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)

922 The stone siderites or oreites

death of Paris. But how came Helenos to give such fateful advice?
It was because Phoibos Apollon had bestowed upon him—
A voiceful stone, the unerring siderites,
Which some the live oreites please to call,
Round, somewhat rough, strong, black of hue, and dense,
While over and about it every way
Stretch sinews like to wrinkles drawn upon it1.
For ten days Helenos observed rules of ceremonial purity touching
bed and bath and food. Meantime he washed the wise stone2 in
flowing water, and tended it like a babe with clean garments. He
offered sacrifices to it as if it were a god, and brought breath into
it by the use of potent spells3. He lit lights in his hall, and dandled
the godfearing stone4 in his arms as a mother might dandle her
infant. Anyone who does the same will at last hear the stone utter
a cry like that of a new-born babe whimpering for milk. It will
then and there answer truly any questions that you may choose to
ask it. After which, if you lift it and look closely at it, you can see
it die down in wondrous fashion6. It was through hearkening to
this prophetic stone6 that Helenos told the sons of Atreus how his
fatherland mi°;ht be taken.

... . f

Helenos the seer was, like his sister Helene, a genuine figure oi

Trojan mythology. And Troy was dominated by the mountain'

range of Ide, where iron was first discovered by the Idaeafl

Daktyloi7—Kelmis, Damnameneus, and Akmon—servants of th^

mountain-mother8. It was, therefore, natural that the ' iron-stone

or ' mountain-stone' described by Damigeron should sooner or latef

be connected with Helenos. Moreover, it is often maintained that

the earliest iron to be worked was meteoric iron9. That is doubt

1 Orph. lith. 360 ff. rip yap 'ATrdXXuv $o?/3os ^xea> fMov abS-qcvTa. | SwKe aidvP^
vqiieprea' tov pa fipoToicriv j rjvSavev aXkoicriv Ka\4eLV £p,^vxov dpelryjv, \ yvpbv, virorp^X
vrifiapbv, p,€\avbxpoa, irvKvbv j dfj.(pl 6e p.iv k6k\(j) irepl t dp.<pi re iravrodev Ives \ i^6?
pvrl&epGLv €TTLypafib''qv ravvovrai.

2 lb. 369 irtrpov ex^/joea. ^

3 lb. 371 f. /cat 6ebv cos \nraprjtJLv apeacrdjievos BvatrjffL, | \dav inrepiJ.ev£e(jffi.v a0i
gpLirvoov £pbev.

4 lb. 374 8eou5ea Tvirpov. 6 lb. 387 Qeaireolws yap d7ro\pbxovTa pofoel*

c lb. 389 <poifirjTopi Xai. 7 Supra ii. 949 n. 5. , e;

8 Phoronh frag. 1 Kinkel ap. schol. Ap. Rhod. 1. 1129 ivda yb-qres | 'ISaloi ^PjM
dvdpes dpforepoi oIkC eVcucw, | KA^ucj Aafivapt-evebs re pUyas Kal virtpplios "A/c/xwv, | €UirCi ft
IXol dcpdirovres bpel-qs 'AS/^crre/^s, j ol irp&TOt r^x^v 7ro\vp.r}Tios 'Htpalaroto \ e^P
oipeiri<Ti vairais, ibevra atS-qpof, \ es irvp r' -qvtyKav Kal dpnrpewh ipyov SSei^av. . ,j(

9 V. X. M. Zippe Geschichte der Metalle Wien 1857 p. nof. ('Erne Masse ®\
Art war es ohne Zweifel, an welcher der erste Schniied das Eisen kennen 'e" u,
H. Bliimner Technologie und Termiuologie der Gewerbe und Kiinste Leipzig 1 fit
207 f. (' Man nimmt nun vielfach an, und es ist das ja auch sehr leicht mdglich,
Schmiedearbeit ihre ersten Versuche—selbstverstandlich nicht zu einem besti