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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#0737

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652 The Significance of the Bull

Was there anything analogous to this in the cult of the Cretan
Zeus ? If I have not misconstrued the evidence, both the human
victim and his animal substitute can be detected even in our
fragmentary records.

Zeus the princely hunter was slain by a wild boar. The myth
was probably localised at Lyttos near Mount Dikte. For not only
had Dikte, an older cult-centre than Ide1, the statue of a beardless
Zeus2, but silver coins of Lyttos from c. 450 B.C. onwards have on
their obverse side an eagle flying, or more rarely standing, on their
reverse the head and sometimes the forefoot of a wild boar (fig. 5°5)3-

The former type obviously alludes to Zeus, the latter to his enemy,
the terror and pride of the district. Now Antikleides, a historian
of the third century B.C.4, stated that the Lyttians sacrificed men
to Zeus5. The statement was made in his Nostoi and, I should
conjecture, had reference to the return of Idomeneus king of Lyttos6
from the Trojan War. In that war he had played the hero's part,
' equal to a boar in bravery*7' ; and the Odyssey brought him
home in safety to Crete8. But Servius knew of an ugly incident

1 Supra p. 150 n. 2.

2 Et. mag. p. 276, 12 ff. A'lktt]'...evravda de Aibs dyaXfxa dyeveiov 'lgtolto (I owe this
reference to the friendly vigilance of Miss Harrison), Zonar. lex. s.v. AiKTT]...ivOev [sic)
Kal Aids dyaXfxa 'Lgtixto dyeveiov.

3 J. N. Svoronos Numismatique de la Crete ancienne Macon 1890 i. 230 ff. pi. 21,
1—31, pi. 22, 1 f., Brit. Mus. Cat. Coins Crete etc. p. 55 ff. pi. 13, 12—15, pi. 14, 1—3,
5, cp. 6, Htmter Cat. Coins ii. 190 f. pi. 42, 10 f., Head Hist, num.- p. 471. I figure

an unpublished variety in my collection (fig. 505): the legend is NO^T MVA ?


4 E. Schwartz in Pauly—Wissowa Real-Enc. i. 2425 f.

5 Clem. Al. protr. 3. 42. 5 p. 32, 3 ff. Stahlin = Euseb. praep. ev. 4. 16. 12 AvktLovs
yap-—KpujTQv de Zdvos eialv ovtol—- AvriKXeLdys ev Xocrrots diro(f>aii>eTai dvOpuwovs <xtto-

<T(j)dTTeiV rip Au.

6 Verg. Aen. 3. 401 Lyctius Idomeneus. Diod. 5. 79 makes him a Cnossian (infra
n. 8).

7 II. 4. 253 ,18o[xevevs...(Tvt euceXos d\Krju.

8 Od. 3. 191 f. Cp. Diod. 5. 79 (Idomeneus and Meriones) diacrwdeuras els tt]v
irarpiba reXevrrjaai /cat Tcuprjs eirKpavovs d^iwdrivai Kal rip.Qi' ddavdrwv. /cat rbv rd(pov
avruiv ev rrj K/'wcraj deinvtiovaiv, ewiypacpTjv 'e"~)(ovra roidvde,—TZvwcriov 'Ibofxevrjos opa rdcpov.
avrdp e'yib rot | ttXtjctiov tdpv/iiai M.7]pi6vn]s b MoXou. rovrovs /u,ev ovv ws yjpooas eiricpavets
TiptQiaiv ol Kprjres 8ia<pepovTU}s, Ovovres /cat Kara rods ev rots Tro\e/nois Kivdvvovs eirmaXovpievoi
poijdovs.
 
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