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Tiresias: The Ancient Mediterranean Religions Source Database



10496
Strabo, Geography, 7.7.11


nanIn ancient times, then, Dodona was under the rule of the Thesprotians; and so was Mount Tomarus, or Tmarus (for it is called both ways), at the base of which the sanctuary is situated. And both the tragic poets and Pindar have called Dodona Thesprotian Dodona. But later on it came under the rule of the Molossi. And it is after the Tomarus, people say, that those whom the poet calls interpreters of Zeus — whom he also calls men with feet unwashen, men who sleep upon the ground — were called tomouroi; and in the Odyssey some so write the words of Amphinomus, when he counsels the wooers not to attack Telemachus until they inquire of Zeus: If the tomouroi of great Zeus approve, I myself shall slay, and I shall bid all the rest to aid, whereas if god averts it, I bid you stop. For it is better, they argue, to write tomouroi than themistes; at any rate, nowhere in the poet are the oracles called themistes, but it is the decrees, statutes, and laws that are so called; and the people have been called tomouroi because tomouroi is a contraction of tomarouroi, the equivalent of tomarophylakes. Now although the more recent critics say tomouroi, yet in Homer one should interpret themistes (and also boulai) in a simpler way, though in a way that is a misuse of the term, as meaning those orders and decrees that are oracular, just as one also interprets themistes as meaning those that are made by law. For example, such is the case in the following: to give ear to the decree of Zeus from the oak-tree of lofty foliage.


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17 results
1. Hebrew Bible, Exodus, 3.14-3.15 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)

3.14. וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים אֶל־מֹשֶׁה אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה וַיֹּאמֶר כֹּה תֹאמַר לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶהְיֶה שְׁלָחַנִי אֲלֵיכֶם׃ 3.15. וַיֹּאמֶר עוֹד אֱלֹהִים אֶל־מֹשֶׁה כֹּה־תֹאמַר אֶל־בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵי אֲבֹתֵיכֶם אֱלֹהֵי אַבְרָהָם אֱלֹהֵי יִצְחָק וֵאלֹהֵי יַעֲקֹב שְׁלָחַנִי אֲלֵיכֶם זֶה־שְּׁמִי לְעֹלָם וְזֶה זִכְרִי לְדֹר דֹּר׃ 3.14. And God said unto Moses: ‘I AM THAT I AM’; and He said: ‘Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel: I AM hath sent me unto you.’" 3.15. And God said moreover unto Moses: ‘Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel: The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you; this is My name for ever, and this is My memorial unto all generations."
2. Hebrew Bible, Genesis, 18.1-18.15 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)

18.1. וַיֹּאמֶר שׁוֹב אָשׁוּב אֵלֶיךָ כָּעֵת חַיָּה וְהִנֵּה־בֵן לְשָׂרָה אִשְׁתֶּךָ וְשָׂרָה שֹׁמַעַת פֶּתַח הָאֹהֶל וְהוּא אַחֲרָיו׃ 18.1. וַיֵּרָא אֵלָיו יְהוָה בְּאֵלֹנֵי מַמְרֵא וְהוּא יֹשֵׁב פֶּתַח־הָאֹהֶל כְּחֹם הַיּוֹם׃ 18.2. וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה זַעֲקַת סְדֹם וַעֲמֹרָה כִּי־רָבָּה וְחַטָּאתָם כִּי כָבְדָה מְאֹד׃ 18.2. וַיִּשָּׂא עֵינָיו וַיַּרְא וְהִנֵּה שְׁלֹשָׁה אֲנָשִׁים נִצָּבִים עָלָיו וַיַּרְא וַיָּרָץ לִקְרָאתָם מִפֶּתַח הָאֹהֶל וַיִּשְׁתַּחוּ אָרְצָה׃ 18.3. וַיֹּאמֶר אַל־נָא יִחַר לַאדֹנָי וַאֲדַבֵּרָה אוּלַי יִמָּצְאוּן שָׁם שְׁלֹשִׁים וַיֹּאמֶר לֹא אֶעֱשֶׂה אִם־אֶמְצָא שָׁם שְׁלֹשִׁים׃ 18.3. וַיֹּאמַר אֲדֹנָי אִם־נָא מָצָאתִי חֵן בְּעֵינֶיךָ אַל־נָא תַעֲבֹר מֵעַל עַבְדֶּךָ׃ 18.4. יֻקַּח־נָא מְעַט־מַיִם וְרַחֲצוּ רַגְלֵיכֶם וְהִשָּׁעֲנוּ תַּחַת הָעֵץ׃ 18.5. וְאֶקְחָה פַת־לֶחֶם וְסַעֲדוּ לִבְּכֶם אַחַר תַּעֲבֹרוּ כִּי־עַל־כֵּן עֲבַרְתֶּם עַל־עַבְדְּכֶם וַיֹּאמְרוּ כֵּן תַּעֲשֶׂה כַּאֲשֶׁר דִּבַּרְתָּ׃ 18.6. וַיְמַהֵר אַבְרָהָם הָאֹהֱלָה אֶל־שָׂרָה וַיֹּאמֶר מַהֲרִי שְׁלֹשׁ סְאִים קֶמַח סֹלֶת לוּשִׁי וַעֲשִׂי עֻגוֹת׃ 18.7. וְאֶל־הַבָּקָר רָץ אַבְרָהָם וַיִּקַּח בֶּן־בָּקָר רַךְ וָטוֹב וַיִּתֵּן אֶל־הַנַּעַר וַיְמַהֵר לַעֲשׂוֹת אֹתוֹ׃ 18.8. וַיִּקַּח חֶמְאָה וְחָלָב וּבֶן־הַבָּקָר אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה וַיִּתֵּן לִפְנֵיהֶם וְהוּא־עֹמֵד עֲלֵיהֶם תַּחַת הָעֵץ וַיֹּאכֵלוּ׃ 18.9. וַיֹּאמְרוּ אֵלָיו אַיֵּה שָׂרָה אִשְׁתֶּךָ וַיֹּאמֶר הִנֵּה בָאֹהֶל׃ 18.11. וְאַבְרָהָם וְשָׂרָה זְקֵנִים בָּאִים בַּיָּמִים חָדַל לִהְיוֹת לְשָׂרָה אֹרַח כַּנָּשִׁים׃ 18.12. וַתִּצְחַק שָׂרָה בְּקִרְבָּהּ לֵאמֹר אַחֲרֵי בְלֹתִי הָיְתָה־לִּי עֶדְנָה וַאדֹנִי זָקֵן׃ 18.13. וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֶל־אַבְרָהָם לָמָּה זֶּה צָחֲקָה שָׂרָה לֵאמֹר הַאַף אֻמְנָם אֵלֵד וַאֲנִי זָקַנְתִּי׃ 18.14. הֲיִפָּלֵא מֵיְהוָה דָּבָר לַמּוֹעֵד אָשׁוּב אֵלֶיךָ כָּעֵת חַיָּה וּלְשָׂרָה בֵן׃ 18.15. וַתְּכַחֵשׁ שָׂרָה לֵאמֹר לֹא צָחַקְתִּי כִּי יָרֵאָה וַיֹּאמֶר לֹא כִּי צָחָקְתְּ׃ 18.1. And the LORD appeared unto him by the terebinths of Mamre, as he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day;" 18.2. and he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood over against him; and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed down to the earth," 18.3. and said: ‘My lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant." 18.4. Let now a little water be fetched, and wash your feet, and recline yourselves under the tree." 18.5. And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and stay ye your heart; after that ye shall pass on; forasmuch as ye are come to your servant.’ And they said: ‘So do, as thou hast said.’" 18.6. And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said: ‘Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes.’" 18.7. And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetched a calf tender and good, and gave it unto the servant; and he hastened to dress it." 18.8. And he took curd, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat." 18.9. And they said unto him: ‘Where is Sarah thy wife?’ And he said: ‘Behold, in the tent.’" 18.10. And He said: ‘I will certainly return unto thee when the season cometh round; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son.’ And Sarah heard in the tent door, which was behind him.—" 18.11. Now Abraham and Sarah were old, and well stricken in age; it had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.—" 18.12. And Sarah laughed within herself, saying: ‘After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?’" 18.13. And the LORD said unto Abraham: ‘Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying: Shall I of a surety bear a child, who am old?" 18.14. Is any thing too hard for the LORD. At the set time I will return unto thee, when the season cometh round, and Sarah shall have a son.’" 18.15. Then Sarah denied, saying: ‘I laughed not’; for she was afraid. And He said: ‘Nay; but thou didst laugh.’"
3. Homer, Iliad, 2.748-2.755, 16.233-16.235 (8th cent. BCE - 7th cent. BCE)

2.748. /Not alone was he, but with him was Leonteus, scion of Ares, the son of Caenus' son, Coronus, high of heart. And with them there followed forty black ships.And Gouneus led from Cyphus two and twenty ships, and with him followed the Enienes and the Peraebi, staunch in fight 2.749. /Not alone was he, but with him was Leonteus, scion of Ares, the son of Caenus' son, Coronus, high of heart. And with them there followed forty black ships.And Gouneus led from Cyphus two and twenty ships, and with him followed the Enienes and the Peraebi, staunch in fight 2.750. /that had set their dwellings about wintry Dodona, and dwelt in the ploughland about lovely Titaressus, that poureth his fair-flowing streams into Peneius; yet doth he not mingle with the silver eddies of Peneius, but floweth on over his waters like unto olive oil; 2.751. /that had set their dwellings about wintry Dodona, and dwelt in the ploughland about lovely Titaressus, that poureth his fair-flowing streams into Peneius; yet doth he not mingle with the silver eddies of Peneius, but floweth on over his waters like unto olive oil; 2.752. /that had set their dwellings about wintry Dodona, and dwelt in the ploughland about lovely Titaressus, that poureth his fair-flowing streams into Peneius; yet doth he not mingle with the silver eddies of Peneius, but floweth on over his waters like unto olive oil; 2.753. /that had set their dwellings about wintry Dodona, and dwelt in the ploughland about lovely Titaressus, that poureth his fair-flowing streams into Peneius; yet doth he not mingle with the silver eddies of Peneius, but floweth on over his waters like unto olive oil; 2.754. /that had set their dwellings about wintry Dodona, and dwelt in the ploughland about lovely Titaressus, that poureth his fair-flowing streams into Peneius; yet doth he not mingle with the silver eddies of Peneius, but floweth on over his waters like unto olive oil; 2.755. /for that he is a branch of the water of Styx, the dread river of oath.And the Magnetes had as captain Prothous, son of Tenthredon. These were they that dwelt about Peneius and Pelion, covered with waving forests. of these was swift Prothous captain; and with him there followed forty black ships. 16.233. /and himself he washed his hands, and drew flaming wine. Then he made prayer, standing in the midst of the court, and poured forth the wine, looking up to heaven; and not unmarked was he of Zeus, that hurleth the thunderbolt:Zeus, thou king, Dodonaean, Pelasgian, thou that dwellest afar, ruling over wintry Dodona,—and about thee dwell the Selli 16.234. /and himself he washed his hands, and drew flaming wine. Then he made prayer, standing in the midst of the court, and poured forth the wine, looking up to heaven; and not unmarked was he of Zeus, that hurleth the thunderbolt:Zeus, thou king, Dodonaean, Pelasgian, thou that dwellest afar, ruling over wintry Dodona,—and about thee dwell the Selli 16.235. /thine interpreters, men with unwashen feet that couch on the ground. Aforetime verily thou didst hear my word, when I prayed: me thou didst honour, and didst mightily smite the host of the Achaeans; even so now also fulfill thou for me this my desire. Myself verily will I abide in the gathering of the ships
4. Homer, Odyssey, 14.314-14.320, 17.526 (8th cent. BCE - 7th cent. BCE)

5. Herodotus, Histories, 1.57, 2.56, 5.92, 7.176, 8.46 (5th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)

1.57. What language the Pelasgians spoke I cannot say definitely. But if one may judge by those that still remain of the Pelasgians who live above the Tyrrheni in the city of Creston —who were once neighbors of the people now called Dorians, and at that time inhabited the country which now is called Thessalian— ,and of the Pelasgians who inhabited Placia and Scylace on the Hellespont, who came to live among the Athenians, and by other towns too which were once Pelasgian and afterwards took a different name: if, as I said, one may judge by these, the Pelasgians spoke a language which was not Greek. ,If, then, all the Pelasgian stock spoke so, then the Attic nation, being of Pelasgian blood, must have changed its language too at the time when it became part of the Hellenes. For the people of Creston and Placia have a language of their own in common, which is not the language of their neighbors; and it is plain that they still preserve the manner of speech which they brought with them in their migration into the places where they live. 2.56. But my own belief about it is this. If the Phoenicians did in fact carry away the sacred women and sell one in Libya and one in Hellas, then, in my opinion, the place where this woman was sold in what is now Hellas, but was formerly called Pelasgia, was Thesprotia ; ,and then, being a slave there, she established a shrine of Zeus under an oak that was growing there; for it was reasonable that, as she had been a handmaid of the temple of Zeus at Thebes , she would remember that temple in the land to which she had come. ,After this, as soon as she understood the Greek language, she taught divination; and she said that her sister had been sold in Libya by the same Phoenicians who sold her. 5.92. These were the words of the Lacedaemonians, but their words were ill-received by the greater part of their allies. The rest then keeping silence, Socles, a Corinthian, said, ,“In truth heaven will be beneath the earth and the earth aloft above the heaven, and men will dwell in the sea and fishes where men dwelt before, now that you, Lacedaemonians, are destroying the rule of equals and making ready to bring back tyranny into the cities, tyranny, a thing more unrighteous and bloodthirsty than anything else on this earth. ,If indeed it seems to you to be a good thing that the cities be ruled by tyrants, set up a tyrant among yourselves first and then seek to set up such for the rest. As it is, however, you, who have never made trial of tyrants and take the greatest precautions that none will arise at Sparta, deal wrongfully with your allies. If you had such experience of that thing as we have, you would be more prudent advisers concerning it than you are now.” ,The Corinthian state was ordered in such manner as I will show.There was an oligarchy, and this group of men, called the Bacchiadae, held sway in the city, marrying and giving in marriage among themselves. Now Amphion, one of these men, had a crippled daughter, whose name was Labda. Since none of the Bacchiadae would marry her, she was wedded to Eetion son of Echecrates, of the township of Petra, a Lapith by lineage and of the posterity of Caeneus. ,When no sons were born to him by this wife or any other, he set out to Delphi to enquire concerning the matter of acquiring offspring. As soon as he entered, the Pythian priestess spoke these verses to him: quote type="oracle" l met="dact" Eetion,worthy of honor, no man honors you. /l l Labda is with child, and her child will be a millstone /l lWhich will fall upon the rulers and will bring justice to Corinth. /l /quote ,This oracle which was given to Eetion was in some way made known to the Bacchiadae. The earlier oracle sent to Corinth had not been understood by them, despite the fact that its meaning was the same as the meaning of the oracle of Eetion, and it read as follows: quote type="oracle" l met="dact"An eagle in the rocks has conceived, and will bring forth a lion, /l lStrong and fierce. The knees of many will it loose. /l lThis consider well, Corinthians, /l lYou who dwell by lovely Pirene and the overhanging heights of Corinth. /l /quote ,This earlier prophecy had been unintelligible to the Bacchiadae, but as soon as they heard the one which was given to Eetion, they understood it at once, recognizing its similarity with the oracle of Eetion. Now understanding both oracles, they kept quiet but resolved to do away with the offspring of Eetion. Then, as soon as his wife had given birth, they sent ten men of their clan to the township where Eetion dwelt to kill the child. ,These men came to Petra and passing into Eetion's courtyard, asked for the child. Labda, knowing nothing of the purpose of their coming and thinking that they wished to see the baby out of affection for its father, brought it and placed it into the hands of one of them. Now they had planned on their way that the first of them who received the child should dash it to the ground. ,When, however, Labda brought and handed over the child, by divine chance it smiled at the man who took it. This he saw, and compassion prevented him from killing it. Filled with pity, he handed it to a second, and this man again to a third.In fact it passed from hand to hand to each of the ten, for none would make an end of it. ,They then gave the child back to its mother, and after going out, they stood before the door reproaching and upbraiding one another, but chiefly him who had first received it since he had not acted in accordance with their agreement. Finally they resolved to go in again and all have a hand in the killing. ,Fate, however, had decreed that Eetion's offspring should be the source of ills for Corinth, for Labda, standing close to this door, heard all this. Fearing that they would change their minds and that they would take and actually kill the child, she took it away and hid it where she thought it would be hardest to find, in a chest, for she knew that if they returned and set about searching they would seek in every place—which in fact they did. ,They came and searched, but when they did not find it, they resolved to go off and say to those who had sent them that they had carried out their orders. They then went away and said this. ,Eetion's son, however, grew up, and because of his escape from that danger, he was called Cypselus, after the chest. When he had reached manhood and was seeking a divination, an oracle of double meaning was given him at Delphi. Putting faith in this, he made an attempt on Corinth and won it. ,The oracle was as follows: quote type="oracle" l met="dact"That man is fortunate who steps into my house, /l l Cypselus, son of Eetion, the king of noble Corinth, /l lHe himself and his children, but not the sons of his sons. /l /quote Such was the oracle. Cypselus, however, when he had gained the tyranny, conducted himself in this way: many of the Corinthians he drove into exile, many he deprived of their wealth, and by far the most he had killed. ,After a reign of thirty years, he died in the height of prosperity, and was succeeded by his son Periander. Now Periander was to begin with milder than his father, but after he had held converse by messenger with Thrasybulus the tyrant of Miletus, he became much more bloodthirsty than Cypselus. ,He had sent a herald to Thrasybulus and inquired in what way he would best and most safely govern his city. Thrasybulus led the man who had come from Periander outside the town, and entered into a sown field. As he walked through the corn, continually asking why the messenger had come to him from Corinth, he kept cutting off all the tallest ears of wheat which he could see, and throwing them away, until he had destroyed the best and richest part of the crop. ,Then, after passing through the place and speaking no word of counsel, he sent the herald away. When the herald returned to Corinth, Periander desired to hear what counsel he brought, but the man said that Thrasybulus had given him none. The herald added that it was a strange man to whom he had been sent, a madman and a destroyer of his own possessions, telling Periander what he had seen Thrasybulus do. ,Periander, however, understood what had been done, and perceived that Thrasybulus had counselled him to slay those of his townsmen who were outstanding in influence or ability; with that he began to deal with his citizens in an evil manner. Whatever act of slaughter or banishment Cypselus had left undone, that Periander brought to accomplishment. In a single day he stripped all the women of Corinth naked, because of his own wife Melissa. ,Periander had sent messengers to the Oracle of the Dead on the river Acheron in Thesprotia to enquire concerning a deposit that a friend had left, but Melissa, in an apparition, said that she would tell him nothing, nor reveal where the deposit lay, for she was cold and naked. The garments, she said, with which Periander had buried with her had never been burnt, and were of no use to her. Then, as evidence for her husband that she spoke the truth, she added that Periander had put his loaves into a cold oven. ,When this message was brought back to Periander (for he had had intercourse with the dead body of Melissa and knew her token for true), immediately after the message he made a proclamation that all the Corinthian women should come out into the temple of Hera. They then came out as to a festival, wearing their most beautiful garments, and Periander set his guards there and stripped them all alike, ladies and serving-women, and heaped all the clothes in a pit, where, as he prayed to Melissa, he burnt them. ,When he had done this and sent a second message, the ghost of Melissa told him where the deposit of the friend had been laid. “This, then, Lacedaimonians, is the nature of tyranny, and such are its deeds. ,We Corinthians marvelled greatly when we saw that you were sending for Hippias, and now we marvel yet more at your words to us. We entreat you earnestly in the name of the gods of Hellas not to establish tyranny in the cities, but if you do not cease from so doing and unrighteously attempt to bring Hippias back, be assured that you are proceeding without the Corinthians' consent.” 7.176. Artemisium is where the wide Thracian sea contracts until the passage between the island of Sciathus and the mainland of Magnesia is but narrow. This strait leads next to Artemisium, which is a beach on the coast of Euboea, on which stands a temple of Artemis. ,The pass through Trachis into Hellas is fifty feet wide at its narrowest point. It is not here, however, but elsewhere that the way is narrowest, namely, in front of Thermopylae and behind it; at Alpeni, which lies behind, it is only the breadth of a cart-way, and it is the same at the Phoenix stream, near the town of Anthele. ,To the west of Thermopylae rises a high mountain, inaccessible and precipitous, a spur of Oeta; to the east of the road there is nothing but marshes and sea. In this pass are warm springs for bathing, called the Basins by the people of the country, and an altar of Heracles stands nearby. Across this entry a wall had been built, and formerly there was a gate in it. ,It was the Phocians who built it for fear of the Thessalians when these came from Thesprotia to dwell in the Aeolian land, the region which they now possess. Since the Thessalians were trying to subdue them, the Phocians made this their protection, and in their search for every means to keep the Thessalians from invading their country, they then turned the stream from the hot springs into the pass, so that it might be a watercourse. ,The ancient wall had been built long ago and most of it lay in ruins; those who built it up again thought that they would in this way bar the foreigner's way into Hellas. Very near the road is a village called Alpeni, and it is from here that the Greeks expected to obtain provisions. 8.46. of the islanders, the Aeginetans provided thirty ships. They had other manned ships, but they guarded their own land with these and fought at Salamis with the thirty most seaworthy. The Aeginetans are Dorians from Epidaurus, and their island was formerly called Oenone. ,After the Aeginetans came the Chalcidians with their twenty ships from Artemisium, and the Eretrians with the same seven; these are Ionians. Next were the Ceans, Ionians from Athens, with the same ships as before. ,The Naxians provided four ships. They had been sent by their fellow citizens to the Persians, like the rest of the islanders, but they disregarded their orders and came to the Hellenes at the urging of Democritus, an esteemed man among the townsmen and at that time captain of a trireme. The Naxians are Ionians descended from Athens. ,The Styrians provided the same number of ships as at Artemisium, and the Cythnians one trireme and a fifty-oared boat; these are both Dryopians. The Seriphians, Siphnians, and Melians also took part, since they were the only islanders who had not given earth and water to the barbarian.
6. Sophocles, Women of Trachis, 1165-1171, 1164 (5th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)

1164. perish by no creature that had the breath of life, but by one already dead, a dweller with Hades. So this savage Centaur in death has killed me alive, just as the divine will had been foretold. And I will show you how
7. Thucydides, The History of The Peloponnesian War, 2.81 (5th cent. BCE - 4th cent. BCE)

8. Philo of Alexandria, On The Cherubim, 121 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)

121. At the same time, also, this doctrine of exceeding wisdom is introduced, that the Lord God is the only real citizen, and that every created being is but a stranger and a sojourner. But those who are called citizens are called so rather in consequence of a slight misapplication of the name than in strict truth. And it is a sufficient gift to wise men--if considered comparatively with the only true citizen, God--for them to have the rank of strangers and sojourners. With respect to foolish men, of them there is absolutely no one who is a stranger or sojourner in the city of God, but such an one is found to be utterly an exile. And this is implied in what he said besides as a most authoritative doctrine, "The land shall not be utterly sold away." Nor did God add "by whom," in order that from that point being passed over in silence, he who was not wholly uninitiated in natural philosophy, might be benefited in respect of knowledge. 121. Having then now philosophized in this manner about the honour to be paid to parents, he closes the one and more divine table of the first five commandments. And being about to promulgate the second which contains the prohibitions of those offences which are committed against men, he begins with adultery, looking upon this as the greatest of all violations of the law;
9. Philo of Alexandria, On The Change of Names, 13 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)

13. For these men have need of the complete use of the divine name who come to a created or mortal generation, in order that, if they cannot attain to the best thing, they may at least arrive at the best possible name, and arrange themselves in accordance with that; and the sacred oracle which is delivered as from the mouth of the Ruler of the universe, speaks of the proper name of God never having been revealed to any one, when God is represented as saying, "For I have not shown them my Name;" for by a slight change in the figure of speech here used, the meaning of what is said would be something of this kind: "My proper name I have not revealed to them," but only that which is commonly used, though with some misapplication, because of the reasons abovementioned.
10. Philo of Alexandria, On Dreams, 1.229 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)

1.229. What then ought we to say? There is one true God only: but they who are called Gods, by an abuse of language, are numerous; on which account the holy scripture on the present occasion indicates that it is the true God that is meant by the use of the article, the expression being, "I am the God (ho Theos);" but when the word is used incorrectly, it is put without the article, the expression being, "He who was seen by thee in the place," not of the God (tou Theou), but simply "of God" (Theou);
11. Philo of Alexandria, Allegorical Interpretation, 2.10 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)

12. Philo of Alexandria, That God Is Unchangeable, 11 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)

11. And yet she who is speaking is in reality only the mother of one son, namely, of Samuel. How then does she say that she has borne seven children, unless indeed any one thinks that the unit is in its strictest nature identical with the number seven, not only in number, but also in the harmony of the universe, and in the reasonings of the soul which is devoted to virtue? For he who was devoted to the one God, that is Samuel, and who had no connection whatever with any other being, is adorned according to that essence which is single and the real unit;
13. Strabo, Geography, 5.2.4, 7.7.5, 7.7.10, 8.6.13, 9.5.10, 9.5.19 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. BCE)

5.2.4. Almost every one is agreed that the Pelasgi were an ancient race spread throughout the whole of Greece, but especially in the country of the Aeolians near to Thessaly. Ephorus, however, says that he considers they were originally Arcadians, who had taken up a warlike mode of life; and having persuaded many others to the same course, imparted their own name to the whole, and became famous both among the Greeks, and in every other country where they chanced to come. Homer informs us that there were colonies of them in Crete, for he makes Ulysses say to Penelope — Diverse their language is; Achaians some, And some indigenous are; Cydonians there, Crest-shaking Dorians, and Pelasgians dwell. [Od. xix. 175.] And that portion of Thessaly between the outlets of the Peneius and the Thermopylae, as far as the mountains of Pindus, is named Pelasgic Argos, the district having formerly belonged to the Pelasgi. The poet himself also gives to Dodonaean Jupiter, the epithet of Pelasgian: — Pelasgian, Dodonaean Jove supreme. Iliad xvi. 223. Many have likewise asserted that the nations of the Epirus are Pelasgic, because the dominions of the Pelasgi extended so far. And, as many of the heroes have been named Pelasgi, later writers have applied the same name to the nations over which they were the chiefs. Thus Lesbos has been called Pelasgic, and Homer has called the people bordering on the Cilices in the Troad Pelasgic: — Hippothous from Larissa, for her soil Far-famed, the spear-expert Pelasgians brought. Iliad ii. 840 Ephorus, when he supposes that they were a tribe of Arcadians, follows Hesiod, who says, The sons born of the divine Lycaon, whom formerly Pelasgus begot. Likewise Aeschylus in his Suppliants, or Danaids, makes their race to be of Argos near Mycenae. Ephorus likewise says that Peloponnesus was named Pelasgia; and Euripides, in the Archelaus, says, Danaus, who was the father of fifty daughters, having arrived in Argos inhabited the city of Inachus, and made a law that those who had before borne the name of Pelasgiotae throughout Greece should be called Danai. Anticlides says, that they first colonized about Lemnos and Imbros, and that some of their number passed into Italy with Tyrrhenus, the son of Atys. And the writers on the Athenian Antiquities, relate of the Pelasgi, that some of them came to Athens, where, on account of their wanderings, and their settling like birds in any place where they chanced to come, they were called by the Athenians Pelargi. 7.7.5. Now as for the Epeirotes, there are fourteen tribes of them, according to Theopompus, but of these the Chaones and the Molossi are the most famous, because of the fact that they once ruled over the whole of the Epeirote country — the Chaones earlier and later the Molossi; and the Molossi grew to still greater power, partly because of the kinship of their kings, who belonged to the family of the Aeacidae, and partly because of the fact that the oracle at Dodona was in their country, an oracle both ancient and renowned. Now the Chaones and the Thesproti and, next in order after these, the Cassopaei (these, too, are Thesproti) inhabit the seaboard which extends from the Ceraunian Mountains as far as the Ambracian Gulf, and they have a fertile country. The voyage, if one begins at the country of the Chaones and sails towards the rising sun and towards the Ambracian Gulf and Corinthian Gulf, keeping the Ausonian Sea on the right and Epeirus on the left, is one thousand three hundred stadia, that is, from the Ceraunian Mountains to the mouth of the Ambracian Gulf. In this interval is Panormus, a large harbor at the center of the Ceraunian Mountains, and after these mountains one comes to Onchesmus, another harbor, opposite which lie the western extremities of Corcyraea, and then still another harbor, Cassiope, from which the distance to Brentesium is one thousand seven hundred stadia. And the distance to Taras from another cape, which is farther south than Cassiope and is called Phalacrum, is the same. After Onchesmus comes Poseidium, and also Buthrotum (which is at the mouth of what is called Pelodes Harbor, is situated on a place that forms a peninsula, and has alien settlers consisting of Romans), and the Sybota. The Sybota are small islands situated only a short distance from the mainland and opposite Leucimma, the eastern headland of Corcyraea. And there are still other small islands as one sails along this coast, but they are not worth mentioning. Then comes Cape Cheimerium, and also Glycys Limen, into which the River Acheron empties. The Acheron flows from the Acherusian Lake and receives several rivers as tributaries, so that it sweetens the waters of the gulf. And also the Thyamis flows near by. Cichyrus, the Ephyra of former times, a city of the Thesprotians, lies above this gulf, whereas Phoinike lies above that gulf which is at Buthrotum. Near Cichyrus is Buchetium, a small town of the Cassopaeans, which is only a short distance above the sea; also Elatria, Pandosia, and Batiae, which are in the interior, though their territory reaches down as far as the gulf. Next in order after Glycys Limen come two other harbors — Comarus, the nearer and smaller of the two, which forms an isthmus of sixty stadia with the Ambracian Gulf, and Nicopolis, a city founded by Augustus Caesar, and the other, the more distant and larger and better of the two, which is near the mouth of the gulf and is about twelve stadia distant from Nicopolis. 7.7.10. This oracle, according to Ephorus, was founded by the Pelasgi. And the Pelasgi are called the earliest of all peoples who have held dominion in Greece. And the poet speaks in this way: O Lord Zeus, Dodonaean, Pelasgian; and Hesiod: He came to Dodona and the oak-tree, seat of the Pelasgi. The Pelasgi I have already discussed in my description of Tyrrhenia; and as for the people who lived in the neighborhood of the sanctuary of Dodona, Homer too makes it perfectly clear from their mode of life, when he calls them men with feet unwashen, men who sleep upon the ground, that they were barbarians; but whether one should call them Helli, as Pindar does, or Selli, as is conjectured to be the true reading in Homer, is a question to which the text, since it is doubtful, does not permit a positive answer. Philochorus says that the region round about Dodona, like Euboea, was called Hellopia, and that in fact Hesiod speaks of it in this way: There is a land called Hellopia, with many a corn-field and with goodly meadows; on the edge of this land a city called Dodona hath been built. It is thought, Apollodorus says, that the land was so called from the marshes around the sanctuary; as for the poet, however, Apollodorus takes it for granted that he did not call the people who lived about the sanctuary Helli, but Selli, since (Apollodorus adds) the poet also named a certain river Selleeis. He names it, indeed, when he says, From afar, out of Ephyra, from the River Selleeis; however, as Demetrius of Scepsis says, the poet is not referring to the Ephyra among the Thesprotians, but to that among the Eleians, for the Selleeis is among the Eleians, he adds, and there is no Selleeis among the Thesprotians, nor yet among the Molossi. And as for the myths that are told about the oak-tree and the doves, and any other myths of the kind, although they, like those told about Delphi, are in part more appropriate to poetry, yet they also in part properly belong to the present geographical description. 8.6.13. It is said that Asine too was a habitation of the Dryopians — whether, being inhabitants of the regions of the Spercheius, they were settled here by the Arcadian Dryops, as Aristotle has said, or whether they were driven by Heracles out of the part of Doris that is near Parnassus. As for the Scyllaion in Hermione, they say that it was named after Scylla, the daughter of Nisus, who, they say, out of love for Minos betrayed Nisaea to him and was drowned in the sea by him, and was here cast ashore by the waves and buried. Eiones was a village, which was depopulated by the Mycenaeans and made into a naval station, but later it disappeared from sight and now is not even a naval station.
14. Plutarch, Sayings of The Spartans, 7 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)

15. Plutarch, Pyrrhus, 1 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)

16. Pausanias, Description of Greece, 9.30.6 (2nd cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)

9.30.6. Others have said that his wife died before him, and that for her sake he came to Aornum in Thesprotis, where of old was an oracle of the dead. He thought, they say, that the soul of Eurydice followed him, but turning round he lost her, and committed suicide for grief. The Thracians say that such nightingales as nest on the grave of Orpheus sing more sweetly and louder than others.
17. Philostratus, Pictures, 2.33 (3rd cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)



Subjects of this text:

subject book bibliographic info
achilles, at dodona Kowalzig, Singing for the Gods: Performances of Myth and Ritual in Archaic and Classical Greece (2007) 344, 345, 346
acroceraunian cape, mountains, or promontory Roller, A Guide to the Geography of Pliny the Elder (2022) 188
aegean sea, islands in Roller, A Guide to the Geography of Pliny the Elder (2022) 189
ainianes Kowalzig, Singing for the Gods: Performances of Myth and Ritual in Archaic and Classical Greece (2007) 345
alexander the great Roller, A Guide to the Geography of Pliny the Elder (2022) 188
ambracian (ambracius) bay or gulf Roller, A Guide to the Geography of Pliny the Elder (2022) 188, 189
anthropology Gagne, Cosmography and the Idea of Hyperborea in Ancient Greece (2021), 45
antigoneia Roller, A Guide to the Geography of Pliny the Elder (2022) 188
antigonenses, in epirus Roller, A Guide to the Geography of Pliny the Elder (2022) 188
aornos Roller, A Guide to the Geography of Pliny the Elder (2022) 188, 189
aous (aoos) river Roller, A Guide to the Geography of Pliny the Elder (2022) 188
arcadia, region in peloponnesus Roller, A Guide to the Geography of Pliny the Elder (2022) 188
argos pelasgikon Kowalzig, Singing for the Gods: Performances of Myth and Ritual in Archaic and Classical Greece (2007) 346
athamantine plain Kowalzig, Singing for the Gods: Performances of Myth and Ritual in Archaic and Classical Greece (2007) 346
athamas Kowalzig, Singing for the Gods: Performances of Myth and Ritual in Archaic and Classical Greece (2007) 346, 347
athena itonia, immigrant from thessaly Kowalzig, Singing for the Gods: Performances of Myth and Ritual in Archaic and Classical Greece (2007) 345
birds Roller, A Guide to the Geography of Pliny the Elder (2022) 188, 189
cassiopaei Roller, A Guide to the Geography of Pliny the Elder (2022) 189
ceraunian mtns. Roller, A Guide to the Geography of Pliny the Elder (2022) 188
cestrini Roller, A Guide to the Geography of Pliny the Elder (2022) 189
chaones, chaonians Roller, A Guide to the Geography of Pliny the Elder (2022) 188, 189
chorography Gagne, Cosmography and the Idea of Hyperborea in Ancient Greece (2021), 45
complicated past, interlocking traditions Kowalzig, Singing for the Gods: Performances of Myth and Ritual in Archaic and Classical Greece (2007) 344, 345, 346, 347
corinthian gulf Roller, A Guide to the Geography of Pliny the Elder (2022) 188
cosgrove, denis Gagne, Cosmography and the Idea of Hyperborea in Ancient Greece (2021), 45
dodona Roller, A Guide to the Geography of Pliny the Elder (2022) 188, 189
dryopes Roller, A Guide to the Geography of Pliny the Elder (2022) 189
ephyra, in thesprotia Roller, A Guide to the Geography of Pliny the Elder (2022) 189
epiros (epirus) Roller, A Guide to the Geography of Pliny the Elder (2022) 188, 189
eratosthenes of cyrene Roller, A Guide to the Geography of Pliny the Elder (2022) 188
eurydice Roller, A Guide to the Geography of Pliny the Elder (2022) 188
famine, father, god as Birnbaum and Dillon, Philo of Alexandria: On the Life of Abraham: Introduction, Translation, and Commentary (2020) 264
fragment Gagne, Cosmography and the Idea of Hyperborea in Ancient Greece (2021), 45
geography, ancient Gagne, Cosmography and the Idea of Hyperborea in Ancient Greece (2021), 45
god, as father Birnbaum and Dillon, Philo of Alexandria: On the Life of Abraham: Introduction, Translation, and Commentary (2020) 264
hellespont Roller, A Guide to the Geography of Pliny the Elder (2022) 188
hellopes Roller, A Guide to the Geography of Pliny the Elder (2022) 189
identity, general, ethnic Kowalzig, Singing for the Gods: Performances of Myth and Ritual in Archaic and Classical Greece (2007) 344, 345, 346, 347
light, and shadow Birnbaum and Dillon, Philo of Alexandria: On the Life of Abraham: Introduction, Translation, and Commentary (2020) 264
light, sight and Birnbaum and Dillon, Philo of Alexandria: On the Life of Abraham: Introduction, Translation, and Commentary (2020) 264
locris Roller, A Guide to the Geography of Pliny the Elder (2022) 188
memories, religious, intertwined with current practice Kowalzig, Singing for the Gods: Performances of Myth and Ritual in Archaic and Classical Greece (2007) 344, 345, 346, 347
migrations, myths of, boiotia Kowalzig, Singing for the Gods: Performances of Myth and Ritual in Archaic and Classical Greece (2007) 344, 345, 346, 347
migrations, myths of, claims to sanctuaries through Kowalzig, Singing for the Gods: Performances of Myth and Ritual in Archaic and Classical Greece (2007) 345, 346
migrations, myths of, interlocking network of Kowalzig, Singing for the Gods: Performances of Myth and Ritual in Archaic and Classical Greece (2007) 344, 345, 346, 347
mobility, of populations Kowalzig, Singing for the Gods: Performances of Myth and Ritual in Archaic and Classical Greece (2007) 344, 345, 346, 347
mycenae, mycenaeans (bronze age), at dodona Kowalzig, Singing for the Gods: Performances of Myth and Ritual in Archaic and Classical Greece (2007) 345
names of god, father Birnbaum and Dillon, Philo of Alexandria: On the Life of Abraham: Introduction, Translation, and Commentary (2020) 264
names of god, masculine participle Birnbaum and Dillon, Philo of Alexandria: On the Life of Abraham: Introduction, Translation, and Commentary (2020) 264
network, of myths and rituals (also myth-ritual web, grid, framework), several interlocking (central greece) Kowalzig, Singing for the Gods: Performances of Myth and Ritual in Archaic and Classical Greece (2007) 344, 345, 346, 347
neuter participle Birnbaum and Dillon, Philo of Alexandria: On the Life of Abraham: Introduction, Translation, and Commentary (2020) 264
odysseus Kowalzig, Singing for the Gods: Performances of Myth and Ritual in Archaic and Classical Greece (2007) 345
olympias, mother of alexander the great Roller, A Guide to the Geography of Pliny the Elder (2022) 188
oracles Roller, A Guide to the Geography of Pliny the Elder (2022) 188, 189
orpheus, orphic cosmology Roller, A Guide to the Geography of Pliny the Elder (2022) 188
past, mythical, interlocking Kowalzig, Singing for the Gods: Performances of Myth and Ritual in Archaic and Classical Greece (2007) 346, 347
pausanias Roller, A Guide to the Geography of Pliny the Elder (2022) 188
pelasgians, at dodona Kowalzig, Singing for the Gods: Performances of Myth and Ritual in Archaic and Classical Greece (2007) 346, 347
pelasgians, epeiros Kowalzig, Singing for the Gods: Performances of Myth and Ritual in Archaic and Classical Greece (2007) 346
pelasgians, in thessaly Kowalzig, Singing for the Gods: Performances of Myth and Ritual in Archaic and Classical Greece (2007) 346, 347
pelasgians, traditions interlocking with central greeks Kowalzig, Singing for the Gods: Performances of Myth and Ritual in Archaic and Classical Greece (2007) 346, 347
pelasgiotis Kowalzig, Singing for the Gods: Performances of Myth and Ritual in Archaic and Classical Greece (2007) 346
peloponesian war Roller, A Guide to the Geography of Pliny the Elder (2022) 188
perception of god Birnbaum and Dillon, Philo of Alexandria: On the Life of Abraham: Introduction, Translation, and Commentary (2020) 264
periander of corinth Roller, A Guide to the Geography of Pliny the Elder (2022) 188
perrhaebi Roller, A Guide to the Geography of Pliny the Elder (2022) 189
philip ii of macedonia Roller, A Guide to the Geography of Pliny the Elder (2022) 189
philostratos Kowalzig, Singing for the Gods: Performances of Myth and Ritual in Archaic and Classical Greece (2007) 345, 347
phocis Roller, A Guide to the Geography of Pliny the Elder (2022) 188
phthia Kowalzig, Singing for the Gods: Performances of Myth and Ritual in Archaic and Classical Greece (2007) 346
pindus mtns. Roller, A Guide to the Geography of Pliny the Elder (2022) 188, 189
powers of god, creative Birnbaum and Dillon, Philo of Alexandria: On the Life of Abraham: Introduction, Translation, and Commentary (2020) 264
powers of god, perception of Birnbaum and Dillon, Philo of Alexandria: On the Life of Abraham: Introduction, Translation, and Commentary (2020) 264
powers of god, senior Birnbaum and Dillon, Philo of Alexandria: On the Life of Abraham: Introduction, Translation, and Commentary (2020) 264
powers of god Birnbaum and Dillon, Philo of Alexandria: On the Life of Abraham: Introduction, Translation, and Commentary (2020) 264
proklos Kowalzig, Singing for the Gods: Performances of Myth and Ritual in Archaic and Classical Greece (2007) 347
pyrrhus of epirus Roller, A Guide to the Geography of Pliny the Elder (2022) 188
region, myth and formation of Kowalzig, Singing for the Gods: Performances of Myth and Ritual in Archaic and Classical Greece (2007) 344, 345, 346, 347
sanctuaries, controversial control of Kowalzig, Singing for the Gods: Performances of Myth and Ritual in Archaic and Classical Greece (2007) 347
sanctuaries, migrating Kowalzig, Singing for the Gods: Performances of Myth and Ritual in Archaic and Classical Greece (2007) 345, 346
scholia, to pindar, to homer Kowalzig, Singing for the Gods: Performances of Myth and Ritual in Archaic and Classical Greece (2007) 344
selloe Roller, A Guide to the Geography of Pliny the Elder (2022) 189
sexual license, shadow, light and Birnbaum and Dillon, Philo of Alexandria: On the Life of Abraham: Introduction, Translation, and Commentary (2020) 264
sophokles Kowalzig, Singing for the Gods: Performances of Myth and Ritual in Archaic and Classical Greece (2007) 344
sparta, spartans Roller, A Guide to the Geography of Pliny the Elder (2022) 188
strabo Gagne, Cosmography and the Idea of Hyperborea in Ancient Greece (2021), 45
syngeneia (kinship) Kowalzig, Singing for the Gods: Performances of Myth and Ritual in Archaic and Classical Greece (2007) 346
territory Gagne, Cosmography and the Idea of Hyperborea in Ancient Greece (2021), 45
tetrads (thessaly) Kowalzig, Singing for the Gods: Performances of Myth and Ritual in Archaic and Classical Greece (2007) 346
the three visitors, allegorical interpretation of Birnbaum and Dillon, Philo of Alexandria: On the Life of Abraham: Introduction, Translation, and Commentary (2020) 264
the three visitors Birnbaum and Dillon, Philo of Alexandria: On the Life of Abraham: Introduction, Translation, and Commentary (2020) 264
thebes, and tripodophoric rite Kowalzig, Singing for the Gods: Performances of Myth and Ritual in Archaic and Classical Greece (2007) 347
theoria, as myth-ritual network Kowalzig, Singing for the Gods: Performances of Myth and Ritual in Archaic and Classical Greece (2007) 344, 345, 346, 347
theoria, patterns reworked over time (delos) Kowalzig, Singing for the Gods: Performances of Myth and Ritual in Archaic and Classical Greece (2007) 344, 345, 346, 347
thesprotia Roller, A Guide to the Geography of Pliny the Elder (2022) 188
thessalians, claim to dodona Kowalzig, Singing for the Gods: Performances of Myth and Ritual in Archaic and Classical Greece (2007) 344, 345, 346
thessalians, migrations of Kowalzig, Singing for the Gods: Performances of Myth and Ritual in Archaic and Classical Greece (2007) 344, 345, 346, 347
thessalians Kowalzig, Singing for the Gods: Performances of Myth and Ritual in Archaic and Classical Greece (2007) 344, 345, 346, 347
thessaliotis Kowalzig, Singing for the Gods: Performances of Myth and Ritual in Archaic and Classical Greece (2007) 346
thessalo-boiotian tradition Kowalzig, Singing for the Gods: Performances of Myth and Ritual in Archaic and Classical Greece (2007) 344, 345, 346, 347
thessalos Kowalzig, Singing for the Gods: Performances of Myth and Ritual in Archaic and Classical Greece (2007) 344, 345
thessaly Roller, A Guide to the Geography of Pliny the Elder (2022) 189
thyamis river Roller, A Guide to the Geography of Pliny the Elder (2022) 189
to dodona Kowalzig, Singing for the Gods: Performances of Myth and Ritual in Archaic and Classical Greece (2007) 344, 345, 346, 347
tomaros, mt. Kowalzig, Singing for the Gods: Performances of Myth and Ritual in Archaic and Classical Greece (2007) 346
tomouroi Roller, A Guide to the Geography of Pliny the Elder (2022) 189
votive axes' Kowalzig, Singing for the Gods: Performances of Myth and Ritual in Archaic and Classical Greece (2007) 345
votive axes Kowalzig, Singing for the Gods: Performances of Myth and Ritual in Archaic and Classical Greece (2007) 344, 347
zeus (god) Roller, A Guide to the Geography of Pliny the Elder (2022) 189
zeus dodonaios, at dodona, (wo)men priests Kowalzig, Singing for the Gods: Performances of Myth and Ritual in Archaic and Classical Greece (2007) 344, 345, 346, 347
zeus dodonaios, at dodona, oracle, oracular tree Kowalzig, Singing for the Gods: Performances of Myth and Ritual in Archaic and Classical Greece (2007) 344, 345
zeus dodonaios, at dodona Kowalzig, Singing for the Gods: Performances of Myth and Ritual in Archaic and Classical Greece (2007) 344, 345, 346, 347
κατάχρησις Birnbaum and Dillon, Philo of Alexandria: On the Life of Abraham: Introduction, Translation, and Commentary (2020) 264
τὸ ὄν Birnbaum and Dillon, Philo of Alexandria: On the Life of Abraham: Introduction, Translation, and Commentary (2020) 264
ὁ ὤν Birnbaum and Dillon, Philo of Alexandria: On the Life of Abraham: Introduction, Translation, and Commentary (2020) 264