DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.14697#0283
Zeus Meilichios
I I 2 I
With his cult on the Ilissos I would connect both a local myth and a local
custom.
(6) The Myth of Periphas.
Antoninus Liberalis in his Metamorphoses, a valuable work preserved to us
by a single manuscript at Heidelberg, gives the following account of Periphas :
' Periphas was sprung from the soil in Attike before Kekrops the son of Ge
appeared. He became king of the ancient population, and was just and rich
and holy, a man who offered many sacrifices to Apollon and judged many
disputes and was blamed by no one. All men willingly submitted to his rule
and, in view of his surpassing deeds, transferred to him the honours due to Zeus
and decided that they belonged to Periphas. They offered sacrifices and built
temples to him, and called him Zeus Soter and Epopsios and Meilichios.
HaveWr)vwv Kai lepevs deov ' ASpiavov JI[aveWrjviov] \ Kai dywvoOiTrjs twv p.eyd\uv Ilai'eA-
Xr/vlwv, ib. no. 507, I f. 6 ap\wv T^v TlaveWr)vwv Kai iepevs deov 'Adpiavov HaveWrjviov \ Kai
dyLovoderrjs tuiv /ueydXcov HaveWr/vluv). It would even seem that at Athens the god Hadrian
took over the temple of Zeus'OX^Trios (soW. Dittenberger Orient. Gr. inscr. set. no. 504 n. 6
understands Dion Cass. 69.16 cited supra). Cp. Corp. inscr. Gr. ii no. i822(Epeiros) an altar
inscribed avroK^pdropi Tpai'ajji'ak 'A5pta[vwi 2e]/3acr[rc3t,] | 'OXv/xttiui, Au AuSii}vai[oji].
The foundation of the llaveWr)viov in 131 A.D. (P. Cavvadias Fouilles d''Epidaure Athenes
1893 i. 43 no. 35, 1 ff. = Dittenberger Syll. inscr. Gr? no. 842, 1 ff. 'iTovs y rrjs Kadiepwaews
tov Aio[s] j tov 'OXv/attlov Kai TTjs KTiffeos j tov HaveWr/viov) was commemorated (Dion Cass,
and Hieron. chron. locc. citt.) by means of an dywv (Corp. inscr. Att. iii. 1 no. 10, 13 f.
(d)\yT~\dpxovTos tov iepuraTOv d(y)\\f)vos toO] (H)av(e\)\rjviov, cp. ib. iii. I no. 681, 6 ff.
[dYa>]jj'[o]#[e]t[?7J' tlov Hav\eWr]~\v\_iwv.....], ib. iii. I no. 682, 1 ff. [dyuvodeTrja^avra---
[? HaveWri^viwv, ib. iii. 1 no. 1199, 5 f. eiri dyicvode[rov tCov p,eyd]\\wv HaveWrjviwv, Ditten-
berger Orient. Gr. inscr. set. no. 504, 2 dywvodeTijs tQ>v p.eyd'Kiov HaveWriviiav, ib. no. 507, 2
dywvoOerris tQv /jieydXwv HaveWr/vluv) known as the IlaveXXrivia (Corp. inscr. Att. iii. 1
no. 32, 5 to eis rd llaveW[r)via], ib. iii. 1 no. 127, 3 f. IlaveWr]via j iv 'Adrjvais, ib. iii. 1
no. 128, 5 veiKf)aas /card to ii;fjs HaveWr)via | k.t.X., to f. Ilaj'eAjX^j'ia | Sis | 'Adrj(vas),
Olympia v. 347 ff. no. 237> 8 f. a ' ASpeidveia iv 7ip.vpvq Kai iv'TZtpecru) Kai rd rrpuTios Ila|j'eX-
\r)via axdevTa iv 'Adrjvais rrp&Tos K-qpuKiov, Corp. inscr. Gr. i no. 1068 i, 1 f. = Inscr.
Gr. sept, i no. 49, 7 Megara HaveWrjvia \ iv 'Adr)vais, E. L. Hicks The Collection of
Ancient Greek Inscriptions in the British Museum iii. 2. 237 f. Oxford 1890 no. 611,
7 Ephesos YlaveWrjvia iv 'Adrjvais, crTddiov, ib. iii. 2. 238 f. no. 613, 8 f. Ephesos ['A]df)vais
7rai'[5wf Hav\e~K]\f)via y, ib. iii. 2. 239 f. no. 615, 5 Ephesos 'Ad-qvas waiduv HaveWrjvia,
J. R. S. Sterrett in Papers of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens Boston
1888 iii. 291 f. no. 413, 15 f. Kara Baulo IlaveXkrive(i)a | iv 'Adrjvais). The name p.eyd\a
HaveWrjvia (Corp. inscr. Att. iii. 1 no. 17, 3 [tQv fxey]d\ojv UaveW[rivicjv] or [tGiv d]\Acoi>
HaveW[r)vijjv~\, ib. no. 1199, 5 f. irri dyujvodi\rov tCqv /xeyd~]\\wv UaveWrjviwv, Dittenberger
Orient. Gr. inscr. set. no. 504, 2 dywvodeTr/s tQiv p,eyd\uv UaveWrjviuv, ib. no. 507, 2
dyuvodeTrjs twv fxeyd\wv HaveWrjviijjv) implies that the contest was organised also as
a pentaeteris on the analogy of the Panathenaia (Mommsen Feste d. Stadt At hen p 168 ff.
tries to make out that the Panhellenia at Athens was modelled on the Eleutheria at
Plataiai). Few further details of the festival are on record (with Corp. inscr. Att. iii. 1
no. 1141, 20 f. Kai iK Hav[e\]\\riviov ovdev cp. ib. iii. 1 no. 1184, 20 ff. [/xe]r[d rd]s Se/3acrTo-
(popiKas vop.ds rrdaas rds did HaveWr/viuv iw' la-qs o'i re i<pri(3oi Kai 01 ire [pi to Ai\oyiveiov
dvaavTes Kai arreioavTes iv tu> Aioyeveiai rd i^nrjpia evioxr)6r]ffav, \ o[v8e]vi de dWco avveriXe-
o~av oi i<prij3oi rj /card to dvavKaiov tQ Kaxpapiw p.bvu. Mommsen op. cit. p. 168 f. argues that
the epheboi, who began their course in Boedromion, must have ended it in Metageitnion :
accordingly, if their concluding feast took place after the Panhellenia, we may refer
the Panhellenia also to Metageitnion, i.e. to August or September. The relevance of
Corp. inscr. Att. iii. 1 no. 85, 1 ff. oi HaviWr/ves | APIZTA[N] | ...... | Kapirov airapxr)s
is doubtful : see W. Dittenberger ad loc.)).
c. 11. 71
I I 2 I
With his cult on the Ilissos I would connect both a local myth and a local
custom.
(6) The Myth of Periphas.
Antoninus Liberalis in his Metamorphoses, a valuable work preserved to us
by a single manuscript at Heidelberg, gives the following account of Periphas :
' Periphas was sprung from the soil in Attike before Kekrops the son of Ge
appeared. He became king of the ancient population, and was just and rich
and holy, a man who offered many sacrifices to Apollon and judged many
disputes and was blamed by no one. All men willingly submitted to his rule
and, in view of his surpassing deeds, transferred to him the honours due to Zeus
and decided that they belonged to Periphas. They offered sacrifices and built
temples to him, and called him Zeus Soter and Epopsios and Meilichios.
HaveWr)vwv Kai lepevs deov ' ASpiavov JI[aveWrjviov] \ Kai dywvoOiTrjs twv p.eyd\uv Ilai'eA-
Xr/vlwv, ib. no. 507, I f. 6 ap\wv T^v TlaveWr)vwv Kai iepevs deov 'Adpiavov HaveWrjviov \ Kai
dyLovoderrjs tuiv /ueydXcov HaveWr/vluv). It would even seem that at Athens the god Hadrian
took over the temple of Zeus'OX^Trios (soW. Dittenberger Orient. Gr. inscr. set. no. 504 n. 6
understands Dion Cass. 69.16 cited supra). Cp. Corp. inscr. Gr. ii no. i822(Epeiros) an altar
inscribed avroK^pdropi Tpai'ajji'ak 'A5pta[vwi 2e]/3acr[rc3t,] | 'OXv/xttiui, Au AuSii}vai[oji].
The foundation of the llaveWr)viov in 131 A.D. (P. Cavvadias Fouilles d''Epidaure Athenes
1893 i. 43 no. 35, 1 ff. = Dittenberger Syll. inscr. Gr? no. 842, 1 ff. 'iTovs y rrjs Kadiepwaews
tov Aio[s] j tov 'OXv/attlov Kai TTjs KTiffeos j tov HaveWr/viov) was commemorated (Dion Cass,
and Hieron. chron. locc. citt.) by means of an dywv (Corp. inscr. Att. iii. 1 no. 10, 13 f.
(d)\yT~\dpxovTos tov iepuraTOv d(y)\\f)vos toO] (H)av(e\)\rjviov, cp. ib. iii. I no. 681, 6 ff.
[dYa>]jj'[o]#[e]t[?7J' tlov Hav\eWr]~\v\_iwv.....], ib. iii. I no. 682, 1 ff. [dyuvodeTrja^avra---
[? HaveWri^viwv, ib. iii. 1 no. 1199, 5 f. eiri dyicvode[rov tCov p,eyd]\\wv HaveWrjviwv, Ditten-
berger Orient. Gr. inscr. set. no. 504, 2 dywvodeTijs tQ>v p.eyd'Kiov HaveWriviiav, ib. no. 507, 2
dywvoOerris tQv /jieydXwv HaveWr/vluv) known as the IlaveXXrivia (Corp. inscr. Att. iii. 1
no. 32, 5 to eis rd llaveW[r)via], ib. iii. 1 no. 127, 3 f. IlaveWr]via j iv 'Adrjvais, ib. iii. 1
no. 128, 5 veiKf)aas /card to ii;fjs HaveWr)via | k.t.X., to f. Ilaj'eAjX^j'ia | Sis | 'Adrj(vas),
Olympia v. 347 ff. no. 237> 8 f. a ' ASpeidveia iv 7ip.vpvq Kai iv'TZtpecru) Kai rd rrpuTios Ila|j'eX-
\r)via axdevTa iv 'Adrjvais rrp&Tos K-qpuKiov, Corp. inscr. Gr. i no. 1068 i, 1 f. = Inscr.
Gr. sept, i no. 49, 7 Megara HaveWrjvia \ iv 'Adr)vais, E. L. Hicks The Collection of
Ancient Greek Inscriptions in the British Museum iii. 2. 237 f. Oxford 1890 no. 611,
7 Ephesos YlaveWrjvia iv 'Adrjvais, crTddiov, ib. iii. 2. 238 f. no. 613, 8 f. Ephesos ['A]df)vais
7rai'[5wf Hav\e~K]\f)via y, ib. iii. 2. 239 f. no. 615, 5 Ephesos 'Ad-qvas waiduv HaveWrjvia,
J. R. S. Sterrett in Papers of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens Boston
1888 iii. 291 f. no. 413, 15 f. Kara Baulo IlaveXkrive(i)a | iv 'Adrjvais). The name p.eyd\a
HaveWrjvia (Corp. inscr. Att. iii. 1 no. 17, 3 [tQv fxey]d\ojv UaveW[rivicjv] or [tGiv d]\Acoi>
HaveW[r)vijjv~\, ib. no. 1199, 5 f. irri dyujvodi\rov tCqv /xeyd~]\\wv UaveWrjviwv, Dittenberger
Orient. Gr. inscr. set. no. 504, 2 dywvodeTr/s tQiv p,eyd\uv UaveWrjviuv, ib. no. 507, 2
dyuvodeTrjs twv fxeyd\wv HaveWrjviijjv) implies that the contest was organised also as
a pentaeteris on the analogy of the Panathenaia (Mommsen Feste d. Stadt At hen p 168 ff.
tries to make out that the Panhellenia at Athens was modelled on the Eleutheria at
Plataiai). Few further details of the festival are on record (with Corp. inscr. Att. iii. 1
no. 1141, 20 f. Kai iK Hav[e\]\\riviov ovdev cp. ib. iii. 1 no. 1184, 20 ff. [/xe]r[d rd]s Se/3acrTo-
(popiKas vop.ds rrdaas rds did HaveWr/viuv iw' la-qs o'i re i<pri(3oi Kai 01 ire [pi to Ai\oyiveiov
dvaavTes Kai arreioavTes iv tu> Aioyeveiai rd i^nrjpia evioxr)6r]ffav, \ o[v8e]vi de dWco avveriXe-
o~av oi i<prij3oi rj /card to dvavKaiov tQ Kaxpapiw p.bvu. Mommsen op. cit. p. 168 f. argues that
the epheboi, who began their course in Boedromion, must have ended it in Metageitnion :
accordingly, if their concluding feast took place after the Panhellenia, we may refer
the Panhellenia also to Metageitnion, i.e. to August or September. The relevance of
Corp. inscr. Att. iii. 1 no. 85, 1 ff. oi HaviWr/ves | APIZTA[N] | ...... | Kapirov airapxr)s
is doubtful : see W. Dittenberger ad loc.)).
c. 11. 71