Tiresias: The Ancient Mediterranean Religions Source Database

11246

Xenophon, Symposium, 8.40
nan You may regard it as certain, therefore, that our city would be quick to entrust itself to your hands, if you so desire. For you possess the highest qualifications for such a trust: you are of aristocratic birth, of Erechtheus’ line, Callias’s family belonged to the priestly clan of the Ceryces, who traced their lineage back to Ceryx, son of Hermes and Aglaurus. The latter, however, was not a descendant of Erechtheus, but one of his nurses. a priest serving the gods who under the leadership of Iacchus took the field against the barbarian; Herodotus (VIII, 65) and Plutarch ( Life of Themistocles, XV) report the tradition that while the Greek fleet was at anchor near Salamis just before the critical sea-fight, great elation was caused at sight of a big cloud of dust (or, in the later version, a brilliant light) off toward Eleusis , and a wonderful sound as of the Eleusinian festival with its cries to Iacchus, followed by a cloud that drifted directly toward the fleet. and in our day you outshine your predecessors in the splendour of your priestly office in the festival; In addition to being one of the priestly Ceryces, Callias was an hereditary torch-bearer in the Eleusinian festival. and you possess a person more goodly to the eye than any other in the city and one at the same time able to withstand effort and hardship.
nan You may regard it as certain, therefore, that our city would be quick to entrust itself to your hands, if you so desire. For you possess the highest qualifications for such a trust: you are of aristocratic birth, of Erechtheus’ line, Callias’s family belonged to the priestly clan of the Ceryces, who traced their lineage back to Ceryx, son of Hermes and Aglaurus. The latter, however, was not a descendant of Erechtheus, but one of his nurses. a priest serving the gods who under the leadership of Iacchus took the field against the barbarian; Herodotus (VIII, 65) and Plutarch ( Life of Themistocles, XV) report the tradition that while the Greek fleet was at anchor near Salamis just before the critical sea-fight, great elation was caused at sight of a big cloud of dust (or, in the later version, a brilliant light) off toward Eleusis, and a wonderful sound as of the Eleusinian festival with its cries to Iacchus, followed by a cloud that drifted directly toward the fleet. and in our day you outshine your predecessors in the splendour of your priestly office in the festival; In addition to being one of the priestly Ceryces, Callias was an hereditary torch-bearer in the Eleusinian festival. and you possess a person more goodly to the eye than any other in the city and one at the same time able to withstand effort and hardship.

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

14 results
1. Aristophanes, Wasps, 566 (5th cent. BCE - 4th cent. BCE) 566. οἱ δὲ λέγουσιν μύθους ἡμῖν, οἱ δ' Αἰσώπου τι γέλοιον:
2. Herodotus, Histories, 8.65 (5th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE) 8.65. Dicaeus son of Theocydes, an Athenian exile who had become important among the Medes, said that at the time when the land of Attica was being laid waste by Xerxes' army and there were no Athenians in the country, he was with Demaratus the Lacedaemonian on the Thriasian plain and saw advancing from Eleusis a cloud of dust as if raised by the feet of about thirty thousand men. They marvelled at what men might be raising such a cloud of dust and immediately heard a cry. The cry seemed to be the “Iacchus” of the mysteries, ,and when Demaratus, ignorant of the rites of Eleusis, asked him what was making this sound, Dicaeus said, “Demaratus, there is no way that some great disaster will not befall the king's army. Since Attica is deserted, it is obvious that this voice is divine and comes from Eleusis to help the Athenians and their allies. ,If it descends upon the Peloponnese, the king himself and his army on the mainland will be endangered. If, however, it turns towards the ships at Salamis, the king will be in danger of losing his fleet. ,Every year the Athenians observe this festival for the Mother and the Maiden, and any Athenian or other Hellene who wishes is initiated. The voice which you hear is the ‘Iacchus’ they cry at this festival.” To this Demaratus replied, “Keep silent and tell this to no one else. ,If these words of yours are reported to the king, you will lose your head, and neither I nor any other man will be able to save you, so be silent. The gods will see to the army.” ,Thus he advised, and after the dust and the cry came a cloud, which rose aloft and floated away towards Salamis to the camp of the Hellenes. In this way they understood that Xerxes' fleet was going to be destroyed. Dicaeus son of Theocydes used to say this, appealing to Demaratus and others as witnesses.
3. Plato, Euthyphro, 6c, 6b (5th cent. BCE - 4th cent. BCE) 6b. Euthyphro. Yes, and still more wonderful things than these, Socrates, which most people do not know. Socrates. And so you believe that there was really war between the gods, and fearful enmities and battles and other things of the sort, such as are told of by the poets and represented in varied design
4. Thucydides, The History of The Peloponnesian War, 1.24, 2.15.1 (5th cent. BCE - 4th cent. BCE) 2.15.1. From very early times this had been more the case with the Athenians than with others. Under Cecrops and the first kings, down to the reign of Theseus, Attica had always consisted of a number of independent townships, each with its own town-hall and magistrates. Except in times of danger the king at Athens was not consulted; in ordinary seasons they carried on their government and settled their affairs without his interference; sometimes even they waged war against him, as in the case of the Eleusinians with Eumolpus against Erechtheus.
5. Xenophon, Memoirs, 3.5.10 (5th cent. BCE - 4th cent. BCE) 3.5.10. Do you refer to the judgment of the gods, i.e., between Poseidon and Athena for the possession of Attica . which Cecrops delivered in his court because of his virtue? Yes, and the care and birth of Erectheus, Iliad, II. 547. Ἐρεχθῇος μεγαλήτορος οὕ ποτ᾽ Ἀθήνη θρέψε Διὸς θυγάτηρ, τέκε δὲ ζείδωρος Ἄρουρα. and the war waged in his day with all the adjacent country, and the war between the sons of Heracles The Athenians claimed that it was through their assistance that the sons of Heracles gained the victory (Herodotus, ix. 27). and the Peloponnesians, and all the wars waged in the days of Theseus, Against the Amazons and Thracians. in all of which it is manifest that they were champions among the men of their time.
6. Aristotle, Athenian Constitution, 57.1 (4th cent. BCE - 4th cent. BCE)
7. Demosthenes, Orations, 59.73-59.78, 60.27 (4th cent. BCE - 4th cent. BCE)
8. Strabo, Geography, 9.2.11 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. BCE) 9.2.11. Also Mycalessus, a village, is in the Tanagraean territory. It is situated on the road that leads from Thebes to Chalcis; and in the Boeotian dialect it is called Mycalettus. And Harma is likewise in the Tanagraean territory; it is a deserted village near Mycalettus, and received its name from the chariot of Amphiaraus, and is a different place from the Harma in Attica, which is near Phyle, a deme of Attica bordering on Tanagra. Here originated the proverb, when the lightning flashes through Harma; for those who are called the Pythaistae look in the general direction of Harma, in accordance with an oracle, and note any flash of lightning in that direction, and then, when they see the lightning flash, take the offering to Delphi. They would keep watch for three months, for three days and nights each month, from the altar of Zeus Astrapaeus; this altar is within the walls between the Pythium and the Olympium. In regard to the Harma in Boeotia, some say that Amphiaraus fell in the battle out of his chariot near the place where his sanctuary now is, and that the chariot was drawn empty to the place which bears the same name; others say that the chariot of Adrastus, when he was in flight, was smashed to pieces there, but that Adrastus safely escaped on Areion. But Philochorus says that Adrastus was saved by the inhabitants of the village, and that on this account they obtained equal rights of citizenship from the Argives.
9. Plutarch, Solon, 21.5-21.6 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE) 21.5. The sacrifice of an ox at the grave was not permitted, nor the burial with the dead of more than three changes of raiment, nor the visiting of other tombs than those of their own family, except at the time of interment. Most of these practices are also forbidden by our laws, but ours contain the additional proviso that such offenders shall be punished by the board of censors for women, because they indulge in unmanly and effeminate extravagances of sorrow when they mourn
10. Pausanias, Description of Greece, 1.2.4, 1.38.3 (2nd cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE) 1.2.4. On entering the city there is a building for the preparation of the processions, which are held in some cases every year, in others at longer intervals. Hard by is a temple of Demeter, with images of the goddess herself and of her daughter, and of Iacchus holding a torch. On the wall, in Attic characters, is written that they are works of Praxiteles. Not far from the temple is Poseidon on horseback, hurling a spear against the giant Polybotes, concerning whom is prevalent among the Coans the story about the promontory of Chelone. But the inscription of our time assigns the statue to another, and not to Poseidon. From the gate to the Cerameicus there are porticoes, and in front of them brazen statues of such as had some title to fame, both men and women. 1.38.3. When the Eleusinians fought with the Athenians, Erechtheus, king of the Athenians, was killed, as was also Immaradus, son of Eumolpus. These were the terms on which they concluded the war: the Eleusinians were to have in dependent control of the mysteries, but in all things else were to be subject to the Athenians. The ministers of the Two Goddesses were Eumolpus and the daughters of Celeus, whom Pamphos and Homer agree in naming Diogenia, Pammerope, and the third Saesara. Eumolpus was survived by Ceryx, the younger of his sons whom the Ceryces themselves say was a son of Aglaurus, daughter of Cecrops, and of Hermes, not of Eumolpus.
11. Epigraphy, Ig I , 84
12. Epigraphy, Ig I , 84
13. Epigraphy, Ig Ii2, 1328, 3453, 776, 1315
14. Epigraphy, Ig Ii3, 292

Subjects of this text:

subject	book bibliographic info
agathe thea	Mikalson, New Aspects of Religion in Ancient Athens: Honors, Authorities, Esthetics, and Society (2016) 30
anthesteria	Bernabe et al., Redefining Dionysos (2013) 113
antiquity	Bernabe et al., Redefining Dionysos (2013) 113
archon-king ἄρχων βασιλεύς	Bernabe et al., Redefining Dionysos (2013) 113
asclepius, of city	Mikalson, New Aspects of Religion in Ancient Athens: Honors, Authorities, Esthetics, and Society (2016) 30
astynomoi	Mikalson, New Aspects of Religion in Ancient Athens: Honors, Authorities, Esthetics, and Society (2016) 30
athena, polias, promachos, ergane	Edmunds, Greek Myth (2021) 83
athens, athenian	Bernabe et al., Redefining Dionysos (2013) 113
attis and attideia	Mikalson, New Aspects of Religion in Ancient Athens: Honors, Authorities, Esthetics, and Society (2016) 30
bacchus, βάκχος	Bernabe et al., Redefining Dionysos (2013) 113
chorus χορός, choral	Bernabe et al., Redefining Dionysos (2013) 113
clan/kinship group (genos)	Eidinow and Kindt, The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Greek Religion (2015) 295
couch, spreading of, of agathe thea	Mikalson, New Aspects of Religion in Ancient Athens: Honors, Authorities, Esthetics, and Society (2016) 30
couch, spreading of, of attis	Mikalson, New Aspects of Religion in Ancient Athens: Honors, Authorities, Esthetics, and Society (2016) 30
couch, spreading of	Mikalson, New Aspects of Religion in Ancient Athens: Honors, Authorities, Esthetics, and Society (2016) 30
dadouchos δᾳδοῦχος	Bernabe et al., Redefining Dionysos (2013) 113
delium	Edmunds, Greek Myth (2021) 28
delphi, delphian, delphic	Bernabe et al., Redefining Dionysos (2013) 113
dignas, beate	Eidinow and Kindt, The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Greek Religion (2015) 295
dionysos	Bernabe et al., Redefining Dionysos (2013) 113
dismemberment	Bernabe et al., Redefining Dionysos (2013) 113
eleusinian mysteries	Eidinow and Kindt, The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Greek Religion (2015) 295
eleusinians	Edmunds, Greek Myth (2021) 28
eleusis, eleusinian	Bernabe et al., Redefining Dionysos (2013) 113
erechtheidae	Edmunds, Greek Myth (2021) 28
erechtheus	Edmunds, Greek Myth (2021) 28, 83
eumolpus	Edmunds, Greek Myth (2021) 28
eupatridai	Bernabe et al., Redefining Dionysos (2013) 113
eusebeia	Mikalson, New Aspects of Religion in Ancient Athens: Honors, Authorities, Esthetics, and Society (2016) 30
euthyphro	Edmunds, Greek Myth (2021) 83
female	Bernabe et al., Redefining Dionysos (2013) 113
festival, festivity, festive	Bernabe et al., Redefining Dionysos (2013) 113
figs	Bernabe et al., Redefining Dionysos (2013) 113
hierokeryx ἱεροκῆρυξ	Bernabe et al., Redefining Dionysos (2013) 113
horistai	Mikalson, New Aspects of Religion in Ancient Athens: Honors, Authorities, Esthetics, and Society (2016) 30
iaccheion	Bernabe et al., Redefining Dionysos (2013) 113
iacchos ἴακχος	Bernabe et al., Redefining Dionysos (2013) 113
kerykes	Bernabe et al., Redefining Dionysos (2013) 113
kronos	Edmunds, Greek Myth (2021) 83
lenaia	Bernabe et al., Redefining Dionysos (2013) 113
mikalson, jon d.	Eidinow and Kindt, The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Greek Religion (2015) 295
mother of the gods, koinon of	Mikalson, New Aspects of Religion in Ancient Athens: Honors, Authorities, Esthetics, and Society (2016) 30
mystes μύστης	Bernabe et al., Redefining Dionysos (2013) 113
neleus	Mikalson, New Aspects of Religion in Ancient Athens: Honors, Authorities, Esthetics, and Society (2016) 30
panathenaic festival	Edmunds, Greek Myth (2021) 83
parker, robert c. t.	Eidinow and Kindt, The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Greek Religion (2015) 295
pericles, son of	Edmunds, Greek Myth (2021) 28
philotimia	Mikalson, New Aspects of Religion in Ancient Athens: Honors, Authorities, Esthetics, and Society (2016) 30
polis	Bernabe et al., Redefining Dionysos (2013) 113
priest, priesthood	Bernabe et al., Redefining Dionysos (2013) 113
priests (hiereis)/priestesses (hiereiai)/priesthood, duties and functions	Eidinow and Kindt, The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Greek Religion (2015) 295
priests (hiereis)/priestesses (hiereiai)/priesthood, hierophants	Eidinow and Kindt, The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Greek Religion (2015) 295
priests (hiereis)/priestesses (hiereiai)/priesthood	Eidinow and Kindt, The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Greek Religion (2015) 295
priests and priestesses, of asclepius, in city	Mikalson, New Aspects of Religion in Ancient Athens: Honors, Authorities, Esthetics, and Society (2016) 30
priests and priestesses, of athena polias	Mikalson, New Aspects of Religion in Ancient Athens: Honors, Authorities, Esthetics, and Society (2016) 30
priests and priestesses, of mother of the gods	Mikalson, New Aspects of Religion in Ancient Athens: Honors, Authorities, Esthetics, and Society (2016) 30
procession	Bernabe et al., Redefining Dionysos (2013) 113
religious authority, experts (exegetes)	Eidinow and Kindt, The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Greek Religion (2015) 295
rite, ritual	Bernabe et al., Redefining Dionysos (2013) 113
sanctuaries, boundaries of	Mikalson, New Aspects of Religion in Ancient Athens: Honors, Authorities, Esthetics, and Society (2016) 30
sanctuaries	Mikalson, New Aspects of Religion in Ancient Athens: Honors, Authorities, Esthetics, and Society (2016) 30
socrates	Edmunds, Greek Myth (2021) 28, 83
solon, solonian	Bernabe et al., Redefining Dionysos (2013) 113
syria, of mother of the gods	Mikalson, New Aspects of Religion in Ancient Athens: Honors, Authorities, Esthetics, and Society (2016) 30
tables, adornment of, beauty of	Mikalson, New Aspects of Religion in Ancient Athens: Honors, Authorities, Esthetics, and Society (2016) 30
tables, adornment of, for agathe thea	Mikalson, New Aspects of Religion in Ancient Athens: Honors, Authorities, Esthetics, and Society (2016) 30
tables, adornment of, for asclepius	Mikalson, New Aspects of Religion in Ancient Athens: Honors, Authorities, Esthetics, and Society (2016) 30
tables, adornment of, for athena polias	Mikalson, New Aspects of Religion in Ancient Athens: Honors, Authorities, Esthetics, and Society (2016) 30
tables, adornment of	Mikalson, New Aspects of Religion in Ancient Athens: Honors, Authorities, Esthetics, and Society (2016) 30
thiasoi and thiasotai, of agathe thea	Mikalson, New Aspects of Religion in Ancient Athens: Honors, Authorities, Esthetics, and Society (2016) 30
thyiads, thyiades	Bernabe et al., Redefining Dionysos (2013) 113
torch, torchlight	Bernabe et al., Redefining Dionysos (2013) 113
vases	Bernabe et al., Redefining Dionysos (2013) 113
woman'	Bernabe et al., Redefining Dionysos (2013) 113
zeus	Bernabe et al., Redefining Dionysos (2013) 113; Edmunds, Greek Myth (2021) 83