DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.13851#0214
192
Ot THE RELIU10N Oh' GREECE,
Such as these were offered to the Eumenides ; for which Suidas (J) gives
this reason, viz. That divine justice ought always to be vigilant. He
likewise adds, that at Athens such oblations were made to the nymphs, to
Venus Urania, Mnemosyne, the Morning, the Moon, and the Sun ; and
there seems to have been a particular reason, why every one of these
were honoured with such oblations. For instance, Lustathius (2) tells
us, that ^oney was offered to the Sun, but wine was never used upon any
altar dedicated to him ; because he, by whom all things are encompass-
ed and held together, ought to be temperate. Plutarch (3) says, that these
va<pxXiei 3-ftf:'ai were often performed to Bacchus, for no other reason than
that men might not always be accustomed to strong and unmixed wines.
Pausanias affirms, that the Eleans never offered wine to the Asffwoiva:!, i. e.
Ceres and Proserpina, nor at the altar dedicated to all the gods. To Plu-
to, instead of wine, oil was offered, as Virgil (4) witnesseth ; and Ho-
mer (5) brings in Ulysses telling Aicinous, that he had made an oblation
to the infernal gods, in which he poured forth first wine mixed with ho.-
£iey, then pure wine, and after all water. His words are these :
BoQpOV dpij£-t Gff"GVT£ 'TTVyHTlOV iv8St X, 6v6Si '
TlpaTa. fxixixpriTw, /xiriTTHTdi S'\ iiSa B/va>,
To tp.Toy avij' 5J\tT< i7r\ cT' Hxpirct mv*& TffiTcOWi
---with my faulchion drawn
1 scoop'd an hollow trench in measur'd length
And breadth, a cubit, and libation pour'd
Around tor all the nations of the dead,
First, milk with honey mixt, then luscious wine.
Then water; sprinkling, last, meal overall. cowpek.
But concerning the oblations of the infernal gods, I shall discourse in
another place.
There were also other gods, to whom, in certain places, they sacrificed
without wine ; such was Jupiter oWros, the supreme, upon whose altar
the Athenians never offered wine or living creatures. The rtiQaki* \iqc&,
sober sacrifices, are divided into four sorts : 1. <r« v^od^-ov^a, libations of
mater ;»2. ra (xs^i'tf^ov^x, libations of honey; 3. t'a yaXaxrotfTrovJa, liba-
tions of 'ilk ; 4. Tot tXuiorftfavS'u, libations of oil. Which liquors were
sometimes mixed with one another. If Porphyry (f>) may be • credited,
most of the libations in the primitive times were w^a'ktot. And of these,
water was first used, then honey, which is easily to be had, afterwards
oil, and in later ages, wine came to be offered. It is very probable, whe-
ther this order was observed or not, that the most primitive oblations,
like the way of living in those ages, were exceeding simple, and consist-
ed of such materials as were most easily to be provided.
Lastly, it must be farther observed, that libations were always offered
in cups full to the brim, it being a sort of irreverence to the gods to pre-
sent any thing which was not tbxsiov i o\ov, whole and perfect. Thus to
fill the cup was termed e^ifitpsn xgarfya, to crown it; and the cup so fill-
ed, tni?i<$tj$ si'voio, crowned with wine, rfror utI^ ^siXjjs itoislrut arS d'iciri
7r.°T8~ire<putv'r&ar the liquor appearing above the cup in the form of a crown.
(1) Voce Nnpd*.
<l2) Odyss. x.
De sanitate
(4) iEn. vi. 254.
;5) Odyss. xi. v. 25.
ifi) De Abstinent, lib, ii
Ot THE RELIU10N Oh' GREECE,
Such as these were offered to the Eumenides ; for which Suidas (J) gives
this reason, viz. That divine justice ought always to be vigilant. He
likewise adds, that at Athens such oblations were made to the nymphs, to
Venus Urania, Mnemosyne, the Morning, the Moon, and the Sun ; and
there seems to have been a particular reason, why every one of these
were honoured with such oblations. For instance, Lustathius (2) tells
us, that ^oney was offered to the Sun, but wine was never used upon any
altar dedicated to him ; because he, by whom all things are encompass-
ed and held together, ought to be temperate. Plutarch (3) says, that these
va<pxXiei 3-ftf:'ai were often performed to Bacchus, for no other reason than
that men might not always be accustomed to strong and unmixed wines.
Pausanias affirms, that the Eleans never offered wine to the Asffwoiva:!, i. e.
Ceres and Proserpina, nor at the altar dedicated to all the gods. To Plu-
to, instead of wine, oil was offered, as Virgil (4) witnesseth ; and Ho-
mer (5) brings in Ulysses telling Aicinous, that he had made an oblation
to the infernal gods, in which he poured forth first wine mixed with ho.-
£iey, then pure wine, and after all water. His words are these :
BoQpOV dpij£-t Gff"GVT£ 'TTVyHTlOV iv8St X, 6v6Si '
TlpaTa. fxixixpriTw, /xiriTTHTdi S'\ iiSa B/va>,
To tp.Toy avij' 5J\tT< i7r\ cT' Hxpirct mv*& TffiTcOWi
---with my faulchion drawn
1 scoop'd an hollow trench in measur'd length
And breadth, a cubit, and libation pour'd
Around tor all the nations of the dead,
First, milk with honey mixt, then luscious wine.
Then water; sprinkling, last, meal overall. cowpek.
But concerning the oblations of the infernal gods, I shall discourse in
another place.
There were also other gods, to whom, in certain places, they sacrificed
without wine ; such was Jupiter oWros, the supreme, upon whose altar
the Athenians never offered wine or living creatures. The rtiQaki* \iqc&,
sober sacrifices, are divided into four sorts : 1. <r« v^od^-ov^a, libations of
mater ;»2. ra (xs^i'tf^ov^x, libations of honey; 3. t'a yaXaxrotfTrovJa, liba-
tions of 'ilk ; 4. Tot tXuiorftfavS'u, libations of oil. Which liquors were
sometimes mixed with one another. If Porphyry (f>) may be • credited,
most of the libations in the primitive times were w^a'ktot. And of these,
water was first used, then honey, which is easily to be had, afterwards
oil, and in later ages, wine came to be offered. It is very probable, whe-
ther this order was observed or not, that the most primitive oblations,
like the way of living in those ages, were exceeding simple, and consist-
ed of such materials as were most easily to be provided.
Lastly, it must be farther observed, that libations were always offered
in cups full to the brim, it being a sort of irreverence to the gods to pre-
sent any thing which was not tbxsiov i o\ov, whole and perfect. Thus to
fill the cup was termed e^ifitpsn xgarfya, to crown it; and the cup so fill-
ed, tni?i<$tj$ si'voio, crowned with wine, rfror utI^ ^siXjjs itoislrut arS d'iciri
7r.°T8~ire<putv'r&ar the liquor appearing above the cup in the form of a crown.
(1) Voce Nnpd*.
<l2) Odyss. x.
De sanitate
(4) iEn. vi. 254.
;5) Odyss. xi. v. 25.
ifi) De Abstinent, lib, ii