The Good and Evil Serpent (152 page)

221
. Hyginus,
Poetica astronomica
, 2, 3–6; see McPhee,
LIMC
, VI.1, p. 177.

222
. F. 16b. The Greek is not rendered correctly in F. Jacoby,
Die Fragmente der Griechischen Historiker
(Leiden, 1957) erster Teil, Neudruck A, p. 65.

223
. Jacoby,
Fragmente
, F.16a, p. 65.

224
. See E. E. Urbach on hypostatization; in
The Sages
, 2 vols., trans. I. Abrahams (Jerusalem, 1979). Also see C. G. Jung,
Gesammelte Werke
(Olten, 1976) vol. 9.2, p. 294.

225
. See M. Zepf, “Der Gott Alcóv in der hellenistischen Theologie,”
Archivfür Religionswissenschaft
25 (1927) 225–44. Also see M. Le Glay, “Aion,”
LIMC
pp. 399–411, and Nock, “A Vision of Mandulis Aion,” in
Essays
, pp. 357400.

226
. My translation is idiomatic. I have avoided the temptation to produce a rhyme in English. I am convinced such efforts fail to represent the ancient flow of words.

227
. For the Greek, see A. S. Way,
Euripides
(LCL; London, Cambridge, Mass., 1962) vol. 3, p. 324.

228
. See the photograph in
EAA
4 (1961) 1037.

229
.
. See F. Astius (Ast),
Lexicon Platonicum sive vocum Platonicarum Index
, 2 vols. (Bonn, 1835–1838; reprinted: Darmstadt, 1956). For Plato there can be no eternity on earth; see H. Perls, “Zeit,”
Lexikon der Platonischen Begriffe
(Bern, 1973) pp. 401–5.

230
. See the similar thoughts expressed by A. E. Taylor,
A Commentary on Plato’s Timaeus
(Oxford, 1928) p. 187.

231
. See E. Norden,
Geburt des Kindes
(Leipzig, 1924) p. 28.

232
. See
LIMC
, I.2, Plates 310–19.

233
. One example is a mosaic from the Mithraeum of Sentinum in Italy from the third century BCE (illustration no. 13 on Plate 313 in
LIMC
, I.2). Another is in the relief at Modena that dates from the first half of the second century BCE (see illus. no. 17 on Plate 314 in
LIMC
I.2).

234
. See illustration in
LIMC
, I.2, Plate 312, no. 12.

235
. Horapollon,
Hieroglyphika
I.1 and Olympiodorus,
Alch
. 80.9–11; see Z. Kiss, “Ouroboros,”
LIMC
, VII.1, pp. 136–37.

236
. This is also the verdict of Kiss,
LIMC
, VII.1, p. 137. It is confirmed by a study of A. Piankoff,
The Shrines of Tut-Ankh-Amon
(Princeton, 1955) esp. Plate 48.

237
. See the illustrations in
LIMC
, VII.2, Plate 93; see esp. no. 10.

238
. See W. Deonna, “Ouroboros,”
Artibus Asiae
15 (1952) 163–70; K. Preisen-danz, “Aus der Geschichte des Uroboros,”
Brauch und Sinnbild
(Karlsruhe, 1940) pp. 194–209.

239
. For the Greek, see K. Preisendanz,
Papyri Graecae Magicae
(Stuttgart, 1974 [2nd ed.]) vol. 2, pp. 71–72. For the English, see H. F. D. Betz, ed.,
The Greek Magical Papyri in Translation
(Chicago, London, 1985) p. 161. Another extremely important PGM is 1.144–48.

240
.
Metam
. 2.138. For the Greek and English translation, see Ovid,
Metamorphoses
, 2 vols., ed. Miller, vol. 1, pp. 68–69.

241
. My idiomatic translation;
Metam
. 2.173–75; see
Metamorphoses
, ed. Miller, vol. 1, pp. 72–73.

242
. Kiss in
LIMC
, VII.1, p. 137.

243
. Contrast the comment by Z. Kiss in
LIMC
, VII.1, p. 137: Ouroboros “exprime que ‘la fin est le commencement et le commencement la fin.’ “

244
. I saw the quotation while reading Taylor’s
A Commentary on Plato’s Timaeus;
see p. 187 on which this quotation appears from Vaughn’s poem “The World,” stanza 1.

245
. See R. du Mesnil du Buisson, “Le grand serpent Babi Dieu Sid devenu le pèredes Sardes,”
Nouvelles études sur les dieux et les mythes de Canaan
(Leiden, 1973) pp. 228–40.

246
. None of these names appears in LSJM or in
OCD
. See A. Kossatz-Deissmann, “Chnoubis,”
LIMC
, pp. 272–73.

247
. For the Greek and English translation, see Jones,
The Geography of Strabo
, pp. 126–27.

248
. As quoted by A. B. Cook,
Zeus: A Study in Ancient Religion
, 5 vols. (Cambridge, 1914–1940) vol. 1, p. xii.

249
. See the photograph in Avi Yonah and Shatzman,
Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Classical World
, p. 261.

250
. See the minor note in Cook,
Zeus
, vol. 3, part 2, p. 1182; also see p. 1041.

251
. Aelian,
Nat. an
. 11.2. For the Greek and English translation, see Aelian,
On the Characteristics of Animals
, vol. 2, pp. 358–59.

252
. See M. J. Vermaseren,
De Mithrasdienst in Rome
(Nijmegen, 1951); R. L. Gordon, “Mithraism and Roman Society,”
Journal of Religion and Religions
(1973) 92–121; U. Bianchi, ed.,
Mysteria Mihthrae
(Leiden, 1979); Vermaseren,
Mithriaca III: The Mithraeum at Marino
(Leiden, 1982); and the discussion of the Mithraeum excavated in 1922 at Capua by M. J. Vermaseren in
Mithriaca I: The Mithraeum at S. Maria Capua Vetere
(Leiden, 1971); also see the color photographs of the serpent on Plates III, IV, and V.

253
. See illustration nos. 112 and 113 in Leipoldt and Grundmann,
Umwelt des Urchristentums
.

254
. Note the second-or third-century depiction of Mithra, in S. Maria Capua Vetere, killing a bull with a knife and a large serpent attacking from below; see the color photographs in
EAA
2 (1959) 335 and
EAA
5 (1963) 117.

255
. See L. A. Campbell, “Snake,” in
Mithraic Iconography and Ideology
(Leiden, 1968) pp. 13–22. Also see
EAA
5 (1963) 116.

256
. See the illustrations and succint discussion by Vermaseren in
Mithriaca II: The Mithraeum at Ponza
(Leiden, 1974) pp. 20–21, and Plates 28–31.

257
. See S. Insler, “A New Interpretation of the Bull-Slaying Motif,” in
Hommages à Maarten J. Vermaseren
, ed. M. B. de Boer and T. A. Edridge (Leiden, 1978) pp. 51938; the quotation is from p. 536. I think it is pertinent to clarify, as Insler knows, that his interpretation is not “new.”

258
. I think G. H. Halsberghe has tended to focus myopically on the cult of
Sol invictus;
Mithraism was not always inferior to this cult. See Halsberghe,
The Cult of Sol Invictus
(Leiden, 1972).

259
. Vermaseren, “The Miraculous Birth of Mithras,” in
Studia G. van Hoorn
(Leiden, 1951) pp. 285ff.

260
. For a drawing and a brief discussion, see
Lexicon der Mythologie
, p. 12.

261
. I shall use the popular English hybrid: Asclepius.

262
. According to the
Iliad
12, Hector, leader of the Trojans, rejects the idea that a serpent that has just bitten an eagle and thus escapes can be an omen. The event occurred in the presence of the Trojan army.

263
. See A. Gehring,
IndexHomericus
(Leipzig, 1891–1895; reprinted in Hildesheim and New York, 1970). Even better, see H. Dunbar,
A Complete Concordance to the Iliad of Homer
(London, 1975; reprinted by Olms in Hildesheim and New York, 1983). Also see H. Dunbar,
A Complete Concordance to the Odyssey of Homer
(Oxford, 1880; reprinted in Hildesheim and New York, 1971).

264
. See J. R. Tebben,
Hesiod-Konkordanz
(New York, 1977). Also see W. M. Minton,
Concordance to the Hesiodic Corpus
(Leiden, 1976).

265
. T. Schnalke with C. Selheim,
Asklepios: Heilgott und Heilkult
(Erlangen-Nürnberg, 1990) p. 7.

266
. See ibid., p. 9: “Prinzipiell besass jeder griechische Gott Heilungskraft.”

267
. Pliny,
Nat
. 29.1; see the edition by W. H. S. Jones (LCL; London, Cambridge, Mass., 1963) vol. 8, pp. 182–83. Also see, P. Rosumek,
Concordantia in C. Pli-nii Secundi Naturalem Historiam
, 7 vols. (New York, 1996); for
anguis
, see vol. 1, p. 778.

268
. See M. Hamilton,
Incubation
(Laurinburg, N.C., 1906). For bibliographical information on the study of incubation and a succinct summary, see T. A. Brady and J. E. Fontenrose, “Incubation,”
OCD
, pp. 543–44.

269
. S. G. Stauropoulos,
The Askleipeia of Peloponnesia
(Athens, 2000 [in Greek]).

270
. Also note the beautiful green steatite amygdaloid of Epidaurus Limera that is an island gem by the “Serpent Master,” which dates from the second half of the seventh century
BCE
. See the photograph in Grant and Kitzinger, eds.,
Civilization of the Ancient Mediterranean
, vol. 3, p. 1724:a.

271
. See A. Charitonidou,
Epidaurus
([Athens], 1978) p. 7.

272
. See Charitonidou,
Epidaurus
and the more scholarly T. Papadakis,
Epidauros: The Sanctuary of Asclepios
(Zürich, Athens, 1971 [7th ed.]).

273
. See the reconstruction of the Asclepius temple at Epidaurus and at Cos in Schnalke and Selheim,
Asklepios: Heilgott und Heilkult
, pp. 14 and 19.

274
. M. Lang,
Cure and Cult in Ancient Corinth
(Athens, Princeton, 1977) p. 24.

275
. H. Avalos,
Illness and Health Care in the Ancient Near East: The Role of the Temple in Greece, Mesopotamia, and Israel
(Atlanta, 1995) p. 89.

276
. For an examination of metamorphosis, see P. M. C. Forbes Irving,
Metamorphosis in Greek Myth
(Oxford, 1990). Note, in particular, the mention of coupling snakes in the Admetus’ bedroom (Pseudo Apollodorus,
Library
1.9.15), of two snakes signifying death (Cicero,
Div
. 1.6), of Cassandra, Helenus, and Melampus whose ears are cleaned out by snakes (Pindar,
Ol
. 6.45ff.; Porph.
VA
1.20), and of Apollonius of Tyana who eats snakes (Philostr.
VA
1.20). All citations are by Forbes Irving.

277
. I am indebted to L. R. Farnell, “The Cult of Asklepios,” in
Greek Hero Cults and Ideas of Immortality
(Oxford, 1921), pp. 234–79, esp. p. 236. Also see Farnell,
Reflections on Asclepius
, trans. E. Papadopoulos (Athens, 1997 [in Greek]).

278
. See K. Kerenyi,
Der Göttliche Arzt: Studien über Asklepios und seine Kultstätten
(Darmstadt, 1956) esp. p. 7. Also see the translation of this book:
Asklepios: Archetypal Image of the Physician’s Existence
, trans. R. Manheim (New York, 1959).

279
. CIA 31; as cited by Farnell,
Greek Hero Cults
, p. 277.

280
. See H. Matthäus,
Der Arzt in römisher Zeit: Literarische Nachrichten—archäologische Denkmäler
, ed. Ph. Filtzinger (Stuttgart, 1987); see illustration no. 22, which depicts a Roman physician who was portrayed in sculpture as Asclepius.

281
.
On Medicine
Prooemium 2–3. See Celsus,
De Medicina
, ed. and trans. W. G. Spencer (LCL; London, Cambridge, Mass., 1971) vol. 1, pp. 2–3.

282
. Edelstein summarizes his study of Asclepius with the conclusion that “Asclepius was a ‘special god,’ created by men to be in charge of one task alone, that of healing.” Edelstein and Edelstein,
Asclepius
, vol. 2, p. 91. Also see A. Esser, “Asklepios und die Schlange,”
FF
17/18 (1948) 196–198.

283
. See the sixty-one photos that follow p. 214 in J. Schouten,
De slangestaf van Asklepios als symbool van de Geneeskunde
(Amsterdam, New York, 1963).

284
. For the picture, see Schnalke and Selheim,
Asklepios: Heilgott und Heilkult
, p. 10.

285
. R. J. Deferrari et al.,
A Concordance of Ovid
, 2 vols. (Washington, 1939; reprinted in Hildesheim and New York, 1968).

286
. Ovid,
Metam
. 15. 658–62. The text and translation is taken from Edelstein and Edelstein,
Asclepius
, vol. 1, pp. 435–41. Also see Ovid,
Metamorphoses
, trans. R. Humphries (Bloomington, 1957) p. 385. Also see Kerényi,
Asklepios
, vol. 3, p. 10.