DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.14696#0752
The axe and the sacred oak at Dodona 677
(77-) The hafted axe as a religious symbol.
The coins of Tenedos are by no means the only classical relic of
pre-classical axe-cult. But before considering further evidence it
will be well, for clearness' sake, to restate the essentials of the cult
in question.
Throughout the Aegean and Adriatic area, as I maintain1, we
can trace the joint worship of a sky-father and an earth-mother.
The former descends from above when the lightning flashes down
and, in old aniconic days, leaves his weapon as a tangible token of
himself. The latter ascends from below when vegetation springs up
and, at the same early epoch, gives a visible proof of her presence in
the sacred tree. Where, as was the case with the sarcophagus from
Hagia Triada-, we see the axe imbedded in the trunk, there we
must recognise the union of the sky-father with the earth-mother, a
union essential to the fertility of men and beasts and crops. The
axe imbedded in a tree is the prototype of the axe imbedded in a
wooden column3 or a stalactite pillar4. Ultimately a hafted axe
of the usual sort is found serving as a symbol of the united deities,
the axe-head being the male, the axe-handle the female, element in
their union.
(p) The axe and the sacred oak at Dodona.
The axe imbedded in the sacred tree is a feature of sundry cults,
myths, and folk-tales. Early in the third century A.D. Philostratos
described a real or imaginary painting of Dodona5. ' The golden
pigeon,' he wrote, ' is still upon the oak-tree, she that is wise in
sayings and oracles that she utters as from Zeus. And here lies the
double axe left by Helios the wood-cutter, from whom the Helloi
of Dodona trace their descent. Fillets too are hung from the oak ;
for it gives oracles as does the tripod at Pytho.' This painting of
the cult-scene at Dodona bears a curious resemblance to that of the
cult-scene at Hagia Triada. In both we have the same noteworthy
association of bird, axe, and tree. Moreover, the small votive axes
of bronze found at Dodona (fig. 6i8)s recall the miniature votive
1 Tratisactio?is of the Third International Congress for the History of Religions Oxford
1908 ii. 193 f.
2 Supra pp. 517 f., 520 f.
3 Supra p. 528 f. 4 Supra p. 530 ff.
5 Philostr. mai. imagg. 2. 33. 1. For the Teubner text of the first clause r\ ntv XPV<TV
ireXeia kr' iirl tt)s dpvbs iv Xoyiois 17 crofpi} Kal xPVcr/J-0^ k.t.X., which must be wrong
(C. F. W. Jacobs cj. 17 /xec XPvcrV TeXetas t) eirl tt)s Spuos ev Xoyiois fjv aocp-q Kal oi XPV7^0'1-,
k.t.X.), I would read 77 p.ev XPV(TV ireXeia er' iiri rrjs 5pv6s 17 ev Xoyioa aotpr) Kal xpTjo-jUots,
K.t.X.
B Supra p. 648. Fig. 618 is from C. Carapanos Dodone el ses ruines Paris 1878 p. 100 f.
pi. 54, 7 (length OT2111).
(77-) The hafted axe as a religious symbol.
The coins of Tenedos are by no means the only classical relic of
pre-classical axe-cult. But before considering further evidence it
will be well, for clearness' sake, to restate the essentials of the cult
in question.
Throughout the Aegean and Adriatic area, as I maintain1, we
can trace the joint worship of a sky-father and an earth-mother.
The former descends from above when the lightning flashes down
and, in old aniconic days, leaves his weapon as a tangible token of
himself. The latter ascends from below when vegetation springs up
and, at the same early epoch, gives a visible proof of her presence in
the sacred tree. Where, as was the case with the sarcophagus from
Hagia Triada-, we see the axe imbedded in the trunk, there we
must recognise the union of the sky-father with the earth-mother, a
union essential to the fertility of men and beasts and crops. The
axe imbedded in a tree is the prototype of the axe imbedded in a
wooden column3 or a stalactite pillar4. Ultimately a hafted axe
of the usual sort is found serving as a symbol of the united deities,
the axe-head being the male, the axe-handle the female, element in
their union.
(p) The axe and the sacred oak at Dodona.
The axe imbedded in the sacred tree is a feature of sundry cults,
myths, and folk-tales. Early in the third century A.D. Philostratos
described a real or imaginary painting of Dodona5. ' The golden
pigeon,' he wrote, ' is still upon the oak-tree, she that is wise in
sayings and oracles that she utters as from Zeus. And here lies the
double axe left by Helios the wood-cutter, from whom the Helloi
of Dodona trace their descent. Fillets too are hung from the oak ;
for it gives oracles as does the tripod at Pytho.' This painting of
the cult-scene at Dodona bears a curious resemblance to that of the
cult-scene at Hagia Triada. In both we have the same noteworthy
association of bird, axe, and tree. Moreover, the small votive axes
of bronze found at Dodona (fig. 6i8)s recall the miniature votive
1 Tratisactio?is of the Third International Congress for the History of Religions Oxford
1908 ii. 193 f.
2 Supra pp. 517 f., 520 f.
3 Supra p. 528 f. 4 Supra p. 530 ff.
5 Philostr. mai. imagg. 2. 33. 1. For the Teubner text of the first clause r\ ntv XPV<TV
ireXeia kr' iirl tt)s dpvbs iv Xoyiois 17 crofpi} Kal xPVcr/J-0^ k.t.X., which must be wrong
(C. F. W. Jacobs cj. 17 /xec XPvcrV TeXetas t) eirl tt)s Spuos ev Xoyiois fjv aocp-q Kal oi XPV7^0'1-,
k.t.X.), I would read 77 p.ev XPV(TV ireXeia er' iiri rrjs 5pv6s 17 ev Xoyioa aotpr) Kal xpTjo-jUots,
K.t.X.
B Supra p. 648. Fig. 618 is from C. Carapanos Dodone el ses ruines Paris 1878 p. 100 f.
pi. 54, 7 (length OT2111).