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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#0601

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Zeus Ombrios

525

(g) Zeus Ombrios.

Lykophron in his Alexandra speaks of Elis as—

the rock of Molpis,
Whose body was cut up for Zeus the Showery1.

This enigmatic allusion is expounded as follows by the scholiast
and by Tzetzes2. Elis once suffered from a prolonged drought, till
the inhabitants consulted an oracle and were bidden to offer Zeus
a human sacrifice. The victim was to be a boy of noble parentage.
Thereupon a young Elean named Molpis volunteered for the post.

0 sooner was he slain than a copious rain fell. So the Eleans in
Memory of the event set up a sanctuary of Zeus Ombrios, 1 the
Showery,' in which was to be seen a statue of Molpis.

Is this to be taken as serious fact or sensational fiction ?
• Schvvenn3 in his monograph on human sacrifice among the
reeks and Romans simply ignores the case of Molpis. But the
antiquarian lore of Alexandrine scholars was in general trustworthy,
we have already found traces of human sacrifice in the cult of
^Us at Lyttos in Crete4, of Zeus Atabyrios in Rhodes and Sicily5,
Zeus Laphystios in Thessaly6 and Boiotia7, of Zeus Ithomdtas in
,^essene8, and of Zeus Lykaios in Arkadia9. Indeed, it is precisely
connexion with Zeus that such primitive traits were likely to
gi\t ' rain-supply, vital to every early community, was

that" °r ^^held by him. It was on account of a persistent drought
jj^. ^-thamas proposed to sacrifice Phrixos and Helle, and after
^ lr escape was himself all but immolated at the altar of Zeus10.
face^1' Was when the crops failed and famine stared them in the
sa t^le Arcac!ians nacj recourse to human sacrifice at the

ary of Zeus Lykaios, whose priest was official rain-maker for

Lyk. AJ c 1
"^■pav ' 159 *• M6\tti5os ireTpnv, \ rod Ti-qvl SairpevdevTos 'O/j-jSpiip With

^rPa jif' ^fUS* ^' 24* 5 *arL ^ Ka^ P-^Vf^a T<P Hvppuvi ou Troppu) rod 'HXetwi/ ao"7eais*
T^ "-PXuiov T<t' T° foopo-t Myerai < 5e (ins. F. L. Abresch) > us ij Herpa. Sijfios efij

Schol T 1.

"'aiVei toO ' ' a^XM»" KovraaxovTos Trji>'"B.\iv exP"Qa®V atpayiaoai airoiis 4ttI rrj

^Ppd-yT; oeTi"^'0" 7ra'^a e^yevV> toJ (<r<f>a.yla<rai> eKovra MoXttik Tiva Xey6p.evov, Kal evdiois
^'"X7r!oos * 01 ^ H^eioi i-rcol-qaav '0/i.f3ptov'Aids Itpbv, iv 1} euTiv avSptas rod M6\iri5os.
B*e'°s eCv ' ViTfav r** *HW" 0'7<"", K.7-.X. = Tzetz. in Lyk. Al. 160 M6Xttis yap tis
^y^"ovs v(ov auXMoO KCLTatTxivTos Trjv'UXiy Ik XPVCV-0" &kt]kou>s iravdTjvai rbv a\>xp.bv
^PP^t) verb,. ,^a')"ct<r^''TOS TV Aii aiVos eavrw ZSuKev els a<j>ayT)v Kal ebdtas ercpaycaadivTos
^TiJoj ^ei01 & lepbv 'Ofifiptov Albs en-olrjaay, h ifi 'iaraTai Kal avdpias M.6\iri5os.

3 F- Schw^<?XpC"' -7"l?" 'HX£" tf""""' K-T-x-
2o2. Wenn Die Metischetwpfer bei den Griechen und Romem Giessen 1915 pp. 1—

Supra j. 6 ff

, s'tpra i 1 SuPra 924 n- °- Sutra u" 9°4 n-

" Supra i 4'4ff-> "■ 899 n. t. " Supra ii. 890 n. 6. 9 Supra i. 70ff.

' 415 f> 11 Supra i. 76.
 
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