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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#0498

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\20 Zeus Aktaios or Akratos and his Fleeces

viii. Zeus Aktaios or Akraios and his Fleeces.

But, if the myth of the golden lamb and that of the golden ram
imply animal epiphanies of Zeus, we are encouraged to look round
for further evidence of him as a ram-god in the actual rites of the
Greek area.

And here we must first turn our attention to Mount Pelion in
Magnesia. On the summit of this mountain there was a sanctuary
of Zeus Aktaios, to which once a year a peculiar procession wended
its way. When the dog-star rose and the heat was at its greatest,
the priest of Zeus chose out the chief men of the district, being
careful to select only those that were in the prime of life. They
proceeded to make the ascent of the mountain, clad in fleeces that
were thick and fresh1. Why they did so, they probably could not
have explained. Dikaiarchos, the disciple of Aristotle, thought that
they wore the skins as a protection against catching cold on the
mountain heights2. But it is certain that the details of the rite
were determined by religious, not hygienic, considerations. I would
suggest that those who took part in the procession were originally
endeavouring to assimilate themselves to Zeus the ram-god3. Zeus
scaled the sky as a ram with a golden fleece, and his worshippers
put on thick new fleeces when they mounted to his abode. If I am

etc Tlrfkews yevofxevovs avrrj wcudas, (Bov\o/Aei>r] eldtvcu, ei BvrjToL eicnv {Aegim. frag. 2 Kinkel
ap. schol. Ap. Rhod. 4. 816). Lastly, a dedication found at El-Btirdj below Kala'at-
Jendal on the east slope of Mt Hermon runs : virkp cruTrjpias avTOKpdropos | Tpa'Cavov
Nepoua Se/3acrro0 | vios Se/3acrr6s TepixaviKov | Aa/a/cos Mevveas BeeXcafBov | rod Bee\ia/3ov
irarpbs Ne\reipov, rod airodewdevTos \ ev tQ \£(3t)ti 5l ov at oprai ay (av\Tai, eTricrKoiros Travrwv
rwv ev\da8e yeyovoTwv Zpywv kclt etf[<re/3etas avediquev dea AevKo\6ea ^eyeepwp 0 (C. Clermont-
Ganneau Recneil archeologie orientale Paris 1898 ii. 74 f., 1901 iv. 250 sees in this
a survival of human sacrifice: C. Fossey in the Bull. Corr. Hell. 1895 xix. 303—306
thinks that airodeovv means merely ' enterrer' and that the ashes of Neteiras were
' deposees dans un vase sacre': Dittenberger Orient. Gr. inscr. sel. no. 611 follows
Fossey, but refers 8l 06 k.t.X. to the man, not to the caldron). These passages might be
used to support the conclusions of Mr F. M. Cornford, who detects in the Pelops-myth
the ritual of a New Birth (J. E. Harrison Themis Cambridge 1912 p. 243 ff.).

1 Append. B. A possible parallel to this rite in the Naxian cult of Zeus M^Aaxnos
(' Clad in a sheep-skin' ?) has been already noted {supra p. 164 f.). Mr A. J. B. Wace in his
interesting account of'The Mayday Festival on Pelion' {Ann. Brit. Sch. Ath. 1909—1910
xvi. 244—249) observes that the y£pos or ' old man,' who is killed and brought to life again,
wears a black sheep-skin mask. Mr Wace (ib. p. 251) holds that this character 'is in all
probability the representative of Dionysos, of whose worship...these festivals are to be
regarded as a survival.'

2 Dikaiarch. 2. 8 (Geogr. Gr. min. i. 107 Muller).

3 Gilbert Gr. Golterl. p. 148 thinks that the fleeces were worn on the mountain in
order to imitate, and thus produce, the fleecy rain-clouds for which the country-side
was thirsting. If so, cp. the means by which the rain-maker elsewhere assimilates
himself to rain (Frazer Golden Bough* : The Magic Art i. 260 f., 269 f.) and the use of
a fleece in the modified rain-charm (?) of Judges 6. 36—40. But Gilbert's whole ex-
planation of the rite is precarious.
 
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