DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.14697#0330
Zeus Philios
was empowered to impregnate his bride1? Raised from mortal to immortal
1 Schol. Aristoph. pax 869 ttXclkovs yapiKbs awb ar\adp.w Treironjpevos, Sid to iroXv-
yovov, cos <p7)<ji Mevavdpos {frag. 435 {Frag. com. Gr. iv. 318 Meineke)). A. cle Gubernatis
La mythologie des plantes Paris 1882 ii. 347 refers to L. G. Gyraldus Operiun qua extant
omnium Tomus Secundus Basileae 1580 p. 485, 24 ff. Quale est illud, quod de nubentibus
dici vulgo solebat, Sesamum aut hordeum sere, aut proijce: cum fcecunditatem, &
multiplicem generationem ac fcetum significare volebant. Sunt enim huiusmodi semina
multje fcecunditatis, & vt Grseci dicunt, iroXvyova. Sed quod de sesamo dicimus, aliqui ex
eo placentam fieri solitam in nuptijs, eadem ratione tradunt.'
Boetticher Baumkultns pp. 445—455 begins his article on the myrtle by distinguishing
a lucky aspect of the plant as sacred to Aphrodite from a sepulchral aspect of it as sacred
to chthonian deities. He finds a connecting link in the cult of Venus Libitina, Aphrodite
Epitymbia, etc. I should rather suppose that both aspects are referable to the quickening
qualities of the evergreen. When a long journey was to be taken afoot, the mere carrying
of myrtle-twigs prevented fatigue. Twisted into rings without the use of iron, they cured
swelling of the groin (Plin. not. hist. 15. J24). To dream of a myrtle-wreath meant
marriage with a free-born woman and a prospect of long-lived children (Artemid. oneirocr.
r. 77). Etc., etc. A shrub of such vivifying or revivifying potency was well fitted to be
a life-token. Accordingly we hear of two sacred myrtles, which grew before the temple
of Quirinus and by their fertility or barrenness portended the fortunes of the patricians
and plebeians respectively (Plin. nat. hist. 15. 120 f.). See further A. de Gubernatis op.
cit. ii. 233—236, H. Friend Flowers and Flower Lore London 1883 ii. 688 Index s.v.
'Myrtle,' R. Folkard Plant Lore, Legends, and Lyrics London 1884 pp. 454—4;7.
These authors by no means exhaust the topic, which deserves fuller investigation. It
might, for example, be discovered that the myrtle-wreath worn by the initiate at Eleusis
(Aristoph. raw. 156, 3286°. with schol. ad loc, Istros frag. 25 {Frag. hist. Gr. i. 421
Muller) ap. schol. Soph. O. C. 681: illustrated supra i. 220 f. fig. 163, E. Liibbert in the
Ann. d. Lnst. 1865 xxxvii. 82 ff. pi. F = L. Stephani in the Compte-rendu St. Pet. 1868
p. i6o=F. Lenormant in Daremberg—Saglio Diet. Ant. ii. 570 fig. 2637 = Reinach Rep.
Vases i. 313, 1 f.) or by the Orphic devotee {supra p. 555) marked him as the prospective
consort of a chthonian deity. The botanical fact underlying these beliefs is the poly-
spermous nature of the myrtle: ' The fruit is a purplish berry, consisting of the receptacle
and the ovary blended into one succulent investment enclosing very numerous minute
seeds' (The Encyclopedia Britannica11 Cambridge 1911 xix. 115).
The poppy has an even greater wealth of tiny seeds. Hence it made for fertility, and be-
came the attribute of various mother-goddesses. A. de Gubernatis op. cit. ii. 284 quotes from
L. G. Gyraldus op. cit. ii. 468, 39 f. the dictum 'papauer fertilitatis & vrbis symbolum fuit'
[where, however, we should restore orbis, cp. Cornut. theol. 28 p. 56, 8 ff. Lang ava.Tidea.cn
5' ainrrj {sc. rfj ArjfxrjTpi) Kal tixs p,t)KWvas /caret \6yov • to re yap ffTpoyyvXov Kai irepupeph
avTuiv irapiaTrjcn to axvf111 TVS 7^s ctpaipoeiSovs otfcnjs, 77 re dvoop-aXia ras K0iX6ry]Tas Kai ras
e^o%a? tQv opQv, to. 5' evTos rocs dvTpwbeai Kai virovop.ois 'ioiKe, <jirepp.aT& re dvapiQp.i)Ta
yevvwaiv coenrep i] yrj]. The poppy of Demeter (Gruppe Gr. Myth. Rel. p. 1179 n- 2) was
passed on to Rhea (id. ib. p. 1542 n. 1) and to Isis (W. Drexler in Roscher Lex. Myth. ii.
450 ff. fig.). Kanachos made for the Sicyonians a chryselephantine Aphrodite with a
poppy in one hand, an apple in the other (Paus. 2. 10. 5): and here again the influence
of Demeter may be suspected; for certain persons derived the old name of Sikyon,
~Slr]Kow7], from the 'poppy,' p.r\Ku>v, which Demeter there first discovered (et. mag. p. 583,
56 f. : but cp. Ov.fast. 4. 531 ff., Serv. and interp. Serv. in Verg. georg. i. 212). Poppy-
heads, as well as myrtle-wreaths, played their part in the Eleusinian initiation {supra i.
425 f- fig- 3°7 f-)-
Lastly, o-icr6p.l3pioi> or ' bergamot-mint' {mentha aquaticd) was used for the bride-
groom's garland (schol. Aristoph. av. 160), not merely because its branches, leaves, etc.
were sweet-scented (Theophr. hist. pi. 6. 6. 2 and frag. 4, 27 ap. Athen. 689 d, Nik.
georg. frag. 2. 57 ap. Athen. 684 b), but on account of its aphrodisiac properties. If the
was empowered to impregnate his bride1? Raised from mortal to immortal
1 Schol. Aristoph. pax 869 ttXclkovs yapiKbs awb ar\adp.w Treironjpevos, Sid to iroXv-
yovov, cos <p7)<ji Mevavdpos {frag. 435 {Frag. com. Gr. iv. 318 Meineke)). A. cle Gubernatis
La mythologie des plantes Paris 1882 ii. 347 refers to L. G. Gyraldus Operiun qua extant
omnium Tomus Secundus Basileae 1580 p. 485, 24 ff. Quale est illud, quod de nubentibus
dici vulgo solebat, Sesamum aut hordeum sere, aut proijce: cum fcecunditatem, &
multiplicem generationem ac fcetum significare volebant. Sunt enim huiusmodi semina
multje fcecunditatis, & vt Grseci dicunt, iroXvyova. Sed quod de sesamo dicimus, aliqui ex
eo placentam fieri solitam in nuptijs, eadem ratione tradunt.'
Boetticher Baumkultns pp. 445—455 begins his article on the myrtle by distinguishing
a lucky aspect of the plant as sacred to Aphrodite from a sepulchral aspect of it as sacred
to chthonian deities. He finds a connecting link in the cult of Venus Libitina, Aphrodite
Epitymbia, etc. I should rather suppose that both aspects are referable to the quickening
qualities of the evergreen. When a long journey was to be taken afoot, the mere carrying
of myrtle-twigs prevented fatigue. Twisted into rings without the use of iron, they cured
swelling of the groin (Plin. not. hist. 15. J24). To dream of a myrtle-wreath meant
marriage with a free-born woman and a prospect of long-lived children (Artemid. oneirocr.
r. 77). Etc., etc. A shrub of such vivifying or revivifying potency was well fitted to be
a life-token. Accordingly we hear of two sacred myrtles, which grew before the temple
of Quirinus and by their fertility or barrenness portended the fortunes of the patricians
and plebeians respectively (Plin. nat. hist. 15. 120 f.). See further A. de Gubernatis op.
cit. ii. 233—236, H. Friend Flowers and Flower Lore London 1883 ii. 688 Index s.v.
'Myrtle,' R. Folkard Plant Lore, Legends, and Lyrics London 1884 pp. 454—4;7.
These authors by no means exhaust the topic, which deserves fuller investigation. It
might, for example, be discovered that the myrtle-wreath worn by the initiate at Eleusis
(Aristoph. raw. 156, 3286°. with schol. ad loc, Istros frag. 25 {Frag. hist. Gr. i. 421
Muller) ap. schol. Soph. O. C. 681: illustrated supra i. 220 f. fig. 163, E. Liibbert in the
Ann. d. Lnst. 1865 xxxvii. 82 ff. pi. F = L. Stephani in the Compte-rendu St. Pet. 1868
p. i6o=F. Lenormant in Daremberg—Saglio Diet. Ant. ii. 570 fig. 2637 = Reinach Rep.
Vases i. 313, 1 f.) or by the Orphic devotee {supra p. 555) marked him as the prospective
consort of a chthonian deity. The botanical fact underlying these beliefs is the poly-
spermous nature of the myrtle: ' The fruit is a purplish berry, consisting of the receptacle
and the ovary blended into one succulent investment enclosing very numerous minute
seeds' (The Encyclopedia Britannica11 Cambridge 1911 xix. 115).
The poppy has an even greater wealth of tiny seeds. Hence it made for fertility, and be-
came the attribute of various mother-goddesses. A. de Gubernatis op. cit. ii. 284 quotes from
L. G. Gyraldus op. cit. ii. 468, 39 f. the dictum 'papauer fertilitatis & vrbis symbolum fuit'
[where, however, we should restore orbis, cp. Cornut. theol. 28 p. 56, 8 ff. Lang ava.Tidea.cn
5' ainrrj {sc. rfj ArjfxrjTpi) Kal tixs p,t)KWvas /caret \6yov • to re yap ffTpoyyvXov Kai irepupeph
avTuiv irapiaTrjcn to axvf111 TVS 7^s ctpaipoeiSovs otfcnjs, 77 re dvoop-aXia ras K0iX6ry]Tas Kai ras
e^o%a? tQv opQv, to. 5' evTos rocs dvTpwbeai Kai virovop.ois 'ioiKe, <jirepp.aT& re dvapiQp.i)Ta
yevvwaiv coenrep i] yrj]. The poppy of Demeter (Gruppe Gr. Myth. Rel. p. 1179 n- 2) was
passed on to Rhea (id. ib. p. 1542 n. 1) and to Isis (W. Drexler in Roscher Lex. Myth. ii.
450 ff. fig.). Kanachos made for the Sicyonians a chryselephantine Aphrodite with a
poppy in one hand, an apple in the other (Paus. 2. 10. 5): and here again the influence
of Demeter may be suspected; for certain persons derived the old name of Sikyon,
~Slr]Kow7], from the 'poppy,' p.r\Ku>v, which Demeter there first discovered (et. mag. p. 583,
56 f. : but cp. Ov.fast. 4. 531 ff., Serv. and interp. Serv. in Verg. georg. i. 212). Poppy-
heads, as well as myrtle-wreaths, played their part in the Eleusinian initiation {supra i.
425 f- fig- 3°7 f-)-
Lastly, o-icr6p.l3pioi> or ' bergamot-mint' {mentha aquaticd) was used for the bride-
groom's garland (schol. Aristoph. av. 160), not merely because its branches, leaves, etc.
were sweet-scented (Theophr. hist. pi. 6. 6. 2 and frag. 4, 27 ap. Athen. 689 d, Nik.
georg. frag. 2. 57 ap. Athen. 684 b), but on account of its aphrodisiac properties. If the