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https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.14696#0184
130 The Pillar of Light
sky might be climbable V are connected in many ways with northern
Greece2. K. O. Miiller even regarded them as the mythical leaders
of the Thracian colonies3. It is therefore noteworthy that Pindar
speaks of them as—
Stretching in haste
A ladder to the steep sky4.
This manoeuvre is usually described as a menace to the gods. But
it must be remembered that Ephialtes was wooing Hera, and Otos
Artemis5. Their presumption was that of aspirants to the hand of
a goddess.
A curious historic or ^^z'-historic parallel to the enterprise of
the Aloadai is that of Kosingas the Thracian chief, who threatened
to clamber up a long chain of ladders into heaven and so gain the
ear of Hera. The tale is told by Polyainos8:
'The Kebrenioi and Sykaiboai are Thracian tribes. Their custom is to have
as leaders the priests of Hera. They had a priest and leader named Kosingas.
The Thracians would not obey him. Kosingas joined one to another many long
wooden ladders, reared them up, and made as if he would climb up into the sky
and denounce the Thracian mutiny to Hera. Thereupon the Thracians, stupid
unreasoning folk, fearing that their leader would climb up into the sky,besought
him and swore that they would hearken to all his commands.'
If such was the attitude of the average untutored Thracian, we
begin to see why Pittakos had votive ladders dedicated in the
sanctuaries of Mytilene7. His father was a Thracian8 and pre-
1 Od. 11. 316 IV ovpavbs afj.j3a.Tbs etr).
2 J. Toepffer in Pauly—Wissowa Real-Enc. i. 1591 f.
y K. O. Miiller Orrhomenos und die Minyer2 Breslau 1844 p. 380.
4 Pind. frag. 162 Schroder ap. Cramer anecd. Oxon. i. 201, 15 ff. IlivSapos ewl tov
"Qtov Kal'EcpL&Xrov, 'ir'iTvovTes (J. G. J. Hermann cj. wiTvdvTes) 8odv j /cXi'/m/cci ovpavbv is
ainvv (F. W. Schneidewin cj. K.XLp.aK is airrvv ovpavbv)' ' tt\v p.eydXr\v SrfXovoTi. Her-
mann's 7TLTvavT€s is certainly right, cp. Eustath. in II. p. 561, io = et. mag. p. 403, 32 f.
'EcpidXTrjs.. .napa to idXXco, to e/creiVco, k.t.X.
In the Underworld Otos and Ephialtes were bound by snakes to a column, facing
different ways, and tormented by a horned owl (utos) (Hyg. fab. 28, cp. Verg. cul. 234 ff.).
The column may be that on which the earth rests.
5 Apollod. 1. 7. 4 €/j.vwvto Si 'E0id\T7;s p.iv "Hpai'/ilros 5i "ApTep.iv, cp. schol. B.D.T.
II' 5- 385- 6 Polyain. 7. 22.
7 Ail. var. hist. 1. 29 ntrra/cos Iv ~MvTL\rjvrj KaTetTKeuaae iv Tots iepois /cAi'/xa/cas es
ovSe/uiav p.iv XPV0'11' eitirrideLovs, avrb de tovto dva8rjp.aTa elvai, alviTTOkievos ttjv sk Trjs
ri'XTjs avw Kal ko.tw /xeT&TTTWo-iv, Tpbirov tlvo. twv fiiv evTvxovvTiov dvibvTuv, kixtlovtuiv Si
twv SvaTvxovvTwv. I doubt whether Aelian fathomed Pittakos' meaning : the ascent and
descent in question were, if I mistake not, the ascent of the soul to heaven and its descent
to earth via the cosmic stair.
We may perhaps detect a refinement upon the same belief in Herakleitos' saying 65os
dvu KaTu piia Kal divrrj (Herakl. frag. 69 Bywater, 60 Diels), if not also in Diotima's
mystic ascent towards ideal beauty (Plat. symp. 211C dpxb/j-evov dirb TwvSe tuiv KaXQv
ifceivov evetca tov KaXov del iiravievai, wcrirep iwava(3a9/j.o?s X9&lxevov'1 k.t.X.).
8 Dourisfrag. 53 [Frag. hist. Gr. ii. 482 Miiller) ap. Diog. Laert. 1. 74, cp. Souid.
S.V. HlTTaKOS.
sky might be climbable V are connected in many ways with northern
Greece2. K. O. Miiller even regarded them as the mythical leaders
of the Thracian colonies3. It is therefore noteworthy that Pindar
speaks of them as—
Stretching in haste
A ladder to the steep sky4.
This manoeuvre is usually described as a menace to the gods. But
it must be remembered that Ephialtes was wooing Hera, and Otos
Artemis5. Their presumption was that of aspirants to the hand of
a goddess.
A curious historic or ^^z'-historic parallel to the enterprise of
the Aloadai is that of Kosingas the Thracian chief, who threatened
to clamber up a long chain of ladders into heaven and so gain the
ear of Hera. The tale is told by Polyainos8:
'The Kebrenioi and Sykaiboai are Thracian tribes. Their custom is to have
as leaders the priests of Hera. They had a priest and leader named Kosingas.
The Thracians would not obey him. Kosingas joined one to another many long
wooden ladders, reared them up, and made as if he would climb up into the sky
and denounce the Thracian mutiny to Hera. Thereupon the Thracians, stupid
unreasoning folk, fearing that their leader would climb up into the sky,besought
him and swore that they would hearken to all his commands.'
If such was the attitude of the average untutored Thracian, we
begin to see why Pittakos had votive ladders dedicated in the
sanctuaries of Mytilene7. His father was a Thracian8 and pre-
1 Od. 11. 316 IV ovpavbs afj.j3a.Tbs etr).
2 J. Toepffer in Pauly—Wissowa Real-Enc. i. 1591 f.
y K. O. Miiller Orrhomenos und die Minyer2 Breslau 1844 p. 380.
4 Pind. frag. 162 Schroder ap. Cramer anecd. Oxon. i. 201, 15 ff. IlivSapos ewl tov
"Qtov Kal'EcpL&Xrov, 'ir'iTvovTes (J. G. J. Hermann cj. wiTvdvTes) 8odv j /cXi'/m/cci ovpavbv is
ainvv (F. W. Schneidewin cj. K.XLp.aK is airrvv ovpavbv)' ' tt\v p.eydXr\v SrfXovoTi. Her-
mann's 7TLTvavT€s is certainly right, cp. Eustath. in II. p. 561, io = et. mag. p. 403, 32 f.
'EcpidXTrjs.. .napa to idXXco, to e/creiVco, k.t.X.
In the Underworld Otos and Ephialtes were bound by snakes to a column, facing
different ways, and tormented by a horned owl (utos) (Hyg. fab. 28, cp. Verg. cul. 234 ff.).
The column may be that on which the earth rests.
5 Apollod. 1. 7. 4 €/j.vwvto Si 'E0id\T7;s p.iv "Hpai'/ilros 5i "ApTep.iv, cp. schol. B.D.T.
II' 5- 385- 6 Polyain. 7. 22.
7 Ail. var. hist. 1. 29 ntrra/cos Iv ~MvTL\rjvrj KaTetTKeuaae iv Tots iepois /cAi'/xa/cas es
ovSe/uiav p.iv XPV0'11' eitirrideLovs, avrb de tovto dva8rjp.aTa elvai, alviTTOkievos ttjv sk Trjs
ri'XTjs avw Kal ko.tw /xeT&TTTWo-iv, Tpbirov tlvo. twv fiiv evTvxovvTiov dvibvTuv, kixtlovtuiv Si
twv SvaTvxovvTwv. I doubt whether Aelian fathomed Pittakos' meaning : the ascent and
descent in question were, if I mistake not, the ascent of the soul to heaven and its descent
to earth via the cosmic stair.
We may perhaps detect a refinement upon the same belief in Herakleitos' saying 65os
dvu KaTu piia Kal divrrj (Herakl. frag. 69 Bywater, 60 Diels), if not also in Diotima's
mystic ascent towards ideal beauty (Plat. symp. 211C dpxb/j-evov dirb TwvSe tuiv KaXQv
ifceivov evetca tov KaXov del iiravievai, wcrirep iwava(3a9/j.o?s X9&lxevov'1 k.t.X.).
8 Dourisfrag. 53 [Frag. hist. Gr. ii. 482 Miiller) ap. Diog. Laert. 1. 74, cp. Souid.
S.V. HlTTaKOS.