Tiresias: The Ancient Mediterranean Religions Source Database

10496

Strabo, Geography, 11.14.16

nan Now the sacred rites of the Persians, one and all, are held in honor by both the Medes and the Armenians; but those of Anaitis are held in exceptional honor by the Armenians, who have built sanctuaries in her honor in different places, and especially in Acilisene. Here they dedicate to her service male and female slaves. This, indeed, is not a remarkable thing; but the most illustrious men of the tribe actually consecrate to her their daughters while maidens; and it is the custom for these first to be prostituted in the sanctuary of the goddess for a long time and after this to be given in marriage; and no one disdains to live in wedlock with such a woman. Something of this kind is told also by Herodotus in his account of the Lydian women, who, one and all, he says, prostitute themselves. And they are so kindly disposed to their paramours that they not only entertain them hospitably but also exchange presents with them, often giving more than they receive, inasmuch as the girls from wealthy homes are supplied with means. However, they do not admit any man that comes along, but preferably those of equal rank with themselves.

Intertexts (texts cited often on the same page as the searched text):

6 results
1. Euripides, Bacchae, 461-464, 460 (5th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE) 460. πρῶτον μὲν οὖν μοι λέξον ὅστις εἶ γένος. Διόνυσος 460. First then tell me who your family is. Dionysu
2. Herodotus, Histories, 1.99, 2.64.1, 7.33 (5th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE) 1.99. Deioces built these walls for himself and around his own quarters, and he ordered the people to dwell outside the wall. And when it was all built, Deioces was first to establish the rule that no one should come into the presence of the king, but everything should be done by means of messengers; that the king should be seen by no one; and moreover that it should be a disgrace for anyone to laugh or to spit in his presence. ,He was careful to hedge himself with all this so that the men of his own age (who had been brought up with him and were as nobly born as he and his equals in courage), instead of seeing him and being upset and perhaps moved to plot against him, might by reason of not seeing him believe him to be different. 2.64.1. Furthermore, it was the Egyptians who first made it a matter of religious observance not to have intercourse with women in temples or to enter a temple after such intercourse without washing. Nearly all other peoples are less careful in this matter than are the Egyptians and Greeks, and consider a man to be like any other animal; 7.33. After this he prepared to march to Abydos; meanwhile his men were bridging the Hellespont from Asia to Europe. On the Chersonese, which is on the Hellespont, between the city of Sestus and Madytus there is a broad headland running out into the sea opposite Abydos. It was here that not long afterwards the Athenians, when Xanthippus son of Ariphron was their general, took Artayctes, a Persian and the governor of Sestus, and crucified him alive; he had been in the habit of bringing women right into the temple of Protesilaus at Elaeus and doing impious deeds there.
3. Thucydides, The History of The Peloponnesian War, 1.126, 1.128, 1.134 (5th cent. BCE - 4th cent. BCE)
4. Lucian, The Syrian Goddess, 6 (2nd cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE) 6. I saw too at Byblos a large temple, sacred to the Byblian Aphrodite: this is the scene of the secret rites of Adonis: I mastered these. They assert that the legend about Adonis and the wild boar is true, and that the facts occurred in their country, and in memory of this calamity they beat their breasts and wail every year, and perform their secret ritual amid signs of mourning through the whole countryside. When they have finished their mourning and wailing, they sacrifice in the first place to Adonis, as to one who has departed this life: after this they allege that he is alive again, and exhibit his effigy to the sky. They proceed to shave their heads, too, like the Egyptians on the loss of their Apis. The women who refuse to be shaved have to submit to the following penalty, viz., to stand for the space of an entire day in readiness to expose their persons for hire. The place of hire is open to none but foreigners, and out of the proceeds of the traffic of these women a sacrifice to Aphrodite is paid.
5. Epigraphy, Ogis, 383
6. Strabo, Geography, 8.6.20, 16.1.20 8.6.20. Corinth is called wealthy because of its commerce, since it is situated on the Isthmus and is master of two harbors, of which the one leads straight to Asia, and the other to Italy; and it makes easy the exchange of merchandise from both countries that are so far distant from each other. And just as in early times the Strait of Sicily was not easy to navigate, so also the high seas, and particularly the sea beyond Maleae, were not, on account of the contrary winds; and hence the proverb, But when you double Maleae, forget your home. At any rate, it was a welcome alternative, for the merchants both from Italy and from Asia, to avoid the voyage to Maleae and to land their cargoes here. And also the duties on what by land was exported from the Peloponnesus and what was imported to it fell to those who held the keys. And to later times this remained ever so. But to the Corinthians of later times still greater advantages were added, for also the Isthmian Games, which were celebrated there, were wont to draw crowds of people. And the Bacchiadae, a rich and numerous and illustrious family, became tyrants of Corinth, and held their empire for nearly two hundred years, and without disturbance reaped the fruits of the commerce; and when Cypselus overthrew these, he himself became tyrant, and his house endured for three generations; and an evidence of the wealth of this house is the offering which Cypselus dedicated at Olympia, a huge statue of beaten gold. Again, Demaratus, one of the men who had been in power at Corinth, fleeing from the seditions there, carried with him so much wealth from his home to Tyrrhenia that not only he himself became the ruler of the city that admitted him, but his son was made king of the Romans. And the sanctuary of Aphrodite was so rich that it owned more than a thousand temple slaves, courtesans, whom both men and women had dedicated to the goddess. And therefore it was also on account of these women that the city was crowded with people and grew rich; for instance, the ship captains freely squandered their money, and hence the proverb, Not for every man is the voyage to Corinth. Moreover, it is recorded that a certain courtesan said to the woman who reproached her with the charge that she did not like to work or touch wool: Yet, such as I am, in this short time I have taken down three webs. 16.1.20. Their other customs are like those of the Persians, but this is peculiar to themselves: three discreet persons, chiefs of each tribe, are appointed, who present publicly young women who are marriageable, and give notice by the crier, beginning with those most in estimation, of a sale of them to men intending to become husbands. In this manner marriages are contracted.As often as the parties have sexual intercourse with one another, they rise, each apart from the other, to burn perfumes. In the morning they wash, before touching any household vessel. For as ablution is customary after touching a dead body, so is it practised after sexual intercourse. There is a custom prescribed by an oracle for all the Babylonian women to have intercourse with strangers. The women repair to a temple of Venus, accompanied by numerous attendants and a crowd of people. Each woman has a cord round her head, The man approaches a woman, and places on her lap as much money as he thinks proper; he then leads her away to a distance from the sacred grove, and has intercourse with her. The money is considered as consecrated to Venus.There are three tribunals, one consisting of persons who are past military service, another of nobles, and a third of old men, besides another appointed by the king. It is the business of the latter to dispose of the virgins in marriage, and to determine causes respecting adultery; of another to decide those relative to theft; and of the third, those of assault and violence.The sick are brought out of their houses into the highways, and inquiry is made of passengers whether any of them can give information of a remedy for the disease. There is no one so ill-disposed as not to accost the sick person, and acquaint him with anything that he considers may conduce to his recovery.Their dress is a tunic reaching to the feet, an upper garment of wool, [and] a white cloak. The hair is long. They wear a shoe resembling a buskin. They wear also a seal, and carry a staff not plain, but with a figure upon the top of it, as an apple, a rose, a lily, or something of the kind. They anoint themselves with oil of sesamum. They bewail the dead, like the Egyptians and many other nations. They bury the body in honey, first besmearing it with wax.There are three communities which have no corn. They live in the marshes, and subsist on fish. Their mode of life is like that of the inhabitants of Gedrosia.

Subjects of this text:

subject	book bibliographic info
aizanoi	Marek (2019), In the Land of a Thousand Gods: A History of Asia Minor in the Ancient World, 517
akilisene	Marek (2019), In the Land of a Thousand Gods: A History of Asia Minor in the Ancient World, 517
amazons	Marek (2019), In the Land of a Thousand Gods: A History of Asia Minor in the Ancient World, 517
anāhitā,goddess	Marek (2019), In the Land of a Thousand Gods: A History of Asia Minor in the Ancient World, 517
apameia in phrygia	Marek (2019), In the Land of a Thousand Gods: A History of Asia Minor in the Ancient World, 517
armenia/armenians	Marek (2019), In the Land of a Thousand Gods: A History of Asia Minor in the Ancient World, 517
beard,mary	Eidinow and Kindt (2015), The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Greek Religion, 18
buck,c. d.	Eidinow and Kindt (2015), The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Greek Religion, 18
budin,stephanie	Eidinow and Kindt (2015), The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Greek Religion, 18
corinth	Eidinow and Kindt (2015), The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Greek Religion, 18
dionysos	Marek (2019), In the Land of a Thousand Gods: A History of Asia Minor in the Ancient World, 517
epic narrative	Eidinow and Kindt (2015), The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Greek Religion, 18
eusebius	Eidinow and Kindt (2015), The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Greek Religion, 18
helios,sun god	Marek (2019), In the Land of a Thousand Gods: A History of Asia Minor in the Ancient World, 517
henderson,john	Eidinow and Kindt (2015), The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Greek Religion, 18
herodotos	Eidinow and Kindt (2015), The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Greek Religion, 18
hesiod,poet	Marek (2019), In the Land of a Thousand Gods: A History of Asia Minor in the Ancient World, 517
hughes,dennis d.	Eidinow and Kindt (2015), The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Greek Religion, 18
inscriptions,propitiatory	Marek (2019), In the Land of a Thousand Gods: A History of Asia Minor in the Ancient World, 517
isis,goddess	Marek (2019), In the Land of a Thousand Gods: A History of Asia Minor in the Ancient World, 517
kingdom of mithridates,hierodulia	Marek (2019), In the Land of a Thousand Gods: A History of Asia Minor in the Ancient World, 517
laodikeia on lykos	Marek (2019), In the Land of a Thousand Gods: A History of Asia Minor in the Ancient World, 517
lucian	Eidinow and Kindt (2015), The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Greek Religion, 18
lycia/lycians,gods	Marek (2019), In the Land of a Thousand Gods: A History of Asia Minor in the Ancient World, 517
lydia/lydians,religion	Marek (2019), In the Land of a Thousand Gods: A History of Asia Minor in the Ancient World, 517
ma-enyo,goddess	Marek (2019), In the Land of a Thousand Gods: A History of Asia Minor in the Ancient World, 517
mother goddess,hipta	Marek (2019), In the Land of a Thousand Gods: A History of Asia Minor in the Ancient World, 517
myth/mythology,stories/storytelling	Eidinow and Kindt (2015), The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Greek Religion, 18
myth/mythology	Eidinow and Kindt (2015), The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Greek Religion, 18
neolithic/chalcolithic age (ca.	Marek (2019), In the Land of a Thousand Gods: A History of Asia Minor in the Ancient World, 517
nollé,johannes	Marek (2019), In the Land of a Thousand Gods: A History of Asia Minor in the Ancient World, 517
olympia,sanctuaries	Eidinow and Kindt (2015), The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Greek Religion, 18
ortygia,grove	Marek (2019), In the Land of a Thousand Gods: A History of Asia Minor in the Ancient World, 517
osiris,god	Marek (2019), In the Land of a Thousand Gods: A History of Asia Minor in the Ancient World, 517
parker,robert c. t.	Eidinow and Kindt (2015), The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Greek Religion, 18
pausanias	Eidinow and Kindt (2015), The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Greek Religion, 18
pindar	Eidinow and Kindt (2015), The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Greek Religion, 18
poetry/poetic performance	Eidinow and Kindt (2015), The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Greek Religion, 18
prostitution,sacred	Marek (2019), In the Land of a Thousand Gods: A History of Asia Minor in the Ancient World, 517
ptolemaios i soter	Marek (2019), In the Land of a Thousand Gods: A History of Asia Minor in the Ancient World, 517
religion,gods,cults,and shrines	Marek (2019), In the Land of a Thousand Gods: A History of Asia Minor in the Ancient World, 517
religion/theology,diversity/plurality	Eidinow and Kindt (2015), The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Greek Religion, 18
religious authority,sacred law/prescriptions	Eidinow and Kindt (2015), The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Greek Religion, 18
sacrifice (thysia),human	Eidinow and Kindt (2015), The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Greek Religion, 18
sanctuaries/temples,prohibition on sexual intercourse	Eidinow and Kindt (2015), The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Greek Religion, 18
sanctuaries/temples,sacred law/prescriptions	Eidinow and Kindt (2015), The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Greek Religion, 18
sanctuaries/temples,sacred prostitution	Eidinow and Kindt (2015), The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Greek Religion, 18
sarapis,god	Marek (2019), In the Land of a Thousand Gods: A History of Asia Minor in the Ancient World, 517
semele,mother of dionysos	Marek (2019), In the Land of a Thousand Gods: A History of Asia Minor in the Ancient World, 517
strabo	Eidinow and Kindt (2015), The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Greek Religion, 18
temple,anāhitā in akilisene	Marek (2019), In the Land of a Thousand Gods: A History of Asia Minor in the Ancient World, 517
temple slavery/servants (hierodulia/hieroduloi),in the provinces of the imperial period	Marek (2019), In the Land of a Thousand Gods: A History of Asia Minor in the Ancient World, 517
tmolos,mountain	Marek (2019), In the Land of a Thousand Gods: A History of Asia Minor in the Ancient World, 517
women,prostitutes/courtesans'	Eidinow and Kindt (2015), The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Greek Religion, 18
zeus,birth of	Marek (2019), In the Land of a Thousand Gods: A History of Asia Minor in the Ancient World, 517
zeus,helios	Marek (2019), In the Land of a Thousand Gods: A History of Asia Minor in the Ancient World, 517
zeus,sabazios	Marek (2019), In the Land of a Thousand Gods: A History of Asia Minor in the Ancient World, 517
zeus (god),sanctuary at mount olympos	Eidinow and Kindt (2015), The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Greek Religion, 18