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Cook, Arthur B.
Zeus: a study in ancient religion (Band 1): Zeus god of the bright sky — Cambridge, 1914

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https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.14695#0124

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Wolf-god or Light-god ?

65

numerous relatives in both Greek and Latin1. Indeed, our word
' light' is of kindred origin.

But etymology, unless supported by ritual and myth, can afford
no certain clue to the nature of an ancient deity. Fortunately in
the present case that support is forthcoming. Zeus Lykaios was
sometimes at least conceived as a sky-god, for his priest acted as
rain-maker to the district-. Again, Achaios the tragedian, a
younger contemporary of Sophokles, appears to have spoken of
Zeus Lykaios as 'starry-eyed' (astervpos)*. An epithet of similar
formation and of the same meaning (asteropos) is used by Euri-
pides of the aither or ' burning sky' in connexion with Zeus4.
This suggests that Zeus Lykaios was a god of the aitlier. Indeed,
Creuzer long since pointed out that Zeus Lykaios is none other
than the Arcadian Zeus5, whom Cicero and Ampelius describe as
the son of Aether16. H. Usener further observes that, just as a
Boeotian myth makes Lykos succeed his brother Nykteus on the
throne7, so the Arcadian myth makes Lykaon succeeded by his
son Nyktimos, the inference being that both pairs of names denote
the alternation of'daylight' (lyk-) and 'darkness' (nykt-)s. If Zeus
Lykaios was thus a god of daylight, certain statements made by
Pausanias a propos of his cult gain a fresh significance. Lykosoura
founded by Lykaon was 'the first city that ever the sun beheld9.'

1 Prellwitz Etym. Worterb. d. Gr. Spr.2 pp. 266, 275 cites for the stronger form of the
root the Latin lux, luceo, luna, for the weaker the Greek d/xcpiXi'iKT], Xu/cd/3as 'year' (lit.
'light-circuit' : Fick in the Gbtt. Gel. Anz. 1894 clvi. 240 cp. Hesych. <x/3<r rpoxos),
\vKavyrjs 'twi-light,' XvKO(pws 'twi-light,' Xvxvos 'lamp,' etc. See further L. Meyer
Handb. d. gr. Etym. iv. 519m, who adds XvKoxpia 'twi-light,' and Walde Lai. etym.
Worterb. s.v. luceo p. 349 f., who connects Xvydos 'white marble' with the same group
of words.

2 Infra p. 76.

3 Achaios Azanes frag. 2 Nauck2 ap. schol. Eur. Or. 383 rrjs darepoirov (MSS.
dffTepoirov) Zrjvbs duaias, cp. F. G. Welcker Die Griechischen Tragbdien Bonn 1841 iii.
963. Arcad. p. 67, 13 Barker vouches for the accent darepoiros: the analogy of xapoir6s,
'bright-eyed,' suggests darepoiros, cp. darepwiros.

W. H. Roscher in the Jahrb.f. class. Philol. 1892 xxxviii. 705 supposes that darepoiros
denotes ' the god of lightning ' (daTpa/rri, darepoTrr]).

4 Eur. Ion 1078 f. Aids darepw-Kos \ dvexopevaev ai8r]p, cp. Kritias Sisyphus frag. 1,
33 Nauck- ap. Plout. de plac. philos. 1. 6 and Sext. adv. math. 9. 54 to t darepwrrov
ovpavov aeXas (so Plout., Se^as Sext.).

5 F. Creuzer Symbolik und Mythologie* Leipzig and Darmstadt 1841 iii. 74 f.

6 Cic. de nat. deor. 3. 53, Ampel. 9. Cp. supra p. 27 n. 3.

7 Infra ch. i § 7 (d).

8 H. Usener Gotternamen p. 199. The myths are collected and analysed in Roscher
Lex. Myth. ii. 2169 ff., 2183 ff., iii. 492 ff., 498 f. W. PL Roscher Selene und Verwandtes
Leipzig 1890 p. 140 ff. regards Nykteus and Lykos as personifications of the Evening-
and the Morning-star: he is followed by Worner in the Lex. Myth. iii. 496^

9 lJaus. 8. 38. 1.

C.

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