechtel, Bezzenberger's Beitrage, V, p. 133, no. 34 
 " Herwerden, Lex. Gr. s. v. 
 
 ''' Cf. Pauly-Wissowa, Real-Encycl. I, 2666; Roscher's Le.xikon, I 2864 
 ''' Sappho, Frg. 132, Bergk. 
 "^'Longus, Past. I, 8; IV, 39. 
 
68 
 
 THE CULTS OF LESBOS 
 
 OTHER DEITIES 
 
 69 
 
 such devotions as Longus describes, and such association with the 
 
 Nymphs and Pan. At Mytilene there is record of a man named 
 Eros.103 
 
 In the collection of antiquities belonging to Fachri Bey, a former 
 governor of Mytilene, half a marble torso of Eros was found. ^^'^ A 
 terra-cotta head of Eros has also been discovered. It is of childish 
 type, with a plait along the top of the head, and the hair waved 
 back at each side of the face.^*^^ 
 
 ETETHPLV ZEBAITxV 
 
 EveTT^pia Ze/Saard is named on the base of a statue, EG. XII, ii, 262. 
 
 Cello 
 
 TeXXu, a form of Empousa, was supposed to !)e a maiden who, 
 dying young, became a spirit which carried off children. ^'>« Probably 
 the myth was first localized in Lesbos. 
 
 Ilebe 
 
 A terra-cotta figure, which is perhaps Hebe,^''' holds a procJwos 
 in her right hand, and in her left a cup (?) for libation. 
 
 Hecate 
 
 Two statues of Hecate have been found, but no other evidence 
 for her cult has been obtained. One statue^'^^ represents a triple 
 Hecate and was found in the midst of fragments of marble columns. 
 The other^o9 ^^.^^ discovered on the little island between the two 
 harbors of Mytilene, in a place which was the oldest part of the town. 
 
 Helius 
 
 After the time of Alexander the Great there was much intercourse 
 and commerce between Lesbos and Rhodes. In consideration of 
 the relative positions of the islands and the sea-faring dispositions 
 
 ''n. G. Xn, ii, 430 (gravestone). 
 
 i°* Now in the museum at Constantinople, Athen. Mitth. XV, 1890, p ?>Si = 
 A. J. A. VI, 1890, p. 552. 
 
 "^ Cat. Terra-cottas Br. Mus. no. 416. 
 
 ^^ Hesych. s. v. 
 
 i^Xat. op. cit. no. 454. 
 
 »°»A. J. A. VII, 1891, p. 513 = Rev. Arch. XIX, 1892, p. 112. The triple 
 Hecate was later in art representation than the single form. 
 
 "»Arch. Anz. 1914, p. 127. 
 
 >-^--^ 
 
 «T' JOT ^ 
 
 Of the peoples, it is likely that from early times there was some 
 connection. And through the influence of Rhodes it is probable 
 that Hehus, even from the period of settlement, was recognized as 
 a deity m Lesbos, since Macar, the great colonist, was said by one 
 tradition to be the son of Hehus and Rhodes.^^o 
 
 In Mytilene the cult seems to have existed in Roman times 
 according to mscriptional and numismatic records. The inscription' 
 
 Lx?" ^Ji^nf' ^^^' '^^' ^^^^ Pompeius Ethicus honored KaWlvaKo, 
 HXttos(?)].iii Though KaKKlvetKo, has not elsewhere been found as 
 an epithet of Hehus, it is quite a fitting one. More certain evidence 
 IS that afTorded by a coin of Mytilene of about the first century 
 B. C., which represents a bust of Helius, draped and radiate ^^^^ 
 An inscription found at Mytilene gives a name derived from Helius.^^-^ 
 The only other proof of his recognition in Lesbos^^^ comes from 
 Eresus and dates from the last half of the fourth centurv B. C. In 
 the trial of the tyrant Eurysilaus, the judges were to swear by Zeus 
 and Hehus. This would not, however, imply a cult worship of him 
 at Eresus. 
 
 Muses 
 
 In a country famous for both its music and poetry, the Muses 
 early attained importance. The Lesbian tradition regarding them 
 is unusual, for their number is seven,iio and their names are quite 
 different from those commonly attributed to the nine Muses. Epi- 
 charmus names seven IVIuses, Neilo, Tritone, Asopo, Heptapore, Ache- 
 
 »° Diod. Sic. V, 56. 
 
 I" The restoration seems probable. There is a possibility that a man named 
 Callmicus is honored. Pompeius Ethicus (Cf. I. G. XII, ii, add. 653) seems to 
 have been a Lesbian and not a foreigner. The name Pompeius occurred frequently 
 in Lesbos in Roman times because of the favor which Pompey showed the Les- 
 bians. 
 
 ^'nVroth, Cat. p. 197, no. 153-7; Mionnet, Descr. Ill, p. 43, no. 79; Suppl. 
 VI, p. 61, no. 63-4. ^^ 
 
 "^ L G. XII, ii, 133. 
 
 »^I G. XII, ii, 526 c, 1. 20. I. G. XII, ii, 114, a dedication to Zeus Helius 
 Moas Serapis and Isis may not be counted, as it was dedicated by a citizen of 
 Ale.xandna. 
 
 "« Arnob. Ill, 37 (quoting Myrsilus). Tumpel, Roscher's Lexikon, II, 1949 
 and Philol. 1889, pp. 99 f., thinks the number "seven" here bears a relation 
 to the Oriental number - seven" and he traces an undedying connection between 
 the seven Muses, the seven Lesbian maidens in Homer, and the constellation of 
 iieremce. See also Roscher, Abh. der Sachs. Gesell. der Wiss. XXI no 14 
 
 1 
 
70 
 
 THE CULTS OF LESBOS 
 
 lois, Tipoplo, Rhodia, all obviously formed from names of streams. '^^ 
 TUmpel thinks the seven Muses belong to an earlier tradition 
 than that represented by the Aeolic settlement. ^^^ Clement of 
 Alexandria, quoting Myrsilus, the Lesbian/^^ however, places their 
 origin in the period represented by Macar and gives their story as 
 follows. Macar, king of the Lesbians, was always quarrehng with 
 his wife. Megaclo, the daughter, w^as therefore grieved for her 
 mother and bought the Muses as handmaidens, calUng them MOo-at 
 in the AeoUc dialect (MoTo-at according to Miiller, F. H. G. IV, 457); 
 she also taught them to sing and play on the cithara the deeds of 
 olden times. They therefore charmed Macar and put an end to 
 his rage. For this Megaclo dedicated a thank offering to them of a 
 bronze stele on account of her mother, and gave command that they 
 be honored at all the shrines. The statement of Clement that 
 all the cities set aside precincts of the Muses shows the importance 
 of the cult. There is perhaps a blending of Phoenician and Thes- 
 salian influence. Gruppe^^^ says that the Lesbian founder of the cult 
 was Crinoeis, which denotes a Thessalian source. He beheves that 
 because Macar was priest of Dionysus at Brisa, the Muses belong to 
 the divinities of Brisa. There is danger of drawing too many con- 
 clusions from these myths, though many of the stories are evi- 
 dently aetiological, originating about well-known names, and ex- 
 plaining institutions and customs, the origin of which had become 
 obscure. Purely fanciful seems to be the explanation given in the 
 Etymologicum Magnum — ^-^ MeXos . . . Mv(7lijl(3\os (sic) 5e rds h 
 AecTjSw yevo/jLeuas -rrapdhovs ^iovaas eirl to. Trevdrj ipoLTav /cat dpr]veiv' oBev krr- 
 €KpdT7]ae TCL qidoiieva iik\ea KKrjdrivaL. 
 
 Sappho many times invoked the Muses, and sometimes with a 
 descriptive adjective which causes us to believe that she had in 
 mind some particular representation of them.^^^ 
 
 ^^* Epicharmus, Frg. 41, KaibeL Though Epicharmus seems to have known 
 the tradition of seven Muses, these names were probably invented by him, and are 
 net those of the original Lesbian Muses. The latter were doubtless lost by the 
 seventh century. Sappho, Frg. 82, Bergk, calls on Calliope. 
 
 11^ Roscher's Lexikon, II, 1947. 
 
 "* Clem. Alex. Protrep. II, 31. Cf. Arnob. IV, 24, Numquid ex nobis Myrsilus 
 est auctor, qui Macari filiae Megalconis ancillulas profitetur fuisse Musas? The 
 name varies, Megaclo or Megalco. 
 
 »i» Gruppe, Gr. Myth. p. 1078 and p. 296. 
 
 ^20 Etym. Mag. 577, 16 = F. H. G. IV, p. 457, 4. 
 
 *2' Sappho, Frg. 60, Bergk, KaWiKOfxoL re MoZcrai. Frg. 26, co xnva6dpovt MoOa' 
 ivuTires, is probably not genuine. 
 
 ^ 
 
 OTHER DEITIES 
 
 71 
 
 I 
 
 1^^ 
 
 fPr 
 
 There is definite mention of a statue in Mytilene representing one 
 of the Muses holding a uatx^vK'nP'^ Athenaeus says the sculptor 
 Lesbothemis made it. 
 
 An inscription from a place near Palaiokipos,^23 across the Euripus 
 from Mytilene, reads Tpo^pifjLov t]ov (3. Trjs . . . [yvvaiKos r^s k]fjLTJs 
 Moi;[o-as Kal tu)v e^xdv TeK]pcx)v. Paton considers MoOo-a the name of the 
 wife of Trophimus, but even the restoration is doubtful. One other 
 name of a person derived from the Muses has been found. ^^4 
 
 Nymphs 
 
 The descriptions of Lesbos by Longus in the Pastoral, ''Daphnis 
 and Chloe," though they cannot be taken too literally, clearly attest 
 that the worship of the Nymphs w^as most important among the 
 rural population. ^^^ In the prooemium Longus tells of a grove of 
 the Nymphs, fair with many trees, flowery, well-watered, with one 
 spring which nourished all the flowers and trees. Later a Nymphaion 
 is described in a cave,i26 '^ spacious in the rock, concave within, con- 
 vex without. In it were statues of the Nymphs made of marble. 
 Their feet were bare, their arms naked to the shoulders, their hair 
 falling loosely about their necks, a girdle about their waists, a smile 
 in their eyes. Their appearance was that of a band of dancers.'' 
 And there were dedications of the older shepherds— milk pails, 
 flutes and shepherd's pipes. On the way to the pasture it was a 
 custom to sit by the shrine, and on their return the shepherds wor- 
 shipped and brought flowers or fruit or green leaf or Hbation of milk.^" 
 They swore by Pan and the Nymphs.^^s jhe Nymphs also appeared 
 to them in visions. ^^^ 
 
 The Nymphs in Lesbos v/ere given the appropriate name 'ETrt/xry- 
 Xt5es;^^^ and three classes of them are distinguished, MeXtat, Apvades 
 
 "2 Athen. IV, 182 f. and XIV, 635 a. For this instrument, which seems to 
 have been oriental, see Diimmler, Athen. Mitth. XI, 1886, p. 38, n. 1. 
 
 "' I. G. XII, ii, 495, 1. 6. See Index I, Nomina Virorum et Mulierum. 
 
 "*I. G. XII, ii, 394. MoDcrai, which occurs in I. G. XII, ii, 443,1. 1, is used in 
 a figurative sense. 
 
 ^" The Pastoral was dedicated to Eros, Pan and the Nymphs. 
 
 ^2« Longus, Past, I, 4. Cf. also I, 13; II, 39; III, 12. 
 
 *" For sacrifices and observances to Pan and the Nymphs see pp. 72-3. 
 
 128 Longus, Past. II, 17; II, 39; III, 16; IV, 18. An oath common among 
 country folk. Cf. Theoc. I, 12; IV, 29. 
 
 i2» Longus, Past. II, 23. 
 
 "° Longus, Past. II, 39. 
 
72 
 
 THE CULTS OF LESBOS 
 
 OTHER DEITIES 
 
 73 
 
 and "EXetot,^^^ and all are fair, all musical. One of these was the 
 mother of Echo. Hesychius^^- gives another name for the Nymphs 
 among the Lesbians, 'Euvr^atades. Still another class of Nymphs, 
 Bp2aaL,^^^ apparently received their names from the Lesbian promon- 
 tory of Brisa. 
 
 An interesting recognition of the Nymphs in connection with 
 springs and streams is attested by a metrical inscription of Imperial 
 
 times^^'* which reads, 
 
 Zot \l\aTavr]LS durJKe KOprj Aids vdaToeaaa 
 llr}yrii>, 'Svijnpdu)i> "Op<fLTe vdyia ip'iKov. 
 The feeling that the hills and woods and streams are inhabited 
 
 by such divinities is found even today among the country people 
 
 of Lesbos. ^^^ 
 
 Orthriis 
 
 Orthrus occurs in a very fragmentary inscription from Mytilene,^^® 
 but the context is too uncertain to determine anything definite 
 
 about him in Lesbos. 
 
 Pan 
 
 There is no doubt that Pan enjoyed much honor in Lesbos, especi- 
 ally in the country districts. Wernicke^" has pointed out that 
 because of the connection in early times with the Boeotians, we may 
 suppose that the Lesbian cult came from that country. At a com- 
 paratively early time we find him represented on coins.^^'* The vivid 
 way in which Longus describes the worship of Pan gives the impres- 
 sion that it was deep seated in the lives of the country people. Pan 
 is mentioned in the prooemium, together with the Nymphs and 
 Eros, as one to whom the Pastoral is dedicated.^^^ The crowning 
 
 '8^ Longus, Past. Ill, 2i, 
 ^32 Hesychius, s. v. 
 
 Etym. Mag. p. 213, 55 and schol. Pers. Sat. I, 75. Roscher's Lexikon, III, 
 
 133 
 
 520. Heracl. Pont. 9, 2 (F. H G. II, 214) says BpZaat give instruction in bee 
 culture, and Nu/i<^at in the raising of cattle. 
 
 '^l. G. XII, ii, 129. 
 
 "^ See p. 43. 
 
 »» I. G. XII, ii, 70. 
 
 "7 Roscher's Lexikon, III, 1372. 
 
 "8 Wroth, Cat. pp. 161 and 164. Also in Methymna in the time of Cara- 
 calla, Mionnet, Suppl. VI, p. 56, no. 34. Aenus, an Aeolic colony of Cyme and 
 Mytilene, has coins representing a goat-footed Pan. 
 
 i3» Longus, Past. Prooem. and IV, 36. 
 
 ir - > 
 
 ^ 
 
 w^ 
 
 of the goat with pine and the sacrifice of it to the god with wine, 
 calling propitiously on the god,^^*^ the offering of little garlands and 
 bunches of grapes^^^ are described. His shrine was beneath the pine 
 tree;^^^ and at the close of the story we are told that they gave to 
 Pan instead of the pine a temple, called the temple of Pan Srpa- 
 TLiCT-qs}^^ Another passage of the Pastoral states that he is accus- 
 tomed to camps, and leaving farming has waged many wars.^'*^ 
 Mention is Hkewise made of the terrors which Pan causes.^^^ The 
 shepherds' favorite form of oath was by Pan and the Nymphs,^*^ 
 and it is he who is often invoked for aid.^^^ At the close it is said 
 that the characters of the story reverenced as long as they lived the 
 Nymphs and Pan and Eros.^^^ 
 
 At Mytilene, according to an inscription,^"*^ a month was named 
 for Pan. 
 
 GEOI nATPfilOI 
 
 In Lesbos inscriptions^^^ of Roman times mention 0eot warpcooL. 
 Most of these records are from Methymna, where it seems to have 
 been the custom for the chellestos to offer sacrifices to these deities. 
 
 Pluto 
 
 Pluto, the name used in cult practice for Hades, occurs in a dedica- 
 tion made by a w^oman of Mytilene. ^^^ In this inscription Pluto is 
 the only god left uncharacterized by an epithet. Papageorgiu 
 would make a dative plural of IIANAZ^AAIOI, which is the reading 
 on the stone, and have it include Pluto.^^^ But though Asphalios 
 
 1*0 Longus, Past. II, 31. 
 
 ^" Longus, Past. II, 32. 
 
 1*2 Longus, Past. II, 23 and 31; III, 12. 
 
 "3 Longus, Past. IV, 39. 
 
 1" Longus, Past. II, 23. The gods of the shepherds and warrior are closely 
 related. See the dedication to Pan avaTparevdnevos (Egypt), Rev. des fitudes 
 grecques, IV, 1891, p. 55, no. 9. Cf. Roscher's Lexikon, III, 1389. 
 
 ^" Longus, past. II, 25. 
 
 1*" See p. 71. 
 
 '*' Longus, Past. II, 7; II, 23; II, 30. 
 
 '*« Longus, Past. IV, 39. 
 
 1"! G. XII, ii, 69, of Imperial Age. But the month was doubtless named 
 in the early centuries. 
 
 I'o These inscriptions are, I. G. XII, ii, 58 a, 1. 16; 131; 498, I. 8; 502, 1. 4; 
 503, 1. 5. 
 
 1*1 See p. 23. 
 
 "2 David, 'AvtK. 'E-n-Lyp., p. 7, reads iravaaipaXio}. 
 
 ^> 
 
74 
 
 THE CULTS OF LESBOS 
 
 is a very common title for Poseidon, it has not been found for the 
 god of the lower world. The dative singular applying to Poseidon 
 only is the better reading. Hofer^^''^ suggests that iravewccTrri charac- 
 terizes Pluto rather than Zeus and that each deity has his special 
 epithet. But though the term is appropriate for Pluto, the order 
 of the words is against this view. In I. G. XII, ii 484, it is possible 
 that Pluto is called Mux^s,^^ and that he has a irapeSpos in his service. 
 
 Priapus 
 
 According to a passage of Petronius, Priapus enjoyed an extensive 
 cult in Lesbos.^^5 jt ^eems that in maritime towns he was wor- 
 shipped as protector of navigation and fishing, and probably that 
 element entered into the Lesbian cult. He was evidently also 
 connected with the KaWtareW'^ held at the temple of Hera. His 
 portrait occurs with Dionysus on coins of the island/^' where his 
 bearded term closely resembles that of Dionysus. 
 
 Serapis and Isis 
 
 In consideration of the extensive communication and trade which 
 existed between Lesbos and Egypt,^^^ it is natural that the Lesbians 
 should be influenced, especially during the period of Egyptian supre- 
 macy in Lesbos, by the Egyptian deities, which were forcing their 
 way into all parts of the Greek world. ^^^ 
 
 At Mytilene an inscription of the third or second century B. C.^^° 
 gives a dedication to Serapis and Isis, and a later inscription dating 
 from Roman times contains a dedication to Isis IIeXa7ia EvaKoos}^^ 
 The epithet Pelagia indicates control of the sea. There is a chance, 
 though it is not likely, that these dedicatory inscriptions were erected 
 by foreigners residing in Mytilene as an expression of individual 
 
 ^"Hofer, Roscher's Lexikon, III, 2571, compares 'Eirwiris as an epithet of 
 
 Demeter. 
 
 1" Gruppe, Gr. Myth. p. 1139. 
 
 1" Petron. Sat. 133, 3. See also De ApoUon. Tyr. ch. 30. 
 
 ^** See pp. 27-8. 
 
 1" Wroth, Cat. p. 161, no. 58 and PI. XXXIII, 2. 
 
 "i' See pp. xii-xiii and Wiegand, Milet, III, no. 152 (note on p. 374). 
 
 w9 For a treatment of Serapis and Isis in Lesbos see A. Rusch, De Serapide 
 at Iside in Graecia Cuitis, Berlin, 1906, pp. 67 f. 
 
 180 1. G. XII, ii, 98. 
 
 i«i I. G. XII, ii, 113. For Eucikoos see Weinreich, Athen. Mitth. XXXVII, 
 
 1912, pp. 1 f. 
 
 # > 
 
 ^|l# 
 
 k«# n 
 
 OTHER DEITIES 
 
 75 
 
 devotion, and that the deities were not publicly recognized. Such 
 a thank offering we know was made in Mytilene by Isidorus of 
 Alexandria to Zeus, Melius, Serapis and Isis.^^^ g^^ ^{^^ appearance 
 of Serapis on Lesbian coins removes this doubt. Coins showing 
 this type date from the time of the free city, and one as late as Valerian 
 or GalHenus.^^^ 
 
 From Methymna comes an inscription dating from about the 
 first century,^^^ and reading, 
 
 XapainaaTal 
 
 ol k7rayy€L\aiJLepoL Kal elaeveyKaPTes ra IIEIPA els Trjv avvobov tC^v 
 fieydXix)^ 2apa7rt€twj', oircos els ivavTa top xpovov, rots NEI0I2 auvTeXooPTat 
 at ^uo-tat KaT* eKaarov eviavTov. About thirty names follow. The inscrip- 
 tion is of great interest and importance because it bears witness 
 that in Methymna was a band of men organized in the worship of 
 Serapis; and that there was a yearly festival called the Serapieia, at 
 which sacrifices were offered. 
 
 There are three names of men derived from the names of these 
 Egyptian gods.^^^ 
 
 Silvanus 
 
 During the centuries when Rome governed the Greek world it 
 is to be expected that Roman deities should be introduced into that 
 region. One of the Roman gods whose worship was spread in the 
 provinces of Europe, North Africa, and Asia, was Silvanus.^^^ At 
 Mytilene there was an altar and a grove dedicated to KaXos "kyvos 
 XiX^avos, as an inscription of Imperial times^^^ shows. 'A7J/6S is the 
 equivalent of the Roman "Sanctus," which was a favorite title 
 applied to Silvanus; but KaXos is an attributive unusual to him. 
 
 According to Domaszewski,!^^ only two altars of Silvanus have 
 been found in the East — one at Pergamum and the other at Augus- 
 topolis in Phrygia. This altar at Mytilene will then make a third. 
 
 ^«I. G. XII, ii, 114 = Athen. Mitth. XI, 1886, p. 265, no. 3. 
 ^" Mionnet, Suppl. VI, p. 63, no. 77. Wroth, Cat. p. 203, no. 185. 
 i"I. G. XII, ii, 511. The meaning of neither HEIPA nor NEI0I2 is known. 
 For the latter 'lauiois has been conjectured, Rusch, /. c. 
 i« Sittig, op. cit. p. 167. 
 ^«« Roscher's Lexikon, IV, 869 f. 
 "' I. G. XII, ii, 122. 
 • "* Abhandlungen zur romischen Religion, p. 79. 
 
76 
 
 THE CULTS OF LESBOS 
 
 OTHER DEITIES 
 
 77 
 
 Themis 
 
 Themis is perhaps named in connection with the dedication of a 
 bronze statue to Artemis at Kato-Pyrgi, north of Mytilene. But 
 so mutilated is the inscription that the context cannot be determined. 
 Even the name Themis depends on a probable restoration.^^^ 
 
 Tyche of Mytilene 
 
 In the mvths relating to the settlements of Lesbos the eponymous 
 heroine of the city of Mytilene^'^ takes an important part. In later 
 times, therefore, when the personification of cities, especially in 
 Asia Minor, became common, it must have been very easy for the 
 people of Mytilene to personify their city as the Tyche of Mytilene. 
 A stone^^^ found north of the city on the way to Thermae, naming 
 Artemis on the one side and on the other UeydXr] Tvxv UvTL\r]ur]s, 
 has been discussed in the section concerning Artemis. The types 
 on coins of Imperial times are added to the epigraphical evidence. 
 The coins represent Tyche wearing a chiton and peplos and turreted 
 headdress, seated on a throne or standing, holding a patera in her 
 right hand, and in her left a Dionysus term (sometimes a cornucopia 
 is substituted for the term). Before her stands very often the 
 figure of some god— Dionysus or his term, Artemis, Serapis or As- 
 clepius. The earhest representation of the Tyche yet found occurs 
 on a coin of the time of Domitian,^''' and her appearance is especially 
 frequent on the coins of Valerian. In some cases representations 
 on coins are difficult to identify positively.^'^ Those considered to 
 be the Tyche are:— 
 
 Wroth, Cat. p. 202, no. 178-80; p. 203, no. 185; p. 205, no. 197; p. 210, no. 
 
 216; p. 211, no. 220, 223-7; p. 213, no. 230; p. 214, no. 232-5; Macdonald, 
 
 op. cit.y II, p. 319, no. 21. 
 
 i«9l. G. XII, ii, 108=Athen. Mitth. XI. 1886, p. 281, no. 42. 
 
 >70Sheis called daughter of Macar or Pelops, Steph. Byz. s. v. MvtlXvpv', 
 mother of Macar, Townl. V, Schol. II. XXIV, 544; wife of Poseidon's son Myton, 
 see p. 39; sister of Myrina the Amazon, Diod. Sic. Ill, 55; daughter of Macar 
 and sister of Methymna and other Lesbian eponymous heroes and heroines, 
 
 Diod. Sic. V, 81. .. . ■ ' .u 
 
 m I. G. XII, ii, 270 = B. C. H. IV, 1880 p. 430, no. 14. Artemis is not here 
 
 intended as the Tyche. See pp. 15-6. 
 
 1" Wroth, Cat. p. 205, no. 197. The inscription MTTIAENNA, a dialectic 
 form of Mytilene, accompanies the representation. 
 
 I" Wroth, Cat. p. 169, no. 3-4; p. 170, no. 5. 
 
 4rs^ 
 
 On coins of Pyrrhai74 ^f ^.j^^ fourth century B. C, Head thinks the 
 Nymph Pyrrha is portrayed, but Wroth suggests that it is rather 
 Aphrodite. The type presents a female head, wearing sphendone, 
 earring and necklace. 
 
 General Worship 
 
 According to Hesychines,!^^ the days on which the Lesbians performed 
 public sacrifice were called MeaoaTf)0(po)viaL. 
 
 An important inscription from Mytilene has recently been found con- 
 cerning the purification of women in temple ritual.^^^ 
 
 ''* Wroth, Cat. p. 216, no. 1-3; Head, H. N. p. 563. 
 
 ^^^ Hesych. s. v. MecroaTpoipoiplai. 
 
 "« Wilamowitz and Hiiler von Gaertringen, Athcn. Mitth. XXX, 1905, pp. 141 f. 
 
HEROES 
 
 79 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 Heroes 
 
 Achilles 
 
 On cape Sigeum lay the town Achilleum, and near by it the grave 
 
 of Achilles. There was a cult image of Achilles and a temple, and 
 there Achilles was honored as a hero and a god.^ As this region was 
 colonized by Mytilene,^ the influence of the cult was undoubtedly 
 extended to Lesbos, which was so near to Sigeum. This is rendered 
 almost certain by the fact that the island was connected by tradition 
 with many deeds of Achilles.^ 
 
 Deiphobus 
 
 An inscription found near Ilium^ gives a dedication of the people 
 of Mytilene to the fortunate Deiphobus, rCo evrvxel i^riiipb^i^. But 
 Deiphobus was more likely a citizen of Ilium than the hero of that 
 
 name. 
 
 Dioscuri 
 
 In the temenos of the Dioscuri at Naucratis,^ the rim of a vase 
 was found with the inscription Neapxos ^t Kaddr]K€ rots AioaKopoLai.^ 
 The opinion of scholars now is that vases of this kind, discovered 
 at Naucratis, are Lesbian. But this dedication might have been 
 offered by Nearchus because of his personal interest in gods which 
 were not recognized in Lesbos. Another inscription, however, 
 found in a region even more remote than Naucratis, gives more 
 certain evidence for the existence of a Dionysus cult in Mytilene. 
 The inscription reads,- EvirXea tQ [Atoa]K6pco[i] t^[l] MvTLXrjval^L]. 
 The restoration is probably correct, and a comparison with similar 
 inscriptions of Prote shows that t<2 ALoaKopu) can scarcely be the 
 name of a man.^ The addition of tQ MurtXr^i/atwt' indicates that there 
 
 1 Pliny, H. N. V, 125; Strabo, XIII, 596. 
 
 2 See Introduction, pp. x-xi. 
 
 3 Cf. Gilbert Murray, Rise of the Greek Epic, p. 222. 
 *C. I. G. II, 3614 b. 
 
 6 See Introduction, p. xii. 
 
 « Gardner, Naukratis, II, p. 67, no. 840; Hugo Prinz, Funde aus Naukratis, 
 p. 57, no. 4; Loeschcke, Arch. Anz. 1891, p. 18. 
 n. G. V, i, 1549. 
 • See I. G. V, i, Index, Res Sacrae. 
 
 was a cult of at least one of the Dioscuri at Mytilene. Judging by 
 these similar inscriptions^ of Prote we are led to the conclusion that 
 a citizen of Mytilene, when stopping at the island off the coast of 
 Messenia, made a dedication to a deity of his own city in hope of 
 a safe return. The inference is that the Dioscuri exercised in Lesbos 
 the function which they so often held as gods of the sea. The naming 
 of only one Dioscurus is unusual, but an illustration of the use of 
 the single god is found in Lesbos itself. On coins^^ is found a beard- 
 less male head, wearing the pileus, wreathed with laurel, and on 
 each side of the head a star. Wroth identifies it as one of the 
 Dioscuri or Cabeiri. 
 
 On the neighboring island of Tenedos there was a cult of the 
 Dioscuri. ^^ 
 
 Heracles 
 
 The Minyan element in the settlement of Lesbos suggests that Heracles 
 was an important hero in the island. In fact Roscher (Roscher's Lexi- 
 kon, II, 1088) believes that the frieze representing centaurs fleeing before 
 Heracles which was found at Assus, a Lesbian colony, was due to Thes- 
 salian influence coming by way of Lesbos. 
 
 Lesbian coins with representations of Heracles have been found 
 dating from the fifth century; and fromi that time till the first 
 century B. C. his portrait appears occasionally. During Roman 
 Imperial times, however, he does not seem to have been used as a 
 type. The usual representation is a bearded male head with the 
 lion skin. On a coin of Caracalla he is crowned by Athena. ^^ 
 
 At Eresus there is record of festivals with athletic games named 
 in honor of Heracles. During them it was a custom to honor bene- 
 factors and other men worthy of praise, for we read in a decree of 
 Eresus that a certain judge from Miletus be given honors at the 
 Dionysia and at the Ptolemaia, and at the gymnastic games of 
 Heracles. ^"^ 
 
 " I. G. V, i, 1538 f. 
 
 >° Wroth, Cat. p. 166, no. 98-100 (dating 440-350); Macdonald, op. cit. p. 
 313, no. 11. On a relief at Sparta (Athen. Mitth. II, 1877, p. 393) one Dioscurus 
 is also represented. 
 
 " I. G. XII, ii, 640 mentions a priest of the Dioscuri. 
 
 ^2 Mionnet, Suppl. VI, p. 73, no. 132. 
 
 " Wiegand, Milet, III, no. 152, 11. 77, 82, 89. 
 
 « ! 
 
 
80 
 
 THE CULTS OF LESBOS 
 
 HEROES 
 
 81 
 
 fi 
 
 An inscription from Mytilene^^ and one from Kato-Pyrgi,^^ in the 
 same region, seem to indicate that a similar festival, called the Hera- 
 cleia, was celebrated also in the south-eastern part of the .island. 
 
 There are eight names of men derived from Heracles in Lesbos. 
 
 Coins representing Heracles are as follows: — 
 
 Lesbos: Wroth, Cat. p. 157, no. 13-6; p. 158, no. 26; p. 166, no. 102(?); 
 
 p. 167, no. 114; Mionnet, Suppl. VI, p. 49, no. 3; Macdonald, op. cit. 
 
 TT, p. 312. 
 Mytilene: Suppl. VI, p. 73, no. 132. 
 
 Methymna: Wroth, Cat. p. 179, no. 16; Head, H. N. p. 561. 
 Club-Mytilene: Wroth, Cat. p. 188, no. 45, 46(?); Mionnet, Suppl. VI, p. 
 
 60, no. 58. Methymna: Wroth, Cat. p. 180, no. 27. Antissa: Wroth, 
 
 Cat p, 175, no. 3, 8. 9. 
 
 Lam pet US 
 
 Lampetus, who is said to have been slain by Achilles, ^^ became a 
 local hero and had honor paid him at his tomb in Lesbos. ^^ Plehn 
 thinks his heroon was probably near that of Lepetymnus, in the 
 region of Methymna. ^^ The hero, Irus, father of Lampetus, was of 
 Thessalian origin.^' 
 
 Lepetymnus 
 
 Myrsilus, the Lesbian, ^^ says that there was the heroon of Lepetym- 
 nus and a temple of Apollo at Mt. Lepetymnus, near Methymna. 
 
 Orpheus 
 
 It is not unfitting that Lesbos, which was called iraaecjov . . . 
 iLoiborarr]:-'^ should be closely associated with the myth and worship 
 of Orpheus. In ancient times this was commented upon by Aris- 
 tides Rhetor,'-^^ who says ol (pare fih r-qv pijaov airaaau hfiiv elvaL ^ovaiK-qv 
 Kal TOVTov Tr]v 'Opifeojs KeifaXrjp alrtaade. Eustathius"- also tries to 
 
 H I. G. XII, ii, 49. 
 
 » I. G. XII, ii, 480= B. C. H. IV, 1880, p. 447. Cf. Nilsson, Gr. Feste, p. 453. 
 
 wParthen. Erot. ch. 21 = F. H. G. IV, p. 314. Eustath. Comment. II. 1030, 
 25, calls him Lampus. 
 
 1' Staph. Byz. s. v. \aiJ.wtT€Lov. 
 
 '« Plehn, Lesbiaca, p. 9. 
 
 '« Antig. Caryst. ch. 17. 
 
 20Stobaeus, Flor. 64, 14 (Phanocles), and Hyginus, Poet, Astron. II, 7, pro 
 quo beneficio ad musicam artem ingeniosissimi existimantur esse. 
 
 •" Aristides, I, p. 84, Dindorf. 
 
 22 Eustath. Dion. Per. 536. 
 
 explain the reason for the association of the story with Lesbos, 
 saying, ''There they say that after his death the head, giving forth 
 utterances, was carried. And this was told because in this place 
 after Orpheus the men best in eloquence were born, among whom were 
 Arion of Methymna, and Pittacus, and the poet Alcaeus, and Sap- 
 pho." Nicomachus,23 figuratively expressing the influence of 
 Orpheus, says that seamen of Antissa found the lyre of Orpheus and 
 took it to Terpander. Obviously, as Plehn24 states, the story of 
 the head was an expression in mythical form of musical skill brought 
 by the Aeolians from the Boeotian Thracians, and in Lesbos per- 
 fected. Of interest in this connection is the fact that at the 
 mouth of the Hebrus lay the city of Aenus, a colony of Lesbos and 
 Cyme.^^ 
 
 The stories about the head and lyre of Orpheus differ a great 
 deal, and of these perhaps Lucian-*^ tells the most elaborate."^ In 
 the course of the story he says that the Lesbians, taking up the 
 head,27 buried it where now they have a Baccheion; but the lyre 
 they hung up in the temple of Apollo, and for much time it was kept 
 safe. Maas believes that the Baccheion which Lucian mentions 
 lay in the region of Lyrnessus.^^ For Philostratus^^ says that it 
 was to the Aeolian city of Lyrnessus that the lyre was brought; 
 and adds, "Still even now the parts of Lyrnessus about the sea 
 sound with music through the singing of the rocks." Nicomachus 
 and Antigonus of Carystus'^o say that the site was the old city of 
 Antissa, and this is more probable in consideration of the Dionysus 
 cult. Gruppe^^ believes that the symbols on the coins of Antissa, 
 such as the Thracian tiara, suggest a connection with the Orpheus 
 story. 
 
 " Nicomachus, Musici Scrip. Gr. p. 266. 
 
 24 Plehn, Lesbiaca, p. 140. 
 
 ^ Strabo, VII, 331, frg. 52. See Introduction, pp. x-x'. 
 
 2« Lucian, Adv. Indoct. 11 f. 
 
 " The head alone is mentioned by Antig. Caryst. (Myrsilus) Hist. Mir. V; 
 Philostr. Heroic. V, p. 306; Hyginus, Poet. Astr. II, 7; Proclus, In Rempub. p! 
 121 (p. 101 Schoell). The lyre alone is mentioned in Nicomachus, /. c; Philostr. 
 Heroic. X, p. 311. For the head and lyre see Stobaeus, I. c; Ovid, Meta. XI, 55. 
 
 28 The home of the maiden Brisa, Maas, Orpheus, p. 131. 
 
 2» Philostr. /. c. Nicom. /. c. 
 
 3° Antig. Caryst. /. c. calls it Antissaia, and says that the nightingales sang 
 more sweetly there than elsewhere. 
 31 Roscher's Lexikon, III, 1093. 
 
82 
 
 THE CULTS OF LESBOS 
 
 HEROES 
 
 S3 
 
 li ' 
 
 I 
 
 i 
 
 Lucian says that the head was buried; and this grave for the head 
 then became apparently a center for an oracle of the dead, such as 
 were scattered throughout Greece. Miss Harrison^^ thinks that the 
 lyre was probably a later decorative addition to an old head-oracle 
 story. At any rate the oracle of Orpheus enjoyed considerable 
 fame, and sent responses not only to the neighboring lonians, but 
 even to Babylon. Philostratus says that it was a convenient oracle 
 also for theAchaeans at Troy. Evidently there was later rivalry 
 on the part of the oracle of Apollo, and the prophetic power of 
 Orpheus lost its fame.^^ Still his shrine appears to have existed until 
 late times; and Apollonius of Tyana is said to have visited the adyton 
 
 of Orpheus. ^^ 
 
 No certain identification of Orpheus on coins has been made, 
 but a youthful male head is thought by Wroth to be perhaps a repre- 
 sentation of Orpheus because of the headdress, which may be Thra- 
 cian,^^ and because of its resemblance to the well-known Naples 
 reUef of Orpheus and Eurydice. 
 
 Falamedes 
 
 The evidence for the existence of a cult center of Falamedes m 
 Lesbos itself is very doubtful, though some scholars do interpret 
 certain passages referring to the shrine of Falamedes so as to consider 
 it in the northern part of the island, near Methymna.^*^ To be sure, 
 Lycophron concerning the death of Falamedes says, 6v vtouKa^h 
 KpHu ttot' h K\y]poLaL Mr]evfivr]s areyos.'' But h K\i]poLai Urjdv^vTls 
 must refer to the territory on the continent belonging to Methymna, 
 as indeed Philostratus^^ shows, Waxl^av be avTOP 'AxiXX^t? ^^ ^^i- ''^"'^^ 
 es rr|i' ofiopov rfj T poiq. r^v MoUujp r]TT€Lpov. A sentence or two below he 
 
 32 Jane Harrison, Proleg. to Gr. Religion, p. 465-7. For illustration in vase- 
 painting, see Miss Harrison, /. c. It is said to have given the famous oracle to Cyrus, 
 TOL kixa, oj KDpe. crd, Philostr. Heroic. V. p. 306. 
 
 33 Philostr. \ it. Apoll. IV. 14. 
 3* Philostr. I.e. 
 
 3* Wroth, Cat. p. 155, no. 58; Eckhel, D. N. II, p. 501(?); Head, H. N. p. 558. 
 
 3« Gruppe, Or. Myth, p 2^6, "Der Falamedes auf dem Berge im Norden der 
 Insel." On p. 634 he says that Falamedes' grave was either in the region of 
 Methymna, or on the Trojan shore colonized by Methymna. Hofer, Roscher's 
 Lexikon, III, 1271; Plehn, Lesbiaca, p. 9. 
 
 " Lycophron, I. 1097 and Tzetzes, schol. 
 
 3* Philostr. Heroic. X, p. 312. Plehn, /. r. thinks that Philostratus means 
 that the sepulchre was in Asia Minor, but the sanctuary in Lesbos. 
 
 adds, iia(TT€VHv 8^ XPV rb Upbv /caret U-qSv^ivkv re Kal Xeirkrvuvov, 6pos 8^ 
 Tovroi^nUv V7rep<l>alpeTaL Trjs Aea^ov. The phrase /card Mijdv^pav 
 r€ Kal Aeirkrvfivov alone is rather ambiguous, and Tzetzes^^ wrote kv 
 Aewervfivc^ 8^ 6peL ttjs U-qdhvns rkdairrat 6 Ua\afxrj8r}s . But this statement 
 is evidently incorrect,^^ as is shown by the account given in the life 
 of Apollonius of Tyana, who went to find the grave of Falamedes, 
 UepL^aXoju ovv to Tpcouoj/ aKpcoTrjpiov eKeXevae top Kv0€ppr)TTip KaTaaxell 
 €s TTjp AloXeoiP, fj LpTLirkpas AealSov /cetrat, 7rp6s Mi)dvpip6.p re fidWop TeTpafJL- 
 txkpop TroLetadaL top op/jtop^^ 
 
 Likewise Pliny, in naming the towns of the Troad on the Gulf 
 of Adramyttium, calls one Palamedeum,^^ ^^^^^^y^ undoubtedly 
 obtained its name from the hero. But even if the seat of the cult 
 was in the territory owned by Methymna in Asia Minor, the people 
 of Lesbos must have taken considerable interest in honors rendered 
 him. Philostratus says that a shrine was built to him and a noble 
 statue of Falamedes in armor was set up, and that those living in 
 the coast cities assembled and gave sacrifice.^^ But by the time of 
 the Roman Empire the cult became neglected. Apollonius^^ found 
 the grave, and buried near it a statue, with eelco Ua\afiij5eL painted 
 on the base. He therefore set it up and put a shrine around it. 
 
 According to Curtius,^^ the Falamedes cult arose through a per- 
 sonification of the Fhoenician culture, as his inventions are of Fhoeni- 
 cian origin. Gruppe,^^ however, believes Falamedes was brought 
 from Locris, apparently to Issa and from there to Methymna. It 
 is interesting to note that this cult of the hero who was reputed to 
 have made calculations about the rising and setting of the stars, 
 should have been associated with Mt. Lepetymnus, the home of the 
 famous astronomer Matricetas.^^ 
 
 3« Tzetzes, /. c. Cf. Ps. Eudocia, Violarium, p. 321, h XiworvfiUi^ bpei Urj9uni^r]s, 
 and Tzetzes, schol. Lycophron, 1. 386. 
 
 " Holzinger, Lycophron, 1. 1098, note. 
 
 *' Philostr. Vit. Apol. IV, 13, p. 133 k. 
 
 *2 Pliny, H. N. V, 123. 
 
 *3 Philostr. Heroic. X, p. 312. 
 
 « Philostr. Vit. Apoll. IV, 13, p. 133 k. See Philostr. Heroic. II, p. 296, for 
 the appearance of Falamedes to a farmer and the advice given about the protec- 
 tion of vines. 
 
 « Rh Mus. VII, 1850, p. 455. 
 
 " Gruppe, Gr. Myth. p. 296; p. 623, n. 6; p. 634. 
 
 ♦" Theophr. De Sign. Pluv. et Vent. I, 4. 
 
 V, 
 
84 
 
 THE CULTS OF LESBOS 
 
 Penthilus 
 
 Penthilus, the son of Orestes and Erigone, was said to have led a 
 colony of Aeolians to Lesbos.'*^ Stephanus'*^ states that Penthile 
 was a city of Lesbos and that the citizens were called Ilei'^tXets from 
 Penthilus; from which Eitrem^^ concludes that Penthilus was given 
 heroic honors among the Lesbians. 
 
 Tantalus 
 
 In Stephanus^^ we find two statements made of Tantalus with 
 reference to Lesbos. The first is that Polion was a place in the 
 island, where was X\\theroon of Tantalus, and the other that Tantalus 
 is a nioimlain that takes its name from him. According to Gruppe, 
 from East Boeotia his cult was planted in Elis and Polion. We 
 tind here another trace of the association of the myths of Pelops 
 with Lesbos. 
 
 Tramhelus 
 
 When Achilles was carrying off spoils of war from Lesbos, Tram- 
 helus opposed him and fell. Achilles, in admiration of his bravery, 
 asked him who he was and learned that he was son of Telamon. 
 Weeping for the deed he built a great mound on the shore. "And 
 this, still today, is called 'the Heroon of Trambelus, ' " says Par- 
 thenius.^- 
 
 "Strabo, IX, 402; X, 447; XIII, hU; Paus. Ill, 2, 1, etc. The Penthelidae 
 were an important family in Lesbos. Pittacus was related by marriage to a 
 Penthilus, Diog. Laert. I, 4, 8. 
 
 <9Steph. Byz. s. v. MevBlXt). 
 
 '0 Pauly-Wissowa, Real-Encyd. VIII, 1139. 
 
 '^ Staph. Byz. s. v. VL6\lov and Tai'raXos. 
 
 "Parthen. Erot. ch. 26= F. II. G IV, p. 335, 2 a. Cf. Fick Vorgr. Ortsna- 
 men, p. 63. 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 Kings and Emperors 
 
 In historic times the first person to whom heroic honors seem 
 to have been given was Philip of Macedon, father of Alexander the 
 
 honn ' p . TkT' ^" ^"" °^ ^'"' *'X-x,os' erected in his 
 honor. P,stonus^ believes that the altar was set up at the over- 
 throw of the earher tyrants, Hermon, Heraeus and Apollodorus, 
 some ume before the death of Philip, and not at the e.xpulsion of 
 Agonippus and Eurysilaus (probably 334 B. C). For if the altar 
 were erected two years after the death of Philip, Pistorius explains, 
 we should have to deal with a kind of extended hero cult, in which 
 the honor no longer clings to the site of the tomb, and such a worship 
 cannot be proved in any other place for Philip; while divine honors 
 received during his life time are not seldom to be found. But the 
 passages which Pistorius cites' do not clearlv prove that Philip 
 enjoyed during his life such regular worship as the erection of an 
 altar to Zeus <I>.Xix;r.os indicates. Hirschfeld^ seems more correct in 
 saying that the establishment of the cults of living heroes and men 
 in power arose first after Alexander the Great, and perhaps in 
 Egypt and Persia the notion that the king was god or son of a 
 god obtained earliest recognition. It seems more likelv that the 
 altar was erected after the death of Philip, in the cult of a departed 
 hero, such as those which the Lesbians already knew. 
 
 During the third century honors in Lesbos seem to have been 
 given to the Ptolemies only. An inscription from Methvmna^ calls 
 Ptolemy IV, Philopator (221-205 B. C.) and his wife Berenice Qeol 
 H-epyerai. Another inscription^ of the same city is probably to be 
 restored to read 'Apa^.o^ e.d. From the last line of the inscription 
 to Ptolemy Philopator and Berenice it is believed that the birthday 
 of Ptolemy was observed in Methymna. Likewise a month, the 
 ' I. G. XII, ii, 526, 1. 5. 
 ' Pistorius, op. cit. p. 121. 
 
 ' For honors to Philip see Died. Sic. XVI, 92, 5; Demos. Trugges. (XIX), 
 261; Arr,an 1, 17, 11; Paus. I, 9, 4; VIII, 30, 6. For honors of like nature to 
 o her men, Lysander: *Plut. Lys. 18, 3, 4; Agesilaus: Plut. Apophth. Lac. Ages. 
 25; Dion: Diod. Sic. XVI, 20, 6. 
 
 « Hirschfeld, Kleine Schriften, p. 471. 
 
 ! J' ?■' ^11' "' f «=Dittenberger, O. G. I, 78 = Collit2, Dial. Inschr. no 276. 
 ' I. G. XII, 11, 513. 
 
 w 
 
86 
 
 THE CULTS OF LESBOS 
 
 KINGS AND EMPERORS 
 
 87 
 
 name of which begins with Hr . . . was apparently so called in 
 honor of an Egyptian king.^ At Eresus Ptolemaia were celebrated 
 as late probably as the second century B. C.,^ even though the time 
 had passed when Egypt had control in Eresus. 
 
 Roman Emperors 
 
 The cult of Dea Roma was spread in Asia Minor in the early period 
 of the Roman conquest in the East. Even in 195 B. C. the people 
 of Smyrna erected a temple to this goddess. ^ In Lesbos likewise 
 the worship may have been instituted in such cities as Methymna 
 and Eresus, which were particularly friendly to Rome. Mytilene, 
 however, was wavering in her allegiance, and at the time when Pom- 
 pey assumed control of affairs in the East she was in great danger 
 of punishment from Rome because of the help and favor that she 
 had shown Mithridates.^o Through the unexpected mercy which 
 Pompey displayed towards Mytilene at this crisis, he won her friend- 
 ship and numerous expressions of thanks, recorded in honor inscrip- 
 tions which name him as ^oorrjp,^^ XvTOKpaTU)p,''^ Kriarr^s,^^ EvepyeTr^s}^ 
 There must ha\e been honors after Pompey's victory in the East, 
 but in no case is the title Oeos found for him in Lesbos. About 
 heroic honors to his son scholars do not agree. ^^ Several coins 
 given by Mionnet^*^ bear an inscription rjpws ZCe^ros. These Cicho- 
 rius^^ thought referred to Sextus Pompey, as Sextus alone would not 
 have been sufficient to designate any other. Gardthausen was 
 opposed to this view and produced very good arguments against 
 it. H. Pleinen rightly agrees with Gardthausen, believing that the 
 Sextus here portrayed lived after the time of the Flavians and is 
 husband of Flavia Nicomachis, shown on the reverse of the same 
 
 ' I. G. XII, ii, 500. 
 
 »Wiegand, Milet, III, no. 152, U. 77, 89 and note. I. G. XII, ii, 527, 1.25. 
 The festival consisted of gymnastic games. 
 
 9 Tac. Ann TV, 56. Cf. BuckJer and Robinson, A. J. A. X\ Ii, 1913, pp. 44, 45. 
 
 »o Rev. des Etudes grecques, XVIII, 1905, pp. 166 f. 
 
 " I. G. XII, ii, 140, 142-9, 163 a, 165 a, 202. 
 
 i2 1. G. XII, ii, 140, 163 a, 164 a, 165 a, 202. 
 
 13 1. G. XII, ii, 140, 163a, 165 a, 202. 
 
 '* I. G. XII, ii, 140, 142, 143, 163 a, 165 a. 
 
 "See Hirschfeld, Kleine Schriften, p. 475. 
 
 »« Mionnet, Descr. Ill, p. 46, no. 104-6; Suppl. VI, p. 63, no. 81. 
 
 " Cichorius, Rom und Mytilene, p. 9. 
 
 com. H. Heinen^s rightly agrees with Gardthausen. F. Imhoof- 
 Blumer has lately published another coin of Mytilene with the inscrip- 
 tion SEHTOS NE02 MAKARC^us) and a bearded head of Sextus 
 on the obverse, while on the reverse is a bust of Andromeda with the 
 inscription ANAPOMEAA NEA AESBtt. Imhoof-Blumer suggests that 
 this last inscription is in the dative case, and that by the coin the 
 ''new Macareus" renders honor to the ''new Lesbos," who was 
 probably his wife.^^ On a coin of Marcus Aurelius is also the legend, 
 Sextus Hero.20 
 
 But by her very friendship with Pompey, Mytilene was again 
 brought into danger of punishment by Rome, and was no doubt 
 very eager after the battle of Pharsalus to win favor with Julius 
 Caesar. An inscription which appears to give honor to Caesar the 
 Dictator, and which mentions Roma KiKrj^dpos, dates probably a 
 short time after this battle.^i Kaiaapos deod serves as the heading of 
 a letter which was written by Caesar to the Lesbians in 45, but the 
 monument which records the letter was probably not erected until 
 after the death of Caesar in the next year.22 The other inscriptions 
 preserved which refer to Julius Caesar as a god are of later date.-^ 
 
 Many Lesbian inscriptions give to Augustus titles of divinity, 
 and together with the goddess Roma he had a firmly established 
 cult. 'Apxtpecc^s did (3lo: Ocas 'Pwyuas Kal too Ze^darc^ Aios Kaiaapos 
 'OXu/xTTtco . . . irpoedpla^'^ tells of a priest of Rome and Augustus, and 
 
 »« Gardthausen, Augustus, II, p. 160, n. 20. He claims that Mionnet, in De- 
 scription de Medailles, describes the coins very inaccurately, but somewhat better 
 m the Supplement. The likeness of the portrait to Sextus Pompey is limited 
 to the full beard. H. Heinen, Klio, Beitrage zur alten Geschichte, 1911, p. 138, 
 note 9. (Htinen gives wrong reference to Cichorius). 
 
 '' Rev. Beige de Numis. LXV, 1909, pp. 235 f. Wroth reviewing Imhoof- 
 Blumer reads Nea AeajSos and MdpKou but AE2Bi2 is clear on the coin. Wroth 
 CI. Rev. XI, 1897, p. 227. 
 
 20Riv. Ital. di Numis. XXI, 1908, p. 320. 
 2' I. G. XII, ii, 25. 
 =« I. G. XII, ii, 35 b, 1. 7. 
 
 ^ I. G. XII, ii, 166 dates between September, 1 A. D. and February, 3 A. D. 
 Papageorgiu, Uned. Inschr. v. Myt. no. 9 and I. G. XII, ii, 165 b, c mention 
 also Gains and Lucius Caesar. Augustus is called son of a god in I. G. XII, ii, 
 61, 152, 153, 157, 158, 164 d, 536; Papageorgiu, op. cit. no. 13. In I. G. Xll.ii,' 
 53 Caesar writes Oeou vlbs (restored) in a letter to the people of Eresus, but Gew 
 Kaiaapi (1. 19) was probably written by the people of Eresus 
 2* I. G. XII, ii, 656. 
 
88 
 
 THE CULTS OF LESBOS 
 
 an altar^ erected in his honor has been preserved. I. G. XII, ii, 
 58a, 1. 15, kv Tit) vaC) rod Atojs /cat h rw tov 'Ze^aarov, if correctly 
 restored, mentions a temple of Augustus which would date very early — 
 about 27 B C, probably .2« He has the titles Seds SeiSatrros," Zeus 
 'OXvfjLTTLos,-^ Katcrap 6 0e6s"^ and 'EXevSepLos.^^ Most of the inscriptions 
 come from Mytilene, and in fact only three are from other places, 
 two being from Methymna^^ and one from Plakados near Mytilene. ^^ 
 
 Divine honors were also extended to many members of the family- 
 of Augustus, and Hirschfeld"''^ believes that Livia had a cult in the 
 East during the lifetime of Augustus. The inscription 9EA AIBIA 
 on coins of Lesbos shows that she was given divine honors there. "^^ 
 
 Eresus gave Julia, daughter of Augustus, the name 'kippoblra 
 T^vkrupo}^ and Plakados, near Mytilene, set up an inscription'^^ to 
 vka Xifpobira to. iraldt rCc -e/^dcrro; Oeco Kalaapos rd evepyeTidi. On a 
 coin of Mytilene she is called lOT. OEA :::EBA::TII MTTI." To her 
 husband, Agrippa, was also given the title Oeos.^^ 
 
 Hirschfeld^^ believes that Gaius and Lucius Caesar were not 
 allowed by Augustus to have a cult during their life time. But 
 Mytilene hastened soon after the death of Lucius to proclaim him 
 Geos; for in an inscription of honor to the two adopted sons of Augus- 
 tus,'*-^ which must date before the death of Gaius, Lucius alone is 
 
 ^= I. G. XII, ii, 152. Cf. Heinen, op. cit. p. 170. 
 
 ^ Dittenberger, O. G. I. II, no. 456, so dates it. 
 
 "I. G. XII, ii, 61 153, 155, 157, 164 d, 168, 170, 204, 482, 536, 539. 
 
 -« I. G. XII. ii, 206, 209, 540 (Zeus omitted), 656; Papageorgiu, /. c. 
 
 '^ I. G. XII, ii, 44, 1.14; Papageorgiu, /. c. 
 
 'n. G. XII, ii, 156. 
 
 ^' I. G. XII, ii, 539 and 540. 
 
 3- I. G. XII, ii, 482. 
 
 " Hirschfeld, op. cit. p. 484. 
 
 ^* Heinen, op. cit. p. 175. See also Eckhel, D. \. VI, p. 648; Mionnet, Descr. 
 VI, p. 671, no. 404 (uncertain); Mionnet, Descr. Ill, p. 39, no. 55. 
 
 "I. G. XII, ii, 537 = Athen. Mitth. XIV, 1889, p. 259, no. 37. 
 
 3« I. G. XII, ii, 482. Eckhel, D. N. VI, p. 168, Pergamum or Smyrna like- 
 wise honored Julia as Aphrodite. 
 
 "Mionnet, Descr. Ill, p. 48, no. 118. Heinen, op. cit. p. 176, says Julia 
 was called Gottin in Lesbos, but his reference (B. C. H. 1880, p. 517) in note 15 
 refers to an inscription from Thrace. 
 
 3*1. G. XII, ii, 166 c, 168, 171, 203. These honors were doubtless given to 
 Julia and Agrippa during their stay in Lesbos, about 23 B. C. 
 
 " Hirschfeld, op. cit. p. 486. 
 
 *° I. G. XII, ii, 166 b (between September, 1 A. D. and February, 3 A D.). 
 
 KINGS AND EAfPERORS 
 
 89 
 
 called 066s. Likewise a coin of Augustus shows the heads of the two 
 princes.^i 
 
 ^ Germanicus^2 ^^d Agrippina « especially because of their residence 
 m Mytilene in 18 A. D., were honored as god and goddess by dedica- 
 tions and coins, and their daughter Agrippina was called Oea 0ovUa ^ 
 Drusus Germanicus« received the title 6 Geos, and Drusilla^« that 
 of vka *A(ppo8lTTj. 
 
 In the time of Tiberius we may conclude that the priesthood of 
 the Augusti was very large at Eresus, from an inscription which 
 reads," Ti/3epio. KXaM.o. Kaiaapa Xk^aarov t6v XhroKphropa rbv aauirvpa 
 raj oU^f^has oi avro, Kai tCp &\\c,, 2e/3aara,j. «p«s Ka9upooaa,^. An 
 inscription from the vicinity of Mytilene and one from Hiera give 
 Tiberius divine honors.'" 
 
 _ A few inscriptions honoring Nerva,"' Trajan,'" and Sabina^> as dei- 
 ties are found and a coin of Trajan is inscribed GEAN TOMAN MTTI ^'- 
 But those records which give divine titles to Hadrian are especially 
 numerous. -EXn^ep^os, 'OXinwws and 'OXi-MTrti.r.trros are the names 
 chosen to give him honor.*^ An inscription which reads irpo, r, rois 
 eeocs 2(iSa<7Tois,'' it is impossible to assign definitely to the reign of 
 
 " Mionnet, Descr. Ill, p. 40, no. 56. 
 
 « I. G. XII, ii, 212, 213 b, and by restoration, 210 and 213 a. See also Wroth 
 
 of n. !' "°- ^'^^' """^ ^^lionnet, Descr. Ill, p. 49, no. 121-2; Suppl. VI, p. 65,' 
 no. 88-90, for Geos FepixafiKSs on coins. 
 
 « I. G. XII, ii, 208, 210, 212 (by restoration), 213 a, b, 258. See also Wroth, 
 Cat. p. 204, no. 193; Mionnet, Descr. Ill, p. 49, no. 121; Suppl. VI, p. 65, no. 88; 
 and {QeaAcoXis 'Aypnnr^lpa) Mionnet, Descr. Ill, p. 49, no. 122; SuddI VI n 
 65, no. 89-90. ^^ ' ^' 
 
 ii, 211. 
 ii, 207. 
 ii, 172 b. 
 ii, 541. 
 ii, 205, 484. 
 
 ii, 139, 181, 200, 214 and 104(?) (Henzen, Ephem. Epig. II, p 22) 
 ii, 200. F6 ,F ;. 
 
 ii, 200 and 262(?). 
 
 " Mionnet, Suppl. VI, p. 65, no. 92. 
 
 "I. G. XII, ii, 536, from Eresus, AvroKparo^p Ka7aap Qkos also dates perhaps 
 from the time of Hadrian. From Mytilene are I. G. XII, ii, 185, 191-6, 'EXei^e- 
 ptos'OXuMTrtos; also 197-9 by restoration; 183, 'EXevdepcos 'OXuf^rndKnaros Zevs; 186- 
 90, •OXi-MTTio^; 184 and Papageorgiu, op. cit. no. 3, Zeus '0\{;,x7nos. 
 
 " I. G. XII, ii, 2 24, 1. 7. Paton, (see note) and Latischev (Athen. Mitth. X, 
 1885, p. 121, no. 22) think this stone without doubt came from Mytilene, though 
 the man who brought it to the museum at Odessa claimed that it came from 
 Halicarnassus. 
 
 ^ I. G. XII, 
 " I. G. XII, 
 *' I. G. XII, 
 « I. G. XII, 
 *n. G. XII, 
 " I. G. XII, 
 " I. G. XII, 
 " I. G. XII, 
 
90 
 
 THE CULTS OF LESBOS 
 
 
 any one emperor. Likewise undetermined is the emperor to whom 
 the prayer is made in the inscription, iieytaTos deoju Zevs /cat 6 Geos Ze^aards 
 otre XotTTOt 'Adaparoi iravTes tovtov kl^oKkaaav (xui^oi^v bk ^e.^^ 
 
 Elagabalus and Aquilia were on coins given the title of divinity.^^ 
 And one of the frequent devices on coins of the later period was a 
 representation of the emperor crowned by the goddess of the island.^^ 
 
 No doubt Mytilene was as early as Pergamum and other important 
 Asiatic cities to build a temple to Augustus, as has been seen from 
 indications in I. G. XII, ii, 58a. The establishment of permanent 
 priesthoods^^ in their honor also leads to the conclusion that there 
 were temples of the Augusti. It is not until the records of the 
 second or third century, however, that we find in an inscription 
 suggestion again made of a temple of Augustus, and that, too, by 
 restoration.^^ Coins of the period commemorate the dedication 
 of an octostyle temple, finished after the death of Marcus Aurelius 
 and dedicated to Commodus in about 180 A. D.*^-' Coins of the time 
 of Elagabalus show a tetrastyle temple, with the Emperor sacrifi- 
 cing before it.^^ 
 
 Whether a Neocoria was granted to the Koinon is not known. 
 
 "I. G. XII, ii, 278, 11. hi. To whom Ot6% applies in Papageorgiu, op. cil. 
 no. 9 a and c is also not determined. 
 
 " jNIionnet, Descr. p. 58, no. 177. 
 
 "Wroth, Cat. p. 169, no. 34; Mionnet, Do^cr. Ill, p. iS, no. 23; Suppl. VI, 
 p. 50, no. 7; Macdonald, op. cit. II, p. 318, no. 17. 
 
 "I. G. XII, ii, 154, 210, 549 (priest and hic^h priest of the Augusti and all 
 the other gods and goddesses). 
 
 *n. G. XII, ii, 65= B. C. H. XV, p. 672. 
 
 •opick, Jahresh. des Oesterr. Arch. Inst. VII, 1904, pp. 6 and 24-5. Types 
 of the Commodus temple. Wroth, Cat. p. 170. no, 6; Mionnet, Descr. Ill, p. 34, 
 no. 22-4 and Suppl. VI, p. 50. no. 4-6, 8-11. 
 
 «' "Mionnet, Descr. Ill, p. 58, no. 177. 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 Lesbian Citizens 
 
 During the Roman Imperial Age not only were cults of Roman 
 emperors and their famihes established in Lesbos, but heroic titles 
 and other divine honors were also given to Lesbians who attained 
 distmction. This fact Hterature, inscriptions and coins declare 
 The earliest of these citizens to win such honors seems to have been 
 Theophanes,! who by his ability as an historian won favor with 
 Pompey, and who through Pompey gained pardon from Rome in a 
 manner almost miraculous, when punishment had seemed inevitable 
 Tacitus^ says, "defuncto Theophani caelestes honores Graeca 
 adulatio tribuerat," and the statement is confirmed by an inscrip- 
 tion found at Mytilene^ which reads Oec Aa 'EXe.^ep^co ^tXo^drptSt 
 Oeoc^d^r?. Coins of Livia and Augustus bear the legend Beo^av-ns 
 eeos' and one from the time of Tiberius has the head of Theophanes 
 with the inscription Geo^dvrjs Geos on the obverse, and on the reverse 
 'ApxtdafXLs Sea, with the bust of Archedamis, draped and veiled ' 
 Archedamis is thought to be the wife of Theophanes, but Paton 
 doubts this.^ 
 
 Towards the end of the second century an inscription from My- 
 tilene^ gives the following record of honor, 6 ddmos M. Homttt^IW Ma- 
 Kpelpov, vtov eeo<pdurjp. From this F. Deneken^ infers that the divine 
 honors and cult of the older Theophanes remained unweakened 
 after two hundred years. But L. Hahn^ believes that this man was 
 a descendent of Theophanes. It may be, however, that pkos eeo^dvrj, 
 was added to the name of Macrinus simply because Theophanes 
 
 ' Plehn, Lesbiaca, pp. 211 f. and H. de la Ville de Mirmont, Rev. des fitudes 
 grecques, XVIII, 1905, pp. 166-8. 
 2 Tac. Ann. VI, 18. 
 U. G. XII, ii, 163 b. 
 
 * Mionnet, Descr. Ill, p. 48, no. 117; Suppl. VI, p. 63, no. 80. 
 
 nVroth, Cat. p. 198, no. 158; Mionnet, Descr. Ill, p. 47, no. 108; Eckhel 
 D. N. II, p. 504. 
 
 « Paton's note, I. G. XII, ii, 232. 
 
 ^I. G. XII, ii, 235 = Frankel, Arch. Zeit. XLIII, 1885, pp. 150 f. 
 ^ ' Roscher's Lexikon, I, 2549. In the time of Septimius Severus, Theophanes 
 IS also represented on coins. Wroth, Cat. p. 201, no. 175. 
 
 * Rom und Romanismus, p. 229. 
 
 I 
 
92 
 
 THE CULTS OF LESBOS 
 
 LESBLVN CITIZENS 
 
 93 
 
 III 
 
 Hi 
 
 was illustrious in memory, just as veos Majcapevs was added to the 
 name of Sextus on a coin of earlier date.^<^ 
 
 At the time of Augustus there lived in Mytilene another important 
 Lesbian, Potamon, son of Lesbonax, orator and statesman. ^^ On 
 the walls of one of the buildings in Mytilene was doubtless a record 
 of the decrees in his honor. Several of these inscriptions preserved 
 from this so-called Monumentum Potamoneum^- praise him as 
 EvepyeT-qs, ZoiTi]p and Kticttt^s, but none yet found give him titles of 
 divinity. On one of the stones which is in a very fragmentary 
 condition, however, the words rov i]poi(j^ov^^ may be distinguished. 
 This, as well as the existence of such a building, leads to the belief 
 that Potamon enjoyed heroic honors. Likewise an inscription seems 
 to indicate a festival established in his honor.^* In the time of Tiber- 
 ius,^^ a Lesbonax who must have been the father of the statesman 
 Potamon, and therefore dead, according to Cichorius, was given 
 the title vkos r;pa;s. Still later, in the time of the Antonines, on the 
 obverse of a coin is the inscription Aecr/Scb^'aJ ripcos vko% with a male 
 bust, beardless, and wearing a wreath of ivy berries. Here is repre- 
 sented Lesbonax in the character of Dionysus. ^'^ 
 
 Coins of Matidia, niece of Trajan, which show a male figure with 
 the attributes of Asclepius and the legend HANKFATIAHS are better 
 considered as representing a Mytilene physician, honored with 
 divine attributes. One of these coins has on the reverse a portrait 
 of Dada, which causes Wroth^^ to suggest that Pancratides may be 
 
 related to her. 
 
 ^uvby.axos ripo)s appears on a Lesbian coin found by Svoronos^^ in 
 Athens. Coins of the time of the Antonines^^ bear the inscriptions 
 
 " See p. 87. 
 
 ^^ Cichorius, op. clt. p. 62; Plehn, Lesbiaca, p. 217. 
 
 12 1. G. XII, ii, p. 13. 
 
 13 1. G. XII, ii, 29. 
 
 1*1. G. XII, ii, 51. 
 
 "Mionnet, Descr. Ill, p. 48 no. 116. Cf. E. Deneken, Roscher's Lexikon, 
 
 I, 2549. 
 
 i« Wroth, Cat. p. 199, no. 164; Mionnet, Suppl. VI, p. 64, no. 84-5. Cichonus, 
 op. cit. p. 65. Distinct from Lesbonax, the philosopher, thought Imhoof-Blumer, 
 CI. Rev. XI, 1897, p. 227. 
 
 1- Wroth, CI. Rev. VII, 1894, pp. 226 f. Head, H. N. p. 563. 
 
 ^8 Riv. Ital. di Numis. XXI, 1908, p. 321. 
 
 19 Procla: Wroth, Cat. p. 200, no. 165; Mionnet, Descr. Ill, p. 47, no. 109-11; 
 Macdonald, op. cit. p. 318, no. 14. Nausicaa: Wroth, Cat. p. 200, no. 167; 
 Mionnet, Descr. Ill, p. 47, no. 113. Wroth, CI. Rev. /. c.- Svoronos, Riv. 
 Ital. di Numis. XXI, 1908, p. 320. 
 
 lOT. nPOKAAN HPQIAA and NAT2IKAAN HPQIAA. Wroth identi- 
 fies Juha Procla with the Procla of I. G. XII, ii, 240. Some scholars 
 believe that Nausicaa^o here refers to the Homeric heroine, but by 
 far the greater number are incHned to believe her a prominent Les- 
 bian woman given heroic honors.^i In the second century such 
 heroic honors were frequently given to both men and women, as a 
 large number of inscriptions show. Four sepulchral inscriptions 
 found in the southern part of the city and belonging perhaps to a 
 public monument, record names of men who won the title rjpc^s 22 
 And two other stones of like character and bearing similar inscrip- 
 tions, found in the same place, are supposed to mark the graves of 
 men who were likewise honored as heroes, though the word rjpcos 
 IS omitted on these two stones.23 Stones from individual graves of 
 heroes have been discovered in Mytilene and along the roads leading 
 from It. These men are Lesbians otherwise unknown to us, Hera- 
 chdes, son of Heraclides, Alexander, son of Alexander, Senatius, 
 Elpidas, Pancarpus.24 Likewise a woman, Claudia Dada (?) i^potva, 
 daughter of a benefactress, was honored by the people.^^ One of 
 the most surprising cases is the bestowal of the name ^pu,s on a child 
 who died at the age of five years, eleven months and twenty-five 
 days. Very few instances similar to this have been found.^*^ ' 
 
 Of special interest in connection with these heroic honors is a 
 round altar of the first or second century A. D. The cylindrical 
 surface is ornamented with rams' heads, garlands and bullae. In the 
 middle of the top surface is a cylindrical depression, evidently 
 intended for libation; and on each side of the depression is sculptured 
 a serpent with its head towards the cavity. The altar bears the 
 inscription, 6 Sa^os 'kpiaravbpui tC^ KXeoTei/jLO) rjpwi.27 
 
 2" Plehn, Lesbiaca, pp. 191-2. 
 
 21 Wroth, CI. Rev. /. c; Echkel, D. N. "lI, p. 504; Svoronos, /. c: Head 
 H. N. p. 563. 
 
 22 1. G. XII, ii, 289-92. Their names are Lucius Antonius Capito, Callicles 
 Matrocles and Stratippus. 
 
 " I. G. XII, li, 287-8. Their names are Heroidas and Cleodamus Cf 
 Pauly-Wissowa, Real-Encycl. VIII, 1137. 
 
 '* I. G. XII, ii, 259, 367, 414, 422, 436. 
 ^ =" I. G. XII, ii, 228. Paton recognizes that the reading is opposed to the 
 identification of Claudia as wife of Caligula. 
 
 ^I. G. XII, ii, 392 = Report on the Investigations at Assos, Thacher-CIarke. 
 Boston, 1882, p. 142. Cf. Pauly-Wissowa, Real-Encycl. VIII, 1138. Similar 
 cases: Thera, for a four year old girl, I. G. XII, iii, 236; Attica, I. G. Ill, ii, 1460 
 
 " For a drawing see I. G. XII, ii, 286, p. 72; Conze, op. cit. PI. IV, no 5 
 Altar now in the school in Mytilene. 
 
94 
 
 THE CULTS OF LESBOS 
 
 * •» 
 
 The words rats ijpi^vaLs'' in I. G. XII, ii, 242, probably mean the 
 rites due to the heroic dead. 
 
 The evidence is sufficient to show, then, that in Roman times 
 heroic honors were freely given to Lesbian citizens. By the third 
 century A. D. the title ^pojs had probably lost most of its original 
 meaning. 
 
 28 Collitz, Dial. Inschr. no. 241, reads [dvaUih, but the reading of the Corpus 
 is now certain, since another piece of the stone has been found. See Paton's 
 note I G. XIT. ii, 242, and Eitrem, Pauly-Wissowa, Real-Encycl. VIII. IK^U. 
 
 , 
 
 BIBLIOGRAPHY 
 Epigraphy: 
 
 Bechtel. Aeolica. Halle, 1909. 
 
 David, Emmanuel. 'AveKdorot 'Ewty paipai Ae<r/3ou. Mytilene, 1913. 
 
 Papageorgiu, Petros N. Unedierte Inschriften von Mytilene. Leipzig, 1900. 
 
 T<S5os Kal Xka^os. Leipzig, 1913. 
 
 'ApxatoXoTui) 'Eiprjfiepts, 1913, pp. 220 f. Cf. Wilhelm, op. cii. 
 
 1914, p. 84. 
 Paton, William. Inscriptiones Graecae Insularum Lesbi Nesi Tenedi (I. 
 G. XII, ii). Berlin, 1899. 
 
 Numismatics: 
 
 Eckhel, Joseph. Doctrina Numorum Veterum. Leipzig, 1792-1828. 
 
 Head, Barclay V. Historia Numorum. Oxford, 1911. 
 
 Macdonald, George. Catalogue of Greek Coins in the Hunterian Collection, 
 
 II. Glasgow, 1901. 
 Mionnet. Description de Medailles antiques grecques et romaines. Paris, 
 
 1806-08. 
 Svoronos. Rivista Italiana di Ntimismatica, XXI, 1908, pp. 319 f. 
 Wroth, Warwick. Catalogue of Coins in the British Museum: Troas, Aeolis 
 
 and Lesbos. London, 1894. 
 
 Greek and Latin Authors: 
 
 Anthologia Palatina. Paris, 1864-1890. 
 
 Fragmenta Historicorum Graecorum. Mueller. Paris, 1878-85. 
 
 Hesychius, Lexikon. 
 
 Longus, De Daphnide et Chloe. Hirschig. Paris, 1885. 
 
 Philostratus, Vita Apollonii. C. L. Kayser. Leipzig, 1870. 
 
 Heroicus. C. L. Kayser. Leipzig, 1871. 
 Poetae Lyrici Graeci, III. T. Bergk. Leipzig, 1914. 
 Stephanus Byzantinus, Ethnica. Westermann. 1839. 
 Strabo, Geographica. A. Meineke. Leipzig, 1877. 
 Suidas, Lexikon. 
 Thucydides. J. Classen. Beriin, 1885-95. 
 
 History and Travel: 
 
 Boutan. Archives des Missions scientifiques, V. Paris, 1856. 
 
 Cichorius, Conrad. Rom und Mytilene. Leipzig, 1888. 
 
 Conze, A. Reise auf der Insel Lesbos. Hannover, 1865. 
 
 Koldewey, Robert. Die Antiken Baureste der Insel Lesbos. Berlin, 1890. 
 
 Newton, C. T. Travels and Discoveries in the Levant. London, 1865. 
 
 Pistorius, Hans. Beitrage zur Geschichte von Lesbos im vierten Jahrhundert 
 
 V. Chr. Bonn, 1913. 
 Plehn, S. L. Lesbiacorum Liber. Berlin, 1826. 
 H. de la Ville de Mirmont. Revue des fitudes grecques, XVIII, 1905, pp. 
 
 165 f. 
 
iii 
 
 
 
 ii Mi 
 
 
 96 
 
 BIBLIOGRAPHY 
 
 Mythology and Religion: 
 
 Pauly-Wissowa, Real-Encyciopadie der Classischen Altertumswissenschaft. 
 
 Roscher, Ausfiihrliches Lexikon der Griechischen und Romischen Mythologie. 
 
 Daremberg et SagUo, Dictionnaire des Antiquites grecques et romaines. 
 
 Farnell, Lewis R. Cults of the Greek States. Oxford, 1896-1909. 
 
 Gruppe, O. Griechische Mythologie und Religionsgeschichte. Munich, 1906. 
 
 Heinen, H. Klio-Beitrage zur Alten Geschichte, 1916, pp. 138 f. 
 
 Hirschfeld, Otto. Kleine Schriften. Berlin, 1913. 
 
 Mueller, Bruno. M^as QeSs. Halle, 1913. 
 
 Nilsson, Martin. Griechische Feste von Religidser Bedeutung. Leipzig, 
 
 1906. 
 Robert-Preller. Griechische Mythologie. Berlin, 1894. 
 Rouse, \V. H. D. Greek Votive Offerings. Cambridge, 1902. 
 Sittig, Ernestus. De Graecorum Nominibus Theophoris. Halle, 1911. 
 Tumpel, K. Philologus, XLVIII, 1889, pp. 115 f. and XLIX, 1890, pp. 89 f. 
 W'einreich. Athenische Mittheilungen, XXXVII, 1912, pp. 1 f. 
 Wide. S. Lakonische Kulte. Leipzig, 1893. 
 
 Xote— In the use of accents for Aeolic inscriptions the Corpus of Lesbian 
 Inscriptions has been followed as carefully as possible. It has not seemed best, 
 however, to write the more common epithets with Aeolic accents, even when 
 those epithets are given by inscriptional evidence. 
 
 In listing coins which bear the symbols of the gods, those coins which have 
 also a representation of the god are not included. 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Achilles 
 
 Adonis 
 
 Adrasteia 
 
 Agdissis 
 
 Agrippa 
 
 Agrippina 
 
 'Axpaioi deoL 
 
 Alexander 
 
 Amphitrite 
 Andromeda 
 ■ L. Antonius Capito 
 'AirapalTTjTOL deal 
 Aphrodite 
 
 Pelasgian 
 Xpvafj 
 
 'T7rd/(oos(?) 
 
 xiii, 43, 78 
 
 34-5 
 
 50 
 
 56 
 
 88 
 
 46, 89 
 
 24. 43 
 
 93 
 
 9 
 
 39, 40, 42-3 
 
 87 
 
 93 
 
 67 
 
 28, 29, 32-5, 36, 77 
 
 33-4, 36 
 
 32 
 
 33 
 
 29, 34 
 
 Apollo 1-12, 13, 15. 20, 21, 22, 31, 56, 
 
 65, 66, 80, 81, 82 
 
 'AXe^iKaA;os(?) 
 
 Tpvpevs 
 
 "EKaros 
 
 'Epeatos 
 
 0ep Altos 
 
 Ki£ap(^d6s 
 
 KiXXatos 
 
 AVKHOS 
 
 MaXedras 
 MaXdeu 
 
 MupiKtttOS 
 
 NaTralos 
 
 Apriate 
 
 Aquilia 
 
 Archedamis 
 
 Aichepolis Philippina 
 
 Ares 
 
 Aristandrus 
 
 Arsinoe 
 
 9 
 
 1, 3 
 10 
 6 
 9, 15 
 5 
 2-3 
 6, 11 
 7 
 6-9, 15 
 5 
 3-4 
 1-2, 11, 32, 33 
 33 
 90 
 91 
 46 
 49 
 93 
 85 
 
 Artemis 5, 9, 10, 12-22, 47, 56, 62, 
 
 65, 66, 76 
 AWo-rria 18-9 
 
 Aprji'ila 20 
 
 Ephesus 
 
 EuttKOOS 
 
 Qep/jiia 
 
 KovSvXeaTts 
 
 KovdvXiTLS 
 
 AevKotppvavA 
 
 Ma\6eaaa{?) 
 
 MeydXij 
 
 'O/jidpoia 
 
 Hepyala 
 
 Pergamum 
 
 Asclepius 
 
 'Apxa76ras(?) 
 NtKr](p6pos 
 TLavKpaTiSrjsi?) 
 Xiorijp 
 
 Athena 12, 29 
 
 'Idrjpa 
 
 '0^v5€pKr}s 
 
 'O^aXjuiTis 
 
 IloXtds 
 
 XcjTeipa 
 1 Tra/coo? 
 
 'TTTcpSc^t'a 
 Augustus Caesar 
 Berenice 
 Bplaai 
 Cabeiri 
 Cadmilus 
 Caistris 
 Callicles 
 
 Claudia Dada (?) 
 Cieodamus (?) 
 Commodus 
 Concordia 
 Cora 
 
 Mi'xia(?) 
 
 Zcbreipa 
 
 Cybele 
 Deiphobus, 
 Deinomachus, 
 Demeter 17, 3 
 
 21, 50, 56 
 13-5 
 9, L3-16, 17, 18 
 19 
 19 
 20 
 18 
 15, 16, 17 
 16, 17 
 17 
 21 
 27, 50-5, 56, 76 
 53, n. 24 
 54 
 54, 92 
 52-3 
 -32, 34, 47, 65, 66 
 29 
 29, 30 
 30 
 30 
 30-1 
 30 
 29 
 29 
 87-8 
 85 
 57, 72 
 37, 79 
 37 
 55 
 93 
 93 
 93 
 90 
 17 
 31, 42, 45, 47, 65 
 45 
 45 
 37, 50 54, 55-6 
 78 
 92 
 1, 44-8, 65, 66 
 
r 
 
 98 
 
 INDEX 
 
 i 
 
 i! < 
 
 Dionysus 10, 
 
 11, 12, 
 
 13, 16, 
 
 22, 31 
 
 Hecate 
 
 17-8, 68 
 
 44, 
 
 48, 54, 
 
 56-67, 
 
 74, 76 
 
 Helius 
 
 25, 58, 68-9, 75 
 
 BprjcrayevTjs 
 
 
 
 58 
 
 KaWLveiKOi 
 
 69 
 
 BpLoralos 
 
 
 
 57-9 
 
 Hephaestus 
 
 48 
 
 'Efidonev^ 
 
 
 
 63 
 
 Hera 
 
 27-8, 74 
 
 'Epopxv^ 
 
 
 
 65 
 
 Heracles 
 
 36, 79-80 
 
 K^paX-qu 
 
 
 
 59-61 
 
 Heraclides 
 
 93 
 
 Mfdvi^UOLO^ 
 
 
 
 61 
 
 'Ep/uatcrrai 
 
 38 
 
 Mrjdvuualos 
 
 
 
 61 
 
 Hermes 
 
 34, 35-8, 44, 56 
 
 ^aWiju 
 
 
 
 59-61 
 
 'EvaydovLos 
 
 36 
 
 Dioscuri 
 
 
 
 78-9 
 
 Heroidas (?) 
 
 93 
 
 Dithyramb 
 
 
 
 65 
 
 Hestia 
 
 49 
 
 Af3va.5€s 
 
 
 
 71 
 
 IlpvTapeia 
 
 49 
 
 Drusilla 
 
 
 
 35, 89 
 
 Human sacrifice 
 
 
 Drusus Germanicus 
 
 
 89 
 
 Dionysus 
 
 59 
 
 Echo 
 
 
 
 72 
 
 Amphitrite and N 
 
 ereids 39 
 
 Eirene 
 
 
 
 67 
 
 Hygeia 
 
 53 
 
 Elagabalus 
 
 
 
 90 
 
 Irus 
 
 80 
 
 •'EXftoi 
 
 
 
 72 
 
 Isis, see Serapis 
 
 14 
 
 Elpidas 
 
 
 
 93 
 
 neXa7ta Eud/coos 
 
 74 
 
 'E;'»^<rtd5es 
 
 
 
 72 
 
 Julia 
 
 35, 88 
 
 'E7rt^r;Xi5es 
 
 
 
 71 
 
 Julia Procla 
 
 92-3 
 
 Eriboia 
 
 
 
 67 
 
 C. Julius Caesar 
 
 87 
 
 Erinyes 
 
 
 
 67 
 
 Kaplaaai 
 
 46 
 
 Eros 
 
 
 67-8, 72, 73 
 
 Kapiro<p6poi deoi 
 
 46 
 
 Iloiyui)!' 
 
 
 
 67 
 
 Lampetus 
 
 xiii, 80 
 
 Etephila 
 
 
 
 42, 45-6 
 
 Lepetymnus 
 
 80 
 
 Eu€TTjpia Se/Saord 
 
 
 68 
 
 Lesbonax 
 
 92 
 
 Festivals 
 
 
 
 
 Leto 
 
 ■ 5, 20 
 
 Artemis 
 
 
 
 15, 20 
 
 AiVKodeai 
 
 43 
 
 Athena 
 
 
 
 31 
 
 \evKoydT03v Oiacros 
 
 43 
 
 Dionysus 
 
 59, 60, 61, 
 
 63-4,65, 
 
 Linus 
 
 65 
 
 
 
 
 67, 79 
 
 Li via 
 
 88 
 
 Hera 
 
 
 
 27 
 
 Lucius Caesar 
 
 88 
 
 Heracles 
 
 
 
 79-80 
 
 Machaon 
 
 53 
 
 Poseidon 
 
 
 
 42 
 
 MainaKTTJpi^ 
 
 25 
 
 Ptolemy 
 
 
 
 79, 85-6 
 
 Matrocles 
 
 93 
 
 Serapis 
 
 
 
 75 
 
 MfXtat 
 
 71 
 
 Zeus 
 
 
 
 26 
 
 Mercuriales 
 
 38 
 
 Gaius Caesar 
 
 
 
 88 
 
 Mecro<rTpo(pcoftat 
 
 77 
 
 Ge 
 
 
 
 67 
 
 Months 
 
 
 Gello 
 
 
 
 68 
 
 'AyeppauLO^ 
 
 61 
 
 Geren 
 
 
 
 39 
 
 'AiroWcoytos 
 
 10 
 
 Germanicus 
 
 
 
 89 
 
 Aalaiosi?) 
 
 64 
 
 Hades 
 
 
 
 42 
 
 At6vucros 
 
 61 
 
 Hadrian 
 
 
 
 89 
 
 'llipalaTLO'i 
 
 48 
 
 Hebe 
 
 
 
 68 
 
 GcXaiatosC?) 
 
 65 
 
 INDEX 
 
 99 
 
 QeodaLcTUJs 
 
 64-5 
 
 M^xtos 
 
 74 
 
 '0/xoX6tos 
 
 44, n. 4 
 
 JIava<r<p6.\tos{?) 
 
 73 
 
 IlapvujTrlojv 
 
 10 
 
 U.aP€Tr6)Tn]s{?) 
 
 74 
 
 Hoaideos 
 
 42 
 
 Pnistia 
 
 42, 45-6 
 
 U6.P 
 
 73 
 
 Podalirius 
 
 53 
 
 Ht . . . 
 
 85-6 
 
 TloXvKapTTOL deoL 
 
 46 
 
 Muses 
 
 5, 69-71 
 
 Cn. Pompeius Magnus 
 
 86 
 
 Mutunus Tutunus 
 
 39 
 
 Sextus Pompeius 
 
 86-7 
 
 Mux^a 
 
 42,45 
 
 M. Pompeius Macrinus 
 
 91 
 
 Muxtos 
 
 42,45 
 
 Poseidon 23-4, 
 
 38-44, 73-4 
 
 Mysteries 
 
 
 *Aa<^dXios 
 
 41,42 
 
 Artemis 
 
 17, 47 (?) 
 
 'EXv/dVLOS 
 
 41 
 
 Cabeiri 
 
 37 
 
 'EXurtos 
 
 41 
 
 Demeter 
 
 47 
 
 KXu7-tos(?) 
 
 41 
 
 Emperor (?) 
 
 47 
 
 Micro IT OPT LOS 
 
 40-1 
 
 Myton 
 
 vii, 39, 41 
 
 Muxtos(?) 
 
 42 
 
 Nausicaa 
 
 93 
 
 Tlapa(7(pd\Los 
 
 41 
 
 Nemesis 
 
 50 
 
 Potamon 
 
 92 
 
 Neocoria 
 
 90 
 
 Priapus 28, 34. 37. 74 
 
 Nereids 
 
 39, 40, 43 
 
 Procla 
 
 93 
 
 Nerva 
 
 89 
 
 Prylis 
 
 37 
 
 Nymphs 44, 
 
 62, 67-8, 71-2, 73 
 
 Ptolemy IV. Philopator 
 
 85 
 
 Oaths 
 
 
 Purification 
 
 5, 20, 77 
 
 Apollo 
 
 6 
 
 Pyrrha (nymph) 
 
 77 
 
 Helius 
 
 26, 69 
 
 Roma 
 
 86 
 
 Nymphs 
 
 71, 73 
 
 ISi iKr}<p6pos 
 
 87 
 
 Pan 
 
 71, 73 
 
 Sabina 
 
 89 
 
 Zeus 
 
 26,69 
 
 XapaTLaaraL 
 
 75 
 
 Oracle 
 
 
 Senatius 
 
 93 
 
 Apollo 
 
 4-5, 11, 60, 82 
 
 Serapis and Isis 
 
 25, 74-5, 76 
 
 Artemis 
 
 17 
 
 Sextus 
 
 86-7, 92 
 
 Amphitrite 
 
 40, 43 
 
 Silvanus 
 
 75 
 
 Orpheus 
 
 4, 82 
 
 KaXos 'Aypds 
 
 75 
 
 Orpheus 
 
 4, 59, 60, 65, 80-2 
 
 Stratippus 
 
 93 
 
 Orthrus 
 
 72 
 
 Tantalus 
 
 X, 84 
 
 Palamedes 
 
 82-3 
 
 Telesphorus 
 
 53 
 
 Pan 44 
 
 , 62, 67-8, 71, 72-3 
 
 Themis 
 
 76 
 
 ZTpartwTTjs 
 
 73 
 
 Theophanes 
 
 91 
 
 Pancarpus 
 
 93 
 
 Tiberius Caesar 
 
 89 
 
 Pancratides 
 
 54,92 
 
 Trajan 
 
 89 
 
 Uarpc^ot 6eol 
 
 73 
 
 Trambelus 
 
 xiii, 84 
 
 Peitho 
 
 33 
 
 Tyche of Mytilene 15-6, 
 
 20, 54, 62 
 
 Penthilus 
 
 ix, 84 
 
 
 76-7 
 
 Persephone 
 
 45, 46, 47 
 
 Uranus 
 
 67 
 
 Phales 
 
 36 
 
 Vestal Virgins 
 
 49 
 
 Philip of Macedon 
 
 85 
 
 Zakoros 
 
 53 
 
 Pluto 
 
 23-4, 42, 45, 73-4 
 
 Zeus 11, 21, 22-7 
 
 , 65, 69, 75 
 
I>JDEX 
 
 M 
 
 'A^pato? 
 Bot'Xatoi 
 'EXevdipio^ 
 
 K.tpavi'LOs: 
 Mat/idxTTjf 
 '0/ioXwto« 
 Maii'6Xios 
 
 5,26 
 
 M«7t<Tro? 
 
 24 
 
 rTafeTrcuTTjs 
 
 24 
 
 Pelasgian 
 
 25 
 
 Zajr?7p 
 
 22-3 
 
 'TTTCp^t^tO? 
 
 2.^ 
 
 "TTraros 
 
 25 
 
 "T^tcros 
 
 11 
 
 <I>tXi7r7rto5 
 
 25-6 
 
 Zeus Ammon 
 
 25 
 23 
 
 22 
 24, 30 
 
 24, 29 
 23 
 
 23 
 
 25, 85 
 12, 25 
 
 I 
 
 r 
 
 :^i 
 
 VITA 
 
 Emily Ledyard Shields was born in Nashville, Tennessee, August 
 29, 1883. She received her preparatory education in the Saint Louis 
 High School, and entered Bryn Mawr College in October, 1901. From 
 that college she received the degree of Bachelor of Arts in June, 1905, 
 and the degree of Master of Arts in June, 1906. During 1907-08 
 she studied in the University of Oxford and in the University of 
 Berlin. In the summer of 1913 she studied at the University of 
 Chicago. The years 1913-15 she spent at the Johns Hopkins Univer- 
 sity, pursuing courses in Classical Archaeology, Greek and Latin 
 under Professors David M. Robinson, Basil L. Gildersleeve, Kirby 
 Flower Smith, C. W. E. Miller, Dr. R. V. D. Magoffin and Professor 
 Wilfred P. Mustard. In 1913-14 she was fellow and in 1914-15 fellow 
 by courtesy. She is glad to have this opportunity to express to all 
 the professors under whom she has studied her sincere and abiding 
 gratitude for the great inspiration and help which they have given 
 her. Especially she wishes to thank Professor Robinson, by whose 
 advice this dissertation was begun, and by whose constant assistance 
 it was completed; and also Professors Gildersleeve and Miller for 
 their most valuable suggestions and interest. 
 
 ,*\ 
 
 \ 
 
// 
 
 f 
 
 I! 
 
r 
 
 ^ 
 
 i 
 
 
 . CJ 
 
 (€^^. 
 
 ■ :%'■ 
 
 ."■ < 
 
 
 x 
 
 ^n 
 
 >i 
 
 o 
 
 Ok 
 
 o 
 
 00 
 
 O 
 CO 
 
 U. 
 O 
 
 v 
 
 00 c/l 
 
 / 
 
 
 JAN 24 1919 
 
u 
 
 I 
 
 •^ 
 
 14 ■