DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.13851#0245
OF THE RELIGION OP GRELCtL.
223
She beat the ground, and call'd the powers beneath
On her own son to wreak her brother's death :
Hell heard her curses from the realms profound
And the red fiends that walk'd the nightly round. fope.
Hence it was customary for men condemned for any notorious crime, to
be publicly cursed by the priests. This befel Alcibiades, against whom,
beside banishment and confiscation, the Athenians *ri xaTa£*s()«i ir^di^i}-
tpiVauro rnitras hppi$ nai ieguaf,' decreed that he should be cursed by all the
priests and priestesses. Which decree was obeyed by all who then held
that office, except Theano, who professed herself ev/^at « xciTagu? ls£s»'»
eev yeyovevui. to be by her office of priesthood appointed to bless and not to
curse.
There is likewise frequent mention of imprecations in the Roman af-
fairs and authors Thus when Crassus undertook that fatal expedition
against the Parthians, wherein he perished, o ATyies nrgotffguiiav #£o? tjj»
Tt>A«», i6i]xev ep%a.gidtt xaie/XfV/jv, £ <r«u Kgatftfa ysve^sva x*V avrov, eVitfufJWWv
xat xaraifTsy^stv, irfvgure Ssivdg a<J<r»> $ 0f>tK.a8eiS' Jiteius running to
the gate of the city, placed there a vessel full of burning coals upon which
he offered odours and libations, and pronounced most dreadful curses against
Crassus, as he passed by (1). And we are informed by Pliny (£) that di-
ris deprecationibus defigi, nemo non metuit: ' All men are afraid of impre-
cations.' There being no way to avoid or expiate their direful effects,
according to Horace (3) : •
Diris agam vos: dira ddestatio
Nulla expiatur victim^.
For while I curse the direful deed
In vain shall all your victims bleed. francis.
And that the same practice was used in other parts of the world, ap=-
pears from the sacred writings : wherein Jonathan, after he had gained
a glorious victory over the enemies of his country, is reported to have
been reduced to the last extremity by the imprecations of Saul, his fa-
ther and king (4). And Joshua is said to have pronounced a solemn curse
upon the person who should rebuild Jericho (5) ; which was fulfilled up-
on Hiel many ages after (6). Balaam the magician w*as sent for by Ba-
lak, king of Moab, to curse his enemies the Israelites (7). The patri-
arch Jacob is introduced distributing his blessings to some of his children
(which was a custom no less ancient than the other), and his curses to
Reuben, Simeon, and Levi (8). Noah, the father of a new world, pro-
nounced an imprecation upon his grandson Canaan (9), which had its ef-
fect a long time after. And the practice seems to have been derived
from the curses pronounced by God upon Adam, and afterwards upon
Cain.
(1) Appianus in Parthico Conf. Cicero de Di» (5) Josh. vi. 26,
vin. lib. i. (6) 1 Reg. 34.
(2) Nat. Hist. lib. xxviii. cap, 2. (7) Numer. xxii. 5, 6, &c
(3) Epod. v. ver. 89. (8) Gen. xlix. 3, 4.
(4 1 Sam. xiv. 24. (9) Ibid, ix. 25, 26,27.
223
She beat the ground, and call'd the powers beneath
On her own son to wreak her brother's death :
Hell heard her curses from the realms profound
And the red fiends that walk'd the nightly round. fope.
Hence it was customary for men condemned for any notorious crime, to
be publicly cursed by the priests. This befel Alcibiades, against whom,
beside banishment and confiscation, the Athenians *ri xaTa£*s()«i ir^di^i}-
tpiVauro rnitras hppi$ nai ieguaf,' decreed that he should be cursed by all the
priests and priestesses. Which decree was obeyed by all who then held
that office, except Theano, who professed herself ev/^at « xciTagu? ls£s»'»
eev yeyovevui. to be by her office of priesthood appointed to bless and not to
curse.
There is likewise frequent mention of imprecations in the Roman af-
fairs and authors Thus when Crassus undertook that fatal expedition
against the Parthians, wherein he perished, o ATyies nrgotffguiiav #£o? tjj»
Tt>A«», i6i]xev ep%a.gidtt xaie/XfV/jv, £ <r«u Kgatftfa ysve^sva x*V avrov, eVitfufJWWv
xat xaraifTsy^stv, irfvgure Ssivdg a<J<r»> $ 0f>tK.a8eiS' Jiteius running to
the gate of the city, placed there a vessel full of burning coals upon which
he offered odours and libations, and pronounced most dreadful curses against
Crassus, as he passed by (1). And we are informed by Pliny (£) that di-
ris deprecationibus defigi, nemo non metuit: ' All men are afraid of impre-
cations.' There being no way to avoid or expiate their direful effects,
according to Horace (3) : •
Diris agam vos: dira ddestatio
Nulla expiatur victim^.
For while I curse the direful deed
In vain shall all your victims bleed. francis.
And that the same practice was used in other parts of the world, ap=-
pears from the sacred writings : wherein Jonathan, after he had gained
a glorious victory over the enemies of his country, is reported to have
been reduced to the last extremity by the imprecations of Saul, his fa-
ther and king (4). And Joshua is said to have pronounced a solemn curse
upon the person who should rebuild Jericho (5) ; which was fulfilled up-
on Hiel many ages after (6). Balaam the magician w*as sent for by Ba-
lak, king of Moab, to curse his enemies the Israelites (7). The patri-
arch Jacob is introduced distributing his blessings to some of his children
(which was a custom no less ancient than the other), and his curses to
Reuben, Simeon, and Levi (8). Noah, the father of a new world, pro-
nounced an imprecation upon his grandson Canaan (9), which had its ef-
fect a long time after. And the practice seems to have been derived
from the curses pronounced by God upon Adam, and afterwards upon
Cain.
(1) Appianus in Parthico Conf. Cicero de Di» (5) Josh. vi. 26,
vin. lib. i. (6) 1 Reg. 34.
(2) Nat. Hist. lib. xxviii. cap, 2. (7) Numer. xxii. 5, 6, &c
(3) Epod. v. ver. 89. (8) Gen. xlix. 3, 4.
(4 1 Sam. xiv. 24. (9) Ibid, ix. 25, 26,27.