DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.14697#0138
976
Appendix B
[See further Frazer Golden Bough?: The Magic Art ii. 40—45].) The summit of the hill
forms a flattish space c. 250™ across and was enclosed by a peribolos-wa.\\, which can still
be traced, especially to the south-west. In the middle of the open space a square mound
(c. 40111 each side) evidently covers some construction, for bits of moulding and the ddbris
of cut marble are scattered over the ground. Here in all probability stood a monumental
altar. A marble base found on the spot records the name of Cn. Claudius Philon as priest
for life (J. G. C. Anderson—F. Cumont—H. Gregoire Recueil des inscriptions grecques
et latines du Pont et de VArmenie (Studia Pontica iii) Bruxelles 1010 i no. 142 to d\ydQr\p.a\
(or d[ya\fia~\) \ e/c twv t[o0] | deov Tvai\os K\(av8ios) <I>tXw;> | iepeits 5tct /3tou) and two in-
scriptions from the neighbouring village of Ebimi preserve dedications to Zeus lirpdrios
(eid. id. i no. 140 on a small limestone altar Att I st/Nxjn'cj | Bao-t|Xeus (a frequent name in
Pontos) I eixv> no- I4I on two portions of a limestone balustrade Ad SrpaTt'cp [6 Stj/^os iv
eKK\r]<jla] Kvpla ewi rr}s <jvv$\apxta.s Ylofj.[iroji''iov........rod?] KavdiSov, vewKo\povi>Tos
y [...............o]u 'Aypnririavov, e/c \ tuv avv{\)e\\eyp.evo}v xprip-aTio^v A eVous Q pa
( = 98/99 A.D.). In line 4 avvo\Qpoi<jOevTwv /c.t.X.] is possible). From these inscriptions
we gather that in the year 99 A.D. the cult was administered by awdpxovres and veuKdpoi.
To the west of the precinct is rising ground formerly covered with buildings. The
festivities there celebrated seem to have included dramatic shows—witness the epitaph of
the strolling player Gemellos, found at Ebimi (F. Cumont in the Festschrift zu Otto
Hirschfelds sechzigstem Geburtstage Berlin 1903 p. 277 ff. =J. G. C. Anderson—F.
Cumont—H. Gregoire op. cit. i no. 143 Kelpie YepL^Wos eyio | 6 ttoXXois dearpois \ noWa
\a\rjcras | /cat 7ro\Xds oSovs | avrbs oSevaas, | /cat ovk£ti /xou arofia | </>awd[s] diro\vei, \ ovde
Xeip&v Kpbros \ 'ipxere, cxXX' dwodovs \ to Sclvlov ('my debt to nature') ireirbpevixe. \ ravra
■nrdvTa kovis. The man is as full of quotations as Dikaiopolis).
Other traces of the same cult came to light at Ghel-Ghiraz, some sixteen miles west
of Amaseia, on the edge of the plain Chiliokomon (Souloti-Ova). Here was found a
marble altar of s. i (?) A.D. dedicated to Zeus ^rpdrios (eid. ib. i no. 152 Att ^Tparlaj
ev[x]rjs I KaL evffej3ias [x]d\piv Kvpos /cat | <I>tXeTatpos ot | KXdpov. The letters x, being
crosses, have been effaced by some zealous Mohammedan) and sundry remnants of his
temple (Ionic and Corinthian capitals, a column-shaft in red marble, fragments of cornice,
blocks of marble) scattered through the village. The temple itself probably stood on a
small polygonal plateau cut out on a spur of the mountainous heights above Ghel-Ghiraz
(map xii).
Lastly, an inscription of Roman date from Athens mentions an offering to Zeus
SrpdTtos made by four citizens of Amaseia (Corp. inscr. Att. iii. i no. 201 dyadfj tvxv \
Att Srpartfw] | Aioripios, 'TipiKpdrrj[s], | ApScrepos, Hebrjpos | ot 'A,aao"ets).
F. Cumont justly regards the sacred pines still growing on Beuyuk Evlia as comparable
with the trees beside the altar on the coins of Amaseia (supra figs. 858—861), with the
two oaks planted by Herakles at Herakleia Pontike by the altars of Zeus 2,Tpdnos (Plin.
nat. hist. 16. 239 in Ponto citra Heracleam arae sunt Iovis HrpaTiov cognomine, ibi quercus
duae ab Hercule satae), and with the sacred plane-trees of Zeus 27-pdrtos at Labranda
(supra p. 590). But with equal justice Cumont refuses to see in Beuyuk Evlia the scene
of Mithridates' pyre, which was visible far out at sea and must therefore have been raised
on some such peak as Ak-Dagh, the highest summit of the country. As to the nature of
Zeus Srpdrtos, after renewed consideration of the available data (cp. F. Cumont ' Le Zeus
Stratios de Mithridate ' in the Revue de Phistoire des religions 1901 xliii. 47—57), he
arrives at the following conclusion: 'Peut-etre etait-il a l'origine la divinite locale de
quelque tribu indigene de la vallee de l'lris, qui s'assemblait pour l'adorer sur le sommet
d'une montagne voisine. A leur arrivee dans le pays, les colons grecs auraient alors,
suivant une coutume constante, transforme cette divinite barbare en un Zeus guerrier.
Puis, quand une maison d'origine iranienne fonda un royaume dans cette region, elle
aurait pretendu reconnaitre dans ce Zeus son Ahoura-Mazda, et lui aurait offert des
sacrifices nouveaux, imites de ceux qu'accomplissaient les monarques perses. La nature
du dieu serait done composite; elle serait formee d'une reunion des trois elements,
Appendix B
[See further Frazer Golden Bough?: The Magic Art ii. 40—45].) The summit of the hill
forms a flattish space c. 250™ across and was enclosed by a peribolos-wa.\\, which can still
be traced, especially to the south-west. In the middle of the open space a square mound
(c. 40111 each side) evidently covers some construction, for bits of moulding and the ddbris
of cut marble are scattered over the ground. Here in all probability stood a monumental
altar. A marble base found on the spot records the name of Cn. Claudius Philon as priest
for life (J. G. C. Anderson—F. Cumont—H. Gregoire Recueil des inscriptions grecques
et latines du Pont et de VArmenie (Studia Pontica iii) Bruxelles 1010 i no. 142 to d\ydQr\p.a\
(or d[ya\fia~\) \ e/c twv t[o0] | deov Tvai\os K\(av8ios) <I>tXw;> | iepeits 5tct /3tou) and two in-
scriptions from the neighbouring village of Ebimi preserve dedications to Zeus lirpdrios
(eid. id. i no. 140 on a small limestone altar Att I st/Nxjn'cj | Bao-t|Xeus (a frequent name in
Pontos) I eixv> no- I4I on two portions of a limestone balustrade Ad SrpaTt'cp [6 Stj/^os iv
eKK\r]<jla] Kvpla ewi rr}s <jvv$\apxta.s Ylofj.[iroji''iov........rod?] KavdiSov, vewKo\povi>Tos
y [...............o]u 'Aypnririavov, e/c \ tuv avv{\)e\\eyp.evo}v xprip-aTio^v A eVous Q pa
( = 98/99 A.D.). In line 4 avvo\Qpoi<jOevTwv /c.t.X.] is possible). From these inscriptions
we gather that in the year 99 A.D. the cult was administered by awdpxovres and veuKdpoi.
To the west of the precinct is rising ground formerly covered with buildings. The
festivities there celebrated seem to have included dramatic shows—witness the epitaph of
the strolling player Gemellos, found at Ebimi (F. Cumont in the Festschrift zu Otto
Hirschfelds sechzigstem Geburtstage Berlin 1903 p. 277 ff. =J. G. C. Anderson—F.
Cumont—H. Gregoire op. cit. i no. 143 Kelpie YepL^Wos eyio | 6 ttoXXois dearpois \ noWa
\a\rjcras | /cat 7ro\Xds oSovs | avrbs oSevaas, | /cat ovk£ti /xou arofia | </>awd[s] diro\vei, \ ovde
Xeip&v Kpbros \ 'ipxere, cxXX' dwodovs \ to Sclvlov ('my debt to nature') ireirbpevixe. \ ravra
■nrdvTa kovis. The man is as full of quotations as Dikaiopolis).
Other traces of the same cult came to light at Ghel-Ghiraz, some sixteen miles west
of Amaseia, on the edge of the plain Chiliokomon (Souloti-Ova). Here was found a
marble altar of s. i (?) A.D. dedicated to Zeus ^rpdrios (eid. ib. i no. 152 Att ^Tparlaj
ev[x]rjs I KaL evffej3ias [x]d\piv Kvpos /cat | <I>tXeTatpos ot | KXdpov. The letters x, being
crosses, have been effaced by some zealous Mohammedan) and sundry remnants of his
temple (Ionic and Corinthian capitals, a column-shaft in red marble, fragments of cornice,
blocks of marble) scattered through the village. The temple itself probably stood on a
small polygonal plateau cut out on a spur of the mountainous heights above Ghel-Ghiraz
(map xii).
Lastly, an inscription of Roman date from Athens mentions an offering to Zeus
SrpdTtos made by four citizens of Amaseia (Corp. inscr. Att. iii. i no. 201 dyadfj tvxv \
Att Srpartfw] | Aioripios, 'TipiKpdrrj[s], | ApScrepos, Hebrjpos | ot 'A,aao"ets).
F. Cumont justly regards the sacred pines still growing on Beuyuk Evlia as comparable
with the trees beside the altar on the coins of Amaseia (supra figs. 858—861), with the
two oaks planted by Herakles at Herakleia Pontike by the altars of Zeus 2,Tpdnos (Plin.
nat. hist. 16. 239 in Ponto citra Heracleam arae sunt Iovis HrpaTiov cognomine, ibi quercus
duae ab Hercule satae), and with the sacred plane-trees of Zeus 27-pdrtos at Labranda
(supra p. 590). But with equal justice Cumont refuses to see in Beuyuk Evlia the scene
of Mithridates' pyre, which was visible far out at sea and must therefore have been raised
on some such peak as Ak-Dagh, the highest summit of the country. As to the nature of
Zeus Srpdrtos, after renewed consideration of the available data (cp. F. Cumont ' Le Zeus
Stratios de Mithridate ' in the Revue de Phistoire des religions 1901 xliii. 47—57), he
arrives at the following conclusion: 'Peut-etre etait-il a l'origine la divinite locale de
quelque tribu indigene de la vallee de l'lris, qui s'assemblait pour l'adorer sur le sommet
d'une montagne voisine. A leur arrivee dans le pays, les colons grecs auraient alors,
suivant une coutume constante, transforme cette divinite barbare en un Zeus guerrier.
Puis, quand une maison d'origine iranienne fonda un royaume dans cette region, elle
aurait pretendu reconnaitre dans ce Zeus son Ahoura-Mazda, et lui aurait offert des
sacrifices nouveaux, imites de ceux qu'accomplissaient les monarques perses. La nature
du dieu serait done composite; elle serait formee d'une reunion des trois elements,