Cook, Arthur B.: Zeus: a study in ancient religion (Band 2,1): Zeus god of the dark sky (thunder and lightning): Text and notes (Cambridge, 1925)

Virbius as Dianus

395

things which project from the mouth of the younger face seems to me excellent—
Perhaps...the candidate for the priesthood at Nemi chewed oak-leaves in order
to nerve his arm for the fatal stroke. It may have been with oak-leaves in his
mouth, as well as with sword in hand, that he advanced upon his adversary.
Can it be that in the face of the older man the artist has purposely shewn us a
grinning empty mouth as if to indicate that the sacred oak and with it the god
had passed from him to another ?;

Later in 190S1 Prof. Granger returned to the charge. Sir James
Frazer had cited the opinion of Mr R. I. Lynch, Curator of the
Botanic Garden at Cambridge, who ' thought the leaves more like
nettle or perhaps dead-nettle {Laminm)! Prof. Granger would adopt
this suggestion, but limit it to the scalloping under the eyes. He adds :

'To quote a local example, on Royal Oak Day (May 29) boys go about
Nottingham armed with nettles, and they demand of passers-by to "show
their oak ;; under penalty of being nettled. Whether, therefore, the nettle be
intended, or some other vervain, a further and most interesting line of inquiry
has been opened -. And Prof. Frazer's theory that the priest of Nemi personifies
the oak, remains as convincing as ever/

1 F. Granger ' The leafy bust at Nemi' in the Class. Rev. 1908 xxii. 217.

2 Of vervain in antiquity we possess two parallel accounts, that of Pliny transcribed
from Sextius Niger vepi vXtjs (10—40 A.D.: see M. Schanz Geschichte der romischen
Litteratur- Miinchen 1899 ii. 1. 315), and that of Dioskorides based on the same work
with lists of synonyms etc. added from the illustrated pl^otophkov of Krateuas, physician
to Mithradates vi Eupator (120—63 B.C. The most famous codex of this herbal, Vindob.
Med. Gr. 1, written for the elder Iuliana Anicia, wife of Olybrius the consul of 379 A.D.,
has been published by A. W. Sijthoff in Scato de Vries Codices Graeci et Latini photo-
graphice depicti vol. X i. ii Dioscurides Lugduni Batavorum 1906: see further W. Christ
Geschichte der griechischcn Litteratur* Miinchen 1911 ii. 1. 347 f.) :

Pliny not. hist. 25. 105—107. Dioskorides 4. 60—61 p. 548 ft". Sprengel.

nulla tamen Romanae nobilitatis [Vept irepco-Tepeujvos.] weptaTepeLcv 6p66s ■ oi Se
plus habet quam hiera botane. aliqui irepiaTepiov, oi Se rpvywviov, oi 8e fiovviov, oi Se iepd

fioTavT], oi 5e (piXrpoboTrjs, [AiyuTrrioi Trep.xpep.TTTe',
TrpocprjTcu "Hpas Saxpvov, oi Se alfxa 70X775, oi Oe
at/j.a Hpfiov, 'Paj/xaiot Kpiara yaWivdnea, oi Se <pep-
Iovis mensa verritur, domus pur- I pdpia (so cod. N. <pepia vulg.), oi Se rpt£aXts. oi oe
gantur lustranturque. genera eius \ e^ovirepavs (so cod. N. e^ovivepa vulg.), oi Se £p/3a
duo: foliosa, quam feminam putant, I aayyovivaXis, (cod. N. adds TraXovfAfiapis,)] (pverai

ev evvSpois tottols ' ooKei Se d>vo/j.ao~dai e/c tov rds
ireptarepas ijSeios SiaTpi^eiv ev avrrj. 7r6a Se eo"rt
awi0a/j.riv exovaa to v\pos 77 /cat p.ei£ov, 7reraXa evrer-
fj.Tjp.eva. inroXevfca eKire^vKOTa (ep-irecpuKOTa cod. C.)
e/c tov navXov ' /j.ovok\wvos (/uovoKavXos cod. C.) «s
to ttoXu /cat pLovoppL^os euptcr/cerat. 5o/cet Se ra <pv\\a

aristereon,nostri verbenacam vocant.
haec est quam legatos ferre ad hostes
indicavimus (iiat. hist. 22. 5); hac

mas rarioribus foliis. ramuli utrius-
que plures, tenues, cubitales, angu-
losi, folia minora quam quercus
angustioraque, divisuris maioribus,
flos glaucus, radix longa, tenuis,
nascitur ubique in planis aquosis.
quidam non distingunt et unum om- | o~vv pooivoj rj oT^art xotpet'cp veapy Trpoo'Tide/j.eva dv-

nino genus faciunt, quoniam utraque
eosdem effectus habeat. utraque sor-
tiuntur Galli et praecinunt responsa,
sed Magi utique circa hanc insani-
unt: hac perunctos inpetrare quae
velint, febres abigere, amicitias con-

wSvviav vcrTepas iroieiv • ureXXet Se /cat ipvcwreXaTa
ffijv 6£et KOLTaTrXaadeiaa /cat ar/TreSovas eirexei- ' /cat
Tpa.ufj.aTa /coXXa, /cat &ttov\oi to. TraXata avv p.£\ni.

[rept Trepio~Tepeusvos vtttlov.] wepLCTTepeuv vtttlos,
oi oe iepdv ftoTav-qv, oi Se ripiyiviov, oi Se xa/xatXi/-
kov, oi Se o~i87)piTiv, oi Se KovptTiv, oi Se Ilepcrecpoviov,