DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.13851#0210
18b
<JF THE KELIGION OF-GKELCL.
ed a priesthood at Athens by inheritance, being either descended iron*
king Eumolpus. or instituted in memory of him. The ceryces, as An-
themio the comedian in Athenaeus(l) tells us, w» re the first that taught
men to boil their vi. tuals, as the flesh of sheep and oxen, which before
they devoured raw. They were had in great honour at Athens, inso-
much, that Athenaeus endeavours to prove that the trade of a cook was
a creditable calling, from the respect ;.aid to these ceryces, who were
cooks at sacrifices, and likewise se.'tn to have performed those other holy
offices, which belonged to the Kjj^mcsS in other places. Diodorus Sicu-
lus (2) resembles them to the Egyptian pastophori, and thinks they had
their original from them ; indeed some parts of their office were much
alike, for both of them killed the victim, and attended on the sacrificers.
Neaixo^oi, called by Nicander Z*xo£oi(3), so named from xogsiV which
signifies to keep neat, and clean, or to adorn : for it was their duty to
adorn the temples, and look after the furniture of them ; but they submit-
ted not to such mean offices as the sweeping of them, as Suida.«(4) would
have it ; but herein he contradicts Euripides (5), who brings in Ion, the
Newxo^os, or Edituus of Apollo, telling Mercury that he swept the temple
with a besom of laurel. There were ateo Nao^uXaxsg, whose charge it
was to take care of the holy utensils, and see that nothing was wanting,
and to repair what went to decay, saith Aristotle (6) Sometimes the
parasiti are said to have been entrusted with the reparation of temples;
and there was a law enacted at Athens, that whatever they expended this
way should be repaid them.
There were also other priests, one of which Aristophanes (7) calls
H^oTroXas, which is a general name for any servant, and therefore to re-
strain it, he adds calling him flrgo«r*Xtrff $4#, These were priests
waiting always on the gods, whose prayers the people desired at sacri-
fices, at which they seem to have performed some other rites distinct
from those which belonged to the ceryces ; their share in the sacrifices
was the skin and feet; the tongue were the fees of the ceryces. Indeed
all that served the gods were maintained by the sacrifices and other holy
offerings. To which there is an illusion in Aristophanes (8), where Ca-
rio thus speaks to the prie>t :
Why do not you take the part allotted you by law ? Where the scholiast ob-
serves, there was a law r& u^oXji^-ofj-eva <r»?s S-vtffcts rov Isgsa X<*fji£ave<v, that
the reiiu.itis of sacrifices should belong to the priests, and that these were
dsgfiovrot, % xuiXa, '(he shifts and feet : which he has repeated in another
place (9). Thus likewise Apollo in Homer (10) promises the Cretans,
Whom he had chosen to be his priests, that they should have a mainte-
nance out of the sacrifices. Hereby, together with other advantages, the
priests, in the primitive times, >eem generally to have grown rich :
whence Chryses in Homer (11) offers for the redems>tion of his daughter
&w£££i'<r«* eeVor.a, an infinite price ; and Bares, the priest of Vulcan* is by
the same poet (12) said to have been a wealthy man ;
(1) Lib. xiv. (7) P'uto, act iii seen. 2.
(2) Lib i. (8) Pluto, act. v. seen. 2.
(3) Alexipharm, (9) In Vespas.
<4) In voc. Newkojer (10) Hvmno Apollinis, v. 535
(5) In lone, v. 121. (11; Hiad. a. 13.
(6) In Politic. (12) IUad, t. v. ?.
<JF THE KELIGION OF-GKELCL.
ed a priesthood at Athens by inheritance, being either descended iron*
king Eumolpus. or instituted in memory of him. The ceryces, as An-
themio the comedian in Athenaeus(l) tells us, w» re the first that taught
men to boil their vi. tuals, as the flesh of sheep and oxen, which before
they devoured raw. They were had in great honour at Athens, inso-
much, that Athenaeus endeavours to prove that the trade of a cook was
a creditable calling, from the respect ;.aid to these ceryces, who were
cooks at sacrifices, and likewise se.'tn to have performed those other holy
offices, which belonged to the Kjj^mcsS in other places. Diodorus Sicu-
lus (2) resembles them to the Egyptian pastophori, and thinks they had
their original from them ; indeed some parts of their office were much
alike, for both of them killed the victim, and attended on the sacrificers.
Neaixo^oi, called by Nicander Z*xo£oi(3), so named from xogsiV which
signifies to keep neat, and clean, or to adorn : for it was their duty to
adorn the temples, and look after the furniture of them ; but they submit-
ted not to such mean offices as the sweeping of them, as Suida.«(4) would
have it ; but herein he contradicts Euripides (5), who brings in Ion, the
Newxo^os, or Edituus of Apollo, telling Mercury that he swept the temple
with a besom of laurel. There were ateo Nao^uXaxsg, whose charge it
was to take care of the holy utensils, and see that nothing was wanting,
and to repair what went to decay, saith Aristotle (6) Sometimes the
parasiti are said to have been entrusted with the reparation of temples;
and there was a law enacted at Athens, that whatever they expended this
way should be repaid them.
There were also other priests, one of which Aristophanes (7) calls
H^oTroXas, which is a general name for any servant, and therefore to re-
strain it, he adds calling him flrgo«r*Xtrff $4#, These were priests
waiting always on the gods, whose prayers the people desired at sacri-
fices, at which they seem to have performed some other rites distinct
from those which belonged to the ceryces ; their share in the sacrifices
was the skin and feet; the tongue were the fees of the ceryces. Indeed
all that served the gods were maintained by the sacrifices and other holy
offerings. To which there is an illusion in Aristophanes (8), where Ca-
rio thus speaks to the prie>t :
Why do not you take the part allotted you by law ? Where the scholiast ob-
serves, there was a law r& u^oXji^-ofj-eva <r»?s S-vtffcts rov Isgsa X<*fji£ave<v, that
the reiiu.itis of sacrifices should belong to the priests, and that these were
dsgfiovrot, % xuiXa, '(he shifts and feet : which he has repeated in another
place (9). Thus likewise Apollo in Homer (10) promises the Cretans,
Whom he had chosen to be his priests, that they should have a mainte-
nance out of the sacrifices. Hereby, together with other advantages, the
priests, in the primitive times, >eem generally to have grown rich :
whence Chryses in Homer (11) offers for the redems>tion of his daughter
&w£££i'<r«* eeVor.a, an infinite price ; and Bares, the priest of Vulcan* is by
the same poet (12) said to have been a wealthy man ;
(1) Lib. xiv. (7) P'uto, act iii seen. 2.
(2) Lib i. (8) Pluto, act. v. seen. 2.
(3) Alexipharm, (9) In Vespas.
<4) In voc. Newkojer (10) Hvmno Apollinis, v. 535
(5) In lone, v. 121. (11; Hiad. a. 13.
(6) In Politic. (12) IUad, t. v. ?.