DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.14696#0483
Artemis and the Oak
413
Troizen, stood a sanctuary of Artemis Sarom's, whose cult-epithet
can be taken to mean 'the Gnarled Oak1.' If so, the implication is
that some ancient trunk was viewed as her very embodiment2.
Tradition said that the cult had been founded by a woodland king,
Saron the hunter, who met his death by pursuing a doe3 or a boar4
into the sea and lay buried in the precinct of his goddess5. Saron,
we may suppose6, stood to Artemis Saroms' in much the same
1 Schol. Kallim. h. Zeus 22 aapuivibas : 5pus' irapa to aearjpora Kai avvecrrpaixixei'ov rbv
(pXoibv ixeLV> Hesych. s.v. aapwvtbes' irerpai. rj ai Sia TraXawTrjTa KexyviaL bpves (cp. id.
s.V7). aopuvis' eXdrrj 7raAcud and awpuvis' eXarrj. KaiiroXis. AI. Schmidt remarks : 'aopuvis
Dorismus est Melius pro crapwvis.' See now K. Brugmann—A. Thumb Griechische Gram-
tnatik* Miinchen 1913 p. 84), et. gen. in E. Miller Melanges de littcfrature grccque Paris
1868 p. 264 aapwvis Kai i) Spvs dia to o'ear/pivai' r) aopovis (leg. aopuvh) dia t6 ei; aiiTwv
aopovs yiveadui, et. Gud. p. 496, 32 f. aapiovis, f/ 5pvs, 5ia to aeaeipivai (leg. atarjpivai)- f)
awpuvis (leg. aopwvis) 8lcl to i£ clvtQiu awpovs (leg. aopovs) yiveadai, et. mag. p. 709, 5 Kai
aaptoviBes, ai Koi\ai bpvts ( = Favorin. lex. p. 1636, 34). The word occurs in an elegiac
fragment published by B. P. Grenfell—A. S. Hunt in The Oxyrhynchus Papyri London
18981. 37 f. no. 14, ro ]o o-apivviSas o?5as efe[, Kallim. //. Zeus 22 f. r) iroXXas tcpuwepde
aapuviSas vypbs Yawv | r/eipev, Parthen. narr. am. 11. 4 (—poes. frag. 29, 4 ff.) Kai pa
/caret aTV(pe\olo ffapuvidos ain'iKa ij.Ltp-qv \ aipa/J-evr/ Seipqv iv'edrjKaTo (sc. t) JivfiXis).
2 Cp. Demeter XA677, Dionysos Bbrpvs, Dionysos Kiaabs- But the direct identification
of deity with plant-form in a cult-title was rare. Overbeck Gr. Kunstmyth. Zeus p. 4
rashly assumes a Zeus $?ryos on the strength of Steph. Byz. s.v. Awbthvt) •.. .Kai tt\v
aiTtaTLKrjv (p-qffLV THufpopiwi' AuSwva iv Aviui' l'iKo/J.ev e$ Aubwva Aids (priyolo TrporprjTiv.'
:i Paus. 2. 30. 7 eXatpov SiuiKovTa (the words i<7r6 tQsv kv/mtuv KaraKXv^b/xevov imply a
derivation of -apuv from crapbw, cp. Lyk. AI. 389 with Tzetz. ad loc. =et. mag. p. 708,
56 ff.), schol. Eur. Hipp. 1200 5lwkwv iXatpov. We need not with S. Wide (De sacris
Troezeniorum, Hermionensiumx Epidauriorum Commentatio academica Upsaliae 1888
p. 26 f.. cp. id. Lakon. Ktilte p. 125 n. 3 and in the Festschrift fur Otto BenndorfWien
1898 p. 14 ff.) and M. P. Nilsson (Gr. Feste p. 226 f.) assume that the doe was Artemis
herself in animal shape, still less with O. Keller (Thiere des classischen Alterthums in
culturgeschichtlicher Z>£3z'tf/27/«°'Innsbruck 1887 p. 97, cp. id. Die antike Tiaivelt Leipzig
1909 i. 277) take it to be a symbol of the starry midnight sky. After all, ordinary deer
can swim well and take readily to the water (see e.g. R. Lydekker The Royal Natural
History London 1894 ii. 347, 354, id. Wild Life of the World London s.a. i. 28). There
is a good parallel in Paus. 8. 22. 9.
4 Euphorion ap. schol. Dionys. per. 420 (cp- et. mag. p. 708, 51 ff.) and Eustath. in
Dionys. per. 420 (ttlSluikuv avv. This too is a possible occurrence (R. Lydekker Wild
Life of the World London s.a. i. 34). 5 Paus. 2. 30. 7.
6 So at least I have argued in the Class. Rev. 1904 xviii. 370, cp. O. Hbfer in Roscher
Lex. Myth. iv. 389.
7 Artemis Hapwvis (Paus. 2. 30. 7) was also called Sapwcia at Troizen (Paus. 2. 32. 10,
cp. Achaios Theseus frag. 18 Nauck2 ap. Hesych. s.v. Sapwvta- "Ap-repus" 'Axaibs Qriaer
enrb tov iv T:poi'Cr)vi. Sapam/coO ko\ttov= Phot. lex. s.v. Laptovia) and Epidauros (P. Kabbadias
Fouilles d'Epidaure Athenes 1893 i. 51 f. no. 85 = Lnscr. Gr. Pelop. i no. 1083 a stile of
s. iii(?)B.C. 'Apicrrei |5as 'Apicrj-ro/cpd |reus | 5ts irvpo\(popr)o-a's \ t(Q>)i 'Act\-\a7r1uit | 'ApT^iujri
1<apw\viai I avedrjKe, Fouilles d'Epidaure i. 57 no. 128 = Lnscr. Gr. Pelop. i no. 1198 a
rectangular block inscribed in archaistic lettering of s. iv a.d. or later 'Apr^ii/xtros | 'Zapw-
vias with a numeral below and a circle, perhaps meant for a wreath, in the middle of
the name 'Apre/xiTos: on this symbol see further C. Blinkenberg in the Ath. Mitth. 1899
xxiv. 381, 383 and M. Frankel in the lnscr. Gr. Pelop. i. 187, infra Append. L init.).
Her festival the "Lapthvia (Paus. 2. 32. 10) is discussed by Nilsson Gr. Feste p. 226 f.
413
Troizen, stood a sanctuary of Artemis Sarom's, whose cult-epithet
can be taken to mean 'the Gnarled Oak1.' If so, the implication is
that some ancient trunk was viewed as her very embodiment2.
Tradition said that the cult had been founded by a woodland king,
Saron the hunter, who met his death by pursuing a doe3 or a boar4
into the sea and lay buried in the precinct of his goddess5. Saron,
we may suppose6, stood to Artemis Saroms' in much the same
1 Schol. Kallim. h. Zeus 22 aapuivibas : 5pus' irapa to aearjpora Kai avvecrrpaixixei'ov rbv
(pXoibv ixeLV> Hesych. s.v. aapwvtbes' irerpai. rj ai Sia TraXawTrjTa KexyviaL bpves (cp. id.
s.V7). aopuvis' eXdrrj 7raAcud and awpuvis' eXarrj. KaiiroXis. AI. Schmidt remarks : 'aopuvis
Dorismus est Melius pro crapwvis.' See now K. Brugmann—A. Thumb Griechische Gram-
tnatik* Miinchen 1913 p. 84), et. gen. in E. Miller Melanges de littcfrature grccque Paris
1868 p. 264 aapwvis Kai i) Spvs dia to o'ear/pivai' r) aopovis (leg. aopuvh) dia t6 ei; aiiTwv
aopovs yiveadui, et. Gud. p. 496, 32 f. aapiovis, f/ 5pvs, 5ia to aeaeipivai (leg. atarjpivai)- f)
awpuvis (leg. aopwvis) 8lcl to i£ clvtQiu awpovs (leg. aopovs) yiveadai, et. mag. p. 709, 5 Kai
aaptoviBes, ai Koi\ai bpvts ( = Favorin. lex. p. 1636, 34). The word occurs in an elegiac
fragment published by B. P. Grenfell—A. S. Hunt in The Oxyrhynchus Papyri London
18981. 37 f. no. 14, ro ]o o-apivviSas o?5as efe[, Kallim. //. Zeus 22 f. r) iroXXas tcpuwepde
aapuviSas vypbs Yawv | r/eipev, Parthen. narr. am. 11. 4 (—poes. frag. 29, 4 ff.) Kai pa
/caret aTV(pe\olo ffapuvidos ain'iKa ij.Ltp-qv \ aipa/J-evr/ Seipqv iv'edrjKaTo (sc. t) JivfiXis).
2 Cp. Demeter XA677, Dionysos Bbrpvs, Dionysos Kiaabs- But the direct identification
of deity with plant-form in a cult-title was rare. Overbeck Gr. Kunstmyth. Zeus p. 4
rashly assumes a Zeus $?ryos on the strength of Steph. Byz. s.v. Awbthvt) •.. .Kai tt\v
aiTtaTLKrjv (p-qffLV THufpopiwi' AuSwva iv Aviui' l'iKo/J.ev e$ Aubwva Aids (priyolo TrporprjTiv.'
:i Paus. 2. 30. 7 eXatpov SiuiKovTa (the words i<7r6 tQsv kv/mtuv KaraKXv^b/xevov imply a
derivation of -apuv from crapbw, cp. Lyk. AI. 389 with Tzetz. ad loc. =et. mag. p. 708,
56 ff.), schol. Eur. Hipp. 1200 5lwkwv iXatpov. We need not with S. Wide (De sacris
Troezeniorum, Hermionensiumx Epidauriorum Commentatio academica Upsaliae 1888
p. 26 f.. cp. id. Lakon. Ktilte p. 125 n. 3 and in the Festschrift fur Otto BenndorfWien
1898 p. 14 ff.) and M. P. Nilsson (Gr. Feste p. 226 f.) assume that the doe was Artemis
herself in animal shape, still less with O. Keller (Thiere des classischen Alterthums in
culturgeschichtlicher Z>£3z'tf/27/«°'Innsbruck 1887 p. 97, cp. id. Die antike Tiaivelt Leipzig
1909 i. 277) take it to be a symbol of the starry midnight sky. After all, ordinary deer
can swim well and take readily to the water (see e.g. R. Lydekker The Royal Natural
History London 1894 ii. 347, 354, id. Wild Life of the World London s.a. i. 28). There
is a good parallel in Paus. 8. 22. 9.
4 Euphorion ap. schol. Dionys. per. 420 (cp- et. mag. p. 708, 51 ff.) and Eustath. in
Dionys. per. 420 (ttlSluikuv avv. This too is a possible occurrence (R. Lydekker Wild
Life of the World London s.a. i. 34). 5 Paus. 2. 30. 7.
6 So at least I have argued in the Class. Rev. 1904 xviii. 370, cp. O. Hbfer in Roscher
Lex. Myth. iv. 389.
7 Artemis Hapwvis (Paus. 2. 30. 7) was also called Sapwcia at Troizen (Paus. 2. 32. 10,
cp. Achaios Theseus frag. 18 Nauck2 ap. Hesych. s.v. Sapwvta- "Ap-repus" 'Axaibs Qriaer
enrb tov iv T:poi'Cr)vi. Sapam/coO ko\ttov= Phot. lex. s.v. Laptovia) and Epidauros (P. Kabbadias
Fouilles d'Epidaure Athenes 1893 i. 51 f. no. 85 = Lnscr. Gr. Pelop. i no. 1083 a stile of
s. iii(?)B.C. 'Apicrrei |5as 'Apicrj-ro/cpd |reus | 5ts irvpo\(popr)o-a's \ t(Q>)i 'Act\-\a7r1uit | 'ApT^iujri
1<apw\viai I avedrjKe, Fouilles d'Epidaure i. 57 no. 128 = Lnscr. Gr. Pelop. i no. 1198 a
rectangular block inscribed in archaistic lettering of s. iv a.d. or later 'Apr^ii/xtros | 'Zapw-
vias with a numeral below and a circle, perhaps meant for a wreath, in the middle of
the name 'Apre/xiTos: on this symbol see further C. Blinkenberg in the Ath. Mitth. 1899
xxiv. 381, 383 and M. Frankel in the lnscr. Gr. Pelop. i. 187, infra Append. L init.).
Her festival the "Lapthvia (Paus. 2. 32. 10) is discussed by Nilsson Gr. Feste p. 226 f.