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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#0407

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34° The holed vessel in Egypt

town of Kanobos or Canopus near the most westerly mouth of the
Nile1. The Chaldaeans—we are told—endeavoured to prove that
their god, Fire, was superior to all other gods by subjecting cult-
images of bronze, silver, wood, stone, etc. to the action of fire and
pointing triumphantly to the result. They were, however, outwitted
by the priest of Kanopos. He took a terra-cotta strainer, such as
were used by the Egyptians for clarifying muddy water, that is to
say a hydrta with many small holes in it, stuffed these holes with
wax, painted the surface of the jar with various figures, filled it with
water, and set it up as a god. He completed his work by cutting °^
the head of an old image, regarded as the helmsman of Menelaos ,
and fixing the same carefully on the top of his jar. The upshot of
these preparations was that, when the Chaldaeans came and kindled
a fire round the hydrta, the wax melted, the jar appeared to sweat,

Fig. 211.

f th^

and the water issuing forth from the holes put out the fire 01
unbelievers! Hence the figure of Kanopos has tiny feet, a thin ne° >
a body swollen like that of a hydria, and a rounded back. ^
This curious narrative can be illustrated by certain amulet

ayaXftari. irapeyevovTO pierd ravra oi XaASaZoi' avrftpdy] to irvp, Kal 6 KTjpbs St ov ai rf^
(Tiiyxavov ire(ppay/j.emi SuXvero. rijs be vbptas ISpwcnjs Kal rb USap Sia ^
€Kfiak\ovo"qs, eafievvvTO to Trvp. ourw re Trj iravovpylq. tov lepe'ois b KavwTOS

cod. E.) twv XttAScttfwy vlk7)t7)s CLVcSefydT)' Kal 6\irb t6t€ \otirbv 8fOS ^Tlp^aTO. ^y£qP

The same tale, compressed, recurs in Kedren. hist. comp. 325 c (i. 57° ^ tO")
oti XaXSatot rb irvp d>s wdvTuv avaiperiKbu aifSovrai, Kal iravras robs (T. Hopfner p ^ fl

"EiW-qvoiv deovs KaTe'Spa/iov. -rrpoo-rfkdov be Kal Tip Kdviovos (sic) iepei, Kal avrbs /"IX 05
TOiouTOf els riirov dyd\/xaTos vSplav bo-TpaKivt\v KaraaKevdo-as rpiiaeis biri6i)Ke ^ 0n6"a!
K-qptp cppa^ap^evos Kal xpci,mm KaXMvas, iraXawu dyd\/j.aros diroTefJ-uii' KetpaXr]" *al ™ ^ T0S
TtS (TKevei ebtpv&s, Kal irvpl irpoaayayCcv rfKey^ev avTod tt)v io~x&v> KaTa
vdaros duoa^eoSivTos.

1 H. Kees in Pauly—Wissowa Real-Enc. x. 1869 f. - jtfylh-

- H. W. Stoll and W. Drexler in Roscher Lex. Myth. ii. 948 f-> GrupP* _JRot>ert
Rel. pp. 698 n. 1, 1569, G. Koeder in Pauly—Wissowa Real-Enc. x. 1870, Pre
Gr. Myth. ii. 1301 n. 1.
 
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