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by Sarah Iles Johnston


  8o. MacFarlane, 18o-8z, 213-14.

  811. In addition to the passages from Antoninus, Ovid, Apuleius, and Pliny mentioned above, we have passages from Pliny that say a eunuch's urine is fecunditatis veneficia (HN z8 5118), which may mean nothing more than its accidental propinquity will lead to abortion. Elsewhere, however, he says that aetite protects a fetus from all abortuum in- sidias (30 544; cf. Ael. NA 11.35) and that gold amulets protect infants from veneficia (335z5), which seem clearer references to the expectation that a pregnant woman or baby might be attacked. Pausanias's version of Heracles' birth says that Hera sent creatures called pharmakides to impede Heracles' delivery; the word pharmakides seems to suggest that they were mortal women knowledgeable in drugs, but their close connection with Hera hearkens back to all the earlier versions of the story, according to which the problem was caused by Hera's emissaries, Lucina or Eileithyia and the Moirai, without any mortal help (Paus. 9.1111.2). Cicero tells of how a pregnant woman secretly was given ve- nenum in order to deprive her husband of an heir (Clu. 311), and Ammianus tells us that Constantine's wife repeatedly caused her sister-in-law to abort in the same way (116.110.118 ).

  8z. Cf. Faraone 1gg1a.

  83. Plu. Amat. 768a. Cf. his remarks in De inv. et od., esp. 536e-537a and 538e.

  84. Throughout this discussion, I use "envy" to refer only to destructive envy; the Greeks, of course, recognized that some types of envy could be positive, motivating individuals to higher achievements. Often, zelos and its cognates refer to the "good" envy and phtbonos and its cognates to the bad. The distinction and interplay between bad and good envy are explored by many scholars with reference to specific works of literature; for an overview of the topic, see Walcot. Also useful is McCarthy.

  87. E.g. Plu. Aud. 5 (39e) (6aKVEw); Basil. hom. 11.1 (KaTEvO Eiv); job. Chrys. in i Cor. hom. 31.4 = PG 61.z64 (&aTpwyew); Theocr. 5.1z (Ti eeiv). Further examples and discussion in Dunbabin and Dickie.

  88. Leto and Niobe: Il. z4.6oz-17, and frequently thereafter. Aedon and Niobe: Ant. Lib. ri, z-5. Hera and Aphrodite: schol. A.R. I.93z; Suda, s.v. Priapos III; EM, S.V. Abarnida; Tz. Lycophr. 83 r. R. Lullies, "Priapos," RE XXII.z, col. 19.7, thinks the story was known at least as early as the second-century B.C.E. elegiast Artemidorus of Ephesus.

  85. See, most recently, Bulman, with bibliography; also Kirkwood.

  86. See the discussion in Dunbabin and Dickie.

  89. See, e.g., Foster, esp. 301-4; Dionisopoulos-Mass, esp. 51-5z (on a contemporary Greek village); and Wolf.

  9o. Walcot, z8-z9, 59-61; cf. 5z-8 on ostracism. Cf. Bremmer 1997, 88-9z.

  91. See examples of the amulets and discussion of the envious child-killer they represent in Dunbabin; Vikan; Bonner 1950; Perdrizet igzz; Lawson, 173-84; and M. Gaster. The presumption that the demon shown on the amulets (who is female from the waist up and a fish or snake from the waist down) is a child-killer is based on the fact that the hero on horseback who pierces the demon with his spear often is labeled with the name "Sisinnius" or some variation. The most famous deed of St. Sisinnius or Sisoe, as related by Byzantine sources, was the conquering of Gello.

  9z. On phthonos or a phthoneros daimon being blamed for a child's death, see the examples collected by Verilhac (see the indices to the first volume, s.v. 006voc, oovepos, ETri~9ovoc, etc.) and her discussion at z: 199-zo1. Lattimore includes some epitaphs of this type as well, although the lack of an index makes it difficult to find them in his book; a particularly good one is on p. 148.

  95. just, 76-8z; Lacey, io6.

  93• Evans-Pritchard, esp. chs. 1-4; Mayer, 67. The theory has been successfully applied to accusations in a wide variety of other cultures, e.g., Douglas 1973, passim, e.g., 88; Klaits 1z6; MacFarlane, 169-7z-although it has also been shown not to apply in some: see Marnef.

  94. Just, ch. 6; Lacey, 168.

  96. For example, the Athenian laws governing epikleroi (heiresses) ensured that, even if male heirs were lacking, an oikos would not disappear, a possibility that was of grave concern not only to the oikos itself but to the phratry and deme to which it belonged. And in classical Athens, legal cases affecting the family were considered public, rather than private. Recently discussed by just, ch. 5, esp. 97-98 (cf. Lacey, 24-z5); Lacey, 30.

  97. P. Brown, 3z-33. I would differ somewhat from Brown's assessment that the Christians humanized the "ambivalent and somewhat faceless daemones of pagan belief" by investing them with "precise and unambiguous attributes and motives." The humanization of demons may have increased during the Christian period, but as I have shown in this chapter, some pagan demons were already invested with human attributes and motives in archaic and classical Greece.

  98. Mayer, 6o-6i. Cf. the analysis of Klaits, discussing the European witch craze, who suggests that a desire to protect certain images of the self and of God encouraged the belief that misfortune was due to witchcraft. Blaming oneself for misfortune would be too heavy a burden; blaming God would be the same as blaming oneself, as God was understood to punish only those who deserved it. (Blaming a demon, Klaits continues, left the victim feeling relatively helpless, whereas blaming a witch provided the victim, in many cases, with an apparent remedy: the witch could be executed.) Cf. also Mair, z3o: "The stronger the belief that the world ought to be a moral order, the greater the need for the idea of the witch." Generally, the approach of analyzing whom a society blames for misfortune side by side with whom it does not blame was pioneered by Douglas 1966, esp. chs. 6-8, and Douglas 1973, esp. chs. 7-9.

  99. E.g., Plu. QC 68od-e.

  ioo. For excellent analyses of how Democritean theories of sight were developed by later authors interested in the Evil Eye, see Dickie 199o and iggr. Dickie will treat the topic further in a forthcoming paper, the working title of which is "Democritus' Explanation of the Evil Eye and Its Reception in Antiquity," which he kindly shared with me.

  rot. That the envious eye can send forth demons is a belief actually held by some other cultures. See, e.g., Brav, esp. 50.

  1oz. The evidence for this-and for many other remarkable uses of saliva in antiquity-is collected by Nicolson.

  r03. Examples of such amulets can be found in Jahn and Bonner 195o. Further on methods of averting envy, see the articles by Dunbabin and by Dunbabin and Dickie.

  104. Basil, De invid. Basil's views on envy were well analyzed by Vasiliki Limberis in a paper delivered at the 199z meeting of the Society for Biblical Literature, as part of a panel on ancient demonological beliefs organized by David Frankfurter. See also her article as cited in the bibliography. I base my comments here on Professor Limberis's insights.

  105. Stewart, 15.

  i. Trag. Adesp. 375; E. Hel. 569-70.

  z. Hp. Morb. sacr. 4.30-33; Orph. Hymn 1.3.

  3. S. fr. 535; E. Med. 397, Hor. Sat. r.8.33; PGM IV.1390-1495; Macbeth 3.5.

  4. Milet, 1: 3, 15 3, illustr. #41 (Kawerau); ibid., 2-75, no. 129, illustr. #71 (Rehm). Cf. the remarks of Wilamowitz 1931-3z, 1: 169; Nilsson 1967, 7zz; Yavis 1949, 137 53, I.

  5. Berlin Staatl. Mus. TC 77z9. Discussed at Frankel; Knoblauch r83 n. 361; Kraus, z6-z7, Farnell 1896-r9o9, z: 508 and 549, with plate 38a, and Sarien 199z, #1o5. The inscription (IG 12 836) reads: AIFON ANEOEKEN OEKATI.

  6. H. Th. 404-52.

  7. Pi. Pa. z.73-79. Most commentators assume that Hecate is bringing the message of victory because it takes place on the first of the month (i.e., the new moon), a time when Hecate was particularly worshipped in some Greek cities (e.g., Farnell 193 z and S. L. Radt ad loc.). This may be correct, but it does not negate the fact that her interaction with her worshippers is here presented as positive and welcome.

  8. Sarien rggz, 6.1, #44; the figure with two long torches is inscribed EKAKTH, surely a mispelling for EKATH. Ibid., 6.z: 657, #45 and 46, an attic cup and calpis, show a very similar figure with two torches in attendance at weddings. Artemis, too, often carried torches (see esp. Graf 11985, zz8-36 on this shared trait and its effect on the identification of Artemis and Hecate)
but Sarien's opinion is that the iconography of the two vases without labels is so close to that of the labeled vase as to leave little doubt as to Hecate's identity.

  9. E. Tr. 3 z3-z4: A&Sous, w 'EKara, Laos, / / 17ap8€vuw ETri XEKTpo1s, is voµos EXE1. Although some commentators have understood Cassandra's invocation of Hecate as an illomened variation of the more common nuptial invocation of Artemis, nothing in the passage indicates that we are to interpret it this way; e.g., Barlow; Lee; and Biehl, ad loc. The scholiast on the passage notes that Hecate is connected with both marriage and death: T>jv 'EKdTTIV TrapE iL € Sia To leT' Oaiyov ano9vlIGKEIV' X9ovia yap >j 9EOs. i) On yaµ~aios 'EKOTTI.

  ro. Theophoric names: Kraus, zo. It is notable that the original name of the city of Idrias, near Lagina, was Hecatesia (Steph. Byz., s.v. Hecatesia).

  13. For inscriptions, see, e.g., BCH ii (1887): izff., nos. 6, 7, 14, 37, 41, 45; BCH 44 (1920): 7off., nos. z, 6, 9, 15, 17, 18, 53, 56. Discussion at Johnston 1990, 41-42; Kraus, 48-50; Nilsson 1906, 400; Laumonier, 574.

  14. J. Robert, 134-38.

  15. Milet, 1: 3, 392, no. 172 (Rehm). On Hecate as Phosphoros, see Graf 1985, 229. It is interesting that the dedicator (Pausanias) described himself as irpovorjaas TT1S oiKo6oµiac T6V TELXWV (providing for the building of walls); Apollo himself, in whose precinct this altar stands, was the wall builder par excellence. Since Pausanias emphasizes his role as wall builder in his inscription, this must be significant for Hecate and perhaps can be best understood as another aspect of her role as guardian.

  16. Calendar, Milet, 1: 3, 16z, no. 31a (Rehm).

  ii. Kraus, 54-55.

  1z. Kraus, 43-47.

  17. "Trap' 'EKdTTII TT' TrpO O€v TruXEwv" The other gullos was to be set down "ETri 6upac," "at the door," which probably refers to the entrance of the sanctuary of Apollo in Didyma to which the procession led. The first paian at this festival was to be sung to Hecate, which may imply that she was expected to watch over the journey from Miletus to outlying Didyma. The text is LSAM 50.z5-z9; discussion at Graf 1996 (especially important for understanding the spatial significance of the procession), Nilsson 1967, 7zz; Wilamowitz 1931-3z, 1: 169; Kraus, 1z-13. Gulloi may be cubes of stone: see Hesych., s.v. gullos; cf. Rehm in Milet, 1: 3, 164; and Laumonier, 574 n. 7, who prefer to follow the gloss of Hesychius and the Suda that identifies gulios as a sort of picnic basket.

  18. CIG 2796; cf. the comments of Farnell 1896-19o9, z: 6oi n. z3b; Kraus, 39; L. Robert, 6: 79.

  19. Cf. the remarks of Graf 199z.

  zo. Plu. Apophth. Reg. 193f. (notably, he specifies that they should be set up at crossroads outside the city gates, on which see discussion below); Rhodes (third-century B.C.E. Camiros): Segre nos. 116a and 199; Thasos: Picard 1894, 1z8 n. z; cf. Sarien 1992, 6.1, 987; Athens, west road: Wycherley, z59; Acropolis: Paus. z.3o.z; Selinus: Jeffrey, z71, z77, no. 41 (and see discussion at Dewailly, 146-48).

  zi. Fr. 388.

  zz. On Hermes as a god of liminal places, see Johnston 1991, zzo, and Kahn.

  z3. The identification of Hecate and Enodia is attested as early as S. fr. 535; cf. E. Hel. 569-70. For discussion of Enodia in general, see Kraus 77-83. I do not agree with Wilamowitz 1931-3 z, 1: 169, that Enodia was necessarily a "native Greek goddess of witchcraft."

  24. IG IX-2- 575, 577, and 576 (quoted below in n. 42). It is impossible to say whether a practice of erecting statues of Enodia at entrances would have originated in Thessaly or, rather, was later adopted from the cult of Hecate; by the time of our example, the two goddess have become virtually identified.

  z5. In other versions, it is the Devil himself, disguised as a millet grain or clod of dirt in the horse's shoe. For texts and discussion, see Perdrizet and M. Gaster.

  z6. On the reasons that liminal places attract demons, and on liminal rituals in Greece more generally, see Johnston 1991.

  z7. Among recent treatments are Cole 1998; I. Morris 1989, 313-z1; I. Morris 1987, esp. 192-96; de Polignac, esp. chs. i and z. From a different angle, see Seaford 1994, 239-51.

  z8. Hermes' earliest appearance as psychopompos is in Odyssey 14; see discussion at Sourvinou-Inwood 1995, 103-5. He helps family members invoke the souls of their dead at A. Pers. 6z9 and Ch. 1z4, cf. 719.

  z9. Cf. the remarks of Nilsson 19o6, 191.

  30. This has been most recently discussed in Cole 1998.

  31. A. Supp. 676; Ant. Lib. z9 = Nic. fr. 6o (and cf. Ael. NA 12.5 and 15.11 and Borthwick); Enn. ap. Varro, LL 7.16; Hsch., s.v. Genetyllis. On Hecate's role in the Chaldean Oracles, see Johnston 199o, esp. 6z-70.

  32. Dog as sacred to Hecate, e.g., Erfr. 968 and At. fr. 6o8 (cf. Hsch., s.v. Hekates agalma), Orph. H. 1.4; PGM IV.2814-15; see also Roscher 1896, 25-50, passim, but esp. 30-3z. Lyc. 77 and the schol. to At. Pax 277 mention dog sacrifices to Hecate on Samothrace; Paus. 3.14.9 mentions dog sacrifices to Enodia at Colophon. On the sacrifices of dogs at "Hecate suppers," see Johnston 1991.

  33. Dogs and birth goddesses: Plu. QR 5z = z77a-c; Plin. HN 2.9 §58; Hsch., s.v. Genetyllis (who says that Genetyllis is "similar to Hecate"). Aside from these divinities, it is sacred only to Asclepius, the god of healing in general, and Ares, a strange god coming out of the marginal land of Thrace: Burkert 1992., 75-79; Burkert 1985, 169-70; Parker 1983, 357-58; Scholz, 14-22.

  34• Dogs as restless souls or demons: Johnston 199o, ch. 9; Roscher 1896, z5-50. Here, too, we cannot be sure what led to this association, although as Roscher notes there are parallels for it in other cultures, where dogs represent both demons and a means of guarding against them. Perhaps we see reflected here nothing more than reality: dogs can, in fact, be both vicious carnivores and excellent guardians (cf. Plu. QR 276f-z77a).

  35. Sophr. fr. z Demianczuk = Plu. De superst. I7ob.

  36. H. Th. 45o-5z; A.R. 3.861; Orph. H. 1.8; Herodotean Vit. Hom. 41o-zo; schol. At. V. 804: `EKaTaiov tEpov 'EKdTrls, ws TWV A6r)vaiwv rravTaXou 16puoµEvwv auTrv ws c~opov TTQVTuV Kal KOVpOTp64oV.

  37. Schol. Theocr. Id. 2.1 I. Clinton has suggested that Hecate's role as Persephone's trophos was also celebrated during the Athenian Thesmophoria (Clinton 1992., ch. 1). In the Attic deme of Paiania, Hecate's priestesses served in the local Eleusinion: IG I3 z5o = LSS 18 A 33-34(450/30 B.C.E.).

  38. LSCG i8 B 6-i3.

  40. On the frieze, see Kraus, 45-48; Schober, z8 if.

  4r. Kraus (47, cf. 43-45) supports his argument by noting that Hecate's portrayal as a goddess of treaties (represented on the frieze that shows amazons) and as a general fighter on behalf of civilization (represented by her participation in the gigantomachy) are also expressed by the epithets megiste, epiphanestate thea, and soteira that she receives in Asia Minor. Hecate's representation on the south frieze, which Schober argued represents a group of gods paying homage to her, is not preserved. On this point, see also Kraus, 46; Laumonier, 3 5 1.

  39. Maµ[q urrEp rrai&wv 'EKdTr1 Eu/Xfv: MAMA. IV, i no. z illustr. i (Buckler-CalderGuthrie); the tablet shows two boys on the relief. KuvT.avrj KuvTlavou 1TrEp TEKEwv QVEeqKE Td 'EKQTa Kai Maui ToV UIE0 TOO IlalavOs: L. Robert, 10: 115 n. z (from Hasanlar). Men is often associated with mother-goddesses in his Anatolian homeland. On both inscriptions, see also L. Robert, 10: 115 n. z. In neither case is it certain whether Hecate (or Men) is being asked for help with conceiving and bearing children or, rather, for help with raising children, but the difference, for our purposes, is insignificant.

  4z. IG IX.z 575: Ap'yELa: p' 'QVEAEKE UTrEp Tra[L]SOS //T68' QyaXpa EUEaTO: 8' 'A-YETOP FaoTLKdn: 'Evo8Iat. IG IX.z 577: 'Ev[o8]La ETa8N.Ia I I Aya[9i]S AT8OVELTE[L]a / / E[u!;]ali va TrEp [T]o[i] // [TraLb]oc'Ipu----. A third inscription, from a marble stele, is dedicated to 'Evvo8'La AXEEEaTLS, the averter of evil (IG IX.z 576).

  43. See n. z3 above.

  44• IG IX.z 577, 575•

  49. From our earliest source (Od. II.32I-25), Artemis is involved with Ariadne's death at least peripherally. It is likely, given the other similarities she shares with maidens of the type I am discussing here, that the story that Dionysus
swept her away from mortal life because he loved her is relatively late. Cf. Seaford 1988, 125-36.

  45• To mention just a few of many studies: Dowden; Perlman; Sourvinou-Inwood 1988; Cole 1984; King; Calame; Kondis 1967.

  46. Cf. the remarks of Cole 1998, 27 and 40-41.

  47. Callisto angers either Artemis (or in later versions Hera) by losing her virginity. On the development of Callisto's myth and its variations, see Sale 1962 and 1965.

  48. The original version of the myth of the Proetides probably told of their angering Artemis, Hera, or both; see Dowden, 71-95; Seaford 1988 and 1994, 251-53; Calame 214-20.

  51. See n. 48 above.

  5o. Daughters of Cecrops: E. Ion 20-24, 266-74, Apollod. 3.114.5-6, Paus. 1.118.2 and other sources listed by Larson, 39-41, and Burkert 1966.

  51. On the close connection between virgins and suicide by hanging, see King; van Hooff, esp. zz, 4z, 64-66, and appendix A; Loraux 1987, 7-30, and 1995, 101-15. So closely were the two associated in antiquity that the medical writers developed theses to explain the correlation; see King and Hanson.

 

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