DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.14697#0148
986
Appendix B
A. Salac in the Bull. Corr. Hell. igi2 xlvi. 166—176 {'Zeus Kasios en Egypte'), not
only improves on Cledat's reading of the temple-dedication, but also contrives to throw
a good deal of light on its occasion and significance. Hadrian came to Pelousion after
his journey in Arabia (Spart. v. Hadr. 14. 4), that is, in 130 A.D. (W. Weber Unter-
suckungen zur Geschichte des Kaisers Hadrianus Leipzig 1907 p. 246). By the fall of the
thunderbolt on the Syrian Mt Kasion {supra p. 982 n. o) he had already been designated
as the favourite of Zeus Kctcrtos [supra p. 22 ff.)—an honour comparable with the adoption
of Alexander the Great by Zeus"A/xJotwi'. Hence the foundation of a temple of Zeus Kdmos
at Pelousion would glorify the emperor as well as the god (W. Weber op. cit. p. 235 f.).
Salac loc. cit. further contends that the cult-statue of Zeus Kdcrtos at Pelousion, a
youthful figure holding a pomegranate (Ach. Tat. 3. 6 'Igtl 5' ev tu Hr/Xovaiui Atos iepbv
dya,\/jLa Kacrt'of to 5' dya\/xa veaviffKos, ' AttoWcovl fxaWov ioucus' ovtoj yap r^Xi/ci'as etxe'
7rpo/3e/3\?7Tat be tt)v %e?pa /cat e^et poiav ew' avrrj- rrjs be poids 6 \byos fivariKos. vpotjev^dfxevoL
87] rep deed /cat irepl tov KXetviov /cat tov "LaTvpov <rv/jLj3oXov ii;ouT7)o~avT€S (/cat yap e"Xeyov
/j.avTiKov etVat tov Oebv) irepirj€Lfj.€v tov veihv. /caret be t6v 6irL0~dbdop.ov bpwpLev elubva bnrXrjv
/cat 6 ypwpevs eveyeypairTO' YivdvOrji fiev b ypaipevs, i] 5' eitcwv AvdpopLeSa /cat Tlpop,rjdevs,
k.t.X., 8 e^rjs Se to tov Upo/nf]de<x>s eyeybvet.. k.t.X.), was modelled upon a previously
existing cult-statue of Harpokrates, the youthful Horos. This contention is strongly
supported by numismatic evidence. In fact, a coin of Pelousion, struck by Trajan, actually
shows Harpokrates standing with a sceptre in his left hand and a pomegranate in his
right, towards which a little Pan stretches out his hands (G. Dattari Numi Augg. Alex-
andrini Cairo 1901 i. 418 no. 6345 pi. 34). Other coins of the same town, struck by
Hadrian in 126/7 A-D-> have obv. head of the emperor to right, laureate; rev. head of
Harpokrates to right, wearing the hem-hem crown and fillet (V. Langlois Numismatique
des nomes d'Egypte sous Fadministration romaiue Paris 1852 p. 39 no. 69 (wrongly
described) pi. 3, 1, Brit. Mus. Cat. Coins Alexandria etc. p. 351 nos. 44 and 45), or rro.
a pomegranate (Langlois op. cit. p. 39 no. 70, Brit. Mus. Cat. Coins Alexandria etc.
p. 351 no. 46), while coins of Alexandreia, struck by Hadrian in 137/8 A.D., have obv.
head of the emperor to right, laureate, with paluda77ientum over shoulder; rev. bust of
Plarpokrates of Pelousion to right, wearing he7ti-hem crown, with himdtion over left
shoulder and pomegranate in front (ib. p. 90 nos. 764 pi. 17 and 765, Hunter Cat. Coins
iii. 457 no. 391). An Egyptian connexion is again presupposed by the statement that
Malkandros king of Byblos had a son Palaistinos or Pelousios, who was nurtured by Isis
and gave his name to the town that she founded (Plout. de Is. et Os. 17. Skyl. per. 106
makes Pelousios come iiri to K&o-lov ; Epiphan. ancor. 106 (i. 209, 30 Dindorf) makes
Kasios worshipped 7rapd n^Xoucrtwrats).
But, granting this Egyptian background, we have yet to explain why Zeus in particular
was chosen as the successor of the youthful Horos. And here I should conjecture that we
must take into account the influence of Crete, where a youthful Zeus had long been
recognised. It is noteworthy that, whereas the nursling of Isis is called Horos by Diod.
1. 25 and Pelousios by Plout. de Is. et Os. 17, he is described as Diktys by Plout. de Is.
et Os. 8. The name, whatever its origin (Gruppe Gr. Myth. Bel. p. 1283 n. 4), recalls
the Cretan Diktynna and Mt Dikte and the infant Zeus (supra p. 927). It maybe objected
that Diktys is not expressly associated with Pelousion. But he is expressly associated with
the Egyptian taboo on onions (Plout. de Is. et Os. 8 to yap e/xireffeiv eis tov iroTafibv /cat
airoXeadai tov t7)?To"t5o? Tpb<pifj.ov Aiktvv tQv xpo/j,/j.vwv eTribpaTTOfjievov euxa'rwj dirldavov
oi Se iepeTs d<poaiovvTaL /cat SucrxepatVoucrt to Kpb/j.fxvov irapacpvX&TTovTes, otl Trjs o~e\rivris
<fi8ivovo~7)S /xbvov evTpocpeiv touto Kai Te8r)\evai wecpvKev. 'to~Ti be Trpbo~<j)opov oiire dyvevovaiv
o$Te eopT&£ovo~i, rots fxev otl diyprjv, toIs be otl baKpveLv rroLel tovs Trpoo~<pepo/j.evovs), and that
taboo (as to which see the references collected by J. E. B. Mayor on Iuv. 15. 9) was
specially characteristic of Pelousion (Plout. comm. in Hes. frag. 11. 52 Dubner ap. Gell.
20. 8. 7 'id etiam,' inquit, 'multo mirandum est magis, quod apud Plutarchum in quarto
in Hesiodum commentario legi: "cepetum revirescit et congerminat decedente luna,
contra autem inarescit adolescente. earn causam esse dicunt sacerdotes Aegyptii, cur
Pelusiotae cepe non edint, quia solum olerum omnium contra lunae augmenta atque
Appendix B
A. Salac in the Bull. Corr. Hell. igi2 xlvi. 166—176 {'Zeus Kasios en Egypte'), not
only improves on Cledat's reading of the temple-dedication, but also contrives to throw
a good deal of light on its occasion and significance. Hadrian came to Pelousion after
his journey in Arabia (Spart. v. Hadr. 14. 4), that is, in 130 A.D. (W. Weber Unter-
suckungen zur Geschichte des Kaisers Hadrianus Leipzig 1907 p. 246). By the fall of the
thunderbolt on the Syrian Mt Kasion {supra p. 982 n. o) he had already been designated
as the favourite of Zeus Kctcrtos [supra p. 22 ff.)—an honour comparable with the adoption
of Alexander the Great by Zeus"A/xJotwi'. Hence the foundation of a temple of Zeus Kdmos
at Pelousion would glorify the emperor as well as the god (W. Weber op. cit. p. 235 f.).
Salac loc. cit. further contends that the cult-statue of Zeus Kdcrtos at Pelousion, a
youthful figure holding a pomegranate (Ach. Tat. 3. 6 'Igtl 5' ev tu Hr/Xovaiui Atos iepbv
dya,\/jLa Kacrt'of to 5' dya\/xa veaviffKos, ' AttoWcovl fxaWov ioucus' ovtoj yap r^Xi/ci'as etxe'
7rpo/3e/3\?7Tat be tt)v %e?pa /cat e^et poiav ew' avrrj- rrjs be poids 6 \byos fivariKos. vpotjev^dfxevoL
87] rep deed /cat irepl tov KXetviov /cat tov "LaTvpov <rv/jLj3oXov ii;ouT7)o~avT€S (/cat yap e"Xeyov
/j.avTiKov etVat tov Oebv) irepirj€Lfj.€v tov veihv. /caret be t6v 6irL0~dbdop.ov bpwpLev elubva bnrXrjv
/cat 6 ypwpevs eveyeypairTO' YivdvOrji fiev b ypaipevs, i] 5' eitcwv AvdpopLeSa /cat Tlpop,rjdevs,
k.t.X., 8 e^rjs Se to tov Upo/nf]de<x>s eyeybvet.. k.t.X.), was modelled upon a previously
existing cult-statue of Harpokrates, the youthful Horos. This contention is strongly
supported by numismatic evidence. In fact, a coin of Pelousion, struck by Trajan, actually
shows Harpokrates standing with a sceptre in his left hand and a pomegranate in his
right, towards which a little Pan stretches out his hands (G. Dattari Numi Augg. Alex-
andrini Cairo 1901 i. 418 no. 6345 pi. 34). Other coins of the same town, struck by
Hadrian in 126/7 A-D-> have obv. head of the emperor to right, laureate; rev. head of
Harpokrates to right, wearing the hem-hem crown and fillet (V. Langlois Numismatique
des nomes d'Egypte sous Fadministration romaiue Paris 1852 p. 39 no. 69 (wrongly
described) pi. 3, 1, Brit. Mus. Cat. Coins Alexandria etc. p. 351 nos. 44 and 45), or rro.
a pomegranate (Langlois op. cit. p. 39 no. 70, Brit. Mus. Cat. Coins Alexandria etc.
p. 351 no. 46), while coins of Alexandreia, struck by Hadrian in 137/8 A.D., have obv.
head of the emperor to right, laureate, with paluda77ientum over shoulder; rev. bust of
Plarpokrates of Pelousion to right, wearing he7ti-hem crown, with himdtion over left
shoulder and pomegranate in front (ib. p. 90 nos. 764 pi. 17 and 765, Hunter Cat. Coins
iii. 457 no. 391). An Egyptian connexion is again presupposed by the statement that
Malkandros king of Byblos had a son Palaistinos or Pelousios, who was nurtured by Isis
and gave his name to the town that she founded (Plout. de Is. et Os. 17. Skyl. per. 106
makes Pelousios come iiri to K&o-lov ; Epiphan. ancor. 106 (i. 209, 30 Dindorf) makes
Kasios worshipped 7rapd n^Xoucrtwrats).
But, granting this Egyptian background, we have yet to explain why Zeus in particular
was chosen as the successor of the youthful Horos. And here I should conjecture that we
must take into account the influence of Crete, where a youthful Zeus had long been
recognised. It is noteworthy that, whereas the nursling of Isis is called Horos by Diod.
1. 25 and Pelousios by Plout. de Is. et Os. 17, he is described as Diktys by Plout. de Is.
et Os. 8. The name, whatever its origin (Gruppe Gr. Myth. Bel. p. 1283 n. 4), recalls
the Cretan Diktynna and Mt Dikte and the infant Zeus (supra p. 927). It maybe objected
that Diktys is not expressly associated with Pelousion. But he is expressly associated with
the Egyptian taboo on onions (Plout. de Is. et Os. 8 to yap e/xireffeiv eis tov iroTafibv /cat
airoXeadai tov t7)?To"t5o? Tpb<pifj.ov Aiktvv tQv xpo/j,/j.vwv eTribpaTTOfjievov euxa'rwj dirldavov
oi Se iepeTs d<poaiovvTaL /cat SucrxepatVoucrt to Kpb/j.fxvov irapacpvX&TTovTes, otl Trjs o~e\rivris
<fi8ivovo~7)S /xbvov evTpocpeiv touto Kai Te8r)\evai wecpvKev. 'to~Ti be Trpbo~<j)opov oiire dyvevovaiv
o$Te eopT&£ovo~i, rots fxev otl diyprjv, toIs be otl baKpveLv rroLel tovs Trpoo~<pepo/j.evovs), and that
taboo (as to which see the references collected by J. E. B. Mayor on Iuv. 15. 9) was
specially characteristic of Pelousion (Plout. comm. in Hes. frag. 11. 52 Dubner ap. Gell.
20. 8. 7 'id etiam,' inquit, 'multo mirandum est magis, quod apud Plutarchum in quarto
in Hesiodum commentario legi: "cepetum revirescit et congerminat decedente luna,
contra autem inarescit adolescente. earn causam esse dicunt sacerdotes Aegyptii, cur
Pelusiotae cepe non edint, quia solum olerum omnium contra lunae augmenta atque