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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#0738

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Zeus and Human Omophagy 653

connected with his home-coming. Idomeneus, caught in a storm,
had vowed that he would offer to the gods whatever met him first on
his return. The first to meet him was his own son, whom according
to some he sacrificed as a victim to Zeus, according to others he
threatened to sacrifice. On account of this cruelty, or because a
pestilence broke out, he was driven from his kingdom by the
citizens1. This tale was very possibly derived from Antikleides'
Nostoi. In any case it chimes with the statement already quoted
from that work, viz. that at Lyttos men were sacrificed to Zeus.
A further allusion to the same grim custom may lie behind some
guarded words of Agathokles, a fifth-century historian2, whom
Athenaios cites to the following effect3:

' Concerning the sanctity of swine among the Cretans Agathokles the Baby-
lonian in his first book On Kyzikos remarks—" It is fabled that the birth of
Zeus happened in Crete on Mount Dikte, where also a sacrifice that must not
be mentioned takes place. The story goes that a sow suckled Zeus and, grunt-
ing as it trotted round the babe, made his whimpers inaudible to those who
passed by. Hence all regard this animal as very holy, and" (says he) "would
not eat of its flesh. The Praisians actually make offerings to a pig, and this is
their regular sacrifice before marriage." Neanthes of Kyzikos in his second
book On Ritual gives much the same account.'

1 Serv. in Verg. Aen. 3. 121 Idomeneus [de semine Deucalionis natus,] Cretensium
rex, cum post eversam Troiam reverteretur, in tempestate devovit diis sacrificaturum se
de re, quae ei primum occurrisset. contigit, ut films eius primus occurreret: quem cum,
ut alii dicunt, immolasset: ut alii [vero], immolare voluisset: [et post orta esset pesti-
lentia,] a civibus pulsus [est] regno, etc., id. in Verg. Aen. 11. 264 Idomeneus rex
Cretensium fuit: qui cum tempestate laboraret, vovit, se sacrificaturum [Neptuno] de re
quae ei primum occurrisset (si reversus fuisset; sed) cum casu ei primum filius occurrisset,
quem (mox Iovi) cum, ut alii dicunt, immolasset: ut alii, immolare voluisset, ob crudeli-
tatem regno a civibus expulsus est, Myth. Vat. 2. 210 Idomeneus, Cretensium rex, quum
post eversam Troiam reverteretur, devovit propter sedandam tempestatem, sacrificium se
dare de hac re, quae ei reverso primum occurreret. contigit igitur, ut filius ei occurreret.
quem quum immolasset vel, ut alii dicunt, immolare vellet, a civibus pulsus regno, etc.,
cp. Myth. Vat. 1. 195 Idomeneus, rex Cretensium, quum post eversam Troiam reverte-
retur, in tempestate devovit, se sacrificaturum de re, quae ei primum occurrisset. contigit
igitur, ut prima filia ei occurreret. quam quum, ut alii dicunt, immolasset; ut alii, im-
molare voluisset; a civibus pulsus regno, etc. The last of the writers here cited was
obviously thinking of Jephthah's vow (Judges it. 30 ff.).

2 E. Schwartz in Pauly—Wissowa Real-Enc. i. 758 f. ('Aus diesem Grande ist er ins
5., spatestens in den Anfang des 4. Jhdts. zu setzen').

3 Athen. 375 F—376 A irepl 8e vQv, otl iepbv eari to '{Coov irapa Kprjaiv, "'AyaOoKXijs 6
~Baj3v\covLos ev irpwTcp irepl Kv^lkov [Agathokles frag. 2 (Frag. hist. Gr. iv. 289 Midler)]
(pKjalv ovtw " fAvdevovcnu ev K/stjtt? yevecxdai ttjv Atos Tenvwaiv eirl ttjs Alktws, ev 77 /cat
airoppriTos ytverai dvaLa. Xeyercu yap cos apa Att drfkrjv vTvecrxev us, /cat rep acperepep ypvafxip
TrepLOLXvevaa tov KvvfyOpLOV rod fipecpeos dveiraCaTOV rots irapLovo~lv erLOeL. 8lo ir&vres to
£(bov tovto ireplaeiTTov yyovvrac, /cat ov (<fir)<ri) tGjv KpeG)v <av> daLacuvTO. UpaLcnoi. 5e
/cat tepa pe^ovcrcu vi, /cat avrr) 7rpoTe\r]s aureus r/ OvaLa vevbp,i(jTtt,i?'' ra ir<xp<nv\r\<Jia, icrropel
/cat ~y[eavdr]s 6 Kv£iK7]i>bs ev devrepep irepl reXer-^s [Neanthes frag. 25 (Frag. hist. Gr. iii. 8
Miiller)], Eustath. in II. p. 773, 14 ff. 7/ de rod Atos us dXXotws exet...Tepareverac yap els
6p.oibv tl irpbs rfjv aTya tt]v dpe\pap.evr)v rbv Ata, ihs di]\oi b ypd\pas otl Atos ev Kprjrrj
 
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