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)

The Arrhephoroi

177

a phrase that reminds us of Demeter Chide, Demeter the 'Grass,' at
Athens1.

Myth. Vat. 1. 94, 1. 107), not only founded the town and temple of Eryx (Diod. 4. 83,
Myth. Vat. 2. 156), but was also buried on the mountain (Hyg. fab. 260, Serv. in Verg.
Aen. 1. 570, Myth. Vat. 2. 156).

All these traits are consistent with the view (R. v. Scala in the Historische Zeitschrift
1912 cviii. 18, Liibker Reallex? p. 344) that Aphrodite "EpvKlv-q was a mountain-mother of
the 'Minoan' kind, who as such would have her sacred tree and doves and pdredros. In
a long-established cult sundry features may well have been imported from alien sources.
The service of hierodules is suggestive of oriental influence (H. Hepding in Pauly—Wissowa
Real-Enc. viii. 1467, D. G. Hogarth in J. Hastings Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics
Edinburgh 1913 vi. 671 b—672 b), and many scholars have been content to regard this
Aphrodite as a Hellenised form of the Phoenician Astarte (e.g. W. H. Roscher in his
Lex. Myth. i. 396, T. G. Pinches in J. Hastings op. cit. 1908 i. 767 a, L. B. Paton ib.
1909 ii. 118a, W. W. Baudissin Adonis and Esmun Leipzig 1911 pp. 18 f., 23 n. I, 26,
38, 273); even Nilsson Gr. Feste p. 374 dismisses her as 'ganz semitisch.' But the hound
on coins of Eryx should hardly be compared with the sacred dogs of Hephaistos (Hadran)
on Mt Aitne (supra ii. 630): it is simply due to the dependence of Eryx on Segesta,
whose city-badge was a similar hound (C. Hiilsen in Pauly—Wissowa Rcal-Enc. vi. 603).

The tradition that the eponymous Eryx was defeated by Herakles (Hdt. 5. 43) in a
wrestling-match for the kingdom (Paus. 3. 16. 4 f., 4. 36. 4), or for possession of the bull
which had broken away from the cattle of Geiyones (Apollod. 2. 5. 10, cp. Lyk. Al. 866 f.:
see further K. Tiimpel in Pauly—Wissowa Real-Enc. vi. 604 ff.), appears later in a slightly
different form. Eryx is a wrestler or pentathlete, who challenges strangers and slays
them till he is himself slain by Herakles (Tzetz. in Lyk. Al. 866, 958). In any case this
ranges him with Phorbas, Kyknos, Kerkyon, Antaios, Amykos, and other early kings
(I have discussed the series in Folk-Lore 1904 xv. 376 ff.), whose primitive rule of
succession is the starting-point of Sir J. G. Frazer's Golden Bough. It is not impossible
that Eryx king of the Elymoi and Virbius the rex Nemorensis belonged to the same
(? Ligurian: C. Hiilsen in Pauly—Wissowa Real-Enc- v. 2467) stratum of the population
of Italy.

1 At the western end of the southern slope of the Akropolis at Athens there was in the
time of Pausanias a joint-sanctuary of Ge Kovporpoipos and Demeter X\6r} (Paus. 1. 22. 3
'4<rri de Kai Trjs Kovporpotpov Kai Arj/^ijrpos lepbv XXot^s. ra de es ras eTruvvp.las '4artv avrdv
8Ldax@yvat rt"s iepevaiv eXdbvra es \6yovs). Originally, however, the two cults had been
distinct. The enclosure of Ge Kovporpoipos was called the Kovporpoipiov, as we know from
three boundary-stones, one early (Corp. inscr. Att. iv. 1 no. 555 c [K]oty>o[t]/>60[ioj']), the
others later (S. A. Koumanoudes in ' K6-i]vaiov 1877 vi. 147 f.). Adjoining it was the
shrine of Blaute (Corp. inscr. Att. iii. 1 no. 411 etaobos irpbs ct)\kov BXatfrijs Kal\
Kovporpoipov di/eilfjueV]?) rS> Srjfiwi, cp. Hesych. BXai/n;- tottos 'AOr/vya and perhaps
Poll. 7. 87 i) be (3\aijT7] aavbaXiou ri eTSos, Kai ijpios 'Xd-qvqaiv 6 eiri fiXavr-r}' avidr)Ke yap
Tts aKvroTofios ftXavrTjs Xidivov rvirov : see further O. Kern in Pauly—Wissowa Real-Enc.
iii. 560 f. and Svoronos Aih. Nationalmus. no. 2565 p. 484 ff. pi. 60 with figs. 231—235,
no. 969 p- 509 pi. 184).

Demeter XX677 had a sacred table (Corp. inscr. Att. ii. 1 no. 631, 16 ff. = Michel Recueil
d'Inscr. gr. 110.673, ]6 ff- = J. v. Prott and L. Ziehen Leges Graecornm sacrae ii no. 24,
16 ff. an inscription dating from the early part of s. iv B.C. and admitting of fairly certain
restoration A^/aijrpos XX017S ifpe[/ai Upeuiawa: P :8eiOiQ|ai Kpewv, lrvpdiv tuxUktcu: III:
M^[Xitos kot6\t]S : 111 : e'Xai]]o rpiwv kotv\wi' : I C : ippvyavuv : 11: e'[iri 5e ttjv Tpairefav /cJIwX^c,
v\cvp6v iVx'o) vp-lKpaipalv x°P<>vs]. Cp. H. Mischkowski Die heiligen Tische im Gbtter-
kultus dcr Griechen und Rimer Kdnigsberg i. Pr. 1917 p. 29) and probably a small
temple (Corp. inscr. Att. ii. 1 no. 375, 3 ff. an inscription from the end of s. iii B.C.
[a]v[aypa\//ai. Si] | roSe t6 \j/rjipioixa rbv y\f\a^pja\Tia t][b]v Kara irpvTavdav iv ott^Xt;!
Nc]|0Z>>e! Kai arrival. ira[pa \ rbv v[euv t^s] | Armyrpos. U. Kdhler in the Ath. Mitth. 1877
ii- 177 pointed out that this vttis was probably that of Demeter XXori). A fragmentary

C. 111. 12