DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.4679#0123
6. MATRIARCHAL SYSTEM. 97
originator and teacher of the mysteries and ritual to his worshippers1:
in Greece Apollo Archegetes was the adviser and guide of the emi-
grants and colonists who went forth from its shores to find homes and
food in more productive lands. The most remarkable point which we
find in the inscriptions is the institution of Serneiapkoroi of Apollo
Archegetes no. 19, who have been explained by Hogarth p. 80 as
a class of professional wonder-workers, like those eastern dervishes in
modern times, who cut themselves with knives, and do other wonders
under the influence of religious excitement. It is, however, more
probable that the Semeiaphoroi are to be compared with the Xenoi
Telemoreioi, who will be described more fully in a later chapter2.
The latter had a secret sign (re/c/zcop), whereby presumably they recog-
nized members of the Brotherhood, and the Bearers of the Sign
{a-qjxdov) may be identified with them. To judge from their name
Xenoi, the Guest-friends, they must have made hospitality one of
their duties. Like all ancient societies, they united under religious
forms, in Hierapolis in the worship of Apollo, near Pisidian Antioch
in the worship of the Great Artemis of the Limnai. They made
voluntary contributions towards a common treasury, from which
works of architecture and sculpture were constructed for the good of
their common religion. Considering that religion was fundamentally
the same over the plateau of Asia Minor, we should expect to find
this institution widely spread over the country; and an interesting
passage in the travels of the Arab from Tangier, Ibn Batuta, enables
us to trace similar societies in the Moslem cities of the Seljuk empire.
These cities were peopled to a large extent by the old races, who had
adopted the Mohammedan religion, but maintained many of their old
social forms and among others that of the Brotherhood. Ibn Batuta
mentions this institution as existing in the Anatolian towns which he
visited. He saw the Brothers at Antalia3, Burdur, Ladhik, Kunia
(Iconium), and implies that they existed generally in the Seljuk
towns. His words are 'in all the Turkoman 4 towns which I visited
1 Strab. p. 468"laK^di/ re kcu tuv Aio- towns ill Anatolia. Many facts combine
vvaov [01 "EMqixrr] Knkovai Ka\ tov apxV to snow now littie cnanSe was intro-
yirrjv twv /j.vcrrrjpta>v, Tjjr Arjfir]rpoi- Salpnva. duced into Asia Minor by the Seljuk
2 On them see Hist. Geogr. p. 409 f. rulers (as distinguished from the Otto-
3 This is a common form of Attaleia man Turks); and the remaining build-
in Pamphylia, now called Adalia. It is ings prove that they maintained a high
given as Anatolia in Lee's translation standard of art and magnificence (very
P- 68 ; time is about 1333 a.d. unlike the slovenly disrepair and mean-
4 Though he says Turkoman, he evi- ness of almost everything due to the
dently uses this term for the Seljuk Osmanli sultans).
VOL. I. H
originator and teacher of the mysteries and ritual to his worshippers1:
in Greece Apollo Archegetes was the adviser and guide of the emi-
grants and colonists who went forth from its shores to find homes and
food in more productive lands. The most remarkable point which we
find in the inscriptions is the institution of Serneiapkoroi of Apollo
Archegetes no. 19, who have been explained by Hogarth p. 80 as
a class of professional wonder-workers, like those eastern dervishes in
modern times, who cut themselves with knives, and do other wonders
under the influence of religious excitement. It is, however, more
probable that the Semeiaphoroi are to be compared with the Xenoi
Telemoreioi, who will be described more fully in a later chapter2.
The latter had a secret sign (re/c/zcop), whereby presumably they recog-
nized members of the Brotherhood, and the Bearers of the Sign
{a-qjxdov) may be identified with them. To judge from their name
Xenoi, the Guest-friends, they must have made hospitality one of
their duties. Like all ancient societies, they united under religious
forms, in Hierapolis in the worship of Apollo, near Pisidian Antioch
in the worship of the Great Artemis of the Limnai. They made
voluntary contributions towards a common treasury, from which
works of architecture and sculpture were constructed for the good of
their common religion. Considering that religion was fundamentally
the same over the plateau of Asia Minor, we should expect to find
this institution widely spread over the country; and an interesting
passage in the travels of the Arab from Tangier, Ibn Batuta, enables
us to trace similar societies in the Moslem cities of the Seljuk empire.
These cities were peopled to a large extent by the old races, who had
adopted the Mohammedan religion, but maintained many of their old
social forms and among others that of the Brotherhood. Ibn Batuta
mentions this institution as existing in the Anatolian towns which he
visited. He saw the Brothers at Antalia3, Burdur, Ladhik, Kunia
(Iconium), and implies that they existed generally in the Seljuk
towns. His words are 'in all the Turkoman 4 towns which I visited
1 Strab. p. 468"laK^di/ re kcu tuv Aio- towns ill Anatolia. Many facts combine
vvaov [01 "EMqixrr] Knkovai Ka\ tov apxV to snow now littie cnanSe was intro-
yirrjv twv /j.vcrrrjpta>v, Tjjr Arjfir]rpoi- Salpnva. duced into Asia Minor by the Seljuk
2 On them see Hist. Geogr. p. 409 f. rulers (as distinguished from the Otto-
3 This is a common form of Attaleia man Turks); and the remaining build-
in Pamphylia, now called Adalia. It is ings prove that they maintained a high
given as Anatolia in Lee's translation standard of art and magnificence (very
P- 68 ; time is about 1333 a.d. unlike the slovenly disrepair and mean-
4 Though he says Turkoman, he evi- ness of almost everything due to the
dently uses this term for the Seljuk Osmanli sultans).
VOL. I. H