Divine epithets

In this paper I review the Greek evidence for a root λαφ-'take' going back to PIE *labʰ-or *lembʰ-(: Ved. ra(m)bh-/la(m)bh-). To the evidence already adduced by previous researchers (λάφῡρα 'spoils'; ἀμφιλαφής 'widespreading'; εἴληφα 'I have taken'), I propose to add the verb λαφύσσω 'devour' and the divine epithet λαφύστιος 'devourer' , which I derive from a lost agentive compound *labʰu-h 1 (e) d-(tā-) 'greedy eater'. I furthermore propose that the etymologically obscure epithet Λάφριος,-ίᾱ is another derivative of the same root. Most of the deities designated by these epithets-from Zeus Laphystios to Artemis Laphriaappear to have been receivers of bloody (even human) sacrifice, or otherwise connected with violence and rapacity. Lastly, I discuss potential comparative evidence for a root *labʰ-or *lembʰ-from other IE branches.

The full paper is available upon request.

Divine epithets are short nouns, adjectives, and participles which are in apposition to the actual name of a deity or which even replace it. Since incantations and incantation-prayers must be effective, they are enhanced by a variety of strategies. Divine epithets can be understood as strategies used to improve the effectiveness of ritual speeches. They evoke divine qualities that are relevant for a particular context and allow for a more effective interaction with the deities. Divine epithets may also refer to successful mythical deeds of the gods which provide positive analogies for the present situation and, therefore, guarantee the achievement of the supplicant’s request.

The article considers the poetical function of epithets in the short Homeric hymn " to Gaia (XXX) ". The primary objective was to determine whether epithets could convey a deity's image within the span of a brief narrative, since, as is often the case, Homeric hymns, owing to their brev­ ity, do not contain a protracted mythological story. Furthemore, the article examined images of the goddess Gaia in the Greek literary tradition after Homer and Hesiod.

This paper analyses the divine onomastic sequences documented in the rural epigraphy of Baetica by applying the taxonomy of divine epithets developed within the EPIDI project. The aim is to determine whether or not the use of these onomastic formulae is independent of the usage found in the cities and, consequently, whether they reveal religious behaviours specific to the countryside that would allow us to speak of a rustic religious praxis, or whether, on the contrary, they reflect an orthopraxis determined by urban religion. to this end, we conduct, firstly, a comparative study of the gods and epithets attested in the urban zones and in the rural areas of the province. Secondly, we examine the most singular deities and epithets from the rural milieu taking into ac- count the circumstances that may have motivated the worshippers’ choice of the deities and the divine appellatives concerned.

L’Asie Mineure est la région du monde méditerranéen avec la plus large variété de dénominations collectives pour des dieux qui partagent un lieu de culte, construites sur le lexique spécifique des cohabitations divines (ex. θεοὶ ἐντεμένιοι, θεοὶ σύνναοι, θεοὶ σύμβωμοι) ou sur des propositions à peur près synonymes (ex. θεοὶ οἱ ἐν τῷ τεμένει, θεοὶ οἱ παρὰ Δάματρι καὶ Κούρᾳ πάντες καὶ πᾶσαι), et la deuxième région, après l’Égypte, qui compte le plus grand nombre d’attestations de ce type de désignations. De plus, on trouve  dans l’Anatolie gréco-romaine des groups de dieux qui, sans être désignés par référence à leur condition de cohabitants, sont présentés dans le sources comme l’entourage divin de la divinité ou des divinités principales d’un sanctuaire. Tel est le cas du Dodecatheon qui accompagne tant Men que Zeus Tarigyenos et Hera dans plusieurs sanctuaires de la Lydie, des    dieux συνεπερχόμενοι (“qui apparaissent avec”) co-vénérés avec Men Ploneates à Pereudos et, dans certains contextes, de collectivités génériquement nommées οἱ (ἄλλοι) θεοὶ πάντες καὶ πᾶσαι. Cette étude vise à déterminer les particularités de ces divers ensembles de dieux qui cohabitent, rares ou inexistants dans d’autres parties de la Méditerranée, au moyen de leur analyse dans leurs contextes cultuels. Observer à quel point l’abundance de ces groups divins en Asie Mineure relève des spécificités des cultes locaux anatoliens, savoir si ces collectivités étaient pensées comme une unité divine et traitées comme telle dans les adresses rituelles ou si, au contraire, leurs membres avaient une individualité dans le culte, et identifier leur arrangement dans les contextes spatiaux des sanctuaires sont certaines des problématiques centrales de l’enquête.

This paper examines the epithets of Werethekau  on the Ramesside limestone rounded-top stela of Pennefru in the British Museum London (EA812).  The provenance of this stela was not recorded, but internal evidence suggests Deir el-Medina; the owner of the stela held the title “Guardian of the Place of Truth in the West [of Thebes]”.  Earlier studies miscopied and misinterpreted one of the crucial and principal epithets of Werethekau, “lady of the palace”, on this stela.  This article presents evidence for the new reading and interpretation.

This paper analyses the divine onomastic sequences documented in the rural epigraphy of Baetica by applying the taxonomy of divine epithets developed within the EPIDI project. The aim is to determine whether or not the use of these onomastic formulae is independent of the usage found in the cities and, consequently, whether they reveal religious behaviours specific to the countryside that would allow us to speak of a rustic religious praxis, or whether, on the contrary, they reflect an orthopraxis determined by urban religion. To this end, we conduct, firstly, a comparative study of the gods and epithets attested in the urban zones and in the rural areas of the province. Secondly, we examine the most singular deities and epithets from the rural milieu taking into account the circumstances that may have motivated the worshippers’ choice of the deities and the divine appellatives concerned.

Dionysos’un, Roma İmparatorluk Çağı Küçükasya’sı ve Trakya’sında; bolluk-bereket getiren bir doğa tanrısı ve tiyatronun, sanatçıların ve kentlerin koruyucu tanrısı sıfatlarıyla kentlerde ve kırsalda tapınım gördüğü, ona atfedilen çok sayıdaki farklı epitheton’larından anlaşılmaktadır. Yazıtlardan; tanrı kültünün, külte bağlı olarak hizmet veren kült ve sanatçı derneklerinin, bu derneklere bağlı müritlerin ve sanatçıların  (müzisyenler, oyuncular, dansçılar) varlıklarını öğrenmekteyiz. Bilhassa büyük kentlerde, farklı dönemlerde farklı isimlerle anılan synodos sanatçı derneklerinin yanında thiasos, speira gibi daha geniş kapsamlı kült dernekleri ya da en yaygını mystai olan çeşitli adlar altında toplanan geniş kitleli kült üye grupları hem tapınımda, hem de bu şenliklerde aktif olmuşlardır. Byzantion’a bağlı bir yerleşim olan Rhegion’da (Küçükçekmece) 1942 yılında bir ihbar üzerine ele geçmiş ve İstanbul Arkeoloji Müzelerine getirilmiş, M.S. I. yüzyılın ikinci yarısına tarihli altı onurlandırma yazıtı ışığında Dionysos Kallon’un bu yörede tapınım gördüğünün, onun adına bir kült derneğinin/birliğinin oluşturulduğunun ve bu derneğe bağlı üyelerinin üstlendikleri gymnasiarkhos, agonothetes, eythynos, hiereus veya arkhiereus unvanlarıyla öğrenmekteyiz. Bu bağlamda burada Dionysos Kallon kültü tüm yönleriyle ele alınmakta; kült yapılanması, mystai olarak tanımlanan müritleri, ve bu yazıtlarda onların onurlandırdığı kişilerin onurlandırılma gerekçeleri; Dionysos kültü, kült ve sanatçı dernekleri ve dernek üyeleri hakkında bilgiler sağladığımız antik edebi kaynaklar ve Küçükasya ve Trakya’da bulunmuş, Roma İmparatorluk Dönemi’ne ait diğer epigrafik buluntular ışığında aydınlatılmaya çalışılmaktadır.

Ancient Egyptians considered the minerals a divine gift. Thus, the deities aided the discovery and extraction of minerals in order to be purified, fed and protected against evil, as well as to derive pleasure from receiving mineral–offerings or products made of minerals. Minerals are a significant part of the natural Environment and their irresistible appearance and special properties were always linked to the divine and the world of gods. Written sources in ancient Egypt referred to divine epithets that provide information about their nature, forms of manifestation and spheres of influence. Lapis lazuli (xsbD) is a semiprecious stone that was transported to Egypt from Central Asia (Afghanistan) and was widely used there either for religious or for daily–life purposes. In the case of lapis lazuli, these epithets reflect the different dimensions of its role in the ancient Egyptian thought. According to S. AUFRÈRE, the lapis lazuli divine epithets are divided into two categories: 1. Divine epithets related to masculine divinities or kings; 2. Divine epithets related to female divinities or queens.
This paper sheds light on the importance of minerals in the religious domain of ancient Egypt, and the nature of use of minerals in the divine epithets. More specifically, we shall try to answer the following questions: 1. What was the particular importance of minerals in the ancient Egyptian thought? 2. How did the related divine epithets reflect the features of lapis lazuli?

This paper aims to present the full catalogue of Anatolian anthroponymic cult epithets and to conduct a first general analysis of them, focused on the circumstances under which this naming practice originated and the nature of the bond between the god and the individual from whom he borrows his name.

La onomástica divina en lengua griega es la temática a la que está dedicado el último libro de Robert Parker, Wykeham Professor de Historia Antigua de la Universidad de Oxford hasta 2016, año de su jubilación. Un breve prefacio precede a las 178 páginas que forman el cuerpo de la obra, dividido en seis capítulos y un apartado de conclusión. Lo completan ocho apéndices que profundizan en cuestio-nes abordadas por el autor en los seis capítulos y suman 53 páginas; a estos siguen 11 páginas de bibliografía y un detallado índice temático de 12 páginas. El libro tiene su origen en tres de las seis Sather lectures de la Universidad de California Berkeley impartidas por el autor en 2013, que revisadas y ampliadas constituyen los capítulos 2 y 3 y el apéndice H. Su objeto de estudio es concretamente la interacción entre las convenciones griegas para llamar a los dioses y las propias de otras culturas que entran en contacto con la cultura helénica y adoptan su lengua en tiempos helenísticos y romanos, así como las implicaciones teológicas y cultuales de esta interacción. En otras palabras, Parker se pregunta cómo las maneras de dirigirse y referirse a los dioses en griego se Recensiones Arys, 16, 2018 [532-544] issn 1575-166x PARKER, ROBERT (2017). Greek Gods Abroad: Names, Natures, and Transformations. Sather Classical Lectures LXXII. Oakland: University of California Press. 257 pp. 40, 03 € [ISBN 978-0-5202-9394-6].

En este trabajo se ha recopilado la epigrafía religiosa del litoral mediterráneo de la provincia Tarraconensis con tres objetivos:
en primer lugar, establecer una clasificación de los epítetos cultuales siguiendo la taxonomía que se ha desarrollado en el marco
del proyecto EPIDI. En segundo lugar, llevar a cabo un estudio diferencial en el que se preste especial atención a las divergencias que puedan existir entre los epítetos de los núcleos urbanos y los de las zonas rurales, y explicarlas. Por último, desarrollar un estudio de los dedicantes para determinar la casuística que pudo condicionar la elección de
un tipo de epítetos frente a otros, con el fin de analizar si su acción estuvo condicionada por el contexto urbano o rural en el que los
agentes desarrollaron su acción religiosa.

L’étude des cultes athéniens de quelques figures divines attachées à la mémoire de conflits passés – Zeus Eleutherios, Epôpetês et Tropaios – permet de mettre en relief différents enjeux et problématiques liés à la dimension mémorielle de la religion athénienne. Dans l'optique de mettre au jour les logiques déterminant le choix ou la resémantisation de telle ou telle épithète divine pour soutenir des discours et des pratiques commémoratives, l'examen de ces études de cas témoigne de la diversité des acteurs impliqués (cité, dèmes) et de leurs motivations, tout autant que des contextes énonciatifs et/ou rituels de leur mise en œuvre.

A paper delivered to the biblical studies seminar at the University of St Andrews, 13 February 2019.

The paper focused on the emergence of the epithet *ṯ̣ūr- in the ancient Central Semitic speaking world and its eventual incorporation into the Hebrew Bible.

1. À quels substantifs correspond βοηθός dans la Bible hébraïque ? Est-ce que βοηθός rend des termes hébreux dont la signification principale n’est pas celle de « aider », « venir en aide » ? Dans l’affirmative, comment expliquer un tel phénomène ?
2. Dans la LXX, le substantif βοηθός se réfère-t-il exclusivement à Dieu ?
3. Dans la Bible hébraïque, Dieu est-il décrit par des substantifs ou des verbes avec lequels il serait qualifié de « secours » pour un individu ou pour le peuple ?
4. Dans les textes grecs d’origine non-juive ou non-chrétienne une divinité peut-elle etre qualifiée de βοηθός ?
5. Dans quelle mesure les usages terminologiques des papyrus peuvent-ils contribuer à mieux expliquer l’usage biblique de βοηθός ?