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Cook, Arthur B.
Zeus: a study in ancient religion (Band 3,1): Zeus god of the dark sky (earthquake, clouds, wind, dew, rain, meteorits): Text and notes — Cambridge, 1940

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https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.14698#0095

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Nephelokokkygia 5 5

3 Supra ii. 777.

On the wopcpvpluy or 'purple gallinule' (Porphyria hyacinthinus or veterum) see
D'Arcy W. Thompson A Glossary of Greek Birds Oxford 1895 p. 150, A. Newton
A Dictionary of Birds London 1896 p. 591, and the enthusiastic description in O. Keller
Die antike Tierwelt Leipzig 1913 ii. 209: 'Wenn die wundervoll metallglanzenden
blauen Hiihner truppweise durch die reifen goldigblonden Ahrenfelder streifen, entsteht
eine ganz einzige Farbenwirkung.' Dionys. de avid. i. 25 (prose paraphrase in Didot's
Poeta Bucolici et Didactici p. in) (crn Se Kal iroptpvpiuv iiro rijs xPmSs Ka\oip.evoi>
opveov epvBpbv airy t& pd/j.<pas eari, Kal Kara Kdpa\ijs e%ei wawep jiva inhov, otvo'iows
01 To^bra.1 UeptriKoi 0opoD<rr k.t.X. Despite this warlike appearance, the bird is easily
captured (id. ib. 3. 21 (p. I24 Didot))—a piquant contrast to the Tloptpvplav of verse 1252,
cp. Mart. ep. 13. 78. 1 nomen habet magni volucris tarn parva gigantis?
_ 5 The villagers of Athmonon (Steph. Byz. s.v."Afyoiw) or Athmonia (Harpokr. s.z:
ASfiovevs, Bekker anecd. i. 349, 30 s.v. 'Afffioveis, Souid. s.v. 'AS/unia (sic)), an Attic
deme, identified with the modern Marousi (from Artemis 'Ap.apvoia: see O. Jessen in
Pauly—Wissowa Real-Enc. i. 1743, K. Wernicke ib. ii. 1380, 1402 with W. Judeich's map
ib. ii. 2204) on the way from Athens to Marathon, declared that Porphyrion, who was king
in the days before Aktaios, had founded a sanctuary of (Aphrodite) Oipavla in their midst
(Paus. 1. 14. 7). From this local legend C. Wachsmuth Die Stadt Athen ittt Alterthum
Leipzig 1874 i. 413 f. inferred that Porphyrion, the prehistoric introducer of an oriental
cult, was 'identisch mit Phoinix, and gleich diesem Reprasentant der Phonikier.' This
inference, even if supported by the plea that Uop<t>vplwv means the ' Purpurmann'
(E. Curtius Peloponnesos Gotha 1852 ii. 517), is very precarious and has been definitely
rejected by U. von Wilamowitz-Moellendorff Aus Kydalhm Berlin 1880 p. 134 n. 57.
There is more to be said for the view (J. Ilberg in Roscher Lex. Myth. iii. 2779) that
Porphyrin's connexion with Athmonon points to his pedigree as the son (Nonn. Dion.
9-3I7) or brother (schol. B.L. 77. 2. 511, cp. schol. D. //. 2.499, scho1- AP- Rhod. 3- 1094)
of Athamas. It is possible too that Porphyrin's relation to Aphrodite hangs together
with the belief that she was his opponent in the Gigantomachy (schol. Aristoph. av.
553. 1252).

But the outstanding fact is that Porphyrion, like Periphas (supra ii. 1121 ff.), was
a very ancient Attic king. If he was son or brother of Athamas, he too was one of those
kmgs descended from Aiolos who played the r^of Zeus (supra ii. 1088, n22). And his
name, 'the Purple-clad,' may well have been an epithet of Zeus himself (supra i. 56 ff.).
aevius frag. 20 Baehrens, 10 Vahlen ap. Priscian. 6. 6 (i. 199, 1 Hertz) calls him
rpureus (so the second hand in cod. B. pur cod. R. with pureus added in margin by
second hand, purporeus codd. B.H. porpureus codd. G.L.K.), and we have already met
1 a Iupiter Purpurio (supra i. 58, 782). On this showing, Zeus Iloptpvpiioi> gave rise to
eus versus Porphyrion just as Athena 'E-y/tAaSos (Hesych. s.v. 'EytctXaSos '• v 'A$Vi>a)
gave rise to Athena versus Enkelados (Preller—Robert Gr. Myth. i. 69 n. 5 'Nach dem

iganten 1st angeblich Athena tytiXaSos genannt' inverts cause and effect).
We P°rphyrion was thus ah origine a prehistoric king who claimed to be Zeus incarnate,
Po nli UIU'erstand better the curious tradition that in the Gigantomachy Zeus inspired
aniorof"0" '°Ve for Hera and s'ew *"m w't'1 a thunderbolt when he made an

*eU"H S atteniP' uP°ii her (Apollod. t. 6. 2 Tlop<pvpla>v 5i 'H/>cu-\et Kara fidxv ((pAppyae
Ka'1 /Sidf A*"* " a['TV irbdov "Hpas iftfidKtr, yris Kal KarappriypivTos airov rois Tre'irXovs
4*Acr« €Cr^ai ®^°VT°s Hot)6ois iwenakeiTo' Kal Aids Kepavvwaavros airbv 'HpaK\i)i ro£ei)<ras
Hpa \~C' Tzetz. in Lyk. Al. 63 Hoptpvpiwvt Se Zei)s"H/>as iiridvixlav ep.pM.Wet Kal toutov

ra WjrAa (tovs we'TXovs codd. sec. class., se. [ohannis
descrint' T°S ™' T0" ^'°s xepawiji irX-q^avTOi avaipei). We can understand also Pindar's
v^aJruT r Porphyrion as king of the Giants (Pind. Pyth. 8. 12 TLop<pvplb>v, 17 ^aaiXeit
Ule thund 1 1 Welcker Gr- Gotterl. i. 793 11. 18): Typhos and he 'were laid low by
fooaI7 ,oh and by 'he bow of Apollon' (id. ib. 16 ff. Cp. Claud, carm. mitt. 52 (37)

Re 34 f- "4 As-

sentations of the Gigantomachy from the close of the fifth century onwards
 
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