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Classica CracoviensiaXIII, 2009

Krzysztof BielawsKiKraKów

Zeus and Torches (Berlin Paian nr 6870 from The egyPTian museum in Berlin)

the papyrus signed with number 6870 in the Berlin egyptian Museum was discovered in 1918 in Contrapollinopolis (tebais), being a reverse of a military document dated for the end of the year 156 aD, which is terminus ante quam non for the whole document (the reverse texts and notes seem to be written down a little later: in the end of the 2nd or the very beginning of the 3rd century aD1). the discovery has become famous thanks to the five musical fragments – three pieces of them have text with musical notation inscribed above, and two are only musical notes. among these three pieces of poetry with musical notation only one – the paian – is interesting, because the other two we can hardly call even fragmentary: there are just few letters.

the paian has shared the fate of other so called musical fragments: the text itself remains unattended in the shadow of the exciting musical notes. Many artists have tried to perform the ancient Greek music without real understanding of the textual content and context of the poetry. The paian I want to discuss here – thoroughly Apollinian in its content – brings out a very unique picture of Zeus holding torches.

i have divided my short presentation into three parts: 1) introductory remarks about the Berlin papyrus; 2) the content of the paian without any attempt of possible supplementation – and then with proposed supplementation; 3) focus on the last two lines with a picture of zeus holding torches.

1 Cf. G. Pighi, “richerche sulla notazione ritmica greca. le compozizioni vocali e strumentali del Pberol. inv. 6870”, Aegyptus 1943, 23, pp. 169-243 (esp. p. 170), and earlier r. wagner, “Der Berliner Notenpapyrus”, Philologus 1921, 77, p. 256.

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1. introductory remarks

the fragment was published in 1918 by w. schubart2 and then discussed and supplemented by scholars and artists many times; finally we have received a critical edition by west- Pöhlmann3, but i do not think the discussion is finished; moreover, I do not think we have actually started it.

scholars tried to face the problem of possible authorship of the poem and some of the proposed solutions seem interesting and puzzling, even if personally i am absolutely convinced that the task is hopeless and we cannot expect any convincing conclusion.

already reinach4 suggested that the author could be Mesomedes from Crete, but his suggestion passed without any response. in 1998 Anne Bélis – without any real argumentation – proposed the authorship of tynnichos of Chalkis, which was rapidly refuted by Martin l. west, who easily showed that the Berlin paian and extant fragments of tynnichos have nothing in common in metric, dialect forms and vocabulary5. in 2003 tireless anne Bélis came back to the reinach’s idea of Mesomedes’ authorship6. this time she founded her argumentation on the decipherment of one letter of the 4th verse of the papyrus, where she reads the name “Kreta” – “Crete”7 – the homeland of Mesomedes. in prof. Bélis’ opinion the author wanted not only to commemorate his homeland, but also to remind the old tradition, according to which paian comes from thaletas of Gortyn from Viith century BC8.

2 w. schubart, “ein griechischer Papyrus mit Noten”, Sitzungsberichte der Preus-sischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Phill.-Klass. Klasse 1918, 36, pp. 736-738.

3 fragment nr 50 in: Documents of Ancient Greek Music. The Extant Melodies and Fragments, ed., transcribed, comm. e. Pöhlmann, M.l. west, oxford 2001, pp. 166-169.

4 th. reinach, La musique antique, Paris 1926, p. 202, note 1.5 Documents of Ancient Greek Music..., p. 168.6 a. Bélis, “le ‘Péan de Berlin’: un relecture”, Revue des Etudes Grecques 2003,

116, pp. 537-558.7 in any case her argumentation goes directly against M.l. west’s conviction that

decipherment of this fragment of the papyrus is completely wrong and that instead of we should read (“analecta Musica”, Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik 1992, 92, p. 14); but he stresses that this decipherment is “very uncertain”; cf. below.

8 Cf. i. rutherford, Pindar’s Paeans. A Reading of the Fragments with a Survey of the Genre, oxford 2001, p. 15, and G. Huxley, “Cretan Piawones”, Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies 1975, 16, pp. 119-124, esp. p. 120 with notes.

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Mesomedes, as Belis states, paid off a debt to his fellow countryman9, who was to “transfer” paian from Crete to sparta to relieve the city from a plague. she is right when she stresses the similarity of the dialect used by Mesomedes (mainly Doric) and the paian. But we should remember the dubious nature of the mentioned reading – or misreading, as M.L. West claims – of the passage and I am convinced that anonymousness remains and will remain an integral part of the document. these strange metamorphoseis of this invented and imaginary “author” have nothing in common with the interpretation of the content of this piece of poetry, which appears to me much more interesting.

2. The content of the paian

The text of the paian according to the first edition by Pighi10, followed by l. Käppel11 and with changes and modifications by West-Pöhlmann (in the footnotes), without any supplementation and with provisory division to verses looks as follows:

, [ ] , [ ] 12 [ ] , 13 [ ] ’ ’ [ ] 14[ ] [ ] [ ] , [ ] [ ] [ ] , [ ] , [ ]

the translation of such fragmentary text can be hardy satisfying, but on the other hand that is the first step to possible supplementation

9 a. Bélis, op. cit, p. 556.10 G. Pighi, op. cit., pp. 174-175 and hand transcription on p. 198.11 l. Käppel, Paian. Studien zur Geschichte einer Gattung, Berlin 1992, p. 392.12 in Documents of Ancient Greek Music... reading – instead of .13 M.l. west (ibidem) has .14 Ibidem: – cf. the discussion below.

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and surprisingly we can read out from these scraps much more that one could suppose at first glance.

the translation of the fragmentary verses would look like this:1. Paian, [o] Paian [ ] 2. Pleases Delos [ ] ??3. these of Ksanthos [ ] ??4. and springs of ismenos [ ] Cr[e]te5. Paian, who for Muses15 [ ] springs6. of hymns beg [ ] voice7. Which the fire [ ] with hair around8. of lato [ ] mother’s dishonor9. Glory [ ]

10. for which zeus holds the torch [ ]11. for which in clods of soil [ ]

How much can we read out and understand from this decipherment? obvious apollinian elements, together with pre-apollinian and Cretan Paianic vocabulary, are clear enough for reconstruction of the structure of the poem.

Verses 1 to 4 seem to represent a typical invocation to the god, with enumeration of his attributes (lost) and topography (preserved) connected with Apollo’s activity. That’s a very interesting modification of the typical structure of hymn’s invocation, with epithets used as captatio benevolentiae for following wishes. there we have: – Delos – the place of the god’s birth, present in all literary aitiologies,

an island in the centre of Cyclades with many evidences of cult of artemis, apollo and lato16;

– Ksanthos – a name of a river in Troas, named in the “gods’ language” as Homerus states. in men’s language it is famous scamander (cf. e.g. Il. 20, 74, five times in Ilias): , – “river the gods call Xanthus, but all men name Scamander” (transl. Ian Johnston). M.l. west17 enumerates dozens of such words from the gods’ language vocabulary, found

15 Possibly: “of Muses” – Doric gen. pl. with – ending.16 Cf. H. Kalcyk, “Delos”, in: Brill’s Neue Pauly. Encyclopaedia of the Ancient

World, vol. 4, leiden 2004, col. 210-216 with wide bibliography.17 in the commentary to the verse 831 of Hesiod’s Theogony (Hesiod Theogony, ed.

M.l. west, oxford 1966, p. 387). Cf. also M.w. edwards, The Illiad: A Commentary,

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mainly in Homerus but also in Pindar, orphic fragments and others. the river scamander appears in the paian as a place of a special activity of apollo, recalling not only his role in heroic deeds but also his many epiphanies;

– Ismenos – the biggest river in Beotia, strictly connected with Apollo’s cult and with the oracle. its sources reach thebes and Kadmeia18. Apollo was worshiped first in Ismenium, a temple close to Kadmeia19, as a local deity, step by step being overwhelmed by apollo of Delphi. there was a famous oracle in ismenium, renowned earlier than the Delphic one20. remains of the apollo ismenios’ temple go back to the geometric period and then to Viii-Viith BC buildings21. Divination traditions were very strong in whole Beotia from archaic, Mykenian times, and the region boasted of numerous sanctuaries 22. teiresias was Beotian. eurypides in Suppliant women calls thebes (1214), and sophocles speaks about ashes of an altar on ismenos (Oedipus the King, 21). the theban ismenium was ranked among the most ancient and most famous sanctuaries. also Herodotus mentions a sanctuary of apollo ismenios in thebes23 and Pausanias describes a sacred hill and a temple dedicated to apollo ismenios24 (Pausanias derivates this god’s name – Ismenios – from the river, and what is very interesting, this epithet in poetry first time appears very lately: in Nonnos’ Dionysiaka 5, 101)25.

– Tere is also Crete – original and permanent place of cult of Paian, connected with apollo.

vol. V, Cambridge 1991, pp. 297-298 with a special attention to most recent research on Ksanthos ethymology.

18 Cf. K. freitag, “ismenos”, in: Der Neue Pauly. Enzykolpädie der Antike, hrsg. v. H. Cancik, H. schneider, M. landfester, stuttgart 1998, col. 1138.

19 Kadmeia and thebes are in fact one city; the name Kadmeia, that was in use till medieval ages, designated the old city, and Thebes – the whole urbanistic complex (cf. s. symeonoglou, The Topography of Thebes. From the Bronze Age to Modern Times, Princeton 1985, p. 13).

20 Cf. U. von wilamowitz-Moellendorff, Pindaros, Berlin 1922, p. 44.21 s. symeonoglou, op. cit., pp. 93, 96-97, 236.22 Cf. a. schachter, “a Boeotian Cult-type”, Bulletin of the Institute of Classical

Studies 1967, 14, pp. 1-14.23 Herodotus, Historiai, i, 52; Viii, 134.24 Pausanias, Periegesis tes Hellados, iX (Boeotia), 10, 2-3.25 Cf. s. symeonoglou, op. cit., p. 9 and 302.

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while looking at the map of the ancient world one can regard this invocation as intended testimony of ubiquitous presence of god Apollo: from the Greek islands, through troas in asia and up to Beotia. all mentioned places are connected with the cult or a mythical, special presence of apollo. two of them remind the prehistory and history of Delphic tradition, and two other stress his presence in mythical-historical memory of the Greeks. the same impression of the god’s omnipresence one can have while taking into account also temporal dimension: apollo is being called a god, who has been present not only everywhere but also always: on Delos where he was born, then in Crete, in heroic period in Ilion and finally in Delphi, where he was residing even in historical times. we can follow many apollo’s metamorphoseis and activities.

Beside topography, the scraps of the text mention Muses, two springs and hymns – typical imagery and vocabulary of Apollinian poetry and of paian as a literary genre.

Verses 5-6 introduce apollo as a leader of Muses (the same we have in Homeric Hymn to apollo 188-203 and in Pindar’s Nemean ode V, 23). the picture of Muses dancing to the music of apollo’s lyre appears also in Hesiod (The Shield of Herakles 201) and Homerus (Odyssey, 604)26.

There are two springs in the poem: the first one is the spring of ismenos (verse 4: ), explained above, the second – form the verse 5 – must be Kastalian springs, connected with Beotia and Muses.

there is more apollinian vocabulary in the preserved text, like apollo’s hair ( – as in Delphic Paian or Bakchylides) or – very puzzling in this context – fire () in connection with god’s eyes. But most interesting are last two verses, which surprisingly show possible metamorphosis of myth and god himself in the context of cult and religion.

26 Cf. commentary by s. Pulleyn (Homer. Illiad. Book I, oxford 2000, p. 275), who considers the meaning of Homeric and suggests that the verb can mean exactly “sing in answer to the accompaniment of apollo’s lyre”.

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3. Zeus holding torches

in the next to last line we see zeus holding torches for (in easy readable Dative) somebody (missing), i suppose: for apollo; “for” can mean a cultic act of honor or can be an element of a ritual behavior, in which apollo is a participant, somebody subjected to a religious activity in the presence of zeus himself. zeus holds torch(es?) exactly as dadouchoi in eleusinian mysteries (verb: daidouchei). the basic function of torch is connected with purification (purification by fire) and in this role appears in eleusis27. second possible use of torch in ritual recalls archaic fertility ceremonies. J.G. frazer28 describes processions on fields which were to stimulate their fertility. Fertility ceremonies and purifications were deeply connected in all celebrations with torches: holding or shaking the torches, getting them close to the ground or to somebody’s body had the same, complex aim: to purify and lead to gods’ kindness and any kind of fertility.

in Troyan Women (343) by euripides Herakles holds a torch above newly married, which follows this archaic cult of fertility and looking for gods’ favor.

there is no epigraphical evidence, no visual representation of zeus holding torches; we can hardly trace any connection of zeus or apollo with eleusinian Mysteries. zeus played a role in eleusinian myth and Persephone’s rape, but, as far as we know, it had no reflection in any eleusinian ritual. similarly, apollo had nothing in common with eleusis.

But maybe we are wrong looking so seriously at the – doubtless of course – ritual meaning of daidouchei?

suda in his Lexicon29 informs curtly that v means just .

on the other hand, a.B. Cook30 remarks that a torch suggests a solar cult, which seem to be a very tempting and convincing trace in the case

27 N.J. richardson, The Homeric Hymn to Demeter, oxford 1974, p. 22 and esp. p. 166.

28 J.G. frazer, The Golden Bough. The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings, vol. 2, London 1926, p. 195 sq., 230 sq.

29 s.v. (Suidae Lexicon, ed. a. adler, vol. 1, lipsiae 1931, p. 1).30 a.B. Cook, Zeus. A Study in Ancient Religion, vol. I, p. 346 – in the commentary

to a coin from trajan’s times; the picture on the coin represents apollo holding a bow in one hand, and a torch in the other.

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of apollo and zeus31. if the suggestion is right, we could more easily connect the solar cult of zeus with fertility cult of apollo. zeus appears here as a daidouchos, who by light of the sun-torch urges the earth to fertility, and Apollo as a deity of good harvest, who accepts sacrifices of fruits of the earth.

zeus is making an ancient gesture that belongs to fertility cult. this is not a gesture of entreaty, but a promise of good harvest. the highest among gods, in the presence of his son apollon, the healer and protector of good harvest, is persuading the earth to be fertile.

the last verse brings our attention to soil, agriculture and again to vegetative cults. We have here a picture of soil which bears fruits – in all possible supplementations ksanthoi: “yellow” or “golden” – which in connection with these lumps or clods of earth suggests cereal rather than olive oil or honey.

ian Bremmer again stresses the agrarian nature of apollo in this context (to support his thesis he quotes Erytrean paian to Asclepios, with final request for “divine growth”32) and this association seems to him very “strange and special”33. i do not think it is, because agrarian-vegetative functions of Apollo are – even if forgotten and neglected – primordial and obvious. He was always worshiped as god of vegetation, of growth of trees and flowers and of good harvest34 – which, on the

31 Late evidence for connection between torch and Sun one can find in St. Basil’s homily (in the words: “attende tibi ipsi”, 33, 19): ’A′ œceij Ñxut£tw drÑmw di¦ p£shj ¹mšraj dvdoucoànt£ soi t¾n lamp£da.

32 editions: Collectanea Alexandrina, ed. J.U. Powell, oxford 1925, pp. 136-138; l. Käppel, op. cit., pp. 372-374, with a commentary on pp. 189-206; Greek Hymns. A Selection of Greek Religious Poetry from the Archaic to the Hellenistic Period, ed. by W.D. Furley, J.M. Bremer, vol. II, Tübingen 2001, pp. 163-167 with commentary.

33 Ibidem, p. 385.34 l.r. farnell, The Cults of the Greek States, vol. 4, oxford 1896, p. 124 and

above, p. 101 about cereal sacrifices on Delos in connection with Herodotus tale in 4, 33-34 (cf. commentaries ad loc., eg. a. Corcella, Erodoto. Le Storie, vol. 4, Milan 1993, p. 259, or: Herodotus. The Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Book, ed. by r.w. Macan, vol. 1, london 1895, p. 23); the same cf. Kalimach, Hymn to Delos, verse 283-284 with com-mentary by w.H. Mineur (Callimachus. Hymn to Delos. Introduction and Commentary, leiden 1984, p. 226); about vegetative cults in general see: w. Mannhardt, Wald- und Feldkulte, vol. ii: antike wald- und feldkulte aus Nordeuropäicher Überlieferung erk-läutert, Berlin 1905.

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other hand, must have connection with his identification as a solar deity35.

Pausanias says that in Delphi apollo was worshiped as – “of cereal”, or even as “defender of cereal”36, and among Beotians as a : “defender against locust”37. we must remember also the very old and popular Homeric epithet of apollo “smintheus” (Ilias, 1, 39) which recalls the same function of this god as “cereal defender”, more precisely as “defender against mice” 38 – I do like LSJ’s (s.v. 1620) translation: “mouse-killer”39.

Poetic, musical and prophetic forms of apollo’s cult moved to shadow these original and permanently present vegetative aspects of his nature, but it does not mean that they disappeared and were deleted from religious imagination and cult. the features of apollo present in this paian are in no measure “strange”, “surprising” or “special”.

with such background in understanding of content of preserved scraps of this paian, it would be extremely interesting to go through existing supplementations – there are at least three of them which would need attention, but there is no time for such exciting task here.

standard edition of the text with supplementation by M.l. west from west-Pohlmann “canonical” edition40 looks abelow:

[] [ ] ©j [ ] {} [ ] [ ] [] [ ] [ ] [ ] à[ ] ¥ ] ‹ [ ] [

35 l.r. farnell, op. cit., p. 136.36 Pausanias, Periegesis tes Hellados, X, 15, 2.37 Ibidem, i, 24, 8.38 l.r. farnell, op. cit., pp. 130, 164-166.39 see also G.s. Kirk, The Iliad. A Commentary, vol. i, Cambridge 1985, p. 57.40 Ibidem, pp. 166-167; see also M.l. west, op. cit., p. 14.

i have to confess that i do not like this supplementation. “eurotas” and “termillians” never appeared in any piece of Greek poetry and it is much more difficult to connect these words with any Apollinian context. i hope that discussion on this fascinating poem is not over, even if shadowed by M.l. west’s authority, and that curiosity for gods’ metamorphoseis will successfully lead us to looking for new metamorphoseis of the text itself.