DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.14695#0521
Priests and Priestesses with Animal Names 443
who were initiated into the leontikd or ' leonine' mysteries of
Mithras adopted a variety of animal disguises and animal names.
The men were called ' lions,' the women ' lionesses,' the attendants
'ravens.' The fathers were ' eagles ' and ' hawks1.' The'doves'at
Dodona were by many of the ancients held to be priestesses.2. The
histidtores or 'entertainers' of Artemis Efthesia, who observed
rules of ceremonial purity for a year, were called by the citizens
esseness, a title that properly denotes ' king bees4.' Aischylos in
his Priestesses spoke of the ' bee-keepers,' who opened the temple-
gates of Artemis5. The priestesses of Demeter were known as
'bees6.' So too were women initiated into her mysteries7. Pindar
1 Porph. de abst. 4. 16 ws tovs jxev fierexovras tQv avT&v dpyiwv /j-varas \eovras /caAetV,
rds de yvvaiKas vaivas (Felicianus cj. \eaivas), tovs de virrjpeTOvvTas KopaKas. eiri re tQv
iraT€pu}v...aeTol yap Kai iepaKes ovtol wpoaayopevovTai. 6 re rd XeovTLKa TrapaXap-fidvLov
TrepiTideraL iravTodairds fyuv /xoptpds. See further Journ. Hell. Stud. 1894 xiv. 117 f., and
especially F. Cumont Textes et monut?ients figures relatifs aux mysteres de Mithra
Bruxelles 1899 3*4 ff-> ^96 ii. 535 Index, Die Mysterien des Mithra11 trans. G. Gehrich
Leipzig 1911 p. 138 ff., and in Roscher Lex. Myth. ii. 3062, who cites much additional
evidence from inscriptions etc. and arranges the initiates from lowest to highest in the
following order: corax, gryphus, miles; leo, Perses, heliodromus; pater; pater patrum
or pater patratus. A relief from Konjica in Bosnia shows a Mithraic communion
attended by a corax, a Perses, a miles, and a leo : the first and the last of these wear
masks representing a raven's head and a lion's head (F. Cumont Die Mystei'ien des
Mithra2 p. 139, pi. 3, 7, Daremberg—Saglio Diet. Ant. iii. 1949 fig. 5087).
2 Hdt. 2. 55—57, Strab. 7 frag. 1 p. 73 Kramer, Eustath. in Od. p. 1760, 43 f.,
Paus. 10. T2. 10, schol. Soph. Trach. 172. But the evidence is far from conclusive.
Herodotos offers it only as his personal opinion that the 7reXetd<5es were barbarian women
who chattered like doves; Strabon remarks that in the language of the Molottians and
Thesprotians old women were called ireXiai, old men ttcXlol, and surmises that the
7reXetd5es were three old women; Eustathios quotes Strabon's view; Pausanias has rds
UeXeiddas.. .Xeyovcrt... .aaai yvpaiKQv irpLoras k.t.X. ; and the scholiast on Sophokles prefixes
a vague oi de ovtoj.
3 Paus. 8. 13. 1, Dittenberger Syll. inscr. Gr.2 no. 175, 6 f. [Otieiv de Kai \ ev~\ayyeXia
ry 'Apre/judi tovs io~o~rjvas k.t.X., no. 548, 8f. e7rt/cX?7pcD<rat de | avTov tovs eaarjvas eis (pvXijy
Kai xL^cao"rvy k.t.X., J. T. Wood Discoveries at Ephesus London 1877 Append. 4. 2
eao"r}vevaas ayv&s /cat eucre/3tDs, cp. E. L. Hicks The Collection of Ancient Greek Inscrip-
tions in the British Museum iii. 2. 85 Oxford 1890 nos. 447, 448, 451, 457, 467, 578 c.
4 Souid. s.v. eaarjv, et. mag. p. 383, 30ff., et. Gud. p. 213, 6 ff.
5 Aisch. hiereae frag. 87 Nauck2 eixpafxeiTe /xeXiaaovo/xoi ddfxov 'ApTefiidos ireXas o'iyeiv.
See Journ. Hell. Shid. 1895 xv. 12.
6 Schol. Pind. Pyth. 4. 106 c p.eXiao~as de rds iepeias, Kvpiois /xev rds tt)s Ar]p.r)Tpos,
KdTaxpycrTiKuis de Kai rds irdaas, did t6 tov £you Kadapov, Porph. de antr. nymph. 18 /cat
rds ArjfxrjTpos iepeias cos ttjs %c?oi'tas Beds fxiaTidas fxeXiaaas oi iraXaioi ^koXovp avTrjv re tt\v
Kop-qv /jLeXtTdodr], Theokr. 15. 94 /xeXiTcides with schol. ad loc. ixeXiTusdr] de ttjv llepcrecpov-qv
(prjcrl KaT avTifypaaiv, u>s /cat KoprjP' <t)> 5td to rds iepeias avTrjs /cat tt)s Arj/bL7)Tpos /neXiacras
XeyeaOai.
7 Hesych. s.v. p.eXiaaai- at tt)s Arjfj.r}Tpos fxvo-Tides, Kallim. h. Ap. nof. A??ot d' ou/c
d7ro iravTos vdevs (popeovaL p.eXicro~at., | dXX' tjtls Kadaprj re /cat dx/mac-ros dptptreL k.t.X.,
Vivid, frag. 158 Christ (158 Schroeder) ap. schol. Pind. Pyth. 4. 106 a rds 7rept rd deia
/cat ^aucrrt/cd /xeXiaaas /cat erepwflr Tats lepacs /xeXiacraLS TepireTai.
who were initiated into the leontikd or ' leonine' mysteries of
Mithras adopted a variety of animal disguises and animal names.
The men were called ' lions,' the women ' lionesses,' the attendants
'ravens.' The fathers were ' eagles ' and ' hawks1.' The'doves'at
Dodona were by many of the ancients held to be priestesses.2. The
histidtores or 'entertainers' of Artemis Efthesia, who observed
rules of ceremonial purity for a year, were called by the citizens
esseness, a title that properly denotes ' king bees4.' Aischylos in
his Priestesses spoke of the ' bee-keepers,' who opened the temple-
gates of Artemis5. The priestesses of Demeter were known as
'bees6.' So too were women initiated into her mysteries7. Pindar
1 Porph. de abst. 4. 16 ws tovs jxev fierexovras tQv avT&v dpyiwv /j-varas \eovras /caAetV,
rds de yvvaiKas vaivas (Felicianus cj. \eaivas), tovs de virrjpeTOvvTas KopaKas. eiri re tQv
iraT€pu}v...aeTol yap Kai iepaKes ovtol wpoaayopevovTai. 6 re rd XeovTLKa TrapaXap-fidvLov
TrepiTideraL iravTodairds fyuv /xoptpds. See further Journ. Hell. Stud. 1894 xiv. 117 f., and
especially F. Cumont Textes et monut?ients figures relatifs aux mysteres de Mithra
Bruxelles 1899 3*4 ff-> ^96 ii. 535 Index, Die Mysterien des Mithra11 trans. G. Gehrich
Leipzig 1911 p. 138 ff., and in Roscher Lex. Myth. ii. 3062, who cites much additional
evidence from inscriptions etc. and arranges the initiates from lowest to highest in the
following order: corax, gryphus, miles; leo, Perses, heliodromus; pater; pater patrum
or pater patratus. A relief from Konjica in Bosnia shows a Mithraic communion
attended by a corax, a Perses, a miles, and a leo : the first and the last of these wear
masks representing a raven's head and a lion's head (F. Cumont Die Mystei'ien des
Mithra2 p. 139, pi. 3, 7, Daremberg—Saglio Diet. Ant. iii. 1949 fig. 5087).
2 Hdt. 2. 55—57, Strab. 7 frag. 1 p. 73 Kramer, Eustath. in Od. p. 1760, 43 f.,
Paus. 10. T2. 10, schol. Soph. Trach. 172. But the evidence is far from conclusive.
Herodotos offers it only as his personal opinion that the 7reXetd<5es were barbarian women
who chattered like doves; Strabon remarks that in the language of the Molottians and
Thesprotians old women were called ireXiai, old men ttcXlol, and surmises that the
7reXetd5es were three old women; Eustathios quotes Strabon's view; Pausanias has rds
UeXeiddas.. .Xeyovcrt... .aaai yvpaiKQv irpLoras k.t.X. ; and the scholiast on Sophokles prefixes
a vague oi de ovtoj.
3 Paus. 8. 13. 1, Dittenberger Syll. inscr. Gr.2 no. 175, 6 f. [Otieiv de Kai \ ev~\ayyeXia
ry 'Apre/judi tovs io~o~rjvas k.t.X., no. 548, 8f. e7rt/cX?7pcD<rat de | avTov tovs eaarjvas eis (pvXijy
Kai xL^cao"rvy k.t.X., J. T. Wood Discoveries at Ephesus London 1877 Append. 4. 2
eao"r}vevaas ayv&s /cat eucre/3tDs, cp. E. L. Hicks The Collection of Ancient Greek Inscrip-
tions in the British Museum iii. 2. 85 Oxford 1890 nos. 447, 448, 451, 457, 467, 578 c.
4 Souid. s.v. eaarjv, et. mag. p. 383, 30ff., et. Gud. p. 213, 6 ff.
5 Aisch. hiereae frag. 87 Nauck2 eixpafxeiTe /xeXiaaovo/xoi ddfxov 'ApTefiidos ireXas o'iyeiv.
See Journ. Hell. Shid. 1895 xv. 12.
6 Schol. Pind. Pyth. 4. 106 c p.eXiao~as de rds iepeias, Kvpiois /xev rds tt)s Ar]p.r)Tpos,
KdTaxpycrTiKuis de Kai rds irdaas, did t6 tov £you Kadapov, Porph. de antr. nymph. 18 /cat
rds ArjfxrjTpos iepeias cos ttjs %c?oi'tas Beds fxiaTidas fxeXiaaas oi iraXaioi ^koXovp avTrjv re tt\v
Kop-qv /jLeXtTdodr], Theokr. 15. 94 /xeXiTcides with schol. ad loc. ixeXiTusdr] de ttjv llepcrecpov-qv
(prjcrl KaT avTifypaaiv, u>s /cat KoprjP' <t)> 5td to rds iepeias avTrjs /cat tt)s Arj/bL7)Tpos /neXiacras
XeyeaOai.
7 Hesych. s.v. p.eXiaaai- at tt)s Arjfj.r}Tpos fxvo-Tides, Kallim. h. Ap. nof. A??ot d' ou/c
d7ro iravTos vdevs (popeovaL p.eXicro~at., | dXX' tjtls Kadaprj re /cat dx/mac-ros dptptreL k.t.X.,
Vivid, frag. 158 Christ (158 Schroeder) ap. schol. Pind. Pyth. 4. 106 a rds 7rept rd deia
/cat ^aucrrt/cd /xeXiaaas /cat erepwflr Tats lepacs /xeXiacraLS TepireTai.