DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.14696#0358
292
Papas and Attis
(8) Papas and Attis.
The same relation of the Phrygian Son-god to the Phrygian
Father-god is implied in the cult of Attis. Michael Konstantinos
Psellos, the most famous Byzantine scholar of the eleventh century
(1018—1078 A.D.)1, boldly asserts that Atis in the language of
Phrygia meant 'Zeus-'—an assertion based on the Demosthenic
evidence for Attis as a rain-god3. More weight must be attached
to the fact that Attis, like Zeus, bore the title Pdpas or Papas4—a
Arch. 1907 i. 51—57 (id, p. 52 n. 1 in support of S. Reinach : 'I believe we both ventured
the conjecture that there were at some time rival mysteries to those of Eleusi.s in which the
hierophant, instead of solemnly exhibiting an ear of corn, as the Eleusinian hierophant did,
exhibited a fig, and was described by the devotees of Eleusis, not as a iepocpavTrjs, but as
a <jvK0(pcLVT7)s (with an allusion, no doubt, to the improper meaning of o-vkov =pudendum
muliebre, a meaning which still survives in Turkey).'), P. Girard ' Quelques reflexions sur
le sens du mot sycophante* in the Rev. Et. Gr. 1907 xx. 143 —163 (lepocpdvTrjs, on the
analogy of UpoKripv^, is taken to mean 1 apparition sacrie* : so avKocpavT-qs must have meant
' celui qui paraissait dans le Jiguier, en train de voter des figues ' .')).
1 K. Krumbacher Geschichte der byzantinischen Litteratur von Justinian bis zum
Ende des ostromischen Retches (S27~f4J3)z Miinchen 1897 p. 433 fT., Sir J. E. Sandys
A History of Classical Scholarship'1 Cambridge 1906 i. 412 ff.
2 Supra i. 399 n. 3.
b Dem. de cor. 260 vrjs 8.ttt)s ixtttjs i)?)s, supra i. 392 n. 4. See also Arnob. adv. nat.
5. 37 cited supra i. 392 n. 5 (end of second paragraph).
4 Supra i. 399 n. 3. P. Kretschmer Einleitung in die Geschichte der Griechischen
Sprache Gdttingen 1896 pp. 334, 344 f., followed by H. Hepding Attis seine Mythen und
sein Kult Gieszen 1903 p. 208 n. 7, prefers to accentuate IIa,7ras.
With Zeus IId7ras or ila7ras of Bithynia (Arrian. frag. 30 cited supra i. 399 n. 3) and
Phrygia (Sir W. M. Ramsay in the Journ. Hell. Stud. 1884 v. 260 no. 12 on a small
sidle of common stone found in a field near Nakoleia Aada Kav\Kapov Nowd|<5os OveKpo-
K\iopLrjTLff(ra I Ad IIa7ra j evxvv ' Probably Dada was daughter of Kankaros Nounas, who
had according to Phrygian custom two names, and her native village was Vekrokome,'
cp. id. il>. 1884 v. 257 f. no. 8 on a similar stele found in the same place OvXwia 2d|/3(s
Hairy. evxv\v ' I copied the inscriptions from six similar stelai, all found in the same field :
the owner said that the ground around was full of them. They are all evidently grave-
stones of common people : the top is ornamented in the style of a pediment, and there is
a plain pedestal ending in a projecting spike to stick in the ground. The one which is
here published differed from the others in having a representation of the god on it: the
god is apparently intended to be androgynous, like the Carian Zeus, but in such rude
work, the point can hardly be asserted positively,' A. Korte in the Ath. Mitlh. 1897 xxii.
32 no. 8 on the marble pediment of a small stifle from Bejad 'Apri^wv liana : Korte
regards all these stelai as votive rather than funerary ; they may well be both) and Zeus
IIa7rias of Dorylaeion (Corp. inscr. Gr. iii no. 3817 on the road from Eskishehir to
Syed-Guz or Seid-el-Ghazi Arj/xas teal \ Taios inrep \ ftoQv idtiof lla\Trlq. Ail HwTrj'pi evx^v
kox I 'HpaKXrj avLK\y]t(if\) we must group Zeus IIa7r7ru;os of Prousa ad Olympum (A. von
Domaszewski in the Arch.-ep. Mitth. r883 vii. 174 f. no. 17 on a white marble altar now
used as base of a wooden pillar in the mosque at Ermeni Bazardshik [''KrjaQr\\ tvx7) I A»
lIa7T7ruiw Ka|rd eiriTayrjv o|[£ ff~\uvy€vis av£o\n)Gav ieprjwv \ ............. | ____'A7roXX. ... | k.t.\.
in the earth: P. Kretschmer Einleitung tic. pp. 199, 241 f. renders IIa7r7ra;os by ' Vater,'
but id. p. 242 n. t suggests that the word may be an ethnic), Zeus TlairaTos of Skythia
(Ildt. 4. 59 deovs fxev p.ovvovs Totiade iKaGKOvrai, 'larirju p,ev paXiara, eni 5£ Ata Kai Yrjv,
vo/xi^ovTes TTjv Yt)v rod A16? elvai yvvalKa, /xera- 5e tovtovs 'AttoWuvo, re Kal Ovpavirjv
'AtppoBLTrjV Kal 'Hpa/cXea Kal "Apea. tovtovs p.kv iravres ^Kvdai vevo/xiKaai, oi 5e Ka\ebp.evoi
Papas and Attis
(8) Papas and Attis.
The same relation of the Phrygian Son-god to the Phrygian
Father-god is implied in the cult of Attis. Michael Konstantinos
Psellos, the most famous Byzantine scholar of the eleventh century
(1018—1078 A.D.)1, boldly asserts that Atis in the language of
Phrygia meant 'Zeus-'—an assertion based on the Demosthenic
evidence for Attis as a rain-god3. More weight must be attached
to the fact that Attis, like Zeus, bore the title Pdpas or Papas4—a
Arch. 1907 i. 51—57 (id, p. 52 n. 1 in support of S. Reinach : 'I believe we both ventured
the conjecture that there were at some time rival mysteries to those of Eleusi.s in which the
hierophant, instead of solemnly exhibiting an ear of corn, as the Eleusinian hierophant did,
exhibited a fig, and was described by the devotees of Eleusis, not as a iepocpavTrjs, but as
a <jvK0(pcLVT7)s (with an allusion, no doubt, to the improper meaning of o-vkov =pudendum
muliebre, a meaning which still survives in Turkey).'), P. Girard ' Quelques reflexions sur
le sens du mot sycophante* in the Rev. Et. Gr. 1907 xx. 143 —163 (lepocpdvTrjs, on the
analogy of UpoKripv^, is taken to mean 1 apparition sacrie* : so avKocpavT-qs must have meant
' celui qui paraissait dans le Jiguier, en train de voter des figues ' .')).
1 K. Krumbacher Geschichte der byzantinischen Litteratur von Justinian bis zum
Ende des ostromischen Retches (S27~f4J3)z Miinchen 1897 p. 433 fT., Sir J. E. Sandys
A History of Classical Scholarship'1 Cambridge 1906 i. 412 ff.
2 Supra i. 399 n. 3.
b Dem. de cor. 260 vrjs 8.ttt)s ixtttjs i)?)s, supra i. 392 n. 4. See also Arnob. adv. nat.
5. 37 cited supra i. 392 n. 5 (end of second paragraph).
4 Supra i. 399 n. 3. P. Kretschmer Einleitung in die Geschichte der Griechischen
Sprache Gdttingen 1896 pp. 334, 344 f., followed by H. Hepding Attis seine Mythen und
sein Kult Gieszen 1903 p. 208 n. 7, prefers to accentuate IIa,7ras.
With Zeus IId7ras or ila7ras of Bithynia (Arrian. frag. 30 cited supra i. 399 n. 3) and
Phrygia (Sir W. M. Ramsay in the Journ. Hell. Stud. 1884 v. 260 no. 12 on a small
sidle of common stone found in a field near Nakoleia Aada Kav\Kapov Nowd|<5os OveKpo-
K\iopLrjTLff(ra I Ad IIa7ra j evxvv ' Probably Dada was daughter of Kankaros Nounas, who
had according to Phrygian custom two names, and her native village was Vekrokome,'
cp. id. il>. 1884 v. 257 f. no. 8 on a similar stele found in the same place OvXwia 2d|/3(s
Hairy. evxv\v ' I copied the inscriptions from six similar stelai, all found in the same field :
the owner said that the ground around was full of them. They are all evidently grave-
stones of common people : the top is ornamented in the style of a pediment, and there is
a plain pedestal ending in a projecting spike to stick in the ground. The one which is
here published differed from the others in having a representation of the god on it: the
god is apparently intended to be androgynous, like the Carian Zeus, but in such rude
work, the point can hardly be asserted positively,' A. Korte in the Ath. Mitlh. 1897 xxii.
32 no. 8 on the marble pediment of a small stifle from Bejad 'Apri^wv liana : Korte
regards all these stelai as votive rather than funerary ; they may well be both) and Zeus
IIa7rias of Dorylaeion (Corp. inscr. Gr. iii no. 3817 on the road from Eskishehir to
Syed-Guz or Seid-el-Ghazi Arj/xas teal \ Taios inrep \ ftoQv idtiof lla\Trlq. Ail HwTrj'pi evx^v
kox I 'HpaKXrj avLK\y]t(if\) we must group Zeus IIa7r7ru;os of Prousa ad Olympum (A. von
Domaszewski in the Arch.-ep. Mitth. r883 vii. 174 f. no. 17 on a white marble altar now
used as base of a wooden pillar in the mosque at Ermeni Bazardshik [''KrjaQr\\ tvx7) I A»
lIa7T7ruiw Ka|rd eiriTayrjv o|[£ ff~\uvy€vis av£o\n)Gav ieprjwv \ ............. | ____'A7roXX. ... | k.t.\.
in the earth: P. Kretschmer Einleitung tic. pp. 199, 241 f. renders IIa7r7ra;os by ' Vater,'
but id. p. 242 n. t suggests that the word may be an ethnic), Zeus TlairaTos of Skythia
(Ildt. 4. 59 deovs fxev p.ovvovs Totiade iKaGKOvrai, 'larirju p,ev paXiara, eni 5£ Ata Kai Yrjv,
vo/xi^ovTes TTjv Yt)v rod A16? elvai yvvalKa, /xera- 5e tovtovs 'AttoWuvo, re Kal Ovpavirjv
'AtppoBLTrjV Kal 'Hpa/cXea Kal "Apea. tovtovs p.kv iravres ^Kvdai vevo/xiKaai, oi 5e Ka\ebp.evoi