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)

io8

Aiolos Hippotades

by drought, and sends up clouds to moisten the whole country; but if rains
should be in excess, it is shut up and puts a stop to them. The jar of the
winds, I suppose, plays the same part as the bag of Aiolos; for they open the
jar ever so little and let one of the winds blow in season, whereby the country
is refreshed.'

Other parallels to Aiolos Hippotades are collected by Sir James
Frazer1. The closest hails from the Slavonic area:

'It is said that Perdoytus, the Lithuanian Aeolus, keeps the winds enclosed
in a leathern bag; when they escape from it he pursues them, beats them, and
shuts them up again2.'

Certain features in the myth of Aiolos invite further investiga-
tion. His bag full of winds, opened by the prying followers of
Odysseus, bears at least a superficial resemblance to the pithos
or 'jar' containing evils opened by the inquisitive woman in
Hesiod's Works and Daysz, or to the pithos of Zeus containing
good things opened by the over-curious man in a fable of Babrios4.
The resemblance is increased if, with Miss J. E. Harrison5, we
accept O. Gruppe's6 conjecture that the pithos in question was that

1 Frazer Golden Bough*: The Magic Art i. 326 f.

2 Id. ib. i. 326 n. 5 after E. Veckenstedt Die Mythen, Sagen ttnd Legenden der
Zaniaiten (Litauer) Heidelberg 1883 i. 153. Sir James Frazer adds : 'The statements of
this writer, however, are to be received with caution.'

H. Usener GStternamen Bonn 1896 p. 97: '" Perdoytus gott der kaufleute, \oaperdout
verkaufen " P 27 [i.e. Matthaeus Praetorius Deliciae Prussicae oder Preussische schaubiihne
ed. W. Pierson Berlin 1871 p. 27] vgl. SI 91 (18) [i.e. A. Schleicher 'Lituanica' in the
Sitzungsber. d. kais. Akad. d. Wiss. in Wien Phil.-hist. Classe 1853 xi. 91 (= extr. p. 18)]-
das ist Pardutojis, nomen agentis vonparduti verkaufen. Doch Bardoayts Ag[i.e. Kirchen-
agende von 1530 ed. J. Bender in der Altpreussischen monatsschrift iv. 97 f.] unter
Gardoaeten. Ist Perdoytus und seine bedeutung erst von P [i.e. Matthaeus Praetorius]
um der etymologie willen construiert? vgl. Voigt, Gesch. Pr. 1, 593 anm. 1 [i.e.]. Voigt
Geschichte Preussens Konigsberg 1827 i. 593 n. 1 Gardetis nacfy DftermciKt ©. 18 ton
gardas cine ©clwaffjccvcc... Perdoytos sum Slltyreuj). perdauns scrfaufen, im Scttifrl;. pahrdoht
setfaufeit, •(janfcel treiiett. 8itca3 33a»ib 33. I. ©. 86 uetftnfcert ben Stamen in Gardiaito tint
Jjiirtfnoci) ©. 142 kfjcuiptct, baff Gardoaetos link Perdoytos ein unt terfetlje ©ctt fc»].'

If Perdoytus was really a wind-god, his name might be related to the Russian
perdeti, Slovenian prdeti, TripSop.ai, etc. (Prellwitz Etym. Wbrterb. d. Gr. Spr.2 p. 362,
Boisacq Diet. Hym. de la Langue Gr. p. 771, Walde Lat. etym. Wbrterb? p. 569) and
imply a very crude and primitive conception of the wind as ' flatus ventris.5

3 Hes. o.d. 94 ff.

4 Babr. 58. 1 ff. Zeus iv iriOw ret x/)7)ffTd iravra ffvWi^as \ 'd$t]Kev abrbv Tra/iacras Trap'
avdpdnrtp. \ 6 5' dKparijS avdpitiiros el54vat enrebdojv j rl ttot' t)v iv abr(p, /ecu to irG>p.a Kivrjoas, \
olt)k' aTreXdetv abra Trpbs Be&v oi'/eoi/s, | kclkci -jrireadaL t?Js re yrjs &vw tpeuyeiv. \ fxbvT) 5'
?p.avev t'Xirfe, i)v Ka.TeCk-n.tpu | reOiv to TrQ/ia. TOiyap iXnis dvOpdiToii | ixbvn obveffTi, twv
7re<pevy6Tui> ijfias | dyaBQv Sko(ttov iyyvwuivq oJioeiv. This rewriting of the Hesiodic myth
was obviously prompted by the later estimate of i\ir'ts as a good, not an evil.

'or the concept of a celestial store-house or treasury see H. Usener Die Sintfluth-
fl6, n Bonn 1899 p. 182 ff.

5 Miss J. E. Harrison in the Journ. Hell. Stud. 1900 xx. 99 ff., ead. Proleg. Gk. Pel.'2
pp. 169 f., 2/9 ff-

8 Gruppe Gr. Myth. Pel. pp. 94, 761 n. 9, id. Myth. Lit. 1908 p. 585 ff.