Kabiroi

Archaeopress Archaeology www.archaeopress.com NVMINA MAGNA Roma e il culto dei Grandi Dei di Samotracia Emiliano Cruccas Archaeopress Roman Archaeology 56 Cruccas NVMINA MAGNA Il culto dei Grandi Dei di Samotracia, diffuso nel Mediterraneo orientale a partire almeno dal VII secolo a.C., è caratterizzato da differenze nei diversi bacini geografici, sia per ciò che concerne le manifestazioni culturali, sia per quanto riguarda i rapporti con le divinità locali. Confusi ed identificati con i cosiddetti Cabiri, queste divinità avevano i loro principali santuari sulle isole di Samotracia e Lemno e a Tebe di Beozia. La loro connessione con i Dioscuri, i Penati e i Lari e la loro funzione protettiva sembrano essere la chiave di lettura per comprendere il complesso sincretismo che caratterizza il culto dei Grandi Dei a partire dalla conquista romana del Mediterraneo occidentale. Le fonti letterarie sembrano evidenziare, infatti, nel periodo nel quale le azioni di politica estera di Roma si concentrano in Oriente, una forte volontà di identificare gli dei di Samotracia con divinità tipicamente romane come Lari e Penati. Lo scopo di questo libro è quello di mettere in evidenza i principali aspetti del culto attraverso l'analisi delle influenze del sostrato culturale e mitologico di Roma. Emiliano Cruccas ha conseguito presso l'Università di Cagliari la laurea (2002) e la specializzazione in Archeologia Classica (2006). È Dottore di ricerca con una tesi sul culto dei Cabiri e dei Grandi Dei discussa all'Università di Tübingen (2011). Ha svolto ricerca presso l'Università di Cagliari con un contratto di due anni per Giovani Ricercatori e con un assegno di ricerca di tre anni. Attualmente dirige sul campo il progetto di scavo ISTHMOS nella città punico-romana di Nora (sud Sardegna).

The cult of the Kabiroi and the Great Gods has in its diachronic development a great number of regional differences and syncretisms with local cults, but some elements seem to confirm a substantial original uniformity. The aim of this paper is to show the symbology of the birds within the Kabiric cult, above all of roosters: these animals were depicted as votive gifts on vases and terracotta figurines. The principal feature of these iconographic elements is the relationship, on the one hand, with the homosexual and ephebic sphere, and on the other hand with the Hieros Gamos ritual. This paper concerns the symbology of these animals as votive gifts in the Cult of the Kabiroi. We find roosters on reliefs of the heroon of Diodoros Pasparos in Pergamon, too: this cultic place shows features and structures, which seems to be connected with the cult of the Kabiroi and the Great Gods. The aim of this paper is to clarify the role of the rooster in this cult and to understand the reasons behind the choice of this symbology though an analysis of the literary and iconographic sources.

This work exposes and documents in multiple cases how preformated Gods organized in two distinct and very precisely typed sets of triads were created at will in archaic Etrusco-Tiberine Italy by/for every social entity of any type and size, from individuals to the most organized State level. Such dual sets of religious figures were systematically devised and set-up in order to symbolically define and delimit how the said social entities integrated into the global social framework. The first triadic set, which we call ‘’ territory-control masculine triad’’, has for typical example* the so-called Roman archaïc triad, three male gods forming a group related to territory control by the said social entity where each one is gifted with differentiated properties associated to a partition of the territory in layers (or concentric circles, see schematic of topological correspondences) from the outer fringe to the most intimate inside, whether ‘’territory’’ is actually of geographical, economic, social, ethnic, or of any other nature. The second triadic set, which we call ‘’populus triadic set’’, has for typical example* the so-called Roman Capitoline triad, one male deity and two female deities, forming a group with collective properties related to the development of the population of the said social entity (the ‘’populus’’) where these deities each exercize specific roles linked in a symbolic logical chain mimicking human biological impregnation. Religious authorities governing the social institutions in Rome continuously adapted the cult framework to new situations created by internal social evolution or as need arose from critical circumstances. They case by case transposed territorial existence problematics and community development dynamics concerns of any level into customized collective metaphysics by creating as needed n-plicate avatars of a unique religious representation of mankind’s condition. This methodology was applied with systematic care to any type of social entity, from single individuals and straight nuclear families up to the entire community federated as the global political body. Hence the social, but as well political, military, civilian organization history, as well as family house-keeping traditions of Rome, can be seen and reinterpreted as threaded with such religious innovations, which can from now on be analysed as structured steps with precise purposes moved by social lobbies or ethnic communities within the Roman society. Clear hints in Etruria and Iguvium indicate that similar socio-religious logics were applied in an Italian scope that went way beyond the sole range of the Roman society, thus raising the question of where the system originates. These two triads are in addition associated to a time-presiding divinity, in charge of the saecula of the entity and supervising the relationship with the divine world, through augury, sortes, or any type of divination. While the triads occupy the city and the equivalent of the capitolium, in a more or less explicitly coupled way depending on the context, the time divinity is clearly separated and placed at the arx (or the closest functional equivalent).

La représentation du dieu Cabire et de son acolyte Pais sur un vase fameux du Cabirion thébain est prétexte à une réflexion sur l'iconographie particulière des vases cabiriques. Les personnages grotesques ne sont pas des figurants masqués. La déformation des traits qui touche toutes les figures est à comprendre comme un filtre grotesque, procédé purement iconographique, visant à exprimer l'altérité des divinités du lieu. Si Cabire et Pais échappent significativement à ce filtre déformant, c'est que les Grecs se refusent à la représentation d'êtres divins, dans le cadre rituel, sous forme grotesque ou non idéalisée. L'altérité physique des divinités elles-mêmes est ainsi reportée sur les figures qui les côtoient directement. Le Cabirion thébain peut se lire comme un laboratoire de l'intégration de l'altérité de divinités conçues comme étrangères, altérité qui n'est pas gommée mais exprimée sous une forme et dans une mesure acceptables pour un esprit grec.

"Riassunto: Il complesso gruppo divino del mondo greco e micro-asiatico noto con i nomi di Cabiri e Grandi Dei presenta nel suo sviluppo diacronico un consistente numero di sincretismi e prestiti da altri culti, derivati soprattutto dalla diversificazione dell’organizzazione rituale in rapporto al pantheon regionale e al contesto cronologico di riferimento nei quali si inseriscono i differenti santuari. Le caratteristiche mitiche e cultuali della figura di Dioniso presentano numerosi punti di contatto con quelle del culto cabirico, in particolare nell’Asia Minore di età ellenistica. In questo contributo si cercherà di esporre brevemente tali peculiarità e di porre in evidenza le dinamiche alla base di tali fenomeni sincretici.

Abstract: The features of the complex group of gods of the Greece and Asia Minor, known as Cabiroi or Great Gods, has in his diachronic development a great number of syncretisms with other cults. This situation come above all from the different organization of the rituals depending on the local pantheon and the chronological context of different sanctuaries. In spite of this state of affairs, this cult shows similarities with that of Dionysos, above all in Asia Minor during Hellenistic age. This paper aims to speak about these features and to clarify the dynamics of this syncretic process."

This paper focuses on a particular and “abnormal” animal victim in ancient greek cults: the sacrifice of pregnant animals, in fact, is often linked to unusual and liminal cultic performance, connected with chtonic
deities. This analysis focuses on the cult of Kabiroi and Great Gods, with particular attention to Thebes in Boeotia and Andania in Messenia, in order to interpret the meaning of this animal sacrifice in the context of
greek religion.

Tra i reperti di maggior interesse provenienti dal santuario cabirico nei pressi di Tebe vanno senz’altro annoverati le trottole e gli altri oggetti legati all’infanzia che sembrano configurarsi come dono votivo al Pais. Quest’ultimo era il giovinetto coppiere e compagno della divinità principale del luogo di culto, il Cabiro. La presenza di questi oggetti legati alla sfera dell’infanzia e lo status di dono votivo sembrano ricollegarsi a riti di passaggio connessi all’evolversi del ciclo biologico dei piccoli devoti. Inoltre, questa tipologia di ex voto richiama alla mente elementi del mito legati ai racconti antropogonici relativi al mito di Dioniso–Zagreus, personaggio con numerosi punti di contatto con il mondo cabirico, non ultima la presenza nel suddetto episodio di personaggi come i Cureti–Coribanti, spesso identificati con i Cabiri e connessi con cerimonie a carattere misterico.

Among the most interesting finds from the sanctuary of the Cabiri near Thebes we must certainly count the spins and other objects linked to childhood that seem to be seen as a votive gift to Pais. This was the young butler and companion of the main deity of the place of worship, the Cabiro. The presence of these items related to the sphere of childhood and the status of votive gift seem to reconnect to the rites of passage associated with the evolution of the biological cycle of the young devotees. In addition, this type of ex voto calls to mind elements of the myth related to anthropogonic stories on the myth of Dionysus–Zagreus, not least the presence of characters in that episode as the Curetes–Corybantes, often identified with the Cabiri and associated to Mystery rites.

Starting from the central position of the concept of «imitation», the present
paper aims at shedding light on some of the specific dynamics of the missionary strategy adopted by Paul of Tarsus and his fellow workers at Thessalonica. Beginning from a comparison between 1 Thess 1,6; 2,14-15 and Acts 17,5-8 and bearing in mind the context of the Macedonian city which was imbued with a Hellenistic-Jewish culture, it is possible to show how much the imitation of the «persecuted bodies» – and not just commitment to an oral message – favoured the reception of the Pauline kerygma both by the Thessalonians and also by those who believed in Jesus in Macedonia and Achaia.

Η θρησκεία των Θρακών ήταν πολυθεϊστική και αποτελείτο από δύο κατηγορίες θεοτήτων, τις πανελλήνιες και τις τοπικές (κυρίως ανατολικής προέλευσης, αλλά και αυτόχθονες). Υπάρχουν πολλές πληροφορίες, οι οποίες επιβεβαιώνουν τη θεοσέβεια ακόμα και την θρησκοληψία διαφόρων θρακικών φύλων. Όσον αφορά στις

Questo contributo si prefigge di evidenziare alcuni aspetti dell’Eracle Dattilo, figura daimonica del pantheon greco collegata alla Beozia e ad un sostato culturale fenicio. Pausania ci informa dell’esistenza di luoghi di culto in suo onore a Tespie e Micalesso, precisa che questa figura è connessa ad alcune devinità semitiche quali Melqart, Ptah, Bes, e gli attribuisce dei poteri apotropaici e terapeutici. Attraverso l’analisi delle diverse fonti note, il nostro obiettivo è quello di definire il profilo di questo Eracle in relazione con alcuni amuleti magici utilizzati dalle donne in epoca ellenistica e romana al fine di prevenire alcune malattie.

The aim of this paper is to outline some features of Herakles Daktylos, a daemonic figure of the Greek pantheon, connected with the region of Boeotia and with a cultural substrate located in Phoenicia. As Pausanias reports, Herakles Daktylos was worshipped in Thespies and Mikalessos. According to him, he was related to Semitic gods like Melqart, Ptah, Bes and had apotropaic and healing powers. By analyzing different sources, we try to define this Herakles and his relation to magic amulets used by woman in Hellenistic and Roman ages to prevent certain diseases.