Epiphanies and Dreams in Greek Polytheism by Michael Lipka

Author:Michael Lipka
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: De Gruyter
Published: 2021-12-06T07:29:05.912000+00:00

Stratonicea

Nicole Belayche has offered a penetrating analysis of a Stratonicean epiphany account in stone. Her results largely coincide with mine.48 The inscription introduces a new deity (or modified form of an old deity), namely Zeus Panamarus, into the Stratonicean pantheon. It focuses on one single event, the epiphany (again through ‘signs’) of the god during the siege of Stratonicea by the Parthians in 39 BCE, and, as such, is a prime example of the category of ‘siege’ epiphanies.49 This epigraphic epiphany account is so far unique in being followed by a (now lost) public decree. ‘What is most remarkable about this text is that the pious narrative is embedded within a decree of the assembly (though the actual decision is lost): since the god gave aid in all these ways, therefore …’.50 The Stratonicean inscription proves, if proof was needed, that epiphanies serve to legitimize religious innovation: it serves to aetiologize the advent of (Zeus) Panamarus to supplement and ultimately replace the age˗old Zeus Carius in the same extra˗urban sanctuary.51 There can be little doubt that the lost contents of the decree consisted in the ritual elevation of the ‘new’ Zeus through the establishing of a new festival, processions, vel sim. As Belayche has shown, the advent of Zeus Panamarus suggests a fundamental (political) re˗orientation of the Stratonicean Pantheon.

The epiphanic account is of epic breadth, recapitulating numerous ‘epiphanic interventions’ with an unusual desire for detail: the deity intervenes with fire/lightning, mist, storm, i. e., the classic proxies for the god of the heavens, Zeus (who, in an equally epic manner, does not appear in person).52 Further signs of the divine presence are the physical protection of the besieged (ll. 18˗22), barking dogs turning against the aggressors (l. 25), and the lamps in the temple that would not go out during the siege (l. 27). Just like Athena Lindia on Rhodes, Zeus with the cult epithet Panamarus represents an old local/Carian deity, who always retains a distinct indigenous element and is dependent on such Greek narratives to assert his place in the Greek pantheon.53 Predictably, our inscription stresses that this is only one among many epiphanies of the god in the past (ll. 2˗5). According to a convincing reading, the god leads the aggressors to humbly acknowledge his superiority over the Parthian gods (ll. 13 f.).54

The inscription is manufactured close to the actual events in 39 BCE,55 and its addressee is not only the local citizenship, which may feel reassured by it about the powers of its god, but also external political players: ultimately, it suggests support by Zeus for the avengers of Caesar’s murderers: after all, the Parthian aggressors of Stratonicea are led by Quintus Labienus, the supporter of Cassius and Brutus.56 By implication, it is thus Zeus Panamarus who takes revenge on the supporter of Caesar’s assassins.

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