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1144 Appendix M
of Zeus (fig. 961) being 'decidedly fine and early' is perhaps 'a reminiscence of
the head of Polycleitus' statue1.' But, in view of the large number of Argive
Zeuses2, these conjectures are admittedly uncertain.
(9) Zeus Meilichios at Sikyon.
From Argos to Sikyon3, as the crow flies, is less than five-and-twenty miles.
But in their representation of Zeus Meilichios Argives and Sicyonians differed
toto each. The former could boast a masterpiece shown to visitors as the work
of Polykleitos himself; the latter were content with an artless pyramid, not even
anthropomorphic4. Why Zeus was given this peculiar shape, we are not told.
1 Imhoof-Blumer and P. Gardner op. cit. i. 36.
2 In addition to references already given (supra i. 117 Zeus 'A0e<nos, 122 f. Zeus
Kapiaalos, 134 f. Zeus as a cuckoo, 320 and 462 Zeus with three eyes, 448 and 456 Zeus
Ne/xetos, 461 Zeus Havbirrris, ii. 704 ff. Zeus as a cuckoo, 712 ff. Zeus as partner of Hera,
875 n. 2 Zeus <i>aXa/cp6s, 892 n. 5 Zeus Aapttratos, Aapiacrevs) see Paus. 2. 19. 7 Aafaos Se
ravrd re dvedrjKe /cat ir\ri<r'wv KLovas Ik < > Atos /cat' AprepiiSos '^bavov (so most MSS.
and H. C. Schubart, who indicated the lacuna : he is followed by Sir J. G. Frazer and
H. Hitzig—H. Bliimner. Some of the older editors read is Aibs with cod. Paris c. H. C.
Schubart—E. C. Walz, L. Dindorf, and F. Spiro print /cat Atos after cod. Vindob. a. Clavier
cj.cusAids. A. Kuhn cj. £6am) where we should perhaps correct e/c Aids <Ke\evcr/j.aros> (cp.
supra i. 371 n. 1) and suppose a pillar-cult of some sort, 2. 19. 8 (iu/ibs'TeTiov Aibs [infra § 9
(h)), 2. 20. 6 /cat Atos eariv evravda iepbv 2wr%>os, 2. 21. 2 irpb be avrov 7re7rot7;rat Atos <i?i^toD
[3u)fj.bs, 2. 22. 2 iripav Se rod rd<pov (sc. of Pelasgos) x^Keiof tffTiv ov fieya, dvexei be avrb
dyd\/mra dpxa'a ' AprepaSos /cat Atos /cat 'Adrjvds. Au/ceas fxkv ovv ev rots eireaiv eTTOLTjcre
M.rixa.veus rb aya\p.a etVat Atos, /cat ' Apyeiuiv e<prj tovs evi'lKiov arpaTevaavTas evravda
b/xbcrai irapafievelv (so H. C. Schubart—E. C. Walz for Trapap.evew codd.) TroXefxovvTas, '4<tt
dv rj Tb "I\toi> e\ioaiv rj /uaxofJ-evovs reXevrrj <r<pds £Tri\df3y erepois Se e<?Tiv eipr]fxevov bard ev
Tip ^aX^eta) KelaOai TavrdXov. The word xaX/ceto^, which has been much misunderstood
(see H. Hitzig—H. Bliimner ad loc), presumably means a bronze cista. On the lid of it
stood three archaic figures—an arrangement familiar to us from extant specimens (e.g. the
' Ficoroni '-cista, on which see Gerhard Etr. Spiegel' ii. 14 ff. pi. 2, P..O. Brondsted den
Ficoroniske Cista Kjobenhavn 1847, E. Braun Die Ficoronische Cista des collegio Romano
Leipzig 1849, O- Jahn Die Ficoronische Cista Leipzig 1852, Baumeister Denkm. i. 453 f.
fig. 500, Forrer Realle^. p. i48f. fig. 146; the handle of another cista from Palestrina in
Brit. Mas. Cat. Bronzes p. 106 no. 643). Lykeas, as an Argive poet (Paus. 1. 13. 8fi, 2.
19. 5, 2. 23. 8), followed local tradition. And it is possible that the bones in the cista
really were those of some early chieftain worshipped after his death as Zeus M^a^eta (for
whom see infra § 9 (h) i). Argive inscriptions further allude to the cult of Zeus Ne^tetos
(Inscr. Gr. Pelop. i no. 602, 14 ff. /cat dtiaavTa tG> Att tw Ne/xetco e/caro/xj^^f, ib. no. 606,
1 if. = Corp. inscr. Gr. i no. 1123, r2f. = W. Prellwitz in Collitz—Bechtel Gr. Dial.-
Inschr. ii. 1. 131 f. no. 3293, 12 f. dvcravrd re /cat tuj Att tu> JN'e/xetw eKa\rbv[iav irpQiTov /cat
fibvov) and Zeus"Ti/'icrTos (Inscr. Gr. Felop. i no. 620, 4 = Kaibel Epigr. Gr. no. 465. 8 -
Cougny Anth. Pal. Append. 2. 286. 8 cited snpra p. 878 n. o no. (4)).
:i I pass by Epidauros, because the evidence for a cult of Zeus Meilichios in that town
is small—in fact depends on the suggested interpretation of a single letter. See J. Baunack
'Zu den Inschriften aus Epidauros' in Philologns 1895 liv. 37 : 'Nr. 125 h. bei K. [=P.
Kabbadias Fouilles d1 Epidaure Athenes 1893 p. 57] nur 'A<ppobiras /xtXtxtas. Bl. (Askl.
S. 123) [ = C. Blinkenberg Asklepios oghans fraendcr i Hieron ved Epidauros Kobenhavn
1893 p. 123 no. 7] merkt darauf einen Zwischenraum von etwa 2 Zeichen an und hierauf
ein A, was er ansprechend als den Anfang einer zweiten Inschrift A[t6s /xtXt%tot/] erklart,'
Inscr. Gr. Pelop. i no. 1272 in letters of s. iii b.C. A<t> PO AITAS AAIAI XIAZ; [£tis -
'Acppodiras MtXt^tas. At[6s MtXi^ov].
4 Paus. 2. 9. 6 cited supra i. 520 n. 2.
I do not, of course, mean to imply that the Sicyonians were averse from the Zeus-types
of Zeus (fig. 961) being 'decidedly fine and early' is perhaps 'a reminiscence of
the head of Polycleitus' statue1.' But, in view of the large number of Argive
Zeuses2, these conjectures are admittedly uncertain.
(9) Zeus Meilichios at Sikyon.
From Argos to Sikyon3, as the crow flies, is less than five-and-twenty miles.
But in their representation of Zeus Meilichios Argives and Sicyonians differed
toto each. The former could boast a masterpiece shown to visitors as the work
of Polykleitos himself; the latter were content with an artless pyramid, not even
anthropomorphic4. Why Zeus was given this peculiar shape, we are not told.
1 Imhoof-Blumer and P. Gardner op. cit. i. 36.
2 In addition to references already given (supra i. 117 Zeus 'A0e<nos, 122 f. Zeus
Kapiaalos, 134 f. Zeus as a cuckoo, 320 and 462 Zeus with three eyes, 448 and 456 Zeus
Ne/xetos, 461 Zeus Havbirrris, ii. 704 ff. Zeus as a cuckoo, 712 ff. Zeus as partner of Hera,
875 n. 2 Zeus <i>aXa/cp6s, 892 n. 5 Zeus Aapttratos, Aapiacrevs) see Paus. 2. 19. 7 Aafaos Se
ravrd re dvedrjKe /cat ir\ri<r'wv KLovas Ik < > Atos /cat' AprepiiSos '^bavov (so most MSS.
and H. C. Schubart, who indicated the lacuna : he is followed by Sir J. G. Frazer and
H. Hitzig—H. Bliimner. Some of the older editors read is Aibs with cod. Paris c. H. C.
Schubart—E. C. Walz, L. Dindorf, and F. Spiro print /cat Atos after cod. Vindob. a. Clavier
cj.cusAids. A. Kuhn cj. £6am) where we should perhaps correct e/c Aids <Ke\evcr/j.aros> (cp.
supra i. 371 n. 1) and suppose a pillar-cult of some sort, 2. 19. 8 (iu/ibs'TeTiov Aibs [infra § 9
(h)), 2. 20. 6 /cat Atos eariv evravda iepbv 2wr%>os, 2. 21. 2 irpb be avrov 7re7rot7;rat Atos <i?i^toD
[3u)fj.bs, 2. 22. 2 iripav Se rod rd<pov (sc. of Pelasgos) x^Keiof tffTiv ov fieya, dvexei be avrb
dyd\/mra dpxa'a ' AprepaSos /cat Atos /cat 'Adrjvds. Au/ceas fxkv ovv ev rots eireaiv eTTOLTjcre
M.rixa.veus rb aya\p.a etVat Atos, /cat ' Apyeiuiv e<prj tovs evi'lKiov arpaTevaavTas evravda
b/xbcrai irapafievelv (so H. C. Schubart—E. C. Walz for Trapap.evew codd.) TroXefxovvTas, '4<tt
dv rj Tb "I\toi> e\ioaiv rj /uaxofJ-evovs reXevrrj <r<pds £Tri\df3y erepois Se e<?Tiv eipr]fxevov bard ev
Tip ^aX^eta) KelaOai TavrdXov. The word xaX/ceto^, which has been much misunderstood
(see H. Hitzig—H. Bliimner ad loc), presumably means a bronze cista. On the lid of it
stood three archaic figures—an arrangement familiar to us from extant specimens (e.g. the
' Ficoroni '-cista, on which see Gerhard Etr. Spiegel' ii. 14 ff. pi. 2, P..O. Brondsted den
Ficoroniske Cista Kjobenhavn 1847, E. Braun Die Ficoronische Cista des collegio Romano
Leipzig 1849, O- Jahn Die Ficoronische Cista Leipzig 1852, Baumeister Denkm. i. 453 f.
fig. 500, Forrer Realle^. p. i48f. fig. 146; the handle of another cista from Palestrina in
Brit. Mas. Cat. Bronzes p. 106 no. 643). Lykeas, as an Argive poet (Paus. 1. 13. 8fi, 2.
19. 5, 2. 23. 8), followed local tradition. And it is possible that the bones in the cista
really were those of some early chieftain worshipped after his death as Zeus M^a^eta (for
whom see infra § 9 (h) i). Argive inscriptions further allude to the cult of Zeus Ne^tetos
(Inscr. Gr. Pelop. i no. 602, 14 ff. /cat dtiaavTa tG> Att tw Ne/xetco e/caro/xj^^f, ib. no. 606,
1 if. = Corp. inscr. Gr. i no. 1123, r2f. = W. Prellwitz in Collitz—Bechtel Gr. Dial.-
Inschr. ii. 1. 131 f. no. 3293, 12 f. dvcravrd re /cat tuj Att tu> JN'e/xetw eKa\rbv[iav irpQiTov /cat
fibvov) and Zeus"Ti/'icrTos (Inscr. Gr. Felop. i no. 620, 4 = Kaibel Epigr. Gr. no. 465. 8 -
Cougny Anth. Pal. Append. 2. 286. 8 cited snpra p. 878 n. o no. (4)).
:i I pass by Epidauros, because the evidence for a cult of Zeus Meilichios in that town
is small—in fact depends on the suggested interpretation of a single letter. See J. Baunack
'Zu den Inschriften aus Epidauros' in Philologns 1895 liv. 37 : 'Nr. 125 h. bei K. [=P.
Kabbadias Fouilles d1 Epidaure Athenes 1893 p. 57] nur 'A<ppobiras /xtXtxtas. Bl. (Askl.
S. 123) [ = C. Blinkenberg Asklepios oghans fraendcr i Hieron ved Epidauros Kobenhavn
1893 p. 123 no. 7] merkt darauf einen Zwischenraum von etwa 2 Zeichen an und hierauf
ein A, was er ansprechend als den Anfang einer zweiten Inschrift A[t6s /xtXt%tot/] erklart,'
Inscr. Gr. Pelop. i no. 1272 in letters of s. iii b.C. A<t> PO AITAS AAIAI XIAZ; [£tis -
'Acppodiras MtXt^tas. At[6s MtXi^ov].
4 Paus. 2. 9. 6 cited supra i. 520 n. 2.
I do not, of course, mean to imply that the Sicyonians were averse from the Zeus-types