DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.14696#0387
Zeus duplicated on a gem
321
first christened Meilichios and Epidotes1, but later compared with the
Dies Ktesioi of Athenaios2: his first suggestion is improbable, his
second impossible. Much more acute was the view of E. H. Toelken,
who in the two Zeuses detected the reigning pair, Marcus Aurelius
Antoninus and Lucius Aurelius Verus. The letters MVH may of
course, as he suggested, indicate the name of the owner3. It is, how-
ever, very possible that they are the initials of Marcus, Verus, and
Helios—the deity whose cult was specially connected with the Aure-
lii4. If the sun-god is bearded, that perhaps implies that he was
identified by the gem-engraver with the preceding emperor, An-
toninus Pius. The full official name T. Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus
Augustus Pius would be likely enough to provoke such identification,
ex voto is best connected with Alt Ladicus in Gallaecia (De Vit Onomasticon iii. 735).
If, as seems likely, the coin-types reproduce local statues, we must distinguish this Zeus
of Laodikeia from Zeus 'Acrets of the same town {supra i. 706).
1 E. Gerhard Prodromus mythologischer Kunsterklarung (Text to Gerhard Ant.
Bildw.) Mtinchen 1828—1844 p. 129 n. 35, cp. Plout. ?ion posse sitaviter vivi secu7idum
Epiciiri decreta 22 ctXXci 6 fiev fieyo.s ev ovpavcp Zeus ■nrqvdv dpfxa eXavvuv k&toj irpwros
Tropeverai 8ia.k0<T[J.Q>v navra /ecu eTTifieXov/J-evos' t&v de dXXuv 8eQv 6 /xev e'eme 'EttiSottjs, 6
de MeiAtx'QSj 6 de 'AAeifJ/ca/cos" k.t.X. But this passage expressly distinguishes Zeus from
the gods described as 'EiriobT-qs and MecXix'os.
The title 'EttlSottis or 'E7rtciu!t?js (O. Jessen in Pauly—Wissowa Real-Enc. vi. 60 f.,
Gruppe Gr. Myth. Rel. p. 932 n. 3) is used of various deities, sometimes as an epithet
(e.g. Paus. 2. 10. 2 at Sikyon "Tttvos KaTaKoip.L'c'wv Xeovra, 'E7ri5i6r>7S de eTTLKXr]aiv)^ some-
times as a name {Inscr. Gr. Pelop. i no. 526 from the Argive Heraion <pid\a a 'ETTiOurra,.
Paus. 2. 27. 6 at Epidauros iepbv Qewv ovs 'EwidibTas dvofj.d£ovacv, Collitz—Bechtel Gr.
Dial.-Inschr. i. 133 no. 342 on a rock near the ruins of Pagasai EPIAO[TA]l£
= 'EttiSotcus). As an appellative of Zeus it is attested for Sparta by Hesych. s.v. 'EiridtliTas
(so Salmasius for cod. eiridoTas) • Zeus ev AaKedaifxovi (cp. Paus. 3. 17. 9 Aa.Kedaifj.dvi.01 de
eKreXovvres TrpbcrTayfia e/c AeXcpuv rds re e'tKovas eiroi-qaavro rets %aX/cas Kal da'ifxova Ti/uuicriv
'EiTLdcbrriv (so Ag. Ped. K pr. man. 'EiriduTriv Lab. R corr. Vb. 'EiridoT-rfv M. Va.j, to
eVi riaucran'^ rou 'I/ceutou fxrjVLfxa drroTpeireiv tov 'EiridibTriv Xeyovres rovrov) and perhaps
for Mantineia by Paus. 8. 9. 2 ~AlavTLvevo~i di e'em Kai aXXa lepd, to fxev So;r?}pos Aios, to de
'EiriduTOu ('EiriboTov Pc. Vab.) Ka.Xovfj.evov (so Kayser for Ka.Xovfj.evov) • iwididdvai yap dr)
dyadd aindv dvdpdtiroLS. Since eTu5idufj.l properly signifies ' I give a further gift' (e.g.
Pind. Pyth. 5. 163 ff. Atos roi vdos fxeyas Kvjiepva | daifiov' dvdpQv cpiXwv. | eu^o/xai viv
'OXvfxirla tovto | ddfiev yepas eVt Bcittou yevei) and so 'a liberal gift' (see Stephanus
Thes. Gr. Ling. iii. 1577 D ff.), 'EirLdoT-rjs or 'ETriduiTrjs must mean 'the Generous Giver.'
Cp. Kallim. h. Zeus 91 f. E\povidr\ iravvirepTaTe, dQiTop edwv, | dGiTOp aTrr]fj.ovLris, and an
inscription copied by E. Falkener in the theatre at Termessos beginning MA PZYA N
TPHIAOIEYI j AIOSAHTHPOIEITAIO, on which C. Henzen remarks:
' Titulus erat fortasse honorarius Marsyae Troili filii. Zeus Awtt/p nimis certo in eo legi
videtur, quam ut 2coT?)pos emendare liceat' (Ann. d. Inst. 1852 xxiv. 176 b). EITAIO
is presumably 'IScuou. Cp. Zeus 'AvadwTrjs (Append. M sub fin.).
2 Infra Append. H.
3 E. H. Toelken Erkldrendes Verzeichniss der antiken vertieft geschnittenen Steine der
Koniglich Preussischen Gemmensammlung Berlin 1835 p. 98 no. iii, 95.
4 E. Klebs in Pauly—Wissowa Real-Enc. ii. 2431, supra i. 630 n. 6. Aurelius would
inevitably be associated with"HXios, Helms.
C II. 2 1
321
first christened Meilichios and Epidotes1, but later compared with the
Dies Ktesioi of Athenaios2: his first suggestion is improbable, his
second impossible. Much more acute was the view of E. H. Toelken,
who in the two Zeuses detected the reigning pair, Marcus Aurelius
Antoninus and Lucius Aurelius Verus. The letters MVH may of
course, as he suggested, indicate the name of the owner3. It is, how-
ever, very possible that they are the initials of Marcus, Verus, and
Helios—the deity whose cult was specially connected with the Aure-
lii4. If the sun-god is bearded, that perhaps implies that he was
identified by the gem-engraver with the preceding emperor, An-
toninus Pius. The full official name T. Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus
Augustus Pius would be likely enough to provoke such identification,
ex voto is best connected with Alt Ladicus in Gallaecia (De Vit Onomasticon iii. 735).
If, as seems likely, the coin-types reproduce local statues, we must distinguish this Zeus
of Laodikeia from Zeus 'Acrets of the same town {supra i. 706).
1 E. Gerhard Prodromus mythologischer Kunsterklarung (Text to Gerhard Ant.
Bildw.) Mtinchen 1828—1844 p. 129 n. 35, cp. Plout. ?ion posse sitaviter vivi secu7idum
Epiciiri decreta 22 ctXXci 6 fiev fieyo.s ev ovpavcp Zeus ■nrqvdv dpfxa eXavvuv k&toj irpwros
Tropeverai 8ia.k0<T[J.Q>v navra /ecu eTTifieXov/J-evos' t&v de dXXuv 8eQv 6 /xev e'eme 'EttiSottjs, 6
de MeiAtx'QSj 6 de 'AAeifJ/ca/cos" k.t.X. But this passage expressly distinguishes Zeus from
the gods described as 'EiriobT-qs and MecXix'os.
The title 'EttlSottis or 'E7rtciu!t?js (O. Jessen in Pauly—Wissowa Real-Enc. vi. 60 f.,
Gruppe Gr. Myth. Rel. p. 932 n. 3) is used of various deities, sometimes as an epithet
(e.g. Paus. 2. 10. 2 at Sikyon "Tttvos KaTaKoip.L'c'wv Xeovra, 'E7ri5i6r>7S de eTTLKXr]aiv)^ some-
times as a name {Inscr. Gr. Pelop. i no. 526 from the Argive Heraion <pid\a a 'ETTiOurra,.
Paus. 2. 27. 6 at Epidauros iepbv Qewv ovs 'EwidibTas dvofj.d£ovacv, Collitz—Bechtel Gr.
Dial.-Inschr. i. 133 no. 342 on a rock near the ruins of Pagasai EPIAO[TA]l£
= 'EttiSotcus). As an appellative of Zeus it is attested for Sparta by Hesych. s.v. 'EiridtliTas
(so Salmasius for cod. eiridoTas) • Zeus ev AaKedaifxovi (cp. Paus. 3. 17. 9 Aa.Kedaifj.dvi.01 de
eKreXovvres TrpbcrTayfia e/c AeXcpuv rds re e'tKovas eiroi-qaavro rets %aX/cas Kal da'ifxova Ti/uuicriv
'EiTLdcbrriv (so Ag. Ped. K pr. man. 'EiriduTriv Lab. R corr. Vb. 'EiridoT-rfv M. Va.j, to
eVi riaucran'^ rou 'I/ceutou fxrjVLfxa drroTpeireiv tov 'EiridibTriv Xeyovres rovrov) and perhaps
for Mantineia by Paus. 8. 9. 2 ~AlavTLvevo~i di e'em Kai aXXa lepd, to fxev So;r?}pos Aios, to de
'EiriduTOu ('EiriboTov Pc. Vab.) Ka.Xovfj.evov (so Kayser for Ka.Xovfj.evov) • iwididdvai yap dr)
dyadd aindv dvdpdtiroLS. Since eTu5idufj.l properly signifies ' I give a further gift' (e.g.
Pind. Pyth. 5. 163 ff. Atos roi vdos fxeyas Kvjiepva | daifiov' dvdpQv cpiXwv. | eu^o/xai viv
'OXvfxirla tovto | ddfiev yepas eVt Bcittou yevei) and so 'a liberal gift' (see Stephanus
Thes. Gr. Ling. iii. 1577 D ff.), 'EirLdoT-rjs or 'ETriduiTrjs must mean 'the Generous Giver.'
Cp. Kallim. h. Zeus 91 f. E\povidr\ iravvirepTaTe, dQiTop edwv, | dGiTOp aTrr]fj.ovLris, and an
inscription copied by E. Falkener in the theatre at Termessos beginning MA PZYA N
TPHIAOIEYI j AIOSAHTHPOIEITAIO, on which C. Henzen remarks:
' Titulus erat fortasse honorarius Marsyae Troili filii. Zeus Awtt/p nimis certo in eo legi
videtur, quam ut 2coT?)pos emendare liceat' (Ann. d. Inst. 1852 xxiv. 176 b). EITAIO
is presumably 'IScuou. Cp. Zeus 'AvadwTrjs (Append. M sub fin.).
2 Infra Append. H.
3 E. H. Toelken Erkldrendes Verzeichniss der antiken vertieft geschnittenen Steine der
Koniglich Preussischen Gemmensammlung Berlin 1835 p. 98 no. iii, 95.
4 E. Klebs in Pauly—Wissowa Real-Enc. ii. 2431, supra i. 630 n. 6. Aurelius would
inevitably be associated with"HXios, Helms.
C II. 2 1