PLUTARCH'S

DE ISIDE ET OSIRIDE
EDITED WITH AN INTRODUCTION
TRANSLATION AND COMMENTARY BY

J. G WYN GRIFFITHS
Reader in Classics in the University of Walu; Lady
Wallis B~Jge Ruearch Lecturer in Egyptology at
University College, Oxford, l!#:J-58; Guut Profusor
in Classics anti Egyptology at r!.e University of Cairo,
196S-66; CorruponJing Mem/Jer ofthe GermanArc!.aeo-
logicalln.rtitute, Berlin

UNIVERSITY OF WALES PRESS

 CONTENTS

~ - -- -..-. Abbreviated References

J _liBRARY . References to Plutarch's Mora/id
page vii
xii
~ UNIVERSITY OF Preface
XV
Introduction
MASSACHUSETIS I. The Text
I

5
II. Linguistic Features
AMHERST, MASS. III. Date and Place of Composition
10

16
IV. Plutarch's approach to Egyptian Religion 18
V. The Myth and Cult ofisis and Osiris: the relevant
Phases 33
VI. Plutarch's Sources 75
VII. The use of Allegory Ioo
VIII. Plutarch's Egyptian 101

Bibliography 111

Sigla 116

Text and Translation 118

Commentary 2 51

Appendix: Divine Equations 572

e University of Wales Press r97o
Indexes
579
Printed in Great Britain
at the University Printing House, Cambridge
(Brooke Cnuchley, University Printer)

V
 ABBREVIATED REFERENCES
Brugsch, Thes .., Thesaurus /nscriptionum Aegyptiacarum.
Brunner-Traut, Bi/Jostralca- Die altiigyptischen Scherhenhilder.
Budge, Osiris Osiris and the Egyptian Resurrection.
CT A. De Buck, The Egyptian Coffin Texts.
(;emy, Ref. - Ancient Egyptian Religion.
Clark, Myth and Symbol Myth and Symbol in Ancient Egypt.
Class. et Med. - Classica et Mediaevalia.
Class. Phi!.... Classical Plzilology.
Conjlict J. Gwyn Griffiths, Tlte Conflict of Horu.r and Seth.
Copt. ... Coptic.
Cumont, Or. Rel. = The Oriental Religions in Roman Paganism (tr. of
the :md French ed.).
DIO - De IsiJe et Osiride.
Dar.- Sag. Ch. Daremberg and E. Saglio, Dictionnaire des antiquitls
grecques et romaines.
Dittenberger, Sy/1. - SyUoge /nscriptionum Graecarum.
Drexler Drexler, 'Isis' in Roscher, Lex. Il (1890-4), 373-548.
Dyn. - Dynasty.
E.-B. Lit. - Erman and Blackman, Tlze Literature of the Ancient
Egyptians.
Edfou- E. Chassinat, Le temple d'Edfou, vols. I-XIV.
Egn.,. Egyptian.
Encyc. Brit. ~Encyclopaedia Britannica.
Erman, Rel. Die Religion der Aegypter.
Erman- Ranke- Erman and Ranke, Aegypten und aegypti.rches Leben im
Altertum.
Erman- Tirard Erman tr. Tirard, Lift in Ancient Egypt.
Etudes Myth. Arch. - Etudes de mythologie et d'arclziologielgyptienne.
FGrH- F. Jacoby, Fragmente der griechi.rchen Historilcer.
FHG= C. Muller, Fragmenta Historicorum Graecorum.
FS. - Festsclt.rift.
Fairman, 'Worship and Festivals' - 'Worship and Festivals in an
Egyptian Temple' in Bull. Rylands, 37 (9S4), 165-2.0J.
Farnell, Cults- Tire Cults of tlt.e Greek States.
Festugiere, RHT==La Rbllation d' Bermes Trismlgiste.
Frazer, AAO II- Adoni.r Attis Osiris, vol. 11 (3rd ed. 1914).
Gardiner, Egn. Gr. - Egyptian Grammar (3rd ed. 1957).
Gardiner, Onom.= Ancient Egyptian Onomastica.
Gk. Greek.
Viii
ABBREVIATED REFERENCES
Goodenough, jewi.rk Symhols - Jewisk Symbols in tire Greco-Roman
Period.
Gressmann, Orient. Re!. Die orientalischen Religionen im heUenistisclr-
riimischen Zeitalter.
Gressmann, Osiris= Tod und Auferstehung des Osiri.r.
Griffith, Rylands Catalogue ofthe Demotic Papyri in the jolm Rylands
Library Manchester, vol. 3
Griffiths, see Conflict.
HF- T. Hopfner, Fontes Historiae Religionis Aegyptiacae.
Harder, Karpolcrates - Richard Harder, Karpolcrates von Clrallci.r und die
memplritische Isispropaganda.
Harris and Lucas, Materials= Ancient Egyptian Materials and In-
dustries (Jrd ed. London, 1948).
Harv. Theol. Rev. .. Harvard Theological Review.
Hastings, ERE- Encyclopaedia of Religion and Etlzics.
Helck, Manetlro =- Untersuchungen {U Manetlt.o und den iigypti.rclren
Konigsli.rten. (Unters. 18, 1956.)
Helck, 'Osiris' = PW s.v. Osiris (1962.), 469-51J.
Helmbold and O'Neil, PQ Plutarclr's Qyotations.
Hopfner Hopfner, Plutarch iiber Isis und Osiris.
]HI- Journal of the History of Ideas.
J WC/=-Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes.
jalzrb. jahrhuch des lcaiserlic!Jen deutschen archiiologischen lnstituts.
Junker, Ahaton- Das Gotterdelcret iioer das Ahaton.
Junker, Der grosse Pylon - Der grosse Pylon des Tempelsder Jsis in Phi/a.
Junker and Winter, Geburtshaus- Das Geburtshaus des Tempels der
Isis in Philii.
Kees, Ancient Eg. - Ancient Egypt: A Cultural Topography (ed.
T. G. H. James).
Kees, GOtterglauhe= Der Gotterglauhe im alten Agypten.
Kees, Kulturg. Agypten. Kulturgesclrichte des alten Orients, 1.
Kees, Priestertum ~ Das Priestertum im Agypti.rclren Staat vom tUuen
Reiclz his rur Spiit{eit.
Kees, Re[. Lesehuc!:- Religionsgeschichtliches Lesebuch. Aegypten.
Kees, Tieropfor= Bemerlcungen {UJn Tieropfor der Agypter und seiner
Symholilc (Nachr. Gottingen, 1942., 71-88).
Kern, Re!. - Die Religion der Griechen.
Kienitz, Geschichte= Die politische Geschic!:te Agyptens vom :;. hi.r 1_um4.
jalzrlrundert vor der Zeitwende.
ix
 ABBREVIATED REFERENCES
Klasens, Mag. Stat. - A Magical Statue Base (Socle Behague).
LSJ - Liddeli- Scott- Jones, A Greek-English Lexicon.
Lament. Jsis Neph. = The Lamentations of /sis and Nephthys.
Leclant, Enquetes- Enquetes sur les sacerdoces et les sanctuaires
egyptiens al'ipoque 'eehiopienne'.
Lepsius, Diem. = Denlcmiiler aus Aegypten und Aethiopien.
Liibker Liibker, Reallexilcon des lclassischen Altertums (8th ed.
1914)
M.K. ... Middle Kingdom.
Merkelbach, Isisfeste = Isisfeste in griechisch-romischer Zeit: Daten und
Riten.
Montet, Everyday Life Everyday Life in Egypt in the days of Ramesses
the Great (tr. M. S. Drawer and A. R. Maxweli-Hyslop).
Montet, Giog. - Geograplzie de l' Egypte Ancienne.
D. Muller, Isis-Aret.=Agypten und die griechisclzen Isis-Aretalogien.
M us. Berl. A. V. .... Konigliche Museen {U Berlin: Ausfiihrlides Vett.eiclz-
nis der aegyptisclzen Altertiimer und Gipsahgiisse (1899).
N.K. New Kingdom.
Nilsson, Dionysiac Mysteries - The Dionysiac Mysteries of the Hellen-
istic and Roman Age.
Nilsson, Gesch. Gr. Re/. ... Geschichte der griecAischen Religion.
Nilsson, Rei. Zauherpap. =-Die Religion in den griechischen Zauher-
papyri.
Nock-Festugiere, Corp. Herm. = Corpus Hermeticum.
OCD- Oxford Classical Dictionary.
O.K. ... old Kingdom.
0 LZ- Orientalistische Literatutt.eitung.
Otto, Hierod. - Beitriige zur Hierodulie im hellenistischen Agypten.
Otto, PT Priester und Tempel im hellenistischen Agypten.
PAPS- Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society.
PW = Pauly-Wissowa-Kroii-Mittelhaus, Real-Encyclopiidie der c/as-
sischen Altertumswissenschafi.
Parker, Calendars= The Calendars of Ancient Egypt.
Parmentier, Recherclies Recherches sur le traite d'Isis et d'Osiris de
Plutarque.
Paroemiographi- Leutsch and Schneidewin, Corpus Paroemiographo-
rum Graecorum.
Parthey Parthey, Plutarch iiher ]sis und Osiris {1850).
Peek, Isishymnus = Der Jsishymnus von Andros und verwandte Texte.
X xi
ABBREVlATED REFERENCES
Pettazzoni, Essays v Essays in the History of Religions.
Porter-Moss, Top. Bihl. Topographical Bihliograplty of Ancient
Egyptian Hieroglyphic Texts, Reliefs, and Paintings.
Posener, Diet. Egn. Civ. - A Dictionary of Egyptian Civili{ation.
Pritchard, ANET Ancient Near Eastern Texts relating to the Old
Testament.
Pyr. = K. Sethe, Die altaegyptischen Pyramidentexte.
Reitzenstein, Hellenist. Myst. =Die lzellenistischen Mysterien-religionen.
Rev. d'igyptol. - Revue d'Egyptologie.
Rev. egyptol. - Revue egyptologique.
Roeder, Uric. Rei. ""' Urlcunden :rur Religion des a/ten Agypten.
Roscher, Lex.- Ausfiihrliclzes Lexilcon der Grieclzischen und Romischen
Mythologie.
Rose, Glc. Myth. = A Handhoolc of Greelc Mythology.
Roussel, CED - Les cultes igyptiens a Dilos.
Rusch, De Serap. et Js. - De Serapide et /side in Graecia cultis.
Seyffert, Diet. = A Dictionary of Classical Antiquities (rev. H. Nettle-
ship and J. E. Sandys).
Spiegelberg, Hdt. - The Credihility of Herodotus' Account of Egypt
(tr. A. M. Blackman).
Tam and Griffith, Hell. Civ.=Hellenistic Civilisation (3rd ed.).
Torhoudt, Gnost. Syst. = Een onhelcend gnostisch systeem in Plutarchus'
De !side et Osiride.
U. Cal. Puh/. Class. Phi/.= University of California Publications in
Classical Philology.
UP Z ""'Wilcken, Urlcunden der Ptolemiiett.eit.
Vandebeek, Isisfiguur- De lnterpretatio Graeca van de /sisfiguur.
Vandier, Arch. Manuel d'arcMologie igyptienne.
Wainwright, Slcy-Rel. The Slcy-Religion in Egypt.
Weber, Terralcouen =Die iigyptisch-griechischen Terralcotten.
Weissenberger, Sprache =-Die Sprache Plutarchs von Chaeronea und die
pseuJoplutarclzisclzen Schrifien. 1, Teil. (Straubing, 1895)
Wiedemann, Agypten= Das alte Agypten.
Wiedemann, Hdt. II- Herodots Zweites Buch.
Wiedemann, Re!. The Religion of the Ancient Egyptians (London,
1897; a revised and augmented version of his German work).
Wiedemann, Sammlung= Sammlung altiigyptischer Worter welche von
lclassischen Autoren umsc!triehen oder iihersel{t worden sind.
Wittmann, Jsishuch :.:.Das Jsishuch des Apuleius.
 ABBREVIATED REFERENCES ABBREVIATED REFERENCES
Wyttenbach, lnaex lnaex Graecitatis. Parts I and :z.=vol. 8 of his De amic. multit.=De amicorum multitudine.
Plutarclzi Moralia (Oxford, I 829). De amore pro!. =De amore pro/is.
ZAS Zeitsch.rifi fiir iigyptisclze Spraclze una Alttrtumslcunae. De anim. procr. in Tim.=De animae procreatione in Timaeo.
Zaehner, DTZor. The Dawn ana Twilight of Zoroastrianism. De cap. ex inimic. utii.=De capUnda ex inimicis utilitate.
Ziegler, Plut. - PW s.v. Plutarchos von Chaironeia (I951), 636--96:z.. De colzih. ira=De colzihenda ira.
Zimmermann, Rel. - Die iigyptisclze Religion nach aer Darsullung Ju De comm. notit. adv. Stoic. =De communihus notitiis adversus Stoicos.
Kirchenschrifimller una die iigyptischen Denlcmiilu. De cup. Jivit. =De cupiaitate Jivitiarum.
De curios.=De curiositate.
De aef. or. =De defictu oracu/orum.
References to the works which are traditionally comprised in De E ap. De/ph. =De E apud Delplzos.
Plutarch's Moralia. De esu cam. =De esu camium orationes ii.
De exil.- De exilio.
Ad princ. inerud.""'Ad principem ineruditum. De fac. De facu quae in orhe lunae apparet.
Aav. Colot. Adversus Coloum. Defato tiid,
A mat. = Amatoriu.r. De fort. - De fortuna.
A mat. narr. = Amatoriae narrationes. De fort. Rom. =De fortuna Romanorum.
An recte diet. sitlat. esse 'lliv. = An recte dictum sit latenter esse 'llivendum. De/rat. amore=Defraumo amore.
An seni rup. ger. sit= An seni respuhlica gerenaa sit. De garr. - De garrulitate.
An 'llirt. doe. poss. = An virtus Joceri possit. De gen. Socr. =De genio Socratis.
An vitios. ad infil. sulf. = An 'llitiositas ad infilicitatem sufficiat. De Hat. malign. =De Herodoti malignitate.
Anim. an corp. affect. sint peior. - Ammine an corporis affectiones sint De invid. et oa. =De invitlia et odio.
peiores. De lih. educ. =De liheris eaucandis.
Ap. Lac. ,..Apoplunegmata Laconica. De mus. De musica.
Aqu. an ign. sit uti/. = Aquane an ignis sit utilior. De placit. plzil. =De placitis plzilosop!torum, lihri v.
Bell. an pace clar. fuerint Atlzen. a Bellone an pace clariores fuerint De prim. frig. =De primo frigido.
Atlzenienses. De Pyt!t. or.=De Pythiae oraculis.
Brut. an. rat. uti - Bruta animalia ratione uti, sive Gryllus. De rect. rat. aud.=De recta ratione audiendi.
Compar. Aristoplz. tt Menanar. compend. .. Comparationis Aristoplzanis De se ips. cit. invia.laud.=De se ip.rum citra invidiam laudanao.
et Menandri compendium. De sera num. vind. - De sera numinis vindicta.
Compena. arg. Stoic. ahsura. poet. dic. Compendium argumenti Stoicos De Stoic. repugn. - De Stoicorum repugnantiis.
ahsurdiora poetis dicere. De superst. - De superstitione.
Compend. lihri de anim. procr. in Tim. = Compendium lihri de animae De tranq. anim. - De tranquil/irate animi.
procreatione in Timaeo. De tuenaa .ran. praec. = De tuenda sanitau praecepta.
Coniug. praec. - Coniugalia praecepta. De unius in rep. dominat., popul. stat. et pauc. imp. - De umus m
Consol. ad ApoO. ... Consolatio ad ApoOonium. repuhlica dominatione, popu/ari statu, et paucorum imperio.
Consol. ad uxor. - Consolatio ad uxorem. De virt. et vit.- De virtute et vitio.
Conv. sept. sap. - Convivium septem sapuntium. De virt. mor. - De virtute morali.
DIO- De /side et Osiriae. De vitanao aere al. - De vitanao aere alieno.
De Alex.fim.- De Alexandri magnifortuna aut virtute, lihri ii. De vitios. put!. - De vitioso pudore.

xii xiii
 ABBREVIATED REFERENCES
Fr. - Fragmenta.
Inst. Lac.=lnstituta Laconi&a.
Lm:aen. ap. =Lacaenarum apoplultegmata.
Max. cum princ. pltil. esse diss.=Maxime cum principihus pltilopltoso
esse disserentlum.
Mu!. virt.=Mul~rum virtutes.
Non posse suav. vivi sec. Epi&ur.=Non posse suaviter vivi secundum
Epicurum.
Par. Graec. Rom. =ParaDe/a Graeca et Romana.
Praec. ger. reip. -Praecepta gerendae reipuh&ae.
Q_uaest. conv. =Q:!aestionum convivalium lihri ix.
Q_uaest. Graec. =Q:!aestiones Graecae.
Q:!aest. nat. =Q_uaestiones naturales.
Q:!aest. Flat. =Q_uaestiones Platoni&ae.
Q:!aest. Rom. =Q:!aestiones Romanae.
Q_uomodo adul. =Q:!omodo adulucens poetas audire deheat.
Q:!omodo adulat. =Q:!omodo adulator ah ami&o intemoscatur.
Q:!omodo quis suos=Q:!omodo quis suos in virtute sentiat profoctus.
Reg. et imp. ap.=Regum et imperatorum apoplttltegmata.
Soll. an. =De sollertia animalium sive Terrestriane an aquatilia animalia
sint calliJiora.
Vrt. dec. orat. Vitae decem oratorum.
References to the fragments of Eudoxus of Cnidos follow the
numeration in F. Lasserre, D~ Fragmente des Eudoxos von Knidos
(Berlin, 1966).
References to Erwin Rohde, Psyche, concern the ninth and tenth
edition (Tiibingen, 19:15).
References to Pliny's Natura/is Historia concern the edition of
C. Mayhoff (Teubner, 1906 fr.).
References to Diels-Kranz, Die Fragmente der Vorsolcratilcer
concern the eighth edition (BerUn, 1956).
xiv
PREFACE
My aim in the present work has been, first of all, to offer a new
recension of the text, with a fuller representation of the evidence
of the manuscripts than has been hitherto attempted. Hopfners
valuable commentary did not aim at doing this; indeed it does not
provide a Greek text at all for the greater part of the work. I have
also attempted a special study of the sources, which has led to
some new conclusions. In the introduction and commentary I
have constantly tried to correlate the data presented by Plutarch
with the evidence of the Egyptian texts, hoping that a first-hand
acquaintance with the latter has enabled many improved inter-
pretations to emerge.
If I have failed in any or all of these aims, it is certainly not for
want of help from others. I am indebted to many scholars and
institutions for their encouragement. It was the late Dr Kathleen
Freeman, of the University College, Cardiff, who first roused my
interest in Ancient Egypt, and the head of the department of Greek,
Prof. H. J. W. Tillyard, kindly invited me somewhat later to
deliver a short series oflectures at the college, in my capacity as a
Fellow of the University, on 'The Myth of Osiris in Greek
Literature . At that time I was not contemplating an edition of
Plutarchs treatise, hut my work at the Universities of Liverpool
and Oxford led me to this theme as a follow-up from other
mythological studies. I was fortunate in that my first teacher in
Egyptian, the late Prof. A. M. Blackman, was keenly interested in
religious texts and indeed was himself deeply religious. From him
and from Prof. H. W. Fairman I received a most helpful induc-
tion into the Egyptian temple texts of the Ptolemaic era. By way
of contrast my next tutor, the late Prof. Battiscomhe Gunn, was
an agnostic, but his approach to religious texts of all periods was
nonetheless invariably illuminating. A season in Egypt and Nuhia
as archaeological assistant to the Egypt Exploration Society gave
me my first introduction to the monuments, and I am indebted to
XV
 PREFACE
the Society for subsequent favours. I am grateful for encourage-
ment at various stages to Professors Jaroslav Cemy, B. Farrington,
G. B. Kerferd, and L. J. D . Richardson; the last-named once
lectured to me on textual criticism and he has maintained a keen
and kindly interest in my work ever since. I am indebted to the
Master and Fellows of University College, Oxford for electing
me to a Lady Wallis Budge Research Lectureship in order to
further the project. They have been kind to me in other ways too
and have facilitated my studies in Oxford.
I have naturally depended much on libraries, and I am indebted,
in the first place, to Mr F. J.W. Harding, Librarian of the University
College of Swansea, and his staff. For Egyptological and related
material I have had the constant privilege of using the Library of
the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, and especially of its Griffith
Institute, a collection probably unsurpassed in its field; I am
grateful to Mr R. J. Ovenell, the Librarian, and his staff~ a?d also
to Dr Rosalind Moss and Miss Helen Murray. Apprectauve use
has been made too of the Bodleian Library, the Peet Memorial
Library of The Qy.een's College, Oxford, and the Library of the
British Museum. Photostats of Greek manuscripts were kindly
supplied by the Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris; the Biblioteca
Apostolica Vaticana; the Biblioteca Nacional, Madrid; the Biblio-
theca Laurentiana, Florence; the Osterreichische National-
bibliothek, Vienna; and the Biblioteca Nazionale di S. Marco,
Venice. I was also permitted to consult the original manuscripts
in the Vatican and Vienna libraries.
A number of scholars have been generous in their active
interest and aid. I owe a special debt of gratitude to Dr Dieter
Miiller, formerly of the University of Got?ngen, a~d author of
~4"gypten und die griechischen Jsis-Aretalogren (Berlm Academy,
1961); he read a draft of the whole work and made a. number of
acute suggestions and comments. When refer~nce. 1s ma~e to
remarks proffered by him, other than those m hts pubhshed
works, I am alluding to the comments which he was kind enough
to communicate privately to me. At a later stage the Rev. Prof.
John W . B. Barns, of The Qyeen's College, Oxford, also read
xvi
PREFACE
the typescript and made valuable suggestions. Prof. Ph. Derchain,
of Strasbourg, has generously kept me in touch with his researches,
often sending me advance copies of his publications. Similar
favours have been extended to me by Mr Rundle Clark, of
Birmingham, Mr P. M. Fraser, of Oxford, Prof. J. Leclant, of
Paris, Prof. S. Morenz, of Leipzig, and Dr J. Zandee, of Utrecht.
Others who helped me in various ways were Dr S. Allam, Prof.
A. M. Bakir, Dr H. S. Bakry, Dr E. Baumgartel, the late Sir H.
Idris Bell, Mr W. H. Bell, Prof. H. Brunner, Dr E. Brunner-Traut,
Prof. R. A. Caminos, the late Prof. E. Drioton, Prof. E. Edel,
Dr I. E. S. Edwards, the late Sir Alan Gardiner, Dr J. R. Harris,
Prof. W. Helck, Dr L. Kakosy, Or M. Krause, Dr Heerma Van
Voss, Prof. W. C. Helmbold, MrT. G. H. James, Dr JacJanssen,
Prof. M. Korostovtsev, Prof. H. W. Muller, Prof. R. A. Parker,
Dr R. Pierce, Prof. B. R. Rees, Dr E. Reyrnond, Dr A. Schachter,
Dr A. R. Schulman, Dr K. Seele, Mr W. R. Smyth, the late Prof.
H. Stock, Dr B. H. Stricker, Dr E. L. B. Terrace, the late G. A.
Wainwright, Prof. W. Westendorf, Dr R. E. Witt, and Prof.
L. V. Zabkar. My wife has throughout shared my interest in the
work and the book is dedicated to her. In thanking the learned
people named, I should stress that none of them is implicated
in what has resulted. For that I am alone responsible.
I am indebted, furthermore, to the the UniversityofWales Press
Board for undertaking the expensive task of publication, and also
to the Griffith Egyptological Fund in the University of Oxford
for a generous grant in aid of this. The council of the University
College of Swansea has often helped me with research expenses,
for which I am duly grateful.
Although a Bibliography is included, it will be noted that the
book lacks a general bibliography relating to the religion of Isis
and Osiris. My record of these publications, lengthy as it is, had
to be omitted, since it would have added a good deal to a book
already bulky enough. I only hope that my references will not be
found too difficult to pursue. My typescript was accepted for
publication in September 1965, so that only occasionally have I
been able to refer to work published since then.
xvii
 PREFACE

In conclusion I should like to thank Dr R. Brinley }ones, of the

University of Wales Press Board, for his unfailing patience and INTRODUCTION
courtesy. The Reader of the Cambridge University Press has also
earned my enduring gratitude for his expert advice.
This work was first suggested to me by the late Professor
JOHN GWYN GRIFFITHS Battiscombe Gunn, of The ~een's College, Oxford, as a sequel
University College to my study of the Horus-Seth myth which was published by the
Swansea Liverpool University Press in 196o.1
Wales An edition and commentary which will use the results of
modem Egyptological research is certainly needed, and a student
Septemher 1967
of the classics who has also pursued the study of Egyptology may
feel, initially, that he possesses some of the necessary equipment
to tackle the task, aspiring to realize Sieveking's2. hope that an
editor, linguae Aegyptiacae et Graecae aeque peritus, will provide
the treatise with that commentary 9uem haec aetas desiderat. But
a practiser of two trades will often feel that he has mastered
neither; and in this case the task is beset with special problems
relating, on the one hand, to the complexity of the Greek sources
used by Plutarch, and, on the other, to the difficulty of linking
these sources chronologically to the Egyptian material-that is,
when a link is at all apparent.
Martin Nilsson3 once referred to the De /side et O.siride as
'a tractate soaked in syncretism, mysticism, and theological
speculations, and certainly composed at a late period of Plutarch's
life, in the early part of the second century A.D.' The description
is in some ways forbidding. One would hardly infer from this that
chapters 12-19 of the book are constantly credited by Egyptolo-
gists as providing a trustworthy narration of the myth of Osiris.
Works on Egyptian religion4 freely use Plutarch's account, one
reason being that Egyptian sources, in spite of an increasing
1
Tire Conflict of Horus and Seth. From Egyptian and Classical Sources.
A Study in Ancient Mythology. (Liverpool Monographs in Archaeology
and Oriental Studies; General Editor, H. W. Fainnan.)
~ Praefatio, p. xxvii of his Teubner edition (Leipzig, 1928).
3 Tire Dionysiac Mysteries ofthe Hellenistic anJ Roman Age (Lund, 19S7), 38.
4 E.g. Wiedemann, Re/. 2o7ff. ; Frankfort, Ancient Egn. Rei. 126ff.; Cemy,
Re/. Jsf.
I GPI
 INTRODUCTION
plethora of allusions, do not provide a narrative which is at once
comprehensive and coherent. At the same time the syncretism to
which Nilsson referred is often apparent in Plutarch's discussions,
especially outside the chapters devoted to the myth. He deals with
a variety of interpretations and in so doing makes frequent
allusion to both myth and cult.
From the Egyptological point of view-and this viewpoint
takes natural precedence in approaching a theme derived from
Egyptian religion-the basic question is how far the detailed
exposition of the myth and its meaning as presented by Plutarch
agrees with the evidence of the native sources. The same question
must be raised concerning his allusions to ritual practices. Greek
philosophical doctrines have obviously coloured many of the
interpretations, but it may constantly be asked whether a sub-
stratum of Egyptian teaching is present. The exact nature of the
Greek contribution needs also to be assessed, and in cases of
syncretistic association, as with lsis and Demeter, the extent to
which divine attributes have been interchanged.
Such questions were understandably not a concern of the
early editors of the Moralia. Their contribution was to the estab-
lishment of the text. The editio pdnceps of Aldus Manutius and
Demetrius Ducas (Venice, 1509) was followed by the Basle
edition of H. Frobenius and Nicolaus Episcopius (1 542); then
came the editions, likewise embracing the whole of the Moralia,
of Xylander (Basle, 1570), H. Stephanus (Paris, 1572) and H.
Cruserius (Frankfurt, 1599). Xylander had added a Latin transla-
tion, and this was used in the Frankfurt publication, as well as in
some later editions such as Wyttenbach's (where the translation is
revised). A stylistic charm still attracts one in the English transla-
tion of Philemon Holland (London, 1603; pp. I286-1319 of
The Philosoplzie, commonlie called, The Morals), and towards the
end of the century William Baxter published a translation
(London, 1684) which was embellished with several admirable
emendations of the text. But Samuel Squire was the first to
concentrate attention on the De /side et Osiride. In his edition of
1744 (Cambridge) he showed not a little acumen in dealing with
INTRODUCTION
the text and incorporated comments by the illustrious J. Markland 1
as well as by Baxter and Bentley. Squire's notes, which are mainly
textual, are in Latin; he appended a translation which tends to the
freedom of paraphrase.
Further good work on the text was contributed by J. J.
Reiske in his annotated edition of the Moralia; the D/0 occurs
in vol. 7 (Leipzig, 1777). Wyttenbach's text of the Moralia was an
achievement of enduring worth, and the D/0 in vol. 2 (Oxford,
1796) appears with brief textual notes and a translation; of great
value also are Wyttenbach's Animadversiones in vol. 7 (1821) of
the Oxford publication, for they include both textual and general
comment. Critical notes occur in J. G. Hutten's edition of the
Moralia, and the D/0 appears in the third part (Tiibingen, 1797,
pp. 101-2.14), a good deal of attention being given to Reiske's
views. Less important are the Tauchnitz edition (Leipzig, 182.0
and afterwards) and the Didot edition (Paris, 1841, ed. F.
Diibner).
Gustav Parthey's Plutarc!t iiher jsi.r und Osiris (Berlin, 1850)
is a valuable study; the commentary has inevitably dated very
much, but the textual apparatus and notes, as well as the sober
clarity of the translation, are always useful. Sieveking (Praef.
xxvii) points to defects in Parthey's textual record due to his
reliance on inaccurate collations by others: the Parisian codices
are not always faithfully represented, nor is Marc. 24S (called
Marc. 250 by Wyttenbach and Parthey) for which Parthey relied
on Blessig's collation as reported by Wyttenbach. Parthey
reported three Florentine codices (Plut. So, cod. 5; Plut. So, cod.
2.1; Plut. So, cod. 22.) on the basis of a collation made in 1847 by
Fr. del Furia, the chief librarian of the Laurentian Library.
Sieveking refused to use any of these readings in his Teubner
edition of 19.18; and they have only occasionally been cited in the
present edition. One of the Florentine codices (Laur. Plut. So, 21,
here as L, in Parthey as G) has, however, been collated from
1
For Markland's second thoughts see W. C. Helmbold in Class. Phi!. p
(1957), 104-6. Notes made by MarkJand in his copy of Squire's edition
(now B.M. 1363. k. :z.) are here published.
 INTRODUCTION
photostats by the present editor. His record of the codex differs
from Parthey's in eleven places (p. 118, tit.; I34, 17; 134, 19; 164,
14 j 170, 22; 188, 14-I 5 ; 198, 2J ; 22.4, 12.; 2.2.6, 24; 240, I I j 244, 2.8.)
References are to page and line of the text in the present edition.
In spite of some interesting suggestions the edition of Bemar-
dakis (vol. :z. of the Moralia, Teubner, Leipzig, 1889) is not very
helpful since the editor did not attempt an ordered record of
textual variations. Mario Meunier's Plutarque, Isi.r et Osiri.r
(Paris, 1924) does not give the Greek text. A brief introduction is
followed by a translation which is accompanied by explanatory
footnotes. Ziegler1 seems justified in comparing this work un-
favourably with Parthey's edition of 185o. W. Sieveking's
Teubner edition (Leipzig, 1928) is textually a real advance. His
brief notes on the subject-matter are also valuable, especially as
he incorporates suggestions made to him by the Egyptologists
Adolf Rusch and Hermann Kees. Of less value are the general
comments included by Frank Cole Babbitt in his Loeb edition
(vol. 5, London, 1936), but his translation is useful as well as,
occasionally, his textual suggestions.
Theodor Hopfner's Plutarch iiher Isi.r und Osiris (Monographien
des Archiv Orienrnlnf, Bd. 9, 2 vols., Prague, 194o-1) is the
only ambitious modem commentary. In the first volume Hopfner
deals with the myth, giving the Greek text of chs. 12-19 and parts
of 2.0 and 21; he adds a translation on opposite pages and a few
textual notes, and then follows a lengthy commentary. Vol. 2 deals
with the remainder of the work, which is given the title 'The
Interpretations of the Myth'. No Greek text is provided here, but
the volume opens with a translation of chs. I-I I and 22.-80. The
commentary which follows includes some textual notes and
occasionally some worthwhile critical proposals. It will be seen
that Hopfner does not provide a new edition. Nor does he present
an introduction, and as a result he gives no systematic discussion of
Plutarch'ssources. His commentary is a considerable achievement,
nevertheless, especially when one remembers that Hopfner was
not an Egyptologist. It is strongest on the comparative literary
1 1
PWs.v. Plutarchos von Chaironeia(1951 ), 846. (=Ziegler, Plut. from now on.)
4 5
INTRODUCTION
material in Greek and Latin, material which Hopfner had already
collected in his admirable Fontes Hi.rtoriae Religioni's Aegyptiacae
(Bonn, 1922.-5). His knowledge of the Greek magical papyri is
also used to good purpose. It is all the more surprising that he did
not tackle the question of the classical sources. On the Egypto-
logical side Hopfner relied much on works like Roeder, Urlcunden
rur Religion des a/ten Agypten, and Budge, Osi'ri.r and the Egyptian
Resurrection. Primary sources were closed to him and he inevitably
missed a good deal in the secondary sources too. 1 But his com-
mentary is of enduring merit and the present study is often
indebted to it, even if disagreement may find more frequent
expression than agreement.
More recently Vincenzo Cilento has published a text and
translation in a comprehensive volume which includes also the
three Delphic dialogues: Plutarco: Di'atri'ha Isiaca e Di'aloghi
Delfici {Florence, 1962). There is no apparatus cri'ticus apart from
the brief selection on pp. 407 f. and no commentary save for foot-
notes citing parallel statements. The introduction to the D/0
(pp. 3-'7) consists mainly of a summary of the argument. For
reviews see F. H. Sandbach in CR 13 (1963), 2.21 f. and A. H.
Armstrong inJHS 83 (1963), 173
I. THE TEXT
The text here presented is based on a collation of the versions in
the following seven codices with Sieveking's Teubner text
(Leipzig, 192.8).
(1) A- Par. Gr. 16.71, Membr. 38; 29, 4 It was written by one
copyist in two columns and finished in July A.D. 1296. The bulky
parchment codex of over 500 pages in folio contains both the
Vitae and the Morali'a in a pleasing, though not a highly calli-
graphic, hand. Whereas the suhscriptio gives the date just men-
tioned, the writer did not add his name; cf. Johannes Mewaldt
Sit{ungsh. Berlin (1906), 82.7.
See B. van de Walle's review of vol. l in CJE 33 (1942), 228-32.
 INTRODUCTION
(2) E =Par. Gr. 1672, Membr. 43, 5; 33 It was written a little
after A.D. 1302 by five scribes, the D/0 being the work of one
only. The page is divided into two columns, and the writing of
the present treatise is in a neat and handsome hand, somewhat less
cursive than that of A and certainly more consistently clear.
(3) (3 =Vat. Gr. IOIJ. It is assigned to the fourteenth century
by Pohlenz in the general preface to the Teubner edition of 1925,
p. xxix. Paton, Plutarchi Pythici Dialogi Tres (Berlin, 1903),
p. vi, ascribes it to the fifteenth century; cf. Wegehaupt, Plutarch-
studien in italienisclzen Bibliotheken, 23. The hand is not an attrac-
tive one.
(4) e = Matrit. 4690 (N 6o). Pohlenz, loc. cit., describes this as
a fourteenth-century codex. It is written in a slightly better hand
than (3, although (3 is less cursive and is clearer.
( 5) L = Laur. Plut. 8o, 21. According to Pohlenz, loc. cit., it
belongs to the fifteenth century; cf. W egehaupt, op. cit. 26. It is
written closely in pages divided into two columns. Different
hands appear and their calligraphy varies.
(6) v = Vind. phil. Gr. 46. Pohlenz, op. cit. p. xxvi, describes it
as belonging to the fifteenth century. Our treatise appears in it in
one hand, and so do all the others according to Pohlenz. In spite of
the pleasing calligraphy there are numerous negligent errors.
(7) m= Marc. 248. This beautifully written codex belongs to
the fifteenth century: see Pohlenz, p. xxix. According to Par-
mentier, Reclzerches, 10, n. 2, it was written in 1455 by loannes
Rhosus.
The present editor has used photostats in the collation of these
seven codices. He has also consulted the originals, for selected
passages, in the cases of (3 (in the Vatican Library) and v (in the
{)sterreichische Nationalbibliothek, Vienna). Although the
treatise is found in other codices which have not been used for this
edition, I the present editor has gone further than previous editors
1
See Sievelting, Praef. pp. xxvif. Their value is doubtful. In their edition of
Moralia P.JC-612.8 (Loeb, vol. 7, 1959) P. H. de Lacy and B. Einarson
state that they have collated all MSS known to them. No one has emulated
this achievement.
6 7
THE TEXT
in making a personal collation of these seven. Parthey used
Wyttenbach's record of A, but he collated E. His reliance, for
other codices, on the information supplied by others has been
noted above. I Sieveking in his Teubner edition is critical (p. xxvi)
ofParthey's representation of Marc. 248, deriving as it does from
Blessig apud Wyttenbach; but Sieveking did not collate this
codex himself. In certain places he uses information supplied to
him by the Librarian ofSt Mark's Library, Venice. His representa-
tion of this codex is therefore incomplete, although it is to some
extent deliberately so, since he did not choose to indicate all its
foolish errors. Policy on a matter of this kind is debatable.
Mr A. F. Wells reminds me that a full record of such a source has
its uses; it enables one to evaluate a manuscript on the basis of
full evidence; it also throws light on how errors arise. Here, at
any rate, a full record is aimed at-ignoring, however, variations
of accent and breathing. For v Sieveking relied on a collation
supplied to him by W. Nachstadt. He made his own collation,
from photostats, of e and also of Urb. 99 (u), a fifteenth-century
codex. This latter is cited in this edition from Sieveking's record;
so too is Ambr. 859 (a), which derives from the thirteenth
century. None of the Florentine codices is represented in Sieve-
king's apparatus. The present edition includes a record of Laur.
Plut. So, 2.1 (L) which has been discussed above in relation to
Parthey's book; citations of Laur. Plut. So, 5 (F) follow Parthey.
The Parisian codices follow the Planudean tradition. Paton
believes that (3 also depends on it, but Wegehaupt, Plutarclz-
studien in italienischen Bibliotheken, 2.3, wishes to deny this
coMexion. Wegehaupt also denies it to v," and in this he is sup-
ported by Pohlenz, pp. xxvi; cf. pp. xxviiif. Pohlenz, however,
would include (3 among the Planudean codices and derive L
from (3;3 see his p. xxix. Since m (Marc. 248) is likewise ascribed
1
Parthey did not use~. E or v.
2
Sirrungsh. Berlin (1909), p. IOJ8. ('Schon fruher hatte ich vermutet, dass
die Vindobonenses ... nicht aus dem Planudeum stammen, sondern eine
Parallelilberlieferung darstellen.')
l Sieveking, p. xxvi, states that a corrector of~ often agrees with v.
 INTRODUCTION
there to the Planudean group, v is the only one of the codices here
examined which is recognized as being extra-Pianudean. This
might lead one to expect a valuable independent witness in v. It
proffers often, indeed, different readings, but many of these are
due to sheer carelessness. It is only rarely that v improves on the
tradition of the remainder; cf. Sieveking, p. xxv; Parmentier,
Recherches, 10, n. 2.
Recent editions and studies of other parts of the Moralia have
made it clear that no radical reassessment is now likely to be
possible of the relation between the known codices. The evidence
of more than one treatise must in any case be taken into account;
compare the surveys of B. Einarson and P. de Lacy in Class. Phi/.
46 (1951), 9J-IIO and 53 (1958), 217-33 Attention will here be
confined to the DIO. The statement of Pohlenz, p. xxix, that L
(Laur. So, 21) derives from~ had already been made, in a slightly
more open form, by Wegehaupt (Phi!. 64 (1905), 403): 'Mit dem
Vat. 1013 hangt eng zusammen der Laur. So, 21.' Since (3 is an
older codex, Pohlenz's indication of the relationship must hold.
Certainly there is confirmation in the text of the DJO. Many
differential readings peculiar to (3 and L can be pointed to: p. 120,
13; 122, zo; 148, I 5; (a striking instance); 1 I 54, 8; 159, 19; 164,
I8; I78, 8; 192, 30; I96, 26; 240, u; 242, 24; 244,29. In 134, I-2
llEyav . &vepoonous is omitted by L, and the very same omission
occurs in ~' though it is repaired in the margin by (32. There are
plenty of instances where the two offer different readings from each
other, but these are usually easily explained. In I 68, 4, for instance,
L writes npoOT(6eo6at, where ~ (with the other MSS) has
npoT(6ea6at; L shows carelessness here or perhaps a desire to
improve (cf. its -rrpoaayayoVTl in I82, 4). Occasionally, however,
L alone preserves the correct reading, as in I98, 23 (~llq>alvet); 114,
7 (Aos, L 2).
There are cases where E and m alone preserve the manifestly
correct reading: 170, 26 (el), though neither reading is noted by
1
W. R. Paton, 'Notes on Plutarch, De IsiJe et O.ririae' in The Journal of
Philology, 2.0 (1892), 162, refers to the 'good original reading' of L here;
the same reading in ~2 was clearly not known to him.
8 9
THE TEXT
Sieveking); 170, 2.6 (6ei, again wrongly ascribed by Sieveking to
Ald.2 only); 186,3 ((3pCX)(UTCm,, where the occurrence in m is not
recorded by him). 1 In 140, 5 m alone has the correct ~p&VTa;~ but
E has two points above the sigma in its ~p&VTas. In 2.38, 14 the
correct reading TETayllfvTl is found only in E and m2.3
Again, e and v seem often to agree against the others, though
not, as a rule, with a cogent reading: see I 56, 2.0; 170, 4; 186,
16; 190, IO and u; I92., 18; 214, 18; 2.34, I. But neither in the
case of e and v nor in that of E and m are there grounds for
assuming a special relationship. Sieveking, as we have seen, noted
the agreements between v and a corrector of~ This appears to be
the case in 12.0, Io; xp, n; 188, 23; and I96, 2.8; but L agrees too.
The originality of v can be abundantly exemplified, although
its differentials are often negligent vagaries. The more valuable
differentials include its form of the title (nepl 1a1Bos Kal
Iapenn6os lepos Myos; cf. Cat. Lampr. uS: mpl ToO KaT' "law
Myou 1<ai Iapamv), which is, however, unlikely to have been
the original one. There are occasions when v alone gives the
correct reading: 144, 2.6 (q>ar.A6v); I76, 6 (of'pt!Jov); 104, 15
(KOGIJOV); 206,10 (!!EpEat); 210,8 (TT'pOOTCUS); 224,3 (1rma); 124,13
(1Jea6pfl). Three of these readings are not recorded by Sieveking.
Although vis extra-Planudean, it can hardly be said to provide a
fruitful harvest of superior readings. At several places where the
tradition is poor v concurs in the general poverty.
There are some I91 details in which the present edition exhibits
divergencies from Sieveking's edition. It should be remembered
that the text, although much improved by editors and critics,
still holds difficulties which are not easy of solution. Further,
many of the divergencies referred to are of minor import. Indeed
the present editor's approach has been conservative, and the
changes introduced have been defended mainly on the grounds
of correlation and integration with other parts of the treatise and
with other Plutarchean writings. Innovations due to him, though
sometimes indebted to previous proposals, are found in 13 2., I 1 ;
1
Sieveking's record of m is very sketchy. l Not recorded by Sieveking.
3 Sieveking ignores m2
 INTROD UCTION
IJ6, 2; IJ6, 22; IJ6, 24; 140,15; 142, I; 142, 26; 148,15; IH,
20; 162, 17; 164, 16; 216, 3- 4; n8, 17; 234,14. Suggestions of
which he is doubtful have been recorded in the apparatus relat-
ing to uo, 4 and 246, 2.
With regard to orthography, ylvo11al and yLvWat<(J.) have been
printed when they occur, and variation of TT and a-a has been
permitted. Occurrences of oOOets, oOOev have not been sup-
pressed, nor has a form like aj3e'-TT\pfas (230, u). Otherwise
Sieveking's norm has been followed. Variations exhibited by the
MSS in breathings and accents have usually been ignored; so have
divergencies in the spelling of Al6f\S (a6ns, ~Sns), although
w writers too, but where the usage is denied to Attic prose and
Aof\s seems to be Plutarch's usual form; see Wyttenbach, Index.
II. LINGUISTIC FEATURES
The best guide to Plutarch's lexical usages is still to be found in
the indices which Wyttenbach compiled-his Index Graecitatis1
to the Moralia (Oxford, 1829; Tomus vm of the series) and his
Lexicon Plutarcheum (Leipzig, 1843), which embraces the Vitae
and the Moralia. Professor William C. Helmbold, in a personal
communication, has given information about a more ambitious
American project. The present editor is indebted to him for
illumination on a number of points. On Plutarch's grammatical
usages and style Burkard Weissenberger's Die Spraclte Plutarclu
von Chaeronea und die pseudoplutarchischen Scllrifien, I. Teil,
pp. 1-37 (Diss. Univ. Wiirzburg, Straubing, 1895) is the best
discussion. 1
Although a follower of the Attic school, Plutarch deviates in
some respects from Attic usage, but the imperfect textual tradition
makes the establishment of some ofthese deviations rather difficult.
1 Cf. the reissue Lexicon PlutarcAeum (Hildesheim, 1962.).
2 A more thorough treatment of one grammatical theme--the use of the
optative--appears in Hein's De optativi apuJ Plutarcnum usu (Treb-
nitz, 1914).
10
LINGUISTIC FEATURES
For instance, on p. 34 Weissenberger notes that av is very
commonly omitted in the apodosis of a hypothetical complex
sentence (' im N achsatze eines hypothetischen Satzgefiiges '), but
he goes on to argue that since the usage appears only in the
Morafia, it should not be regarded as a linguistic idiosyncrasy,
and he proceeds to suggest the restoration of av, in certain
instances, by emendation. In n. 4, however, he refers to Madvig's
statement (Gr. IJ9a) that in late Greek writers the omission of av
in such clauses is general; cf. Kiihner-Gerth, Gr. (3 ed.), n (1898),
225, 2, where examples are given from a number of earlier
poetry. In view of this it is possible that to restore av in p. 216, 8
(with Bentley) or in 244, 5 (with Bemardakis) is inadvisable!
Weissenberger does not appear to refer to the periphrastic use
of mp( with the accusative, as in I6o, 9-10 ol mpl Tl!l66eov
-rov ~91Y11-n1v Kal MavEe(J.)va -rov Iej3evv\rrnv, 'Timotheus the
expositor and Manetho the Sebennyte '. Recent translators,
including Babbitt and Hopfner, have rejected this meaning, but
Wyttenbach, Lex. Pfut. n, 662 quotes 268F (olnepl p(J.)IlVAov
Kal pw!lov =Romufus et Remus ipse) for it and cites Scaliger,
Euseh. p. 101. On the other hand he quotes 288B olnepl Bapp(J.)va
as meaning Varro et qui eum sequuntur and 178 Bolnepl "Apaa:Aov
as ipse cum suis collegis.1 In De foe. 30, 9440 oi n mpl -rov Kp6vov
must mean 'the attendants of Cronus '; see Chemiss ad foe.
(Loeb, p. 212, n. h). In p. 146, 10 of our text a similar phrase
probably involves a singular in view of an artistic parallel
provided by the Egyptian tradition; seen. ad foe.
Weissenberger, p. 27, notes Plutarch's tendency, in common
with other later Greek writers, to attenuate the distinctions
between verbal voices and tenses. He uses active for middle or
1
A. Hein, op. cit. concludes that Plutan:h's usage is orthodox Attic. He
quotes, pp. ~8-63, many examples of the potential optative, and only in
five of these has 6v to he put into the text by emendation. He notes on
p. IJO that Plutarch sometimes uses El with av in the protasis (D/0 p. 190,
17 is one instance), but this occurs also, as he points out, on occasion in
Plato, Xenophon and Demosthenes.
; Wyttenbach cites other passages for the opposing usages.
II
 INTRODUCTION
middle for active. In tense usage he goes further than the occa-
sional interchange in Attic prose writers of the imperfect and
aorist tenses of certain verbs (EAEyov, MAruov, i]pooTwv occur
often in Attic with aorist meaning). Plutarch often uses the
perfect where the aorist might be expected, and this usage may
reflect Latin influence.
A consistency of tense usage in indirect statement is not
maintained. Inch.13 a series of aorist infinitives (arraAJ\a~a1 136,
17; rneA6Eiv, 136, 19) is followed by a number of present infinitives
(vewTEp(3ElV, 136, 2.2.; llT1XavO:a6a1, 136, 2.4); and since the aorist
is then used again (elaeveyt<eiv, 138, 4; \moax~a6a1, 138, 5;
KOT<n<Al6fjvat, 138, 8, etc.) one is impelled to emend the middle
group which offends the sequence. In general the correction of
tenses in this way is doubtless to be avoided in view of what
Weissenberger, Sprache, 27, says about the interchange of
verbal genera and tempora. Occasionally a present infinitive
adjacent to an aorist may represent an imperfect in direct speech. 1
On p. 142, 19 one finds the statement '(They say that Isis) em-
braced (him) and cried': a0"1Taaaa6al Kal SaKpvelV. Perhaps an
inceptive imperfect lies behind Sal<puelV: 'and began to cry'. No
such solution seems possible with T(KTEa6at on p. 220, 20 where an
aorist mpu~.t\l)aa6al precedes ('It is said that Isis ... put on a
protective amulet .. and gave birth').
Plutarch's practice with regard to the avoidance of hiatus may
provide a useful textual criterion if it can be shown that he
followed a fairly rigid and consistent pattern. Benseler examines
the DIO in pp. 405-14 of his De Hiatu in Oratorihus Atticis et
Histodcis Graecis (Freiberg, 1841). He concludes that in this very
carefully written book ('in hoc diligentius scripto libro ') there
are seventeen serious cases of hiatus, but that fourteen of these are
amenable to correction from the manuscripts or by emendation;
there remain, he avers, only three-in chs. 9, 54 and 57 Of these
instances he would remove the first by deleting T\v in p. 130, 22
(TOaaVrr} f\v), which is not quite satisfactory; in p. 2.04, 25 pvaet
1
Usually either after a past verb of saying or when a past reference is other-
wise indicated; see Goodwin, Gk. Gr. 1.185.
12.
LINGUISTIC FEATURES
V-EyxollEvflV is obelized by Sieveking, who faithfully follows
Benseler, while Bernardakis here proposed Tl)v pvalV; 1 in the
same chapter the phrase K60'1lOV ala6'flT6v is redeemed by the
reading of v (K60'1lov), and so, in eh. 57, is the phrase npooTov
~pacrroO on p. 2.10, 8, where v comes to the rescue with npooTws.
At the same time vigorous correction has gone on apace in other
loci. On p. 124, I6 o\rrws Tllli} Alyvrrr(ols offends grammar as
well, and Benseler, p. 405, suggests Tllli'js, with the sense of eo
gradu assigned to o\rrws. Meziriacus more wisely, perhaps,
proposed {!v) Tlllij; the rule about hiatus seems to be waived when
proper names are involved, cf. p. 132, 4-5 Tl)v Sv&Sa "ApTEillV
(a necessary correction of word-order by Squire) and p. 146, 3
c.upov 'hnrov' where Benseler, p. 406, proposed :AVl<ov; also
174, I;. Instances of hiatus remain in 140,;; 154, 2.o;z 194, I; 2.10,
:u; and :.u6, I6. It is tolerated with Kal; seep. :uo, 8. Raingeard
in his edition of the De foe. (Chartres, 1934), p. xviii thinks that
Plutarch's practice of avoidance is not invariable. 'Il ne faut pas
tourner une habitude en manie.' W. H. Porter, Pfutarc!t's Lifi of
Aratu.s (Cork, I937),3 includes in the tolerated category the
article, t), lliJ, prepositions, numerals; between words expressing
a single notion, or after a pause. 'Words expressing a single
notion' seems a wide loophole. The DIO suggests a more rigid,
if not invariable,4 practice. Ziegler, Plut. 933, following Kolfhaus,S
believes that Plutarch's care in the avoidance of hiatus increased
in his later works. This conclusion is necessarily qualified, he
1
It is strange that Torhoudt, who discusses this passage in great detail in his
Een Onht:lcend Gnostisch Systeem in P/utarchus' De /side et Osiride (Lou-
vain, 194%), 2.8ff., seems to ignore the question of hiatus (if I follow his
Dutch aright). Otherwise he makes a good case for accepting the text.
1
The emendation here suggested, however, will involve a numeral and hence
a toleration. Further, the MS reading involves a preposition.
3 Cf. Porter, Plutarclz: Life of Dion (Dublin, 195%), p. xxx.
Cf. Helmbold, Class. Phi/. so (195S), no: .. it has seemed to m;my that
Bolkestein (Adversaria ad Plut. QEaest. Conv. [Amsterdam, 1946), pp. 61,
78f., 98f., IOS) has finally laid the ghost ofBenseler'.
S Plutarclzi de communihus notitiis lihrum genuinum esse demonstratur
(Marburg, 1907).
13
 INTRODUCTION
admits, by the varying state of the text. Among the tolerated
cases he places J..lTt and ii (backwards and forwards) and sometimes
-at as a verbal ending; Kal; oo; and elisions with certain .p reposi-
tions and particles.
Stylistically, the DIO seems typical of Plutarch's later writing.
His copia verhorum is as much in evidence here as anywhere. He
does not shrink from elaboration of an idea; cf. Tpvcpftv ye Kal
noAli"TiAstav Kal TjSvncXeetav (uS, 1S). He is fond of verbs with
two prepositions; e.g.npoanOA11TEiV us, IS; wano6vftO'KEIV 124,
12.; avvemcpalveatlat I 2.6, 12.; tyl<:aTEOTOIXEIOi."rro uS, I; C7VVEK1TE-
aciv 138, 5; tyl<:aTai<At6els 134, 2.4; npoaStaMyeatlat 140, 2.2.; StEK-
nMovaav 144, 14; KaTaVcxA.Ci.laat 146, 6; tyl<:aTaO"TTeipat 2.32., 6;
OVVEK'ITOAEJ..lOV~Oil.Jl., 11. Compound adjectives and adverbs are
also much employed, especially those beginning with the negative
a-. Occasionally the pleonasm is not so pleasing, as in 2.42, 2.6, TO
J..lTt cpaTov J..l11Se p11T6v. Among the favourite phrases are w0"1TEp
aiJ~t and o\fx iiKtOTa, and the latter fits in with a frequent
leaning to the use of litotes.
In an examination of the relative frequency in some of Plu-
tarch's works of his favourite metrical clausulae, Sandbach1 gives
a respectably high rating to the DIO; the ditrochaic type
( -u-u) is the most favoured. This analysis concerns the end of
cola and of sentences. F. Krauss in his Die rlzetorisclzen Sclzrifien
Plu.tarclzs und ihre Stellung im Plutarchisclzen Sclzrifiencorpu..r
(Niimberg, 1912) compares some of the later works with the
earlier from the rhetorical point of view, and finds that a stylistic
fullness and colour persists even though the earlier exuberance
declines. Two works examined by him as typical ofPlutarch's old
age are An seni resp. ger. sit and V.Rom. In them he finds fewer
polysyndeta, asyndeta and rhetorical questions, but plenty of
r 'Rhythm and Authenticity in Plutarch's Moralia', CQ 33 (1939), 194- 2.03.
Cf. A. W. De Groat, A Handbook of Antique Prose-Rhythm, 1 (Leipzig,
n.d.), 2.33 and Der antilce Prosarhytlunus (Den Haag, 192.1), 57 De Groat
is criticized by Ziegler, Plut. 93G, for using 'over-subtle and imprecise
procedures'. The present writer does not pretend to have examined this
question.
14
LINGUISTIC FEATURES
carefully wrought periods and oflsocratic antitheses. The same is
true of the DIO. On one occasion Plutarch 1 suggested that the
importance of rhetoric was to yield to that of philosophy; but in
his own works he lists and discusses many aspects of rhetoric.~
He practises rhetorical devices assiduously, perhaps in the end
with unconscious ease. The DIO provides plentiful examples of
the traditional O')(TtJ..laTa. The balanced parallelism or antithesis of
phrases is a constant feature; cf. the three pairs of nouns in 118, 7ff.
and the asyndetic grouping of five pairs in 2.40, 2.2.f. (cpoos O"Kchos,
t'JJ..lEpav Wi<Ta, Triip \JSoop, 3ooTJV 6avaTOv, apxi}v TEAevTftv).
The antithesis of active and passive is occasionally pointed:
6avj.laa6els Kai 6avJ..lOO'aS I JO, 2.7 f. ;3 c:'lOTE f3AEnEIV !-IT) f3ArnOJ..lEVOV
~3,6, 13; TOV yap aSIKEiV Kal aStKEiatlat 2.38, 2.1; the last of these,
of course, is a commonplace of Attic prose. Similes, though not
frequent, are effectively deployed.4 When he refers in 12.0, 2.1 ff. to
those 'who carry in their soul, as in a chest, the sacred lore about
the gods', the allusion to the cista mystica is most apposite; the
marsh of superstition and the precipice of atheism are happily
contrasted to suit his purpose (2.2.4, 6 ff.); the confusion of the
gods and their gifts is well illustrated by the reference to books and
drama-' just as we say that one who buys the books of Plato is
buying Plato and that one who presents the plays of Menander
is acting Menander' (2.28, 5ff.). More felicitous still is the rebuttal
of monism by the invocation of the hotel steward: 'it is not one
steward that dispenses our affairs for us, as though mixing drinks
from two jars in a hotel' (190, sff.).
There are some obscurities and awkward transitions, however,
1
QEomodo qui.r suos, 1, 79 B. Cf. M. Schuster, Untersuchungen {U Plutarch.s
Dirzlog De Sollertia Animalium, 56.
~ See R. Jeuckens, Plutarch von Chaeronea una die Rhetorilc, esp. pp. 150 ff.
Cf. Ziegler, Plut. 93 1 ff.
3 Van Herwerden, Plutarchea et Lucianea, 13 questions the text, saying that
Egyptian priests would not have expressed admiration of a Greek. The
stylistic argument favours the text.
1 For an analysis of the spheres from which Plutarch draws his metaphoric
material see A. I. Dronkers, De comparationihus et metaphoris apud
P/utarch.um (Utrecht, 1892).
15
 INTROD UCTION
and they are not always due, it seems, to textual corruption. There
are many longish periods, and not always do they achieve
Plutarch's Attic ideal of TO aacps Kal i\tT6v. He is stylistically at
his best in the shorter philosophical essays where he is less
dependent on other sources. 1 At the same time the D/0 contains
some eloquent passages, and these are parts in which the author's
breadth of interest and sincere quest of the truth are most impres-
sive. Norden'sl eulogy is justified: Plutarch is a writer who is
entirely without affectation and one who, while possessing
IJEyaAocppocnlvfl himself, admires it in others.
Ill. DATE AND PLACE OF COMPOSITION
According to Ziegler3 Plutarch was probably born a little before
40 and died soon after A.D. uo. It is suggested in 68, 378c-o
('we exhort him who comes down to the oracle here to think
devoutly and speak reverently') that Plutarch is speaking as a
Delphic priest, a position also enjoyed by Clea, to whom the
book is dedicated. Plutarch's Delphic priesthood will not have
begun before A. D. 100 or at least very little before that.4 In 72,
38oB Plutarch describes the feud between the Oxyrhynchites and
the Cynopolitans in connexion with their varying animal-cults,
and his description has naturally been compared with Juvenal's
allusion (Sat. 15. 27 ff.) to the conflict between the peoples of
Ombos and Tentyra which ended in cannibalism. Now Juvenal's
conflict can be dated to the year A.D. 127 by the words nuper
consule Iunco. Plutarch uses the term Ka6 fJIJCXS, 'in our time'. If
the authors are writing about the same feud, then the D/0 must
1
Cf. Norden, Die antike Kun.stprosa, 1, 391-), where Plutarch is classified
i1S a 'free archaist'.
1
Ibid.
3 Plut. G4r.
4 Ziegler, op. cit. 716.
16
DATE AND PLACE OF COMPOSITION
be dated after A.D. 127. But as Ziegler1 points out, the two
accounts are quite different and concern different places: and
circumstances.
Evidence concerning Clea is of some chronological relevance.
Plutarch describes her in 35, 364E as 'a leader (apxlltSa, a likely
emendation) of the Thyiades (or Bacchantes) at Delphi'. J. Janno-
ray in BCH 70 (1946), 247-61 thinks that a Clea mentioned in
two inscriptions from Delphi is the same person; in one (pp.
:z.54f.) she is called <l>i\aovla Ki\~a. f} apxllts (' Flavia Clea, the
leader (of the Thyiads)'), and in another she dedicates the statue
of her mother, Memmia Eurydice. The former is an inscription of
the time of Antoninus Pius (A. D. 138-61), and Jannoray states
that if the identification be accepted, the D/0 will have to be
dated to c. A.D. I :z.o. The dedication to Memmia Eurydice belongs,
according to him, to the second half or the end of the reign of
Hadrian (A. D. 1 I 7- 38), but he does not think that another dedica-
tion by Flavia Clea in the reign of Antoninus Pius necessitates
the assumption of exceptional longevity in her life nor the
reference of the second dedication to another person (a daughter of
the same name). The career of Plutarch, argues Jannoray (p. 256,
n. 5), may have been prolonged to A.D. 125-30 and it is accepted
that he wrote the D/0 towards the end of his life. While the
latter statement is valid,3 there is no solid reason for extending
Plutarch's life much beyond Ziegler's limit of c. A.D. uo. The D/0
was probably written a year or two before this date.
I IhiJ. 640
1
It is surprising that Ziegler repeats the error of supposing that Juvenal's
account is geographically impossible since Ombos and Tentyra are far
apart. Juvenal's Ombos is clearly Nubt =Nalf.ada and not Kom Ombo.
See n. on p. ::Z.Jz, rG. G. Highet, j uvenal the Satirist, 2.41, n. 22. points out
that Dilmichen had suggested this in 1879.
3 No one would now agree with Oakesmith's suggestion in his The Religion
of Plutarch (London, 1902.), ::z.oo, n. ::z. that 'the tract Wi1S probably com-
posed after that return from Alexandria to which Plutarch so charmingly
alludes in Symp. 678c'- not, that is, if the meaning is 'soon after'. The
journey mentioned in QJ!aest. conv. S S 1, 678c must have been under-
taken when Plutarch Wi1S fairly young. See Ziegler, Plur. 6f4
2 GDI
 INTRODUCTION
That the DJO was composed at Delphi is suggested by ~v-raOOa
in 68, 378 c. 1 A part at least was probably written there; see n.
ad loc.
IV. PLUTARCH'S APPROACH TO
EGYPTIAN RELIGION
The 'Lamprias Catalogue' of Plutarch's works, although it is
incomplete, lists 2.2.7 compositions.l Not all of these are authentic,
but the large number which are accepted as such reveal not only
an immense literary productivity but also a wide-ranging intel-
lectual curiosity. The Moralia include works dealing with music,
dietetics, cosmology, sexual love, education, philology, astronomy,
geography, zoology, physics, ethnology and politics as well as
with problems of religion and philosophy. His historical works
are not so variegated, for the Lives are confined to military and
political leaders of Greece and Rome. It was perhaps the restricted
nature of the historical material previously available that decided
his selective choice in this field, together with his own experience
in practical politics-he held public offices at Chaeronea and was
possibly appointed procurator of Achaea by Hadrian. Viewed as
a whole, Plutarch's achievement as a writer is striking for its
versatility, and it is not surprising that the most common charge
levelled against him is that he was superficial. It would indeed
have been difficult to treat so many subjects without incurring
this charge.
Although Plutarch3 accused Herodotus of being biased in
favour of non-Greeks,4 he himself showed great interest in the
1 monotheism, if it can be so termed, to which Plutarch adhered.
Cf. Sieveking, p. 66: 'Delphis haec scripsit Plut.'
l See Max Treu, Der sogenannte Lampriascatalog Jer Plutarclucnrifien.
3 De Hdt. Malign. 12-131 857 A-D.
4 He charges Herodotus with being cpiA~~pos in his comparisons of
Greece and Egypt. He blames him especially for absolving the Egyptians
from the taint of human sacrifice although in the meantime imputing the
practice to the Greeks; he also castigates his derivation of Greek cults and
rites from Egypt.
18
1
PLUTARCH S APPROACH TO EGYPTIAN RELIGION
institutions of other nations. His travels doubtless confirmed this
interest. While he lived most of his life at Chaeronea, his home
town, he spent some time, during various intervals, in the Pelo-
ponnese, Italy, Asia Minor and Egypt. His residence at Rome
probably lasted for several years. Perhaps the most compelling of
his varied interests was that in religion. In A.D. 100 or thereabouts
he became a priest at the not far-distant shrine of Delphi and
probably held this office for the rest of his life. He was thus
enabled to have an insight into the religious traditions which he
himself inherited and to become acquainted with the more con-
servative aspects of Greek religion. On the other hand his
philosophical eclecticism inclined him towards tolerance. His
belief in a rational approach to mythology helped to give him the
faculty of treating the myths of other peoples in the same spirit as
he did those of the Greeks.' Therefore', he says, 1 'in these matters
above all we should take as a guide into the mysteries the
understanding which philosophy gives, and reflect devoutly on
everything said and enacted.'
Plutarch's attitude in all this was not peculiar to himself.
H. J. Rosel reminds us of the 'fundamental, tacit assumptions
made by the majority of Greek writers on religion'. The Greeks
believed that the gods existed and that they cared for all men;
they saw in foreign deities their own gods under different names;
and they sought for underlying truths in the myths and rites of
religion. The second of these assumptions, as Rose goes on to
show, often involved the transposition to foreign deities of the
explanations used by the Greeks to indicate the nature of their
own gods. Occasionally the converse also occurred.
Nor was this two-way traffic hindered by the philosophical
For it was not a thorough-going monotheism in the sense that it
maintained the existence of only one god. Plutarch often speaks of
'the gods', also of 6 6e6~, where the reference (as in 1, 351 o; 45,
369A) can hardly be to a particular god. He often talks, again, of
I D/0 68, J78A.
l The Roman QEestions of Plutarcn (Oxford, 19Z4), 53
19
 INTRODUCTION
'the divine' ('TO 6eiov). This quality, he says (1, JSID), is not
blessed through wealth nor is it strong through physical power;
it is blessed and strong through knowledge and intelligence. He
goes on to say that the leadership of Zeus is the more august,
according to Homer, because it rests on his being older in know-
ledge and wisdom; foreknowledge of events, he adds, constitutes
the happiness of the eternal life which God enjoys ; 1 and God also
has a knowledge or understanding of reality (TO: oVTa). 'For this
reason , he continues, 'the longing for truth, particularly for
truth about the gods, is a yearning after divinity.' Clea is exhorted
( 11, 3 55 D) to believe that 'nothing is more pleasing to the gods,
whether sacrifice or ritual enactment, than the true belief about
them . By so doing she will escape an evil which is no less than
atheism, namely SetcrtSatiJovia, superstition.
After relating the myth of Osiris, Plutarch urges Clea (20,
358E) to reject any suggestion that some episodes which concern
' the blessed and incorruptible: nature through with which we
mainly form our idea of the divine' were really enacted or really
happened. 'For you are yourself', he adds,' annoyed with people
who hold such extreme and barbarous views about the gods.' The
implication is that the divine, in all its manifestations, has one
nature. Later in the work he maintains that one should consider
sacred animals to be the instrument of 'the God who orders
everything' (76, J82A). He refers, in a quotation from Heracleitus,
to 'the intelligent being by whom the universe is guided' (76,
J82B).
However, the problem of evil prompts Plutarch to postulate a
dualistic or pluralistic conception of deity. 'It is impossible,' he
argues (45, 369A- B), 'where God is responsible for everything,
for anything evil to come into being, or for anything good to
come where God is responsible for nothing.' He rejects the
theories of both Epicureans and Stoics:
We must neither place the origins of the universe in inanimate bodies,
as Democritus and Epicurus do, nor yet postulate oue reason and one
1
b 6E6s may, however, refer here (1 1 351 E) to Zeus.
lO
PLUTARCH'S APPROACH TO EGYPTIAN RELIGION
providence, dominating and ruling everything, as the creator of
characterless matter, as the Stoics do . . Thus, according to Heradeitus ) ...
(B p), 'the concord of the cosmos is caused by opposite tensions, .,
just like that of a lyre and a bow'.
He goes on (45, 36fc) to consolidate his rejection of the idea of q
one controlling reason with the argument that nature brings many
experiences which are a fusion of good and evil:
Rather, since nature, to be plain, contains nothing that is unmixed,
it is not one steward that dispenses our affairs for us, as though
mixing drinks from two jars in a hotel.
He talks of 'two opposite principles and two antithetic powers'.
Nature contains in herself, he argues (45, 3690), the origin and
beginning of evil as well as good. It is this belief in two creator-
gods, one of good, the other of evil, which leads him (46, 369off.)
to discuss Zoroastrianism approvingly, including the idea that the
creator of good be called a god and that of evil a daemon. He
notes (48, 370E) the pluralism of the Chaldaeans who regard two
of the planets called tutelary gods as beneficent and two as
malevolent, while three intermediary planets are a fusion of both.
In support of the idea of two opposing principles he cites Anaxa-
goras, Aristotle and Plato, referring especially to Plato's Laws
(896n), which he interprets as arguing 'that the cosmos is moved
not by one soul, but probably by more, and at least by no fewer
than two'. At this point (48, 371 A) Plutarch interposes a note on
his own thesis, which he describes as one which will 'relate the
theology of. the. Egyptians especially to this philosophy', the
reference beang, 1t seems, to the Platonic philosophy.
Opposed as he is to atheistic tendencies, 1 Plutarch accuses
(23, J6oA) Euhemerus of disseminating 'all manner of atheism'
over the world in that he explained the gods as men. But he him-
self intr~duces. (25~ J6oD-E) a third category, that of 'great
daemons , and m thts class he places Typhon, Osiris and Isis. He
goes on to divide the daemons into those who are 'good' and
those who are 'great and strong .. . malevolent and morose . Isis
1
66, 377; 67, J78A; 71, )79E
21
 INTRODUCTION
and Osiris, he says (27, 361 E), were nevertheless translated from
good daemons into gods.
The pluralism in his theology enables Plutarch to maintain an
active interest and, on certain lines, a fervent belief in the gods of
Egypt. Indeed he is anxious that 'they preserve the gods as our
common heritage and do not make them the peculiar property of
the Egyptians' (66, 377c). All is well, he argues in the same
context, if they do not take these great gods from the rest of man-
kind, who have no Nile or Buto or Memphis. 'But Isis ', he
continues, 'and the gods related to her belong to all men and are
known to them; even though they have not long since learnt to
call some of them by their Egyptian names, they have understood
and honoured the power of each god from the beginning.' He
believes that the gods of the various nations, in spite of their
differing names, are essentially the same and that behind the
divergent forms there is a universal reason and providence (67,
377F):
Nor do we regard the gods as different among different peoples nor as
barbarian and Greek and as southern and northern. But just as the sun,
moon, heaven, earth and sea are common to all, though they are given
various names by the varying peoples, so it is with the one reason
(logos) which orders these things and the one providence which has
charge of them, and the assistant powers which are assigned to every-
thing: they are given different honours and modes of address among
different peoples according to custom.
The emphasis here on one reason' and 'one providence' goes
some way to contradict the rebuttal of the Stoic version of the
same idea in 45, 369A-B. In this book at any rate, Plutarch is more
often a pluralist, and although his general attitude may be
correctly appraised in Zeller's1 statement that' in opposition to the
Stoic materialism and the Epicurean "atheism" (cleechfl'i) and
popular superstition he cherished a pure idea of God that was
more in accordance with Plato's', he does not consistently
champion, in the D/0, a philosophical monotheism. Nor, in the
1
Outlines of the History of Greek Pltiiosophy, tr. L. R. Palmer (London,
19JI, 13th ed.), 285.
22.
PLUTARCH'S APPROACH TO EGYPTIAN RELIGION
light of this work, does Zeller properly explain the raison d'etre
of his daemonology when he says 1 that 'the further he elevated
deity above the finite world, the more necessary daemons became
for him as agents of his influence on the world'. The prominent
argument of this work is that there are opposite tensions in the
universe and two rival principles at the root of things, a conclusion
which is demanded by the presence of evil in nature. Plutarch, as
we have seen, notes (46, 3690) that some give these two powers
the status of gods but that others derogate the evil power to the
position of daemons. He does not expressly define his own view
at this point, but he designates the belief in two opposing creator-
powers as one held by the majority and by the wisest (46, 3690).
He proceeds, it is nue, to describe Zoroastrianism, which favours
the second belief, in favourable terms, and it may be that he him-
self would describe the power of evil as a daemon. On the other
hand, he does not suggest that the Chaldaeans, to whom he also
refers approvingly, make such a distinction. Further, he divides
(:t5, J6oD-E) the daemons themselves into two classes, those who
are 'good' and those who are 'malevolent and morose , so that
presumably they are regarded as beings subservient to one of two
supreme powers, the one good and the other evil, although their
nature is once described (25, JOOE) as being variously compounded
of virtue and vice, like that of men. There are passages, as we have
seen, where this fundamental dualism is not upheld. In one place
(2.7, 361 E), also, there is the suggestion that the categories of god
and daemon are not rigidly and permanently demarked, since lsis
and Osiris are said to be elevated from good daemons to the rank
of gods. But the frequent emphasis given to the strife of Osiris and
Typhon (and the latter is described as a 'daemonic power' by
the Pythagoreans, according to 30, 363A) gives a central impor-
tance to the dualistic approach. He probably believed in the final
victory of good as Zoroastrianism promised (47, 370B), but his
attitude is a thorough-going dualism in the sense that it posits a
divine creator of evil who exists independently of the divine
creator of good, and attributes to this evil being the power of
1
Op. cit. 286.
2.3
 INTRODUCTION
and Osiris, he says (27, 361 E), were nevertheless translated from
good daemons into gods.
The pluralism in his theology enables Plutarch to maintain an
active interest and, on certain lines, a fervent belief in the gods of
Egypt. Indeed he is anxious that 'they preserve the gods as our
common heritage and do not make them the peculiar property of
the Egyptians' (66, 377c). All is well, he argues in the same
context, if they do not take these great gods from the rest of man-
kind, who have no Nile or Buto or Memphis. 'But Isis ', he
continues, 'and the gods related to her belong to all men and are
known to them; even though they have not long since learnt to
call some of them by their Egyptian names, they have understood
and honoured the power of each god from the beginning.' He
believes that the gods of the various nations, in spite of their
differing names, are essentially the same and that behind the
divergent forms there is a universal reason and providence (67,
377F):
Nor do we regard the gods as different among different peoples nor as
barbarian and Greek and as southern and northern. But just as the sun,
moon, heaven, earth and sea are common to all, though they are given
various names by the varying peoples, so it is with the one reason
(logos) which orders these things and the one providence which has
charge of them, and the assistant powers which are assigned to every-
thing: they are given different honours and modes of address among
different peoples according to custom.
The emphasis here on one reason' and 'one providence' goes
some way to contradict the rebuttal of the Stoic version of the
same idea in 45, 369A-B. In this book at any rate, Plutarch is more
often a pluralist, and although his general attitude may be
correctly appraised in Zeller's1 statement that' in opposition to the
Stoic materialism and the Epicurean "atheism" (cleechfl'i) and
popular superstition he cherished a pure idea of God that was
more in accordance with Plato's', he does not consistently
champion, in the D/0, a philosophical monotheism. Nor, in the
1
Outlines of the History of Greek Pltiiosophy, tr. L. R. Palmer (London,
19JI, 13th ed.), 285.
22.
PLUTARCH'S APPROACH TO EGYPTIAN RELIGION
light of this work, does Zeller properly explain the raison d'etre
of his daemonology when he says 1 that 'the further he elevated
deity above the finite world, the more necessary daemons became
for him as agents of his influence on the world'. The prominent
argument of this work is that there are opposite tensions in the
universe and two rival principles at the root of things, a conclusion
which is demanded by the presence of evil in nature. Plutarch, as
we have seen, notes (46, 3690) that some give these two powers
the status of gods but that others derogate the evil power to the
position of daemons. He does not expressly define his own view
at this point, but he designates the belief in two opposing creator-
powers as one held by the majority and by the wisest (46, 3690).
He proceeds, it is nue, to describe Zoroastrianism, which favours
the second belief, in favourable terms, and it may be that he him-
self would describe the power of evil as a daemon. On the other
hand, he does not suggest that the Chaldaeans, to whom he also
refers approvingly, make such a distinction. Further, he divides
(:t5, J6oD-E) the daemons themselves into two classes, those who
are 'good' and those who are 'malevolent and morose , so that
presumably they are regarded as beings subservient to one of two
supreme powers, the one good and the other evil, although their
nature is once described (25, JOOE) as being variously compounded
of virtue and vice, like that of men. There are passages, as we have
seen, where this fundamental dualism is not upheld. In one place
(2.7, 361 E), also, there is the suggestion that the categories of god
and daemon are not rigidly and permanently demarked, since lsis
and Osiris are said to be elevated from good daemons to the rank
of gods. But the frequent emphasis given to the strife of Osiris and
Typhon (and the latter is described as a 'daemonic power' by
the Pythagoreans, according to 30, 363A) gives a central impor-
tance to the dualistic approach. He probably believed in the final
victory of good as Zoroastrianism promised (47, 370B), but his
attitude is a thorough-going dualism in the sense that it posits a
divine creator of evil who exists independently of the divine
creator of good, and attributes to this evil being the power of
1
Op. cit. 286.
2.3
 INTRODUCTION
creating other evil beings subservient to him. In this way it
differs from the dualistic element in Christianity and Moham-
medanism, where the evil spirit is thought of as a creature of God
and is not regarded as being himself a creator.'
It is of course possible to soft-pedal the dualism of the DIO,
as Oakesmith1 does, and to give prominence rather to those
passages at the beginning and the end of the book where an
elevated monism is expressed. But it can scarcely be denied that
the core of the work consists of an interpretation of the Osiris-
myth in which a dualistic emphasis accompanies an elaborate
daemonology. Even when he affirms belief in the 'God who
orders all things , this is not tantamount to a personal mono-
theism, for Plutarch certainly believes, quite apart from his
daemonology, in the existence of subordinate gods. It is hardly
right to suggest, as C. H. Dodd has done, that he used 6e6s in a
monotheistic sense, contrasting 6 6e6s with ol (Aey6'-'evot) 6eo(.3
Plato in his Po!iticus 272E speaks of 'all the gods who in their
respective places share rule with the greatest god', and Plutarch's
general attitude undoubtedly corresponds with this.4 It may be
argued that this is not merely a survival from primitive poly-
theism ;5 but it is surely a rationalization of such a survival. 6 In
most of his other works Plutarch did not propound any radical
dualism, and it may be inferred that in dealing with Egyptian
religion he was induced by the nature of the material, especially
1
Cf. L. C. Casartelli in Hastings, ERE S (1911), 111.
l The Religion of Plutarch, 198; 0. Greard, De la Morale de Plutarque
(Paris, 1874, 1nd ed.), 167 says that the pages wherein this dualism appears
have 'un caractere purement historique'.
3 C. H. Dodd, The Bible anJ the Greeks (London, 1935), S
4 Anaximander spoke of' the divine' and began a trend towards monotheism.
See Jaeger, The Theology of the Early Greek Plzi/osopherr, JI. On mono-
theism and polytheism in Plaro see the debate by A. E. Taylor and F. M.
Comford in Mind, 47 (1938), I BolT. and 311 fr.
5 R. Demos, The Philosophy of Plato (London, 1939), 19.
6 Guy Soury, La Dlmonologie Je Plutarque (Paris, 1941), 14, contrasts
Plutatclt's Platonism with his belief in polytheism without giving due
allowance to the polytheistic element in Plato's thought.
PLUTARCH'S APPROACH TO EGYPTIAN RELIGION
by the tradition of a divine conflict which was embedded in the
Osiris-myth, to diverge somewhat from the monistic emphasis of
his other works, even if the power of evil is called a daemon rather
than a god.
His daemonology also has received a distinctive colouring from
this material, although it is somewhat curious that it is Persia
rather than Egypt that supplies much of the special interpretation
applied to the Egyptian myths. Guy Soury's excellent study,
La Demono!ogie de Plutarque, provides an illuminating analysis
of the Greek and oriental sources which have contributed to this
fascinating confusion ofideas-for such at first it seems. It would
be idle to look for consistency in the varying attitudes adopted.
Friedrich Bock1 has pointed out that while the De Superstitione
rejects the belief in daemons, especially in evil ones, in three of the
other works-the De Defectu Oraculorum, the DIO and the
De Facie in Orhe Lunae-the existence of evil daemons is ad-
mitted. The De Genio Socratis may be said to compromise on the
subject by affirming the existence only of the beneficent personal
daemon. A pleasing result of modem research is that the prob-
ability has been established, in relation to these strange contra-
dictions, that they are at any rate the marks of a changing and
developing intellect. The De Superstitione was a work ofPlutarch's
youth, and his development seems to have been from a radical
rationalism to forms of mysticism and syncretism which were
occasionally superstitious. 1 It is easy, on the other hand, to
exaggerate the modifications in Plutarch's attitude to superstition.
H. Erbse3 has argued, with considerable success, that they do not
constitute a contradiction of his earlier view according to which
r Untersuchungen ru Plutarchs Schrifi mpl wv l:wKplhovs 6at11011lov
(Munich, 1910), 46. Cf. Soury, op. cit. 1 S Soury, op. cit. 6J, notes that in
D/0 47, J69Fff. Plutarch refers to the gods created by Horomazes and
Areimanius, but be believes that, in spite of such inconsistencies, Plutarch
favours the 'monistic position'.
2
R. Scbmertosch was apparently the first to suggest this development. Cf.
his words, 'certe aliter Plutarchus iuvenis sensit, aliter senex', quoted by
Dock, op. cit. to, n. 1.
3 'Piutarchs Scbriftneplluaaaliawovlas' in Hermes, So (1951), %96-314.
 INTRODUCTION
superstition, that is, an overpowering fear before the gods, stands
opposite atheism as one of the two extremes flanking the virtuous
middle occupied by genuine piety. According to this work of his
youth, atheism is a lesser evil than superstition; and although this
view is not upheld in some of the later works, possibly because of
the bitterness of feeling against the Epicureans, yet it is taken up
again, as Erbse points out, in the D/0 (11, JSSD)-at least it is
stated here that superstition is no less an evil than atheism. Where
Erbse is especially able to correct some previous writers' is in his
demonstration that the daemonology which Plutarch elaborated
at a comparatively late stage in his career as a writer was not
superstitious according to his definition of the tenn. To him they
were a necessary part of the divine ordering of the world and the
only possible explanation of some strange phenomena. In other
ways he made occasional concessions to superstition, as Erbse
admits; for instance he argued that some fear was a good thing in
the faith of the majority, if only as a retarding influence.:
It is as a counterblast to Euhemerism that Plutarch introduces
the idea of daemons in the D/0 (2.5, J6oD-E), and he names
Plato, Pythagoras, Xenocrates and Chrysippus as earlier prota-
gonists of the idea, although they themselves, he states, followed
earlier writers on religion. His main explanation in this book,
however, of the necessity of daemons is not that they are required
as an intermediary order, 'one which interprets and serves, being
intennediary between gods and men' (he ascribes this phrase to
Plato), but that their mixed nature explains the forces of evil
in the world. In this connexion he mentions 'the stories
about Typhon, Osiris and lsis ', but it is of Typhon that he
must be thinking mostly, although he recognizes a moral climax
in the development of Osiris and Isis since he speaks of their
promotion to the rank of gods' through their virtue' (27, J6IE);
1
In addition to those cited by Erbse, see W. H. Porter, Plutarch.: Lift of
Dion (Dublin, 19p.), 48, where it is suggested that the apparition which
appeared to Dion might well have been given a 'natural' explanation by
the author of the tract 'On Superstition'.
~ Erbse, op. cit. 303; cf. P. J. Koets, &1a16al~ovla, 68.
PLUTARCH'S APPROACH TO EGYPTIAN RELIGION
they were already 'good daemons' (30, 362.E). The only evil
imputed to Osiris is that he had immoral intercourse with
Nephthys (14, 356E; 59, 375B), and this is condoned, in the first
allusion to it, by the statement that it was done through ignorance.
As for Isis, she is blameless apart from the possible reference in
the phrase 'the dismemberment ofHorus' (2.o, 358E) to the story
of her cutting off the hands of Horus.
It is not easy to decide how far the Greek sources of the belief
in daemons have led Plutarch on the path to the comprehensive
system which he expounds both in this book and in the De Defectu
Oraculorum. In the latter work (1o, 415 A-B) he mentions Zoro-
astrianism, Thracian Orphism, Egypt and Phrygia as possible
sources, but goes on to praise Hesiod for distinguishing four
classes of rational beings-gods, daemons, heroes and men. Later
in the same work (17, 4I9A) Empedocles, Plato, Xenocrates,
Chrysippus and Democritus are cited as believing in evil daemons.
Of these it was probably Xenocrates who introduced the idea into
Greek thought. 1 So~ follows Bidez and Cumont in comparing
the undoubted oriental influence on Porphyry in his De Alminen-
tia. It was the Book of Ostanes which some of the Neo-Platonists
probably used and adapted. The only query admitted by Soury
is whether Xenocrates was the true source of Plutarch's doctrine
on this matter and whether Xenocrates himself may not have been
exposed to Zoroastrian influence. Max Pohlenz3 thinks this latter
suggestion unlikely, and derives the daemonology of Xenocrates
from his religious tendency to refrain from imputing anything
unworthy to the gods. He adds that his doctrine of the unbroken
gradation of existence is in sharp contrast with Iranian dualism.
Plutarch, it should be noted, goes beyond a belief in the existence
of evil daemons: for the most part he links them with a funda-
mental principle of evil which opposes the good throughout the
universe. Although he expressly derives the notion of this cosmic
antagonism from Plato, it is only in Zoroastrianism that the
1
R. Volkmann, Lehen urul Sr:h.rifien des Plutarch. von Ch.aeronea (Berlin,
~ 1869)! 11, 15; R. M. Jones, The Platonism ofPlutarr:h. (Wisconsin, 1916), 17.
Op. czt. 6r-~. 3 Gnomon, 21 (1949), 350.
 INTRODUCTION
notion is elaborated in a system of gods and daemons. Even in
this system there appears to be some variety of interpretation in
relation to the status of the power of evil. According to Soury
the orthodox doctrine taught that the power of evil was inferior
to that of good, while other sages made the two powers of equal
strength and rank-a discrepancy, argues Soury, which is reflected
in Plutarch's hesitation, sometimes, whether to use the term
'god' or the term 'daemon'. However this may be, neither of the
two doctrines is germane to Greek thought. The Greeks may long
have been accustomed to regard the powers of light and darkness
as opposed, witness the fight of Apollo and Death at the beginning
of Euripides' Alcestis, an instance which Soury" cites. What the
Greeks had not done was to personify and deify the principle of
evil and to cast this deity in a role which challenged that of the
supreme beneficent deity. Soury cites the Christian role of Satan
as a parallel, but his, as we have seen, is a subordi~ate part by
comparison. In spite of the claim (48, 371 A) that Egypttan theology
is here adapted to the Platonic philosophy, the Iranian origin of
Plutarch's system is beyond question, and its prominence in the
D/0 is partly due to the fact that Typhon seemed a natural
counterpart to Ahriman, and Osiris to Ahura Mazda. A question
which arises is to what extent Egyptian religion really shared this
characteristic and to what extent the similarity was due to a super-
imposed interpretation.
In the meantime it would be well to consider in more detail
Plutarch's attitude to the gods of other nations. His tone in
referring to the' gods' is consistently respectful. It is clear that he
does not limit To 6eiov, the quality of divine being, to the supreme
1 Op. cit. 6~. Cf. J. H. Moulton, Early Zoroastrianism (London, 1913),
u5-<i and Ijj, where it is argued that in the Gathas there is only a limited
dualism. J. Finegan, Tlze Arclieology of Wor/J Religions (Princeton, 195~),
89, calls it 'an avowed but not fully elucidated dualism '.
1 Op. cit. G4. W. H. Porter, Plutarcl.'s Lift ofDion, 481 refers to Plato, Laws,
896B, where it is argued that as well as the hest soul there must be assumed
'at least one other with contrary powers'. Porter strangely overlooks the
fact that Xenocrates became head of the Academy, when he says that
'this doctrine was not adopted by Plato's successors in the Academy . '.
:z.8
pLUTARCH'S APPROACH TO EGYPTIAN RELIGION
beneficent deity, for after relating the myth of Osiris he urges
clea to reject any literalist explanation of it as involving a slight
on 'the blessed and incorruptible nature' of the divine (:z.o, 358E).
Extreme and barbarous views about the gods' are not acceptable
to her. In this book he refers with respectful interest to the
religions not only of Egypt, but also of Persia and Chaldea. 1
Indeed he is anxious (66, 377c) to give international currency to
the gods of Egypt, whom he regards as really shared in common
by Greeks and Egyptians, and to prevent their becoming 'the
peculiar property of the Egyptians'. On what basis, then, does he
think this possible? It is because the gods of Egypt, he says, have
long been known to all other people, although not by their
Egyptian names (66, 3770). Notlongafterwards (67, 377F) comes
the famous passage, quoted above, which states that the gods are
not really different among different peoples, but that in spite of
the varying honours and the varying modes of address assigned
to them, the one supreme reason and providence is the same
everywhere; and so are the powers which serve them in their
respective spheres. Reitzenstein" believes that this attitude is
fundamentally Stoic. The cosmopolitanism of the Stoics certainly
ignored the barriers between Greeks and barbarians, and Plutarch
himself in his De Fortuna Alexandri, 1. 6, 32.9B ascribes to Zeno
the belief ' that we should consider all men our fellow townsmen
and fellow citizens'. But the truth is that, apart from the reference
to the one controlling reason and providence, this view of foreign
gods is to be found in a Greek writer as early as Herodotus.
After conducting a careful survey of' Greek Gods and Foreign
Gods in Herodotus', Ivan M. Linforth3 says that 'one must
1
M. P. Nilsson, Gesclt. Gr. Re/.2 n (Munich, 1961)1 4031 although he omits
to mention the Persians and the Chaldaeans, notes that in the Q:!aest. conv.
~~ c the God of the Jews is identified with Dionysus. There is a reference
to Jewish legends intheD/0,]1, JGJc-o;cf. the allusion in De comm. notit.
aJv. Stoicos, ]8, 1op E to the beliefs of Jews and Syrians concerning the
gods.
* Helltnist. Myst. (Jrd ed. Leipzig, 19~7), 29: 'Wohl ist die Begrilndung im
wesentlichen noch stoisch.'
3 U. Cal. Puhl. Class. Pliil. 9 (19~6), 10.
:Z.9
 INTRODUCTION
conclude that Herodotus and his Greek readers instinctively
believed that foreign gods were not different beings from the gods
whom they knew under Greek names, but identical with them'.
He also states1 that 1 Herodotus mentions by name the gods of
some thirteen foreign peoples (about fifty-seven titles in all) as if
they were identical with gods bearing Greek names'. The
1
generous polytheism' which Linforth finds in Herodotus can be
seen to some extent in Plutarch and he probably inherited such an
attitude unconsciously. His vantage-point, it is true, does not
give him the wide scope of his predecessor's view,: but like him
he usually refers to Egyptian gods by means of Greek names whiclt
have been ascribed as the result of a process of identification long
since traditional. Sometimes he does not bother to supply the two
sets of names, as when he mentions Rhea, Cronus and Hermes at
the beginning of his narrative of the myth ( 12, 355 D), meaning
the Egyptian deities Nut, Geb and Thoth; at other times he is
much concerned with the etymology of names themselves,
including the Egyptian forms, as, for example, with the names of
Isis and Osiris.3
Plutarch, however, is very far from the position of Herodotus
1
when the latter states (2. 50) that the names of almost all the gods
came from Egypt to Greece', meaning not that the names were
identical in Greek and Egyptian, but that corresponding words
were used to denote the same divine powers as the Greeks recog-
nized them in Egypt.4 We have seen that he condemned the
views of Herodotus5 on this matter. Unlike him, he speaks at a
time when the Egyptian gods had long found a home in Greece
if not in Delphi itself, so that in a sense his interest in them is
1
Op. cit. 5
1
Linforth, op. cit. 2., says of Herodotus, 'His polytheism is of unlimited
capacity . '.
3 A list of the parallel names of deities, Egyptian and Greek, used by Plutarch
is given by Parthey, pp. 148-so of his edition, and is reproduced by
Hopfner, u, s6. A more comprehensive list appears below, pp. 572 ff.
4 Cf. the distinction made by Plutarch in 66, 3770 between the 'power' and
'name' of a god.
5 A similar attitude is adopted by Diodorus (r. 96).
30
PLUTARCH'S APPROACH TO EGYPTIAN RELIGION
not the result of a zestful universalism but the recognition of a
religious influence which had penetrated his native frontiers.
What he adds (in 67, 377F) to the old idea of the identity of gods
is the affirmation that there is one controlling reason and provi-
dence, a belief held before him by many Greek thinkers.1 With
regard to this power and its subordinate deities:: he stresses the
variety of honours and modes of address among different
peoples; but the question arises whether in fact his study of the
Egyptian gods is not more marked by a desire to explain their
nature and myths in Hellenic terms than to record the native
explanations and the striking ways in which Egyptian religious
thought differed from the Greek. Can it be that, if Herodotus was
pro-Egyptian, Plutarch was, in spite of his professed universalism,
a somewhat narrow Greek exclusivist, eager to press the Hellenic
stamp on whatever he saw in other religions? Frankfort3 has
thus characterized his approach:
Even Plutarch, who was well informed, has hellenized Isis and Osiris so
thoroughly that his book has long been a source of confusion to
Egyptologists. There is no authority in Pharaonic sources for the
character and some of the adventures which he attributes to these gods.
Yet Plutarch does so, not because he was indifferent, but, on the
contrary, because of the spell Isis and Osiris had cast over him and over
his contemporaries .. . Thus Isis, the devoted but subservient consort
of Osiris, became the vehicle of Plutarch's philosophy, his peculiar
amalgam of Platonic and Stoic views ...
But occasion has already occurred to note that in one respect, at
any rate, our author was not the ultra-Greek conservative. His
readiness to accept the Persian doctrine of rival deities is proof of
a sympathetic approach to an alien system, although it could be
argued that it happened to offer a striking development of a
1
Cf. M. P. Nilsson, Gesch. Gr. Rel.2 u, 403.
: 0. Greard, De la Morale Je Plurarque, 267, wrongly summarizes the
passage when he says, 'II n'y a done qu'un Dieu, le meme pour les barbares
et pour les Grecs ... '.
3
The Prohlem of Similarity in .Ancienr Near Easrem Religions (Oxford,
1951), 22.
31
 INTRODUCTION
system already present in Greek thought and indeed that Plutarch
introduces it as such. Apart from this deviation, however, it is
clear that in general a serious attempt is made to follow the avowed
aim of adapting the Egyptian theology to the Platonic philosophy,
using rational and allegorical explanations as his chief means.
This, it should be noted, does not preclude the possibility that he
narrates the details of the myth, at the same time, as accurately and
faithfully as he is able. If this attitude seems, nevertheless, to be
unduly subjective and ideologically predetermined, one should
refiect how rare it is for the fervent religious mind to practise a
tolerant and sympathetic observation of other religions. It may
be that an objective appraisement is impossible, and that there is
only a difference of degree between the modem anthropologist's
presentation of a tribal cult and Plutarch's exposition of the
Osirian myth. Certainly the former's descriptive distinctions and
psychological analyses are coloured by his own thinking and that
of the cultured society whom he addresses. To some extent,
admittedly, the difference depends on the religious beliefs, or
absence of such beliefs, characteristic of the observer. Plutarch
was ardently opposed to the extremes of both superstition and
atheism. The element of polytheism in his religion disposed him
to be tolerant of a pantheon like that found in Egypt, but his
strongly held philosophical views made it unlikely that he would
strive hard to understand ideas that were very different. If one is
disposed to blame him for this, it is worth remembering that
according to E. C. Dewick1 Christian opinion about other
religions 'has hardened in recent years against the contention that
Christianity is the fulfilment and completion of the best elements
in other religions in favour of the Barth-Kraemer "theory of
discontinuity", which maintains an absolute qualitative difference
between Christianity and all other religions'. On the other hand,
one could sometimes wish, for the sake of our knowledge of the
subject, that he had been more interested in the facts and less in
their philosophical interpretation. Herodotus and Diodorus do
not load their observations to the same extent with theori~ing
1
As summarized by Dr E. 0. James in JTS H (1954), H
Jl.
PLUTARCH'S APPROACH TO EGYPTIAN RELIGION
explanations. Yet Plutarch has one advantage over them in his
treatment of Egypt: he has concentrated on one theme and so has
handed down an abundance of rich detail.
V. THE MYTH AND CULT OF ISIS AND
OSIRIS: THE RELEVANT PHASES
At the time when Plutarch wrote this book, the god Osiris and his
circle had been worshipped for two and a half millennia. During
this time considerable changes in emphasis and interpretation had
taken place, and the cult had .tssumed a commanding position in
Egyptian religion.
For the most part Isis is very much in a subordinate position
to Osiris, and in the earliest literature Osiris himself is one among
a number of funerary gods. It is true that in the Pyramid Texts,
which form the earliest corpus of Egyptian religious texts and
were inscribed on the walls of pyramids at S'*~ara belonging to
kings of the Fifth and Sixth Dynasties, the myth of Osiris
assumes an increasing importance in the texts of the later pyra-
mids.1 Many of these texts were reused in the Coffin Texts of the
Middle Kingdom and in later religious literature, such as the Book
of the Dead, the Funerary Liturgy, and the Daily Temple Ritual.l
Since the Pyramid Texts are really a series of spells designed to
provide for the future of the deceased Pharaoh in the world after
death, no coherent mythology is presented in them. Mythological
allusions are sporadic and often unconnected. A prominent early
myth, however, is that which relates how the deities Horus and
Seth were engaged in a feud which deprived Horus of an eye and
Seth of his testicles. The god Thoth intervened on behalf of
Horus and the stolen eye was restored to its owner. Horus is
described (Pyr. 591h) as presenting the eye to the dead King,
1
See H. Kees, 'Das Eindringen des Osiris in die Pyramidentexte' in
Mercer, The Pyramid Texts, IV (19p.), 123-40; cf. Conflict, 18ft'.
2
See T. G. Alien, Occurrences of Pyramid Texts (Chicago, 1950).
3 33 QDJ
 INTRODUCTION
identified with Osiris. This is how Osiris enters into the story.
His identification with the King applies, however, only to the
deceased King. Seth now becomes the enemy not only o~ Horus
but also of Osiris and allusions are made to a myth whtch tells
how Seth slew Osiris. Seth is said to have attacked him in the land
of Ge~estey and to have felled him to the ground on th: bank of
Nedyet. In the meantime Isis and Nepht~ys had bee~ m searc?
of their brother Osiris and they found htm at last lymg on hts
side they are said to have bewailed their brother. 1 A tradition
that'Osiris was drowned seems to belong to this myth; see Pyr.
2.4d 615d 766d cf. Denlcmal Memphitischer Theologie, 8; Ioh;
19 6 2 ff.' Whe~ Horus gains his victo.~ ~ver Seth, he is. sai~ to
ff.;
bring the enemy and his followers to Ostns m a state of sub)ecnon.
The trial of Seth comes afterwards. This is sometimes depicted as
a law-suit between him and Horus, and this is doubtless the
earlier version. Elsewhere, as in Pyr. 956aff., Seth is said to be
charged with a crime of violence against ?siris: and the court at
Heliopolis, presided over by Geb, finds htm gut~t~ and awards .a
vast kingdom, including heaven and earth, to Osans. The latter ts
said to be 'made better' by his sisters Isis and Nephthys (Pyr.
6:z.8a); and according to the last part of the same spell (6pa-
633h; cf. 1635 h-16376) Osiris becomes the father of Horus Sopd
from Isis in her form as Sothis (Sirius).
The Horus-myth must be distinguished from the Osiris-myth
although even in the Pyramid Texts they are ?~te~ co~a~ed; the
former is historical in origin,1 whereas Osans ts ongmally a
funerary god3 who increases in importance and .range of attributes
because of his equation with the deceas~d Kmg as well ~ for
other reasons. A weighty result for the Kmg was the promtse of
1 See Pyr. 972 a-h; roo8c; 1156a-h; u8oc-d; 1181 a-1181a; 1339a;
Se~ Conflict, 119ff.
2
rsooa; 19n6; 1.144a-b.
3 Another view, championed by Sethe, Urgucluch~e, 79 and K~, Toten-
glauhtn (:tnd ed.), 147 regards Oshis as a human ki?g who~ ~e~fied. ~f.
C.erny, Rei. :H Gardiner,JEA 45 (1959), 104, derues the ascnpuon to. htm
of this view; he prefers to describe the god's later sta~s as a ' persont~ca
tion of dead kingship'. But in The Tomh of Amenem!tet, ss, n. I Gardmer
says of Osiris, originally, perhaps, an ancient king deified'.
34
THE MYTH AND CULT OF ISIS AND OS IRIS
continued life on the pattern of Osiris; 'Osiris lives, the spirit
who is in Nedyet lives, this King lives' (Pyr. 899a).
Isis and Nephthys first appear as the mourning sisters who
bewail the god's death and also that of the King. Isis is not at first
marked out as the wife of Osiris. In the role of mourners she and
Nephthys appears as falcons or kites. The careful tendance of the
dead body is a feature of the cult, and mummification undoubtedly
became its essential act. Osiris or Osiris-King is the prototype of
the ceremonially embalmed person, and Horus, Geb, Isis and
Nephthys seem to perform the rite for him; the four sons of
Horus are also involved sometimes; so is Anubis (Pyr. I uu-d,
where the rite is placed in Abydos). Revival and renewed life
resulted from the rite; or perhaps continued life is the precise
idea; cf. Pyr. 167a-d; Io68a-h; 2092a-2.094a. Ceremonies of
purification and of 'opening the mouth' also contributed to this
end.
The iconography of the god confirms the association of
mummification with his cult, for he is always portrayed in a
mummified form ; 1 he generally carries a crook and a flail and
wears a crown-three symbols of royalty. Helck~ would connect
the crook with the idea of a god of shepherds, and he sees a close
parallel, in some ways, between Osiris and Adonis. That Osiris
was not a god confined to the royal cult is shown, at the same
time, by the stelae of private individuals from the Fifth Dynasty
onwards. His name appears in these texts alongside those of
Anubis and Khentamenthes. Indeed Anubis appears in Third and
1
No representations of Osiris are known from the Old Kingdom; the form
is constant in this respect even in those representations which depict the
god as seated; the legs are shown clearly linked together. See Roeder in
~!gyptologisclre Studien, ed. 0. Firchow (Grapow Festschrift, Berlin,
1955), 1.48-86 ('Die Arme der Osiris-Mumie').
2
PW s.v. Osiris (1961.), 471 f. In support of this thesis he maintains, some-
what boldly, that the name of Osiris is non-Egyptian; further, that his
origin in the Eastern Delta would make affinities with Syria possible.
A. Scharff, Die Aushrtitul'lg des Osirislcultes in der Fnihteit, 7, regards
Osiris as originally a vegetation deity who took over the qualities of a
'shepherd-god' from Andjety.
35
 INTRODUCTION
Founh Dynasty Textsi before Osiris emerges at all; and in the
" Fifth Dynasty Anubis is predominant at first, only to yield in
importance to his rival in the following dynasties.
Although his cult probably originated at Abydos in Upper
Egypt,l Osiris was worshipped from early times also at Busiris in
the Delta, and the Pyramid Texts already show him to be a
member of the Heliopolitan Ennead. A convenient view of his
attributes as they were regarded in the Middle Kingdom is seen in
Hymnes Religieux du Moyen Empire (Premiere Partie) which
Selim Hassan edited, while the Osirian rites at Abydos in this era
are described in the Stela of Ikhernofret.3 In the former group
there are only two brief allusions to Isis,4 and none in the Abydene
stela; but in the long hymn to Osiris by Amen-mose, which
belongs to the Eighteenth Dynasty,S Isis has an honoured, though
not a dominating, place. She is her brother's defender and
reviver, and after reviving the 'Tired One' she receives his seed.
Osiris himself had long since been identified not only with the
dead King but with any dead person. As king of the realm of
the dead he was credited with power over water, especially that
of the inundation, and over vegetation; through this power he
could guarantee continued life to believers identified with him.
Funher, he could promise triumph in the judgement after death,
as he was regarded both as one who had achieved this himself
and as the god who presided over the tribunal,6 this latter role
being probably an early attribute of his. A number of funerary
rites, including real or fictitious voyages to Busiris and Abydos,
were Osirian in motive.?
1
E.g. Murray, S~qara Mastahas, pis. 1, 2 and 3
l The present writer has discussed the evidence in some detail in his study,
The Origins of Osirir (MAS 9, Berlin, 1966), 74 ff.
3 See Sch!ifer, Die Mysterien Jes Osirir in Ahyaos.
4 Hassan, op. cit. 93 (Osiris is said' to unite himself' with Isis the goddess and
with Nephthys)and 127. One of these hymns is translated in E.-B. Lit. 14~.
5 See A. Moret, BIFAO 30 (1931; Melanges V. Loret), 72~-50. Cf. E.-B.
Lit. I4off.; Roeder, Urk. Rei. nff.
6
See BD 125 and cf. Helck, 'Osiris', 491.
7 See esp. chs. 8 and 10 in Kees, Totenglauhen (2nd ed.).
THE MYTH AND CULT OF ISIS AND OSIRIS
From the New Kingdom onwards, as indeed to some extent
before that, the god's cult increased in popularity and significance.
A territorial expansion was accompanied by the assimilation of
attributes and ceremonies which had belonged to other gods. At
Memphis, for instance, the tijed-pillar, which had been associated
with Ptah as a symbol of endurance, became an Osirian emblem ;I
Re"s phoenix at Heliopolis is identified with Osiris;l and various
rites offertility were appropriated by him, including the ceremony
of 'hackin,g the e:u-th at Heracleopolis,J and the rite of 'driving
the calves at vanous places.4 At a much earlier stage Osiris had
intruded into the solar and celestial hereafter which was originally
Re"s ~reserv:;s his own origin~! domain was undoubtedly the
earth, m parucular the necropohs, so that the idea of the rebirth
of vegetation was not unnaturally linked with him. Wooden
boxes in the shape of Osiris were filled with earth and planted with
corn seeds; the sprouting corn in this funerary context (the boxes
were placed in tombs) implied new life. It is significant that this
practice first occurs without an Osirian meaning6-another mark
of the god's remarkable capacity for assimilation. In the same
category must be put his identification with corn, for this function
first belonged to Neper the corn-god.7
The geographical extension of the Osirian cult and the god's
fusion with local deities is well indicated in Spell 142 of the Book
of the Dead, for which Lepsius, Todtenhuch., gives a Saite version
and P. Ryerson, now in Chicago, a 'Persian-Ptolemaic' form. a
1 2
Kees, Giitterglauhe, 97ff. Grapow, Re/. Urk. 16, u ff. (-BD 17).
l Kees, Giitterg/auhe, 318. Cf. P. Jumilhac J, I ff. (Vignette).
4
Blackman and Fairman,]EA 36 (1950), 79ff. For other assimilations see
6
Helck, 'Osiris', 493ff. S See Breasted, DRT 14off.
See A. Scharff, I Friihe Vorstufen zum .. Komosiris '" Forschungen una
Forrs_chritte, 21- 3 (1947), 38f. The corn was placed on :m oblong litter of
matnng. There was no Osirian design.
7
Cf. De Buck, CT u 95 e where Neper is described as 'he who lives after he
dies', and IV .169~ (S1Cb): 'I live and flourish as Neper.' The god Neper
8
was a persomficanon of co~ and did not have a local cult.
See T. G. Alien, The Egypttan Book ofthe Deatl. Documents in the Oriental
Institute Museum at the University of Chicago (Chicago, 1960. Or. Inst.
Pubis. vol. Bl), 17
37
 INTRODUCTION
1
A Ptolemaic papyrus edited by Faulkner gives a comparable list
of the 'names of Osiris '. In spite of the length of the list the gods
role falls short of pan-syncretism; a large number of specific
relations are established.l For the distinctively Osirian rites in the
Ptolemaic era, the festival of Khoiak as described in the texts of
the temple of Denderah is an important source:3 see E. Chassinat,
Le Mystere d'Osiris au mois de Khoiak. (/FAO, Cairo, 1966).
Most temples contained sanctuaries dedicated to Osiris. In the
temple of Horus at Edfu, rooms called The Crypt, The Mansion
of the Prince and The Privy Chamber ofthe Crypt were connected
with his cult and mysteries.4 According to Edfou, vu, 13, here' the
two sisters are guarding him'.
At this point a double caveat is called for. Egyptian temple
inscriptions of the Ptolemaic era, in spite of an elaborately
distinctive script, are linguistically archaistic and may well
incorporate much earlier traditions.S On the other hand, Plutarch
may be using sources of very varied chronological origin, so that
it does not necessarily follow that the closer one comes in time to
Plutarch himself, the closer one comes to his material.
A vivid impression of special rites for Osiris, in which the
roles oflsis and Nephthys are developed in a sequence of chanted
dramatic monologues or duets, is conveyed by three Ptolemaic
1
An Anc~nt Egyptian Book of Hours (Oxford, 1958).
2
J. Gwyn Griffiths,]EA 46 (1950), 113f.
3 Nadia Sauneron, Temples Ptollma'iiJues et Romains cl' Egypte: Repertoire
Bihliographique (/FAO, Bibliotheque d'tude, 14, Cairo, 1956), 17, refers
to a Ptolemaic temple of Osiris at Kamak; cf. Porter-Moss, Top. Bihl.
n, 69H; for the Kamak cult in the 15th Dyn. see Ledant, Recherches
sur les monuments Thlhains etc. (Cairo, 1965), 161 ff. Osirian rites at
Kamak in the month of Khoiak are recorded in P. Barguet, Le Papyrus
N .Jl:Jo(S) clu Musle clu Louvre (!FAO, BE 37, Cairo, 1961).
" Fairman, 'Worship and Festivals', 17of.
s Fairm:m, op. cit. t66: 'Moreover, there is evidence that in general the texts
are based on sound ancient tradition . .. ' Rites enacted in the first century
.A.D. by a Theban priest of Amen-Re' are recorded in a papyrus in
Leiden (T31). They have a strong Osirian element: see B. H. Stricker,
'De Egyptische Mysterien', OMRO 31 (r9so), 4s-G3; 34 (t9n), 13-31;
and 37 (19SG), JS-48.
T HE MYTH AND CULT OF ISIS AND OSIRIS
texts which are called The Songs of bis and Nephthys, The
Lamentations ofIsis and Nephthys and The Hour-watches (Stunden-
wachen), the title in each case being modem. Faulkner has edited
the first two of these texts,1 and he points outl that the Songs,
since they were to be sung in the temple of Osiris from the 2.2.nd
to the 2.6th days of Khoiak, probably formed part of the Osirian
rites which were celebrated, according to the texts from Den-
derah, in that month. The Lamentations were confined to the
2.6th day of Khoiak, and they are stated to be performed in all
cult-centres of the god; in view of this Faulkner3 suggests that the
longer S01tgs were enacted only in certain important temples,
whereas the shorter parallel was for more general use. Die Stunden-
wachen in den Osirismysten"en was published by Junker in 1910
(Denkschr. Wien, 54).
A leading cult-centre in the Graeco-Roman era was the island
of Philae which is mentioned by Plutarch in 2.0, 359B (if Squire's
very cogent emendation be accepted; seen. ad loc.). The temple
oflsis there dates from the early Ptolemaic reigns, and two decrees
inscribed on Hadrian's Gateway in Philae relate to the alleged
grave of Osiris in the neighbouring island of Bigeh. J unker pub-
lished these in Das Giitterdek.ret iiher das Abaton (Denlcschr. Wien,
56, 1913).4 More recently he has published the long-awaited texts
and reliefs from the first pylon of the temple of Isis in Philae.S
Fairman, Orientalia 30 (1961), 2.2.3 .ff., has called attention to some
unfortunate deficiencies in this publication. The material deals
mainly with a variety of rites to be enacted in the temple. Many of
1
Tile Papyrus Bremner-RIIintl (Bibliotheca Aegyptiaca, 3), i, with a transla-
tion and commentary in ]EA .u (1936), 111-40; 'The Lamentations of
Isis and Nephthys' in M/FAO 66 (1934 =Melanges Maspero, vol. r),
337- 48 and pi. 4, the text being from P. Berlin 3008.
, Tile Papyrus Bremner-RIIintl, p. vi.
3 Lamtntations, 347 On p. 348 he notes another difference: the priestesses of
the Songs bear tambourines while in the Lamentations they carry a jar of
water in the right hand and in the left an offering-cake
" Cf. Roeder, Uric. Rei. 31 ff. On the claim of Thebes see P. Barguet,
P. Louvre .31761 p. 16.
5 H. Junker, Der grosse Pylon clu Tempelr cler Isis in Phi/a (Denlcscllr. Wien,
19S8).
39

INTRODUCTION
these are not directly concerned with Isis or Osiris, and mytholo-
gically their contribution is meagre.' A second publication of
texts from Philae appeared in 1965 under the title Das Geburtshau.s
des Tempels der Isis in. Philii (Denlcschr. Wien, Sonderband).
Erich Winter joined Junker in the preparation of this work, which
has followed a more accurate plan. One of the chief concerns of
the texts and representations alike is to portray the divine origin
of the Pharaoh, whose procreation is ascribed to Amiin and Isis;
here the birth of Horus as the son of Isis and Osiris, while it is
given prominence, seems to be presented only as a mythical
analogy; cf. Daumas, Les mammisis des temples lgyptiens (Paris,
1958), 393, and for earlier forms of the central idea see Brun?er,
Die Geburt des Gottkiinigs (Wiesbaden, 1964). More fru1tful
mythologically is the Papyrus Jumilhac, which emanates from the
Ptolemaic era and was probably found near Hardai, the Cynopolis
of the Greeks. Vandier: has devoted an elaborate publication to
this papyrus. Its mythological richesse is highly localized in the
traditions of the XVIIIth Upper Egyptian nome. Among the valu-
able details relating to the Osiris myth and cult is the description of
how the Osirian cam-effigy is to be made, a rite included here in
the festival of'hacking the earth' (3, 1 ff. Vignette); the discovery
of the limbs of Osiris is said to be commemorated in this festival
(3, t.b. 19-2.0); the fertility of the name is ascribed to the exuda-
tions of Osiris (17, 7ff.); and special mention is made (4, 2.off.) of
the discovery ofthe god's phallus-a member that was irretrievably
lost according to Plutarch in 18, 358B. Sometimes P. Jumilhac
reveals uncanonical, not to say excessively coarse, additions to
the prevalent myth. When Seth, for instance (3, 1 ff.) changes into
a bull in order to run after Isis, the goddess takes on the form of a
bitch with a knife at the end of her tail.
The Greeks who settled in Egypt were naturally exposed to the
influence of the native cults, and even before the establishment of
the cult of Sarapis by Ptolemy Soter the cults oflsis and Oserapis
1
Cf. n. ad p. :zoo, 18.
a J. Vandier, Le Papyrus Jumilhac (Paris, 1962). See also the review .by
T. G. H. James,]EA 48 (1962), 176-8.
40
THE MYTH AND CULT OF ISIS AND OSIRIS
were patronized by some of the immigrants.l Isis and Anubis
were associated with Sarapis when this cult was established in
Egypt; most of the dedications are to Sarapis and Isis together
and Fraser shows that 'Sarapis is more usually placed before
Isis ', so that 'Sarapis was not in any way regarded as inferior to
Isis . In general Sarapis replaces Osiris although one dedication3
names both, together with Isis and Anubis. In spite of this Sarapis
hardly assumed the position of a leading or national god. Fraser,
op. cit. 9, sums up the evidence thus: ' .. the appeal of Sarapis in
Ptolemaic Egypt was very restricted: he appears to have been
worshipped more in the third century than at any other time
largely in Alexandria, and largely by Greeks.' By the second centur;
a movement towards Egyptianization had made itself felt and the
Ptolemies themselves did not maintain an interest in Sarapis.4
Among the Greeks outside Egypt the cult oflsis and ofSarapis
was beginning to spread in the early third century. Indeed there
was a shrine to Isis in Athens, probably in the Piraeus, before the
year 333/332., but in this case the founders were immigrant
Egyptians.S Subsequent evidence often includes Sarapis, and
Greek cults of these deities are attested in Athens, Boeotia, Phocis,
Epirus and Thessaly, Macedonia and Thrace, the Peloponnese, in
islands of the Aegean, especially the island of Delos, and in some
?f the. Greek. cities of Asia Minor: A feature of this development
IS the mcreasmg ascendancy of Is1s, and the same trend occurs in
Egypt itself. With regard to Sarapis the position varies. Within
Egypt there was a decline in his importance in the second century
1
T. A. Brady, Rec. Egn. Cults, 9; Bell, Cults and CreeJs, 3 f.
2
Opusc. A then. 3 ( 196o), 4 f. (correctingpreviousinterpretationsin this matter).
3 OGJS 97 from Taposiris Parva, temp. Epiphanes. See Fraser, op. cit. 6.
The unusual form 'Oa6pctJ occurs here. For Taposiris cf. D/0 z 1, 3 59 c,
where, however, Taposiris Magna is meant. 4 Fraser, op. cit. 17.
s A. Rus~h, De Serap. et Is. z; Sterling Dow, 'The Egyptian Cults in
Athens, Harv. Tluol. Rev. 30 (1937), 184., who shows that the cult of
Ammon had arrived even earlier. Fraser, op. cir. 23, ignores Rusch and
does no~ mention ~7 fact that the worshippers are Egyptians. See also F.
Zucker, A then und Agyp ten his auf den Beginn der hellenistischen Zeit' in
Aus Antike und Orient (FS. W. Schubart, Leipzig, 1950), 151 f.
 INTRODUCTION
B.c., as we have seen. Thereafter he seems occasionally to share
with Osiris his role as consort of Isis.1 Weber, Die iigypti.rck-
griechuchen Terralcotten, 19ff., deals with many figures of both,
but iconography often lacks a specific time-link, and his instances
cover the whole Graeco-Roman era (Joo B.C.-A.D. 400, p. 16).
To the Greeks of the Hellenistic era Isis is a queen-mother who is
identified with most of the forces of nature and equated, at the
same time, as 'she of the many names', with a large number of
other deities in various places and countries.
The same approach persists in the Roman era. In the long Isis-
hymn of P.Oxy. XI, t38o, which belongs to the first or second
century A.D., the multiple identifications remind one of the way
Osiris is presented in Spell 142. of the Book of the Dead; the
difference is that now in the case of Isis the process of syncretism
ranges outside Egypt as well. The composite figure which
emerges here and in other evidence has been studied by Vandebeek
in his De lnterpretatio Graeca van de Isisjiguur (Louvain, 1946),
who comes to the conclusion (pp. 147f.) that the Greek element
is overwhelmingly preponderant. In a study of a slighdr. more
limited field, that is, of the Aretalogies of Isis, D. Muller, Agypten
und die griechuchen /su-Aretalogien (Berlin, 1961) has a less one-
sided picture to offer, the main reason being that he is more
familiar with the Egyptian antecedents of the cult. He shows (see
his summary on his p. 91) that slightly less than half of the attri-
butes here assigned to Isis derive from the ancient sources although
they may be Graecized in form; among these attributes are her
sovereignty, her genealogy, her relation to Osiris, her association
with corn, with Sothis (Sirius), with justice, and with fate.l
It was probably during the Ptolemaic era that' Mysteries' were
1 A marriage-oath for Greeks in the Faytlm names Osiris, Jsis and Horus
(n6/n5 a.c.): PS/64,1-J; cf.Brady, Rec. Egn. Cults,J7 On p.JG Brady
suggests that Sarapis is very rarely mentioned after the middle of the
second century, hut on p. 41 he seems to contradict this, unless his remarks
in the latter place are intended to apply in a general way to the whole
Hellenistic period.
2 See also the present writer's review in ]EA 49 (_J96J), 196f.
TH E MYT H AND CULT OF ISIS AND OSIRIS
first attached to the cult of Isis and Osiris in the full sense of the
Greek term, which implies secret initiation and the prohibition of
any divulging to the uninitiated of the ceremonies enacted. Muller
would deny an Egyptian antecedent, but an esoteric element
which laid much stress on priesdy secrecy was certainly present in
the ancient Osirian rites, so that the readiness of Herodotus, 2..
171 to apply the Greek term to the Egyptian rites is easily under-
standable. 1 It may be assumed that a real approximation was made
in Ptolemaic times, the range of initiation being brought into
line with the Greek tradition in which Demeter was the counter-
part of lsis.
In the Roman era Sarapis became the city-god of Alexandria,
but at Memphis and Abydos there was a revival of Oserapis or of
Osiris in connexion with the same cult. :z By the time of the Roman
conquest, according to Milne,3 the equation of Isis with Demeter
'had ceased to have any practical significance'. He does not
illustrate this claim; probably he is thinking of the lack of
specific identifications in inscriptions. It may be suggested, on
the other hand, that this equation was a potent factor in the
development of the Isiac mysteries and must have persisted as
such. Their prevalence is admittedly attested mainly for centres
outside Egypt.
Isis Pharia, the protectress of the Pharos harbour, was popular
in Roman times,4 but she emerges as a sea-goddess, Isis Pelagia,
in the early Hellenistic period ;5 Isis-Sothis is Roman, but also
ancient Egyptian. 6 The cult of Harpocrates, which had found
1
See further then. belowaJ p. 158, 16. P. M. Fraser, Opu.rc. Athen. 3 (19Go),
4, n. 1, would postpone the emergence of 'mysteries' of Sarapis and Jsis
until the Roman age. Nock, Conversiofl, 40, says: ' We do not know when
or where these mysteries arose; but it is likely that they arose at Alexandria,
and it is not improbable that they did so early in the Hellenistic period.'
An origin in the Hellenistic period would seem to be indicated by line 10
of the lsis-hymn from Andros and by D iodorus Sic. 1. :z.o. 6.
2
J. G. Milne, A Hist. of Egypt under Roman Rule (Jrd ed., London, 1924),
lOJf. Cf. Wilcken's distinction in UPZ 1, 95
3 Op. cit. 108. 4 IhiJ. 109.
5 D. Muller, Isis-Aret. 41. 6 See below, n. aJ p. ISO, 9
43
 INTRODUCTION
meagre favour in Ptolemaic times, expanded considerably in the
Imperial period, involving fusions with the ram of Mendes, the
ithyphallic Min, the crocodile-god Sebek, and with Heracles.1
Fraser points out that the notion of the triadic grouping of gods,
which had not flourished at all in the Ptolemaic era, prevailed
strongly in the Roman period. It was, of course, a prominent
feature of Pharaonic religion. According to Milne,3 a feature of
the Imperial era in Egypt was the revival of the honour paid to
Osiris. Certainly the magical papyri rarely mention Sarapis, but
Osiris is conspicuous. Milne continues as follows :
It is in accord with this that at Rome and in the West generally, where
information about Egyptian religion was not generally diffused till
after the Roman conquest, Osiris rather than Sarapis was normally
associated with Isis, though in the Greek world, which had been in
contact with Ptolemaic influences, the worship of Sarapis had spread at
an earlier date, and remained in vogue.
He h<ts here exaggerated the role of Osiris. Probably it would be
nearer the truth to say that in the Imperial period honours are
fairly equally divided between Osiris and Sarapis (or Serapis, as
the Romans preferred to call him). They develop on different
lines. Osiris remains the god of the dead and of life after death,
while Serapis is identified with Helius, Jupiter and Neptune and
endows the Emperor with success and victory.4 Horus also
1
Milne, op. cit. :uof.; cf. Fraser, op. cit. G, n. 9
2
IhiJ.
3 Op. cit. 2.13; cf. Bell, Cults ami Creeds, GG.
4 Cf. Nock, Conversion, 74f. and CAH 12 (1939), 42.5 ff.; Cumont, Or. Re/.
Soff., tends to identify Osiris and Serapis without justification. Several
statuettes of Osiris derive from the Imperial period in Hungary: see V.
Wessetsky, Die iigyptischen Kulte rur Riimerreit in Ungam (Leiden, 1961),
figs. G; 17; 2.1; and p. 49 Serapis occurs there in inscriptions and is identified
with Jupiter and Neptune; he is the giver of victory in the time of Cara-
calla: see ihiJ. 51 f. Serapis figures often at Ostia, but Osiris seems to be
absent: see M. F. Squarciapino, I Culti Orientali aJ Ostia (Leiden, 1962.),
15)-JG. For Serapis and Isis in Roman Britain see Eve and John R. Harris,
The Oriental Cults in Roman Britain (Leiden, 19Gs), 74ff.; for Osiris,
p. 89. See also Leclant, Orientalia 3G (r~7), 22.1.
44
THE MYTH AND CULT OF 1515 AND 05IRI5
enjoyed renewed favour in this era. 1 At the temple of Esna, where
the texts derive from between A.D. 96 and I6I, Sauneron's
preliminary volume, Qg.atre Campagnes a Esna (Cairo, I959),
indicates that Osiris and Isis take a subsidiary place in comparison
with Neith and Khnum, although one chapel, Pineter (Pr-n1.r), is
consecrated to them. Esna, like Philae, has its 'Abaton ', to which
a procession is made to visit the tomb ('ht) of Osiris; see Sauneron
in MDAIK 16 (FS. junker, 1959), 271-9 ('L'Abaton de la
Campagne d'Esna'); here, however, the Osirian cult is joined to
that of other deceased gods. The prohibitions include the
exclusion of women and the banning of music. In the Esna
texts there are also said to be 'litanies of Isis' (Sauneron,
pp. 9of.), nearly contemporary with P.Oxy. 138o, and 'litanies
of Osiris' (p. 93). See also Sauneron, Les Fetes Religieuses
d'Esna (Cairo, I962), Io; q. (a festival of Isis on 6 Phaophi);
I6 (the festival of adorning the 4J'ed-pillar of Osiris on 30
Khoiak). In the pre-Ptolemaic era Isis does not seem, by contrast
with Osiris, to have been accorded worship in cult-centres of her
own, with the exception of Be~bet el-I:Iagar, north of Sebennytos
in the Eastern Delta; see Bonnet, Real. p6 and 328.
What phase in the development of the Osirian cult is being
described by Plutarch? It is striking, from the start, that Osiris is
the leading figure in his account. Isis comes second; and Sarapis
is very subsidiary. His title to the work was, in all likelihood, as it
stands in most of the MSS: 'On Isis and Osiris ',even though the
precedence given here to lsis does not correspond to her sub-
ordination to Osiris in the treatise itself.~ Harder, Karpolcrates,
4;, n. 6, argues that the title was originally 'Isis' ; he refers to
p. I I 8, 20 ff. Tij 6Ec@ -rcx&n;t, where the phrase 'this goddess whom
you worship ' alludes to the priesthood of Clea in the cult of Isis.
When Plutarch mentions Clea in this connexion, he does indeed
refer to Isis mostly, with the exception of 35, 364E: there Clea is
said to be 'consecrated in the Osirian rites'. But it remains true
that in the narration of the myth and also in the explanations of it
Osiris is the dominant figure.
t Milne, op. cit. l.IJj Bell, Cults ana Creeds, GG. ~ See below, n. on title.
4S
 INTRODUCTION
It is moreover soon apparent that, in spite of the occasional
allusions to Clea's priesthood of Isis somewhere in Greece,
Plutarch is not mainly concerned with this contemporary worship
nor with the manifestations of it in other Greek centres. How else
can one explain the prominence of Osiris as compared with the
insignificance of Sarapis? The latter gets only three mentions
outside the two chapters (28-9) specially devoted to the origin of
his cult. Yet he is mentioned in many of the inscriptions from
Boeotia, and Osiris is not named at all. 1 At Athens Osiris is
sometimes mentioned in inscriptions from the Roman era; so are
Sarapis, Horus and Nephthys; but Isis is far and away the most
popular.l It is noteworthy that Apuleius, writing c. A.D. 170,
describes rites at Cenchreae which are concerned principally with
Isis; awesome references are made to Osiris, but the Osirian rites
take place in Rome.3 Wittmann4 notes that Osiris (and Horus)
are rarely mentioned in the inscriptions from Greek cult-centres;
Osiris is mentioned only four times at Delos and Horus only
twice, whereas Sarapis, Isis and Anubis are named no fewer than
fifty-seven times, and Harpocrates thirty-seven times. It tran-
spires, then, that the sovereign role and general prominence
assigned by Plutarch to Osiris is utterly at variance with the
emphasis in the Greek cult-centres. Nor does it correspond to the
god's position in the Roman cults, in which Isis is supreme. It
relates rather to the traditional primacy of Osiris in the Pharaonic
cult.
That Plutarch's account bears little relation to his own Sitr. im
Lehen is confirmed by his details about cult topography. None of
these is concerned with Greek centres of Isis-worship. Sandbach5
has remarked that 'Plutarch's memory was a richly filled store-
house' and he rightly finds his 'richness of mind' well illustrated
1
Rusch, De Serap. et Is. 17-:u..
1
Sterling Dow, Harv. Tl:eol. Rev. 30 (1937), 231. 'To judge by the names,
lsis was more popular than any deity in Athens, barring Dionysus alone.'
3 Cf. Wiumann, Isishuch., 128 ('In Kenchrea tritt, wie in Griechenland
allgemein, Osiris im Kult zurilck, in Rom steht er im Vordergrund').
4 Op. cit. 58. 5 CAH 11 (1936), 697.
THE MYTH AND CULT OF ISIS AND OSIRJS
in the nine books of the 'Table Talk' (QJ!aest. conv.). There is
much variety, at the same time, in the Moralia as Sandbach
underlines, and the DIO is not one of the books in ..:Vhich personal
recollection and observation are evident. Plutarch has gathered
together a mass of information about most of the Egyptian cult-
places relevant to his theme. He informs us that wealthy and
powerful Egyptians are buried at Abydos (2o, 3S9A-B) and also
that Osiris was stated to be buried there (if the emendation
9lVl'l1lv, proposed by the present editor, be accepted ihid.); that
others place the tomb of Osiris in Taphosiris (2.1, 3S9C); that the
colossus of Pluto ( = Sarapis) was established at Alexandria (2.8
J6IF); that crocodile-eating is general at Apollonopolis (so'
371 D); that the body of Osiris is said by Eudoxus to lie at Busiris'
and that the Busirites, like the L ycopolitans, do not use trumpets'
and this for a religious reason (21, 3S9B; 30, 362F); that Horu~
was reared at Buto (18, J57F). He correctly gives the ancient
name of Egypt as Khemia (33, 364c), and recounts elaborate
details of a cult-feud between the peoples of Oxyrhynchus and
Cynopolis (72, 379B-c). He refers to a custom of burning
'Typho~an' men a~ive at Eileithyiaspolis (Marsham's cogent
emendatton) or El-Kab (73, 380D). Alluding to a belief that Nile-
risings were related to the moon, he records in eh. 43 the level of
the river's inundation at Elephantine Mendes Xois and
. ' '
Memphas. A queen of Ethiopia figures in his account of the myth
(1.3, 3 S6B; 3?, 366c). Of Hermopolis he records a special role of
Ists there as leader of the Muses' (3,JPAff.) and details too of an
image of Typhon there (so, 371 c- D). In connexion with animal-
cults he remarks that the people of Lycopolis do not eat sheep
(72., 3.8oB); he refers to the Apis in Memphis (2.o, 3S9B) and the
bu_ck m Mendes (73, 38oE). Two highly interesting inscriptions in
Sats are r~corded (9, 354c; 31, 363 F) and a suggestion is noted
that Pelu~a.um was named after the foster-son of Isis (17, 3S7E).
The Tanattc mouth comes into the main mythological narrative
(13, 3S6c). A tradition about the bronze gates at Memphis is
noted (29, 362c), and there are a number of general remarks about
Egypt and the Nile. A Syrian episode figures in the myth with
47
 INTRODUCTION
Byblos as its centre in eh. 15; and the Syrian river Phaedrus is
referred to (16, 357D).
This, then, is Plutarch's map of myth and cult. He does not tell
us at all what goes on in Greek shrines dedicated to lsis, although
he implies that the lepas Myos as expounded there would have
much to say about the Egyptian places and their traditions. When
Plutarch does mention Greek cult-centres and rites in this book,
it is usually for purposes of comparison, as when he tells us that the
women at Athens fast in the Thesmophoria, while the Boeotians
'move the halls of Achaea' (69, 378D); he refers to the oracle at
Delphi (68, 378c-D), comparing the Greek and Egyptian
emphases on the importance of reverent speech. He includes oft-
quoted remarks about the prayer of the women of Elis to Dionysus
(35, 364E-F) and he refers to a statue of Aphrodite there (75,
38IE), as to a statue of Zeus in Crete (75, J8ID). He alludes to
religious usages among the Thessalians (74, 38oF), the Paphla-
gonians (69, 378F), the Phrygians (69, 378E), and the Lemnians
(74, 38oF). All this is comparative material which is not directly
connected with the practice of Egyptian cults in Greek lands. It
reinforces the impression that Plutarch has based his whole study
on literary works relating to Egypt itself, a conclusion which is
amply corroborated by a consideration of his sources (see Sec-
tion VI).
By way of contrast, many of the interpretations are intensely
Greek, and they derive principally from two traditions, the Nee-
Platonic and the Stoic. Platonic doctrines are expressly applied to
the myth in chs. 53-4, where a creation-system is elaborated in
which Osiris is the pure creative Logos, Isis the material and
receptive element, and Horus, their offspring, is the world.
Eduard Norden,t who describes the DIO as one of the most
difficult works written in Greek, compares the Philonic doctrine
that God had union with Sophia, after which she brought forth
1
Die Gehurt ties Kindes (Leipzig, 1924), 98. His reference ihiJ. to Isis as 'das
sinnliche Abbild des gedanklichen Kosmos' is a little misleading. On p. 2.04,
xsf. of the D/0 the phrase alludes to Horus, 'whom Isis brings forth as an
image of what is spirimally intelligible, since he is the perceptible world'.
THE MYTH AND CULT OF ISIS AND OSIRIS
the world; he quotes (p. 97, n. 3) the view of Reitzenstein that
Phllo was conscious of a prophetic role 'im Sinne aegyptisch-
griechischer Mystik '. There are clear affinities between Plutarch
and Philo, and the Johannine approach is not dissimilar, as N orden
suggests. Although Plutarch in 43, J68s-c speaks of the Apis
being born of a cow which the moon has struck, it is elsewhere
(V. Num. 4 and QEaest. conv. 8. 1. 3, 7I8A-B) that he explicitly
ascribes to the Egyptians a doctrine of divine creation without
carnal union. 1 The question of Plutarch's relation to a Graeco-
Egyptian philosophical movement has been investigated, after
Norden's suggestive discussion, by Torhoudt in his Een Onhelcend
Gnostisch. Systeem in Plutarch.us' De !side et Osiride. He con-
vincingly connects the teaching of chs. 53-4 with the Valentinian
Gnostic myth recorded by Hippolytus, Ref. 6. 30. 6ff. Sophia and
Isis are shown to be similar in their intrinsic imperfection ac-
cording to Plutarch and the Gnostic source. They both represent
matter in this imperfection. The Platonic doctrine is, therefore,
given a distinctively Gnostic colouring in this application of it to
the Egyptian myth, and it was probably at Alexandria that the
movement was centred. It is known, of course, that Isis and
Sarapis were specially honoured here in the Ptolemaic era.l The
Platonic element has been well expounded by R. M. Jones in
The Platonism of Plutarch. and in The ClassicalJournaii9 (192.4),
565 f. On the Greek tradition of the use of allegory see Section VII
of this Introduction.
Plutarch's account may be profitably compared with the
eleventh book of the Metamorphoses of Apuleius, especially as
only half-a-century or so separates the two compositions. Their
purposes differ, it is true, since Apuleius is describing one par-
ticular lsiac festival in a highly personal and confessional way,
almost in the manner of a sophisticated journal intime. Plutarch,
1
See Norden, op. cit. 78, and his whole section on 'Die Erzeugung aus dem
Pneuma'.
~ Cf. P. D. Scott-Moncrieff, 'De !side et Osiride', ]HS 29 (1909), 7NO,
esp. B9f. He emphasizes the influence of the Alexandrian cult, but without
suggesting the type of philosophical approach envisaged by Torhoudt.
4 49 CPI
 INTRODUCTION
on the other hand, professes to expound a ~hole re~igion. His
manner is usually impersonal and he often mdulges m abstract
theorizing, whereas Apuleius is .sensuously concrete:-more
Egyptian in his approach, one maght say, and Apuletus was
indeed at least African. There is a vast difference of Weltan-
sckauung. A pertinent question is how far the two writi~gs agree
with regard to details of cult. We have. ~en that ~ere ts a c.o?-
siderable difference in the relative posattons of Ists and Osms.
The central subject of Apuleius' account is the spring festival of
Isis, called the Navigium J.ridi.r or Ploiaphe.ria. Tlus was.cele~rated
on 5 March and is not attested before the Roman ~ra. It as ~sstgn~d
to this date in the fourth-century calendar of Phalocalus. Its aam
was to inaugurate renewed navigation after the winter. Does
Plutarch refer at all to this important festival? Apparendy not,
unless the festival of 7 Tybi, 'which they call "The Arrival of
Isis from Phoenicia"' (so, 37I o ), has something to do with it;
see n. ad foe. What Apuleius has to say about the gar~ents of ~sis
(Met. I I. 3) can be reconciled, in spite of apparent dtvergenct~,
with what Plutarch says in 77, 38:z.cf. and elsewhere; the hydrezon
of 6, 365 B can be identified with the amp~ora of Met. I 1. xo and
3
with an earlier representation from Pompe.n; seen. ~d l~c. Me~. I I.
23 supplies a parallel to the idea of.fasttng or ,daetettc regamen
suggested in 69, 378 D and elaborated m Plutarch s eh. S, .although
some of the details given in eh. 5 are hard to substantiate from
any other source. While the hieraphoroi of 3, 35:z. B can be paralleled
in Met. 1 1. 16 and 17, these and the hierostolists and stolists
(J, J):z.B; 39, 366F) are known also from earlier sou~c~s. Walte~
Otto's study of the priests and temples of Hellentstlc Egypt
1 According to A. AlfOldi, A Festival of 1sis in Rome under the Christian
Emperors of the 1 Vth Century (Budapest, 1937), 50, it is likely that 'the
ceremonies of the navigium 1siJis were regularly rene.wed on the day o~ the
imperial vows on January the third'. Merkelbach, /sufoste, 39, n. so, gJVes
other evidence for ) March.
~ Priester und Tempel im hellenistiscnen Agypten. It is strange that 1-!o~fner
did not use this important work, nor (for the chapters on Zoroastnarusm)
Bidez and Cumont, Les Mages Helllnish. He mentions the latter work
only in a repentant postscript at the end of his vol. 11.
so
THE MYTH .AND CULT OF ISIS AND OSIRIS
provides many analogies and insights. On the other hand, Met.
u. 11 gives a tangible parallel to the 'sacred box' of 39, 366F, and
so also to the gilded Isiac cow of 39, 366E. There are naturally a
number of well-known resemblances of detail, such as the shaven
beads and linen robes of the initiates, the use of the sistrum, and
the assistant role of Anubis, but these could belong to any period.
The portrait of Isis offered by the two writers is fundamentally
different. Apuleius emphasizes her pantheism and the pan-
syncretism which makes her one with other goddesses every-
where; some of these he grandiloquently specifies. Although
Plutarch once (53, 37:z.E) refers to the epithet 'myriad-named'
(pvptooWil05) which, he says, is commonly given to the goddess,
his own explanation of it is Platonic: she is the receptive, female
principle in nature and she has been given this epithet 'because
she is transformed by reason and receives all corporeal and
spiritual forms'. Nor does he elsewhere provide the more usual
explanation which occurs in Apuleius and the Aretalogies. 1 In
fact it is the equation of Isis and Demeter that chiefly interests
him. At the same time, Isis is to him a goddess of wisdom, and
her mysteries lead to gnosis of the highest being, that is, Osiris.
There is a pallid form of this in Apuleius, but the Platonic and
Gnostic interpretations of Isis as matter and Osiris as the creative
Logos are absent in his account. In spite of some valuable corres-
pondences, therefore, the gulf between Plutarch and Apuleius is a
big one. Nor do any of the correspondences enable one to main-
tain definitely that Plutarch must in certain particulars be re-
flecting the Osirian cult of the Imperial period as distinct from
that of the Hellenistic age or of previous ages.
It may be worth while to conclude this analysis with an attempt
to indicate how far Plutarch's treatise agrees with what is known
from Egyptian sources and how far he has embodied other
material. An initial distinction emerges here; whereas Plutarch's
interpretations may often be Stoic or Platonic or Gnostic or even
Iranian, they nevertheless endeavour to explain details of myth
1
His universalist manifesto in eh. 66, claiming that the gods of Egypt belong
to all mankind, is a quite different proposition.
p
 INTRODUCTION
or cult which have an a priori claim to be regarded as factual; not
because they are based on personal observation but because they
have been transmitted by way of a literary tradition which must
be respected. When sources are named, as they often are, a
preliminary assessment is possible. Perhaps a useful subdivision
of the material will be under the headings of myth, divine attri-
butes, cult practices, animal worship and religious ideas. This is
perforce a brief conspectus; more detail is available ad foe a singula
in the Commentary.
(1) The Myth
This is mainly narrated in chs. 12.-2.0, but there are occasional
references in other chapters, for example the story in 31, 363c
(which is rejected) that Typhon escaped from battle on an ass, the
allusion in 36, 365 D to the help given by Osiris to Zeus when the
latter was attacked by Apopis, or the second version in 36, 365 c
of how the phallus of Osiris got lost (first mentioned in 18,
358Bf.). The first two of these episodes have recognizable sub-
strata in that Typhon was often linked with the ass and Osiris
(with other gods) was said to help Re' against Apopis. No con-
vincing Egyptian source has been adduced to illustrate the loss ot
Osiris' phallus; indeed the native myth stresses its persistence (as
part of the god's body) and posthumous vigour. The tale of Bata
has a resemblance; but the phallic element was given greater
prominence in the Hellenistic version of the cult, and a Greek
source is likely. The adultery of Nephthys with Osiris and the
resulting birth of Anubis (38, 366B-c; 44, 368E; 59, 375 B) form
an important episode which is touched on more briefly in the
central narration (14, 356E); it is confirmed in a demotic source.
That Typhon ran away from Horus after changing into a
crocodile (so, 371D) is a detail which fits well into the native
tradition; so, pre-eminently, does the allusion to how Typhon
smote the eye of Horus or snatched it out and devoured it
(55, 373D-E); but the story in the same chapter (55, 373c) of
Hermes ripping out the sinews of Typhon to use them as lyre-
strings seems to come from Greek myth, although the reference,
52.
THE MYTH AND CULT OF ISIS AND OSIRIS
immediately preceding this, to a statue which shows Horus holding
the genitals of Typhon in one hand, is thoroughly Egyptian.
A tradition (62., 376c) that the legs of Zeus (Amun) grew stuck
together and were separated by Isis remains problematic. The
myth of the flight of the gods before Typhon (72., 379Ef.) can
be related to Egyptian tradition.
Turning now to chs. u-2.o, one finds an outline which accords
with the native mythology, but occasional details which differ
.
and one eptsode which seems new-that which is set in Byblos.
'
It goes without saying that the Egyptian sources are themselves
limited in number and elaboration, and it follows that one is less
embarrassed by Plutarchean items that are not present in earlier
sources than by those which seem to contradict them, although it
must always be asked whether a new element may have been
incorporated from Greek myth and cult, particularly those
relating to Dionysus and Demeter.
The aetiological story of the birth of the five gods on the five
epagomenal days is firmly rooted in Egyptian tradition, and the
role ofHermes (Thoth) is especially meaningful. Some concomitant
details are hard to explain, such as the three consons of Rhea
(Nut); and the phallic festival of the Pamylia may be a Dionysiac
importation, even though the name Pamyles probably incorporates
an ancient epithet of Osiris. But there are valid correspondences,
especially the account of Typhon's birth. The story of the reign
of Osiris and ofTyphon's plot against him (eh. 13) is of composite
origin. Seth is an ancient enemy and murderer of Osiris, but
Osiris as the pioneer of civilization and the discoverer of agricul-
ture, law and religion is a reflection of a Hellenistic image of
Dionysus. Other details, such as Typhon's seventy-two fellow-
plotters and the aid of Aso, Q9een of Ethiopia, are more mys-
terious. The chest into whicb Osiris is put is the sarcophagus
which is traditionally his; a well-told story seems to result from
an urge to explain this. In eh. 14 the reactions of Isis to the dis-
appearance of Osiris foUow broadly the earlier pattern, but the
role of the Pans and Satyrs is purely Dionysiac. That Isis mourned
at Coptos agrees with her prominence there from the N .K.
 INTRODUCTION
onwards; that she cut a lock of hair, however, to show her sorrow
reflects Greek rather than Egyptian custom. The wanderings of
Isis and the function of Anubis as guardian belong to the early
background, and the helping dogs probably derive from the
traditional roles of Anubis and W epwawet. It is credible that in
Egypt children played in the precincts of temples; their part in
divination and their specific role in the myth are not attested.
In her search for the chest containing Osiris, Isis is said to
journey to Byblos, and chs. I 5-16 are devoted to her adventures
there. Plutarch is our earliest source for this remarkable episode,
and S. Herrmann has shown its affinities with the story of
Demeter, Metaneira and Demopho6n in the Homeric Hymn to
Demeter. While the episode has received a distinctive decoration
from that direction, its origin must lie in the Byblite cults of
Osiris and lsis. Osiris was probably worshipped at Byblos in the
N.K. and afterwards, and the cult oflsis is attested there from the
seventh century B.c. Plutarch's source is likely to have derived
from the Hellenistic era. Relations between Byblos and Egypt
were close in the earliest dynasties, and Weill, Breasted and Sethe
saw in the Byblos episode an ancient and original part of the myth.
Professor Helck1 too has recently found the Osiris-myth and
Byblos associated through word-play in the Pyramid Texts, but
he sees as the basis of Plutarch's episode a late and un-Egyptian
embellishment. There is certainly some local colouring as well as
influence from the Homeric Hymn; witness the names Malcathros,
Astarte and Nemanous; and the swallows seem to be Astarte's
even if they may also have good Egyptian antecedents.
In eh. 17 Maneros may represent the god Min-I:Ior, and the
second meaning may derive from mn fr. l, 'may what I do endure I'
The strange festive custom perhaps involves the use of figurines
in a small sarcophagus; it is clear, at any rate, that an attitude of
Carpe diem was sometimes found among the Egyptians following
the contemplation of death. With the journey oflsis to join Horus
in Buto, which opens eh. IS, and the dismemberment of the body
of Osiris by Typhon, we are in the midst of highly authentic
1 'Osiris', soG. He cites Pyr. 590a (=c) and 634a for an early connexion.
54
THE MYTH AND CULT OF ISIS AND OSIRIS
Egyptian material; even the fourteen parts of the body are
paralleled, although sixteen is given in an alternative source. The
helping crocodile can also be traced, and the veneration of the
members of Osiris in different places is a familiar tradition which
has been recorded in detail. Plutarch is likewise on solid Egyptian
ground in eh. 19 where he dwells on the filial piety of Horus, the
ambivalence of Thoueris, the crocodile-goddess described as
Typhon's concubine, and the victory of Horus over Typhon.
The lenience of Isis towards Typhon is not unparalleled either,
nor is Horus' violent treatment of Isis, although his removal of
her bead-dress is a softened form of the story of her decapitation
by him, which is expressly mentioned at the beginning of eh. 2.0.
Her receipt of a cow head-dress from Hermes is an attempt to
explain her form as Hathor.
When Plutarch goes on to describe the charge of illegitimacy
brought by Typhon against Horus and the posthumous pro-
creation of Harpocrates, who is 4escribed as prematurely born
and weakly, he is again echoing ancient traditions; one only
regrets his brevity in these episodes. The preference of Horus for
the horse, mentioned at the beginning of eh. 19, is well reflected
in the Egyptian art of the Graeco-Roman period, though not
earlier. This episode is of interest, then, as one which may have
arisen in the Hellenistic, or perhaps the Roman, era. Some of the
relevant figurines are a product of Coptic art, but Berlin 9685 may
be a little earlier. 1 Horus as a slayer of serpents has a long tradition
behind him. Plutarch closes his main exposition of the myth with
references in eh. 20 to some of its crudities. The dismemberment
of Horus is one of these; probably the allusion is to the story of
how his hands were cut off by lsis (BD 113).
(2) Divine attrihutes
A surprising multiplicity ofinterpretations characterizes Plutarch's
attempt to describe the essential nature and qualities of the chief
1
The Ausfiillr/icnu Verr.eichni.s (Berlin, 1899), 369, includes it simply in
material of the Graeco-Roman era.
 INTRODUCTION
deities with whom he deals. This is clearly due to the varied and
complex source-material on which he relied.
In 33, 364A he appears to agree with the 'wiser of the priests'
that Osiris is the moist principle, a statement in accord with much
in Egyptian texts, although Plutarch gives it a formulation
derived from Greek philosophy. In his summing-up (64, 376Ff.)
Plutarch gives a rather different explanation; it is the well-
ordered, the good and the useful that characterizes both Osiris
and Isis (as a reflection of him). Apart from the general idea of
beneficence, the Egyptian Osiris hardly typifies this concept.
But it is noteworthy that in one of the concluding chapters (78)
Plutarch reproduces the ancient and original doctrine, pure and
undefiled, ascribing it again to priests: Osiris is the ruler of the
dead. To this he adds a somewhat philosophical comment, but the
initial statement is a valid one.
We have seen that Osiris as the founder of civilization (I J,
356A-B) is a copy of Dionysus. His phallicism (12., 355E; 18,
358B; 36, 365B) was emphasized in Hellenistic times, probably
again under Dionysiac influence, but the allusion to his ithy-
phallic form (51, 37I F) reflects earlier usage. In chs. :15-7
Plutarch applies a daemonological system to explain the status of
Osiris, Isis and Typhon; they were originally, he says, neither
gods nor men (Plutarch has just attacked Euhemerism), but great
daemons; later Isis and Osiris were elevated to the rank of gods.
(Cf. above, pp. 26, ff.) This line ofapproach follows that laid down
by Xenocrates, a pupil of Plato; it is barely applicable in any
form to Egyptian religion, and least of all to the major gods
Osiris, lsis and Seth.
Fully consonant with developed Egyptian doctrine is the
association of Osiris with the Nile (32, 363 D; 38, 366A, especially
the phrase 'effiux of Osiris'; 39, J66Cff.), with the Mnevis-bull
(33, 364B-c), with the Apis-bull (2o, 359B; 29, 362c; 43, 368B-c,
especially the relation 'animate image of Osiris'; 73, 38oE), with
the sun (51, 37I Fff.) and with the moon (43, 368c). It is un-
expected that Plutarch associates Horus rather than Osiris with
Orion (21, 359c; 22, 359E), for there seems to be no support else-
56
THE MYTH AND CUL T OF ISIS AND OSIRIS
where for this idea. When Plutarch calls Osiris the unmixed and
dispassionate Logos (54, 373B) or the vertical of the most
beautiful triangle (56, 373 Ff.), he is introducing Platonic notions.
That Osiris is Oceanus (34, 364D) agrees with his water affinities,
although Oceanus and Tethys are here Greek forms. The
equivalence of Osiris and Dionysus (28, 362.B; 34, 364D; 37,
365 E) begins with Herodotus, and doubtless arose mainly from
the aspect of fertility common to them. Hades and Pluto are
equated with him (78, 382E) because the realm of the dead is
common to them. A connexion with the Apis clearly gave rise to
a view that Osiris (and Sarapis) was Epaphus (37, 365E-F);
Seirios is equated with him as a name for the sun which happens
to sound the same (p, 372D); while the equivalence with Eros
(57, 374c) is purely literary, arising from an incursion into Hesiod.
Several comments are made on the etymology of the name
Osiris and on the way it was written and pronounced: see Io,
354Fff.; 34, 364o; 37, 365E; 42, J68B; and p, J7IE. All these
remarks are valuable and show an acquaintance with Egyptian on
the part of the authorities cited. It is therefore disappointing to
find Plutarch in eh. 61 coming out in favour of a Greek etymology,
6aaos and tep6s. In 42, 368 B Omphis is mentioned as another
name of the god, a by-form, it seems, of Onnophris. The descrip-
tion of Osiris as black (22, 359E) and of his robe as of the colour
of light (77, 382c) is consonant witl1 tradition.
According to the scheme which makes Osiris the Nile, Isis
becomes the land which the Nile fructifies (32, 363D); she is not
mentioned in eh. 33 which prefers to call Osiris the moist prin-
ciple; in the summation of eh. 64 she is clearly identified closely
with Osiris in nature, producing the well-ordered, the good and
the useful. lsis as the fructified earth is not a conspicuously
Egyptian idea, and a solitary reference in a Ptolemaic text from
Philae seems the only testimony to it. It was probably the identifi-
cation with Demeter, predominandy an earth-goddess, that gave
Isis this attribute in the early Hellenistic era. In the Isis-Aretalo-
gies (M7) lsis claims to be the discoverer of corn, but D. Muller
points out (pp. 3 I ff.) that Osiris rather than Isis is credited (with
57
 INTRODUCTION
other deities) in Egyptian texts to be the maker of corn; and that
Demeter has influenced the Aretalogies in this matter. In so far as
Plutarch ascribes the making of corn to Osiris as the Nile (cf. 38,
366A) rather than to Isis, he is nearer to the Egyptian emphasis.
Well-founded equations, from the Egyptian point of view, are
those oflsis with Athyri (Hathor) in 56, 374B; with the 'leader of
the Muses' and Justice (3, 3PA-B), where a finn link with Ptole-
maic cult appears; with Mouth and Methyer (56, 374B), although
it is otherwise with the explanations, as in the case of Athyri; with
the cow (39, 366E, cf. 19, 358D) and with Sothis (2.1, 359c; cf.2.2.,
359E; cf. 38, 365 Ff. and 61, 376A). Platonic equivalences (in the
sense of those derived from an application of Plato's teaching)
obtrude here too, for Isis is the base of the most beautiful triangle
(56, 373Ff.), the female and receptive principle (53, 3Tz.E), and
she is matter (uAfl) (54, 373 B-e). On the whole the picture of Isis
is less Egyptian than that of Osiris. No Egyptian etymology is
recorded. That Isis becomes arbiter in matters of sexual love (p,
372.0-E) is an understandable development of her benevolent
eroticism in the early myth. C. H. Roberts has pointed out (in
]EA 39 (1953), 114) that the word &yam, is used of Isis in
P.Oxy. 1380, 109-10 (A.D. i-ii), a text where Jewish or Christian
influence cannot be suspected. What then was the quality of ayCrm,
in Isis? It was probably sexual love conjoined with maternal
love.1
Plutarch's main interpretation of Typhon is that he is the dry,
fiery and scorching element (33, 364Af.) opposed to the moist
principle; or everything without measure and order (64, 376Ff.);
or the harmful element in nature (45, 369A). All this comes from
Greek systematizing, but Seth's connexion with the desert and
1 The Rev. W. B. Griffiths reminds the writer that aycim) is used of sexual
love in the Septuagint version of the Song of Songs (e.g. 5 8). Cf. A.
Ceresa~Gastaldo, Aegyptus 31 (19SJ), l.?O G. Q!!ell and E. Stauffer, Love
(Manuals from Kiuel, I, London, 1949), 30, state that 'it remains fairly
certain that Agape was one of the cult-names of Isis'. Stephanie West,
however, JTS 18 (1967), 14l. f. makes a good case for reading ay~v
66v (=Bona Dea) in the P.Oxy. locus.
THE MYTH AND CULT OF lSIS AND OSIRIS
with stonns gives it some kind of basis. Plutarch does not men-
tion the Seth-animal at all, but his references to Typhon's
association with the ass, the crocodile and the hippopotamus can
be amply substantiated, and they fit in very well with the Sethian
approach of texts and reliefs from Ptolemaic temples, especially
those from the temple ofEdfu. Pythagorean numerical schematiza-
tion is at its subtlest in the view of Typhon as having the nature
of a 56-sided polygon (30, 363A), but in his case the daemono-
logical approach of 2.5, 36oDff. does not seem so entirely ill-
judged as in the cases of Osiris and lsis; at any rate he becomes an
evil daemon in the Greek magical papyri. The names Seth, Bebon
and Smu are recorded for Typhon with every propriety, and so is
his association with the constellation of the Bear (21, 359c), his
ruddiness (2.2., 359E), and his connexion with darkness (44, 368F).
A puzzling feature is his equation with the sea (32., 363off.); it is
due to a belief that the sea is fiery in essence. No strong Egyptian
antecedent is established. What is noteworthy is that Plutarch
does not connect the sea with Isis, although Isis Pelagia and Isis
Pharia had become very popular in the Roman era. In his fas-
cinating allusion to iron as 'the bone of Typhon' (62., 376B)
Plutarch is echoing an ancient belief.
Plutarch's treatment of Sarapis is remarkable, as we have seen,
for its brevity. Chapters 2.8-9 are most valuable in the light they
throw on the origin of the cult, but its developed stage is hardly
reflected at all. In iconography, for instance, Cerberus and the
serpent are mentioned (2.8, 362.A), but not the assimilation to Zeus
and Asclepius. There is not a trace of the affinities imposed on
Sarapis in the Roman era. 1 One of the etymologies proposed in
eh. 2.9 is probably connected with a Coptic word.
The forms ofHorus are represented much more fully. Haroeris,
the elder Horus, is equated with Apollo, but derives from the
Egyptian lfr Wr; he is given a conflicting genealogy in eh. 12.,
since both Helius and Osiris are named as his father; in the latter
case Horus the son oflsis (Harsiesis) seems to be involved, and it
1
Cf. Lafaye, Histoire Ju culte Ju Jivinitls J'AlexanJrie ... nors Je l'Egypte
(Paris, I 884), l. 5I f.
59
 INTRODUCTION
would be idle to pretend that the confusion does not occur also in
Egyptian texts. A third Horus, Harpocrates, is mentioned by
Plutarch; he is procreated posthumously by Osiris and he is
physically weak (19, 358D; 6s, 377B-c)-two anciently authentic
details but the explanation of his characteristic gesture of
finger:to-mouth in 68, 378B-c as a symbol of reserve and silence
is a product of the interpretatio Graeca; so is the view, ihid., of
Harpocrates as a teacher of rational insight. It is the elder Horus
that is originally implicated in the struggle against Seth-Typhon
to which Plutarch refers several times. The significance of the eye
of Horus as the moon (ss, 373E) and the other as the sun (p,
372.B) comprises orthodox Egyptian doctrine, and so does the
assimilation of Horus and Min (56, 374B). More puzzling is the
equation of Horus and the Nile (40, 367B) and of his soul with
Orlon (2.1, 359c). The elder Horus as the picture and vision of the
world to come (54, 373c) is perhaps a Gnostic feature; so is Horus
as the perceptible world (54, 373A-B) although Plato's thought is
basic here. None of the etymologies offered is Egyptian. Greek
etymological allegory is responsible for presenting Horus as the
maturing and mingling of the surrounding air (38, J66A), ~d
Platonic lore makes him the hypotenuse of the most beauttful
triangle and perfected achievement (56, 374A). A point relating to
cult popularity is worth noting here. Harpocrates had only a
limited popularity among the Greeks of Ptolemaic Egypt, but he
assumed a prominent position in the Imperial period.' Plutarch
has three mentions of Harpocrates, as opposed to fifteen of the
other forms of Horus. His account would appear to agree, in this
matter, with the Ptolemaic situation., Other forms of Horus do
not, admittedly, occur in the Greek dedications of this era. They
1 P. M. Fraser, Opusc. Atlzen. 3 (19Go), 6 with notes; J. G. Milne, A Hist. of
Egypt under Roman Rule, :uof.
l Harpocrates occurs only sporadically outside Egypt too in this era. He is
absent from Delos unless Heracles, Apollo and Eros refer to him; see
Rusch, De Serap. et Is. 46; Roussel, CED ~78f.; Horus occurs once there
(see ihiJ.). Only in the Roman era does any form ofHorus occur at Athens;
seeS. Dow, Harv. Tlzeol. Rev. 30 (1937), ~31.
6o
THE MYTH AND CULT OF ISIS AND OSIRIS
are abundant, however, in the Egyptian material which relates to
this and preceding epochs, and Plutarch seems to he reflecting the
Egyptian tradition. It is true that the native material was preserved
into the Roman era, as in the great temples; but there is clear
testimony, as we shall see, to the fact that many of Plutarch's liter-
ary sources were Hellenistic and a few were even pre-Hellenistic.
Some of the functions ascribed to Anubis are not easy to trace.
His canine form (44, 368E) was manifest to all; Plutarch charac-
teristically adds an equation with Cronus based on two meanings
of!<Voov-'dog' and 'conceiving'. A funerary function goes with
Anubis from the start. He is the embalmer and lord of the necro-
polis. A broad equation with the chthonian Hecate is therefore not
surprising (44, 368E), although Anubis' 'Olympian' aspect is not
apparent, unless a connexion with celestial matters (61, 375E)is
intended. What is really difficult to illustrate is the god's function
as the horizon (44, 368E); it seems that the moon-disk which he
rolls in certain temple representations may provide the source of
the idea. The evolution ofHermanubis (61, 375 E) is happily well
clarified by comparison. He emerges in the Ptolemaic era and is
shown as Anubis psyclzopompos with the staff of Hermes. 1
As compared with her position in Pharaonic tradition, Neph-
thys assumes extended functions. She is Teleute (End) in u,
3HF and elsewhere (see Divine Equations, Appendix); and it is
from her husband Seth that she seems to gain this attribute, or from
the frontier cult of Kheresket at Elephantine. Nephthys became
Aphrodite ( 12., 3 55 F) perhaps through identification with Hathor
at I:Iu (Diospolis parva). She is also Nike (Victory) in 12, 355F,
a role possibly deriving from an association with 'Antywey, a form
of Seth-Typhon at Antaeopolis; representations from the Roman
era show her accompanying this god. For the rest, Plutarcl1
1
Cf. the Anubis who is shown leadingthe deceased in a mummy-painting
(A.D. ii) inS. Sauneron, Tlze Priests ofAncient Egypt (London, 19Go), SI
and Parlasca, Mumienportriits (Wiesbaden, 1966), pi. 35, 1 (cf. p. 171).
The mummy-case of Artemidorus (also A.D. ii) shows Anubis in the more
ancient role of embalmer; see A. F. Shore, Portrait Painting from Roman
Egypt (London, 196~), 47 and ~6.
61
 INTRODUCTION
preserves the ancient paradox concerning Nephthys: she is at
once the sister of Isis, bewailing the death of Osiris, and the wife
of Seth-Typhon, his murderer. Plutarch, however, brings out the
connexion with Typhon much more strongly.
Considerable prominence is given to Hermes (Thoth), much
of it being warranted by the Egyptian myth and cult. A new
development is his relation to Isis as father (3, 3P.A; u, 355F),
The weight of long tradition is behind his other important
functions: he is the creator of the epagomenal days, the discoverer
of writing, music and poetry, a witness and advocate for Horus in
his trial, the restorer of lsis 1 head, an opponent of Typhon and
himself a sufferer in the fight of the gods, hence the deformity in
his arms (22, 359E). He is an old-established moon-god (41,
367 D). An allusion to the 'Books of Hermes' raises questions
about the origins of the Hermetic literature; Egyptian practice
and content seem to be implicated mainly here.
Associations and equivalences occur so frequently in this
treatise that it may be found useful to have them listed. Such a
list occurs on pp. 148-5oofParthey'sedition. Here(seeAppendix)
the scope has been extended to include abstractions and attributes.
The numbering of the divisions of the text follows (as else-
where) that in Sieveking 1s Teubner edition; it should be noted
that the editions of both Parthey and Babbitt differ in some
respects. The list includes views which Plutarch himself rejects.
(3) Cult practices
The exact nature of the follow-on from the Osirian festivals of
Pharaonic times to the Mysteries of the Graeco-Roman age
cannot be indicated, but it is fairly clear that the Mysteries in-
corporated features of the earlier festivals. Plutarch emphasizes
the sorrowful nature of the rites (69, 378D; 70, 378F), especially
of the sacrifices (2o, 359A), and he compares the fact that the
temples contain not only airy and salubrious colonnades, but also
secret, dark and subterranean stolisteria (2o, 3 59 A), both of which
details are displayed in the temples ofPtolemaic and Roman times.
The great sorrow of the rites arose from the portrayal of the
62
THE MYTH AND CULT OF ISIS AND OSIRIS
death of Osiris, and Plutarch's account in eh. 39 of the festival
which begins on 17 Athyr (cf. 13, 356c-D and 69, 378E)
recalls the description of the Osirian rites in the month of
Khoiak which was recorded in texts inscribed in the temple of
Denderah. 1 The first part of Plutarch's rites is devoted to the
representation of the god's death, and the Denderah texts also
refer to the making of the Osirian corn-mummies and to the
mourning cow-image. A mass of detail is, of course missing in
Plutarch's record; the important role of Sokar, for'instance, is
omitted. But there are enough correspondences to remove any
doubt as to the identity of the rites.
Comparable is his allusion (p., 372B-c) to the 'Search for
1
Osiris , a rite in which a cow is led seven times round the temple
of the sun. If the ceremony of' Driving the Calves 1 is the proto-
type here, then Min is its original centre, as Blackman and Fair-
man have shown. In a M.K. account of an Osirian festival on the
Stda of Ikhernofret it is the 'great procession' (line 18) which
~epr;sents the ~tycx. 1r!v6os, and the sentence 'I followed the god
m his footsteps , With the subsequent allusions to his tomb and a
ritual conflict, implies that there was an enacting of scenes from
the god's life and death in the manner of a 'passion play'. The
whole approach of the rites described by Plutarch and by the
I?enderah texts is much more symbolical. The nocturnal proces-
siOn to the sea (perhaps a town in the Delta is envisaged) the
~~ out of the sacred box and its golden casket, the pouri~g of
drinking water, and the cry 'Osiris has been found!': in these
episod~ the death and new life of the god were represented by
~ohcal means rather than by direct mimetic play-acting. Life-
gmng ~ter, for exampl;, ;-ras an effective symbol of the god's
renewed hfe. The theme, mctdentally, ofimmortality as suggested
by water and vegetation is entirely absent from the Stela of
Ikhernofret and related M.K. material.
The joyous reaction to the finding of Osiris and to his revival
after death _is amply evident in Egyptian texts of all periods. The
Songs oflsz.s and Nepluh.ys are a good index of the warm passion,
1
See also Barguct, P.Louvre .31 ;;6, for rites at Kamak.
6J
 INTRODUCTION
openly physical, which was expressed in the god's return. In the
Roman era a special festival called 'The Finding' (Heuresis) is
attested in a farmer's calendar of the fourth century A.D. (?): see
n. ad p. 1 So, 1 o. Plutarch, it should be noted, is not suggesting that
the rite has crystallized into a particular festival; it is only one
episode in his Athyr festival. On the other hand he refers in 79,
3620 to a joyous festival called the Clzarmosyna, connected Wlth
Osiris or Sarapis; and one might be tempted to link this with the
Hilaria mentioned for 3 November in the Calendar of Philocalus
(A.D. 3 54), were it not that the Clzarmosyna, with this very name,
are recorded in a calendar from Socnopaiou Nesos from the second
century A.D.; see Bilabel,Feste, 14 and 35 and n. adp. 162, I). The
Hilaria may also, of course, be the same festival. In any case, there
is a firm connexion here with a festival that does not appear before
the Roman era (except in a non-Egyptian context, at Athens).
Osirian festivals varied from place to place, and some of those
mentioned in early Egyptian records, such as the' Halcer Festival'
and 'The Night of the Sleep', are not conspicuous afterwards.
A similar variation, locally and calendrically, must have persis~ed
in the Graeco-Roman era. Although the Athyr or Kho1ak
festivals were intended to be pan-Egyptian, there were probably
many variations, some of which were determined by the form ~f
the local deity to whom Osiris was assimilated. Plutarch 1s
prolific in his allusion to festivals; hence the likely emenda~on on
p. 176, 6, where Reitzenstein wants the reference to be specifically
to a book by Hermaeus On Festivalr ofthe Egyptians. In Egyptian
tradition a mythological incident would often provide the basis
for a festival. Plutarch sometimes gives the full date in his allusions;
at other times he mentions only the month or the season. The
following table, which includes non-Osirian data, is in the order
of the Egyptian calendar; cf. Parthey, pp. 167 ff., Hopfner, n, 29 I ff.
and Merkelbach, Isisfeste, 77
A. Specifically dated
9 Thoth. Priestly Festival of Burning Fish (7, JSJD)
19 Thoth. Festival of Thoth when honey and a fig are eaten.
(68, J78B)
THE MYTH AND CU L T OF ISIS AND OSIRIS
6 Phaophi. lsis puts on her protective amulet. (65, 377 B)
.23 Phaophi. Birthday of the staff of the sun. (p, 37u)
17 Athyr. The Death of Osiris. (13, 356c-o; 69, 378E)
17-.20 Athyr. Festival of Osiris. (39, J66Ef.)
19 Athyr. Nocturnal celebration of the 'Finding' of Osiris. (39,
366Ef.)
7 Tybi. The Arrival of Isis from Phoenicia. (so, 371 o)
1 Phamenoth. The Entry of Osiris into the Moon. (43, 368c)
30 Epiphi. Birthday of the Eyes of Horus. (p., 37:18)
Epagomenal Days.
1. Birthday of Osiris. (u, J5SE)
:z. Birthday of Aroueris, the elder Horus. (u, JSSE)
3 Birthday of Typhon. (u, 3)5-F)
4 Birthday of Isis. (u, JHF)
S Birthday ofNephthys. (r:z, 35SF)
B. More generally placed
Phaophi and Payni. In festivals of these months round cakes are
stamped with the image of an ass. (30, 362.F)
Mesore. Offerings of pulse are made. (68, 378 c)
The sacrifice of a pig once a year at full moon (8, 3S4A) and the
appellation of the new moon as 'Unfinished Blessing (42, 368A)
are wide open in reference. So is the sacrifice to the sun by Horus
on the fourth day of the month (p., 372.c). Other general state-
ments include that concerning 'The Search for Osiris (p,
37.1B-c), a festival placed at the time of the winter solstice; at the
winter solstice, too, occurs the birth of Harpocrates (6;, 377B),
while the confinement of lsis is celebrated after the spring
equinox (65, 377c). There are a number of seasonal references.
Athyr is compared with the Athenian month Pyanepsion and the
Boeotian Damatrius as a month of sowing (69, 378E); in Athyr,
too, the Nile recedes, the etesian winds stop, nights grow longer
and the land is denuded (39, 366 E), details of which only one (the
recession of the Nile) is noticeably valid for Egypt. A difficulty
arises, further, in the statement (p, 37u) that 23 Phaophi is
'after the autumnal equinox since a reduction of Alexandrian to
Julianic dates would make Phaophi 1.3rd October 2oth-a full
CPI
 INTRODUCTION
month after the autumnal equinox. The statement remains true,
of course, but 'after' would more naturally imply ' soon after'.
1 Phamenoth = Julianic 2.5 February is said to be the beginning
of spring (43, 368c) and Parthey suggests (p. 168) that Plutarch
is equating with spring the four months preceding the inundation.
These months were the Egyptian Jmw, 'summer'. The reference
to the moon and sun being in a straight line in 52, 372.B is a
valuable one; but it is not at all clear that it refers to 30 Epiphi
( =2.4 July) as Parthey suggests; seen. ad foe.
The Alexandrian calendar, introduced in 30 or 2.6 B.c., was the
ancient civil calendar which was adjusted by adding a sixth
epagomenal day every fourth year: see Parker, Calendars, 8. It
was in 46 s.c. that Julius Caesar introduced the Julianic calendar
which corresponds in the main with the modem Gregorian
calendar. The month-names show that Plutarch was obviously
using a calendar that still employed the Egyptian names. Whether
he was using sources in which the Alexandrian calendar was
applied is doubtful. This may have been true of some of them; but
many, especially Eudoxus, Hecataeus ?f Abdera an~ Mane.tho,
were writing long before the Alexandnan reform. It ts posstble,
of course that a later compilation in which these authors were
represent~d would have adjusted the dates to the Alexandrian
norm. But dates were often left unadjusted. Epiphanius, for
instance, writing in the fourth century A.D., uses the Egyptian
month-names of events in Egypt. Discrepancies and confusions
are therefore inevitable in Plutarch's account. Some correspon-
dences with ancient records are nevertheless impressive. The
festival ofThoth on 19 Thoth is exactly paralleled in the Festival-
Calendar ofRamesses Ill in Medinet Habu; seen. ad p. 2.2.4, 16
Various sources confirm the birthdays of the gods on the epago-
menal days; see Schott, Festdaten, I nf. The main discrepancy is
that Plutarch's chief Osirian rites occur in Athyr whereas the
Egyptian records put them in Khoiak. What is clear about
Plutarch's allusions to these rites is that they are seasonally
fixed. It would seem, then, that the name Athyr here comes
from the shifting civil calendar. The whole question of the
66
THE MYTH AND CULT OF ISIS AND OSIRIS
Egyptian calendars is still fraught with controversy, as will be
seen from the references to Plutarch's data in discussions by
Gardiner 1 and Parker. 2 When Hopfner, u, 2.91 ff., collects Plu-
tarch's calendrical allusions and confidently correlates Egyptian
dates with those of the Julianic calendar, he is going beyond the
evidence. The present discussion will at least have demonstrated
that Plutarch's relation to his sources makes his position far less
simple than has been hitherto assumed.
The calendrical references, whatever their difficulties, reinforce
the conclusion that Plutarch is for the most part describing the
cult as practised in Egypt. He uses neither Roman nor Greek
terminology, and when he refers once (69, 378D-E) to Greek
month-names, it is to compare a Greek festival. At the same time,
the Osirian cult, as practised in Egypt by Greeks, absorbed a
number of features derived from Greek religion, particularly
some which were connected with the worship of Dionysus and
Demeter. An important influence was brought to bear in the
shaping of the Mysteries. The conception of initiation, formerly
restricted to priests, was now extended to all participants. This
can be regarded as both broadening and narrowing the basis of
the cult. On the one hand, the secret rites were now shared by all
participants, priesthood and laity; on the other hand, the process
of initiation probably restricted entry to some extent, and the vow
of secrecy was imposed on all initiates, whereas formerly a general
participation in the cult was open to anyone, but a knowledge of .
the arcana was limited to the priestly few. Plutarch uses the term
'latat<o{ (Jsiaci) in 3, 3ps-c (twice). He is talking there mainly
of priests, and the word he uses first occurs as an adjective in an
inscription of 13 B.C. from Philae: see IG ROM. I, 1303. As a noun
it occurs first in Dioscorides, 3 2 3 and it is used by Latin authors
1
'The Problem of the Month-Names', Rev. d'lgyptol. 10 (1955), 9-31.
1
' The Problem of the Month-Names: A Reply ', Rev. J 'lgyptol. 11 (1957),
Bs-0'7 For the evidence of the Greek and Roman sources see Bilabel,
Ftste; Youtie, 'The Heidelberg Festival Papyrus: a Reinterpretation' in
Studus in Roman E conomic and Social History, ed. P. R. Coleman-Norton
(FS. A. C. Johnson, Princeton, 1951), 178-2.o8, esp. 194ff.; Merkelbach,
lsiifme; Alan E. Samuel, Ptolemaic C/,rorwlogy (Munich, 1962.).
67 N
 INTRODUCTION
of the first century A.D. of the priests of lsis. For an example from
Pompeii seen. ad p. 122, 6. Here, then, we have a term used in
Plutarch's own era which is not attested in pre-Roman times. It
occurs, significantly, in a passage where Clea is directly addressed
and where, clearly, the literary sources are temporarily abandoned,
leaving room for the cult of his day to assert itself. In a more
impersonal reference before this (3, Jp.B) to circumstances in
Hermopolis, Plutarch uses priestly terms which, as we have seen,
go back to the Hellenistic era and indeed can be paralleled in the
Egyptian sources. These are tepacp6po1 and tep6crroi\o1. They
are not mentioned in a treatise on Egyptian priests and temples
which a papyrus of the second century A.D. contains, 1 although
some of the priestly abstentions mentioned by Plutarch in chs. 5-8
are hinted at. The use of ivy in the cult of Osiris (37, 365 E) is not
recorded, however, before Roman times, and it looks like being a
Dionysiac borrowing.
The language of the Osirian rites is a matter of some interest.
Speaking of the Greek acceptance of Egyptian cults in Egypt,
Nock2 states that 'the priests made official returns in Greek, but
their liturgy was conducted in Egyptian'. That this was invariable
seems hard to establish. Texts like the Rosetta Stone, the Canopus
Decree and the Decree of Philopator betoken a degree of bilin-
gualism on the part of some; the priority of the Egyptian is not
easily shown.3 In the Osirian religion its importance was none-
theless paramount, and a sign of this is Plutarch's constant
endeavour to interpret Egyptian names. The equation of Greek
with Egyptian gods was partly a hermeneutic process, but a
desire to interpret the Egyptian prototype was, in the circum-
stances, very natural.4 The original language of the rites was
Egyptian, and Plutarch is partly describing these. There is no clear
evidence that Egyptian is assumed to be the language when
1
See Verne B. Schuman, 'A Second-Century Treatise on Egyptian Priests
and Temples', Harv. Tneol. Rn. H (196o), 159-70 On p. ICiJ, lines 1~17
Tl'pc..no/[O"TOAICrrwv] occurs, but the important element is a restoration.
~ Conversion, 37
3 See Otto, PT n, z93, n. z. ~ Cf. Bell, Cults and Creeds, 1 Sf.
68
THE MYTH AND CULT OF ISIS AND OSIRIS
Greeks were involved in the cult. The priest in Apuleius, Met. I I.
produces his hieroglyphic book of ritual (profert quosdam lihros
::z.::z.
/itteris ignorahilihus praenotatos), and it could be argued that if this
was the case among Greeks at Cenchreae, how much more was it
likely to have been the case among Greeks in Egypt. When
Plutarch refers (So, JSJE) to the 'sacred writings' which are read
out to the mixers of cyphi, an ancient spell in Egyptian was
probably involved. 'The Books of Hermes' (61, 37S F) will have
been plentiful in Egyptian, and perhaps those referred to by
Plutarch were in that language, unless the remark that Horus and
Apollo were equivalent was included in the doctrine of the books,
in which case a Greek work must be envisaged. The ancient con-
ception of Holy Script attached great weight to the original and
authentic form. One recalls that some of the lsis-Aretalogies lay
stress on their Egyptian origin! Yet their language is Greek, so
that a propagandist and explanatory function was not denied to
another language. It may be that a core of ritual in Egyptian was
recited wherever Osirian ceremonies were practised and it was
accompanied, perhaps, for Greeks or Romans, by statements in a
more intelligible language, otherwise the mystic matters would
have been arr6pp11Ta in a sense additional to that normally
intended.
(4) Animal worship
Though not an exclusively Egyptian phenomenon, animal wor-
ship was far more manifest in Egypt than elsewhere. Greeks were
often repelled by its prominence, and it is noticeable that in
chs. 71-6 Plutarch is at some pains to defend its significance,
though not without rebuking the Egyptians (71, 379Df.) for a
tendency to venerate the animals themselves instead of the divine
qualities which they represent.
Since the animal cults were not for export, and in the Osirian
rites outside Egypt the depiction of these animals shows little
more than an urge to import a Nilotic atmosphere, Plutarch's data
1
See D. Muller, Jsis-Aret. 12. and JCi. On the importance of the authentic
fonn cf. Leipoldt and Morenz, Heilige Scnrifien, GG ff.
69
 INTRODUCTION
are self-evidendy Egyptian. In 72., J80B contemporary touches
appear in E-n vw ('even today the Lycopolitans alone eat sheep ')1
and in Kat~ i]~O:s ('in our time'), referring to a local feud (dis-
cussed in pp. 16 f. above). But there are much earlier elements
in the picture, as in the reference to the Typhonic significance of
certain animals (73, 38oc) and to the importance of the scarab-
beetle and the cobra (74, 381 A). The treatment of the crocodile-
cult in eh. 75 tends to get lost in physiological curiosities or
fantasies; and it is noteworthy that Plutarch has more reliable
things, on the whole, to say about animal worship outside the
chapters specially devoted to it. In 2.1, 359D, for instance, he notes
that general contributions were made towards the burial of
animals; he makes several valuable allusions to the Apis-cult,
including the special relation of the Apis to Osiris (see Appendix
on Divine Equations); and in eh. 50 he preserves authentic
traditions concerning the hippopotamus, the crocodile, and the
ass.
In spite of Plutarch's spirited defence of these cults, it was
probably the anthropomorphic aspect and human-like story of
the Osiris religion that commended it, more than other Egyptian
cults, to the Greeks.
( 5) Religious ideas
The Egyptian element may easily appear to be the least important
in the final intellectual structure which Plutarch builds on the
basis of the religion of Osiris. In their developed form few of the
resultant ideas may seem to have any connexion with the religious
data of myth and cult, but it is worth pointing to those traditional
elements which remain as a recognizable basis.
To Plutarch the Osirian mysteries are a means of achieving
philosophical truth, and Isis is the repository of wisdom which
makes this possible. Praise for the wisdom of Isis is at least as old
as the 'Story of Isis and Re' in the Turin Papyrus. Often it has
a magical, rather than a philosophical, flavour. According to
Plutarch's exposition Isis leads the initiate to gnOsis of the supreme
1
An emphasis easily borrowed, it is true, from a previous writer.
THE MYTH AND CULT OF ISIS AND OSIRIS
being, Osiris, who is described as 'the First and the Lord, whom
only the mind can understand' (2., JPA).
What are the blessings resulting from this knowledge? One is
eternal life and immortality. Plutarch mentions these two terms
in his first chapter, where he speaks of the happiness of eternal
life (rfis afoov(ov 3c..>fjs, 1, 3 51 E) and discusses the meaning of
immortality (&eavaa(a) as depending on knowledge and insight;
otherwise, he says, it would be a matter involving merely the
passage of time. Here both terms are connected with God or Zeus,
but later Plutarch makes it clear, though he does not use these
words again, that he finds their essence in the figure of Osiris.
In 78, J82.E-F he describes Osiris as 'undefiled, unspotted, and
uncorrupted by any being which is subject to decay and death'.
What follows may seem a far cry from the view of the god given
in any Egyptian text. But the simple basis ofbeliefin renewed life
after death was constandy present in the Osirian cult. In the later
dynasties the god's connexion with eternity is emphasized too in
his epithets. Oddly enough Plutarch does not give prominence to
the overcoming of death in his main narration of the myth. He
says in 19, 358B that Osiris came to Horus from the underworld,
and at the end of the chapter he refers to Osiris having sexual
union with Isis after his death; otherwise he gives prominence in
the later phase of the story to the war of Horus against Typhon.
The idea of immortality is connected by him in 2.1, 359D with
Kneph, the serpent-deity of Thebes who was embodied in Amun;
the cobra is associated with agelessness in 74, J8IA and 10, 355A
(an emended piece where eternity is also mentioned), and this
association may derive from the spelling of the Egyptian fit,
'eternity'. But it is with Osiris that Plutarch consistently links the
idea of eternity and immortality. In chs. 33 ff. verdure and mois-
ture give the basis of the interpretation. The physical allegory of
the Stoics is apparent in the way this idea is presented, with an
emphasis on the relation between moisture and phallic vigour and
an etymological Spielerei in reference to the form Hysiris. The
basic material is still thoroughly Egyptian even though the
equation with Dionysus plays a part. In 35, 364F allusion is made
71
 INTRODUCTION
to the 'episodes of dismemberment, return to life, and rebirth,
related of Osiris '. The comparison is with Zagreus, who was said
to be born again from Semele after Zeus had swallowed his heart.
In the words -rais ava~tcbaeat Kalnaft.ayyeveaiaas Zagreus rather
than Osiris may be thought of. In the sense of reincarnation
Plutarch may be thinking of the Apis as the image of the_ so~ of
Osiris; he uses naft.ayyevea(a in 72, 379E of the transm1gratton
of souls of the dead into bodies of animals. Unlike Herodotus, 1.
12.3, 1 Plutarch does not ascribe the doctrine of transmigration to
the Egyptians, and rightly refrains. His allusions to the relation
between the sacred animals and the gods are often accurate. When
he speaks of the soul of Osiris as being eternal and indestructible,
but his body as being dismembered and destroyed (54, 373 A), he
is correctly echoing the general Egyptian concept of immortality,
but has introduced the Greek dualism of body and soul. The
Egyptian idea of personality was monistic, in spite of.the transf~r
mations which the deceased was supposed to ach1eve. Spee1al
emphasis was laid on the continuing vitality and wholeness of the
body. . (though not exclusively by any means) a goddess of women; see
To the Egyptians Osiris was a god who proffered not only ltfe
after death but justification in the tribunal which awaited all men
in the afterworld, a tribunal commonly depicted as a weighing of
the soul. This idea of a posthumous judgement was associated
with both Re ' and Osiris. Psychostasia seems to begin with
Re' as the president and judge. An early form of the ide~ ~f
judgement occurs in the legend of Horus and Seth, and 1t 1s
remarkable that Plutarch's only explicit references to a judgement
are to this trial in which Horus was said to be charged with
illegitimacy: he mentions i~ in his narration of ~e myth (1?,
358D), and in 54, 373B he gtves the charge a Platomc or Gnosttc
explanation in the sense that Horus is 'made spurious by matter
through the corporeal element '. Doubtless the view of Osiris as
king of the dead who is 'leader and king' (78, 383 A) of freed souls
is intended to include his role as judge.
1
Cf. Louis V. Zabkar, 'Herodotus and the Egyptian Idea of Immortality',
JNES 22 (1963), 57-63; J. Gwyn Griffiths, JNES 25 (1966), 61.
72
T HE MYTH AND CULT OF ISIS AND OSIRIS
An example and pattern of moral purity is further found by
Plutarch in this religion. Osiris is 'undefiled, unspotted' ( s,
7
382E); his beauty is ineffable (78, 383A) in the Platonic sense,
referring .to Osiris as the unmixed and dispassionate Logos (54,
373B). H1s robe is radiant because he is the origin of things (77,
382c); the understanding of his essence is therefore the ultimate
end of philosophy (77, J8zD-E). He is Omphis, 'the benefactor'
(.p, J68n), and in this instance an Egyptian idea is preserved. It
may be objected that in the myth Osiris is not entirely undefiled
in view of his adultery with Nephthys. In one allusion, admittedly
(14, 3 56 E), his lapse is mitigated by the phrase' through ignorance'
(St ayvotav). Isis, however, can claim to be the personal pattern
in every way, and in eh. 27 her help to Osiris and her endurance in
trouble are praised. Her appeal comes, then, from the moral
courage and devotion shown by her: 'she consecrated at once a
pattern of piety and an encouragement to men and women over-
taken by similar misfortunes' (17, J6IE). The phrase 'to men and
women' recalls the fact that in the Aretalogies Isis is pre-eminently
D. Miiller, Isis-Aret. 3 5ff. She also claims there to have instituted
sexual life, the bearing of children, and love of parents by children
(ihid. 44ff.). Apart from the association with sexual love (p.,
372D-E) Plutarch does not present these ideas. At the same time
his portrait of Isis is a compelling one. If her cosmic role as
matt~r in eh. 54 owes little or nothing to her Egyptian origin, her
functtons as mother, mourner and brave opponent of evil can be
traced far back in mythology if not in didactic exhortation; she is
at once a kindly Madonna, a Mater Dolorosa and a Mutter
Courage. Some of the functions acquired by her in the late
Hellenistic and Roman eras seem to be unknown to Plutarch. In
addition to those just mentioned there is Isis-Tyche and Isis
Pharia. To Plutarch she is subordinate to Osiris, and there is a
trace of the doctrine of identification in connexion with him. The
E~~ans ~liev~ that. ~e deceased procured felicity through
bemg Identified With Osms. In eh. 49 Plutarch describes the god
as ' the leader and lord of all the best beings , adding that he is
73
 INTRODUCTION
mind and reason in the soul. Probably this is applied Platonism;
the dependence of believing souls on Osiris is made more dear
in eh. 78.
Plutarch gives much attention in the middle of his treatise to
the dualistic doctrine derived from Zoroastrianism. Members of
1
the Platonic Academy had shown interest in this field; so had
Eudoxus who had also lived in Egypt; see Reitzenstein in
Reitzens:ein and Schaeder, Studien :rum Antiken Synkretismu.r aus
Iran und Griechenland (Leipzig, 1926), 3 ff. Perhaps it was
Eudoxus who had suggested the application of this system to
Egyptian theology. In prese~~ng ~e Egyptian mate~al Plutarch
gives some prominence to Osms, Ists and Horus as a trtad. He do.es
not follow this trend consistently, for, as we have seen, he dtf-
ferentiates several forms of Horus. His trinity is marked in chs.
54 ff. Chapter 56 begins with the dictum ~at 'th~ bet~er and. more
divine nature consists of three elements . The tdea 1s apphed to
Osiris, Isis and Horus, and they are compared to the parts of the
most beautiful triangle. Again, the thought is Platonic. The same
may be said of the teaching concerning body .and soul. In. 5,
353 A and 54, 373 B, as well as in 78, 382 F the body IS the oppresstve
element which restrains the soul.
Reviewing this analysis, one may say that the intellectual content
of the Osirian religion as interpreted by Plutarch is the part where
he has strayed furthest from Egyptian tradition, even though so~e
elements of this tradition remain in the lower stratum of hts
ideology. In the other four m<:tters survey~d the .P?sition v~?es,
but in each case he has preserved much genume rehgtous tradtuon.
How far were Plutarch's ideas in vogue among adherents of the
Osirian religion in his day? Only a very cultured elite, one can
imagine, would have thought like this, and they would hav: been
nurtured in Neo-Platonism before being converted to Ists and
Osiris.
' Cf. pp. 16 ff. and 56 above.
74
INTRODUCTION
VI. PL UT ARCH'S SOURCES
In his study ofPlutarch's use of the classical poets Hans Schlapfer1
points out that it is not easy to know when a quotation is directly
made from an author or is taken from an intermediary source.
Plutarch's rich acquaintance with classical literature was rivalled
only, in his day, by Dion of Prusa.2 An exhaustive indication of
the quotations from all authors is now available in the valuable
conspectus in Helmbold and O'Neil's Plutarch's Q_yotations
(1959)
Among authors cited in the D/0 in a general way are Homer
Plato, Simonides, Hesiod, Hermodotus, Euripides, Anaxagoras:
Aristotle, Cleanthes, Theodorus, 'the Pythagoreans ', Aeschylus
and Pindar. ' The Pythagoreans' are also mentioned in connexion
with specific problems of Egyptian religion; they are said in 30,
363A to regard Typhon as a daemonic power, and Pythagoras
himself is named in 10, J54E with Solon, Thales, Plato and
Eudoxus3 as one of the wise Greeks who came to Egypt and had
converse with the priests. There was much mutual admiration
Plutareh adds, between Pythagoras and the men of Egypt and h~
was influenced by their doctrines. In the cases of Eudoxus, Solon)
and Pythagoras Plutarch even names the Egyptians from whom
t?ey are said to ~ave receive~ information: they were, respec-
nvely, Khonouphts of Memphts, Sonkhis of Sais, and Oinouphis
of Heliopolis. These are clearly Egyptian names.
Hopfuer4 maintained that the debt of the Greek philosophers to
Egypt was in reality very slight and that the accounts in which it
is magnified belong to a later period when Egypt was reverently
looked upon by the Greeks as the home of the earliest and wisest
?f peoples. He is over-sceptical about the alleged visits, and he
1gnores the possible influence of religious ideas embodied in myth.
1 1
Plutarc! und die lclas.ri.rcnen Dic!ter (Zurich, 1950), 7 J6iJ. 59
3 Lycurgus is also mentioned but with some doubt.
4 Orient unJ griechi.rclu Plzilo.rophie. Beihefte zum Alten Orient no. 4
(Leipzig, 19:1.5); cf. his commentary, u, 85--90 '
75
 INTRODUCTION
What is undeniable is that several Greek authors wrote descrip-
tions of Egypt either as a part of general works on geography or
in the form of special studies. The earliest of course was Hecataeus
of Miletus, but it is curious that Plutarch alludes in this work
neither to him nor to Herodotus. Hecataeus of Abdera and Eu-
doxus were important to him, and these we must discuss at a
later stage.
Among the minor writers cited are Heracleides Ponticus,1
Archemachus of Euboea and Theopompus. The first two of these
are said in 27, 361 E to have equated Sarapis and Pluto, Isis and
Persephassa (Persephone). Plutarch adds that Heracleides
believed that the oracle in Canobus (Canopus) was that of Pluto.
Heracleides was apparently a voluminous writer and a disciple of
both Plato and Aristotle. All his works are lost, and although
Diogenes Laertius (5. 88) gives a partial catalogue of his writings,
none of his titles is concerned especially with Egypt. The same is
true of Archemachus of Euboea, who was probably a writer of
antiquarian interests who lived in the third century B.C. 2 Perhaps
his work called METWVVIlia contained identifications of deities
from various countries such as those ascribed to him by Plutarch.
Theopompus, a pupil of Isocrates, was mainly a historian, but
his works are used, directly or indirectly, for information about
Zoroastrianism (47, 37os), and for the statement that people in the
west call the winter Cronus, summer Aphrodite, and spring
Persephone (69, 378E). As his main works were his Hellenica and
his Philippica, these two statements may have occurred in the
digressions for which he was famous.
Other writers mentioned include Timotheus, the expositor
(28, 362A); he came from Eleusis and was descended from the
priestly Eumolpid stock.3 His interpretation of the statue of Pluto
brought from Sinope as being that of Sarapis is said to be shared
by Manetho. Included also are Phylarchus (29, J62B), the third-
1 All the MSS read Heracleitos, but Xylander's correction is universally
accepted.
2 So Schwartz, PW s.v. Archemachos no. 4 (1896), 456.
3 See Weinrcich, PW s.v. Timotheos no. 19 (1937), 1341 f.
PLUTARCH'S SOURCES
century historian, whose statement that Dionysus was the first to
bring to Egypt from India two bulls called Apis and Osiris is
ridiculed; Castor of Rhodes (3 I, 363 s), a writer of the first
century B.c., who wrote a book On the Nile from which his
remarks abco ut the 'Sealers' who marked the sacrificial ox may
well derive; 1 Deinon (31, 363c), author of a large work on the
Persians, which was doubtless the source of his statement that
Okhus, a Persian king, sacrificed the Apis. In the case ofHermaeus
(37, 365 E), to whom is ascribed the interpretation of Osiris as
meaning' mighty', the name of the work in question is added: it is
On the Egyptians, or On the Festivals oftlte Egyptians if a correc-
tion by Reitzenstein be accepted. Little, however, seems to be
known of the author, although Plutarch (42, J68B) also cites his
explanation of Omphis, another name of the god, as 'benefactor'.
Perhaps his floruit was in the first century A.D. Cursory reference
is made to three other writers-Mnaseas, Antideides and Ariston.
Of these, the first is credited (37, 365 E-F) with an attempt to
connect Dionysus, Osiris and Sarapis all with Epaphus, that is,
the Egyptian Apis. This writer, who hailed from Patara in Lycia,
was a pupil of Eratosthenes and wrote on mythological subjects
as well as on geography. Anticleides, a third-century historian
from Athens, included mythological material in his Home-
comings, and Plutarch (37, 365 F) attributes to him the statement
that Isis, being the daughter of Prometheus, was married to
Dionysus. To Ariston Plutarch (37, 365 E) assigns a work called
Th.e Foreign Settlements of tlze Athenians, but he does not say
whether it was here that Ariston recorded the remark made in a
letter of Alexarchus, who had said that Dionysus was called by
the Egyptians not Osiris but Arsaphes, a name denoting manliness.
It St!ems that Ariston was a Peripatetic philosopher of the time of
Augustus, and like his contemporary Eudorus, he wrote inter alia
about the problem of the source of the Nile. 2
1
Kubitschek, PW s.v. Kastor no. 8 (1919), 2350, thinks they may come
from his xpovJK6:.
2
For references concerning these authors see the Commentary on the
passages cited.
77
 INTRODUCTION
More important than all these as a source was undoubtedly
Manetho, the Egyptian from Sebennytos in the Delta, who wrote
a work entitled AlyvtrrtCXl<a, a history of Egypt from the
earliest times up to 323 s.c. As Manetho was a high priest at
Heliopolis under the first two Ptolemies, his knowledge of
Egyptian religion must have been first-hand. His dynastic lists
have been studied by Helck1 who shows that his statements for the
earliest dynasties go back to Egyptian annalistic records. Plu-
tarch's citations show the quality of this source. The meaning of
Amun as 'What is concealed' (9, 354c-o) is accepted by modern
Egyptologists. So is Bebon as another name for Typhon (49,
371 c). In 28, 362A, as we have seen, Manetho's view about the
statue of Pluto at Sinope is coupled with that of Timotheos.
Manetho is credited with the remarks that the loadstone was called
the bone of Horus and iron the bone of Typhon (62, 376s); an
important observation taken from him is that concerning the
immolation of living men at Eileithyiaspolis (73, 38oo). The
question that naturally arises is whether Plutarch's debt to Manetho
is not much more extensive than what these five explicit allusions
might suggest. We may confidently add the statement in 8, 3S3F
that the pig is considered to be an unclean animal, for Parthey,
p. 173, points out that Aelian, NA 10. 16, says that it is probably
taken from Manetho. The latter was mainly concerned, it is true,
in his AlyvTTT1CX1<6: with history rather than religion, although a
part of the material used by him was probably legendary. 2 This
material included the native lists of kings, and in 11,355 c and 38,
366c Plutarch refers to such lists. Only fragments of Manetho's
historical work are extant and these are derived from the quotations
of later writers. Otto, PT u, 2.15 ff., observes that while a large
number of discussions of Egyptian religion derive from the
Hellenistic period, their authors are always Greek writers with
no inside knowledge of the subject. The two exceptions are
Manetho and Chaeremon. Both were Egyptian priests who wrote
in Greek.
1
Untersuclrungen l" Manetlro unJ den iigyptisclren Kiinigslisttn (Berlin, 1956).
~ Cf. H. R. Hall in CAH I (192.3), 2.59
78
PLUTARCH's SOURCES
Some of the o~her works ascribed to Manetho are concerned
directly with religion, both these and the history being designed,
it appears, to enlighten the first two Macedonian rulers of Egypt,
at whose court he lived, as to the history and background of their
domain. Erman 1 indeed describes Manetho as a man who had
received his education in two opposed camps, somewhat like the
modem effendi who has studied in Paris. The policy of Ptolemy
Philadelphus was to follow and surpass his predecessor in an
enthusiastic pursuit of the arts and sciences. He therefore zealously
expanded the Museum and Library. He purposed to collect at
Alexandria the finest literary treasures of the nations, and in order
to make them accessible to himself and his learned contemporaries,
he commissioned translations of them into Greek.2 That he should
have paid special attention to the culture of Egypt is not sur-
prising. Hence the tradition that he commissioned Manetho to
write a History of Egypt in Greek.3
Greek cultural influences must have strongly exerted them-
selves on Manetho at the court of his patrons. He was Egyptian
however, in birth and origin, and his name is Egyptian. A number
of etymologies have been proposed:
(1) Bunsen, Aegyptens Stelle in der Weltgesclric!zte, 1 (Hamburg,
1845), 91: Ma-en-TMt!z, 'the one given by Thoth'.
(2.) Fruin, Manet!r. Reli']u. (1847), cited by Parthey, 180: Ma-netor
Ma-Neit!z: 'qui Neith deam amat'.
(3) R.Lepsius, Die C!zronologie der Aegypter, I (Berlin, 1849), 405,
n. 1: Maz-ti-Tlzot!z ( =Mry-n-D~wty), 'beloved ofThoth'.
(4) W. Spiegelberg, OLZ 31 (192.8), 146-8: MJ't-n-Dhwtj, 'Truth
1
Re/. JSJ f. Ennan's verdict on his history is perhaps too unfavourable, for
h~ calls it 'a miserable bungling-work, to which, however, he contrived to
gtve an appearance of authority through its cheap polemic against Herodo-
tus' (' ein trauriges Machwerk, dem er aber durch die billige Polemik gegen
. Herodot ein Ansehen zu geben wusste').
~ Lepsius, Clrrono/ogit, 1, 405. W. Schubart, Agypttn, 104, compares the
Alexandria of Philadelphus wid1 the Florence of Lorenzo de' Medici. On
Ptolemy Soter's cultural policy see A. Bouche-Leclercq, Histoire des
Lagides, 1, 1JG.
3
J. P. Mahaffy, A Hist. of Egypt under tire Ptolemaic Dynasty, 85.
79
 INTRODUCTION
ofThoth'. (Cf. ihid. 649-so. In OLZ 32 (192.9), 32.1-1. he states that
MJC D~wtj is the attested form, and adds that the name Manetho
therefore remains a riddle.)
(5) J. Cemy, Miscellanea Gregoriana (1941), 57-61: mlnw~tr,
'shepherd of horses, valet'.
Cernfs attractive proposal can adduce the Coptic .Mb..n~To;
he admits that no such collocation has been found in Egyptian.
Further, his theory rests on the assumption that the form
MavE6os is the original one. Another possibility may be sug.
gested: MJJ.n.l-D~wty, 'I have seen Thoth'. The name does not
actually occur (any more than Cernfs form), but there are several
examples of similar formations; cf. M H n .l 'Imn in Ranke,
Personennamen, 1, I43, no. 2.2 ('Ich habe Amon gesehen').
Jacoby, FGrH m c 6o9 (19~8) notes five forms transmitted in
Greek: Mavteoov, MavE6oos, MavE6os, Mavee&, MavE6w6 (with
a variety of accentuation). Syncellus only preserves Mave6W6
but it is arguable that this rare variant is the original form, since
the termination could easily be corrupted to conform with a
common Greek ending.
Manetho's works on religion were at least three in number:
(I) The Sacred Book ('lepa Bl~'hos) which is mentioned by
Eusebius and perhaps referred to by Theodoretus when he says
that Manetho had written about Isis, Osiris, Apis, Sarapis and the
other Egyptian gods; cf. Parthey, I 8o; (2.) On Festivals, mentioned
by Lydus, De Mens. 4- ~5 =HF73; and (3) On Ancient Fustom
and Piety, quoted by Porphyry, De AIJSt. 2.. 5; = HF 73 He also
wrote An Almract of Physics and a book Against Herodotus.
There appears to be no certain evidence that he wrote On the
Preparation of Cyphi as a separate work, but it is likely that
Plutarch used his remarks on this subject, perhaps from The
Sacred Book. This last work may well have been the main Mane-
thonian source used by Plutarch. Hopfner, 1, 72.-3, boldly places
three of the citations under this title, reserving only the reference
to sacrifices at Eileithyiaspolis for the work On Ancient Custom
and Piety. That these citations cannot be placed with certainty is
8o
PLUTARCH'S SOURCES
shown by a fragment of the Abstract ofPhysics preserved-with
express mention of the source-by Diogenes Laertius, Prooem. 10.
This fragment speaks of the worship of the sun and moon as gods,
the sun being called Osiris and the moon Isis. Were it not that the
source had been specified, the fragment would doubtless have been
placed by modern scholars in one of the religious works.
Direct or indirect citation can rarely be established. Phylarchus
is perhaps an exception, for it is known that he was the principal
authority for the Lives of Agis and Cleomenes,1 so that Plutarch
had no doubt direct access to the twenty-eight volumes of the
History of this Athenian writer. Whether he had similar access to
the works of Manetho is a question of greater moment. Indirect
access was often possible, and the very number of the authors
named-there are thirty-nine in all-makes it likely that many of
them were consulted indirectly. It was Jacoby'sl opinion that
Hecataeus of Abdera and Manetho were known to Plutarch
through a work in which both had been epitomized.
Hecataeus of Abdera is certainly another important source.
Like Manetho he lived in the time of the first Ptolemy and
probably was somewhat older than Manetho. Like the latter again,
he wrote a work bearing the title AlyvttTlCXIX. Plutarch's citations
are undoubtedly from the work on Egypt, for one of them
(6, 353 a) states that the Egyptian kings were priests and restricted
their drinking in accordance with regulations laid down in the
'sacred writings'; while the other citation (9, 354D) refers to an
Egyptian word used by people in addressing one another. There
is no reason to doubt that Hecataeus had lived in Egypt. Diodorus
~n his first book (eh. 46) cites him as his foremost authority, and
tt has been widely supposed that practically the whole of the
Sicilian's account of Egypt was derived from Hecataeus. Spoerri
in his Spiitkellenistische Berichte iiher Giitter und Welt has suc-
ceeded in showing that this is very unlikely, and that Diodorus
has followed Hecataeus only in brief passages.3 The latter's
1
G. L. Barber in OCD, s.v. Phylarchus.
a PW s.v. Hekataios no. 4 (1912.), 2.765.
3 See the present writer's review,JHS 82. (1962.), J82.-J.
6 SI GDI

INTRODUCTION
importance nevertheless remains. Mahaffyt suggested that
'Manetho's dry enumeration of early dynasties and gods stood no
chance in popularity against Hecataeus' agreeable romancing' 7
and he suggests that the two writers were in some degree opposed
as expositors of Egyptian antiquity. While such a contrast may be
justified, Hecataeus was not without his serious claim on critical
readers. Jacobyl maintains that the Aegyptiaca of Hecataeus
professed to set forth systematically the truth about Egypt
according to the best native sources. His general attitude was one
of admiration, for he believed not only that the Egyptians were
the oldest nation, but also that they had invented astrology and
philosophy. Jacoby, it must be added, bases some of these remarks
on the acceptance of Diodorus Siculus as representative of
Hecataeus. One of Plutarch's citations is good evidence for the
calibre of Hecataeus. Amun as a form of address meaning' Come I'
(9, 3540) has been convincingly connected by Sauneron with an
Egyptian verbal form; seen. ad toe.
There are three other pre-Manethonian writers on Plutarch's
list. Xenophanes of Colophon, a sixth-century writer whom
Plutarch cites (7o, 379B) as making a rather scornful reference to
the way in which the Egyptians regarded their gods, does not
seem to have written a work dealing specifically with Egypt, but
Hellanicus of Lesbos, who is said to have heard Egyptian priests
pronouncing Osiris as Hysiris (34, 3640), probably wrote a book
on Egypt in the middle of the fifth century.3 Several references
are made to Eudoxus of Cnidos, the famous mathematician and
astrologer of the fourth century. Plutarch alludes (p, 372D) to
his view that lsis controlled matters of sexual love and rebuts his
incredulity (64, 377A) in questioning whether that was also true
' A Hist. of Egypt unJer the Ptolemaic Dynasty, 86.
a FGrH m A 30 (1954). C. H. Roberts, M us. He/vet. 10 (I9f3)1 :z.Gs, tends to
underestimate Hecataeus.
3 See Gudeman, PW s.v. HeJianikos no. 7 (I9IJ), 104-H Neither he nor
Preller accepts C. MuJier's view that the Aegyptiaca of Hellanicus should
be assigned to a later writer of that name. See also Lionel Pearson, Early
Ionian Historians (Oxford, 1939), eh. s, pp. I p.ff.
1
PLUTARCH S SOURCES
of Demeter and whether Dionysus should be identified with
osiris although the former's connexion with the inundation of
the Nile and with the realm of the dead seemed impossible to
uphold-two instances where Eudoxus appears to have excelled
Plutarch in his rationalistic acumen. Another allusion to his work
(6z, 376c) reveals him attempting to allegorize a mythical detail
which is not paralleled elsewhere, about the Egyptian Zeus being
unable to walk. In 6, 353c he is said to report a priestly dictum;
and in 21, 359B-c he is credited with the statement that Busiris,
the native place of Osiris, holds his tomb. In 30, 363A he is re-
vealed as a Pythagorean arithmologist, for he compares Typhon
to a 56-sided polygon. Plutarch names Eudoxus seven times, and
cites him more frequently than any other author. Further, six of
these mentions are concerned with Egyptian religion. Eudoxus
claimed to have contact with Egyptian priests, as the allusion to
the second book of his Geography shows, in one of the passages
just cited (6, 353c). According to Diogenes Laertius, 8. 87
Eudoxus spent a year and four months in Egypt and shaved his
beard and eyebrows, no doubt in deference to his priestly friends.
He probably translated into Greek an Egyptian work entitled
Dialogues of Dogs. 1 Strabo, 17, 8o6 says that he stayed there
for thirteen years in the company of Plato. There seems no
question, at any rate, that he did visit the country.
There are a few allusions to what might be original sources.
Alluding to a tradition that the Persian king Okhus was called
'Sword' because of his cruelty, Plutarch states that the name
was still used, in his own day, 'in the list of kings' ( u, 3 55 c);
similarly he refers (38, 366c) to a statement 'in the genealogies of
the kings' that Nephthys, having married Typhon, was at first
barren. Now there were such lists available in Egyptian, of which
the incomplete Turin Royal Papyrus, dating from the reign of
Ramesses 11, is the best-known example. It has been recently
edited by Sir Alan Gardiner. Other shorter lists have been found
at S~ara, Abydos and Kamak, while the Palermo Stone, of
1
Cf. G. Meautis, 'Eudoxe de Cnide et l'Egypte', Rev. Phi!. 43 (1919), :z.I-
2
3S, esp. l.8 f. See n. aJ p. uG, 6,
 INTRODUCTION
which there are parts in Cairo and London, contains part of a
record extending from the earliest times up to the Fifth Dynasty.
Is it likely that Plutarch used any of these important sources?
His ignorance of Egyptian meant that he could not. Obviously
Manetho could have supplied him with this information. Both the
Turin Royal Papyrus and Manetho's history begin with dynasties
of gods. Plutarch's allusion to Nephthys and Typhon in the lists
of kings cannot, it is true, be traced to any of the Manethonian
fragments. They mention Typhon, but not Nephthys. But it is
quite possible that a version which was available to Plutarch
contained a reference to Nephthys as well.
'The sacred hymns of Osiris' (p., 372.B) might also involve
use of Manetho, but Eudoxus and Hecataeus, through contact
with priests, could claim to provide the relevant knowledge.
A similar choice is open when we try to consider where Plutarch
could have sampled 'the so-called Books ofHermes' (61, 37SF),
compilations kept in all temples and traditionally linked with
Thoth. More puzzling are 'the Phrygian writings' (2.9, 362.B).
They seem to derive from the second centuryB.c. and to incorporate
what was regarded as ancient and recondite material. Reitzenstein1
properly compares the Herodotean tradition that the Phrygians
were the earliest people. An ascription to Timotheus the Eumolpid
does not seem to be valid.
The evidence so far examined has revealed a prepon'derance of
sources that belong to two early groups: first come the authors
of the fourth and fifth centuries, the three important ones being
Eudoxus of Cnidos, Hecataeus of Abdera and Hellanicus of
Lesbos; then Manetho and Timotheus form a special category,
and in the third century too are placed Anticleides, Archemachus
of Euboea, and Phylarchus." After this period the named sources
are few: they are Mnaseas, Castor of Rhodes, Ariston, and
Hermaeus. Only the last two seem to belong to the Roman
era. It may be argued that the balance tallies with the internal
evidence of the treatise. Some features of the cult-practices
1
Zwei re/igionsgeschiclulich.e Fragen, 95
~ Socrates of Argos is ii s.c. (?).
84
PLUTARCH'S SOURCES
described can be placed in the Imperial period only, but the
general picture is one which suits the early Hellenistic period. 1
Plutarch refers three times to the Stoics (40, 367c; 41, 367E;
45, 369A), and only the last of these allusions is condemnatory.
There is considerable Stoic influence in many parts of the inter-
pretative section, and Paul Frisch in his De Compositione Lihri
Plutarchei qui inscrihitur nEPI II160I KAI OIIPI60I (Diss.
Burg, 1907) has propounded the theory of a Stoic source.
An elaborate analysis is made of those chapters devoted to
interpretation, and the claim is made that this analysis of their
content and form reveals what was Plutarch's attitude to his
sources.
Frisch's own first chapter discusses what he posits to be 'two
explanations of a myth fused into one'. The first explanation he
finds to be that in which Osiris signifies the Nile, Isis the land
which is flooded by the Nile, and Typhon the sea into which the
Nile flows. He notes that in eh. 33 another interpretation is
recorded according to which Osiris is the principle of moisture
generally and Typhon the principle of drought, whereas the earlier
explanation of Typhon as the sea he righdy traces also to eh. 7
Examining what is said of the sea, Frisch would connect the
statement (7, 353 E) that 'they consider the sea to consist entirely of
fire ... '" with the later reference (32, 364A) to the sea as 'the tear
of Cronus ', and would go so far as to link the sentence in eh. 7
with the end of eh. 32. as having been originally so conjoined in
the author which Plutarch was using. 'Now at length', he says,3
'there appears what is intended by the statement that they call
Typhon "everything that is dry", since it has been recorded a
little previously that Typhon, i.e., the sea, consists of fire.' In
support of this proposal he quotes some sixteen lines from the
Qgaestiones Convivalium (72.98) where the unfavourable signifi-
cance of the sea is described in similar terms. It should be noted,
1
Some elements are still earlier in reference.
3
tx nvpils is the reading of all the MSS. Sieveking accepts Wynenbach's
fl<qlvAov; Babbitt proposes tx 1TVovs 'from purulent matter'.
3 Op. cit. 8-9 (translated).
 INTRODUCTION
however, that there is no reference to. fire. The adjective 'fiery,
(1TVpc;>SEs) is used, on the other hand, to describe Typhon in 33,
364A.
The role of Isis in the two explanations is shown by Frisch to
be varied much as in the case of Osiris. Whereas the god signifies
the Nile in the first explanation, and the principle of moisture in
the second so too Isis stands for the land of Egypt in the first, and
land gene~lly in the second. Hence the three deities signify, in
the second interpretation, the three fundamental elements of
water, earth, and fire. Horus in the first order represents air, and
Nephthys the land bordering on the sea.
Chapters 38-40 are said by Frisch to combine the two inter-
pretations, and he points to a striking example of the resulting
confusion in eh. 39 There it is said that Typhon's power of
dryness gets the upper hand over the moisture of the Nile.
Aided by the south winds from Ethiopia, Typhon blazes forth his
heat and wins the struggle, forcing d1e retreating and enfeebled
Nile to the sea. The victory, argues Frisch,I is a double one: first,
the Nile is denuded of water, secondly, it is forced to the sea. But
it is impossible for a river to be forced to the sea by the heat. The
second aspect of the victory, which is so illogical, derives ~rom
the significance of Typhon as the sea. He has been described
previously (Jl, 3630) as 'the sea into which the Nile f~ls, and
so disappears and is dispersed'. In eh. 39, therefore, he ts both
heat and the sea at the same time, and the result is confusing.
Frisch notes a special point in this confusion: in fact heat is
greatest in Egypt at the very time when the Nile is increased, a
circumstance which must have caused wonder to the Greeks,
since their rivers were much diminished at the height of the
summer heat. Frisch infers that the compiler of the source which
Plutarch was using, though he had carefully combined the two
interpretations, was guilty of the mistake of saying that th~ Ni!e
was deprived of water at the time of the onset of heat. To thmk m
this way, he argues, was the mark of a Greek who did not know
Egypt.
1 Op. cir. 19.
Op. cit. 17.
86
PLUTARCH'S SOURCES
In eh. 40, however, Frisch would recognize remarks emanating
from Plutarch himself. Here the speculative nature of his hypothe-
sis is apparent. 'But this,, says Plutarch (40, 367c), 'is similar to
the theological doctrines of the Stoics.' Can we be sure that here
also he is not using the compilation? Frisch1 feels confident that
these and other sentences are remarks appended by Plutarch as
he views the collection of material he has been using. In spite
of his ingenious treatment, his confidence cannot always be
shared. One may well agree with him that the difficulty created
by the contradictory explanations of Typhon as sea and as fire
was pa_rtly_ o~ercome by interpreting him as heat and giving
a cosmtc stgmficance to the conflicts in the myd1. But when he
argues that, because the struggleofHorus and Typhon is not inter-
prete~ thus in the first or second explanations of the myth, the
compiler used yet a third author, he is taking a step which is
plausibl~ but not essential. ?ther ways of explaining the emphasis
are posstble. Plutarch, for mstance, may have applied the cosmic
key to.l~ends which w_ere presented in his material without any
such stgmficance. Tummg to the narrative of the myth itself in
eh .12, Frisch finds variations here which, in his opinion, derive
agam from the coalescence of two accounts which are me work of
the same author as was responsible for the compilation of me two
interpretations. There is a good deal of ingenuity in his analysis,
but also, unfortunately, a readiness to strain me evidence in favour
of his thesis. The phrase in this chapter about Isis being born tv
'ITcxvVypots, ' in moisture', is a puzzling one; but to Frisch it is a sign
of adherence and correspondence to me second interpretation :1
lam illud w 1TcxvVypots talia vestigia indicat, nam Jsis, quam in ilia
explicatione terram esse vidimus, in aqua nascitur, h.e. aquae pars in
terram mutatur, terra in aqua residit. Memineris illud Heracliti frag-
mentum (3x, Diels) 9aAactOTJS S~ To ~ ~111av yfj.
But it will be remembered that in the second interpretation it is
Osiris who signifies water; nor is it a convincing clarification of
the discrepancy which resorts as far afield as Heracleitus.
1
of~~ and v, mrp\iypots, is preferable.
2
Op. cir. 2.4-5. The reading
87
 INTRODUCTION
Finding in chs. r8 and 19 a third explanation of the myth,
according to which Osiris represents the moon and Typhon the
sun, Frisch infers that the compilation was here drawing on a third
source. His final conclusion (p. 47) is that Plutarch used this
tripartite compilation in composing the greater part of his work,
but he does not venture to name the compiler. He believes that the
writer belonged to the age of Zeno or to a subsequent age when
Stoicism was a force.
That some of the sources used by Plutarch were coloured by
Stoic ideas is fairly clear. Although he criticized the Stoics in a
work specially devoted to the subject, he was influenced by them. 1
But it is unlikely that Plutarch's sources were present in a single
compilation.2 Frisch tends to ignore the parts that are heavily
indebted rather to Platonic ideas as well as the attack on Stoic
monism in the chapters on Zoroastrianism.
The idea of one main source also proved attractive to Max
Wellmann.3 He finds it in Apion, the Alexandrian writer who
became very well known to the Romans in the middle of the first
century A.D.
Wellmann argues, in spite of this choice, that the form in
which Plutarch presents the myth bears the stamp of the Hellen-
istic period and reveals a deliberate attempt to fuse Egyptian and
Greek legends. While Hecataeus had engaged himself in this task
under the direction of the first Ptolemy, and had treated Osiris
and Dionysus, Isis and Demeter as the same deities, according to
Wellmann, Plutarch took the process of fusion a stage further.
At this point it is rather odd that Wellmann has failed to note that
in the case of these deities an equation is present as early as
Herodotus.4 However, he succeeds in showing how Greek in-
fluence has affected the Plutarchean picture of Osiris and Isis,
noting the Dionysiac parallels to the role of Apis, the mutilation
1 Cf. M. Pohlenz, Die Stoa (md ed. 1947, repr. 1959, Goningen), 3H
a Cf. the review by Emst Neustadt, Woch. Klass. Phi[. (1907), no. 41,
JII4-17j also P. Corssen, Berliner Phi/. Woch. 18 (1908), nos.
3 'Aegyptisches' in Bermes 31 (1896), 111-SJ.
4 He does note the Herodotean equation of lsis and Demeter later on
(pp. 1:Z8-9)
88
PLUTARCH'S SOURCES
of Osiris (corresponding to the fate of Dionysus Zagreus), the
god's funerary chest, the lamentations, the phallus-cult, the erica
story, the lore concerning immortality, the mourning of Isis (the
details, especially, ofthe cutting of her lock and her wearing black),
the role of Anubis, and the ascetic rules imposed on initiates and
priests.
Wellmann does not discriminate sufficiently, perhaps, between
the parallels which involve Greek intrusions into the original
Egyptian myth and those which are present in the Greek and
Egyptian stories alike from early times, although now brought
into prominence by Plutarch. For example, the picture of Osiris
as the founder of civilization who goes to all the countries of the
world to spread civilized customs is clearly an intrusive element
from the Greek portrayal of Dionysus Meilichius. But when
Wellmann (p. ll3) states that both Osiris and Dionysus appear
as creators of the whole of verdant nature and vegetation, he is
referring to an aspect of both deities which is ancient, although in
the case of Osiris its earliest appearance does not go so far as to
make him a creator-god. A difference which Plutarch does not
mention is that Dionysus is associated with trees rather than crops,
and that with Osiris crops rather than trees are the association
which follows the early connexion of the god with life-giving
water. At the same time Osiris too is often linked with trees.
Wellmann (p. "'-3) refers to the Apis as the sacred animal of
Osiris and argues that the Apis corresponds to 6t6vvao!i !3oln<epoos
or !3ouyEVJ\s in the cults of Argas and Elis and to the bull-shaped
forms of Dionysus. But when Plutarch (zo, 359B) describes the
Apis as the 'image of the soul of Osiris and as the 'animate
image of Osiris , he is preserving a very distinctively Egyptian
relationship. While the connexion between the two gods is
apparent in Egyptian theology from at least the 19th Dynasty/ it
is clear that the Dionysiac parallel has aroused Plutarch's interest,
and in one passage he notes the analogies (35, 364E-F) and adds
the surprising statement that in the burial of the Apis fawn-skins
1
The c:ollocation 'Osiris-Apis' oc:c:urs in the 19th Dynasty; see Brugsch,
Thes. 966, line 5; for' Apis-Osiris' cf. Gunn, ASAE 16 (1916), 91.
89
 INTRODUCTION
are worn and thyrsus-rods carried. Is he here recording a con-
sciously promoted Mischkult or comparing elements already
present in the cults? The latter seems far more likely.
Wellmann is right when he stresses that the role of Pan as the
instrument of' panic terror' is a Greek importation, but the coffin
(i\apva~) of Osiris is something more than a detail introduced as
a parallel to the mystic chest of the Dionysus-cult. There was a
phallic element in both cults. A lamentation is also common to
both but when Isis is made to cut a lock of hair and to wear black
' of mourning, she is following Greek convention. Well-
as a sign
mann properly alludes to her appearance in the Orphic hymn to
Mise as IJEAavT\!p6pos ..lats, but he does not point out that both
these customs were un-Egyptian. He compares (p. 2.30) Demeter's
wrathful punishment of Ascalabus with the treatment meted out
by Isis to the king's son at Byblos. The influence of the Homeric
hymn is palpable here, as we have noted. There is some difference,
though, in this incident. Ascalabus is changed into a lizard for
laughing at Demeter's voracious drinking; the king's son is
killed for overhearing the lamentation of lsis. Turning to ascetic
regulations, Wellmann suggests that a Greek background must
be assumed for Plutarch's account of these. Pythagorean views
may have influenced some of the statements, but Egyptian tradi-
tions can often be traced. This matter does not, of course, concern
exclusively the myth or cult of Osiris and Dionysus.
Proceeding from these considerations to an assessment of
Plutarch's probable source, Wellmann maintains that the legend
presented by Plutarch is a conscious moulding which results from
the need to assimilate Egyptian and Greek religious ideas. The
policy of Ptolemy I, he argues, which followed the lead given by
Alexander, involved a deliberate emphasis on the cults of Dionysus
and Demeter. The reason for choosing them was doubtless the
fact that they could be easily equated with the most popular of
Egyptian deities, Osiris and Isis, and this process facilitated the
public recognition of the two religions with the consequent
drawing together of Greeks and Egyptians in the kingdom. 1
1
Cf. Otto, PT n, :1CS7.
90
PLUTARCH'S SOURCES
That the Demeter-cult was given firm soil in Egypt, quite
apart from a process of fusion, is suggested by an inscription from
Alexandria which is dedicated by a certain Apollonius, with his
wife and children, on behalf of' King Ptolemy and Q!Jeen Arsinoe
(Philopator)' to' Demeter and Kore and justice'. 1 Dittenberge~
suggests that 'Justice' may refer to lsis, and the two names are
indeed connected by Plutarch (3, JPB). There has been some
disagreement as to whether the cult of Demeter at Alexandria
involved the full enactment of the Eleusinian rites or whether it
was confined to rites of less esoteric significance. Ottol does not
believe that these mysteries were enacted at the Alexandrian
Eleusis. He agrees with Schif4 that the place-name Eleusis does
not necessarily imply that. At the same time he would not deny
the existence of a strongly developed Demeter-cult in Egypt.
Edwyn Bevan5 accepts this point of view : the cult in Alexandria
was not, in his opinion, 'a copy of the Eleusinian mysteries', but
merely included some features borrowed from them. He adduces
P.Oxy. xm, 1612. for the idea that it would be impious to celebrate
the Eleusinian mysteries anywhere other than in Attica. C. H.
Roberts6 published a papyrus fragment of the second century A.D.
which might possibly be part of a 'Ritual of the Mysteries'-a
title which he queries; there is an allusion in it to Triptolemus,
who was linked with Demeter and Kore in the Alexandrian
Eleusis. Bell7 is probably right in saying that the statement in
P.Oxy. xm, 1612. 'may mean merely that the mysteries as
celebrated at Eleusis were unknown in Egypt'. Certainly the
analogy with Emperor-worship in that statement supports this,
for the ruler-cult was found throughout the Empire, but with
somewhat distinctive local adaptations.
1
OGIS 83. ~ OG/S 133, n. 3 Cf. n. below ad p. uo, 19. {Comm.)
3 PT u 265, n. r.
4 PW s.v. Eleusis (1905), 2339-42 He would derive the name of the
Alexandrian suburb from the noun !1.VC7ls. Otto, however, regards it as
resulting from the Isis-Demeter cult.
5 Hist. Pto/. Eg. 96.
6
Tile Antinoopo/U Papyr~ 1 {London, 1950), 18 and p. 39
7 Cults and Creeds, 18, n. 1.
 INTRODUCTION
Further, there is positive evidence in literature and in the papyri.
The opening of Callimachus' Sixth Hymn (to Demeter) mentions
the 'calathos ', the basket of fruit and flowers which was carried in
procession, and line 6 probably refers to the fasting which occurred
on the second day of the Thesmophoria. That there was a con~
scious introduction of Attic ritual in certain matters is stated by
the Scholiast on the Hymn. References in the papyri attest the
celebration of the 'Demetria' 1 and of the Thesmophorial in
Egypt. The Thesmophoria, of course, were not a part of the
mysteries, nor can it be proved that the term ' Demetria' refers to
them. Specific allusions, however, are not to be expected, and
Bell's3 conclusion that' there is some ground for thinking that the
Eleusinian mysteries were celebrated in one form or another by
the Greeks in Egypt' seems a sound one. It may be noted further
that He~odas (1. 56) refers to' the descent of Mise' as a part of the
festival, and this confirms the spread of the Orphic religion in
Alexandria, the Mimes having been probably written for Alex~
andria in the period 27o-250 B.C. (See Headlam and Knox,
Herodas, p. ix.)
If this prominence of the cult of Demeter is characteristic of the
first phase of the Ptolemaic era in Egypt-and the evidence is
solid if not overwhelming-and if Plutarch is reflecting such an
attitude in his direct and indirect comparisons of this cult with
that of Isis and Osiris, what likely source is indicated thereby?
Wellmann urges that Apion is the writer who is likely to have
presented the material to Plutarch. The truth is that the argument
leads rather to Manetho or to Hecataeus of Abdera as probable
sources. Not only did Manetho live through this phase himself,
but he is known to have taken an active part, together with the
1
P. Cairo Zenon 1, 5902.8, 7 (2.58 a.c.?), where C. C. Edgar thinks the
reference is to the Alexandrian festival described by Callimachus; P.
Tebtunis 1079, 2. (ii a.c.); P. Giessen 18, 11 (Roman era); P. Ross-Georg.
II, 41, 59 (A.D. ii),
1
P. Col. Zenon 19, 2. (257 B.c.); P. Cairo Zenon m, 59350, 5 (7.44 a.c.)
refers to 'the fasting of Demeter', which was the second day of the
Thesmophoria in Athens. (LSJ seem to err in ascribing the N~teia to the
third day.) una
3 Op. cit. 18 with refs.; cf. Visser, Gotter Kulte, 36f.
92
PLUTARCH'S SOURCES
Eumolpid Timotheus, in the promulgation of religious ideas,
especially those of the Sarapis-cult. Hecataeus was in a not dis-
similar relation to Ptolemy Soter. Why then does Wellmann seek
a source which is nearly three centuries later than the policy found
reflected, according to him, in Plutarch's work?
He believes that the treatment of Egyptian animal-cults by the
Greek authors can offer clues in this matter. After a detailed com-
parison of many passages he maintains (p. 248) that the parts
which show close agreement in the works of Aelian, Plutarch,
Porphyry and Macrobius have derived from the same source,
and that this source must have been written as a specialized work
on Egypt by one who had inside knowledge of local conditions.
He argues that the source possessed four definite qualities: a
tendency to explain the animal-cults on the basis of Stoic doctrine;
the character ofa compilation in which many authors were named;
a love of wonderful and partly incredible stories; and a habit of
adducing Homer in the explanation of animal-cults. Wellmann
concludes (p. 249): 'Sehen wir unter den jiingeren Schriftstellern,
die iiber Aegypten geschrieben haben, urn, so ist Apion der
einzige, bei dem alles zusammentrift, was wir als Merkmale fur die
gemeinsame Qyelle erkannt haben.' A number of questions are
prompted. Why confine the search to later writers? Why assume
that an author used for the animal-cults would also be used
throughout? What is the evidence for Apion's Stoicism? Well-
mann notes that Aelian, NA 10. 29, names Apion as a guarantor
of a statement made by him. Why then does Plutarch not name
him at all? The fact that he was closer to Plutarch in time would
have made it easier for him to be cited, especially as he was also
internationally famous. Tiberius Caesar dubbed him the
cymhalum mundi. Incidentally, two Egyptian data mentioned by
Aelian as taken from Apion (the immortality of the ibis in
Hermopolis, 10. 29; a crane with two heads in the time of
Atothis son of Menis, 11. 40) are not touched on by Plutarch.
A point in favour of Apion is that he would presumably have
followed Manetho to some extent and quoted him. Isidore Levy 1
1
Rev. Hist. Rei. 61 (1910), 186.
93
 INTRODUCTION
believes that Manetho cannot have been more than an indirect
source and that Apion's Aegyptiaca incorporated what became
known of the earlier writer's works. In support of this he argues
that Manetho's Hiera Bihlos was an obscure tract whose reputa-
tion, apart from Apion, would never have crossed the frontiers of
Egypt. The implication seems to be that Plutarch had no special
access to things Egyptian even through Greek channels, a sup-
position which is unlikely.
A serious objection to Apion as a source-even as a source for
the account of animal-cults alone--is that Plutarch does not
mention him. This silence can scarcely be construed as the
deliberate concealment of a debt which was too great to be
avowed. This would hardly be consistent with Plutarch's literary
conduct in general. He is often dependent on others, and his
dependence is all too cheerfully acknowledged. A pion's Aegyptiaca
was not a mere compilation since he could write with some
authority through his own knowledge of the subject. Further, his
personality and ideas were probably sufficiently distinctive to
obtrude themselves upon any reader. It is well known that Apion
was virulently anti-Jewish; he was the target in the Contra
Apionem of Josephus. Emst Neustadt1 made the valuable sugges-
tion that Plutarch has taken from Apion the story about Typhon
at the end of eh. 31 : Typhon fled on an ass for seven days and
became the father of Hierosolymus and Judaeus. Clearly the Jews
are here fathered on Typhon in an asinine association. Plutarch
rejects the story.
Parmentier, Recherches, 5, is not disposed to accept the idea of
Apion as a source, but prefers to stress the evidence not only for
Plutarch's visit to Egypt, but also for his having been a pupil of
the EgyptianAmmonius. Plutarch does not refer toAmmonius in
the treatise. Indeed the internal evidence suggests strongly that the
author is more indebted to literary sources than to personal
experience. But it is worth asking what contact with Egyptian
cults was open to Plutarch.
At Chaeronea itself, Plutarch's home town, and at Orcho-
1 Wocn. Klrus. PM/. (1907), no. 41, tuGf.
94
PLUTARCH'S SOURCES
menos, manumissions of slaves dating to the first part of the
second century B.c. contain evidence of the cult ofisis and Sarapis,
the slaves having been manumitted on condition that they were
dedicated to one or both of these gods.1 There are also altar-
inscriptions bearing the gods' names. Ruschz concludes that the
cult had reached, as early as the third century, not only those cities
which traded with Egypt, but also those situated in central
Greece.
Was it at Delphi that Clea was a priestess of Isis? She is
described as 'a leader3 of the Thyiades at Delphi , and one
'consecrated in the Osirian rites by father and mother'. Because of
her official allegiance to the religions ofboth Osiris and Dionysus,
Plutarch suggests that she is well equipped to realize the essential
identity of the two gods. It was a few years before the dedication
to her of the De /side et Osiride, so Hartman4 believes, that she
received Plutarch's lv/ulierum Virtutes, also dedicated to her. In
this book (.14ZF) Plutarch shows the close contact which had
existed between him and Clea, for he says that upon the death of
Leontis (probably a near relative of hers) they had shared a long
philosophical discussion. She was evidently a cultured woman
whose interest in religion was not confined to the formalities of
her office. Whether she pursued her double priesthood at Delphi
is doubtful, for Plutarch mentions only her Dionysiac office in
connexion with the place, and there seems no evidence that a cult
of Isis or Osiris had been established at Delphi.S Rusch6 suggests
that the mysteries of Osiris may have been practised at Clea's
1
A. Rusch, De Serap. etls. 17-18.
a Op. cit. 19. 3 Cf. Introd. Ill above.
4 De Plutarcho Scriptore et Pnilosopno (Leiden, 1916}, I<.ii . Cf. his remarks
in Mnemosyne, 41 (1913), 10']-8.
5 F. Legge in PSBA (1911), 144, argues that this would have been impos-
sible, 'very like telebrating the rites of the Hindu god Siva in Westminster
Abbey'. He goes on to differentiate between the cult of the Egyptian
Osiris and that of' the Greek Osiris or Serapis '. Such a rigid distinction is
not justified, nor should a jealous exclusivism be ascribed to Greek religion.
For Plutarch's view on the relation of Sarapis and Osiris, see <.it, :37<.iA.
Op. cit. z~.
6
95
 INTRODUCTION
home town, if, that is, she was born at a place other than Delphi;
and this suggestion is supported by the statement that she was
consecrated in the Osirian rites by her father and mother. That
she was a priestess of Isis is, of course, confirmed by other
references. She is said to serve Isis (:z., JS 1 E) and is described, by
implication, as an lsiac devotee (3, JS:Z.C). Indeed, her part in this
cult and her friendship with Plutarch were clearly two facts which
provided one reason why her literary friend chose to write about
the myth of Osiris. Another reason was probably the widespread
popularity of the cult in the time of Plutarch. This meant that his
work, for all its recondite lore, was not merely an excursion into
the distant and dead past, but an attempt to interpret the signifi-
cance of a religion which was still alluringly alive.
We now confront a more difficult question. Was Plutarch
himself an initiate into the Osirian mysteries? Some scholars have
stated firmly that he was,z but Erbse3 denies it equally firmly.
'Let it be recalled at the outset', he says, 'that Plutarch was not a
follower of the Isis-mysteries, but an initiate into those of
Dionysus.' He refers to a passage in the Consolatio ad uxorem
(6un) where Plutarch alludes to the mystic Dionysiac symbols
in which he and his wife shared. But this argument is a strange one
since in the case of Clea it was manifesdy possible to combine even
priesthoods of Isis and Dionysus.4 Erbse's other argument is that
1
B. Einarson, Class. Phi/. 50 (19H), 1.53, suggests that Boeotian ladies lived
a life of virtual seclusion from the world of men. Contact was clearly
possible in religious life.
~ G. R. S. Mead, Tnme-Greatest Hermes, 1 (London, 906), 2.56; M. A.
Murray, Ancient Egyptian Legends (London, 1913), 109. Budge, From
Fetish to God in Ancient Egypt (Oxford, 1934), 177-8 says, 'Some parts of
it (the De /side et Osiride) contain details that suggest that he may have been
a priest' (i.e. an Osirian priest); cf. Reitzenstein, Hellenist. Myst. 71, and
Meunier, 18, n. 1: 'Il parle des Mysteres d'Jsis et d'Osiris, De /side, 2.8,
35, comme s'il ~tait initie.'
3 Hermes 8o (1951.), :197, n. 1 (translated).
4 This is not to imply that the devotees of Dionysos and Osiris underwent
a common initiation' asP. D. Scott-Moncrieffinterprets the 35th chapter
of the D 10. See his Paganism and Christianity in Egypt (Cambridge, I 9 I 3),
33
PLUT.ARCH's SOURCES
Plutarch does not extend full commendation to the Egyptian cult.
This much may be conceded here, that at any rate he insisted on
applying to it an interpretation, or a series of interpretations
which was highly speculative and sophisticated. '
Occasionally he makes an expression of reticence in alluding to
the Osirian rites. 'Let us leave', he remarks (3 5, 364E), 'the sacred
rites Wlmentioned.' In another passage (2.1, 359c) he says:
'I pass over the cutting of wood, the rending of linen and the
pouring of libations, because much mystery-lore is involved.'
He refers (:z.s, J6oF) to aspects which are ' preserved by being
clothed in mystic rites, although they are not divulged by initiates
or seen by people at large'. He is able to say (:z.8, 362B) that
'Sarapis is common to all, and this is true also of Osiris, as the
initiates know'. These allusions suggest that he was an initiate
himself, although it should be remembered that Herodotus 1
frequendy refers with reverent reserve to the Osirian mysteries or
festivals without incurring the slightest suspicion of being in that
position. Plutarch, on the other hand, does supply a wealth of
detail and he does not recoil from relating parts of the myth except
when, as in 2.0, 3S8E, he regards them as degrading. He states on
one occasion (2.5, JOOE-F) that it is possible for any one to hear
freely the stories about Osiris and Typhon. Clearly he draws a
distinction between the myth which is accessible to all and the
sacred ritual which is open to the initiated only.
It must be admitted, on the other side, that he does not use the
first person singular in any of his descriptions of the cult. When he
mentions (2, JPE), addressing Clea, 'this goddess, whom you
worship', it may be argued that he does not say 'we worship'
because 6Epcnmiets implies a service rendered by a priestess and
not by an ordinary initiate. He uses the first person plural once
(2., 352.A) when he states that the shrine oflsis is called an Iseion
to show that 'we shall know what really exists if we approach the
1
2.. 17I. The reason for Herodotus' silence on certain religious matters has
been the subject of controversy. See the first chapter of Sourdille, Hlroaote
et la re/igiond'Egypte and I. M. Linforth, 'Herodotus' Avowal of Silence in
his Account of Egypt' ( U. Cal. Puh/. Class. Phi/. vol. 7, no. 9, 2.69-92.).
7 97 CDI
 INTRODUCTION
sanctuaries of the goddess with reason and reverence'. The
significance of the pronoun might, however, be indefinite and
general.
Even if Plutarch was an initiate-and the possibility must not
be excluded-he does not specifically refer to practices in Greek
shrines oflsis. When he talks of priests and the information he has
derived from them, he makes it clear that he means priests in
Egypt. Similarly he lays stress, and very properly, on the usages in
Egypt itself.' One may conclude, therefore, that whereas he
probably drew on the experiences of Clea as an Isiac officiant, and
perhaps also on his own contacts with the cult, these sources only
led him to ask the fundamental questions about Egyptian religion.
In seeking to answer them Plutarch turned from the Greek centres
of devotion to the Egyptian.fons et origo, although in so doing he
preferred to use literary evidence rather than the testimony
gleaned by his own travels in Egypt. If we are tempted to deal
harshly with him for this, it should be remembered that his
ignorance of Egyptian prevented him from using the worthwhile
authorities at first hand. Further, if his visit to Egypt was brief,
as it well might have been, it would be natural for him to rely on
literary sources studied at leisure rather than on personal evi-
dences hastily gathered.
No dogmatic answer is possible to the problem of tracking
down the leading source. Many authors are involved and more
than one compilation. More important than the intermediary
compilations are the ultimate sources, and fortunately Plutarch
has made quite clear, for the most part, who these were. Different
parts of the work show a different type of reliance.
i. The Myth (12-20). Not a single author is named. The ancient
derivations are worthy ofManetho, but the Byblos episode and various
Dionysiac elements may reflect Hecataeus of Abdera or Eudoxus. The
latter is named at the beginning of 21 (on Busiris).
ii. Priestly Abstentions (3--9). Hecataeus and Eudoxus are named.
l Nor is it, for the most part, the Egypt of his own day. Thus Abydos, he
suggests, is still important (2o, 359A); yet Strabo, 17, 42, writing about
ro o.c., says it is now insignificant.
PLUTARCH'S SOURCES
So is Manetho on one point, but Hecataeus is cited as an alternative
wimess here too (on Amun).
iii. Eulzemerism and Daemonology ( l.:l.-'7; 30). The attack on
Euhemerus (and perhaps on Leon of Pella) implies a source in the
third century or later. Xenocrates and Chrysippus are praised for their
daemonology.
iv. Dualism and Zoroaster (4S--9) Theopompus is named. Eudoxus
is also a strong possibility.
v. The Origin ofSarapis (28--9). Manetho seems to be behind eh. 28,
but eh. 2.9 is very mixed, since' the Phrygian writings' and Phylarchus
are reported.
vi. Animal Worship (71-6). Manetho is the only writer named, but
the material is factually not up to his standard. W ellmann has shown
that a common source is probably shared by Plutareh with Aelian,
Porphyry and Macrobius, but this common source may not have been
available directly to each writer. (Cf. P. Corssen, Berliner Phi!. Woch.
28 (1908), 1106.)
vii. Interpretations (passim). These are Pythagorean or Platonic or
Stoic or Gnostic. Eudoxus may have transmitted Pythagorean doc-
trines, especially the 'theological arithmetic'. An outstanding Stoic
source is not easily mooted. Comutus, a contemporary of Plutareh,
typifies the Stoic approach, but he did not write on Egypt, it seems.
The later authors named by Plutarch (Phylarehus, Mnaseas, Castor of
Rhodes, and Hermaeus) are not very likely candidates.
The interpretations are often linked with specific data about myth
and cult. Most of tltese are pre-Hellenistic in reference, and Manetho,
Hecataeus and Eudoxus are likely sources, as well as Hellanicus of
Lesbos. A few features link with the Roman era-the preference of
Horus for the horse, the use of ivy in the cult, the festival of the
Charmosyna, and the term 'lcnCXKo(.
viii. Incense and Cyphi (79-80). Very probably this section rests on
Manetho.
ix. Personal Comments (r-3; 35). These are addressed to Clea.
That Plutarch used compilations of material is suggested by
the large number of authors whom he cites.' That he used more
than one compilation is shown by the discrepancies between
1
His library at Chaeronea, where he wrote the Lives, was regarded by him
as regrettably small: see V.Dem. ~and cf. Westlake, CQ 33 (1939), 11.
99
 INTRODUCTION
significant statements which seem to be finally approved. Chapters
33, 45 and 64 provide examples. In 33, for instance, Typhon is
drought, in 45 he is everything harmful, and in 64 he is the
element which is without measure and order. A unitary source-
compilation shaped by one viewpoint would not have shown such
manifest inconsistency.
Previous discussions have tended to favour one source-
Manetho or A pion or an unnamed Stoic author. Manetho is clearly
important, but the above analysis shows that Eudoxus of Cnidos
and Hecataeus of Abdera were also prominent in the material
available. A suitable link between these three authors and
Plutarch's account would be a Stoic author of Neo-Platonic
sympathies who wrote a book on Egypt. Such a link seems still
to be missing. The influence of Poseidonius, however, must not
be lost sight of. Spoerri in his SpatlrellenistischeBerichte has shown
that his interpretation of Stoicism counted for much in the late
Hellenistic era, and it is known that Plutarch owed a good deal to
him for his approach to history.
VII. THE USE OF ALLEGORY 1
An avowed application of an allegorical method is apparent in the
D/0 and Plutarch suggests (9, 354B-c) that Egyptian religion is
particularly suited to such treatment. Plutarch was not an origina-
tor and his use of allegory derives from a long tradition which
be~an with Pherecydes of Syros and Theagenes of Rhegium.
While Plutarch was influenced by Plato, his allegoristic is often
like that of Comutus, and his own rather reserved position in the
De audiendis poetis is not maintained in the D/0. Indeed we here
hnd every kind ofallegoristic known to Greek practice. Etymology,
a favourite technique of the Stoic allegorists, is often used. So are
physical and moral allegory.
Does the use of allegory imply a rejection of the truth of the
1 The writer has dealt more fully with this subjectin]EA 53 (1967), 79-102..
100
THE USE OF ALLEGORY
myths? This was normally the case in the traditional approach. 1
But Plutarch's attitude seems to have varied. Fantastic incidents
may be rejected (58, J74E) and the second, symbolic meaning is
the important one (II,J)5 Bf.). It seems that Plutarch believed in
the historicity of most of the Osiris-myth, although he thought
that physical and moral allegory provided the key to its signifi-
cance. The original Osiris, the ruler of the dead, emerges too (78,
J82E), only to be rejected.
Among numerous examples of allegory in Egyptian literature
is The Blinding of Truth, a Late-Egyptian story which Gardiner
edited. Despite its fragmentary form, the three chief characters-
Truth, his son, and Falsehood-appear to correspond to Osiris,
Horus and Seth. It is hard to prove that Plutarch was influenced
by the Egyptian tradition in this matter. At the same time his
interpretation of Osiris as the principle of moisture is not alien to
a part of the Egyptian conception of the god.
VIII. PLUTARCH'S EGYPTIAN
Plutarch often invokes the evidence of the Egyptians themselves,
for example, 'the priests say' (21, 359c), 'most of the priests say'
(19, 361c), 'thewiserofthepriests not only call the Nile Osiris
(33, 364A), 'the Egyptians relate' (12., J59E), 'the Egyptians
relate (in their myths)' (42, 367E; cf. 41, 367n). Are some of these
statements the result of Plutarch's personal contact with priests
and laymen? There is no reason to doubt his claim:: to have visited
Egypt. On the other hand, two of the verbs in the above expres-
sions are literary in their suggestion: ta-ropoiicn and ~o~v6oAoyoiiaw;
1
See J. Tate, CQ 23 (1929), 144f.
~ QEatst. conv. S 5 1, 678c mentions his 'return from Alexandria'. Cf.
p. 17, n. 3 supra. E. Guimet, Plutarque et l' Egypte (Paris, 1898) argues that
Plutarch never really visited the country. He refers on p. IJ to the lack of
any personal appreciation in the description of the Nile. But the absence of
this and other personal touches does not disprove the visit; it underlines
the fact that Plutarch's approach in this book is essentially literary.
101
 INTRODUCTION
and the others, even those referring to what the priests say, might
equally derive from some one else's record of their speech.
Spiegelberg' has suggested that the Egyptian 'priests' whom
Herodotus so often claims to have contacted were 'clearly not the
great princes of the Church of that date, who in their mandarin-
like pride, would certainly not have condescended to talk to an
inquisitive Greek', but were rather 'priests of inferior rank'.
Whether this qualification applies to Plutarch's citations depends,
in each case, on the source he uses. Manetho is certainly exempt
from such a limitation. So also, to some extent, are Eudoxus of
Cnidos and Hecataeus of Abdera in view of their reputed standing
in Egyptian society.
It is not surprising that in one respect this work of Plutarch's
contrasts markedly with the second book of Herodotus: the latter
constantly emphasizes what he has seen or heard himself, whereas
Plutarch never gives this colour to a statement, preferring mostly
to refer to the evidence of other writers or of people who spoke
to him; and even so the second category, as we have seen, is a
doubtful one. In one case, perhaps, he gives greater weight to the
testimony of eye-witnesses. Discussing various interpretations
of the name Osiris and attempts to connect him with other gods,
he adds (37, 365F) his belief that 'the relationships already
mentioned in connexion with festivals and sacrifices carry the
more compelling testimony of eye-witnesses'. Other translators,
however, have interpreted this passage quite differently.
But like Herodotus, Plutarch had no Egyptian. They were both
tolerant and intellectually curious and probably exemplified
Greek honhomie at its best; at the same time they followed the
traditional monolingualism of the Greeks. According to Diogenes
Laertius, 8. 89, one tradition held that Eudoxus of Cnidos trans-
lated a book from the Egyptian. His exceptional behaviour is per-
haps explained by the statement (ihid. 8. 87) that he spent more than
a year in Egypt in association with the priests. Even Latin was
beyond Plutarch's endeavour, although he was eager to say why
he did not go far with it: during his visits to Rome and other parts
I Hdt. 11
101.
PLUTARCH'S EGYPTIAN
of Italy he had no leisure to exercise himself in Latin owing to
political engagements and the pressure of philosophical interests,
and so it was only late in life that he began to apply himself to a
study of Roman authors.1 It was possibly the overwhelming
prestige of Greek that was the main factor in all this. 'The Roman
attitude to other languages', says Haarhoff,:: ' .. was consistently
tolerant.' Greek was usually an object of special veneration and
respect. When Trench3 says, on the other hand, that 'no Greek
condescended to known anything of Latin', he is dearly going
too far. Livius Andronicus, the very first name in Latin literature,
was a Greek from Tarentum. Nor was there any psychological
obstacle to Greek interest in the Egyptian language apart from the
political hostility of certain eras. The high antiquity of Egypt
engendered respect if not awe. Herodotus exemplifies this, and
although Plutarch in his De Hdt. malign. u attacks him for being
cptAo(3ap(3apos in relation to the Egyptians, he shows in the DIO
a similar attitude himself. Indeed he far surprasses him and most
other Greek writers whose works are extant in the quantity and
quality of his linguistic comments on Egyptian. These comments,
it may be urged, are mostly embedded in his sources, and Plutarch
had the good fortune to use some authorities of considerable
value. Even so, Plutarch could well have omitted the linguistic
remarks had he not been interested in them. An important
stimulus was the significance of etymology in allegoristic.
Plutarch has more than thirty linguistic references to Egyptian;
they involve either etymologies which concern Egyptian words
or the mode of writing in the language. In addition he reproduces
a number of proper names from the Egyptian. Although he was
writing a little before A.D. 120 at a time when demotic4 had long
1
V.Dem. 2.. 2.. Ziegler argues in Plut. 655 that he is not likely to have spent
a number of years at Rome, otherwise he would have learnt Latin more
thoroughly.
1
The Stranger attlze Gate {Oxford, 1948), 316.
3 Plutarcn (London, J87)), 8. Possible traces of Latinismu.r in Plutarch's
style are discussed by Weissenberger, Spraclze, IS ff.
4
This 'very rapid fonn of hieratic' appears first in the 25th Dynasty (after
715 B.c.): see Gardiner, Egn. Gr. 5 and 10.
IOJ

INTRODUCTION
been in use and less than a century before the emergence of
Coptic,1 all Plutarch's allusions to written modes are to hiero-
glyphic, and his etymologies and derivations seem often ~o
involve a much earlier phase of the language than that current m
his own day. In itself this might be regarded as an astonishin?
state of affairs, but the analysis of his sources has shown that h1s
material goes back in part to Manetho and even further, and that
Manetho and the other early sources may often be claiming to
describe a situation long antecedent to their own time.
It is true that in the Graeco-Roman era hieroglyphic writing
remained in use, especially in temple inscriptions. Hieratic, the
cursive form evolved from hieroglyphic, also continued to be
used, although demotic, itself a more cursive development, tends
to replace it. The three modes exist side by side in the Graeco-
Roman era.: That Plutarch refers only to the hieroglyphic mode
(Tii.lv yap KaAOU~(r.)V lepoyJ\vcplKc;)v ypa~~<l'foov, 10, 354E; cf.
ll< Tc;)v lepc;)v ypalliJcXTcuV 6, 353B) contrasts with the distinction
made by Herodotus, 2.. 36, between hieroglyphic (ypa~aTa lpa)
and demotic (61'\IJOT\t<a); cf. Diodorus Sic. 1. St. 1 and Helio-
dorus, 4 8 =HF 456. The three modes are distinguished by Clem.
Alex. Strom. 5 4 2.0. 3 =HF 370 and Porphyry, V.Pyth. 12.. Cf.
Wiedemann, Hdt.II, 162.ff.
In 10 3~4E where Plutarch compares the hieroglyphic writing
' } '
with Pythagorean sayings, he is thinking o fthe figurauve
. or
symbolic element in the sayings. Thus 'Do not sit on a bushel'
means 'Do not live slothfully': see n. ad foe. It is clear that the
parallel to this process in hieroglyphic ~ring i~ the use. of
ideograms. An ideogram may stand by 1tself wtthout bemg
accompanied by phonetic signs; at other times it occurs at the end
of a word following the phonetic spelling. It is the former
phenomenon which lies behind Plutarch's comparison. In com-
pany with other classical writers he falls into the error of ignoring
the phonetic element which is present in most cases. It is not
1 In the sf:(;ond century A.D. already attempts were made to convey demotic
in Greek letters: see Steindorff, Koptische Gr. 2.
2 which is found especially on scarabs and has been elucidated by Drioton
Gardiner, Egn. Gr. 9
104
1
PLUTARCH S EGYPTIAN
quite just to suggest, as Iversen1 does, that Plutarch's interpreta-
tion of hieroglyphs involves the superimposition of the Greek
allegorical method. Indeed the Pythagorean sayings themselves
are not strictly allegorical since their symbolism is simpler and
more direct than that of allegory. Sitting on a bushel of corn is a
pictorial example of the slothfulness which does not provide more
corn for the morrow. Yet Plutarch's description of the process
('Pythagoras .. imitated their symbolism and mysterious manner,
interspersing his teaching with riddles', 10, 3 54E) goes beyond
this relation, and his interpretation of the child coming from the
lotus as a depiction of sunrise (11, 355 B) is allegorical.: This
instance, however, is not a hieroglyph, and it is worth noting that
in spite of his tendency to adduce the 'enigmatic' explanation
Plutarch usually refers to hieroglyphic writing with the verb
ypacpovcn simply, followed by the dative.
His detailed description of an inscription at Sais in 32, 363 F
shows clearly how his symbolical approach is connected with a
genuine element in the Egyptian system. He says there that 'they
write the word "hate" with the sign of a fish'. In itself this is a
correct statement, since the sign is used as a determinative for
hwt, 'abomination' and occasionally too as an ideogram for the
word. It is the second use which Plutarch misleadingly represents
as the basic principle. Ultimately one could argue that the fish was
used in the writing because, as Plutarch says, it was abominated.
But the phonetic spelling commonly coexists with the determina-
tive, and purely ideographic writing is not as frequent as Plutarch
suggests. In the cryptic script3 sometimes used in the Ptolemaic
1
Tire Myth of Egypt ancl its Hierog/yplrs, 45
~ It is allegorical, that is, from his point of view. The explanation is also a
correct one, as far as it goes; it fits in with the Egyptian idea of the birth of
Nefertem, which is not allegory but myth. In this myth the lotus is also the
early form from which the world originated. See Morenz and Schubert,
Der Gott auf cler Blume, 15; Anthes, ZAS 81 (1957), 1-8; So (1955),
81-9
3 See n. acl/oc.; also Wiedemann, Htit. 11, 163f.; Iversen, The Myth of
Egypt, etc. 36ff. The acrophonic principle also enters into this writing,
105
-
.....
INTRODUCTION
era the function of ideograms was increased, and the inscription in
question may indeed be an instance of it.
At this stage a conspectus of the etymologies and other
linguistic comments may be desirable. In some cases an exact
elaboration is not possible, but in others the available information
enables one to point to a particular phase of Egyptian. Sergio
DonadonP has made a partial attempt to apply a kind of time-grid
to Plutarch's forms, but he confines himself to phonetic values.
While the following survey usually summarizes data discussed in
the Commentary, occasionally some details are added.
(1) The name Osiris is written with an eye and a sceptre (to, J54F f.).
This writing is first found in the Ptolemaic era.
(2.) Manetho: Amun means 'what is concealed' (9, 354c). This
etymology is referred to in Egyptian texts from the 2.oth Dynasty
onwards (P. Mag. Harris): see Sethe, Amr1n, 87 f. Doubtless it is much
earlier in origin. What is significant here is that Plutarch explicitly
distinguishes between the modified form used in Greek-A~~c.uv-and
the traditional form in Egyptian. Cf. Donadoni, op. cit. 43
(3) Hecataeus of Abdera: Amun is used in greeting or address
(9, 3540). Sauneron's derivation takes the expression back to Late
Egyptian (Dynasties 18-2.4, about I)7J-?I5 B.c.)
(4) Pythagorean sayings and hieroglyphic writing are compared
(ro, 3S4F). See above.
( 5) The name Osiris means 'many-eyed' (no;\u6cp&aApos) from os
and tpt (ro, JHA). Donadoni, 441 argues that the pronunciation in
Coptic is different (a1ai and eiat S.; the latter being stat. pronom.);
hence the etymology, he submits, is an archaism which does not
correspond to the real phonetics of Plutarch's time.2 A qualitative form
oyJis,however, found with l!.!!JM 'become many': see Crum, Copt. Dkt.
2.2.h. Plutarch's apt is more problematic since both Coptic and Demotic
(e.g. 'Trigrammes d'Amon', WZKM 54 (FS. junker, 1957), 11-JJ).
Fainnan has shown in BIFAO 43 (1945), 51-138 that this principle is not
so potent in the texts of the Ptolemaic temples.
1
'Due note di filologia egiziana', Annali del/a scuola normale superiore Ji
Pisa, Ser. 2, 16 (1947), 43-8. It is only the first of dte cwo notes that
concerns the present theme.
z Donadoni comes more than once to this conclusion and does not seem to
consider the possible use by Plutarch of earlier material.
100
PLUTARCH'S EGYPTIAN
keep ~e final t of lrt (cf. ~richsen, Dem. Gloss. 38). Griffith, Rylandr,
338 gavesyr as the phonetic form of the Demotic; but he also gives
eaep- as one of the forms of the stat. pronom. in Coptic, and this is not
confirmed by Crum, Copt. Diet. 31 s.v. Al!.i\. 1 But the loss of a final t is
exemplified by ~11~la and ~~nn; see further Fecht, op. cit. 54
(6) They wnte heaven wath a cobra and passion with a heart under
which a censer lies (1o, JHA). This statement has been textually
emended. S?me ?f th~ detail's are attested in hieroglyphic usage.
(7) Th~ tdennficatton of .ApoU,pts and the elder Horus (12., JS6A)
probably mvolves the equanon of 'Apo\n}pts and Ifr Wr.% The latter
form occurs as early as the Pyramid Texts.
(8) Maneros, the elder son of the king of Byblos is said to be
honoured in. banquet-songs (17, 3 57 E). No specifid derivation is
suggested. Man-l;lor seems a possibility.
(9) The other explanation ofManeros is that it is a festive expression
aiaa~a Ta Totaiha napel11 ('The best of luck to this and that 1').
A possible origin is mn ir .I, 'may what I do endure!' found in the
N.K.
(ro) !he. form 9o<n,pts (Typhon's concubine, 19, 358c) from
!J-w~t as dr.fficult since the feminine ending has been reproduced
ade~ncally wath ~e masculine in 'Apovflpts. ME6Vep (56, 374B) gives
a dafferent rendenng of -wrt and disposes of the Greek termination
It is probably a more correct fonn. Cf. Donadoni, 43 '
(u) Memphis is explained as op~os &yaea,v 'the haven of the
g~od' (2o, 359B). The phrase probably reflects :Wwt nfrw, although
thas does not actually occur in Egyptian.
(12.) Th~ ~~~r. explanation of Memphis as rc!xcpos 'OalptSos 'the
to~b of O~ans (iJJ,J.) seems to refer to mnw nfr. Spiegelberg has cited
an mteresung demotic allusion in which nfr by itself is an epithet of
Osiris.
(13) The Egyptians call the Charmosyna !aipet (2.9, 362.0). Here
Griffith, i~ia. .2o~, n. p. follows Spiegelberg in identifying irt-/:frw ('eye
1
o~ Horus ) With 1~, but ~~t, Worta/qent una Silhenstrulctur, 26o,
thanks that the n ts the geruuve particle and derives the name, with
Ranke, PN 1, 42, u, from lrr-n-l:frw-irw ('the Eye of Horus is against
them').
a Fecht, op. cit. 305, gives the fonn as ~rw-wrr with the final w of the first
syllable as the masculine ending. This ending rarely bears the accent, but
seems to have done so in this case.
107
 INTRODUCTION
a connexion with the Coptic !Y~ is suggested, and no earlier origin
seems possible.
(14) 'A'-'ev6T)s1 means 'he who takes and gives' (:19, 36:10). An
exact Egyptian parallel is wanting.
(15) The. statement that they write hatred with a fish is followed by
details of an inscription at Sais (3:1, 363F). Hieroglyphic writing in the
Ptolemaic era is probably behind this.
(16) Egypt is called XTtllla because it is mostly black, and they liken
it to a heart (33, 364c). The derivation is from Kmt, and the initial
aspirate connects with the Lower Egyptian dialect and the Bohairic
form in Coptic. Presumably the distinction existed before the evolution
of Coptic. Cf. Donadoni, 43
(17) Hellanicus: Osiris was pronounced Hysiris ("Ycnpts) by the
priests (34, 364 n). An ancient and authentic vocalization is probably
represented here.~ Donadoni, 43, wishes to classify Hysiris and
Omphis (42, 368B) with Ki/cpt (Bo, 383Eff.) and Xmda as typically
Bohairic. OfKi/cpt this is apparently true;3 but the ending ~ts, found in a
large number of names, is Greek.4
(18) They write 'king' and 'the southern region of the world' by
means of a rush (36, 365B). Here is a remarkably faithful reflection of
hieroglyphic usage.
(19) Ivy is called xevcxnpts and means 'the plant of Osiris' (37,
365E). What is interesting is that Plutarch's form approaches the
earlier !;t rather than the Coptic 1:9e. Cf. Donadoni, 44
1
Donadoni, 43, suggests that the fonn is related especially to the Sa'idic
~"mu. But Crum, Copt. Diet. 8h, gives the fonn as Akhmimic also. Nor
c:an the Bohairic b.Mn't be construed as likely to result in a different Greek
form. For the Demotic 'mnt see Klzaemuo.s, r, J, 14; G. Mattha, Demotic
Ostraka, no. :143, :1.
~ For Ihe variation cf. TY<ns for lsis in certain proper names; see Wilcken,
'Aegyptische Eigennamen in griechischen Texten', ZAS :u (88J), 159-
66, esp. 16o.
3 It could also be Faytlmic. Both Bohairic and Fayt1mic sometimes have t as
an unaccented vowel ending. See Till, Koptischt Dialelctgrammarik, 14f.
4 See Griffith, RylanJs, 431 ff.; Spiegelberg, A~gyptisclze una Griedische
Eigennamen, :14 If.; Hopfner, 'Graezisierte, griechisch-ligyptische . .
Personennamen', Archiv Orient. 15 (1946), 1-64, gives 8o6 theophorous
names, many of them widt rhis ending. In DenlucAr. Wien 6z, :1 (1918), J,
8 he gives examples of how Coptic interchanges R and 1 in words
borrowed from Greek.
108
PLUTARCH' S EGYPTIAN
( :10) Ariston: Arsaphes means manliness (37, 365 E). Although not
the original meaning, this reproduces a piece of paronomasia suggested
in one hieroglyphic writing of the name.
(:11) Hermaeus: Osiris means 'mighty' (o('ptllas) (37, 365E).
Paronomasia is again involved: Wslr is called wsr in the 19th Dynasty.1
A Ptolemaic writing of the name makes a similar suggestion.
(u) The Egyptians call Typhon Seth ~1)6) which means' oppressive
and compulsive' (41, 367D, cf. 49, 371 B). The verb s!l 'pull' may be
implicated in the etymology.
(:13) Hermaeus: The other name of the god (Osiris) is Omphis,
'benefactor' (4:1, 368 s). A variant of Onnophris is probably intended
although difficulties are present.1 An analogy betWeen Omphis and
Memphis is apparent; but whereas the latter, from mn-nfr, has the
Capt. Mnqe, ~utq to clarify it, Omphis has no exact parallel in
Coptic. (oy~ncqpe corresponds rather to Onnophris.) The meaning
'benefactor' may be close to the tradition, although nfr has been given
a different emphasis by Gardiner and Stock. .
(:14) Manetho: Bebon was a companion of Typhon, the name
meaning ' restraint or hindrance' (49, 371 c). Such a meaning has not
been traced or explained.
(:15) An image of Typhon in Hermopolis shows him as a hippo-
potamus upon which has alighted a falcon fighting with a snake (so,
371 c). A Ptolemaic hieroglyph can be compared, and also, partly, a
large relief at Edfu; but the detail about the snake is lacking.
(:16) They write Osiris with an eye and a sceptre (p, 371 E).
A Ptolemaic writing is indicated Cf. (I).
(:17) That they often write Osiris with a falcon (p, 371 E) is
difficult to substantiate.
(28) The tWenty-five letters of the Egyptians (56, 374 A) implies an
alphabetic approach. In view of the multiplication of signs in the Ptole-
maic era, the statement could refer more easily to pre-Ptolemaic usage.
1
Donadoni, 44, calls the statement an archaism. Hennaeus (? A. D. i) may
have tr.msmitted an early authority. The loss ofthe final r in wsris indicated,
as Donadoni points out, in the Babylonian and Greek transcriptions of the
praenomen of Ramesses 11. Wsr-mJCr~RC is reproduced as waimuari'a and
ovatiJc!rpT)s. A still earlier phase, then, might be involved in the phonetics
of the compared words. Writing, however, tended to archaize.
Cf. Ihe long discussion by Fecht, op. cit. ss If. He regards Wnn-nfrw as
the 'Grundfonn '.
109
 INTRODUCTION

(~9) Min means 'that which is seen' (56, 374B). Mu, 'see', must
come into this.
(3o) The other names of Isis are Move, "A6vp1 and Me6vep (56, BIBLIOGRAPHY OF WORKS
374 s). "A&vpt is dearly of Bohairic origin. For Me6vEp1 cf. no. ro
above. Plutarch's appended etymology is explicable only in part. CONSULTED
(31) Isis, that is Athena, has the meaning 'I came from myself' (6~,
376A). An Egyptian explanation is not ready to hand although there A. EDITIONS, COMMENTARIES AND TRANSLATIONS IN
are possibilities. CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER
(3~) The amulet of lsis is interpreted as ' the true voice' or ' the Aldus Manutius et Demetrius Ducas Ed Mo al' y
voice is true' (68, 3788). The well-known expression ml' must arw Frobenius, Hier. et Nicolaus Episcop.ius .Ed ~ ... la." enBtcel, 1509
p tii . . . . JrlOTatl a , as e, I S4l
somehow be involved. etrus, .s.u ndtus. Tr. Lat. Plutarchi Chaeronei Philosophi De !side et
(33) Harpocrates holds his finger on his mouth as a symbol of Osmde ?pusculum ~ntc hac non translatum. Eiusdem orationes duae de
reserve and silence (68, 378c). A misinterpretation enters into this esu carmum. Louvcun, 15 64.
statement, but the basic detail is correct both of a common hieroglyph Xyl~der, Gulielmus. Ed. comm. tr. Lat. Mora/ia. Basle IS7o et postea
and of the figures of Harpocrates. Step anus, Henr. Ed. opera omnia. Basle, I 57" '
Amyot? Jacques. Tr. Gall. Paris, r S7J. et postea.
Most of the Egyptian writings which are implicated in these Crusenus, Hermann. Tr. Lat. Frankfurt, 1 580
allusions appear to derive from the Ptolemaic era or the New Ed. opera omnia. Frankfurt, , 599
Kingdom. Nos. 2 and 7 are probably of still earlier origin; but Holland, Philemon. Tr. Angl. Moralia. London 1003
Bax~er, William. Tr. Angl. London, 1684 '
no. 13 invokes a Coptic parallel only. The names Xovouqus
Squtre, Samuel. Ed. comm. cr. Angl. Accesserunt Xylandri Baxteri 8 1
I6Y)(tS and Oivoucpts (1o, JHE) can be confidently located in Marklandi C . d ' ' ent en,
. o~ecturae et Emen ationes. Cambridge, '744 [For a copy
the Egyptian of the Persian and Ptolemaic eras. 86K)(opts wrth Markland s notes in the margin see British Museum Library 1 6
(8, 354B) is from hllc-n-m .f.' The Egyptian names which k. z.] 3 3
became traditional in Greek are of value for the establishment of Reiske, .Jo~nnes Jacobus. Ed. comm. tr. Lat. opera omnia. D/0 1
Letpztg, 1777 m vo . 7
Egyptian vocalization since they are of much earlier origin than
Ricard, Dom. Tr. Gall. Paris, 1783
Coptic.3 If Plutarch's forms show sometimes a Lower Egyptian
Kaltwasser, Joh. Friedr. Sal. Tr. Germ. Moralia. D/0 in vol Frankli rt
or Bohairic colouring, this is fully to be expected, for the Greeks 1786. 3 u t

were naturally better acquainted, as visitors and as residents, with Wyttenbach, Daniel. Ed. comm. tr. Lat. Moralia. D/0 in vol oxr d
Lower Egypt.4 The evidence of much of the Egyptian cited by ~~~ ..1 ~.

Plutarch agrees, therefore, with the general conclusions about his Hutten, J. G. Ed ..comm. ~oralio. DIO in Pars 3 Tubingen, 1797
sources. With certain exceptions in point ofreligious ideas, Plutarch A?on..Ed. Mo~al1a. D/0 m vol. 3 Tauchnitz, Leipzig, Jho.
C~amp1, Sebasuano. Comm. tr. Ita!. Florence, r8 23
in this work is not reflecting his own age. While his testimony Bahr, J. C. F. Tr. Germ. Stuttgart, 18JI.
is mostly second-hand, it is of considerable historical value. ~Ubner, Fredericus. Ed. tr. Lat. Mora/ia. Paris, 1841.
1
Fecht, op. cir. 2.93, n. 42.6, suggests that Mee\rep is an error for ME)(Vp. anhey, .Gustav. Ed. comm. tr. Germ. Plutorch ukr jsis unt! Osiris.
Berlm, r8so.
But cf. Griffith, Rylantls, 444 't'evcmCref\s for P-Ir-'o-p~t.
2
For the loss of the finalfcf. G. Moller, Z A S s6 (1910), 76f. and Fecht, op.
~ng, C. ~ Tr. An~l. Bohn's Classical Library. London, 1 882..
emardakis, Gregonus N. Ed. Moralia. Teubner Leipzig 1889
cit. 139, n. 2.3 I. 3 Spiegelberg, Aegyptuche und Gmchische Mead G R S T r. Ang1 m
Thrice-Greatest Hermes
' vol. ' eh Lond
Eigennamtn, J.S. 4 Cf. Sethe, Nachr. Gottingtn {1925), H 1
, 900 ' ' 9 on,
110
Ill

j
 BIBLIOGRAPHY BIBLIOGRAPHY

Budge, E. A. Wallis. Part. Angl. tr. in Legends of the Gods, 198-.1Sch, Paulus. De Compositione Lihri Plurarc/U qui inscrihitur nEPJ
London, 19 u. . . IIIAOI KAI OIIPIAOI. Diss. Burg, 1907
Roeder, Gunther. Part. Germ. tr. in UrlcunJen tur Relrgron Jes alten Agyppot, A. W. De. Der an.rike Prosarnytlzmus. Den Haag, 1921
1 ~-2.1. Jena, 191~. - A HanJhoolc ofAnt~ue Prose-Rir.ytlzm, 1. Leipzig, n.d.
Meunier Mario. Comm. tr. Gall. Paris, 192.4 -'Methodological Investigations into the Rhythm of Greek Prose'
Sieveki;g, w. Ed. Teubner, Leipzig, 1918; with Preface, 193S CQ 9 (1915), 131-2. '
Babbit, Frank Cole. Ed. comm. tr. Angl. Loeb, London, 1936. New Yotman, J. J. De Plutarclr.o Scriptore et Philosoplzo. Leiden, 1916.
. .. tn, Alfredus. De optativi apuJ Plurarclr.um usu. Trebnitz, 1914
1953
Hopfner, Theodor. Comm. tr. Germ. Plutarch. iiher lsu unJ Oszru. 2 V~mbold, Wm. C. Plutarch's Moralia, vol. G ( 1939); vol. 9, Amat. (r 9Gr);
Monographien des Archiv Oriencilnl. Bd. 9 Prague, 1 94 l vol. 12, De prim.frig.; Aq. an ign. sit uti/.; SoU. an.; Brut. an. rat. uti;
D
. . . De esu earn. (1957). Loeb, London, 1939-57
1941
Grant, Frederick c. Part. tr. Angl. in HeUenrsttc Relzgrons, 8C>-9~ NewYCmbold, Wm. C. and O'Neil, Edward N. Plutarclr.'s QJ!otations. Philo-
1953. logical Monographs published by the American Philological Assoc
Cilento, Vincenzo. P/utarco: Diatriha lsiaca e Dialogh.i De/fici. Florer No. 19, ed. F. R. Walton. 195 9 .,
62.. mbold, Wm. C. See also Markland, J.
19
tWerden, Henricus van. Plutarch.ea et Lucianea. Utrecht, 1877.
B. TEXTUAL AND LINGUISTIC DISCUSSIONS ELSEWHEREtel, Rudolf. P/utarcn. Das Erbe der Alten, Heft 4 Leipzig, r 911
Babbitt, Frank Cole. Plutarcn's Moralia, v~l~. 1-5.Loe~,. Londo?, 1 92?~:rda, Antonius. E~ldus Janus. Disputatio Je Jisposirione verborum in
Benseler, G. E. De Hiatu in Oratorihus Amcu et Hrstorzcu Graecu. Fnbl lrngua Graeca, rn lrngua Latina et apuJ Plutarclr.um. Accedunt Com-
1841. . mentarioiiadlibrosDe/siJeetOsiriJeetDe GenioSocratis. Utrecht, 1878.
Bock, Friedrich. Untersucnungen {U Plutarch.s Sclr.rifi, nEPI TOY IW~rt, C. Plutarclzi Moralia, vol. 3 and vol. 5 (part) and vol. G (part).
TO'a AAIMONIOY. Munich, 1910. J_Teubner, Leipzig, 1938, 1959, 196o.
Chemiss, Harold. Plutarch' s Moralia, vol. u. (De fac.). London, 19S7r, Joseph. Zur KritiA: Amyots Ohersetr_ung Jer Moralia Plutarch.s. Biihl,
Defradas Jean. Plutarque: Le Banquet Jes sept Sages. tudes et Comrr 1899.
tai~ 20 . Paris, 19 H. oray, J. 'Inscriptions Delphiques d'epoque tardive', BCH 70 ( 1946)
Desrous~ux, A.-M. 'Plucarque, Mor. 382. c d', Rev. Et. Grec. 46 (192.47-61 (esp. 2.5 4-s). '
o- . . kens, Robert. Plutarcn von Cnaeronea unJ Jie RhuoriA:. Strassburg, 1907
21 11
Drexler H. Plutarch.i Moralia, vol. 5 (part). Teubner, Le~pztg, 1 ~ ts, P. J. l1EtC71SaiiJOII{a. A contrihurion to the hwwleJge of religious
a
Dronke'rs Abrahamus Ianus. De comparationihus et metapnoris apuJ Piu terminology in Greelc. Purmerend, 1929
cnW:Z. Utrecht, I89l. haus, 0. Plutarcni Je communihus notitiis lihrum genuinum use Jemon-
Einarson B. and Lacy, P. de. 'The Manuscript Tradition of Plutsrratur. Marburg, 1907
Mo~alia p c-s 47 F, Class. Ph.il. B (1958), 7.17~33 , 1ss, Fr. Die rhetorisclr.en Schrifien P/utarch.s. Niirnberg, 1912
3
_'The Manuscript Tradition of Plucarch Mora!ta H8A-612.B 'fler, Raphael, rev. Blass, Friedrich. Ausfiihrliclte Grammatilc Jer griechi-
Pnii. 6 (1 p), 93-110. sclzen Sprache. I. Teil .2. vols. 3rd ed. Hannover, r890-2..
4 9
Einarson B. See Lacy, P. H. de. . . II. Teil, rev. Gerth, Bemhard. 2. vols. Hannover, 18 98-1904
Flihse, Godofred. AnimaJversiones in Plutarch.i Ope~a. ~etpztg, 1815. ' P. H. de and Einarson, B. Plurarc:lt's Moralia, vol. 7 Loeb, London,
_ 06servationes Criticae in P/utarch.i Opera quae tnscrzhuntur Moralra 959
Hesychii Lexicon. Leipzig, 182.0. . . , P. H. de, see Eina~n, ~:
Flaceliere, Robert. Plutarque: Sur la Duparttton Jes Oracles. Annal~n, Sofus Chr. StuJta Cmrca rn Plutarchi Moralia. Copenhagen t889
l'Univ. de Lyon. 3 ser. Fasc. 14. Paris, 1947 ~ig, Jo. Nic. AJversaria Critica aJ scriptores Graecos. Copenhage~, 1871.
_ Plutarque: Sur /es Oracles Je la Pytlzie. Le Puy, 1936. n n, G. R. 'The Manuscript Tradition of Plutarch, Moralia 7o-,', CQ
Fowler, Harold North. Plutarcn's Mora/ia, vol. 1o. Loeb, London, 19!43 (1949), 97-104.

112. flJ GPt

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Markland, J. See Squire's edition. Also see Helmbold, Wm. C.,' Marklan~gehaupt, Hans. Plutarclrstudien in italienischen Bibliothekcn. Cuxhaven,
Second Thoughts on the De /side et Osirick', Cla.rs. Phi/. P. (195' 19o6.
104-<i. :gehaupt, I. Plutarchi Moralia, vol. 1 (part). Teubner, Leipzig, 1915.
Michael, Basileios. KplTSJ<al 11'ap!XTT)p1\aEIS ds 'Ta il&u<a wii TThoVTapx~issenberger, Burkard. Die Sprache Plutarchs von Chaeronea und die

~elY
'A6t)vCi 15 (1913), 311-403 (esp. 311""71). pseudoplutarchischen Schrifien. I. Teil. Programm. Straubing, 1895.
Minar, Edwin L., Jr. Plutarch's Moralia, vol. 9 QJ!aest. conY. :7 and :sunan, R. Plutarchi Moralia, vol. 6 (part rev.). Teubner, Leipzig, 1959.
JP
Loeb, London, 1~1. ttenbach, Daniel. AnimadYersiones in Plutarchi De /sick et Osirick, vol. 7
Nachstadt, W. Plutarclti Moralia, vol. :z (part). Teubner, Leipzig, 1935 of series. Oxford, t8:z1.
Norden, Eduard. Die antike Kunstprosa, :z vols. Leipzig, 1909. -Index Graecitatis ad Plutarchi Moralia, vol. 8 of series. Oxford, 18:z9. as
O'Neil, Edward N. See Helmbold, Wm. C. - Lexieon Plutarcheum et Yita.r et opera moralia complectens, :r. vols. IY D
Parmentier, Leon. Rechercnes sur le traitl d'!sis et d'Osiris de Plutarfjl Leipzig, 1843. I
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Acad. Bruxelles, :z Ser, T. u. Brussels, 1913. -Lexicon P[utarcheum, :z vols. (A reprint of the Index Graecitatis to the
Paton, W. R. 'Notes on Plutarch, De !sick et Osirick',Joumal of Philolo, Moralia.) Hildesheim, 1961. !Y
:r.o (189:z), t6:Z-74 . ~ler, Konrat. Plutarchi Moralia, vol. G (part). Teubner, Leipzig, 1959 ;e
- - Plutarchi Moralia, vol. 1 (part) and vol. 3 (part). Teubner, LetpZL Plutarcnos Yon Chaeroneia. Stuttgart, 1949.
19:zs, 1919. - 'Piutarchos von Chaeroneia', PW 11. 1 (19p), 636-961 (an enlarged
- - Plutarchi Pytni&i Dialogi Tres. Berlin, 1903 version of the previous work). g
Pohlenz, Max. Plutarchi Moralia, vol. 3 (part) and vol. 6 (part). Teubn h
Leipzig, 1919, 1959 e
- - Praifatio ad Plutarchi Moralia, vol. 1. Teubner, Leipzig, 192.5.
Porter, W. H. Plutarch's Lift of Aratu.r. Cork, 1937
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Raingeard, Pierre. Le nepl wii npoac:mov de Plutarque. Chartres, 1934
Reiske, Joannes Jacobus. AnimaJYersionum ad Graecos Auctores p;
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ruchards, H. 'Piutarch, Moralia', CR :z8 (1914), 2.57-<il.
Sandbach, F. H. Plutarch's Moralia, vol. 9 QJ!aest. conY. 9 Loeb, Londo
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--'Rhythm and Authenticity in Plutarch's Moralia', CQ 33 (93~
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Schlapfer Hans. Plutarch und Jie klassischen Dichter. Zurich, 1950.
Schuster,'Max. Unrersuchungen ru Plutarchs Dialog' De Sollertia Animalimr.
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Sickinger, A. De linguae Latinae apud Plutarchum et reltquus et vestlgll
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Volkmann, Richard. Lehen und Scnrifien Jes Plutarch Yon Chaeronea. Berli
J8~.

114 115

J
 CHAPTER I

The Title] The Lamprias Catalogue, 118 and v vary the title in two
ways: the work is described as an account (Aoyos) of the deities; more
important is their substitution of Sarapis for Osiris. But Osiris rather
than Sarapis is certainly the main theme.
The MSS are united in giving Isis first place in the title; and Eusebius,
Praep. Evang. r86 o, cf. 91 A refers to the book as Myos mpl.c;,v KC:T'
raw ml '1'0\ls Alyvn-rlwv eeo\}s. This is at variance with the Egyptian
tradition which regularly names Osiris first; cf. Spiegelberg in ZAS 53
(1917), 97, n. t; an exception is the allusion to Horus as 'son oflsis,
heir of Osiris' in the r8th Dyn. Hymn ofAmen-mose(Paris Bibl. Nat.),
see Moret in BIFAO 30 (1931: Mel. Loret), 744, line 17.1 The mother
was often named first in human filiations: see Liiddeckens, .Agyptische
Ehevertrlige, 3; Cemy, ]EA 40 (1954), 24 and 27. In the body of the
text Plutarch gives Isis precedence in 12, 3S6A (cf. 27, 361 E) and 54,
37JB, but in 25, 36oo and 30, J62E (cf. 64, 376F) he names Osiris first,
and in u, 3 ss E-F he preserves the ancient order ofthe birth of the gods-
Osiris, Horus-Aroueris, Seth-Typhon, Isis, Nephthys. Statistically
measured, the relative importance of the three deities mentioned in
variants of the title is in the order Osiris, lsis, Sarapis.~ The pre-
dominance of Osiris has been ascribed by N. M. Holley3 to a personal
interpretation on the part of Plutarch. It is certainly strange that he
does not reflect the overwhelming domination of Isis in the cult of the
Roman era. See Introd. V. This we must put down to his sources.
p. II8,t J<Ma] Plutarchaddressesher(2 1 3SIE) as onewhoserves
(8epam\le1s) lsis, and implies (3, 352c) that she was an '!maKes, that is,
an initiated devotee of the goddess. The former expression probably
denotes priesthood of some rank or other. Clea is also described
as 'a leader of the Thyiades at Delphi, and one consecrated in the
Osirian rites by father and mother' (JS 1 364E). It seems, then, that she
1
Even here Horus is previously mentioned as 'the son of Osiris'.
2
Osiris is mentioned by name 97 times, Isis 64, and Sarapis 11. Typhon is
mentioned 78 times by name. That he is named more often than Isis is not
surprising, for he is regarded as the enemy of Osiris, Isis and all forms of
Horus. Harder, Karpolcrates, 4S oddly posits 'Isis' as the only title.
3 Proc. Class. Ass. 31 (193s), 46-9, esp. p. 47

COMMENTARY CHAPTER 1
was a priestess of both Dionysus and lsis, but her double loyalty was
not necessarily fulfilled at Delphi, where no Isiac cult centre is attested.a
The depth of her friendship with Plutarch is confinned by the fact that
he dedicated the Mu/. ,irt. to her, as well as by the reference in that
work (2.42F) to the long philosophical conversation which they shared
when Leontis, probably her mother or sister, died. It is possible that
Clea is the Flavia Clea, called 1i apxT)ts, mentioned in an inscription
from Delphi of the reign of Antoninus Pius, and also the Clea named
in another Delphic inscription as having consecrated the statue of her
mother Memmia Eurydice: see J. Jannoray in BCH 70 (1946), l.54-S
This would involve assuming that the D/0 was not dedicated to her
until c. A.D. uo.1
p. I x8, 6 ~JFTtX51Sc..>alv] Wyttenbach was responsible for filling this
gap, which was probably caused by homoeoteleuton (SISc..>alv
~.~rnXSISc.JalV). In so doing he expunged the which occurs before
ov
~.~rnXSISc..>alv in the MSS of Eustratius, Comm. ad Aristot. Etlak. VI. 8
(p. 331, line 35 of Heylbut's ed.). At first sight a necessary contrast
seems thus to disappear: God gives to men their other needs, but does
not share the divine reason and intelligence, which are his distinctive
possession. A contraSt is also possible, however, between giving and
sharing; and this is more consistent with Plutarch's doctrine elsewhere.
The idea that God allows man to partake of the divine qualities is
expressed in the Ad princ. wrud. 3, 781 A, where the verb ~JETCX515(1)alv
is likewise used: 'and He (God) gives to those who emulate his
qualities a share of his own good order, justice, trUth and gentleness.'l
1 F. Legge in PSBA (191 1), 144 suggests that, if Osiris had been wor-
shipped at Delphi, it would have been spiritually intolerable; cf. supra
p. 9h n. 5 But in Plutarch's time even the Thyiads may have been
influenced by the prevailing syncretism; see Nilsson, Dionysiac Mysteries,
S L. Menard, Hermu Trismlgiste, xxi suggests that Clea was of
Egyptian origin, but for this there is no evidence. Perhaps he means,
however, by 'une p~tresse egyptienne' simply one who was attached
to an Egyptian cult.
3 See Introd. Ill, P 17.
3 According to this teaching the ruler becomes the 'image of God' (d~Cclw
6Ec\i); the King of the Persians is said to have had a servant to awake him
and remind him of the wishes of Mesoromasdes ( = Ormazd = Ahwa
Mazda), but the ruler who is trained and of sound mind has within him
one who ever utters this and exhorts him'. Here the Greek is 1'00 ~.
apxoVTOS mbs fiTTtll and recalls one interpretation of Luke 17. 2.1, for
2H
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 1
P uS, 9 o~Tlpos] The poet is here comparing Zeus and Poseid
~4
P n8, npooj3V1ipav] 'takes precedence'. For this meaning of%';
comparanve
. . tLSJ, s.v. D. Muller refers to PSI vu, s44, 1D-IJ as
see
expressmg a stmt .ar contrast between moral strength and power over
nature. C f. E._Hettsch, Mus. Helv. 17 (1960), 185-8.
P. 11 8, 14 TT)S a((.o)vlov 3(.o)iis] 'eternal life': this appears to be the
earh:St occurrence outsi.de the N.T. and Jewish sources (it occurs in
Dantel n..::z. (LXX); Phllo, Fuga,78; cf. Josephus, Bell. juJ.r.Gso and
Bau~r, tr. Arndt-Gingrich, Lex.) of the phrase af~VIOS 3(.o)fl, It is here
ascribed to God and equated with 'immortality' (&eavaal ) hich th
'd a w m e
full .sense ts sat to consist of life in a way that transcends the mere passage
?f nme. ;he. Gre~ antecedents of this idea are probably to be sought
m Plato. Ntlsso~ m Erano~ 54 (1956), 170 suggests that the Greeks
th.ought of. etemtty as a senes of recurring cycles, symbolized by the
tul-de~ounng serpent,3 whereas the idea of eternity as an unbroken
and .dtrectly procee~fi~g line was inherited by Christianity from
Ju~atsm. Cf. the deptcnon of Aeternitas on Roman imperial coins, for
whtc~ see Roscher, Lex. r, 88. According to the Hermetic teaching,
~od ts eternal and the cosmos derives the quality from him: see Ascle-
pUIS, J, 29-30i cf. Scott, Hermetka, m, 199ff. and Nock Corn Re m
U, 398. ' r' r
w~ch cfC. H. R~berts in Harv. Tneol. Rev. 41 ( 194s), 2., n. 4, who refers
to th.e tdea o~ a.um~ersal, indwelling spirit' taught by Stoicism. Plutarch's
doctnne of.divme tmmanence is more selective, implying that God ma
d':'ell o?ly m ~ose p~ons who strive to emulate his qualities. Cf. Zelle;'
Dze Pnifosopnu .der Gnecnen, m, i (Jrd ed.), 2oo-1 on the Stoic teachin~
concernmg an tmmanence which was furthered by man's r
intelligence and reason. re tance on
I T .z' m. 38,B ("TO ~apaoeayiJa 'rijs Stcnc.lvl~ cpW~) and 37 0: 'H j.l!vow -rov
l~ou cpua15 mJyxCXIIell ooaa alwvaos. A. E. Taylor, A Comm. on Plato's
T1maeus, 678 shows that Plato contrasts temporality, which attaches to
-rO ytyv61JE11o.v, and ~e eternal, "TO alwvtov, but that he also makes the
eternal a quality of the Intelligent soul, although it is essentially an attribute
of th7 heave? (ovpav6s). Plutarch is in line with this when he connects the
eterntty ascnbed to God with knowledge of m y 11161JE11a.
1
B~~ serpent and phoenix as symbols of eternity are probably Egypti
ongm: see R. T. Rundle Clark, 'The Orirrin of the Phoentx' 1n ~ ~n
$ 11 H w ~~
. '"!mg am ut. J. ~ (1949-50), 1-29 and 105-40, esp. uSff. (for the
stgmficance of serpents). Cf. Morenz, Rei. 178f.; A. M. Bakir, ]EA 39
(19n), 1 to f.; B. H. Stricker, De grote Zeeslang (Leiden, 19n).
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 2.
CHAPTER 2.
p. uS, 2.0 epyov 6atC:mpov] The intellectual pursuit of the sacred
lore is rated above ritual devotion. For the attitude to ritual cf. Plato,
Euthph.r. I4E although the implicit derision of religious ceremonial
there shown by Socrates goes beyond the antithesis here suggested by
Plutarch. Parts of the Hermetic literature are closer parallels; cf. G. van
Moorsel, Tire Mysteries of Bermes Trismegi.rrus, 38ff. and 86ff. The
Stoic Comutus, who was a younger contemporary of Plutarch, shows
a not dissimilar attitude, but maintains in eh. 35 of his Tlzeol. Graec.
that knowledge of the gods and of their proper worship should lead to
piety and due religious observances.
p. 1 I8, l.I-p. no, I ~~phc..:~s aocpiJv Kal cp1A6aocpov o~aav] Isis is
extolled for her wisdom in 'The Story of Isis and Re" in P. Turin I 3I,
I4 - I 3,., 1 ( = Moller, Hierat. Lesest. n, pi. JO, 1-2.), of which another
version is found in p. Chester Beatty I I, rt. I ' 5-6.' This chapter
implies that the cult of Isis included a pursuit both of the intellec~
aspect of truth, culminating in a knowledge of God, and of the speoal
g!Wsis of the supreme being attained through initiati.o? (3 P.A). Apulei~
states in his De Magia 55 that he learnt many religtous ntes from his
'enthusiasm for the ~th and sense of duty towards the gods' (studio
veri et officio erga deos). There is evidence that the worship of Isis
appealed especially to the studium veri. In the Andrian Hymn, line 2.6,
the goddess calls herself'much-counselling' (1roM~v'Aos) an~ sp~
in line 141 of her 'discerning mind' (yvooi1(&)V v6os). Cf. Stanus, Silv.
3 2.. 107; P. Oxy. XI, IJ80, II7 and 12.3-4; the Aretalogy f~o~
Cyme, line 29, 'I ordained that the true should be thought beautiful
1 Isis was a woman wise in speech, her heart being more cunning than that
of millions of men her utterance was more excellent (reading stp.n r.s)
(than) that of milllons of gods; she was mon: pe~ceptive than millions. of
glorified spirits. She was not ignorant .of ~ythin~ m hea~en and ea~ like
Re' who holds the earth in his possesston. For different mterpretanons see
w. M. Muller Egyptian Mythology, So and Budge, From Ferislr. to God,
46o; cf. also ~oeder, Uric. Re/. 138. In the same text, 133! 1 it is ~d that
Isis came with her magic power', and that is the type ofWISdom attnbuted
to her not only in this story (apart from the ref. to her omniscience) but
also in other allusions, e.g. Metternich Stela, <Jo-t, Socle Blltague, g 2,
where Isis is 'effective of words in the secret place',cf. Klasens, Mag. Stat.
35 and 77; and Brugsch, Tlr.es. 1, 14. 1-1..
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 2.
(cf. the Aretalogy from Ios, line 25)! See also D. Muller, Jsis~
Aret. u.
p. uo, 2.- 3 'EM11v1Kov yap iJ "lals ta-n] As early as Herodotus the
Greeks assumed that the gods of the Egyptians, like those of other
nations, could be equated with their own. Herodotus often uses Greek
names to refer to Egyptian gods, but sometimes he explains what
Egyptian names are thus involved, as in 2.. 42., 46, 137, 144, 156.l
Plutarch's attitude appears to vary. He clearly thought that some of
the names of Egyptian deities could be etymologically explained
as Greek. He follows this method not only here hut also elsewhere
when dealing with Isis (Go, 375c), Sarapis (2.9, 362.c)-although in the
latter case he considers the possibility that the word may be Egyptian
(2.9, 3620)- and Amenthes (29, 362.0).3 Osiris on the other hand is
explained (to, 3 SS A) as an Egyptian word. 4 When Seth is given as the
Egyptian name of Typhon (49, 371 s), the etymology that follows
presumably purports to be Egyptian; so is that of Bebon (49
371 c), of Min, Mouth, Athyr and Methyer (56, 374B), and of Sothi~
' In the Kore Kosmou == Stobaeus fr. 13 1 68 ed. Nock, Corp. Herm. IV u
Isis and Osiris are said to have devised the initiation of prophets so dtat
no prophet about to raise his hands to the gods may ever be ignorant of
any ?f the things that ~lly exist; so that philosophy and magic may
nounsh the soul and medtcal art save the body when it suffers'. For the
alliance of philosophy and magic cf. Festugiere, RHT 1, 88. In the Chal-
cidian Aretalogy some of these qualities are transferred to Carpocrates: see
Harder, Karpolcrates, 8, lines 31f.
1
In general he believed that Egypt was the source of Greek religion; he
even states (:z.. so) that almost all the names of the gods came to Greece
from Egypt, although he probably means here that the Greek names were
modelled on Egyptian prototypes, conveying a similar meaning in another
language: see I. M. Linforth in U. Cal. Puhl. Class. PIUL 9 (192.6), 1-2.5
and 9 (192.8), :1.01-43, and for a different view R. Lattimore in Class. Phi/.
34 (1939), 357-<15. Cf. supra 2.9 ff.
l In this inst:tnce he seems to begin by assuming that the name is Egyptian,
hut continues with the suggestion that it may have been a word which
was derived from Greece in early times and was transmitted thither again
from Egypt.
4
But in one instance (34, 364D) he quotes Hellanicus as having heard the
name as Hysiris, in which case an argument is advanced that a Greek
epithet of Dionysus may explain the name; in another allusion (61 375 n)
Osiris itself is treated as a Greek name. '
17 2.57 COl
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 2.
(61, 37S F-J76A). Most of the names, then, are treated by him as
Egyptian.1
Since Isis is here praised for her wisdom, the Greek explanation of
her name probably is to derive it from such forms as i<71JSV or ei~
from ol6a, I know'; cf. the explanation of her shrine, called 'IC7Etov, at
the end of the chapter, as deriving from elcroJ.IEVOV.1 In Egyptian Isis was
at first /st (perhaps originally Wst), later Stand 'Iwst: see Wh. IV, 8
and Grapow in ZAS 46 (1909), 107-8; the final twas lost in the Coptic
forms, HC (s), Het (b), as also in the Greek forms Tlcn.~ and Elcns.
The earliest occurrence of the name in Greek seems to denve from the
fifth century B.c.l In a hieroglyphic Ptolemaic inscription the name is
explained by the alleged exclamati~n of her m~ther Nut,_ls wl, 'Behold
me! upon the occasion of her btrth. The hieroglyphic form of the
name is ]&~o ~ or simply~""' and the sign which deno~es a seat or
throne occurs in most writings, both early and late. This may well
1
Indeed he once (6.1, 376A) refers to an Egyptian appellation of Isis ~o,
although it is not clear whether he does not mean here that a Greek eptthet
was borrowed.
~ Diad. Sic. 1. u. 4 says that the name Isis means 'ancient', an etymology
which is probably based on the Egyptian word is, 'old'; see Wiedemann,
Samm/ung .14 and Brugsch, Rei. Myth. u.. Celsus in Origen, Contra Cels.
5. 38 tho~ght that the name Isis signifies 'the ~'; cf. ~eliodo~
Aethiop. 9 9; Eusebius, Praep. Evang. 3 u. SI ( the Egyptian land );
Firm. Mat. Err. prof. rei. z. G; Serv. ad Aen. 8. 69<); and Macrob. S~ 1,
20. 1s. The same view is once (32, )GJD) sugges1ed by Plutarch butwnh~
out reference to etymology. Wiedemann,SammhuJg,-14 thinksthattheview
is perhaps based on the Egyptian word st Cj ~ which can mean 'position'
or 'place' as well as 'seat' or 'thr?ne'. It is more ~kely that ~e word
s/tw, meaning 'ground' or 'earth (Wh. m, 4.13) as the basts of the
explanation.
3 It is on the base of a bronze statue of unknown provenance: see C. C.
Edgar, 'An Ionian Dedication to Isis' in ]HS 1~ (1904), 337, where the
name occurs in the genitive as THl: EIIOI. Edgar thinks the Pythermos ofthe
inscr. was 'no doubt an Ionian Greek resident in Egypt, perhaps an
inhabitant of Naukratis or of the Hellenikon at Memphis'. Brady, Re:.
Egn. Cults, 9 cites the inscr. rather too confidently as evidence of the _cult
of Isis at Naucratis. See further Collitz and Bechtel, Sammlung tier grucA.
Dia/elct-Jn.rchr. m, ii, no. 5771 and Schwyzer, Dialect. Graec. ex epigrap/1.
no. 749 . In the magical papyri the deity is called either Seth or Typhon in a Roman
4 Dilmichen, Kalenderinsckr. pi. so, h, :1 and cf. Maspero m ZAS 18 (188o),
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 2.
imply an interpretation of the name as involving 'a personification of
the royal throne', as Sether has suggested.
p. uo, 3 KCXI 6 Tvq.oov] The case of Typhon is manifestly different
from that of lsis, for Typhon is a Greek god equated with Seth-an
equation of which Plutarch is fully aware (41, 3670); indeed, as we
have seen, he seeks to explain the etymology of Seth in 49, 371 B and
61, 376B. What then is the point of his statement that Typhon is a
Greek name? He can only mean that the explanation of this Greek
name sheds light on the nature of the Egyptian god. It is hard to follow
such an approach, but the underlying principle is doubtless the belief
that nomen revealed numen even when the name was attached merely by
1
syncretism. Plutarch's derivation of Typhon is from Trnlcpc.>!JOO be
crazy, demented', the per pass. ofTVq.6c.>; cf. Plato, Hp. Ma. 2.90A
i:J TETVcpc.>~ C7V. The popular derivation, on the other hand, was from
the more literal associations of the cognate -rVcpc.>, 'raise smoke : cf.
Aristoph. Nu. 336, where clouds are called 'the locks of hundred-
headed Typhon ',and Plato, P/ulr. 2.30A, quoted by Plutarch,Aa'v. Col.
11, II 19B. The real derivation remains uncertain. The reasons for the
identification of Seth and Typhon are not far to seek. Both were prota~
gonis~ in war against the established order among the gods, Typhon
opposmg Zeus, and Seth Horus; the enmity of Seth was extended, in a
secondary myth, to include Osiris. Both also had chthonic associations)
r Urge;cn!cllle,_ 102.. ~f. E. Lefebure, u Mythe Osirien, u (Paris, 1875),
140: Ists ~tau done stmplement une residence ... .' Ed. Meyer, Gesclzic/,te
des Altertums, 1, 187 explains the name as ' the seat (of the sun-god) ; cf.
Ennan, Re!. 32.. To this Bonnet, Real. 3.16 rightly replies that the earliest
tradition does not ascribe a celestial nature to the goddess. Nor is her role
consistent with the meaning 'throne'. Pyr. un6, cited by Sethe, can
hardly refer to Isis, since she is not imagined as the creator of the gods nor
specifically as the mother of Thoth. Other suggested etymologies are
BrugscJ_t,.Rel.JtfytA. 83, ' di; Sta;ke, die Machtige'; Rendel Harris,jesw
and Oszru, ~.1, Seated One or the Enthroned'. Kees, Giirterglauk, 101
endeavours to support Sethe's view.
1
The identi_ty of Typhon and Seth is assumed by Hdt. 2.. 144 and 3 S
W. Kranz m Bermes 69 (1934), 114-15 shows that it is found still earlier
in Aesch. Supp. S59-Go and in the work of the sixth-century mythographer,
Pherecydes of Syros.
3
'cursing tablet' the double name Typhon-Seth is once used se: R. WUnsch
Setltianisclte Vetjluchungstafiln aus Rom, no. l.5 and cf. P. Louvre 2391,87:
l59

COMMENTARY CHAPTER l
p. u.o, 4 TOV lepov A6yov] Since the very same expression is used in
54, 373A of what Typhon does to the body of Osiris, I have ventured
to suggestV1<Pbv for A6yov: see CR 6 (1956), IOJ The alternative is to
regard Osiris himselfas the A6yos, as Rei tzenstein does, Hellenist. Myst.a
2.9, n. 1. 1 The difficulty remains that in none of the other occurrences
is the noun qualified by this adjective. The term lepbs Myos usually
denotes a religious narrative or doctrine. In 7, 353 D it is used of a
'sacred reason' explaining the priests' abstention from fish. In a decree
of Ptolemy Philopator the term is used of sealed writings: see Nilsson,
Gesch. Griech. Re/.2 u, 162., n. 1 with refs. and Id. Dionysiac Mysteries,
11; cf. Babbitt's translation and J. Leipoldt-S. Morenz, Heilige
Schriften, 17, 2.1.
p. uo, S lt'apaSI&ual] Norden, Agnostos Theos, 2.88 ff. shows that
trapcxSlS6val is often used of the transmission of sacred knowledge in
the mystery-religions, including that of Mithras, in the Hermetic
literature, and in the N.T., e.g. Matt. 11. 2.7, ' all things are delivered
unto me of my Father' (tr6vra J.lOltrapeS6ef\).
p. 12.0, s TOiS 't'EAovphlols) The concept of initiation is attested in
Egyptian texts, the verb hs being used with this meaning,~ or with that
Among the many additional names used of Seth in Egyptian was Thh.J, see
Wb. v, :162. and cf. Faulkner in ]EA n (1936), 133 Budge, Osiris, 1, 2.,
n. 2. equates Typhon and TbhJ; and Hopfner, n, 56 suggests that this
Egyptian name is derived from the Greek Typhon; but neither suggestion
is tenable. According to F. Domseiff, Antike una alter Orient (2nd ed.
Leipzig, 1959), 41of. Typhon is the Greek form of the Phoenician Zaphon,
found in Baal-zephon (Ex. 14. .1); this ref. I owe to D . MUller.
1 Osiris seems to be the father who is called Myos cx\rr6s in 54, 37JB; cf.
Torhoudt, GIWst. Syst. 9 and 113. Hermes is also called the Myos in 54,
373 o, while in 61, 375 E, the word is applied to Anubis. That the present
ref. is at any rate to Osiris was realized by Markland; see W. C. Helmbold
in Class. Phi/. p (1957), 104 and app. crit. A. Y. Campbell in a personal
note (14 August 1956) proposed ~oxov.
~ The scholar Amenl)etep of the tSth Dyn. states on his statue (Borchardt,
Statuen unJ Statuetten, CCG,no. 583, 12.): 'I was appointed chief scribe of
the King; 1 was initiated into the god's book; I saw the magical spells of
Thoth; I was percipient among their secrets, I explained all their enigmas.'
Cf. BD ed. Naville, u6, 3-4 (Ca and Pf); De Buck, CT, n,2.7:1, aff.(aref.
I owe to Mr Rundle Clark); and cf. too the word sitJ, 'secret', 'mystery'
used of the Osirian rites on the Stela of Ikhemofret, 16, and on other stelae,
see Schafer, Mysterien des Osiris, 41-2. and infra P 391 on Id.
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 2.
of 'introduce to', of religious lore. It is used, however, only of
officials.
p. no, 6 6et00<noos] Reiske's addition of Stex before this word has
gained su~po~ but .?ardly seems necessary. Torhoudt, Gnost. Syst. 6
translates de mgeWIJden der vergoddelijking', cf. Baxter, ' such as are
~larly advance~ unto the Deify'd State'. To construe the genitive
With TEAOVIJWcns ts not warranted by usage. It is more likely to be
absolute.
P .'-o? 7 arroxais] !~e'7 is no need to doubt the authenticity of this
?escn~tton of the ~~~~1plme demanded in the contemporary cult,
mvolvmg, for the tmttate, abstinence from many foods and from
sexual pleasures, as well as a rigorous austerity in the fulfilment of the
sacr~d rites. It is .con.fi~ed by the complaints of Tibullus, t. 3 2.3ff.
( QJ!td tua nunc Isu milzz . . ) that Delia, while she enacts the Isiac rites
must k~p a chaste bed. 1 It is Apuleius, Met. 11. 2.3, ,.g, 30, wh~
substantiates the detailed regimen of the ini riate: the grades of initiation
are preceded by ten days of abstinence from meat and wine.~ The
Pharaonic cui~ ho~ever, ~eems to provide no explicit precedents,
although the ntualmstructtons for the Osirian rites at Denderah for
exan:p~e, are v7ry detailed) While Wellmann4 has argued that a s~ong
ascettctsmwastmposedonboth priest and initiate in the cult oflsis as in
the cult of Demeter, it is noteworthy that he does not cite much
evidence on the Egyptian side.
The parallels in Apuleius suggest that animal flesh is meant by the
1
Cf. Propertius, :1. JJA. 17; Ovid, Am. '- 13. 7ff., although Ovid,
Ars. Am. 1. 77f. ~uggests that temples of Isis were frequented by
wom~n of easy VIrtue, cf. J. Burel, Jsis et Isiaques sous /'Empire
romam, 7 and S7 According to Juvenal, G. p:1ff. the fanatic Isiac will
b~ve the rigours of the frozen Tiber and procure sacred water from
distant Meroe; but the first point may concem followers of Cybele.
2
Moreover, .the word castimo~ia (pi.), used in 11. G and 19 may include
sexual absnnence: see Festugtere, Personal Ref. among tlte Gre~lcs 16.1-J
n. ~.1; cf. th~ rule in ~e B~cchic Mysteries alluded to by Livy, 3;. 11, o~
which see Nllsson, Dtonysuzc Mysteries, 14 If.
3 Hdt .1. 40 speaks of fasting before a sacrifice and of the taboo on sexual
intercourse within the precincts of a sanctuary; for the latter remark cf.
BD ed. Naville, ns, IS (Ae) = Maystre, Declarations a'Innocence 41
('I have not polluted myself in the shrine of my city god'). '
4 In Hermes 31 (1896), 2.31. Cf. M. S. Salem, The Cult of Isis in Italy
(unpubl. diss. Liverpool, 1937), 7 and 74 ff.
261
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 2.
~pWJlCXTa 'Tt'OAAa mentioned by Plutarch. Vegetarianism was a well-
1 CHAPTER
known feature of Orphic and of some Pythagorean teaching.
P I zo, I 0 ov, eeasKTA.] Sieveking secludes this clause as an ancient
gloss. But na~i, used of Isis, invites comparison with Pausanias,
10. p. I3 ovs av cx\rr'i11l'poTIIlticraaa fl "lms KW.Eal:l; Apuleius, Met. II.
z 1 neque vocatu.s morari nee non iussusfestinare. Cf. Reitzenstein, Hellenist.
Myst.:s zp.ff., for the idea of election and vocation in the Isis-cult;
J. Berreth, Studien zum Jsi.shuch, IOI; Wittmann, Isi.shuch, 105.
p. xzo, 1:1 xal yvwow] Markland proposed Tl)v for xal, but this
would wrongly suggest the identity of yvwas and ei611as.
The reading Eia1ov perhaps arose from a desire to make the pro-
posed etymology plainer; the form Elau:Ta (pl.) is, however, used of
the festival of Isis in the third century B.c. in P. Cairo. Zen. 59154, 4
Earlier forms used for the temple were 'lmSetov (Roussel, CED, UJ,
49; SB 3916) and 'la1eiov (SIG 2 588, 230), The Greeks had a habit of
naming shrines after the gods worshipped in them, e.g. Athenaion,
Erechtheion, Heraion; this habit they followed also in Egypt, calling
the shrines oflsis, Osiris and Sarapis an Iseion, Osireion and Sarapeion
respectively. The Egyptians did not adopt such a nomenclature.'l
1 Aristoph. Ran. 1032; Plato, Leg. 78l.c; Eudoxus ap. Porphyr. V. PytA. 1
Sexual restraint was also inculcated by the Pythagoreans; cf. E. R. Dodds,
The Greeks and the Irrational, I 54 f. with refs. At the temple of Asclepius
at Ptolemais it was customary, according to a Greek inscr., for people who
were contaminated' with sexual activities, to pay dues before entering:
see Otto, PT 1, 395 If. A Christian parallel is provided by the Didache, 71
which shows that in the early second century the convert was enjoined to
fast for a day or two before being baptized; cf. C. H. Moore, The Religious
Thought of the Greeks, 353 A Greek papyrus of the second century A.D.,
now at Washington University, refers to abstinence from certain kinds of
food and drink being enjoined on Egyptian priests, but without specifying
what was prohibited: see V. B. Schuman, Harv. Theol. Rev. 53 (t9Go),
155-'70
% Apart from its use as the name of any shrine of Isis, the Greeks applied the
name 'laeiov (translated by Latin writers as JsiJis oppidum, e.g. Pliny, HN
S to. 64) to a place called Nmv in Egyptian, which was in the 12th Lower
Egyptian nome, near Sebennytos. There was probably an early cult of
Isis in this nome: see Sethe, Urgeschiclzte, 103, 169. The word was used
as a part of other Greek place-names, for which see Preisigke, Wh. m, 303
and J. Ball, Egypt, t p. For the ancient shrine of Isis at Jjht (the modem
Be}Jbet el-J:Iagar) see Montet, Geog. 1, 107.
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 3
3
p. uo, 15-16 'E~oii, ... npollT'I~ evycmpa] In Egyptian
tradition the father of Isis is Geb; and Geb is meant by Cronus in u
355 o. The idea that Hermes was her father seems to occur elsewher;
in PGM 4, 95 ff. and n89ff.; cf. Erman in ZAS 21 (I883), IOI and
F. Ll. Griffith in ZAS 38 (1900), 90. D. Muller, lsir-Aret. 2I refers to
one instance where Isis is called 'the vizier and daughter of Thoth '
(Mariette, Monuments divers recueiUis en Egypte et en Nuhie, Paris,
I 871ff., 25 c, line I, a text of the Ptolemaic era). It probably arose from
the association of Isis with wisdom, a quality which was ascribed
especially also to Thoth, who was equated with Hermes.1 From a more
general point of view, the role of Hermes in the Hermetic literature is
relevant; and as a more precise parallel, one may cite the end of the
Kore Kosmou(68 ff.) where Hermes is said to have revealed to both Isis
and Osiris, almost in loco parentir, the secrets of civilization. Hermes here
is coloured somewhat by association with Prometheus,'l That Isis was
1
In the Cymaean Aretalogy of Isis, line 31 ( = Peek, 1sislzymnru, I 24) the
goddess says: ' I arranged languages for Greeks and barbarians' (ha~a: the
similar text from Ios, line 17 = Peek, op. cit. 125, has 5tna~c!qinv). An
Egyptian text on an ostracon says a like thing of Thoth : Hail to thee,
Moon-Thoth, who made different the tongue ofone country from another';
see Cemy in ]EA 34 (1948), 121-2, where two parallel texts are also
quoted. Cemy thinks the ascription of the function to the Aten (in Maj
Sandman, Texts from the Time of Akhenaten, 9S, t) involves a transference
from an original attribution to Thoth. Cf. too Harder, Karpolcrates, 34
In the Aretalogies (M 3 h-e) Isis states that she was trained by Hermes and
discovered writing with him. D. Muller, Jsis-Aret. 2I If. shows that Isis
may have derived this function from Seshat, the goddess of writing, as well
as from an association with Thoth.
l Cf. Ferguson in Scott, Hermetica, IV, 459: 'elements from the legend of
Prometheus .. have been transferred to the Egyptian Hermes'. In section
48 of the Kore Kosmou Hermes says that the supreme sovereign declares
him (Hermes) to be 'steward and supervisor' (TCXIJ.(av t<al 'TfpovonTiJv).
Ferguson notes further that 'Hermes is associated with Prometheus in the
Protagorean myth'; see Plato, Prt. ponff. Unlike the Greek Hermes the
~gyptian Thoth is from early times the god of writing and the patro~ of
luerature, a fact reflected in Plato's description of Thoth in his Ph/h.
J8Bff. and Phdr. 274Cff.In Graeco-Roman rimes Isis becomes his helper:
see Peek, lsishymnus, 15, 1off. and 12:~, 3aff.; Diod. Sic. 1. :17. 4 In the
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 3 COMMENT A RY CHAPTER
the daughter of Prometheus is stated also by Istrus (iii B.C.), fr in Clem.
Alex. Strom. 1. 2.1 = H F 77 Plutarch repeats the statement in 37, 36~ F.
p. uo, 19 LllKaloa\M)v] Rusch has argued in P:W s.v. Th~~ (col. 364)
that the appellation 'Justice', here said to be asstgned to Is1s tn Hermo-
polis (doubtless the Upper Egypti~ ~own wh~ch was a centre of ~e
cult of Thotl1), derives from the ltnking of lsts and Thoth. But lsts
herself is given this attribute in the actual cult.
1 Enneads, of which there were many local varieties.1 Pointing to this
It is suggested in Dittenberger, SIG'J IIJI ( = Roussel, ~ED,
no. tu) that these cases involve the transference of a Greek attnbute
to Isis in the manner of other dedications like "hno1 Ne!!Eae1 and Nl!Cll
"la101 'But of what Greek deity is o!KatoaVvr! an attribute? Demeter is
the equivalent of Isis, and as Visser points o.u t in ~er Gotter und J<_ulte,
n Demeter does not traditionally bear th1s attnbute, so that Vtsser
w~uld explain the last element in an. Alexandrian dedicati.on L1ruurrpl
Kal KoplJ Kal L1unoaW1:1 (OGIS 83, t n.~.) ~ ~ue to the mfluenc~ ~f
Isis Ma'at.l When Isis is thought of as Ma at, tt ts because of her assuru-
lation to Hathor; cf. Mariette, Denderah, u, ;Sh: 'Isis the Great,
mother of the god, Ma'at in Denderah.' Ma'at, the goddess. who
personified justice or order, was equated with Hathor an~ Ists; cf.
Brugsch, Re/. Myth. 481 and C. J. Bleeker, De Beteelcems van tk
Egyptische Godin Ma-a-t, 43 Wiedemann3 has compared Plutarch's
Book ofBreathings (P. Louvre 3184), 1 it is said that Isis m.ade the book for
her brother Osiris, but in the same work, 2., 8-9 Thoth ts stated to ~a~e
written it. See further Boylan, Thoth, 98ff. and Leipoldt-Morenz, Heilzge
Schrifien, 2.8 ff. Thus although early sources do not mak~ Thoth the _father
of Isis, their linking in this way rests on the Egypnan concepnon of
Thoth-Hermes.
1 Peek, Jsishymnus, 16, 3c;; u2., tG; u3, 13 (the l~t n:'o are id~nti~
statements from the Cymaean and Ietan Aretalogtes: I made )Usoce
strong' ('Eyw 'fO oiKaiOV laxvpov rnolt)aa). Isis is called Dikaiosum! in
three dedications from Delos: Roussel, CED, nos. 117, 12.1 and 181 (the
first two are ii s.c., the third a litde later); there is a similar dedication from
Athens: IG uz 47o2. and S. Dow in Harv. Theo/. Rev. 30 (1937), 2.12.-13. In
another Delian inscr. (Roussel, CED, no. 161) the dedication is "lcnot
'Atjlpo511'l,l 6nca1Cjl. See further D. Miiller, Isis-Aret. 42.ff.
2 On the other hand Diad. Sic. 1. 14. 3-4 (cf. 1. 2.7. 4) compares lsts and
Demeter as Jaw-givers, citing Demeter's epithet ~ea~o~ocpc)pos; cf. 0eaJ.Io-
6ms {JJpemwv] of Isis in the Andrian Hymn, hne 10; the Cymaean
Aretalogy line 4 is similar to the saying in Oiodorus.
3 'Zur Verei1rung der Musen in Aegypten' in OLZ 4 (1901), 381-4.
3
statement with the mention o f the eight primal gods of Hermopolis ip
P. Lugd. Bat. W p. 17 a, lines 40ff.; of the leading god it is there said,
'whose justice is not moved away, whose renowned name the Muses
hymn'. Wiedemann rightly sees a striking parallel in the allusion to
both LltKatoa\Nr] and the Muses in a Hermopolite context. A group of
nine, such as the Muses, invites comparison with the Egyptian
analogy, Wiedemann suggests that at Hermopolis such an Ennead
would consist of Isis-Ma'at, Isis-Hathor, and the seven Hathors (the
goddesses of fate). The suggestion is a plausible one.l
p. no, 2.0 lepaqx)po15] The lepacpopoa, like the 1Tcmaoqx)po1, were
probably cult superintendents who supervised, among other things,
the carrying of the sacred objects) Of these, the statues of the gods
were the most important item. After naming the starues, the dedicants
in a Roman inscription from Pergamon (S/G2 754), who are lepaq>Opot,
1
Cf. J. Gwyn Griffiths in]HS75 (1955), nand Orienra/ia 2.8 (1959), 34-56.
2
An 'Ennead of Hathor' is attested at Denderah: see Brugsch, Thes. 367,
2.o -1, cf. Parker, Calendars, S9 At Philae the seven Hathors appear before
Harpocrates and Isis: see Junker, Der grosse Pylon, 2.44ff. If Isis-Ma'at
was at the head of an Ennead at Hermopolis, the Mo~Tov there will have
Egyptian antecedents; cf. Otto, PTJ, 9 as opposed to Wilcken in Archiv .2.
(1903), 12.6. For the importance of Ma'at there cf. the opening of Spell114
of BD ed. Naville (Aa). A group of statuary showing Thoth before Ma'at
was discovered at Hermopolis shortly before 1939: seeS. Gabra in ASAE
39 (1939), pi. 89. It is Ptolemaic or Roman in date.
J lepofOpos is first attested in connexion, probably, with Greek cults in an
inscr. from Acamania (ii or i o.c.; /G IX 486, 1G), but the more common
form lepacp6pos is used mostly in the cult of the Egyptian deities. SIC"- 75 4
(quoted above) is discussed by M. Friinkel, Die Jnschr. von Pergamon, n,
2.48, who compares haiulos divinarum caerimoniarum in Firm. Mat. Mathes.
3 9 9; cf. too deorum haiulos (ihitl. 3 to. 3) and sacrorum simulacrorum
haiuli (3. 11. 2), phrases which Otto, Hierotl. 57 seeks to differentiate.
Zucker in Otto, op. cit. 73 compares the haiuii with the ~aa-rayEts in Delos
(Roussel, Dllos Col. Ath.2.G7); cf. also of course the term 'lt'aaTOfOpol on
which see Otto, Hierod. 23 (they were temple superintendents) and PT 1,
. 95, n. 1, where he compares Apuleius, Met. u. 16, sacrorum geruli and u.
17, qui divinas elfigies progerehant. A stela from Thessalonica (ii A.D.)
figures Anubis and mentions lepatj)6po aw.V.1Ta1 ('companions at table')
as leading representatives of the cult: see C. Edson in Harv. Theo/. Rev. 41
(1948), 181-8. Nilsson in Eranos 54 (1956), 167-73, on an inscr. from
Pergamon, compares the hitherto unattested ~w1Jocp6po1.
2.65
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 3 COMMENTARY CHAPTER
go on to specify 'a linen cloth on which the goddess is depicted, and
everything around the goddess; another three bright cloths; eighty
gold leaves; fingers of the statues; bronze vessels, and a sprinkler'
in front of the shrine porch'. To these would be added miniature altars
and (in the Cenchraean cult) the various symbolic objects including
lamps, staffs, the hand and the breast-shaped milk vesse~, ~e Liknon
and the cista mystica.l The term ayta<p6pot (/Gm, 161) 1s hkely to be
equivalent to lepa<p6pot; cf. Otto, PT I, 115, n. 5 In Egyptian the
word [Jy,' bearer', was often used in cultic titles, see Wh. 1, 574, but no
exact parallel to lepacp6pos seems to be known.l
p. u.o, 21 lepoaT6Aotc;] Plutarch uses the term OTOAtcrral in 391 366F.
At first sight it seems adequate to interpret their office literally, and say
that they had charge of the sacred garments. It was the Egyptian smJ-
priest that clothed the statues of the gods, cf. Schafer, Mysterien des
Osiris, z8ff. and Grdseloff in ASAE 43 (1943), 357-66; cf.[Jy nfJy in
Mariette, Dendlralz, 1, 76 h, of a bearer of vestments; also ~ry sir n Mnw,
'superintendent of the linen-wear of Min' and another similar title in
Gauthier, Le Personnel du dku Min, zo6f. Variants of the Greek title
seem concerned with precedence within the group.4 The importance
1Cf. the hydreion and the sprinkler in a Roman representation, Guimet,
L'Isis romaine, pi. 7 See Otto, Hierocl. 41 for the hieroclouloi as sprinklers
in temples generally; see also infra PP 437 If.. . calls my attention to the idea in Egyptian texts that the deceased may
l Cf. Berreth, Stuclien \um Jsishuch, H If. and Wtttmann, lszshuch, 47ff.
3 In the Canopus Decree ( U rlc. n, 1:1.6, ~) kCM\cpopos corresponds to fly cln1
( =- J\ Ft)-clearly a minor class of hieraphoros. Cf. Gauthier-Sottas, Un
-~~vvo.r '"T -
J!2 0 't
Dlcret Trilingue, 61 line 3 Hopfner, n, S9 expIaJnsn
. ...... '""'~"'~"''as rager
des Pastos", d. h. der Kapelle (mit dem Gotterbilde darin)', and suggests
that this corresponds exacdy to the Egyptian fl-an~; cf. Brugsch, Agypto-
logie, 2.19 and Otto, PT 1, 96. But the Egyptian equivalent is w~ or wn-pr:
see Otto, Hierod. n and notes 8~, 87; cf. H. De Meulenaere m Cc/E 31
(19~6), 2.99 Otto is also able to show, Hierod. 2.3 If., that the pastophoroi
were probably superintendents of the temples and ~eir precinc.ts and were
highest in the lower priestly order. A further posstbl.e para~lelt~ th~ ~Jw~
noted by Leclant, ETIIJuetes, 68 and translated by him as sacnstam ; cf.
Gardiner, Onom. 1, jsr~Jo ('porter'): cf. also rmnw-nt.r, 'bearers of the
god' and Kees thereon, ZAS Ss (x96o), ~2.f.
4 An inscr. from the temple of Isis at Philae (C/G 4946, 4; cf. 4945, :1.-3
and 7) mentions a npc.mxTTo?..~<rn'ls who was the son of a npoipf!TTJS in the
same place; cf. apxtcrro~tcrn'\>, Preisigke, Wb. s.v. (Abschn. 2.0; 5 examples)
and Otto, PT 1, 86. See also J. A. S. Evans, Yale Class. Studies 17 (1961),
x88 f.
2.66
3
of the stolisrs is shown by the fact that one of them could be the
representative of a npopi}TT)s, the highest class of priest. r It is clear
that women could be stolisrs of some degree.:
While most sources3 suggest that these officials clothed and decorated
the statues of the gods, storing the sacred garments and other ritual
objects, such as sistra,4 in the OTOAt<Tn'}ptov, Clement of Alexandria
states (Strom. 6. 4 J6. :z.) that the stolists know 'all the instructions
(Ta rnxtSEUTtl<Ct -rravra) and also the IJOO)(oc:t<ppcxytOTJKCr, the business of
choosing and sealing calves for sacrifice. Otto (PT 1, 84f.) suggests
that the IJOCJ)(OO<ppayunal are properly a different category or at
least a subdivision of the stolists. '
P uo, :Z.3-u:z., 1 neptO'TO.Aovns . . Un-oST]Aoiivra] Holwerda objects
that T<X IJEv ~ JCTA. cannot refer to the dress which is described
in 77, 38:z.c and which is not said to be dark; but the robes of Isis are
there stated to .he variegated (notKIAat TexiS f3a<pais), since her power
concerns matenal w~ch becomes and receives everything, 'light and
darkness, day and mght . '; the robe of Osiris on the other hand is
said to contain no darkness or variegation, but 'only one simple li~ht
colour.S It seems therefore that the contrast mentioned here refers to
the robes of the devotees of Isis, modelled on those of the goddess
herself, to which allusion is made (TT)v ta6i'jTCX TT)v lepav).6 D. Muller
wear garments given to him by the gods and formerly worn by them
see CT_ vz, 61 j .~cf. on sf/J. Wh. IV, 117, 7-10) and Uric. IV, 1 u., 1 ~
(Pa/am). Dr Muller also cues Drioton's valuable study in Melanges
1
Wilcken, Chresr. x, 77, col. n, 8 and SB 1f, 17 (StaSoxos npOfrrnlas); cf.
Otto, PT 1, 83 and Blackman in ERE 10, 297.
CIL XII! 3001 (an o~trix in the Jsiac cult in Gaul, ii A.o.). According to
2
Roeder m PW s.v. Ists (1916), 2.131 the k.anephoroi were always women.
3
To those already cited add Chaeremon in Porphyr. De ahst. 4 8; the
Ca~10pus Decn:e and. the Rosetta Stone (Urk. n, u6, 9; 172, 4), both of
which use a penphrasts for the tenn; cf. Bonnet, Real. 604.
<;=f. G~met, Les Jsi~ues tie la Gaufe, u and fig. 11. Cf. the Egyptian
tl~es, great one of the sacred appearance of the god's body' and 'burial
pnest of the god's body' in M.-L. Buhl, The Late Egyptian Anzhropoicl
Sto1!4 Sarcophagi (Copenhagen, 1959), F, a 10 and F, a t6.
5
Cf. St, 371 F. Goodenough,Jewish Symbols 4, 2.08 compares the two robes
the one ornate and the other white, of the Jewish High Priest. '
6
Fo~ the use of 1-aJ.l'IT~ of Isiac garments cf. S/Gl 7~4, 5; for pt}o.ava Kal
atct{A)ST) cf. 39, J66 E and PfACMJcp6pos in the Delian cult.
167
--
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 3 COMMENTARY CHAPTER
Mariette (1961), 173-5 of Spell 485 in the Coffin Texts. Here the
deceased says (vr, 62, i-k): 'I have clothed myself with the gartnent of
this great one (Hathor); I am the great one.' Drioton (p. 173) thinks
the Hathor~pendant is involved, and rightly observes that the claim of
identification is made, here and afterwards, on the basis of wearing an
object belonging to the deity; cf. Zandee,]EOL 16 (1964), 54
p. 12:1, 2 TO t<OcriJ.Eia&xt TOVTotS] Hopfner draws attention to a state-
ment in the Vita lsidori by the Neoplatonist Damascius (v-vi A.o.) in
the Suda, where it is said that the garments of Osiris were placed on
the corpse of Heraiscus, and that the sacred figures on the linen were
instantly illumined. Allusion is probably made to the mummy~wrappings
on which religious symbols were often figured. Plutarch seems to have
taken the further step of identifying these wrappings with the garments
worn. He also interprets the garments as a alipj3ollov of the presence of
the Myos. In Egyptian practice the placing of a copy of the Book of
the Dead in the tomb was clearly the custom which gave rise to this
comparison- unless, indeed, there be a closer parallel, namely in the
fact that passages of the Book of the Dead were sometimes written on
the linen bandages which enfolded the mummy; figures of the gods
were also inscribed on them, see Budge, The Mummy, 344-S
p. 1 :u, 4 o\in yap cptllocrc)q>ovs t<Tll.] The beard and the threadbare
cloak are associated by Plutarch also in the Q!:omodo adulat. 7, p.c,
where the flatterer who is cultivating a studious young man is said to
grow a beard reaching to his feet. It was only during and after the reign
of Alexander the Great that the Greeks gave up the custom of wearing
a beard, following instead the shaving habits of Egypt and Asia.
Aristotle adopted the new mode, but philosophers in general tended to
preserve the beard almost as a mark of their profession, hence the
proverb 'beard wise' (ac 'Tfooyoovos crocpof), Paroemiogr. 11, 390, 93e;
cf. Dio Chrys. 72. 2; Lucian, Pisc. t r; and Dar.-Sag. 1, 669, n. 31. The
threadbare cloak was worn by earlier philosophers such as Socrates:
see Plato, Symp. 219B. Asceticism of this kind was carried to extremes
by the Cynics,l In Egypt the wearing of linen and the practice of
shaving were customary among all classes':. but wigs of human hair or
vegetable fibre were worn on the shaven head except in the case of
priests and of persons of the lower classes. Most priests are con
1 D. R. Dudley, A History of Cynicism, 23 ff. and passim.
2
Erman-Ranke, '-441f.
268
3
spic~ous, in the New Kingdom and afterwards,t for their shaven and
unWJgged heads. Plutarch, however, is concerned not with the priests
but with the Isiac initiates generally. Sources for the cult in the Roman
era confirm his statement, especially Apuleius, Met. I I. to, who
describes men in the crowd of initiates as capillum derasi and further
states (Met. II. 28) that he himself was shaved on the occasion of his
second initiation.:: It may be assumed that the priestly ru)el was later
applied to initiates. Plutarch's 'Tfiicra ~PT'JOI~ suggests that the whole
body was shaved, including the pubic hair.4
p. I u, 6 'lcrtaKo\Js] Baxter translates 'lcrtaKOs as 'priest of Isis ', and
so do LSJ. Plutarch is referring mainly to the priests. The word
implies a follower or devotee or initiate of the goddess (including,
especially, the priest), as is shown by the reference here to Ta SEt!<W~
IJEVCX ml spc.:,IJEVCX, which invites comparison with Q!:omodo quis suos to,
81 D-E: there the attitude of those Who are being initiated (ol nAOV~
IJEVOl) to TO: SpWIJEVCX Kal Set!<WJJeva is described;S cf. Wilamowitt-
Moellendorff, Glau!Je der Hellenen, n, 56.
' Ennan-Ranke, 338; J. Vandier, Arclt. m, 481 (the Ramesside era). In the
case of women, wigs were also worn, but sometimes the hair was allowed
to grow as well, the wigs being usually larger for women : cf. Harris and
Lucas, Materials, Jof.
a C:f Juvenal, Sat. G. fJJ of the priest who represents Anubis: grege linigero
czr.cumaatus et grege calvo. However, in a fresco now at Naples, some of the
pnes~ themselves are bearded and long-haired: see Guimet, L'lsis
Romame, pi. 7 In another fresco at Naples, ihiJ. pi. 8, two shaven priests
a~ shown, but among the assembled crowd only one person is similar in
this respect; less clearly in Tarn Tinh, Le culte a'lsis d Pompli, pi. lJ.
l See Wiedemann, Hat. If, 154-5 and Hopfner, n, 62-3.
4
Cf. Hdt. 2. 37; Songs ofIsis am/ Nephth.ys, r, 3-4 which Faulkner in j EA
22 (1936), 122 translates: 'And there shall be brought in [two] women
pure of body and virgin, with the hair of their bodies removed their heads
adorned with wigs.' Cf. Blackman in ERE 10 477 where it is,pointed out
that 'the modem Egypuan . peasants of both' sexes' shave off their pubic
hair'.
In a well~known papyrus from the Faytlm (BGU z, rG) dating to the
year A.D. 159/6o a company of priests sit in judgement on a fellow-priest
because he has allowed his hair to grow long and has worn woollen clothes.
5
I~scriptions from Pompeii (CJL rv, 787; 101 1) refer to the support of' all the
Is1acs'_or two candidates for the aedileship. Presumably all devotees, and
not pnests only, are included here. Cf. Nock, Conversion, 7.93
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 4 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 4
p. 1111 11 t.was laet;TCXS] Plutarch has here returned to the priests.
His statement is confirmed by evidence relating to the cult: a dedicant
at Delos (Roussel, CED, no. 49, p. tio; ii or iii B.c.), who is either a
priest or an initiate, is a 'wearer of a linen vestment' (cnv5ovocp6pos);
cf. Roussel's remarks on p. :188. The Andrian Hymn (i s.c.) begins
with an address to lsis as 'Linen-garbed queen of Egypt' (Aly\nrrov
~IMta AIVcXrroM), so that the mode is regarded as shared by the
goddess, her priests and her devotees; cf. Peek, Isishymnus, 27.1
p. 1:u., u-13 Toov !1Ev tploov W<rnEp Twvt<pewv amxeaecn] Plu-
tarch, while he rejects veneration of sheep as the reason, yet affirms the
priests' abstinence from wool and mutton; cf. Herodotus, 2. 81, who,
speaking of Egyptians in general, says that they wear woollen mantles
over their linen tunics, but that no wool is brought into temples or is
buried with them. The archaeological evidence supports the view that
wool was not much used in general. According to Harris and Lucas,
Materials, 146, 'there are very few instances of wool having been
found in Egyptian tombs until a late date'. Philology points in the
same direction.l Plutarch is probably right in rejecting veneration of
sheep as the reason for avoiding wool in dress. In a hot climate flax was
the ideal choice for hygienic reasons, and in the case of the priests, one
of whose names, wChw, seems to mean 'pure ones' (alternatively
'purifying' or 'purified ones'), the ritual purity demanded of them was
an additional reason for the use of easily-washed linen. For the treat-
1 See Hopfner, u, 6o-2 for further refs. According to Lucan, Bell. Civ. 9 159
and Tert. Coron. 8 Osiris too could be imagined as clodted in linen. The
tradition in his case is somewhat different, as he is essentially mummiform.
The only dissenting voice seems to be that of Pliny, HN 19. 1. 14 who
improbably states that a soft substance derived from dte cotton tree was
used in the priestly dress; cf. Hdt. 3 47; G. M. Crowfoot and F. Ll. Griffith,
JEA 2.0 (1934), 5 ff.; Keimer, Gartenpfla.nr_en, 59ff.; Winter and Youtie,
AJP 65 (1944), 249-58. On Egyptian linen see Harris and Lucas, 14:tff.
1
Wb. can suggest only one word for wool, namely sCrt (Wb. JV, 49), the
only occurrences of which are in P. Anastasi 8, perhaps for wool as
material traded; contrast the numerous words for linen material of
various types and colour ( Wh. VI, 98). An abstention from wool, or more
probably from the sacrifice of sheep, is indicated in a papyrus (A.D. ii)
relating to Egyptian temples: see V. B. Schuman, Harv. Theo/. Rev. S3
(19Go), 169 on lines I 1-13.
ment of sheep cf. below 5, 35'-F; 72, 38os; 74, 38oE. That priests
abstained from sheep's flesh is not confirmed elsewhere.
P I:u, 14 Sux To 1rEveos) Plutarch correctly rejects this reason
although he states in 141 3560 that Isis cut off one of her locks as a sign
of mourning. Herodotus, 2. 36 rightly defines the female custom: in
mourning they let their hair hang loose and long; see Ennan-Ranke,
pi. 25. Men, however, including priests, made no change in their
appearance to denote grief.
p. ru, 14 Stcrniv xp6av) The natural colour of flax is green; G. M.
Crowfoot, Methods ofHand Spinning in Egypt and the Sudan {Halifax,
1931), 3'-1 describes 'green waves of flax' not far from Gizeh. But
as it ripens the plant becomes yellow. The flowers, on the other hand,
as opposed to the stalk, may be blue or white: see J. H. Martin in
Encyc. Brit. 9 (19S9) 1 363. It is in this respect, therefore, that the plant
in bloom can be compared in colour with the blue of the sky. The
Egyptians called blue linen, that is, the finished product, lrryw after the
colour itself: see Wh. r, u6, u; but they also made it white and red.'
P U:t, 19 lK Se mplTTCt.>IJcXTCt.>V l<TA.) Apuleius, Apol. 56 describes
wool as segnissimi corporis excrementum and as a substance which
Orpheus and Pythagoras regarded as profane because it was derived
from an animal.~
P 1.14, 2 l<O'pll'OV ~SC.:,StiJov] This presumably applies only to the
seed. Harris and Lucas, Materials, 333 state that linseed oil was
probably known in Egypt from an early date, although they find the
first record of it in the Ptolemaic era: see Grenfell, Revenue Laws of
Ptolemy Philadelphus, col. 39, 7 (p. 23); col. 55, 6 (p. 38); and it is
called 'lamp oil' in col. 401 Jo, cf. p. us, n. 7 But according to Harris
and Lucas the oil was used mainly for cooking. Parthey ad loc. refers to
the account of the siege of Sphacteria in Thucydides, 4 26. 8, where it
is said that bruised linseed was brought as food to the Spartans; cf.
L. R. Palmer, The Interpretation of Myceruzean Greek Texts (Oxford,
1963), JU.
1
Cf. John D. Cooney, JARCE 3 (1964), 84 f.; F. Woenig1 Die
Pf/a.nr_en im a/ten Aegypten, 187.
l Philos.tratus, V. Apo/1. 8. 7 4 likewise states that Pythagoras, following
Egypuan custom, regarded garments made from the carcasses of animals as
impure.The Pythagorean theory,as well as that advanced by Plutarch, sounds
like a rationalization of a practice which had a simpler basis. It was certainly
not an Egyptian idea to regard all animals or their carcasses as impure.
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 5 COMMENTARY CHAPTER
CHAPTER 5 sea. Hopfner, n, 64 tries to give a Sethian basis to the aversion to sea
p. 124, 6 napatTEia6cu KTA.] For these priesdy abstentions cf.
Herodotus, 2. 37, who says that the Egyptians generally did not grow
or eat beans, and that priests could not bear to see them; Diod. Sic. I.
89. 4; Pliny, HN I8. n.. u8f. (mashed beans were offered to the dead
of old, but the priests did not partake of them); Plutarch, QJ!aest. conv.
8. 8. 2, 729A (Pythagoras derived his prohibition of beans from Egypt)
and Q.Eaest. Rom. 95, 286nf.; Artem. Onirocrit. 1. 68 = HF356(pulse
were thought evil, save for pease).1 But lwryt, the Egyptian word for
' beans', occurs in favourable contexts, religious and medical: see Wh.
1, 56 ( 14 and I 5). In P. Harris I, 39, 13 'shelled bea.ns' are mentioned in
a list of offerings to the Nile-god. In P. Anastas1 4, 8, 11 'beans and
lentils' are in the granaries of the dream mansion which a pupil would
build for his teacher.2 Lentils (CrJn) were abundantly produced, witness
Wenamun's receipt of 20 sacks from Egypt when in Syria (Wenamun,
2, 41); cf. Helck, Wirtschafisgeschichte 5 (15)65), 192
According to Herodotus, 2. 42 Thebans and worshippers of Theban
Zeus abstained from sheep's flesh; Juvenal, 15. 11 f. suggests that the
Egyptians in general did this; but the native evidence does not confirm
it.
An abstention from pork by priests is not expressly attested, but
Spell 112 of the Book of the Dead, where Seth appears as ~ black pig,
refers to the prohibition of swine as offerings. Kees, Treropfer, 75
suggests that it was their usefulness as domestic animals which caused
this. See further on 8, 353F-354A.
In 32, 363E the priests are said to call salt 'the spume, of Ty~h~n'
and to be forbidden to put salt on the table; cf. Typhon s assOClatton
with the sea, p, 363 o and 40, 367 A-B. The priests' abstention from
salt in their periods of purification is also mentioned in Q!!aest. conv: 5
I o. I, 684 F, where they are further said to eat unsalted bread. Accordmg
to Arrian, Anah. 3 4 4 priests brought salt from the oasis of Siwah, near
the temple of Jupiter Amman, deeming it purer than salt from the
1
In the case of pulse Plutarch's reservation in Ta 1!'oAAa may explain why in
Gs, 377C lentils are said to be offered to Harpocrates, while in 68, 378B-c
the same god is said to be (wrongly) regarded as a protector of legumes.
In neither case are the priests said to partake of these vegetables.
a Cf. E.-B. Lit. Eg. :u r; also P. Anastasi 3, A, 1 and the note by Caminos
in his Late-Egyptian Misce/1. 117.
5
1
salt, stating somewhat vaguely that the Bitter Lakes were in a region
regarded as Typhonic. The Serbonian Lake has a more precise
1
Typhonian connexion, but Seth's association with either lake or sea is
not pronounced)
P 124, IJ ...Ov ''Amv] Aelian, NA, II. zo = HF 423-4 gives the
same details and reasons as Plutarch, but states also that for four months
the you.ng. Apis was nourished on milk. The cult of the Apis bull of
Memphts 1s att~ted as ~rly as th.e First Dynasty.4 Although only
Plutarch and Aehan menuon the pnvate well, Pliny (HF 192), Solinus
(HF 450) and Ammianus (HF551) say that theApis bull was drowned
after a sp~cified number of years, in a sacred well. D. Muller sugges~
that ~e ?ea ~ay have its origin in the concept of 'apotheosis by
drownmg whrch became popular in the Graeco-Roman era and was
attached to the early tradition that Osiris was drowned; c Conflict, 7
and Morenz, ZAS 84 (I959), I4I, who cites instances of the belief from
the Greek magical papyri. These examples do not confine themselves
to Nile-water; milk and oil are also involved. The Apis of course was
in no need of apotheosis, but an aura of blessedness ~ould doubdess
att~nd ~~ idea of his being, drowned. The phrases used by these
wnters ( m sacerdotum fame ; 'profunda sacri fontis '; 'sacro fonte ')
suggest a small sacred lake such as frequently occurred near Egyptian
temples: see M. Murray, Egyptian Temples, 62.s A possible source of
1
The Egyptians generally used salt not only to season food but also to
preserve fis.h; it.often occurred as well in the natron, a narural soda, used
for mumrruficanon: see Harris and Lucas, Materials, 275f. A priesdy
abst~ntion ~rom salt d.erived from the sea or from salt lakes is suggested by
a bel1ef ascnbed to Anstagoras, by whom is probably meant the author who
wr~te two books on Egypt (iv o.c.): see FHG u, 99; Pliny, HN 36. u.. 79 ;
Aehan, NA 1I. to; Steph. Byz. s.v. NtKiov. The Greek view of salt seems
more favourable; cf. 'divine salt' in 1/. 9 .2.14; Plato, Symp. 177s; Diog.
Laert. 8. 3S
1
Hdt. 3 S; Plut. V . Ant. 31 917; Etym. Magn. s.v. Tvq.W5.
3
Cf. Bonnet, Real. 71.2.. In The El01Juent Peasant, R 10 salt is named as one
of the products of the Wady Natriin.
4
Erne~, The Tom_hofHe~alca, 64 a~d fig. 26. Emery speaks of 'the king ...
danctng or runrung behind a bull . That the bull is the Apis is proved by
the sign above it. See also E. Otto, Stierlculre, 11.
5
Many of these lakes, however, contained water which derived from the
Nile; see Murray, op. cit. 83, lOS.
18 2 73 ODI
 COMMENTARY CHAPTERS 5-6
the idea that Nile water was fattening is the traditional conception of
the Nile-god as a fat old man with large belly and hanging breast-
muscles.1 Nile water was said to be pleasant to drink, and productive
of fecundity in animals and women) In modem times the matter in
solution in the water varies with the seasons. There is usually a small
content of salt, and bicarbonates of calcium and magnesium are also
present, as well as sodium salts.4 The effect of drinking it would
probably be slighdy aperient.
p. 1:14, I6 6 NEiAos] Plutarch seems to be thinking in general terms,
and not of religious adoration. The Egyptians called the Nile l;I'apy,
whom they honoured as a god. Apart from this, their literature contains
abundant evidence of the importance they attached to the river. Plu-
tarch himself lays much stress in later chapters on the identification of
the Nile and Osiris: see )21 363 D; 33 1 364A; 36, 36S B; 38, 366A; 39 1
366cff.
p. I24, 19 ruOTaAT\ 1<l1<0iicpa] It is certainly true of the norm of
Egyptian physical appearance, both male and female, as delineated in
paintings and reliefs; cf. Diodorus Sic. 1. 98. 7 ff.
CHAPTER 6 c'ryvelas here has a similar meaning. The addition of the adjective
p. 1241 23 fl~pas] Sieveking, who follows Strijd in emending to
\nn\phas, compares 4070 and 417A, but neither passage impels one to
reject the MS reading here in favour of VTrl1phas, since ol 6epalmiov-
1 Bonnet, Real. s:z.G rightly rejects the view that the form is originally
imagined as androgynous; for this view see Otto in Anal. Orient. 17
(1938), 18 and Hopfner, 11, 149-~0. For the possibility that a colossal
statue of Amenophis IV at Kamak represents the king as an androgynous
creator-god see W. Westendorfin Pantl!eon 2.1 (196J),16rr771 a ref. I owe
to D. Muller, who also compares, for the idea offatness, the name lf'pyifl,
'My nourishment is the Nile'; cf. Sethe, Erlauterungen, tH
Athenaeus,1. 45c; Heliod. Aetlliop.1.18; Acllilles Tat. 4 18 (ed. Vilborg,
19SS)
J Aelian, NA 3 33; Pliny, HN 1 3 33; 9 58. 179; Seneca, Nat. QEaut.
J 15 ll; Strabo, IS, 695 Emst Honigmann in PW s.v. Nil (19J7), s6J,
to whom I owe these refs., adds the present chapter of Plutarch's DID;
but there seems to be no trace of the idea. The word 'tTo?\vaapKia appears
not to be used of pregnancy.
4 H. E. Hurst, Tile Nile (London, 19p.), 179 The present writer has drunk
Nile water only after boiling it.
174
COMMENTARY CHAPTER G
TES have previously been mentioned. ' During the day' will imply the
time for temple services, when the god beholds his servants. ol o' &Mo1
in the next sentence will refer to priests elsewhere, and not to the
people in general; cf. Herodotus, 2. 37 (wine was given to the priests).
Babbitt quotes Diog. Laert. 8. 19, who says that Pythagoras did not
touch wine during the day; cf. Iamblichus, V. Pyth. 97-8, where it is
said that the Pythagoreans practised the same restraint. The source of
Plutarch's statement is probably Pythagorean, but there is a possibility
that the Pythagorean rule originated in Egypt, even though decisive
evidence is lacking. Wine (lrp) is mentioned very often in offering-lists,
see Wh. I, 115, 6, and priests may well have imbibed more than
others. D. MUller cites Alliot, Le Culte d'Horus d Edfou, n (Cairo,
1954), 529, lines 9-10 (- Chassinat, Edfou, v, 135, 9-10) which Muller
translates: 'Execution of the complete ritual of the Mansion of Life.
Giving the Interpretation. Drinking at the time of evening, spending
a pleasant night in this place.' Alliot, p. 531, curiously misses the verb
for 'drinking'. An apposite parallel to Plutarch's statement thus
emerges.
p. 12.4, 25 ayvelas] Otto, PT I, 25, n. 3 gives examples of cXyvE\te1v
with the meaning of 'to fast' in the magical papyri and thinks that
&olvovs, however, suggests that 'purifications' were possible in which
wine was partaken of.
p. 12.4, 28 'E~rnXios] This is probably the Hecataeus of Abdera
mentioned in 91 J44D, cf. Diod. Sic. I. 46. 8. He wrote a history of
Egypt and visited the country in the time of Ptolemy I. See FGrH m,
:164; Diels-Kranz, Vorsokr. 73 B 11; cf. Diod. Sic. 1. 70. 9 ff.
P 126, I arro 't'aiJIJflTixov] While the statement that the kings were
priests is borne out by frequent temple reliefs showing kings performing
priestly functions, it is hard to explain the belief that the kings began
to drink wine in the time of Psammetichus. F. Ll. Griffith, Rylands,
101 points out that the Egyptians, as can be seen from occasional
hieroglyphic and demotic writings of the name, interpreted Psam-
metichus as 'Man-of-the-mixing-bowl', i.e. a good judge of wine or
one who drinks deeply. Spiegelberg, Hdt. 31 compares the story about
Psammetichus in Herodotus 2. 151 It seems, then, that Plutarch has
here recorded a tradition which is aetiological with reference to the
1
He also compares BGU 11 1491 8.
a Bonnet, Bilderatlas, figs. 8~-91.
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 6 COMMENTARY CHAPTERS
Pharaoh's name. There were three kings of this name in the ~Gth
Dynasty; the most famous was the first, and perhaps he is meanthere.
But kings certainly drank wine before his time. Wine-jars have oc-
curred in their tombs ;1 and wine was offered to the gods. ' Drunk' is
applied sometimes as an epithet to the Kings Kheops, Mycerinus and
Sahure', and Brunner has suggested that it implies a link with
Hathor-Sakhmet who is placated with beer in the myth of 'The
Deliverance of Mankind from Destruction'.
p. u6, ~ oos at1-1a TC:>V 1TOMIJ11aavrwv} The animals used in sacrifices
were often interpreted as the bodies of Seth and his followers, who
fought against Horus and Osiris. Wine is occasionally treated with
Sethian symbolism. In the Ramesseum Dramat. P . 70 it is equated
with the eyeofHorus, 'which gushes with wine from them' (i.e. from
the mouths of Seth's followers, since Seth is said to have seized the
eye). A direct equation of wine with Seth's blood does not, however,
seem to occur, and usually it is offered as a beneficent gift. Bonnet,
Real. 863 cites an example (Junker, Der Au.r'{ug der Hath.or-Tefnut
au.r Nuhim, 7) where wine is drunk as a symbol of the enemy's blood,3
That the enemies of the gods became vines (the reading CtiJmAOUS is
without doubt preferable) does not seem to be an Egyptian tradition.
It may derive from the Greek legends concerning the giants who
fought against Dionysus.4
1 For a tst Dyn. example see B.M. Guide (1930), fig. rp. See also Wiede--
mann, Htlt. 11, 174.
~ 'Die theologische Bedeutung der Trunkenheit' in ZAS 79 (1954), 81-93
W. S. Smith in ]NES 11 (1952.), u6 is, however, doubtful about the
reading in the phrases concerned with Kheops. He thinks r{}w should be
read rather d1an t6w. That the idea persists into Ptolemaic times is shown
by Junker, Der grosse Pylon, 41, 1~ 1 where the King is called 'lord of
drunkenness'.
3 Bonnet also cites Naville, Mythe J 'Horus, pi. 13, 19-2.1 ( = Chassinat,
EJfou, v1, ru, 1 f. and v1, IJZ, 7ff.) for the idea of Horus drinking ~ne as
a symbol of the blood of his enemies. More precisely, the drink mennoned
there is a mixture of grapes and water: see Fairman in]EA 11 (I9JS),.z9,
n. 1 and Alliot, Le Cu/te J'Horus d EJfou, 684 and 858. For a possable
connexion of the blood of Seth and the origin of agriculture in versions of
BD 17~ see Clark, Mytlt and Symhol, 137f. and cf. Kees, Gotterglaube, JIB.
4 Eurytus was said to have been killed by Dionysus' thyrsus: see Apo~lo
dorus, 1. 6. :1.; wineskins were named, it is said, after Ascus, another gs~t
who fought against Dionysus: see Steph. Byz. s.v. Aaj.lai11<Qs. That a vme
276
6-'J
p. u6, 4-5 T&v 1Tpoyovc.>v] The story of ' The Deliverance of
Mankind from Destruction' provides a possible link with this idea, for
there Hathor~Sakhmet is restrained from destroying mankind by the
gift of7,ooo jars of beer, of which it is said, 'It was like the blood of
men'.' The beer is intended, then, as a substitute for the blood which
the goddess had planned to drink. Plutarch speaks of wine, not beer.
Otherwise mankind in the myth may be the ancestors referred to,
unless the allusion is to the rebellious gods, who could be regarded as
ancestors in the sense that they were sometimes looked upon, with
other deities, as the leaders of the early dynasties. In P. Demot. Mag.
Lond. Leid. xv, 14 wine is said to be 'blood of Osiris'. Cf. Morenz,
ZAS 84 ( 1959}, 138. Certainly there seems no need to emend 1Tpoyovwv.
p. u6, 6 Tiis mptOSov] Pantazides emends to yiis mpt6Sov, which
would, of course, have been the full title. Plutarch, however, in his non
posse suav. vivi sec. Epicur. 101 1093 c uses the abbreviated nept6Sovs in
referring to such works. According to Diog. Laert. 8. 87 Eudoxus of
Cnidos (fl. 365 s.c.) stayed in Egypt for a year and four months; in the
same source (Diog. Laert. 8. 89) it is said that some stated that Eudoxus
translated a work (Dialogues of Dogs)1 from Egyptian into Greek.
CHAPTER 7
p. 126, 8 1x&Vwv] Plutarch returns to this subject in 18, 358s and
3~, 363F. In general the evidence supports his view that the Egyptians
showed ambivalence in their attitude to fish and that local practice also
varied. Fish were not used in offerings to the dead or to gods, but there
grew from the blood of the bull slain by Mithras was a part of the myth
relating to that god: see Cumont, Les myst~res de Mitllra (Brussels, I9IJ),
137
1
See Ch. Maystre's text in BIFAO 40 (1941), 53-73, and p. 70 for the
quotatio?. Wilson gives a translation in Pritchard, ANET, to-u; cf.
E.-B. Lzt. Eg. 47-9
2 Semler emended KWwv St~oyot to vooJt.)V St~oyot. Cf. Parthey, 164.
Hicks in his Loeb ed. retains the MS reading; the emended title would suit
spells in the Book of the Dead, where the dead are sometimes made to
speak; e.g. in Spell us the deceased man makes 'protestations of inno-
cence'; but the term ' Book of the Dead' is a modem one. See further J.
Gwyn Griffiths, 'A Translation from the Egyptian by Eudoxus' in CQ 15
(1965), 75-8 and Lasserre, Die Fragmente Jes Eutloxos von Knit/os (Berlin,
1966), l.68f.
277
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 7 C OMMENTA RY CHAPTER
are numerous representations of fishing as a pastime; cf. too a descrip
tion of a blissful life in P. Anastasi 4, 3, 9-10 and Caminos, Late-
Egyptian Mi.rc. 138. In the Piankhi Stela, 148ff. fish-eaters are not
allowed to enter the royal palace, even though they are princelings
from north and south; one may infer that fish-eating was widely
prevalent in spite of a taboo in the highest pla:es' c:.aminos, in a per-
sonal note refers to Davies, Rock Tombs ofSheikh Sazd, pl. Il. (bottom
right) wh~re a fish being cooked is depicted; also to Shipwrecked Sailor,
50 and P. Harris, 1, 2.1 a, 1. G. A. Boulenger, Zoology of Egypt: The
Fi.rhes oftlze Nile (London, 1907), 62. records a report that at Bem Suef
fish of the oxyrhynchus type (Mormyrus oxyrltynchus and other
Mormyri) are common only during the high Nile; see also C. Gaillard,
Recherches sur les poi.rsons, etc. (M/FAO ') 1, 1923), 2.4ff. The phagrus
(Hyperopi.rus) is still found throughout the .Nile system acc?rding to
Boulenger, 71 ff., but is not much esteemed m Egypt; cf. Grullard, 32..
Joy at the appearance of the phagrus is sim!lar, as D. Muller remarks,
to the attitude expressed in one of the fishmg scenes treated by Edel
in his Zu den Inschriften auf den jahresr_eitenreliefi der 'Weltkammer'
aus dem Sonnenheiligtum des Niuserre (Nachr. Gottingen 1961), see
p. 2.1 3, Abb. I -.... pl. I9 in von Bissing, 'La chambre des trois saisons,
etc.' ASAE 53 (1956), 319-38. The fish here are mugils and are said to
corn~ twice a year; a 'shepherd of the land' (mniw s~t) is shown an-
nouncing the approach of the fish; see Edel, p. 216.
p. 12.6, 13 ol 5' tepEis] These will include priests of all c~lts, and not
merely those of Isis. Cf. Herodotus, 2. 37 and Ch~eremon m Porphyr.
De Aim. 4 7 1TOOrrc.>V in line 14 must refer to all kinds of fish, from sea,
river and lake. Before this Plutarch has referred to sea- and fresh-water-
fish although he begins by talking of sea-fish .only. The fact ~t he
goes on to discuss the other type hardly necessitates an emendation of
the text in the opening lines of the chapter.
1 of this taboo there are signs in the earliest funerary texts, where fish-si~
are generally suppressed: seeP. Lacau in _z.Js ~ 1 (1913), 42-9. ~ts eau~ IS
not stated; probably it arose from the s1mple fact that fish qutckly sunk
after being caught, and not as Clem. AIex. Strom. 7 6. 33 8 ( == H ~ 373)
suggests, from the belief that eating fish makes the body so.ft.and motst. ~n
the case of ordinary people certain kinds of fish were prohibtted on certam
days; cf. the Jewish distinction in Lev. 11. 9-10 (fish with fins and scales are
allowed to be eaten). The Pythagorean aversion to fish may have come from
Egypt. See further Wiedemann, H Jt. II, 17S-7; Ennan-Ranke, 140; Montet,
EveryJay Lift, 79-80.
7
P 126, 14 npwTOV 5! llllVOs wCm:l] If Markland is right in suggesting
that the name of the month was found in the original text instead of
1TflWTOV1 then 9~6 will be the reading; cf. Manetho in Sync. 72. (ed.
Waddell, p. 2.08). The form 9e00 occurs in Plato, Plzdr. 274c; Ph/h.
I8B. It is unlikely that such a festival was held throughout Egypt. The
eating of the fish would probably involve the idea of consuming a
defeated enemy (e.g. Seth) rather than of a sacramental meal; its entire
burning by the priests would imply its total destruction and presenta-
tion as a burnt offering to gods such as Horus or Osiris; cf. Junker in
ZAS 48 ( 19I o), 75 (though fish are not specifically included). That priests
and kings were not allowed to eat fish is implied by a stela of Ramesses IV;
see Kees, Re/. Lesehuclt, 42. and Kulturgeschicltte, 2.7, references I owe
to D. Muller, who also cites Ph. Derchain and J. Hubaux, Ant.
Class. 2.7 (t9S8), racr4 for the view thatan episode in Apuleius, Met. I.
2.4f., where fish bought from an exorbitant fishmonger are trampled
underfoot, is an echo of the Egyptian rite of trampling fish which are
identified with a god's enemies (as in Edfou, v, 134, 2.-6). In the Cairo
Calendar, ed. Bakir, Recto r, several kinds of fish are forbidden for the
first month; but today in their spring festival Sham el Nassim the
Egyptians eat salted fish out-of-doors. To the first of the A6yo1 men-
tioned Plutarch returns in chs. 3o-1, esp. 31. Other commentators
think that Typhon as the sea (eh. 32.) is involved; but the fish here
eaten will not necessarily be a sea-fish.
p. n6, 20 mplepyov] Bentley's correction is unneeded. In QEaest.
conv. s. 8. 3, 73oc mplepyos is used of the trouble (npay!Janlcx) to be
taken in preparing fish; here fish itself is said to be not superfluous (i.e.
not a superfluous luxury) as a food nor a necessity. Homeric people ate
it in extremities. Wyttenbach notes fifteen occurrences of 1replepyos in
the Mor. and only one of its negative. The Homeric allusions (Od. 4
368 ff. and u. 331 ff.) are correct, but do not bear out ageneralloathing
of fish among the early Greeks.
p. n6, 2.4- ; b< nvpbs] Frisch, De Comp. 8-1o has vindicated the
MS reading by pointing to 33, 364A, where Typhon as the sea is said
to be imagined by the wiser of the priests as everything 'dry and fiery
and scorching' (cxVxiJTJpOV KCXInv(l005es KCXl ~pcxvnt<:6v). Frisch also com-
pares Heracleitus (Diels- Kranz, 31): 'Transformations of fire: first, sea,
half of which is land, and half hot wind.' It is striking that Plutarch's
source at this point knows nothing of Isis Pelagia or of Isis Pharia, the
worship ofwhom was popular in his time; see Vandebeek, I si.rfiguur, 4 5ff.
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 8 COMMENTARY CHAPTER
CHAPTER 8 on him in OLZ 39 (1936), 72.0-6 ('Diktys von Byblos und die
p. uS, 3 TO mpl !<pO~~vov] Onions were abundantly grown and
eaten in Pharaonic times; cf. Herodotus, 2.. u 5; Nurn. II 5; Erman-
Ranke, 522; Montet, Everyday Life, So. Diodorus Sic. 1. 89. 4 says
that some Egyptians did not eat them.' Plutarch seems to be alone in
saying that priests abhorred them. The worship of the onion is
mentioned by Pliny, HN I9. 6. IOI and Juvenal, I 5 9; Gellius, Noct. Att.
20. 8 (.., H F 267) quotes Plutarch as saying that the Pelusians, according
to the priests, did not eat onions because they throve in the waning
moon; cf. Lucian, Iupp. trag. 42 ( "" HF 312.), Sext. Empir. Pyrrh.
h.ypot. 3 24 2.24 (- H F 384: no one would offer an onion to Zeus Casius
near Pelusium). Conflicting reports about veneration and abomination
probably arise from the opposed attitudes of adjacent communities.
Gardiner, however, in Hastings, ERE 8 (I9I 5), 2.65 f. makes the
interesting suggestion that the destructive property ascribed to onions
was due to the fact that the Egyptian word for onions was Mw while
'to destroy' was Mi. That the attitude of veneration was widespread is
shown by Keimer, 'Materialien zum altagyptischen Zwiebelkult',
Egyptian Religion, I (I933), p.-6o, where texts are cited in which
onions figure in various rites; they are worn round the neck, or are
offered to a god, or are chewed before him. Cf. Vivi Tackholm
and M. Drar, Flora of Egypt, III (Cairo, I954), 98 ff. It is clear that
there was, by Roman times,1 a cult of the onion in the Eastern Delta.
See too Wiedemann, Hat. II, 472 and Zimmermann, Rei. So f. Hopfner
suggests that the cult was Sethian in origin. Plutarch's story about
Dictys certainly fits into the cycle of Delta myths in which Isis guards
Horus against the machinations of Seth. For an edition of these see
Klasens, A Magical Statue Base. The child protected by Isis is not
always Horus himself; see Klasens, op. cit. 70. In EJfou, VI, l.I, 4 the
child is Apis; in P. Demot. Mag. Lond. Leid. xx, 2 he is Anubis; and
other stories from the Delta place Hathor and Wedjoyet in a similar
relationship to a child: see Morenz-Schubert, Der Gott auf Jer Blume,
3I ff. Plutarch's Dictys, however, was a mysteryl until Eisler shed light
' Hopfner, n, 76 says, 'Die allgemeine Enthaltung von der Zwiebel (KpOJ.I-
J.IVov) filr alle Agypter behauptet Diodor ... '. This is not so.
1
Perhaps earlier, since Diod. Sic. refers to an abstention from onions.
3 Hopfner suggests that the Greek Dictys who was said to have taken
Danae and Perseus from a chest in the sea (Apollod. 1. 4 1) may have
280
8
Zwiebeln '). He would connect Dictys with Tammuz as umun sapar
'lord of the net'. Etymologically Dictys can be thus explained. Of
Tammuz in this role it is said in a Sumero-Babylonian hymn: 'he lies
among the onions, he fills himself with onions'. In Palestine, argues
Ei.sler, Tammuz is Adonis; hence Plutarch's Palaestinus; in Byblos he
Will have a local form, and Plutarch makes him the son of Malcathros
and Astarte in eh. I7. This is welcome iJiumination.
P I 2.8, 5 ov Kpo~~Vc.Jv] The negative is not as difficult as some
editors have thought. Taken with brt6pctat1l)J,IEVQv, hence failing to
grasp', it implies that the onions were the cause of death.
w
p. 1~8, I4-I 56 Tvcpoov 6t~Kc.Jv] The story is not accepted by all,
accordmg to Plutarch, for which the reason may well be that Seth-
Typhon himself was often regarded as a pig: thus frequently in the
Edfu texts and in the Book of Gates (in the well-known depiction of
the Osirian judgement, see Budge, Osiris, r, 41 and Piankoffin ASAE 55
(1958), 157tf.). Spel11u of the Book of the Dead tells how Seth as a
black pig mutilated the eye of Horus and how the pig as a result came
to be abominated. In spite of this the animal was not usually sacrificed
even in the Sethian sense, probably because it was so useful. A
sacrifice at full moon implies that Osiris was the god honoured ;1 for it
is said of him in the rites of Denderah that 'he makes his place in the
sky as the new moon '.3
influenced the name. But the only parallel with the Osiris story is the
chest, and that is absent from the present episode.
1
Cf. 1.8 357F-Jf8A, where, however, Typhon's hunting of the pig is not
mentioned.
l Cf. Herodotus, 1. 47 (the Egyptians offer swine only to Selene and
Dionysus). Manetho, fr. Sx (ed. Waddell, p. 195) also mentions the
offering of swine in an annual moon-festival. The blood of pigs was used
in medical prescriptions as D. MUller reminds me: see Grapow and von
Deines, Wb. ckr agyptiscl.en Drogennamen, 44G f.
3
Mariette, Dendlrah, IV, pl. 77a = Brugsch, Thes. 317. Cf. Parker, Calen-
Jars, Go; Lament. lsis Neph. 4, 3 ('within the Day-bark in this thy name
of Moon': see Faulkner in Mel. Maspero, r, 343); Frazer, AAO 11, eh. 8.
Bu?ge, Osiris, r, 388 does not succeed in making this out to be an early
beltef. The lunar connexions of Osiris seem rarely to appear before the
Ptolemaic era. They are further mentioned by Plutarch in 41, JG7c-o;
41, 367E; 42., J68A; 43, JG8c; and 44, JGSo. Thoth and I'aJ:t were more
281
 COMMENTARY CHAPTERS 8--9
p. u8, 2.1 ~ Melvtos] It is easy to understand how Menes, the
first king of the First Dynasty (c.' 3.~ B c.) ~e~e a sym.bol of.the
sophistication which followed prtmtnve st~pltcty Menes ~ credued
with two main achievements: the foundanon of Memphis and the
institution oftheApis-cult. Derchain, Rev. d'lgypto/. 18 (1966}, 31-6,
shows that these actions were embodied in the coronation rites, and he
makes the acute suggestion that in the temple archives the relevant
documents would be prepared either with a blank space for the King's
name or with a mn, 'so and so, such a one', and that the name Menes
may have emerged erroneously from this practice. In PSBA 34 (19u),
300 Wiedemann suggests that certain Roman terra-cotta re~iefs of the
time of Augustus, in which an Egyptian landscape accompames a figure
lying on a couch, reflect the recum~ent positio~ conn~cted with Menes
(cf. the tables and couches mennoned by D1od. Stc. 1. 45 1); the
Roman custom of accuhitio may rather be involved. The story of the
curses recorded against Menes, told also by Diod. Sic. 1. 4S,
reminds one of the Greek approach to the traditions of frugality and
extravagance among the Persians. Egyptian literature ?~es not of~n
1
point the contraSt, and the story is probably of Greek ongm. The Sane
king Tekhnactis (or Tefnakhte)~ ruled in parts of Egypt c. 730-72..0 B.~
Curses against previous rulers are not attested, but condemnanon IS
sometimes shown by expunging the royal name from monuments, as
in the case of Akhenaten. Trespassers or violators of tombs or of
royal and divine property are often ~re~tened .wi~ cu~es, and in
Schott, Kanai.s, 185 Sethos I threatens 1mp1ous kings m th1s way.
CHAPTER 9 ed. Diehl, but Weinreich points out in Arch.. f. Rei. 19 (1918), 179 that
p. 130, 3 o 6' h< vcxxh.lwv] If Plutarch means that .~eneral~ sometim~
became kings, there is a good example, as D. Muller pomts out, m
Haremhab in the 18th Dynasty; see Gardiner, Egypt of tire Plraraolrs,
~43 The Theban rulers of the 2.1st Dynasty and the Libyan and
Ethiopian kings of the next two dynasties f~ll broadly ~nto this category
too. l:feri-J:Ior in the 2.1st Dynasty exempltfies the pnestly aspect also,
specifically moon-gods, but the left eye ofHorus is interpreted as the moon
in BD 11 and 112..
1 Occasionally the wisdom literature warns against covetousness, e.g. E.-B.
Lit. Eg. Go (19). . . . . shrine, with the inscription before the doorway.
3 See Moret, De Bocckori Rege (Pans, 1903), :z.ff.; K.ienatz, Guckzckte, 6.
182.
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 9
for he assumed the High Priesthood of Amun at Thebes; cf. Morenz,
Rei. n x and n. on p. 126, I above. A good example, as D. Miiller
further notes, of the king's priestly claims is the statement of Tuth-
mosis Ill (Uric. IV, 157, 8-9) about his education in Amun's temple
after which he became a prophet ({am-n!r), cf. Uric. IV, x6o, S-8:
Plutarch however may well be reflecting the theocratic concept of the
divine state of Amun in Thebes in the :z.rst and later Dynasties; see
Kie~tt, ~esch.klrte, 49fT. who cites Plato, Politicu.r, 2.90 D-E: 'In Egypt
no king 1s allowed to rule without priesthood' (i.e. without belonging
to the priestly caste); on this see J. Gwyn Griffiths, CR IS (1965),
1f6f.
p. IJO, 6-7 'TTpo Twv lepc.r:.v Tt\s acplyycxs] Plutarch doubtless includes
not only the man-headed recumbent lion, which is the original
Egyptian sphinx, but also the forms with the heads of rams (as at the
temple of Amun at Kamak) and of hawks, as well as the leonine
griffins. The Egyptian sphinx, unlike the Greek, is always masculine,
and no suggestion of mystery or enigma attached to it. Such a sug-
gestion seems to have arisen first in the Theban (Greek) legends
of a king's riddle-contest with a sphinx, although Rose, Glc. Myth..
r88 thinks there may be Minoan-Mycenaean prototypes for the
story.
P IJO, 8fT. TO s wl:aiTfis 'A6r}v5s ] The word ~Sos is frequently
used of a seated statue~ of a god: see LSJ s.v.; and Egyptian statues
often had inscriptions on their base. Neith was the ancient goddess of
Sais, and she is called Athene also by Herodotus, 1.. 59, cf. Plato, Tim.
:11 E. She was clearly equated with Isis afterwards.
The inscription is found in a fuller form in Produs, In Tim. 1, p. 98
1
For the Egyptian m/i (sphinx) see Wh. n, 12.. The sphinx of Gizeh (called
Qw) represents the Pharaoh Khefren. Lion-sculptures flanking the
entrance to temples were also worshipped as a part of a lion-cult, as in the
temple of Hatshepsut in Deir el-Ba~ari; cf. H. Goedicke in Rev. d'igypto/.
n ~1957), 59; C. de Wit, Le role et le sens du lion dans l'Egypte QIICiUJM
(Letden, 1951), 71 ff. For the other types cf. U. Schweitzer Lowe unJ
SpiJmx im a/ten Agypten, 6t-J. The hawk-headed sphinxe: are found
before the Nubian temples of Gerf Husen and Wady es-Sebua. Schweitzer
does not mention griffins in this position.
1
G. R. Levy, TIJe Gate of Hom, t 17 explains it in the much rarer sense of
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 9 COMMENTARY CHAPTERS 9-10
Plutarch's version, beginning as it does with ~yoo ehn, is closer to the
true ttadition. Cf. Norden, Die Gehurt des Kindu, JO, n. 3 Egyptian
texts often present gods giving an expose of their nature in the '1 am'
style, although it is mostly in a magical' or ritual-dram~tiC: cont':"t.
N ock3 has observed that no instance seems to occur of a detty speaking
urbi et orbi'. The present Saite inscription, although intended to
explain a statue, performs that more genera~ functio~. When ~e
goddess claims to be all that has been, and 1s, and wlll be, she 1s
arrogating to herself the kind of power originally ascribed to Atum
('the All') or Re' as creator-gods.4 Eventually Isis became the essence
of nature the creator of the world and of time.S The reference to
lifting th; mantle is dearly sexual, and it is echoed verbally in a magical
papyrus of the time of Hadrian .(PGM 57, 16-I7): _'[Isis], pure
virgin, give me a sign of the fulfilhng (of the charm), hft the sacred
mantle, shake thy black Destiny.' Cf. Nock, Coniectanea Neotestament.
1 I (I947), I74 In a Late-Egyptian text to which Spiegelbergli called
attention, Isis claims to have given birth to a son without male co-
operation. But she is not represented as a true 'virgin mother' and
elsewhere the native tradition makes a resuscitated Osiris the father of
Horus. In P. Chester Beatty 1, 4, 2 Hathor is said to reveal her naked-
ness before Re', and Spiegel, Die Eqahlung vom Streite des Horu.r und
I cf. Klasens, Mag. Stat. 67. The Mettemich Stela begins, 'I am lsis', but
it is the reciter who is identifying himself with the goddess.
a See Schott, Myth.e una Myrh.enhildung, 46ff.
3 In Gnomon :u (1949), 124. See also D. Muller, Isis-Aret. I 5 ff.; E. Otto,
Das Vernaitnis von Rite una Myth.us, 17, n. 32.
4 Cf. BD 17, 5 ed. Grapow: 'Mine is Yesterday, I know Tomorrow', where
glosses add that Yesterday is Osiris and Tomorrow Arum (cf. Clark, Mytlt
and Symhol, 157); P .-R., P. Turin (Dyn. 11) 134, 7: 'I am Yesterday, I am
Today, I am Tomorrow which has not yet come' (Seth says this to Horus);
and Rev. 1. 8. For Isis as a primeval being cf. Junker, Der grosse Pylon, 13,
4: 'the one who was in the beginning, the one who first came into existence
on earth'. See also A. M. Bakir in]EA 39 (1953), uo-u.
5 Norden, Die Gehurt des Kincles, 30, n. 2 compares Diod. Sic. 1. n. s,
Athenagoras, Pro Christ. 21. and Apuleius, Met. 11. 5 (saecu/orum pro-
genies initialis).
6 In z.As 53 (1917), 94-7, esp. 'I have played the part of a man though I.~
a woman'. But reference is also made to the seed of the dead Osms.
Hopfner's attempt to ascribe a similar doctrine to Neith lacks evidence
anterior to Horapollo.
Setlz, 42, n. 1 has argued that a plea for fertility is involved in the
custom, for which he cites Diodorus Sic. 1. 85. 3 and Herodorus, ~. Go.
It is doubtful whether the context of the Horus-Seth story fits such a
meaning; see my comment in ]EA 24 (1938), ~56. Spiegel cites two
interesting terracottas which depict sexual exhibition by goddesses:
Weber,. D_ie iiBY.pti.rclz-grieclzi.rclzen TerraJ.:ouen, text vol. r I9, n. 5
and Letpz1g Umv. Egyptian Mus. no. 3634. Plutarch, however, is
referring not to self-exhibition but to sexual violation by others.
p. IJO, 12. 'A1,1ow] Plutarch cites from Manetho an explanation of
the name Amtln which is very probably correct, the form being in that
case a passive participle of the verb lmn, 'Conceal'; see Wh. r, 83-4 and
~ethe, ~mun und die aclzt UrgiJtter von Hermopoli.r, 88. The interpreta-
non ass1gned to Hecataeus is explained by Hopfner, u, 85, following
Parthey, as referring to the Coptic ~o~, 'come!' This does not
account for the final n. Sauneron in BIFAO 5I (I952), 49-P offers the
more likely explanation that the Egyptian (l)ml.n, 'come!' is involved;
cf. Coptic b..\lOOil11 (B), "-.M.Olnl (F); and Ennan, Neuag. Gr. 362.
See also Fecht, Wortalq:em und Silhenstrulctur, 2p. Amun and Zeus
had been already equated by Herodotus, 2. 42.
CHAPTER 10
P I30, 24 el~ Aiyvm-ov acplKOIJEVOl] Plutarch mentions Solon's
Egyptian sojourn in his V. Sol. 26, where he also names Sonkhis of
Sais as his instructo~. He mentions Thales as a debtor to Egypt in 34,
364c-n; cf. Plato, Tun. 2I E-UA, where it is said that Solon heard the
story of Atlantis there; and Diodorus Sic. r. 96-8 on the Greek
philosophers' debt to Egypt. For a full discussion of the evidence see
Hopfner, u, 85-90 and his Orient und grieclzi.rclze Plzilosoplzie (Leipzig,
1925). He concludes that, in spite of the numerous testimonies, their
comparative lateness impels one to view them with reserve, especially
as they derive mostly from a period when the Greeks had succumbed
to Egyptomania. Further, the extant philosophical writings of the
Greeks, he thinks, show few traces of Egyptian influences. This view
has won acceptance, but Hopfner goes too far when he denies (op. cit.
31-2) that the early Greeks could have learnt anything from Egypt
about the sciences, or when he maintains (pp. 36-7) that Thales' doe-
a Daumas in Godel, Platon d Hlliopolis, 76ff. shows that there is no reason
to question the historicity of Plato's visit to Egypt.
285

COMMENTARY CHAPTER 10
trine about water was founded purely on observation. Hopfner is too
sceptical about the tradition which averred that famous Greeks visited
Egypt; Zuc:ker, 'Athen und A.gypten', 148 and 1~7 finds no difficulty
in crediting the tradition relating to visits by Solon and Plato, even
though he admits the presence of accretions. R. Anthes, 'Affini~ and
Difference between Egyptian and Greek Sculpture and Thought m the
Seventh and Sixth Centuries B.c.', PAPS 107 (1963), 6o-81 denies that
there was a basic difference between Egyptian and Greek modes of
thought in the sense of Frankfort's contraSt of' scientific' and 'mytho-
poeic'. Certainly logic did work, as he maintains, within the Egyptians'
speculative thought, but there are striking differences nevertheless.
On Thales (pp. 76f.) Anthes seems ready to accept a debt to Egypt,
adding however, that 'the essence of the Egyptian idea was basically
chang;d by Thales'. On Eudoxus and Egypt see G. Meautis, 'Eudoxe
de Cnide et l'Egypte', Rev. Phi/. 43 (1919), .11-JJ, and F. W. F. v.o n
Bissing, Eudoxos von Knidos: Aufenthalt in Agypten und seme
Obertragung agyptischer Tierfabeln ', FuF .1~ ( 1949), .1.1 5-30; J Gwyn
Griffiths, CQ 15 (1~5), 7~-8. In dealing with metempsych?sis (~P )&-
9) Hopfner omits to note that Herodotus, 2.. 1.13 also denves 1t from
Egypt.'
The names of the native teachers are genuine Egyptian. Khonouphis
is K/-nfr (U~&),~ in full KJ( .1)-nfr,' My-ka-is-flou?shing', ~e~ Ranke,
PN 1, 340, 10. Khonouphis is said to be a Memphtte, a~d 1t 1s w~~
noting that an example of his name is attested at Memphts.3 Sonkhis ts
probably a shortened form of Sesonkhis, given by Manetho as the
1 Without mentioning Pythagoras, it is true. While Hopfner is correct in
avowing that the doctrine is not found in Egyptian texts, the idea of the
transformation of the soul (ha.) into an animal or bird is frequently present.
The Greeks may have misinterpreted pictorial expressions of this belief.
See Morenz, .Agyptische Ewigkeit des Individuums und indische Seelen-
wanderung' in Asiatica: FS. F. Welltr (Leipzig, 1954), 414-.17; L. V.
:!abkar, 'Herodotus and the Egyptian Idea of Immortality' in ]NES .12.
(19G3), 57-63; and J. Gwyn Griffiths, jNES 15 (196G), G1.
~ For the ending -vov~115 cf. Wh. n, .154 and m, 97
3 See chassinat in Rec. trav. 2.5 (1903), S4 The stela is perhaps of the
Persian era. Clem. Alex. Strom. 1. 15. 69. I gives the form Konouphis; cf.
Plutarch, De gen. Socr. 7, 578F and Diog. Laert. 8. 87. Hopfner and
Parthey follow Lepsius in deriving the name from !fnm, the god ~urn,
but p/-(n)-!J.nmw gives naxvoii1Jt5, see Ranke, PN 1, 110, 17 and Gnffith,
Ry/ands, 4~6. See also Von Bissing, FuF .15 (1949), 115f.
286
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 10
Greek form of S!nlf. (Sheshonk; see Griffith, Rylands, 46o and
Ranke, PN I, 330, 6).! Oinouphis was emended by Lepsius to On-
nouphis; in that case it is a variant of Onnophris, a name of Osiris.
Onouphis occurs as the name of a name: see Herodotus, 2. 1 66
and other references in Wiedemann, HJt. 11, 577; cf. Daressy, ASAE
30 (I9JO), 78ff.; G. Lefebvre, Rev. J'egyptol. 1 (1933), 9I; H. Kees in
PW s.v. Onouphis (1939), 52.9. But this teacher was from Heliopolis
and the nam~ 'I';n (Heliopolis) may be preserved in the first part, th;
full name bemg lwnw-nfr (Q 8 ~ ~), 'the goodly Heliopolitan .z
p. IJl., I nv6cxyop1KWV TTOpttyyEAil<hc..>V) The comparison of
P~thag?rean proverbial sayings, each of which is figurative in style,
With hieroglyphic writing implies that the latter employs pictures
~e~phoricall~. This, ?f course, is not so) Plutarch gives examples of
hts mterpretanon ofh1eroglyphs in 10, 3~4F (the name of Osiris); u,
3HB (the sun-god and the lotus); p, 363F (an inscription in a temple
at Sais); cf. too 5I, 371 E.
Diog. Lae~t. 8. 17-I8 quotes some of these and other sayings, but not
the first, whtch means 'Do not eat in a chariot' or ' . on a stool'. If
the latter is the right meaning, it will refer to a night-stool, cf. Aristides,
Or. 49 I 9 ( ed. B. Keil). The general sense, either way, will be, ' Do not
try to do two things at once'. 'Do not sit on a bushel ' means 'Do not
live slothfully, but plan for the future' (a bushel being the day's
allowance, cf. Diog. Laert. foe. cit.).4 ' Do not plant a palm-tree' is more
difficult, and Babbitt emends to 'Do not cut the plant of a palm-tree ' S
but cp~TOIJEiV i~ not, unfortunately, attested elsewhere. Probably 'a
supersntton relanng to the palm-tree is entailed. 'Do not stir up the fire
1
L~psius, f!!!!owed by Parthey and Hopfner, proposed a derivation from
s. sr
n{t (~ 0 ), see Ranke, p NI, JOO, 2.2.. In other names 'nil seems to give a
dtfferent (though varying) vocalization: see Griffith, Rylands, 438 and
439
, Ranke, PN 1, 17, 19 gives 'Iwnw as a name; his 'Iwn-nfr (1, 17, tG) will
mean 'the goodly column'. This is a possible derivation also.
3 ~f. Gardine:, Egn. Gr. 11. An element of metaphor, e.g. pars pro toto, enters
mto detemunatives, and increases in Ptolemaic writing.
4 Cf. Plutarch, De /ih. educ. 17, Il.E.
5 He refers to 3 s, 365 A, where worshippers of Osiris are forbidden to
destroy a cul~vated tre~. ~eunier, 47, n. 1 suggests dte meaning is, Do
no~ do anything useless , smce the palm-tree when transplanted yields no
frutt. The idea of transplanting is Meunier's, not Plutarch's.
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 10
in a house with a sword' means, according to Diog. Laert., 'Do not
move the wrath and swelling passion of the great'; perhaps, rather,' Do
not provoke one who is already angry'.1
According to Plutarch, V. Num. I I the Pythagoreans believe fire to
be at the centre of the cosmos,' and this they call Hestia and the monad'.
In Egyptian mathematics the sacred eye of Horus, the wedjat-eye, was
divided into parts which denoted measures of capacity.1 Otherwise there
seem to be no parallels to Plutarch's statements here.J
p. 13z, 8 ocp6<XA~-tt;> !<CX\ ma\ll"T~] This correctly describes a writing
found in the Graeco-Roman era: 1=--
(see Wh. r, 359).4 The earlier
spelling used the throne-sign with the eye. A piece of false folk-
etymology probably lies behind the explanation 'many-eyed'. It is
based on the words cu, 'many' (Wh. 1, zz8) and irt, 'eye' (Wh. 1,
roGf.), and is also given by Diodorus Sic. 1. 11. z.S Cf. 'he of the
beautiful eyes', an epithet of the god, Leclant, Enquetes, 77
p. rp, 10 T0\1 6' ovpavov KTA.] A textually corrupt sentence which
can be retrieved, it seems, only by comparing Cyrill. Alex. C. ]ulian.
9 ""' HF 657 and Horapollo, 1. n. Sbordone in his edition of Hora-
pollo convincingly proposes a text similar to the one here adopted,
comparing 74, 381 A for the idea that the cobra does not grow old.6
Wh. VI, 78 lists 38 words for 'Himmel'. Of these the word ght is
sometimes spelled with a uraeus as the first sign (~ ~ or ~ ~ )1 and so
would suit Plutarch's statement. On the other hand he may be repro-
ducing rather a description of the word for 'eternity', tj_t ( in ..\)
which the uraeus is a regular part of the spelling. For the use of a
1
Cf. Plutarch, De lih. educ. 17, IlE.
1
See T. Eric Peet, The Rhind Mathematical Papyrus, 15-6. Their origin,
according to Peet, may have been different.
3 For Geb as 'the God Five' in Edfou, IV, uo, I3 see Fainnan in BIFAO 43
(1945), 107, obs. 1 . Plutarch elaborates on Pyt)1agorean arithmology in
his De E apud Delphos.
4 E.g. the form from the temple ofDenderah given by V. Loret in Rec. trav.
3 (t881), 45. line I = Chassinat, Le Mystere a'Osiris (1966}, !Ol, 5
S Cf. Brugsch, Rei. Myth. Il, who cites the Coptic OYJ.
6 aam6a 6' Ws cXylip(.l). Sbordone proposes for P I3l, Ioff. TOV 5' OUpavOv
Ws ay,'}pw 01' at6t~Ta (voj1{30IITS1 cicrnl5t aTjiJa{vovat), Kap61c;t (6E) 6vj16v,
etc. But it will suffice to add in the first clause Tij acrnl5t yp(rcpovatv, repeat-
ing this verb from line 8.
7 Wh. v, 16z. For an example of the first spelling (with a Nut-sign above) see
Dilmichen, Baugeschichte fks Denderatempels, Taf. 40, line 7
288
CO MMENTARY CHAPTERS Io-II
brazier-sign in a word for 'ardour' or 'passion' seeP. Prisse u z 1 the
. r.
stgn or 'heart , ts
. common in expressions referring to feelings.' '
P IJz, I3 axspes] They appeared so, perhaps, because as viziers
they were depicted as wrapped in long cloaks (A.H.G.). But viziers'
hands are shown, as in Kees, Kulturgeschichte, r8r. Vignettes in the
Book of the Dead sometimes show the forty-two judges of the dead in
a squatting form in which arms are not depicted; see the examples in the
Papyrus of Anhai, reproduced in Budge, The Boolc ofthe Dead ( 1909,
repr. I956), eh. u5, pp. 366 and 369. Such forms appear in other
contexts too: see the Osirian figures in Piankoff, The Shrines of Tut-
Anlclz-Amon, figs. 42 and 49 The idea of the impartiality expected in
the administration of justice is forcefully expressed in The Installation
of the Vizier', seeR. 0. Faulkner in]EA 41 (1955), 18-z9. But justice
as a blind goddess is a Greek notion; and such a notion, in a modified
form, seems involved here; cf. Diodorus Sic. r. 48. G. The Egyptian
goddess is Ma'at.
P 13z, I 5 K6v6crpos] Religious emblems were found on military
stan~ard~; ~ee Faulkner in]EA Z7 (1941), I 5-16; and perhaps soldiers
earned stmtlar emblems on sealings hung around the neck; cf. New-
berry, Scarahs, I 89 ('Scarabs bearing mottoes, good wishes, etc.'); and
the golden scarab of Capt. Amosis (?), Porter- Moss, Top. Bihl. v2
(~964)~ Goo. Hopfne~ is probably right in regarding the sentence begin-
nmg Wtth T[KTovat (hne I 3) as a later gloss, inserted by a reader who was
familiar with 74, 381 A.
CHAPTER 11
p. I32, zo llv&V~-tcrro:] Markland's correction is preferable to Xy-
lander's ('rra&ru.urra) in that it explains the corruption ~IJcrro: better.
Wyttenbach gives five occurrences of 1J\teVIJCX.
P 132, .u yeyovos oirrc.>] The emphasis is on oi'rrc.>; otherwise there
would be a suggestion that the allegorical interpretation precludes the
myth having actually happened. See A. B. Hersman Studies in Greelc
Allegoricallnterpretation, 30. '
p. t)l, z3 'Ep!Ji'jv] Since Thoth, the Egyptian Hermes, is never
1
u, l - n, J: 'The ardour of an easily inflamed man is quickly damped.'
See Z. iaba, Les Maximes de Pta66otep, pp. 46, 91, rp. The expression
~1-Jh, 'hot of heart' .is one in which both signs might easily occur. In fact tJ
Is usually spelled With the. brazier determinative {Gardiner's Sign-list, Q ),
7
but happens not to have tt here.
GDl
.
'
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 11
represented as a dog, but often as a cynocephalic. ape, Rusch (quoted
by Sieveking) thinks Plutarch wrongly wrote K\MX for KWOidcpcxAov.
As leader of the souls of the dead, however, Hermes was equated with
Anubis, the god of the dead who wa;; rep.resented as a dog, and s~ a
canine formr can be assigned to him m th1s aspect. Cf. the compostte
Hermanubis mentioned in 61, 375 E; and 'Hermes of the underworld,
Thoth, and Anuhis, . who has the keys of the regions of Hades',
SEG s, 574, :1f. (iii A.o.), a reference I owe to D. Muller.
p. IJ4, I Tbv "HAtov b< Ac.nov] In D~ Pytlt. or. ~ 21 400A-B aspects of
this interpretation are derided as Stole. The ~ld on. the ~otus, ~c
cording to the Egyptian myth, is Nefertem, who 1s a~so tdenufied wtth
the lotus-flower which the sun-god Re' held to h1s nose: see Pyr.
2
66a; Kees in ZAS 57 (1922), u6ff.; Morenz-Schubert, Der Gott ~uf
Jer Blume, I4f.; and R. Anthes in ZAS 82 (I957), 1-8. Later the chtld
is called Horus (e.g. P. Demot. Mag. Lond. Leid. IX, 1) or Re' himself
(e.g. Piehl, Jnscr. hiirogl. n, 78 6). . .
p. I , Tc!>V ..Antv &lroacpa~] In 441 368 F Cambyses also ~s satd
34 5 and Geb respectively, the deities of heaven and earth. A theory that
to have slain the Apis; cf. Herodotus, 3 29. Plutarch states m 3 I,
J6JC that Okhus was called 'The Ass' (not 'The Sword' as here),
implying, however, that the former name was given before hi~ slau~hter
of the Apis. But Okhus was a name home by two Pers1an kings:
Darius II (42.4-404 s .c.) and ArtaXerxes III (J58-JJ8). lt may ~e that
1
The Sword' was a name applied to the former, whereas lt was
ArtaXerxes III who was dubbed 'The Ass'.3 Many of the reports. of
Persian excesses in Egypt are much removed in time from the penod
with which they deal, and they bear the mar~ of fan~if~l ~~ggeration.
4 Rhea corresponds to Nut in her function as mother of the gods; cf. a
R. Merkelbach, 'Zwei Vermutungen zur Mtthrasrehgton m Nzm:e~ 6
(1959), IH-6 makes the interesting suggestion that the double ktlhng
of the Apis, which he ascribes to ~amb~ses and Ar~erxes Ill,. had :
mythical causation in that the Perstan king.was the mcarnate ~tthras,
if a sacred bull appeared, Mithras as the king had to repeat h1s great
deed and kill it.
1
cf. 44, 368 F. .r
~ For the latter see Kienitz, Gescniclue, 99 and 17off.; Petne, A Hut. O;
Egypt, m (t9os), 371 and 389; Drioton-Va?dier, L'.Egypte' (1961), 61 t f.
For Okhus as a name of Darius li before h1s accesston see J. Sturm. PW
s.v. Okhus (1937), 1768. . .
3 He was said to have placed an ass in the temple of Ptah; see Pet ne, op. cu.
s 4 Cf. R. W. Rogers, A Hist. of Ancient Persia, 198.
3 9
COMMENTARY CHAPTERS II- 12.
p. I ,34, 12 TOV s aA1)6f\ so~ f){etv KTA.] For the emphasis on right
belief cf. 1, 3 51 D. In rating superstition as no less an evil than atheism,
Plutarch is not abandoning the views advanced in the De superst. As
H. Erbse points out in Hermes So (I952), 297f. the idea there is that
piety (rucnJ3eca) is the middle between superstition (SecatSai!Jovla) and
atheism (a&:<hlls); and this idea is adhered to here. Cf. supra 25 f.
In line I4 Babbitt's proposal of arrocpe\ryoto for the MS anocpro~to
overlooks the fact that c%rrocpe\ryocs would be the normal pres. optat.
form. anocpe\J~et is more likely, and explains the corruption better than
Madvig's near-form anocpe\J9.l.
CHAPTER 12
p. 134, 16 TC;.;v O;xpf!<rrc..:~v] He returns ro some of these elements in
10, 358E. For some reason Hopfner omits the first sentence from his
text and translation.
p. 134, 16 'ri)s p~ kTA.] Rhea and Cronus clearly stand for Nut
Cronus corresponds to Anubis is mentioned later (44, 368E), but not
with approval. Nut and Geb were said to be the children of Shu 1 and
Tefenet, and these their parents had been engendered, according to the
Heliopolitan myth, by the sovereign god Atum through an act of
masturbation (Pyr. u48a-d) or of spitting or coughing (CT n, 3J-
4J). Plutarch's Helius will be Atum or Re', 2 two deities whose per-
sonalities were fused at Heliopolis, the latter being in origin a sun-god.
Gnostic papyrus (P. Lugd. Bat. s, 7, uf.) where Nut says 'I am the
mother of the gods, called heavenly' (Ayw EIIJtlltiTTlP 6eoov f} t<W.[ov]~
ovpc!n11os); see Brugsch, Thes. 735 and Bonnet, Real. 538. See also
D. Muller, Isis-Aret. 28ff.
What is problematic in Plutarch's account ofRhea is that she appears
to have as many as three consorts, namely Helius, Cronus, and Hermes.
That Helius is regarded as such is shown by his reported resentment
1
Shu as the god of the air was believed to have separated Nut and Geb in
their functions of heaven and earth, and he is described and depicted as
holding up the heaven with his arms; cf. Pyr. 1471 h and Erman, Re/.
figs. 2 and 3
2
In s:z, 37l o a view is discussed that Osiris is the sun; a view that Typhon
is the sun is rejected in s:z, 372.&.
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER ll
at the clandestine converse of Rhea and Cronus and later in the chapter
Helius is said to be the father (by Rhea, presumably) of Osiris and
Aroueris. Why Cronus should need to be clandestine about his union
with Rhea is unexplained; the fruit of this union is said later to be
Typhon and Nephthys. The third consort, Hermes, beco~:S the
father of Isis, and we have seen in eh. 3 a reason for the assoctatton of
Hermes and lsis.
In Egyptian mythology there are two contexts in which Nut and Geb
do not get on well together. One is derived from the cosmological
picture of Nut as a sky-goddess swall.owing her childre~ the. stars at
sunrise and giving birth to them agatn at sunset; Geb ts satd to be
angry with her because she eats her young ones. 1 However, this story
contains no mention of infidelity between Nut and Geb. Such a
mention is found in a 3oth Dynasty inscription from Saft el-I:Ienne:
according to this Geb violated his mother Tefenet and usurped the
sovereignty of his father Shu.l Although Shu was eventually clo~ly
associated with the sun-god Re',3 there seems to be no real connexton
between his conduct in the text edited by Goyon and that of Helius in
Plutarch's account. The curse of Helius on Rhea serves the purpose, in
this account, of explaining how her five children were born on the
epagomenal days; and so a hostile relationship has been i?duce~ to
show how the curse arose.4 One result is that a prior relattonshtp as
lord and spouse is assumed between Heli~s an~ Rhea. The Egyp~an
sources appear to yield no trace of Nuts havmg a .seco.nd or thtrd
consort. It may be that pictorial delineations of Nut bemg hfted by Shu
1 Frankfort et al., Tlze Cenotaph of Seti I at Abydos, u, pi. 84, line 3 and ~e
Buck's trans. in 1, 83. In this capacity Nut is regarded as a sow devo.un~g
her piglets; d. Grapow, 'Die Himmelsgottin Nut als Mutterschwem' tn
ZAS 71 (193 5), 45--'7 See also P. Carlsberg 1, 4, 35 ff. and Neugebauer
and Parker, Egyptian Astronomical Texts, t, G7 ff. . a BD 171-, xGf. ed. Naville (the 'two Horuses' are said to have played
1 G. Goyon, Les travaux de Chou et Jes tribulations de Geb' in Kimt G
(1936)1 1-42. _,
J E.g. P. Mag. Harris 7, z-3: 'I am Shu, the tmage of Re, who ~us wtthin
the weJjat-eye of his father' (ed. Lange, p. 57), cf. Lexa, Magte, n, 39i a
text of the 1 oth Dyn. For the connexion of Shu and Aten in one of the
Amama tides see G. Fecht, ZAS 85 (19Go), 103 ff., a ref. I owe to D.
MUller.
4 In p. Mag. Harris J, 8 tr. it is said that when 'Anat and Astarte were
pregnant, their wombs were dosed by Horus, but opened by Seth; cf.
Lange ad [oc. p. 31. The parallel is not a close one.
::Z.9::Z.
COMMENTARY CHAPTER U
and of the sun entering her body were misinterpreted to mean that she
was impregnated by some deity other than Geb. In one of these
representations (Frankfort et al., The Cenotaph. ofSeti I at Abys1 u
pl. 8r) Shu is shown lifting Nut, and the sun enters her mouth in th;
form of a winged disk.
P 1J4, 19 1TQ(~CXVTCX mrna] According to Plato, Plzdr. 274 D it was
the god Theuth (= Thoth) who invented draughts and dice (1m"nlas
1'1: J<al KVj3elas). An Egyptian origin seems quite likely. 1 That Plutarch
is here describing an Egyptian mythical episode is suggested by the
fact that the Egyptians, unlike the Greeks, could imagine the gods as
taking part in such games;~ further, in the Egyptian game of senet or
draughts, gods were involved in the symbolism. In the most popular
type there were thirty squares on the board, and the players' move-
ments were decided by throwing knuckle-bones and also by a system
of lucky and unlucky squares. There were five draughtsmen on each
side, but the opponent's men could not be removed. Gods such as
Horus, Thoth, and Neith are named in the squares. Victory was
indicated by position, especially in relation to five marked squares, and
the five days won by Hermes may refer in some way to these. Plutarch's
game seems, however, to involve a calendrical board, a special
elaboration, that is, of the earlier type; cf. the mO'C7E\JT1"}p1ov described
in P. Oxy. m, 470, rff. (iii A.D.).3 Here 'whites' and 'blacks' are
~e~tioned (lines 4-5~, and an arithmetical progression of 15 to 30,
gavmg a total of JGo, as referred to. The 'light' (cpcarr6s) of the opening
of the fragment is probably that of the moon, which is named in line 2.0.
It seems, then, that the moon is the power overcome by Hermes in his
progress on the board; his playing opponent may have been, in
1
Cf. Lafaye in Dar.-Sag. m, 991. s.v. Latrunculi; Lamer in PW s.v. Lusoria
tabula (1917), 1991; Ridgeway in ]HS 16 (1896), z89.
'Snakes'), d. Ranke, Das altiigyptisclze Sclz/angenspiel, 24; in Hdt. z. 11.1
Rhampsinitus is said to play dice with Demeter. The Greeks represent
heroes playing draughts: Euripides, IA, 195 ff. (Palamedes and Protesilaus)
and OJ. ~ 107 (P~nelope's suitors); a vase-painting by Exekias shows Ajax
and Achilles playmg: Buschor, Greelc Vase-Painting, fig. 96 (pi. 54).
3 Cf. J. G. Smyly in Grenfell and Hunt's ed. of the papyrus-fr. He quotes
Eustathius o~ a board marked as in the game of draughts, 'a board by
means of whtch the Egyptians treat of the movements of the sun and of the
moon and the eclipses'.
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 12.
Plutarch's source, Seth-Typhon, symbolizing darkness. 1 The statement
that Hermes ( = Thoth) was responsible for the five1 epagomenal days
accords with the role of Thoth as god of writing and calculation.
p. 134, n mayo~Jivas] In Egyptian these days are called ~lj'W rnpt,
'those upon the year, i.e. additional to the year': see Wh. n, 430 and
Gardiner, Egn. Gr. 203. In the Decree ofCanopus, 22 (Urk. u, 141, 8)
the Egyptian corresponding to rnl TaiS mvn Tai5 rnayo!Jhims is
~! c::. 1'W' I'!,
'added to the five additional days ',3
The Egyptians were the first to evolve a solar calendar, a process
which entailed adding, at some time or other, five epagomenal days to
the schematic year of twelve lunar months (i.e. of 360 days) which was
presumably in use before that. Parker has argued in his Calendars of
Ancient Egypt that this was preceded by a natural lunar year of 3S4 days,
to which an intercalary month had to be added every three (or rarely,
two) years. The question seems still an open one; but what must now
be abandoned, after the work of Neugebauer, Scharff, Winlock, and
of Parker himself (see his refs. on pp. 78-9), is the theory of an early
fixed 'Sothic year' which was propounded by Meyer in 1904.4 Win-
1 How the Egyptians precisely played their game of sl!nU is still a matter of
speculation. See Birch, Rlaampsinitus arul tlai! Gamt! of Draughts (Transac-
tions Royal Soc. of Lit. 1S6S); Wiedemann, Das Brettspiel hei den alten
Aegypum and Das Spiel im alten Agypten, cf. Erman-Ranke, ::r.9off.; M.
Pieper, Das Brettspiel der alten Agypter, also' Ein Text iiber das agyptische
Brettspiel' in ZAS 66 (931), 16-)3 and his Die iigyptische Lit. Ss, .fig. ::r.~;
E. Brunner-Traut, Bildostralca, 99 and in ZAS So (195S), ::r.3; Ketmer m
BiD!. Orient. 5 (1948), ::r.J; Winifred Needier,' A Thirty-Square Draught-
board in the Royal Ontario Museum' in]EA 39 (1953), 6o-7S
1
Actually the 7::r.nd part of 360 is required to give 5 Hence Scaliger's
proposed emendation. Still further precision would require the mention
of si days; cf. Diad. Sic. 1. 50. ::r..
3 The Decree sought to introduce a sixth epagomenal day every fourth year.
For the terms in the Canopus decree see Daumas, Les moyens J'expressinn
Ju Grec et de f Egyptien, 149. The role of Thoth is com~ared by D: MUller
to a depiction in Piankoff and Rambova, Myt/,ologzcal Papyrt, 1, 47,
fig. 30, where Nut is lifted up not by Shu, but by an ape, probably
Thoth.
4 According to this theory the solar year of 365 days was fixed at ai_I ~rly
date by observing the heliacal rising of Sothis or Sirius; and the applicaaon
of the Sothic period' enabled Meyer to maintain that 4141 s.c. was the
date of the inauguration of such a calendar. Since it involved adding the
7.94
COMMENTARY C HAPTER 12
lock' postulates a year of JOo-day months as early as Menes with a
variation of six, five, or four epagomenal days. Whatever th; origins
were, they resulted in two systems of month-names. Gardiner
h~ argued that a theological conflict concerning the sun-god
Re and Thoth as a moon-god lies behind the divergence. The
Plutarchean story, according to Gardiner,3 will ret!ect 'the calendricaJ
struggle between the two gods', and will be 'the outcome or the
cause of the conception dethroning the sun-god Re' as initiator of
the year and elevating the moon-god Thoth in his place'. But it is
Re' and Nut who are opposed in the myth. Thoth certainly helps
Nut against Re'. Whether the month called after Thoth was
originall~ intercalary is questionable; but a view of the year which
places th1s month first would obviously tend to link the epagomenal
days also with Thoth if these days were placed before the open-
ing month. It is as the author of these days that Thoth appears
epagomenal days on which Osiris and other gods were said to have been
b~m, it was further maintained that the Osirian religion was as early as
this: see Erman, Re!. 68 n. Although Neugebauer in Acta Orient. 17
(1939), 169fT. exploded this view, Hopfner, 1, ~~ repeats it. Neugebauer,
on the other hand, hardly convinces with his own theory that observation
of the Nile flood was the basis of the first calendar.
1
'The Origin of the Ancient Egyptian Calendar' in PAPS SJ (1940),
450
l 'The Problem of the Month-names' in Rev. J'lgyptol. 10 (1955), 1-31.
The present locus is discussed on p. ::r.G.
3
Op. cit: ::r.6. In his summary. of the myth Gardiner states: 'To the sun-god's
deep displeasure Hermes, 1.e. Thoth, had misbehaved himself with Rhea
(Nut, goddess of the sky), the wife of Kronos (Geb, the earth-god).
Thereupon the sun-god Helios (Re') cursed the goddess ... ' But it is
Cronus who is said to have thus misbehaved and caused the curse although
Hermes is then stated to have loved the goddess too. '
4
Whether the struggle concerns the authorship of the whole year is ex-
tremely doubtful. What is clear is that Thoth is presented as the creator of
the five epagomenal days, which Gardiner finds represented in the person
of Thoth on the Ramesseum astronomical ceiling, see his pi. 1, facing p. 16
and Parker, Calentlars, pls. ::r. and 3 Parker re-states his own position in
Rev. J'lgyptol. u (1957), 8~-107. He points out on p. 94 that the epago-
menal days are not expressly named on the Ramesseum ceiling. That is
~e; but neither is the intercalated lunar month, which he would see there.
Hts theory is nevertheless attractive.
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER Il
here. That they were constituted a good deal earlier than uoo B.c. is
shown by the allusion to them in Pyr. 1961 c (N). The story that the
five gods were born on them is clearly aetiological. 1 Meyer, suggests
that it was deliberately invented in order to popularize the calendrical
innovation reflected by it.J
p. 134, 24 o1TcXvrWV taiptos] Osiris as the eldest of the gods born on
the epagomenal days became, in Egyptian tradition, 'the heir of his
father Geb '. 4 DeissmanS has well expounded the oriental background
of the title taiptos. There can be little doubt that o'Tt'avrwv taiptos, used
of Osiris, derives from the Egyptian nh r ir, ' Lord of all', which is
applied to the sun-god and other deities, but also to Osiris6 on several
occasions. With the expression els <pWs 1Tp6Etatv Drioton compares a
statement, used of Onnophris, 'he appeared in the light': see his
Les dedicaces de Ptolemee Evergete II sur le deuxieme pylone de
Kamak.' in ASAE 44 (1944), 1u-62, esp. 131; he compares also
the expression from the temple of Khons: 'Osiris Onnophris, king of
the gods, who appeared in the light near the Benenet.' Although the
1
Lepsius, Cnronologie, 91 put forward the view that the five epagomenal
days represented the five planets, but there is no clear evidence to support
such a connexion. Cf. Sethe, Zeitreduwng, 1, 304, n. 2. On the other hand,
the five gods concerned were sometimes identified with constellations: see
Kees, Gottinger Totenhuclutudien (Berlin, 1954), 8.
1
AegyptuciJe Cnronologie, 9
3 In an Egyptian papyrus (A.D. i) Nut is addressed by a woman who wishes
to conceive a daughter ' in a free time, there being no hatred for ever'.
Drioton, BSFE 24 (1957), 39-43 thinks an allusion is made to the enmity
of the Sun-god and Rhea-Nut. The reference, however, is not to Nut her-
self, but to the woman, although Drioton's translation (p. 42) makes it
allude to Nut. See J. Gwyn Griffiths in]EA so (19G4), 182f.
4 Cf. Kees, Gottinger Totenhuclutuaien, 8.
S Light from the Ancient East (tr. Strachan)', 349fT. It was often used of
Sarapis, cf. Deissmann, 179 with n. 6 nnd Bell, Cults and Creeds, 84.
Neither of these scholars has noted the Egyptian antecedents. Hopfner
correctly derives the Plutarchean phrase, but without pointing to the
Osirian connexion in Egyptian.
6 7
Wh. u, 230, rG, six examples being cited. Wh. translates, 'der Allherr',
Gardiner, Egn. Gr. 573, 'lord of the universe'. For the phrase nh n!rb,
'lord of eternity', used of Osiris, see Christophe, Les divinitis ties colo~s
Je la grande Aypos:yle, 77; Zandee, MVEOL 15 (r9GG), 1of. The ntle
6TOi:hrCXV'T'Os KOajlov I<Vptos is used of Nero in SIC"- 376,31, cf. Deissmann,
op. cit. 354
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 12.
verbs are different, the parallel is striking, particularly as the same
god is described and bears, in the last quotation, a rather similar
epithet.
p. 134, 25 TlaJ..IVAflv] That liSpEVopM]v, the MS reading, is correct
and that a woman Pamyle is meant by Plutarch is suggested by the
fact that this person is said to have been fetching water and to have
afterwards brought up (6p~) 1 Osiris. Funher, Isis is the founder of
the Pamylia, a phallic festival, according to 36, 365 c, and it is women
who carry the phallic images in the similar festival described by
Herodotus, 2. 48. The phallic god Paamyles, whom Hesychius s.v."
designates as Aly\nmos Oees 1Tptcmoo5f1s, finding him mentioned in a
play called The Giants by the younger Cratinus (the line quoted is oos
aqJOSp<;.ls eia' Alyvrrnoo5sts, l:wxap% TTao:lJ.VAfls)3 is dearly a related
figure. Sokar was a Memphite4 god of the dead who was closely
associated from early times with both Ptah and Osiris. The latter
association, coupled with the mention of Sokar in the quotation
preserved by Hesychius, has led to the view that the phallic god
Paamyles is none other than Osiris.SIt is likely on philological grounds
that an epithet or by-fonn of Osiris lies behind the god's name.
6
Diimichen sought to derive the name from 6/ mrwtf, but this phrase,
'beloved soul', is used as a divine epithet in varied contexts: see Wh. u,
103, ;. Ebers7 compared the Phoenician root CD (C1D, DKD),8 pam,
'thick', 'swollen', suggesting that 1Tti!EA~s was possibly cognate and
that Min, the god of sexual fertility, was of like derivation, so that
:amyles was really Min. This would suit the phallic background, but
ts not philologically convincing. This divine name is undoubtedly
1
Admittedly used of men in Hdt. 2. 2.
~ Cf. Photius, Lex. s.v.
1
Thus emended by Kock, CAFu, 289, fr. 2. Kock interprets, 'Qyam valde
hi omnes Aegyptiam originem redolent. .. .
4
Hopfner, l, 29 wrongly places his origin in Abydos.
! Cf. Drexler in Roscher, Lex. and Rusch in PW, both s.v. Paamyles.
BauurlcunJe tier Tempelan/agen von Demkra, 39-40. The phrase is used of
Horus in the passage quoted by him.
'Ilcxpv'-TJs-Min' in ZAS 6 (r868), 71-2. He was supported by G. Hoffmann
in Z. for Assyr. 1I (189G), 257, who argues that -11'-TJS is a diminutive
ending, as in 'ASpa~o~v;l.TJs. Cf. Barguet, P. Louvre JJ;;6, 2.G, n. 4
8
Cf. C,D in Brown-Driver-Briggs, 8ro, and :17-l,D, 'superabundance of
fat'.

COMMENTARY CHAPTER 12
masculine for many masculine Egyptian names begin with p/.' It
may be s~ggested that Parnyles, as well as Paamyles, derives from p/
C/-mrwt, 'the (servant of) the great of love', a priestly title. The
Coptic .Mepl'r, 'beloved' can be -'t~.rr in Fayumic: see Crum, Copt.
Diet. 156; vocalization is difficult, but exact correspondences do not
often persist; cf. Gardiner, ]EA 47 (1961), 95 on Nh-ml't-R' as the
origin of Memnon. Stricker in OMRO 19 (1948), 69 compares
Paarnyles with the name P/-mry-s given to Osiris in a Theban
temple; see Porter and Moss, Top. Bihl. 11 (192.9), 7 (citing Legrain,
1 P 136, 2. <l>ai.Atlcpop{ots loucviav] Although the word <l><xAA1lcp0P1a
ASAE 6 (1905), 130 ff.). For Cl mrwt is found as an epithet of Osiris
in a number of Middle Kingdom hymns: see Selim Hassan, Hyrruus
Re/igieux du Moyen Empire, 2.7 ('great of love on earth'). It is also
used of Min, alluding doubtless to his sexual powers: see Edfou, I,
489, 6 and cf. Wh. n, 101, 4 Greek writers seem to have trans~erred
the title Pamyles from the priest to the god he served; that 1s not
so in the present context, but a feminine Parnyle will be an artificial
by-form.
p. 134, 2.7 JJ!ycxs ~a1Ae\Js EIJepyhT\s oatps] Since in the next
chapter Plutarch presents a view of Osiris as an earthly king, he may
be merely reproducing in IJ!yas ~atAM the well-known tit~e of the
Persian kings.3 At any rate there seems to be no exact Egyptian a?te-
cedent,4 although' Great God' (n!r C/) occurs ( Wh. u, 361, 2). Prev1ous
1 Many are preserved in Greek: s~ Preisi~ke, Nb. 1~ 1 and cf. _naJ.&oli&rls in
C. H. Roberts The Antinoopolu Papyrz, 1, J6, 6, for wh1ch see also
Spiegelberg, )gyptisches Sprachgut, 13 (p1-Mwt, 'der (Diener) der Gottin
Mut'), a ref. I owe to Cemy. . . . mdtcates the d1fference in Egyptian practice, stating that instead of
2 Epiphanius, Haer. 51. JOD mentions an Egypuan fesuva~ of 11 Tyb1
when everyone draws water'; in 19 a he equates this date With that of the
birth of Christ. Norden, Die Geburt des Kinde.r, J4, following Holl, would
therefore place the birth of Osiris on 6 January; but the evidence is weak
and late (A.D. iv). The birth of Osiris was celebrated on the first epago-
menal day; cf. Merkelbach, /sisfosre, 19ff. (the Julianic date = 14 J~ly).
3 Cf. Plutarch, Q}!omodoquis suos78D; Aesch. Pcrs. 2.4; Hdt. 1.188. Pmdar,
0/. 7 61 (34) uses the title of Zeus.
4 Whereas 'King of Kings' is frequently used in Egyptian of both kings and
gods (cf. J. Gwyn GriffidlS in Class. Phi!. 48 (19n), 145-54; for j3ClO'v.M
IJ!yas see pp. 14s-6), dte nearest thing to 'Great King' in that language
appears to be wr nmyt or CJ nsn:rt (Wb. n, 331, 14 and 1~), 'great, or,
mighty in kingship', phrases which are also used of kings ~nd gods, but
not apparently of Osiris. Hopfner, 11 19 compares the Egypnan wr-C/; but
l.98
COMMENTARY CHAPTER Il.
editors a~d.. translators unite in explaining Eliepyhns as adjectival,
?Ithough at ss rarely _thus use:ct elsew~ere. Like the preceding phrase, it
ts well known as a ntle of kings, bemg used of Antigonus and Trajan
(see LSJ s.v.) and of Ptolemy III, 1 corresponding to Egn. n!_r mn!J
( IP_h: n,. JGo, 5)..Plutarch, however, is probably referring to the
Os~nan ntle O~ph~s, which appears to be a variant of Onnophris and
which he explams m 41, 368B as meaning, according to Hermaeus
E\'Jepyhr}v. Onnophris is derived from the Egyptian Wnn-nfr, for which
see ad 42., 368 B.
seems to occur only here ( ~aywyta is used as a synonym of it by
C~mu~s, Tlzeol. Graec. 30), phalluses were commonly carried in
Dtonystac process10ns, and Plutarch must be referring to these. In the
Hellenistic and Roman eras a new feature of the cult was the Jilcnon
equipped with fruit and a phallus; see Nilsson, Dionysiac Mysteries,
33ff. For the popularity of the Dionysiac cult in Ptolemaic Egypt, see
ibid. I I : on the account by A~enaeus, S 198c ff.; Tarn and Griffith,
H~IJ. Ctv. 338f.; J. Boardman m]HS 78 (1958), 4-12, esp. 8, produces
ev1dence for the presence of the cult in the Egypt of the sixth century
B-<;= Pe~haps th~ ~raeco-Egyptian Osirian festivals had imported a
Dtonys1ac phalbc nte; cf. Norden, Die Gehurt Jes Kindes, 35, n. 2..
T?ere is nothing to suggest, on the other hand, that phalluses were
earned in procession in Egyptian Osirian festivals, nor often in any
othe_r Egyptian rites.1 Plutarch later (36, 365 n), referring in more
detatl to the Pamylia, mentions the carrying of an image of which the
~a~e member i~ triple in form; cf. 51, 371 F. Herodotus, 1. 48 correctly
this title is used only of subordinate princes and never of gods: see Wh. 1,
319, 19 and 10.
1
Wellmann in Hermes 31 (1896), 2.2.3 seems to think that the title has been
transferred from Dionysus to Osiris. He points out that according to
Hes~chius it was ap~l~e~ to Dionysus. Certainly it agrees with the picture
of D1onysus as a ctvtltzmg benefactor. The greeting to Osiris is compared
by D. MUller to the welcome given by the goddesses in P. Westcar 10,
2.2. ff. on the birth of three prospective kings.
2
Certain gods, such as Min and Bes, were usually depicted as ithyphallic,
and so was Osiris occasionally. A terracotta in Berlin shows Des-figures
carrying a huge phallus: see Weber, Terrakotten, ro1, no. 139 and pi.
13; also pp. 73 f.; cf. Stricker, OMRO 37 (1956), 40.
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 1l
(separate) phalluses' the Egyptians used images in which the phallus
was inordinately large.
The temple of Zeus' in Thebes will be the temple of Amun, for
Plutarch (9, 3HC) identifies the two gods. At Karnak there was, of
course, a great temple of Amun. Two Ptolemaic texts-: preserve a
tradition that Osiris was born at Thebes, but this is dearly the result of
his cultic prestige in the Theban area in the Ptolemaic period. His early
cult-centres were Abydos and Busiris.
p. 136, 1.-3 TOV 'Apo\rr]ptv] The Greek name, which occurs also in
Ptolemaic inscriptions (see SB, 8333, 1.; 8388, 1; 8389, 1.; the form in
these instances being 'Apofjpt~), is derived from the Egyptian lfr Wr,
Horus the Great', a term which first occurs in Pyr. Sp. 585 (in the text
of Neit, line 10)3 and was probably evolved in order to distinguish the
Horus of the royal cult from the Horus-gods of lesser standing.4
Plutarch's concern is dearly to distinguish him from Horus the Child,
the son of Isis and Osiris, though he appears to confuse the two at the
end of the chapter.S Junke~ has argued that Plutarch's explanation of
1
It is true that separate phallic objects are found: see Homblower in Man
(191G), no. 51 and (1917), no. 97; cf. Bonnet, Rtll/. 590ff. Goodenough,
Jewish Symhols, v, eh. Ghas made a valuable study of phallicism in Egyptian
religion, but has considerably overrated its importance in the Osirian
cult. Cf. his vol. VI, 71--93, esp. p. 77, where he discusses the Pamylia.
His view that 'd1e mystical phallic notion of moisture' was present in the
cult use of water, e.g., in the carrying of water-jars, is not well founded.
For remarks on his general approach seeP. M. Fraser in JEA 43 (1957),
103-4. See also Petrie, Amulets, 11. Plutarch returns to the subject of
phallic rites in t8, 3588 and 36, 3G5 B.
2 Gotterglauhe, ::zo6.
Brugsch, Diet. giog. 8G5, a text from Denderah, for which cf. Mariette,
Denderllh, IV, 68; the second text is Lepsius, Diem. IV, 19h (temple of
Karnak, remp. Ptolemy IX). There was also a belief that a leg of Osiris
was preserved at Thebes: see Kees, Gouerglauhe, 408 n. 3 In a Ptolemaic
text edited by Faulkner (An Ancient Egyptian Boolc ofHours, 1958) Osiris
seems to have acquired the attributes of Amlln at Kamak: see op. cit. 4, 9;
7, 8; 16, 19, and cf. Faulkner's remarks on p. x. Cf. too Robichon-Barguet-
Leclant, Karnalc-Nord, IV, 154 ('foremost in Thebes', ofOsiris). For the
Ptolemaic temple of Osiris at Kamak see Porter-Moss, Top. Bih/. 11, 69
3 Cf. the word sm.sw, 'eldest', perhaps used of Horus in Pyr. 301 h.
i For these see Mercer, Horus Royal God of Egypt, 117 ff.
s For Aroueris as the son of Rhea (Nut) cf. Pyr. 8.13 a ff.; for Helius as his
father (lSS F) cf. Pyr. 874h; 881 h (Atum).
6
Die Gotter!el:re von Memphis, 3o-1.
300
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 12
Aroueris as ' the elder Horns' deviates from the original meaning of
the epithet in the designation lfr Wr. He shows that a distinction
between a 'Horns the Elder' and a 'Horus the Younger' is not
maintained in Egyptian texts; that in the late texts lfr Wr is sometimes
called the son of Isis and Osiris; and that wr is used as an epithet of
other gods without bearing the meaning ' elder'. These arguments are
in themselves entirely convincing, 1 although that is not true of the
general thesis propounded by Junker, which is that Wr in this case
indicates the primeval sky-god, the focus of an early monotheism.
As for /fr, it probably means 'the one on high' ; and Horus is usually
represented either as a falcon or as a falcon-headed man. His identifica-
tion with Apollo begins with Herodotus (2.. 144)3 and may well have
arisen from the solar attributes held in common by the two gods.4
p. t 36, 4 Tij TpfT1) 8~ Tvcpwva] The description of Typhon's birth
constitutes the most striking of the correspondences with the earliest
Egyptian sources. It is natural to draw a parallel with an allusion to
Seth as 'thou whom the pregnant one spewed up when thou didst rend
the night .. Seth, who burst forth violently' (Pyr. zos a-h), as SetheS
has done, although he finds a reference in the Egyptian to a tradition
that the god was born through his mother's mouth. Merce~ notes
Indian parallels, including 'the well-known story of the Bodhisattva,
who was born through his mother's right side'. The outstanding
example of anomalous birth in Greek mythology is the story of the
birth of Athena from the head of Zeus,7 and had Plutarch known of a
1
Cf. Bonnet, Real. 171. This interpretation excludes also the view of Wr
as a superlative; for smsw thus used see Kees, ZAS 64 (1919) 104 and
'
2
Kees, op. cit. 41; Bonnet, op. cit. 309. For a different view see Mercer,
Honu Royal God of Egypt, 96. See also Fecht, Worra/qent und Silhen-
strulcrur, 155, n. 435 3 Cf. Diad. Sic. t .15. 7
4
Cf. Wiedemann, Hdr. II, 51.1; J. G. Milne, The Greelc Gods in Egypt, 1
S Sethe, Pyr. Komm. 1, 136. The first verb, however, may be regarded as
used metaphorically of ejection from the womb. Pyr. 1961 c refers to the
birth of the gods on the epagomenal days, but does not name the gods. An
entry in the Palermo Stone, 'second month, seventh day: d1e birth of the
gods', does not seem to involve the epagomenal days; see Schlifer, Ein
Brucl:stiiclc alriigyptitcher Annalen, 39; but a ref. is found in Kees, Das Re-
6 Hei/igtum des Konigs Ne-Woser-Re, m, SI and pi .z.8, no. 431 (Sdi Dyn.).
The Pyramid Texts, u, 97
7
See A. B. Cook, Zeus, 111, G5Gff. He describes it (p. 735) as 'a mydi of
JOl
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 12
form of the Egyptian legend which told of Seth's emergence through
his mother's mouth, he would probably have referred to the birth of
Athena as a parallel of some sort. According to a text from the cenotaph
of Sethos I to which we have referred above, the commotion which
affected the birth of Seth was present also in the fate of Nut's other
children. 1 An allusion to the same legend is apparently found in the
'Books and Spells against the God Seth' which Schott has edited. Nut
there ( Urk. v1, 57) addresses Seth thus: 'Is there a mother who eats her
child? Is there a woman who draws her knife against him who came
forth from her? I have opened my mouth to devour, I have drawn my
knife to make a slaughter on that miserable Seth and his confederates.'
The other children are not mentioned here; Seth is singled out. Seth is
also described in the same text (v1, 39) as having 'devised evil before
he came forth from the womb, he who caused strife before he came into
being'. One may further compare a reference in a magical spell
published by Sir Alan Gardiner in The Ramesseum Papyri (Oxford,
I9H) This spell is headed' Book for freeing a house from the poison
( ?) of any snake, male or female', and it is directed against Seth and his
confederates. Mention is madel of 'the confederates3 of that evil one,
accommodation' between diverse deities. Cf. C. J. Herington, Athena
Partlzenos anJ Athena Polias, 58. With this one might compare the
Egyptian myth of the birth of Thoth from Seth's head, discussed by
Erman in his Beitrage rur agyptischen Religion (Sitrh. Berlin, 45 (ISHG),
1141ff.); he notes (p. 1144) similar statements about Wepwawet and other
deities. The 'Tale of the Two Brothers' includes an example of impregna-
tion through the mouth in the episode of the princess swallowing a
splinter.
1
H. Frankfort u al., The Cenotaph of Seti I at Abyt!os, n, pi. 84; translation
by De Buck in vol. 1, 83 ff. Nut's children are imagined as stars: 'They
enter her mouth in the place of her head in the West. Then she ate them.
Then Geb quarrelled with Nut, because he was angry with her because of
the eating of her young ones. Her name was called "Sow who eats her
pig(let)s ",because she ate them' (De Buck's translation). Cf. P. Carlsberg,
1, 4, 35 ff. and la, 4, 13 ff., for which see Neugebauer and Parker, Egyptian
Astronomical Texts, 1, G7 ff. and 94
2
Gardiner, op. cit. pl. 41 and p. 13. I have used Gardiner's translation.
3 Gardiner states, op. cit. r3, n. 3: 'Perhaps this is the earliest intimation of
the fact that he was aided by confederates, see Wh.m. 450, 8.' His followers,
however, are mentioned already in the Pyramid Texts, 575 h; 58Bh-c;
1979C
J0.2
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 12
the son of Nut .. two tongues (?) 1 in the body of his mother Nut, ere
he had gone forth on earth '.
The mythology of the five epagomenal days has been documented
methodically by Schot~ in his study of ancient Egyptian festival dates.
In the Rhind Mathematical Papyrus3 the third day carries the note: 'Birth
of Seth: his voice was raised4 by the majesty of this god '; cf. T. G. H .
James, The Jfe~anakhte Papers (N.Y., 1962.), pi. 16, 14 ff. and p. 73
The cult of Seth had its first centre at Ombos (Nal$ada) in Upper
Egypt. Several other Upper Egyptian cult-centres of his are men-
tioned in the Pyramid Texts, and in the Fourth Dynasty a priest of
Seth .is att~ted at Sethroe in the North-east Delta.s The story of his
confl1ct With Horus, which was originally independent of the Osiris
myth, probably ~eflec.ts pre-d~astic struggles in Egypt. Seth is usually
represented by h1s ammal, whrch seems to be canine, although no agree-
ment has been reached as to its species, nor indeed as to whether the
animal is still found or is extinct, or whether it may be fabulous.
P 136, 5-6 'T"i)v ..latv w nap(typots yeviaeat] Plutarch does not else-
where associate Isis with water (in 31, 363 D Osiris is said to be the Nile
and lsis the earth) except when he states (38, 365F) that Sirius is
~o~ght to be the star ~f Isi~ (the MS reading, which I accept) because
1t hrmgs water. But he 1s agam on the track of a genuine tradition for
the r_nention of the birth of Isis near moist or rainy regions (reading
'TTCipvypots, cf. napuBpos) recalls the statement in the Rhind Mathe-
6
matical Papyrus, immediately after that relating to the birth of Seth:
'Birth of Isis : the heaven rained.' Schafer7 cites allusions which are
consonant with this. In the Mettemich Stela (line H) it is related that
when fire breaks out in a house, the sky pours down rain unseasonably
because Isis wishes to defend her son Horus thereby. In the p. Ebers
(69, 3ff.) a treatment for healing the condition of a woman who suffers
;he lat7 Paul Smi.ther, wh~ had studied this fragment, suggested to me,
1
2
he havmg been vtolent (?) The beginning of the word is missing.
Altaeyptisclte FestJaten (1950)7 esp. 991-3. See also Sauneron Les Fltes
Religieuses d'Esna (19<l1), 2.8; Bakir, The Cairo Calendar (196G), 4-5.
3
A. C. Chase, Tlze Rhind Mathematical Papyrus, r, 1 19 and u, pl. 10s.
1
w~. u, 4GG, 5. Peet and Chase follow Errnan in ZAS 2.9 ( t 89 I), 6o: The
maJesty of this god caused his voice to be (heard].'
~ Junker in ZAS 75 (1939), 77; cf. Cemy in ASAE 44 (1944), 295 ff.
Ed. A. C. Chase, 1, II9 and n, pi. 108; ed. Peet, pi. y no. 87 and p. 119.
7
'Isis Regengottin?' in ZAS GG (1931), 139. See further D. MUller, /sis-
Aret. 67ff.
JOJ
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER I2
drrough her milk, after hearing a male child, consists of a cry by lsis on
behalf ofHorus: she calls for water and flood to put out the fire on the
land. 1 The allusion in the Rhind Mathematical Papyrus doubtless
intends to present Isis as a rainMmaker, just as Seth is the maker of
thunder in the previous allusion.: Further, she is associated with Khem-
mis, near Buto; not only is she said to have given birth to Horus there,
but she is sometimes called 'She of Khemmis ;3 and Khemmis is
referred to as a moist, marshy place4 and is probably the district
described by Plutarch himself (38, J66A) as containing ' watery and
drenched earth. (v6aT~51lS KCXI ou:XI'floxos yii).
p. 136, 6 Tij 6~ nE~'TTTlJ Necp9vv] Here named after Isis in the tradi-
tional sequence, Nephthys is paired with Typhon in line 9 Both
links are fully confirmed in Egyptian literature, producing a curious
ambivalence by which Nephthys is at once the chief mourner, with Isis,
of the dead Osiris and the wife of Seth, his arch-enemy. The two
1 Of more doubtful relevance is the passage in the Harris Magical Papyrus,
7, 10 which describes Isis as 'weary in the water, while she raises hezself in
the water and her tears fall in the water'; a little before that she 'stops up
the mouth of the stream'. Schott, however, Altagyptische Festdaten, 888
explains the ref. in P. Rhind Math. as concerned with the tears of Isis for
Osiris. For a further ref. to the birth of Isis see H. Gauthier, Le Livre des
Rois d'Egypte (M/FAO 19 (1914), 2.64}, 'the fourth month of summer,
the fourth(?) intercalary day, the birth oflsis, before the festival of Amlln
in the New Year'. See also Bakir, The Cairo Calendar, verso IO, 9-10.
2 Cf. Pyr. JJ50c: ' I (var. King) bellow as Seth; P. Chester Beatty I, 16,4:
'and he (Seth) shall thunder in the sky'. Apart from her connexion with
Sirius or Sothis (e.g. Pyr. I636a), Isis does not seem to be associated with
water in the Old Kingdom.
3 See Spiegelberg in Rec. Trav. 2.8 (1906}, 182.-3, where 'Ecnyxi'j~15 is
explained thus. Cf. Otto, PT, u, 337 ..
4 For refs. see Klasens, A Magical Statue Base, 72.-3. The late tradlbon that
Isis was born in Dendernh (e.g. Brugsch, Diet. Glog. l.I6) is clearly due
to her being equated with Hathor of Dendernh. It is unlikely that the
association of Isis with moisture, as referred to by Plutarch, is a part of the
worship of Isis Pebgia, which did not begin until Hellenistic times; see
G. Vandebeek, Isisfiguur, 44ff. Plutarch describes the Egyptian view of
the sea as being unfavourable: 7, 353 E and p, 363 D. In the 'Book of the
Five Epagomenal Days' edited by Stricker in OMRO 2.9 (I948), 55-70,
under the 4th Day the birth of Isis is noted and there follows an apostrophe,
'0 lsis, who art in Khemmis' (.1, 14 and Stricker, P 68).
CO MMENTARY CHAPTER 12
goddesses in their function as mourners, however, are sometimes shown
as falcons, and they do not restrict this function to the lamenting of
Osiris; perhaps it is a pre-Osirian role related to the Horus-king and
referring to the Horus falcon. Cf. M. Werbrouck, Les Pleureuses dan.s
l' Egypte Ancienne (Brussels, 1938), 9-1o. Her name,~ gn
~, Cop tic
nd&w, appears to mean ' mistress of the house', but this does not
reveal her original form or place of origin.
Plutarch explains the name TEAvn't later (38, J66s; S9, 37S B) as
applying to the ends and boundaries of the earth and the places
bordering on the sea, because a destructive power is apparent in them.
Nephthys will have derived this association from her spouse Seth, who
begins as a storm-god and becomes eventually a god of the desert and
of foreign lands. It is Hathor who corresponds most to Aphrodite in
the Egyptian pantheon, and Bonnet' points out that at l;lu (Diospolis
Parva) Nephthys was identified with Hathor, suggesting, plausibly
enough, that this is the source of the application of the name Aphrodite
to Nephthys.2 Her warlike guise, as Nike, may derive again from her
partnership with Seth, who is very much of a battling god; but
Golenischef3 has published three representations from the Roman
period in which Nephthys accompanies Antaeus. Two of them derive
from ~aw el-Kebir or Antaeopolis, and Golenischeff believes that
Antaeus in this context will reflect an earlier Horus. Gardiner,4 how
ever, has shown that the god 'Ancywey, who was worshipped here,
was probably a form of Seth-Typhon, and his view receives some con-
firmation from the presence of Nephthys in the representations from
~aw ei-Kebir published by Golenischeff. This seems, then, a likely
source for Nephthys-Nike.
p. IJ6, 10 arrocpp6Sa] The ill omen would apply equally, thinks
Reiske, to the birthday of Nephthys, and so he proposes to restore KCXl
Titv nEiltn'TlV But Nephthys could sometimes be viewed, as we have
1
Real. p.of. See Chassinat, Edfou, vr, 2.2.9, I 1; Brugsch, Thes. 621, 7; and
cf. Gardiner, Onom. n, 33*.
2
Diod. Sic. I. 13. 4 refers to her simply as Aphrodite.
l ZAS 2.0 (188.1), 135-45 with pis. 3 and 4; ZAS Jl. (1894), r-2., with pi. 1.
In the last instance Golenischeff argues an affinity between Antaeus and
Zeus Helius Sarapis. Cf. Bonnet, loc. cit. See also C. C. Edgar, Greek
Sculpture (CCG, 190J), pi. 2.7 and p. 57
4 Onom. n, S3* Bonnet, Real. 52.0 names Horus-Seth as the prototype.
According to Diod. Sic. t. l.I. 4 Horus and Typhon fought in this region.
!10 Gill

COMMENTARY CHAPTER !2.
seen in a more favourable light. Even Seth's ill repute is by no means
con~stent. In the royal theology he is often on a par with Horus,
Further, he is always a beneficent god in his role as helper of Re'
against Apopis; and although an increasing degradation is discernible
in his general status from the New Kingdom onwards, he was specially
honoured both by the Hyksos and by some of the Ramesside kings. 1
That festivals were held on the epagomenal days is made clear by a
reference such as that in an inscription of the Ethiopic king Tanuta-
mtln~-an inscription which is admittedly a little puzzling, since it
implies that although the birth of Horus is the distinctive feature of the
day the ceremonies at Luxor are in honour of Amtln. But a passage in
a L~iden Papyrus3 suggests that there were at least offerings to the gods
concerned.
There is no detailed confirmation of the treatment of Seth's birthday
in the way described by Plutarch. A Calendar of Lucky and Unlucky
Days from the late New Kingdom4 omits the five days in question. So
does the Calendar in P. Sallier IV. The Cairo Calendar records the day
beneficently.s In a festival calendar which attacks Seth, the entry for
1 Holwerda wishes to delete ol!3a01MTS in line 10, because such observances
would not be imagined, he argues, as confined to the kings. This is true;
but the kings might well be regarded as setting the norm in religious
practice.
~ Brugsch, Tlses. 14S3, 1-2: 'Year 3, the birth of Horus ... this day of
entering into AmO.n of Luxor, the bull, the high of arm, the begetter of the
gods, by the Beloved-of-the-god (a priestly ti~le), servant of the ~ull-of
his-Mother.' In several of the N.K. refs., as m an ostracon (Cmro, no.
2s,S:u) and in a diary of theTheban necropolis (see Schott,FestJaten,993),
the expression 'the birth of (a god)' is used to denote the particular day
after the general reference to 'the five epagomenal days'. Examples are
found alluding to the five gods in question-Osiris, Horus, Seth, Isis and
Nephthys.
34s, 11, s ff. : 'Then the heaven will no longer exist I Then will the earth
3 1,
no longer epst I Then will the five epagomenal days of ~e ye~r no longer
exist I Then will the offerings of the gods and lords of Hehopohs no longer
exist!' Cf. Schott, op. cit. 888; and P. Leiden I, 346, 2, 5ff.: 'List of the
epagomenal days of the year,. what .is re.cited on ~.em.' ..
4 Budge, Facsimiles of Egyptian H1eratzc Papyrz zn the Bruuls Museum
(London, 1910), 41-3 and pls. JI-2.
5 Ed. Bakir, Verso 10, 8-9: '0 Seth, son of Nut, great of strength ... Protec-
tion is in thy worthy hands ... The name of the day: It is powerful of
heart.' See Bakir, p. so.
,.
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 12
the third day is ' Thou wast mighty on the third day: Falcon of ever-
lasting beauty'; and for the fifth day it has, 'Thou didst pour ( ?) the
water on the fifth day: pure fish before the ship of Re". 1 The anti-
Sethian nature of this text is seen by the fact that Horus and Re' are
honoured on the days which were originally devoted to Seth and
Nephthys respectively. The calendar of the time of Ramesses II which
was acquired by the Cairo Museum in 1943 has three sections dealing
with the epagomenal days, and they agree in devoting prayers, spells
and amulets to the five gods concerned, in view of the dangers involved.~
P. Leiden I, 346, 2., 7ff. brands all the epagomenal days as unlucky.
On such a day the usual injunction is to abstain from work,3 much as
Plutarch characterizes Seth's birthday.
p. 136, 14 .Ov 'Apo\n}p1v OIFroo YYovWai] This view, which Plutarch
does not himself endorse, involves an equation of the original royal
Horus and Horus the son of lsis and Osiris. The equation is found,
however, in Egyptian texts of the late and Ptolemaic eras, as Junker
has pointed out.4 The general idea seems also to be Egyptian, although
it is not attested of any form of Horus. (The tradition of the generation
by Osiris, after his death, of the child Horus, son of Isis, is familiar to
Plutarch (19, 3580), so we are probably not dealing with a modified
form of that tradition.) Pre-natal activity is once (Urk. VI, 39), as we
have seen, connected with Seth, for he is said to have 'devised evil
before he came forth from the womb'. In An Ancient Egyptian Book of
Hours (ed. Faulkner), 161 1 sff. Osiris is described as 'head of the Five ,
'the first-born of Geb', and as one 'who came forth from the womb
with uraei on his head'. Such sayings imply a predestined role; cf.
Morenz, Unrersuchungen :rur Rol/e des Schicksals, 13.
In the case of Typhon and Nephthys, according to both filiation
details given for them, there is a marriage of brother and sister. That is
true also of Osiris and Isis if the opening of the chapter implies that
1
Uric. VI, 141 1 5ff.
~ A. M. Bakir, The Cairo Calendar (19G6), Verso 9, u - 10, 10; 11, 2--,;
t6, 1- 10; cf. Id. ASAE 48 (1948), 430.
3 Cf. W. R. Dawson, 'Some Observations on the Egyptian Calendars of
Lucky and Unlucky Days' in]EA 12 (1926), 26o-4. In P. Leiden 1, 346 it
is the emissaries of Sakhmet who threaten disease on these days; cf. Schott,
FestJaten, 888-9; Stricker, OMRO 29 (1948), G3 and 68f.
4 Die Giitterlehre von Memphis, 30, quoting Apopisbuch (::: P. Bremner
Rhind) 26, 16; and Chassinat, EJfou, 11 104, 7
307
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 12
they were children of Rhea and Cronus; they are half-brother and half-
sister according to the statements that Hermes is the father of Isis and
Helius that of Osiris. In Egyptian tradition both unions are represented
consistently as full brother-and-sister marriages, a fact which raises a
problem not yet wholly solved, for marriages of this kind did not
prevail in Egyptian society in Pharaonic times in non-royal families. 1
For the Graeco-Roman period Sir H. Idris BelP has shown that the
custom was common. One must conclude that the Osirian myth
reflects in this respect, a necessity imposed by the myth and that in the
Graec;-Roman era the custom was the result of foreign influence.
1
See J. Cemy, 'Consanguineous Marriages in Pharaonic Egypt' in]EA 40
(1954), l.J--9 He smtes on p. :2.9, 'we have no certain instance of a marriage
between full brother and sister'. Of the royal families, however, he says
(p. 23) that 'enough evidence seems to have been adduced to accept the
custom as proven'.
~ 'Brother and Sister Marriage in Graeco-Roman Egypt' in Revue Imer-
mzriona/e des Jroits Je f AntiiJuitll. (1949: Melanges De Visscher, 1), 83-9::1..
See also Hombertand Preaux in Hommages dj. Bitfer et F. Cumonr, 135-4:2.
and A. Hermann, Altiigyptische LiehesJichtung, 75-8. H. Thierfelder, Die
Geschwisterehe in hellenistisch-romischen Agypten (Munster, 1960) accepts
the view that the custom became common only in the Ptolemaic and Roman
periods, and suggests (pp. 94 ff.) tha~ the example of Ptolemy 11 in marry-
ing his sister Arsinoe, a marriage compared with that of Zeus and Hera,
was an influential factor. B. R. Rees in his review in CR u (I9(if), "95 f.
shows that the formulae used in Roman official documents enables more
detailed evidence to be available for the Roman era. Liiddeckens, Agyprische.
Ehevertnige. (Wiesbaden, 196o), 6 states the view that brother-sister marri-
age was not usual, but was possible; also that marriage between parent and
child was imaginable. He points out th:u both occur in the world of the
gods, instancing Osiris and Isis, and Amfln and Mut (father and daughter).
AppliC<~tions from mythology to society are, however, dangerous. Zeus
married his sister Hera, according to the Greek myth, but what phase of
Greek society tolerated this procedure? For a detailed discussion of the
early evidence for brother-sister marriage in relation to Osiris and Isis see
J. Gwyn Grifliths, The Origins ofOsiris (Berlin, 1966), IJl.-44
J08
COMMENTAilY CHAPTER IJ
CHAPTER IJ
P 136, I6 BaatAaioiiTC( 5' "Oapav] The view of Osiris as a human
king, and especially as a civilizer and bringer of culture which is found
also in Diod~rus Sic. I. I4. 1 ff.~ belongs to Greek rath:r titan Egyptian
th.ought and IS ~!early due to his identification with Dionysus, coupled
With the equanon of Isis and Demeter. For these groupings see
He~~dotus, z. 144 an~ I 56. To the Egyptians of the Old Kingdom
Osms was a god and king of the dead. He was gradually invested with
powers of fertility, being identified with com. In the Ramesside
Contendings of Horus and Seth, I4, u Osiris declares that he made
barley and spelt; see Gardiner's note ad loc. and cf. Blackman, Osiris
as the Maker of Com in a Text of the Ptolemaic Period in StuJia
Aegyp!iaca, I (~ome, 1938), 1-3. The Greek emphasis on the discovery
o~ agnculture ts somewhat different, and in the present picture it goes
With the other marks of the civilizing pioneer, namely the release from
a primitive life, the establishment of laws, and instruction in religion.
An association with com was of course enough to produce the double
equation of Osiris-Dionysus and Isis-Demeter. It is from Demeter
.I
that the ideas ~ere mention~d are derived. She was pre-eminendy the
go~dess of agncul~re, and Jt was from Eleusis that the knowledge of
agn:ulture was da1med to have spread, Triptolemus the Eleusinian
havmg been sent by Demeter with the mission of spreading it. 1 In this
respect, therefore, the figure of Triptolemus lies behind that of Osiris
?ere. ~h.e o?ter qu~lities are mostly Demeter's, for she is 8eaJ,.l01p6pos,
law-gvmg , an eptthet assigned to Isis in the' Praises~ Demeter too
brings peace: see Callimachus, Cer. IJ7 and cf. the phrase here used
about the absence of warlike arms. Music and poetry, however, are the
1
Callimachus, Cer. 2o-2; Ovid, Mer. S 645 ff. From her corn-making
comes h;r connexion with Ploutos and Ploutodotas, see Nilsson, Gesch.
Gr. Re/. 1, 849.
l Cf. supra, p. 264, n. 2; cf. too the Aretalogy from I os 3 (Peek /sishv.m"''"
Pll.J); caIvu~ mS~rvus,aJ
'
A,en. 4 58 (of Ceres-Demeter): . ~,
et' leges"sancras
docuit .er cara 1ugavu / corpora conu/,iis et magnas conJiJir urhes. Originally
the.epthet the~mop~oros probably meant ' bringing the remains of the pig',
which were miXed an the Thesmophoria with the seed-corn. Later it was
interpre~ed as legifora: see Deubner, Attische Fesre, 44 and Nilsson, Gesch.
Gr. Re/. I, 464. For the celebration of the Thesmophoria in Ptolemaic
Egypt see Visser, Giitter unJ Kulre, 37

COMMENTARY CHAPTER IJ
attributes rather of Dionysus, and Plutarch is referring mainly to them,
presumably' in his o6ev! . . .
The Royal Canon of Turin, ed. Gardiner, pl. 1, I 5, begmmng wtth
the 'divine dynasties', names Osiris as a king who followed Geb and
was himself followed by Seth, Horus and Thoth. No one has attempted
to euhemerize in the case of these other gods, and to do so with
Osiris is indefensible in spite of the lengthy quotations supplied by
Hopfner on the matter. Osiris is represented ~th the royal crook and
flail as well as with a crown, but these attnbutes he undoubtedly
borrowed from the kingship of the Pharaoh.l He is called' King' in the
Isis-Aretalogies, see D . Muller, 29, and his name is often placed in a
cartouche in Ptolemaic times.
p. I 6, 22 vec.rnplaa1] The pattern ofao~st infi?itives is ~n~ned in
3 episode in the papyrus may belong to the saga of Seth's persecution of
this section of the narrative, although there IS constderablevananon else-
where. Emend here, then, to vec.rrEplaat and in line 2.4 to llllXCM')aao6at.
p. I 6, 2 ~v;\anea&x1] The Hymn of Amen-mose to Osi~s? lin: 13
3 3
(p. 739 in Moret's ed. in BIFAO 30 (193I)) states that hts stster
arranged his protection'; in line I 4, ihid. Isis is 'she who saved her
brother' by seeking him; cf. Edfou, I, I66, I4i 1, 5I9, 11-12.. The
Egyptian texts speak more often of her pr~tectio~ of H~rus, .who is,
unlike Osiris still alive and they never deptct her tn the sttuanon here
described by' Plutarch. ' When Osiris is absent, it is because he ts . 1ost
and in danger.
p. I 8, I 'Aaoo] Plutarch states in 39, J66c that the queen of the
3
Ethiopians signifies the south winds which aid Typhon as the force of
drought. Jablonski, Panth. v, 3, I26 refers, in an attempt to explain the
name Aso, to the expression in a Coptic version of Acts 8. 27
oypooM nee3'001!J ('a man from Et?iopia'), but G'OO!!J (K~) can
hardly be equated with Aso. Pape, Ergennamen, s.v. compares Aacns,
the name of a Hyksos king in Maneth~ ap. jos7phus, ~ .Ap. 1. 1.4
Prof. Leclant kindly points out that A!t occurs m Meromc for lsts;
he cites F . Ll. Griffith, Meroitic Inscriptions, 1, 72 (no. 49) and ]EA
3 (I916), 114, 117; Zyhlarz, Anthropos 25 (1930), 4I5, 422.
I cf. Diod. Sic. J, 18. 4, where the satyrs are said to meet him. See further
Wellmann in Hermes 31 (1896), 1nff.; but he would derive the whole
picture from ideas relating to Oionysus. P. Foucart in his Les Mystiru
d'E/eusis, ff. discusses qualities common to Isis and Demeter; he does
47
not succeed in establishing their Isiac origin.
3 Cf. Wainwright, Slcy-Religion, 10, n. 1.
3.10
COMMENTARY CHAPTER IJ
T~e Egyptian texts often mention the ' confederates of Seth, sm/yt
bemg the word most frequently used.' Their number, however, is
never mentioned.
p. 138, 3 MpVCXKCX KcxAT'l\1] A word used later (Is, 357 A; 44, 368 o) is
aop6s, 'coffin', and there can be little doubt that this is the original
sense of the Osirian chest. It derives from the funerary origin in which
the sarcophagus was the attribute par excellence of the 'Foremost of the
Westerners'. The detail of the Plutarchean episode is not, however,
paralleled. In P. Mag. Harris 8, 9- 9, 14 there is a story of a giant
of 7! cubits entering magically into a shrine of ! cubit. Maspero1
suggested that this was a summary mention of the story in Plutarch.
Schafer,3 who corrected the reading 8 cubits' (of the shrine) to
'!cubit', showed there was no connexion, although he believes the
the young Horus in the Delta. In Pyr. 1 84a-h Osiris is addressed as
'He who is in the god's hall (the place of embalming), He who is in the
fumigation, He who is in the chest, He who is in the shrine He who is
in the sack', and Sethe, Pyr. Komm. I, 92 thinks that th~ three last
epithets refer to the myth of the god being thrown into a chest. No
such a detailed reference can be admitted, even though the situation
from which the myth originated is doubtless suggested.4
p. 138, 8 l:rnppfi~at] The MS reading is restored here. Cf. the
reading of several MSS in Sophocles, 0 T, r 244.
1 Wh. 111, 4~o, u. In the Edfu legend of' The Winged Disk (E4{ou, VI, u8,
7 ff.) a campaign against Seth and his confederates involves action in Nubia.
Cf. Fainnan,]EA :u (193~), 35 and J. Gwyn Griffiths,]EA 44 (1958),78.
2
Histoire ancienne des peuples Je /'orient classique, I (1895), 175, n. 2.
3 In z.Js 41 (1904), 8r-J.
4 Cf. Conflict, 7, n. 4 The allusions are all to funerary places and objects,
and the 'sack' may refer to the most primitive mode of burial. In the word
Jhny, 'He who is in the chest', the object referred to is a curved receptacle;
cf. the detenninative in Cairo 1391, a stela of the Old Kingdom. That
Osiris, whose very appearance is consistently mummifonn, should be thus
related to modes of burial, is perfectly consonant with his nature. The
story recorded in Plutarch recalls the depictions of the god in or on a sar-
cophagus : see Bonnet, Bilderatlas, ISO.ff. Cf. the phrase 'one who awakes
whole presiding over the coffin' in Caminos, 'A Prayer to Osiris' (:u.nd
Dyn.?) in MDAIK 16 (FS. Junker, u), 11, line ~. Tltis is why the
myth does not fit easily the parallels adduced by N. M. Holley in ]HS 69
(1949), 39-47> they are cradle-chests mainly.
Jll
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 13
p. 138, u. 6vo~a3e1v] The aetiological treatment of place-names is
very common in Egyptian texts, especially in those of the Ptolemaic
era. While the particular name involved here is not easy to get at, the
MS reading is definitely preferable. Kees, Tote~glauben , .I~I-:1 finds
2
the mention of the Tanitic mouth consonant wtth a tradiuon of the
murder of Osiris in the 11th Lower Egyptian nome, near Horbeit and
Saft el-Henne. Certainly Tanis itself is well steeped in Sethian asso-
ciations.1
P IJ8, 13 {f)OO)J.l) rnl StJx )J.l)VOs 'A6VpJ In 39, J66~ Plutarch S~tes
that this is a time when the Nile is recedmg and the mghts are getung
longer; in J66E he assigns four days tO the f:-~val of mourning for
Osiris while in 4:1 367E he reiterates the tradtuon of the 17th of the
month being the date of Osiris' death (without naming the month).
The Denderah texts on the festivals of Osiris name Khoiak rather than
Athyr as the month concerned:1 see Chassinat, !-e mystere d'Osiris
au mois de Khoialc (Cairo, 1966), 1o6, 19. The dtscrepancy has been
variously explained. Since Athyr was the month preceding Khoiak,
Loret3 suggested that Plutarch merely confuse4 the two months.
Parker Calendars 41 proffers the view that 'the civil year was nearly
the sa~e as the ~. Sothic" year in the latter part of Plutarch's life
(c. A.D. 4()-.(', uo) and that his dates are simply those of the civil year
rendered in terms of the Alexandrian calendar'.4 As Khoiak was the
last month of the inundation season and was the rime of sowing,
the idea of the death and rebirth of vegetation was a part of the
Osirian festive rites which were connected in a special way with the
1 Bonnet, Real. 765.
1 The Denderah festivals which were celebrated also all over Egypt, lasted
from the uth to the 3~th of Khoiak and the exact location, within this
period, of Plutarch's four days, is uncertain. P.luta~ch's source~ may well
be earlier than the Denderah texts, which are mmnly 1 s.c. P. Salher IV (19th
Dyn.) marks 17 Athyr as an inauspi~~us d~y when .Isis and Nephthys
make great lamentations for Onnophns m Sats; see Wtedemann, Ref: :164.
The Cairo Calendar ed. Bakir, recto 14, 8-10 suggests that both Sms and
Abydos are involv;d in the mourning of Isis and Neph.thys on this day.
For a\lusions in the papyri to Isiac events in Athyr see Btlabel, Fme, 39ff.
3 Rec. trav. 5 (1884), 103. See further Introduction, 64ff. , 4 This last point is questionable. The god is shown holding his huge genera-
4 He is postulating a 'lunar year based on Sothis' as ~pposed to a. fixed
calendar based on Sothis' (the view of Sethe and Wetll). Intercalanon, of
course, makes the former 'fixed' too. See also Chassinat, op. cit. 2.9, n. r.
JI:Z.
COMMENTARY CHAPTERS 13-14
kingship. 1 The Athyr of our text probably derives from a Pharaonic
phase of the shifting civil calendar.
Plutarch reverts to the twenty-eight years in 42, 367F-368A.
CHAPTER 14
p. 138, 17-18 navwv !XI Lcrropoov] This seems to be a Dionysiac
element introduced without even an attempt at Egyptianization,
except in the reference to Khemmis. The Khemmis in the Delta near
Buto is probably meant; cf. Herodotus, :1. 156. This place is associated
with the birth ofHorus, and Plutarch in x8, 357F refers to it as Boutos
(cf. too 38, J66A). Further, Plutarch has just mentioned the passage of
the chest containing the body of Osiris through the Tanitic mouth of
the Nile, so that a place in the Delta is naturally referred to now
again.1
naves appear in the cult of Dionysus from the fifth century D.C.
onwards, as companions of the Satyrs and of course of Dionysus him-
sel.3 Other commentators, however, are united in seeing Panopolis in
Plutarch's Khemmis here, comparing Herodotus, 2. 91 and Diodorus
Sic. 1 . r8. 2. Now Panopolis (Akhmim) was an early centre of the cult
of Min, the god of sexual fertility. Hopfner, I, 4:1-3 emphasizes that
Min is represented as ithyphallic and in the act of masturbating;4 he
points out that Pan and the Satyrs are often shown in a similar mode,
and therefore seeks a connexion here with Panopolis and Min. The fact
remains that although Min is a parallel to the god, there are no Egyptian
parallels to the Pans and Satyrs who figure as subsidiary members of
the Dionysiac thiasos; cf. Merkelbach, Roman und Mysterium, :14
Hopfner goes on to quote the story of the death of ' the great Pan'
in Plutarch, De def. or. 17, 419Aff. This he believes, on insufficient
grounds, to refer to the death of Osiris.S That such a gay god as Pan
1
Blackman in Myth and Ritual, 2.4ff.; Frazer, AAO II, 86ft'.
2
Gardiner, ]EA 30 (1944), 54 appears to disagree. For the name and
situation of Khemmis see Blackman and Fainnan, ]EA 30 (1944), 19ff.
3 Nilsson, GesciJ. Gr. Re/. 12, :136; Wellmann in Bermes 31 (1896), :1:14,
n. 4 Stricker, OMRO 37 (1956), 45 rightly compares the god Bes.
tive member, but it is not clear that he is masturbating.
5 For the extensive lit. on this story see Fr. Brommer in PW Suppl. 8
s.v. Pan (1956), tOO'].
313
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 14
should have given rise to the idea of 'panic' is strange. The .use of
in this sense is not early.
1TCl\IIKOs
P 138, 21 T&v 'ITAOKQ~V m] Coptos was on the east bank of the
Nile, nearly opposite Ombos (Na~ada). A dedication at Coptos, dated
to A.o. ros, is to Isis, possibly in this connexion: Jtn5t TPIXt:>~JCrros
&9: IJEYfa-rt;l (Preisigke, SB 1, 999, 6--9 and Wh. m, 389), where, how-
ever, another reading is Tij XOO!lCX'fOS for TPIXW!lCX'fOS. In P. Michigan
vm, soz, s (A.D. ii) ed. Youtie and Winter, a prayer for health is made
'near the hair at Coptos' ('1Tapa TOlS paxt:>~JCX<T~ tv K01M'Cjl).a
Aelian, N A 1o. 2.3 states that Isis was venerated at Coptos, especially in
rites of mourning; cf. Etym. Magn. s.v. KO'IT'T6s, which seems to follow
Plutarch. Lucian, on the other hand, Adv. indoct. 14 (tu) - HF3r4
says that the Memphites show the locks of Isis; cf. Apostolius (A.o,
xv) in Corp. Paroemwgr. Gr. ed. Ludov van Leutsch, n, 71o, par. 82..
Again, 'hair of Isis' (lat5os pfxes) was used as the name of a plant;
see Plut. De foe. 2.5, 939 D and the note by Cherniss ad loc. (Loeb ed.
1957, p. 173, n. a), and cf. Pliny, HN 13. 2.5. 142. (Jsidis crinem).
In Egyptian tradition Isis is prominent at Coptos from the N.K.
onwards.l But there seems to be no allusion in Egyptian texts to lsis
cutting a lock of hair in mourning. This Greek custom4 was not found
in Pharaonic Egypt,S where women showed mourning by wearing their
1
LSJ cite Josephus, BeO. jua. S 2.. s and Polybius, 2.0. 6. 12. as the first
examples. Wellmann in Hermes 31 (1896), u4, n. 4 cites the Xlth Orphic
Hymn, v. 23.
2
The editors say (p. ru) that 'lsis went by the name of Tlats TPtX&lllcmlS
at Coptus', referring to the inscr. just quoted. But it should be noted that
such an unlikely collocation, linguistically, does not actually occur in the
inscr.; the genitive is there governed by 6Ec;i JIEYI<rnJ. Youtie likewise
misleads in his otherwise valuable article 'IIII TPIXU>MATOI' in Harv.
Theol. Rev. 39 (1946), t6S""?', following Preisigke. Wh. m, 389.
3 See F. Ll. Griffith, Stories of the High Priests of MempAis, 23, n. and
Petrie, Koptos, 19ff. and pi. :z.o, line :z. on right (a Ptolemaic inscr. which
mentions 'the great Isis, mother of the god, before the mound (i1t)', an
expression that supports the reading Til X~JIClTOS 6/i[ in SB I, 999, 7-8). In
F. Ll. Griffith, /oc. cir. there is mention of 'libation before lsis of Coptos
and Harpochrates' and of a temple of the gods.
4 Cf. Rouse, Gretli: Votive Offirings, 24s; S. Eitrem, Opforritus una Voropfor
tier GriecAeruna Romer, 344, where the evidence cited for Egypt is tenuous.
S Hopfner, 1, 44 states that a small wreath of his wife's hair was found on the
uraeus of Tutankhamfln's coffin, citing Carter, vol. n, 199 The English
C OMMENTARY CHAPTER. 14
hair in a long and dishevelled state; cf. Herodotus, 2.. 36. 1 We must
conclude, then, that this detail is due to Greek elaboration of some
element in the cult of Isis at Coptos, unless indeed it is wholly derived
from the etymological word-play on KO'IT'T6s and K6mcav. The verb
sometimes means 'to cut off',2 and with this is associated perhaps the
sense of the middle, 'to beat oneself' and so to mourn'. ;.he m~ing
'deprive' is not directly apparent in any of the uses of KOtrroo but the
meaning 'lay waste (of land), e.g. in Xen. Hell. 3 2. 2.6 co:Oes near
to it.
P 138, 241TAavoo~vJ The picture oflsis wandering and searching
for Osiris is familiar in Egyptian literature at all times; e.g. Pyr. ,_ 144 a ff.
(with Nephthys), Amen-mose's Hymn to Osiris, ed. Moret in BIFAO
JO (1931), 741, 14-15; Lament. lsis Neph. 2., 4-5; Junker, Stunden-
waclzen, 91, 8r ff. (words of the Djeret, i.e. of Isis or Nephthys). See
further ad p. r8o, 10.
p. 140, 4 1raa~oov w lepols] The precincts of temples might seem
an unlikely place for children to play, so that an emendation such as
tv 65ois might occur to one. From the force of ~O:Atcrra, however, it
a~pears that the cries of children were noteworthy only in these par-
ticular places. Further, as Kate Bosse-Griffiths reminds me ancient
Egyptian schools were often attached to temples: one was at~ched to
the Ramesseum at Thebes, see E.-B. Lit. rSs; there were others in the
temple of Mut at Karnak and in the Temple of the Ennead at Mem-
phis, and in these schools the priests were probably the teachers; see
H. Brunner, Altiigyptisclze Eqiehung, I 8. According to Aelian, N A 1 1.
10 - H F 42.4 children who played and jumped ecstatically gave
utterance to the oracular answers of Apis; Xenophon of Ephesus, 5
4 = HF 453 says that they did this sometimes in prose and sometimes
in metre.
ed. does not appear to give any reference there. Newberry in Carter,
The Tomh of Tut-ankh-Amen, II (192.7), 190 states that a small wreath of
flowers was tied 'around the vulture and uraeus insignia' of the second
coffin. The example of Berenice's lock probably derives from Greek
custom.
1
See also M. Werbrouck, Les Pleureuses Jan.r L'Egypte Ancienne, 25.
: Erym. Magn. S52 uses it of this incident: K01TT6s: Tl)v kOJIT)V ba<61fial.
D. Muller points out that Egyptian texts often refer to the hair of Isis; e.g.
CT m 2.8~ ('The hair of Isis and the hair of Nephthys have been tied');
CT V 188 ~and 2.04 cl ( = BD 99): 0 lock of lsis, 0 necklace of Anubis.'
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 13
p. 138, u. 6vo~a3e1v] The aetiological treatment of place-names is
very common in Egyptian texts, especially in those of the Ptolemaic
era. While the particular name involved here is not easy to get at, the
MS reading is definitely preferable. Kees, Tote~glauben , .I~I-:1 finds
2
the mention of the Tanitic mouth consonant wtth a tradiuon of the
murder of Osiris in the 11th Lower Egyptian nome, near Horbeit and
Saft el-Henne. Certainly Tanis itself is well steeped in Sethian asso-
ciations.1
P IJ8, 13 {f)OO)J.l) rnl StJx )J.l)VOs 'A6VpJ In 39, J66~ Plutarch S~tes
that this is a time when the Nile is recedmg and the mghts are getung
longer; in J66E he assigns four days tO the f:-~val of mourning for
Osiris while in 4:1 367E he reiterates the tradtuon of the 17th of the
month being the date of Osiris' death (without naming the month).
The Denderah texts on the festivals of Osiris name Khoiak rather than
Athyr as the month concerned:1 see Chassinat, !-e mystere d'Osiris
au mois de Khoialc (Cairo, 1966), 1o6, 19. The dtscrepancy has been
variously explained. Since Athyr was the month preceding Khoiak,
Loret3 suggested that Plutarch merely confuse4 the two months.
Parker Calendars 41 proffers the view that 'the civil year was nearly
the sa~e as the ~. Sothic" year in the latter part of Plutarch's life
(c. A.D. 4()-.(', uo) and that his dates are simply those of the civil year
rendered in terms of the Alexandrian calendar'.4 As Khoiak was the
last month of the inundation season and was the rime of sowing,
the idea of the death and rebirth of vegetation was a part of the
Osirian festive rites which were connected in a special way with the
1 Bonnet, Real. 765.
1 The Denderah festivals which were celebrated also all over Egypt, lasted
from the uth to the 3~th of Khoiak and the exact location, within this
period, of Plutarch's four days, is uncertain. P.luta~ch's source~ may well
be earlier than the Denderah texts, which are mmnly 1 s.c. P. Salher IV (19th
Dyn.) marks 17 Athyr as an inauspi~~us d~y when .Isis and Nephthys
make great lamentations for Onnophns m Sats; see Wtedemann, Ref: :164.
The Cairo Calendar ed. Bakir, recto 14, 8-10 suggests that both Sms and
Abydos are involv;d in the mourning of Isis and Neph.thys on this day.
For a\lusions in the papyri to Isiac events in Athyr see Btlabel, Fme, 39ff.
3 Rec. trav. 5 (1884), 103. See further Introduction, 64ff. , 4 This last point is questionable. The god is shown holding his huge genera-
4 He is postulating a 'lunar year based on Sothis' as ~pposed to a. fixed
calendar based on Sothis' (the view of Sethe and Wetll). Intercalanon, of
course, makes the former 'fixed' too. See also Chassinat, op. cit. 2.9, n. r.
JI:Z.
COMMENTARY CHAPTERS 13-14
kingship. 1 The Athyr of our text probably derives from a Pharaonic
phase of the shifting civil calendar.
Plutarch reverts to the twenty-eight years in 42, 367F-368A.
CHAPTER 14
p. 138, 17-18 navwv !XI Lcrropoov] This seems to be a Dionysiac
element introduced without even an attempt at Egyptianization,
except in the reference to Khemmis. The Khemmis in the Delta near
Buto is probably meant; cf. Herodotus, :1. 156. This place is associated
with the birth ofHorus, and Plutarch in x8, 357F refers to it as Boutos
(cf. too 38, J66A). Further, Plutarch has just mentioned the passage of
the chest containing the body of Osiris through the Tanitic mouth of
the Nile, so that a place in the Delta is naturally referred to now
again.1
naves appear in the cult of Dionysus from the fifth century D.C.
onwards, as companions of the Satyrs and of course of Dionysus him-
sel.3 Other commentators, however, are united in seeing Panopolis in
Plutarch's Khemmis here, comparing Herodotus, 2. 91 and Diodorus
Sic. 1 . r8. 2. Now Panopolis (Akhmim) was an early centre of the cult
of Min, the god of sexual fertility. Hopfner, I, 4:1-3 emphasizes that
Min is represented as ithyphallic and in the act of masturbating;4 he
points out that Pan and the Satyrs are often shown in a similar mode,
and therefore seeks a connexion here with Panopolis and Min. The fact
remains that although Min is a parallel to the god, there are no Egyptian
parallels to the Pans and Satyrs who figure as subsidiary members of
the Dionysiac thiasos; cf. Merkelbach, Roman und Mysterium, :14
Hopfner goes on to quote the story of the death of ' the great Pan'
in Plutarch, De def. or. 17, 419Aff. This he believes, on insufficient
grounds, to refer to the death of Osiris.S That such a gay god as Pan
1
Blackman in Myth and Ritual, 2.4ff.; Frazer, AAO II, 86ft'.
2
Gardiner, ]EA 30 (1944), 54 appears to disagree. For the name and
situation of Khemmis see Blackman and Fainnan, ]EA 30 (1944), 19ff.
3 Nilsson, GesciJ. Gr. Re/. 12, :136; Wellmann in Bermes 31 (1896), :1:14,
n. 4 Stricker, OMRO 37 (1956), 45 rightly compares the god Bes.
tive member, but it is not clear that he is masturbating.
5 For the extensive lit. on this story see Fr. Brommer in PW Suppl. 8
s.v. Pan (1956), tOO'].
313
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 14
should have given rise to the idea of 'panic' is strange. The .use of
in this sense is not early.
1TCl\IIKOs
P 138, 21 T&v 'ITAOKQ~V m] Coptos was on the east bank of the
Nile, nearly opposite Ombos (Na~ada). A dedication at Coptos, dated
to A.o. ros, is to Isis, possibly in this connexion: Jtn5t TPIXt:>~JCrros
&9: IJEYfa-rt;l (Preisigke, SB 1, 999, 6--9 and Wh. m, 389), where, how-
ever, another reading is Tij XOO!lCX'fOS for TPIXW!lCX'fOS. In P. Michigan
vm, soz, s (A.D. ii) ed. Youtie and Winter, a prayer for health is made
'near the hair at Coptos' ('1Tapa TOlS paxt:>~JCX<T~ tv K01M'Cjl).a
Aelian, N A 1o. 2.3 states that Isis was venerated at Coptos, especially in
rites of mourning; cf. Etym. Magn. s.v. KO'IT'T6s, which seems to follow
Plutarch. Lucian, on the other hand, Adv. indoct. 14 (tu) - HF3r4
says that the Memphites show the locks of Isis; cf. Apostolius (A.o,
xv) in Corp. Paroemwgr. Gr. ed. Ludov van Leutsch, n, 71o, par. 82..
Again, 'hair of Isis' (lat5os pfxes) was used as the name of a plant;
see Plut. De foe. 2.5, 939 D and the note by Cherniss ad loc. (Loeb ed.
1957, p. 173, n. a), and cf. Pliny, HN 13. 2.5. 142. (Jsidis crinem).
In Egyptian tradition Isis is prominent at Coptos from the N.K.
onwards.l But there seems to be no allusion in Egyptian texts to lsis
cutting a lock of hair in mourning. This Greek custom4 was not found
in Pharaonic Egypt,S where women showed mourning by wearing their
1
LSJ cite Josephus, BeO. jua. S 2.. s and Polybius, 2.0. 6. 12. as the first
examples. Wellmann in Hermes 31 (1896), u4, n. 4 cites the Xlth Orphic
Hymn, v. 23.
2
The editors say (p. ru) that 'lsis went by the name of Tlats TPtX&lllcmlS
at Coptus', referring to the inscr. just quoted. But it should be noted that
such an unlikely collocation, linguistically, does not actually occur in the
inscr.; the genitive is there governed by 6Ec;i JIEYI<rnJ. Youtie likewise
misleads in his otherwise valuable article 'IIII TPIXU>MATOI' in Harv.
Theol. Rev. 39 (1946), t6S""?', following Preisigke. Wh. m, 389.
3 See F. Ll. Griffith, Stories of the High Priests of MempAis, 23, n. and
Petrie, Koptos, 19ff. and pi. :z.o, line :z. on right (a Ptolemaic inscr. which
mentions 'the great Isis, mother of the god, before the mound (i1t)', an
expression that supports the reading Til X~JIClTOS 6/i[ in SB I, 999, 7-8). In
F. Ll. Griffith, /oc. cir. there is mention of 'libation before lsis of Coptos
and Harpochrates' and of a temple of the gods.
4 Cf. Rouse, Gretli: Votive Offirings, 24s; S. Eitrem, Opforritus una Voropfor
tier GriecAeruna Romer, 344, where the evidence cited for Egypt is tenuous.
S Hopfner, 1, 44 states that a small wreath of his wife's hair was found on the
uraeus of Tutankhamfln's coffin, citing Carter, vol. n, 199 The English
C OMMENTARY CHAPTER. 14
hair in a long and dishevelled state; cf. Herodotus, 2.. 36. 1 We must
conclude, then, that this detail is due to Greek elaboration of some
element in the cult of Isis at Coptos, unless indeed it is wholly derived
from the etymological word-play on KO'IT'T6s and K6mcav. The verb
sometimes means 'to cut off',2 and with this is associated perhaps the
sense of the middle, 'to beat oneself' and so to mourn'. ;.he m~ing
'deprive' is not directly apparent in any of the uses of KOtrroo but the
meaning 'lay waste (of land), e.g. in Xen. Hell. 3 2. 2.6 co:Oes near
to it.
P 138, 241TAavoo~vJ The picture oflsis wandering and searching
for Osiris is familiar in Egyptian literature at all times; e.g. Pyr. ,_ 144 a ff.
(with Nephthys), Amen-mose's Hymn to Osiris, ed. Moret in BIFAO
JO (1931), 741, 14-15; Lament. lsis Neph. 2., 4-5; Junker, Stunden-
waclzen, 91, 8r ff. (words of the Djeret, i.e. of Isis or Nephthys). See
further ad p. r8o, 10.
p. 140, 4 1raa~oov w lepols] The precincts of temples might seem
an unlikely place for children to play, so that an emendation such as
tv 65ois might occur to one. From the force of ~O:Atcrra, however, it
a~pears that the cries of children were noteworthy only in these par-
ticular places. Further, as Kate Bosse-Griffiths reminds me ancient
Egyptian schools were often attached to temples: one was at~ched to
the Ramesseum at Thebes, see E.-B. Lit. rSs; there were others in the
temple of Mut at Karnak and in the Temple of the Ennead at Mem-
phis, and in these schools the priests were probably the teachers; see
H. Brunner, Altiigyptisclze Eqiehung, I 8. According to Aelian, N A 1 1.
10 - H F 42.4 children who played and jumped ecstatically gave
utterance to the oracular answers of Apis; Xenophon of Ephesus, 5
4 = HF 453 says that they did this sometimes in prose and sometimes
in metre.
ed. does not appear to give any reference there. Newberry in Carter,
The Tomh of Tut-ankh-Amen, II (192.7), 190 states that a small wreath of
flowers was tied 'around the vulture and uraeus insignia' of the second
coffin. The example of Berenice's lock probably derives from Greek
custom.
1
See also M. Werbrouck, Les Pleureuses Jan.r L'Egypte Ancienne, 25.
: Erym. Magn. S52 uses it of this incident: K01TT6s: Tl)v kOJIT)V ba<61fial.
D. Muller points out that Egyptian texts often refer to the hair of Isis; e.g.
CT m 2.8~ ('The hair of Isis and the hair of Nephthys have been tied');
CT V 188 ~and 2.04 cl ( = BD 99): 0 lock of lsis, 0 necklace of Anubis.'
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 14
p. 14o, 5 Tfj aoO.~ij] Plutarch supplies an interpretation of this
episode in 38, 366B-c, cf. 44, J68E and 591 375 B. Hopfner, I, 46
suggests that it provides the ground of Seth's hostility to Osiris. This
is not so in the original myth, for Horus is there the first enemy of
Seth, and Osiris becomes involved in this enmity because he is identi-
fied with the dead king and so becomes the father of the living king,
who is equated with Horus. Nor does Plutarch suggest that Seth and
Osiris are enemies because of the adultery of Osiris with Seth's wife;
the episode appears to follow others in which the hostility is already
present. The early Egyptian texts give no clear indication of the
episode. In the Ramesseum Dramatic Papyrus, 39 ( = Sethe, Dramat.
Texte 142.) occurs the following passage: 'Isis speaks to Nephthys.
Thou' art pleasant of aroma, sweet of breath. / J Osiris. // The iema-
tree.IJ The children of Horus.' Sethe, op. c,t. 145 wants to connect
these words with the Plutarchean episode, suggesting that the iema-
tree corresponds to the melilot.It is more likely that Isis and Nephthys
are here represented as co-operating in a beneficent offering for Osiris. 1
Melilot or sweet clover, Melilotus officina/is, is probably the Egyptian
'flw: see Warren R. Dawson in]EA 2.0 (1934), 41 and cf. Barns, Five
Ramesseum Papyri, m, fr. 2.1 (pi. 15) and P 2.3.
The sexual yearning felt by Nephthys for Osiris is expressed in songs
which are preserved in a papyrus now in the Metropolitan Museum,
New York.1 Her adultery with Osiris is alluded to in the Warren
Magical Papyrus (Greek, A.D. iii), recto, col. 1, 4-s: 'thou didst
1 Cf. Junker, Der grosse Pylon, p, Bf. where Nephthys describes herself
(u) as ' the excellent one who takes care of her brother'. In the Soncs.of
Isis anti Nephthys Osiris is the sexual consort of Nephthys as well as ls1s:
seeP. Bremner Rhind, ed. Faulkner, 1., 6. and the editor's translation in
J EAu (1936), I2.3 In Junker, Der grosse Pylon, 2.2.1 18-2.3, I Nephthys
is called ' the beautiful young woman who gives health to her son, who rears
her Horus with her milk . Curious as it may seem, the idea is undoubtedly
one which sees in Isis and Nephthys a two-in-one mother-figure; cf.
Lament. /sis Neph. s, s: 'thy little son Horus, bom of the two sisters' and
Schott, Altiigyptische Lieheslieder, 164, no. I441 which begins, 'Nephthys
cries: Horus I open for me, that I may see Osiris. Remember what I have
done for you. I have abandoned Seth's child in order to rescue you.'
1 See Schott, Altiigyptiscke Liehes/ieJer, 164 f. nos. 142.-5. A. Hennann,
Altiigyptiscke Liehestlichtung, 94 cites Schott, p. 161, no. 131 = P. Bremner
Rhind, 6, 2.4. and 14, t6ff. for the same idea. But Faulkner in ]EA n
(1936), u6 and 130 assigns the words to tsis.
316
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 14
minister to him (Osiris) when he fell in love with his own sister
~enephthy~ ', although the name Senephthys may well be a combina-
oon of Is1s and Nephthys. 1 A clear allusion is found in a Coptic
source: see PGM 4 1 10.2., where Isis complains to her father Thoth
'Nephth~s slee?s with Osiris'; cf. Erman in ZAS ~~ (t88J), 1 oof. and
F. Ll. Gnffith tn ZAS 38 (I9oo), 90. According to Hopfner there is a
reference also in P . Oslo. 1, col. v, I4I ff., but that seems doubtful. In
one Egyptian allusion it is 1;1emen who 'has made pregnant his sister
Nep?~ys with a daughter'.1 Hopfner argues that the sexual sin of
Osms 1S the ~~on why Seth is said by Plutarch (18, 358B) to have
destr~yed Osms male member, thus fulfilling the ancient lex talionis.
Of th1s we cannot be sure. Seth's genitals are tom off in the Horus-Seth
!~end, but there is no story of sexual jealousy or sin to explain that,
smce the homose:rual e?isode. occurs only later. Certainly adultery
~ severely purushed m anaent Egypt; in P. Westcar the tale has
It that an adulterous wife is burnt and her ashes thrown into the
river.
. P .140, 1o "~vov~JV) The role of the dogs is differently interpreted
m D10dorus S1c. I . 87. 3: there it is in Isis' search for Osiris (rather than
fo~ ~e ~Id of Nep~thys) that the goddess was aided by dogs. The
ongm, m each case, ts the fact that Anubis, t11e embalmer god was
portrayed as a dog.J It is Diodorus' account, however which fi~ the
Isiac Graeco-Roman rites the more closely, except that' the procession
was led, not by dogs, as he says, but by a bearer of the Anubis mask 4
~f. ~e ~tie anuJ:ofor~ home by one Lepidus Rufus according to ;n
mscnptton at V1enna (CIL xu, 1919), by a consul (Cyprian, Carm. 1v,
2.5ff.), and by the Emperor Commodus (S.H.A. Ael. Lamprid. Comm.
9, cf. Ael. Spart. Pescenn. Nig. G). The phrase 'latrator Anubis used
by Latin poe.ts,5 .will. therefore refer to this dog-shaped mas~ the
bearer of wh1ch s sa1d by Apuleius (Met. 1 I. r 1: he is referred to
r A. S. Hunt in Grijfitk Studies, 2.34. 2.36, 2.38.
1
Bams, Five Ramesseum Papyri, IV, 2.5 (pi. rS), cf. his p. 2.7.
He ~ perhaps thought of as a jackal. See Vandier, Rel2 84, n. 1 The
1
Egypuans did not, it appears, distinguish carefully between the domesticated
and wild types of Canidae.
Su~ a mask exists ~t the Peliziius Museum, Hildesheim. Gressmann,
4
Onent. Re/. 39, n. I potnts out that there are slits for the eyes, showing that
the ~ask was actually ~om. S.H.A., Loeb, I, 2.87 errs with 'statue'.
5
Vergl, Acn. 8. 698; OVJd, Met. 9 69o; cf. Propertius, 3 11. 4 r.
317
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 14
directly as Anubis) to carry a caduceus in his left hand and a palma virens
in his right.
In Egyptian literature Anubis is several times called the son of
Osiris, e.g. Brugsch, Thes. 768, 3; an inscr. from Hermopolis, see S.
Gabra in ASAE 39 (1939), 487 and Rapport sur les fouil/es d'Hermou-
po/is Quest (Cairo, 1941), 46; P. Demot. Mag. Land. Leid. ::~., 19. He is
only once, it seems, called the son of Nephthys: P. Mag. Harris, 7,
7-8, ed. Lange, p. 61 ('I am Anubis-Sopdu, the son of Nephthys'; a
little later the same god calls himself' the son of Re''); and he is never
described as the son of Osiris and Nephthys together. His mother is
usually said to be Isis;l cf. P. Jumilhac 4, I and 6, 3, discussed below
in n. ad p. 186, 2.6.
In the early literature Anubis is a god of the dead and especially the
god of embalming. His role here as the dog who is the guard and
watcher, as also that of the dog who leads the procession, is probably
derived fromhisfellow-deityWepwawet ('Opener of the Ways'),3 the
god of Lycopolis, who on the Stela of Ikhernofret, 17 is said to have
gone forth 'to save his father Osiris ', which is the initial episode of the
Abydenedrama; cf. CTJ, 194h where Wepwawet is' the son of Osiris'.
As the embalmer-god Anubis was constantly figured in funerary
representations and was thus closely linked with Osirian ideas. It is not
surprising that in the Hellenistic world outside Egypt dedications to
Sarapis, Isis and Anubis were common.4 Meiggs, Roman Ostia, 369
1 Cf. the representation on the marble altar from the Isis-temple erected by
Caligula at Rome, for which see Gressmann, Orient. Rei. fig. 14, p. 39,
where, however, the objects mentioned are carried in different hands.
l P. Demot. Mag. Lond. Leid. zo, 9; in zo, 2. she is called Sakhmet-Isis. In
the Anubis-hymn from Cius Osiris and Isis are named as his parents, see
Peek, Isishymnus, 139.
Hopfner suggests that the account of Anubis in Syria being urged by his
mother Sakhmet-Isis to come to Egypt (P. Demot. Mag. Lond. Leid. zo,
zff.) is parallel to the present Plutarchean passage in that it implies that
Anubis was exposed on birth. Such an implication is not clearly denoted
unless the mention of Syria in itself implies it.
3 For Wepwawet's funerary role, maintained in the late period, see Bonnet,
Real. 844.
4 Cf. Fraser, Opusr:. Athens. 3 (19Go), 5 Merkelbach, History of Religions 3
(1964), 187 wellcompares the role of Anubis with that of the dog Maira in
the Erigone of Eratosthenes. But his further equation of Anubis and Sirius
is unacceptable.
JIB
COMMENTARY CHAPTERS 14- 15
discusses two inscriptions from Ostia which record an AnuiJiacus. He
says that 'in the general religious syncretism of the middle Empire'
Isis assimilated the cult of Anubis; this is misleading in view of the Hellen-
istic dedications. In a funerary context the association of Isis and
Anubis has early Pharaonic antecedents. Nephthys and Anubis,
however, do not seem to be linked often before the Ptolemaic era; cf.
Vandier, Rev. d'igyptol. 14 (196:1), 62..
CHAPTER 15
p. I 40, 13 'EK Be ;o\rrov] If the pronoun refers to Anubis, then the god
is thought to aid Isis in her search for Osiris; cf. Diodorus Sic. I. 87. 3
concerning the role of the dogs. But be: is not often used after 1T\1116cX-
vol).aL of the person from whom one learns, and Plutarch uses the
phrase ac "TO\rrov to mean 'as a result of this ' on p. 140, :1 and p. 1441 16.
In that case, however, there is no clear connexion with the previous
paragraph. The search of Isis for Osiris is last mentioned on p. 140, 2..
If the 'TOlrroV refers to Anubis, we must assume that the previous
paragraph is a 'flash-back' explaining the birth of Anubis, who after
being nurtured by Isis becomes her guide. On the whole the other
interpretation seems preferable, especially as ' the divine breath of
rumour' infonns lsis in lines I!)--:10.
P 140, 13- 14 1Tpos -niv Bv~;\ov x~av] The Egyptian name for
Byblos was Kpny, older Khn (for which see Sethe in ZAS 45 (I9o8),
7-<)), and commercial relations between Egypt and Byblos go back to
at least the Fourth Dynasty. 1 An Egyptian trade colony was established
there in the O.K. These early and dose connexions, however, are no
evidence of an early existence there of the cult of Osiris nor indeed of
1
P. Montet, Byhlos et l'Egypte, 271. The Babylonian name was Guhlu, and
it may be that the Greek word ~u~~os, 'papyrus' is derived from a form of
the city-name. Gardiner in The Legacy of Egypt, 54 tends to favour the
converse. But the Egyptian word lgmwt, 'sea-ship' is a comparable deriva-
tion from the place-name, of which process there are many familiar instances
(e.g. damask, baladava). The traditional derivation assumes, it is true, that
in the Greek form of the place-name an assimilation of consonants has
taken place: Guhal(cf. HebrewGeha/,Ezek.2.7.9) > Buhal> Bv~~05. Pieces
of pottery inscribed with names of O.K. kings have been found at Byblos,
but Stadelmann, cited by Morenz, Rei. 2.48, n. 17, would explain these as
ware given in payment for the wood exported to Egypt bythe Byblites. See
now his Syrisr:h-Palastinensisclle Gottheiten in Agypten (Leiden, 1967), 6f.
319
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 1)
his identification at that time with Tammuz-Adonis, although Weill1
has interpreted the close trade relations, coupled with Plutarch's
episode about Isis in Byblos, as pointing to the origin of Osiris in
Byblos. It is a striking fact that the episode, or any story resembling it,
does not occur in a source prior to Plutarch. The parallelsl cited by
Hopfner, I, 49ff. are all later. Of these the most interesting is Lucian,
De Dea Syria, 7, 454-5, where it is said that a papyrus 'head' of
Osiris is sent annually on the sea from Egypt to Byblos. This state-
ment, joined with Plutarch's, is evidence of a Roman and possibly
Hellenistic3 cult of Osiris in Byblos; and Plutarch's own story must of
course derive from an earlier source, although one is tempted not to
locate this in the Manethonian tradition.
Hopfner confidently suggests that a fusion of the cults of Tammuz-
Adonis and Osiris was effected by the Middle Kingdom. 4 S. HerrmannS
has shown that Plutarch's episode has clear parallels with the Homeric
Hymn to Demeter. The Bybllte queen and the immortality of her small
son recall the story of Metaneira and Demophoon in the Homeric
Hymn; the general situation is similar in that the two goddesses are
seeking their loved one, Demeter her daughter Kore, Isis her spouse
Osiris; both wander around perplexed, and both come eventually to a
city near a water-place; children appear who lead the unknown goddess
to their mother, and in each case the stranger becomes a nurse and tries
to make her protege immortal by burning away his mortality in the
night; both fail, with similar consequences, save that Demophoon does
not die soon afterwards. Herrmann argues cogently that the religious
situation which caused Isis in this episode to come to Byblos was that a
cult of Osiris existed there, and that affinities in the nature of Demeter
1
Phoenicia anJ Western Asia, tr. E. F. Row, G1 ff.
l Lucian, De Dea Syria, 7, 454-S; Aristides, Apolog. (Syr.) 11; P. Demot.
Mag. Lond. Leid. G, 30; Jamblichus, V. Pyth. 3 14; Epiphanius,
Ancorat. 104; Stephan. Byz. s.v. 'AIJCZ6oiis. One may add Etym. Magn. s.v.
Bv~J.os. cf. supra p. S4
3 Theocritus, /JyO. IS 131 ff. is evidence that Adonis was worshipped i~
Alexandria at that time (iii a.c.). Cf. Carl Clemen, Lulcians Schrift iiher J1e
Syrische Giittin, 34
4 His quotation (1, s1-~) of a passage from The AJmonitions of an Egyptian
Sage, referring to the cedar and resin from Byblos which were used in
Egyptian burials, does not necessarily imply the spread of the cult of Osiris
outside Egypt. S 'Jsis in Byblos' in ZAS 81 (1957), 48-55.
JlO
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 15
and Kore, especially their fertility aspect, made Isis and Osiris ready
counterparts. He goes astray, it is true, in believing too easily that this
was a feature of the original Osiris-cult. He rightly remarks that the
narrative about Byblos, like that about Eleusis, ends with a shrine-
aetiology, but that this borrowed Greek colouring does not affect the
main element in the factual background, which is the Osiris-Adonis
cult. One should perhaps add the cult of Isis there as a causative factor
in the story.
Herrmann is unduly sceptical, as opposed to Morenz, 1 with regard
to how far Plutarch's episode was a generally accepted interpretatio
Graeca even in his own time. He does not think that Aristides, Apolog.
(Syr.) 12, which is dated to about A.D. 140, is too reliable a witness.
But it is hardly credible that Plutarch, who was not the most original
of writers, would have concocted or elaborated a private version of
Isis' sojourn in Byblos on the pattern of the Homeric Hymn to De-
meter. Such a conscious imitation is clearly a part of his presentation,
but it must be ascribed to his source.
The motivating theme of the Osiris-cult, or the Osiris-Adonis cult,
in Bybios does not lend itself to a firm location in time. Sethel wished
to give it a high antiquity, but on the basis of a piece of rather far-
fetched etymologizing, namely that the verb CJI, 'groan', 'sob', used
in Pyr. 590a and elsewhere of an action which Osiris-King shall not
have to do, is connected with c;, 'cedar', which in rum, according to
Sethe, is the same as the erica-tree. On the other hand, it seems safe to
date a Byblite cult of Osiris to the N.K. Excavations at Byblos, which
Dunand carried on after Montet, revealed many figurines of gods which
were not easy to identify, but Osirian statuary is present.l In the case
1
Festsclzrift fiir Fr. Zuclcer (Berlin, 19S4), ~78.
a In ZAS 45 (1908), u ff. Bonnet, Real. 5G9 thinks that the origin of the
theme is embedded in ancient folk-tradition. He points out that in Pyr.
1oo8c and u5Gh Isis and Nephthys are said to find Osiris in Nedyet. This
was probably near Abydos, cf. Stela of Ikhemofret, ~1. Breasted, DRT :tG
says that Nedyet may be indeed 'an ancient name for the region of
Byblos', but his suggestion is highly unlikely. He is doubtless right when
he goes on to locate in Syria 'The Valley of the Cedar' in 'The Tale of the
Two Brothers', but whether the tale contains an 'Osirian incident' is
questionable. On Osiris and Syria see also Helck, PW s.v. Osiris(l9G2.),471.
3 Dunand, Fouilles Je Byhlos, l1 (Paris, 19S4), 157 and pi. 161, no. 7919
(described as 'personnage osirien'); n, pi. 161, no. 7l90 ('osiriforme'); u,
GPI
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 15
of Isis, a strong Hathor-cult is the first factor; a syncretism of Hathor
and Astarte seems attested, 1 and Isis would easily fit into this complex,
especially as Astarte occurs as a Venus lugens." Indubitable representa-
tions of Isis do not occur in Phoenicia before the seventh or sixth
century B.c.,3 but the earlier Osirian cult there may well have linked
her before this with Astarte and in particular with Ba'alat Gebal.
p. 140, 14 tpeiK1J] Reference has already been made to Sethe's
suggestion in ZAS 45 (1908), 13ff. that the ~peh<71 4 is none other than
the tree called CJ by the Egyptians. Arguing that the tree in the story
cannot be merely a shrub or a bush of heather, since it grows big and
produces a trunk, Sethe thinks it must denote a tree which was common
in Phoenicia-the cedar or cypress or juniper.S He points, with all
reserve, to the Hebrew l1~ and the Assyrian irinu, words meaning
'cedar', as having a certain similarity to tpeii<T1. Plutarch's source, he
thinks, may have used one of these words and it may have been changed
by a Greek intermediary into the similarly sounding word tpei'KTl. The
similarity, however, is not great. There is a difference of vowel in the
second syllable, and there is the important differing consonant.
pl. 1S3 shows a naophorous statue in well-executed Egyptian style with a
small figure of Osiris in front bearing the inscr. 'Osiris foremost in CJ/ty ',
where the ref. is perhaps to a Syrian locality. Cf. too C. L. Woolley in
]EA 7 (19%1), %00.
1 For d1e Hathor-cult see a bas-relief perhaps of the Hyksos-period in
Dunand, op. cit. n, pi. 155, no. 11673 and p. 467; for Hathor-Astarte see
op. cit. u, pi. 164, no. u166 (a goddess with cow-horns).
1
Cf. H. Seyrig in Syria 32 (1955), 37-8; see further PP 3l4 f. infra.
3 Cf. S. Hernnann in ZAS 8:1. (1957), S4 Hernnann does not admit a New
Kingdom cult of Osiris in Byblos, but he does not seem acquainted with
Dunand's results.
4 lpiK1'1, found in some of the MSS, is the later spelling according to LSJ.
E. Fraenkel points out, however, aa Aescltylus, Ag. ::.95 that fpiiO'l may
well have been the good Attic form from the middle of the fourth century.
With Plutarch's expression describing the growth of the tree Sethe
compares Jl. 18. s6 6 S' avtSpa!JW fp~i laos, 'he shot up like a young
plant'.
S The Cf was not a cedar, strictly speaking, but may have been a juniper or a
fir or a pine. See Gardiner, 01Wm. t, 8, n. t.V. and G. Tiickholm, Flora of
Egypt, 1 (Cairo, 1941), 73 seem to favour Loret's identification with the
Cilician fir (Ahies cilicica); so too Harris and Lucas, Materials, 3::.o; R. R.
Moftah, Die heiligen Biiume, 39 (including Pinus pinea as well).
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 15
But the difficulty seen by Sethe in fitting the lpEII<TI ( = Erica arborea)
into the story remains serious, though Moftah, Die h.eiligen Bliume,
39 supports the idea. The heath tree does not grow to a great height
nor does it yield a trunk strong enough to support a roof (as in the
story). Dierbach, Flor. Mythol. 54 proposed to read ~vpll<tl, suggesting
that a kind of tamarisk, e.g. Tamarix orientalis L., eminently possesses
these qualities. 1 The alternative to accepting this proposal is either to
assume that the lpell<tl is a marvellous one or to believe that it wrongly
translates an Egyptian (or Phoenician) original.~
That an Egyptian representation shows the coffin of Osiris shaded
by the erica-tree is the extraordinary statement made by Budge,l
Hopfner (I, so), and doubtless many others. In Mariette, Denderalz, IV,
pi. 66 a coffin is depicted which bears the name 'Sokar-Osiris who is in
the midst of Busiris'. Isis and Nephthys are shown standing on either
side, and behind the coffin a tree or bush is shown. The suggestion
that this is a heath-tree obviously comes from Plutarch's narrative. It
has little intrinsic plausibility. Further, the planting of trees in burial
precincts was common in EgyptS and it was probably the main reason
why an association developed between Osiris and trees. In so far as the
1
See F. Woenig, Die Pjlatl{en im a/ten Aegypten (Leipzig, 1886), 341.
Dierbach's emendation is accepted by j. Murr, Die Pf/QII{enwelt in tier
grieclt.i.schen Mythologie (Innsbruck, 1890), 107, n. S
1
Cf. Stadler in PW s.v. 'Ep~IKTJ (1909), 412.
3 Osiris, t, p 'The Funeral Coffer of Osiris and the Erica tree.' A rather
different kind of tree is boldly called an Erica by Budge in op. cit. n, 40
( Mariette, Dentlir@, IV, pi. 7::.). There the tree is depicted on the left
of the bier on which Osiris lies. Cf. J. G. Frazer, AAO II, 110.
4 The intention is not to show a coffin enveloped by a tree, for the coffin
stands on the ground. Moftah, op. cit. 39 argues that the idea in Plutarch's
story is Egyptian. On p. 12.1 he compares Pyr. 444 (the sycamore which
guards the dead).
S Cf. Frankfort, The Cenotaph ofSeti I, I, 30, citing Maspero, Etudes Myth.
Arch. IV, 241 ff.: ' ... trees belonged definitely to every funerary
establishment'. Maspero, /oc. cit. quotes from a Turin stela (nr. roo,
1S-19th Dyn.): 'My lxz alights on the branches of the funerary garden
which I have made: I am refreshed under my sycamore.' Cf. Moftah, op.
cit. 7 f. The extreme of the other view is exemplified by Budge, Osiris, 1, 19:
'His connection with the Persea-tree, and the legend which associates him
with the Erica-tree, prove that at one time he was a tree-spirit.' Cf. Frazer,
AAO II, 107 ff. (' Osiris a Tree-Spirit').
32 3
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 15
of Isis, a strong Hathor-cult is the first factor; a syncretism of Hathor
and Astarte seems attested, 1 and Isis would easily fit into this complex,
especially as Astarte occurs as a Venus lugens." Indubitable representa-
tions of Isis do not occur in Phoenicia before the seventh or sixth
century B.c.,3 but the earlier Osirian cult there may well have linked
her before this with Astarte and in particular with Ba'alat Gebal.
p. 140, 14 tpeiK1J] Reference has already been made to Sethe's
suggestion in ZAS 45 (1908), 13ff. that the ~peh<71 4 is none other than
the tree called CJ by the Egyptians. Arguing that the tree in the story
cannot be merely a shrub or a bush of heather, since it grows big and
produces a trunk, Sethe thinks it must denote a tree which was common
in Phoenicia-the cedar or cypress or juniper.S He points, with all
reserve, to the Hebrew l1~ and the Assyrian irinu, words meaning
'cedar', as having a certain similarity to tpeii<T1. Plutarch's source, he
thinks, may have used one of these words and it may have been changed
by a Greek intermediary into the similarly sounding word tpei'KTl. The
similarity, however, is not great. There is a difference of vowel in the
second syllable, and there is the important differing consonant.
pl. 1S3 shows a naophorous statue in well-executed Egyptian style with a
small figure of Osiris in front bearing the inscr. 'Osiris foremost in CJ/ty ',
where the ref. is perhaps to a Syrian locality. Cf. too C. L. Woolley in
]EA 7 (19%1), %00.
1 For d1e Hathor-cult see a bas-relief perhaps of the Hyksos-period in
Dunand, op. cit. n, pi. 155, no. 11673 and p. 467; for Hathor-Astarte see
op. cit. u, pi. 164, no. u166 (a goddess with cow-horns).
1
Cf. H. Seyrig in Syria 32 (1955), 37-8; see further PP 3l4 f. infra.
3 Cf. S. Hernnann in ZAS 8:1. (1957), S4 Hernnann does not admit a New
Kingdom cult of Osiris in Byblos, but he does not seem acquainted with
Dunand's results.
4 lpiK1'1, found in some of the MSS, is the later spelling according to LSJ.
E. Fraenkel points out, however, aa Aescltylus, Ag. ::.95 that fpiiO'l may
well have been the good Attic form from the middle of the fourth century.
With Plutarch's expression describing the growth of the tree Sethe
compares Jl. 18. s6 6 S' avtSpa!JW fp~i laos, 'he shot up like a young
plant'.
S The Cf was not a cedar, strictly speaking, but may have been a juniper or a
fir or a pine. See Gardiner, 01Wm. t, 8, n. t.V. and G. Tiickholm, Flora of
Egypt, 1 (Cairo, 1941), 73 seem to favour Loret's identification with the
Cilician fir (Ahies cilicica); so too Harris and Lucas, Materials, 3::.o; R. R.
Moftah, Die heiligen Biiume, 39 (including Pinus pinea as well).
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 15
But the difficulty seen by Sethe in fitting the lpEII<TI ( = Erica arborea)
into the story remains serious, though Moftah, Die h.eiligen Bliume,
39 supports the idea. The heath tree does not grow to a great height
nor does it yield a trunk strong enough to support a roof (as in the
story). Dierbach, Flor. Mythol. 54 proposed to read ~vpll<tl, suggesting
that a kind of tamarisk, e.g. Tamarix orientalis L., eminently possesses
these qualities. 1 The alternative to accepting this proposal is either to
assume that the lpell<tl is a marvellous one or to believe that it wrongly
translates an Egyptian (or Phoenician) original.~
That an Egyptian representation shows the coffin of Osiris shaded
by the erica-tree is the extraordinary statement made by Budge,l
Hopfner (I, so), and doubtless many others. In Mariette, Denderalz, IV,
pi. 66 a coffin is depicted which bears the name 'Sokar-Osiris who is in
the midst of Busiris'. Isis and Nephthys are shown standing on either
side, and behind the coffin a tree or bush is shown. The suggestion
that this is a heath-tree obviously comes from Plutarch's narrative. It
has little intrinsic plausibility. Further, the planting of trees in burial
precincts was common in EgyptS and it was probably the main reason
why an association developed between Osiris and trees. In so far as the
1
See F. Woenig, Die Pjlatl{en im a/ten Aegypten (Leipzig, 1886), 341.
Dierbach's emendation is accepted by j. Murr, Die Pf/QII{enwelt in tier
grieclt.i.schen Mythologie (Innsbruck, 1890), 107, n. S
1
Cf. Stadler in PW s.v. 'Ep~IKTJ (1909), 412.
3 Osiris, t, p 'The Funeral Coffer of Osiris and the Erica tree.' A rather
different kind of tree is boldly called an Erica by Budge in op. cit. n, 40
( Mariette, Dentlir@, IV, pi. 7::.). There the tree is depicted on the left
of the bier on which Osiris lies. Cf. J. G. Frazer, AAO II, 110.
4 The intention is not to show a coffin enveloped by a tree, for the coffin
stands on the ground. Moftah, op. cit. 39 argues that the idea in Plutarch's
story is Egyptian. On p. 12.1 he compares Pyr. 444 (the sycamore which
guards the dead).
S Cf. Frankfort, The Cenotaph ofSeti I, I, 30, citing Maspero, Etudes Myth.
Arch. IV, 241 ff.: ' ... trees belonged definitely to every funerary
establishment'. Maspero, /oc. cit. quotes from a Turin stela (nr. roo,
1S-19th Dyn.): 'My lxz alights on the branches of the funerary garden
which I have made: I am refreshed under my sycamore.' Cf. Moftah, op.
cit. 7 f. The extreme of the other view is exemplified by Budge, Osiris, 1, 19:
'His connection with the Persea-tree, and the legend which associates him
with the Erica-tree, prove that at one time he was a tree-spirit.' Cf. Frazer,
AAO II, 107 ff. (' Osiris a Tree-Spirit').
32 3
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 15
KroU in PW Suppl. 6 (1935), ~94 It is likely, then, that the original
text had M6AJ<a6pov; cf. Baxter's proposal (M6AKap6ov).
p. 142, 1 'AcrrapTTJV KTA.] Astarte was a Phoenician goddess oflove
and fecundity, whose prototype was the Assyrian Ishtar. That the
queen of Byblos is here called Astarte recalls the fact that according to
Sanchuniathon this goddess was among the first rulers of Phoenicia.2
She was identified with Hathor3 and then with Isis; a statuette (iv B.c.)
shows Isis with the Horus-child and bears a Phoenician inscription, 'to
my mistress Ashtoreth (Astarte)': see Clermont-Ganneau, C.-R. 1904,
472.-3. In the Hymn to Isis from Medinet Madi (i B.c.) ed. Hondius,
SEG 8, 548, 18 it is said that the Syrians calllsis 'Astane Artemis'.4
A convincing ecymology for Saosis has not yet been proposed.
Suggestions include iw.s Cl .s, a name of the sun-god's consort at
Heliopolis (Diimichen) ;S the Semitic slzamaslr, 'sun' and so another
name for Melcarth (Gressmann);6 an extension of the name Sao ~),
1 Isidore Levy, Rev. Arcn. 4 (1904), 385-9 argues for dte identity of Mal-
candros and dte Malk-Addir ('powerful king') of a Phoenician inscr.
The fact dtat dris is the only occurrence of the Phoenician name makes the
argument rather flimsy; but the first element is, of course, identical widt the
first element of Melcarth. The view that Malcandros corresponds to Celeus
of Eleusis, dte husband of Metaneira, according to dte parallels pressed by
Wellmann, has not much to favour it.
~ C. J. Gadd, JJeas of Divine Rule in tne Ancimt East, 3S M. Dunand,
Fouillu ae Byhlos, u, texte p. 1059 reads dte name of Astarte on a Phoeni-
cian graffito found at Byblos, but G. Garbini, Orientalia ~9 (9Go}, 311
finds there the name Ashtar, her masculine counterpart.
3 cf. her Hathor head-dress in figurines on Canaanite sites, seeS. H. Hooke
in Mytn ana Ritual, 7 Hadtor's identification with the city-goddess of
Bybios is attested in the title 'Hathor, Lady of By bios' found in CT 1,
l.6l. 6 and discussed by Moren:t, Re!. 2.47-8.
4 For the worship of Astarte in Egypt, see Moren:t, Rei. 2.53 ff. Her warlike
aspect was stressed at first, but in dte Ptolemaic period she was equated
with Aphrodite. She is often depicted on horseback, and dris persistent
tradition has been elaborately presented by J. Leclant in his admirable
'Astarte a Cheval', Syria 37 (I96o), I-67, to which D. Muller has called
my attention. See also Stadelmann, Syrisc:h-Paliistinensische Gottneitt:n,
101 ff. S Bauurlcunae aer Tempelanlage von Denaera, :z.6ff.
6 PW s.v. Saosis (191.0), 2.307. Gressmann suggests that the difficulty of dte
ref. being to Astarte may be overcome by seeing in Sa6sis a feminine
adherent, 'she who belongs to Sacs', just as Athenais will mean 'she who
belongs to Adtena '.
Jl.6
COMMENTARY CHAPTERS 15-16
the daughter of Nereus and Doris, from the root aa-, 'well, healthy',
meaning 'The Rescuer'; cf. Soteira as an epithet of Isis (Hopfner).'
The name of Isis might form either the first or the second element in
Saosis; cf. ~ofipts 'the great Isis ', taovi)pts, ~ and of course Harsiesis.
But the vocalization of Saosis differs. Another possibility is that Isis is
here being connected with Sais, as Plutarch does in 9, 354c, where he
also calls her Athena, cf. 'Afu}vats here. This would involve an emenda-
tion to l:aTcns; cf. Preisigke, Namenh~lz, 357 (= Viereck, Ostralr.a
Strasshurg, no. 3 u, 3 [ii/i B.c.]). Sosis for Cronus or Shu occurs in
Manetho, see Helck, Manetlro, 8; but this is less promising.
For Nemanous Gressmann3 has suggested a Semitic origin in
Na'aman, a divine name, probably of Adonis; Movers found an origin
in the Hebrew na'em (Di~), 'pleasant, lovely'; see Rusch, PW s.v.
Nemanus (1935), 2.186 for its rejection; before this Brugsch4 had
suggested that the deity involved was the goddess of Hermopolis,
N~mw-Cnyt. None of these is convincing.
p. 142, 2 'ASr}vatSa] It was perhaps the warlike aspect of Astarte
that invited comparison with Pallas Athena. The form Athenais does
not seem to be used elsewhere of the goddess, being used rather of an
Attic phyle or as the name of a woman.
CHAPTER 16
p. 142, 3 Tov Seocrvi\ov] According to MasperoS Plutarch has here
failed to understand what is intended as a rite of adoption. Among the
modem Abyssinians, when a man wishes to be adopted by a person of
superior rank, he takes his hand and, sucking one of his fingers,
declares himself his adoptive son.6 Maspero, however, does not adduce
ancient evidence for the practice.
1
r, S4-S He argues dtat Plutarch's reference to Athenais confirms the Greek
origin of Saosis; dte opposite would seem to be true.
2
Spiegelberg, Aegyptische una Griecnische Eigennamen, u, no. (ha.
3 PWs.v.Saosis(191.o),:z.J07. See also Drexlerin Roscher,Lex.s.v. Nemanus.
4 ZAS 1 (1863), 9 The normal form, however, is n{Jm-Cw/yt, so that the
second n of Nemanous is not answered.
5 PSBA 14 (189l.), )ID-I I; also his Histoire ancienne ties peuples ae fOrient
Classique, n, 487 and S7, n. 2..
6
In PSBA 14 (1B9l.}, 311. Maspero's ref. is to M. Parkyns,Lifo inAhyssinia
(London, 1853), r, 198 n. where the phrase 'son of the breast' is said to be
used of the adopted man. (It is p. Bo n. in Parkyns' :z.nd ed., London, 1868.)
327
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 16
p. 141, 4 mpt!<CXIetv Tci lhn)Tci] Demeter is again the prototype, for in
the Homeric Hymn, l.39ff. she is said to bum the mortal parts of
Demophoon in order to make him ageless and deathless (14l.); Meta-
neira however prevents her; cf. Ovid, Fasti, 4 ~n-6; Apotlod. 1. 5 1.
There is a similar story of how Thetis tried to make Achilles immortal,
see Ap. Rhod. 4 865-'79 Sir James Frazer, The Fasti of Ovid, m, 295
says that the myths indicate an ancient belief in the use of fire as a
means of immortality (though as a destructive force, operating against
the mortal element); they also suggest, he thinks, a custom of passing
children across a fire as a protection against evil influences; and the
Eleusinian myth may reflect an 'ordeal of fire' in the Eleusinian
Mysteries. It is the latter myth which Plutarch must be following.
p. I42, 5 XEAt66va] Transformation into a swallow (among other
b irds) is mentioned as a happy faculty of the deceased man in Egyptian
funerary texts. For the transformation of Isis into a bewailing swallow
the significant parallel, however, is her constant role, with Nephthys,
as one of 'the two hawks' or 'kites' which stand lamenting, one on
each side of the coffin. They are usually represented in human form,
but with protecting wings outstretched) S. Ronzevalle, Venus Lugens,
Io, n. 27 thinks that the change of lsis into a swallow shows Greek
influence since the swallow was, among the Greeks, the bird of !amen-
Ur/c.tv, 113,13 (Pai.Jeri); BDed. Naville, 86, I (Ca); BD 189 (Nu, 19, 10).
In Pyr. 1770a the King is said to have come forth 'as a swallow'; Pyr.
1130h and 1216c refer to swallows in a more obscure way. Budge, From
Fetish to God, 91 says that the swallow was 'sacred to Isis' and refers to BD
86. That is a spell 'for making transformations into a swallow', but it is
not clear that the swallow is identified with Isis. The vignette shows a
swallow perched on a conical object; Budge, op. cit. 92 calls it 'The
Swallow of Isis', but without adequate reason.
~ Cf. Minuc. Fel. Octav. n. 2 = HF 295, where the suggestion is that the
swallow figured in d1e Roman cult of lsis. Hopfner, 1, 59 suggests that Isis
as a swallow, in the sense of her return from Phoenicia, may be indicated
by the phrase' Arrival of the Swallow' associated with the 15th Tybi in
Brugsch, Drei Fes:-Kalender, 4 (and pl. 2, line 11). The phrase follows the
words 'Hathor, Mistress of Oenderah'. Brugsch has it thus : ~~~.;.,
but Junker, Der Ausr.ug Jer Hathor-Tef1Wt aus Nuhien, 75 has ~ \. .o for
the bird, translating' das Herabsteigen desirjt (?)'. Junker's reading seems
more likely, in which case the reference will be to Isis as 'Kite'.
3 E.g. Budge, Osiris, 11, 51; Bonnet, Bi/Jeratlas, 113. For the human forms
only cf. M. Werbrouck, Les Pleureuses dans l'Egypte Ancienne, uo-1.
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 16
tation par excelleMe, as the myth of Procne and Philomela indicates. 1
But a Phoenician source gives a more precise paralle~ for Isis as a
swallow is said to fly around the pillar, and Roman coins from Area,
on which Astarte is shown mourning, depict birds on pillars. These
birds may well be swallows, as Ronzevalle suggests. a Still, there are
some dear Egyptian antecedents.
p. 142, 11 ht cn!~eoeat Bv~:?l.fovs To ~:?l.ov] Wellmann, Bermes 31
( 1896), 227 compares the pillar of Dionysus, invoked in the epithet
mptKtovtOS' in Orph. Hymn. 47 1 Kti<Al'}axoo Bt'.tK)(ov mptKtovtov,
JJC6vSooTTlv. G. Q!!andt in his edition (Berlin, 1955), p. 3S refers to
Kem, 'Dionysos Perikionios' in jah.rh. 11 (I896), IIJ-16, where a
pillar at Thebes, a cult-object of Dionysus, is said to be referred to, as
also in a fragment of Euripides, Antiope, preserved by Clem. Alex.
Strom. 1, p. 102 ed. Stiihlin, in the scholion of Mnaseas on Euripides,
Ph.oen. 65 x, and in vase-paintings. It is more likely that the cult-object
at Byblos belonged originally to the cult of Astarte or her local
counterpart. We know that a sanctuary of Astarte existed at Bybios
in the middle of the second century A. D., in which the rites of Adonis
were also enacted, and that it contained a tall cone or obelisk.J The
1
Apollod. l 14. 8. Cf. Hopfner, I, 67f. B. Bruyere, Les Fouilles Je Deir el
Mldineh, 1952, fasc. 3 deals well with a Ramesside limestone slab de-
picting swallows as servants of Sokar. He refers on p. 107 to funerary
papyri showing two swallows perched on a mound, one being called 'the
ha of Isis ', the other 'the ha of Nephthys '; he also points to the four
s~llows who guard the sarcophagus and canopic urns (Isis, Nephthys,
Ne~th and Selket).
a Hill, A Cat. of Greek Coins from Plzoenicia, lxxii explains them as doves.
Lucian, Syr. D. 54, cf. 33 mentions the pigeon or dove (mp11rrEp1\) as the
most sacred bird of the Syrian goddess. According to Aelian, NA 4 2 the
dove was specially sacred to Aphrodite; cf. Garstang's note in Strong and
Garstang, The Syrian Goddess, 86, n. 66. Hesychius s.v. aSWVfJIS (I'J XMI-
6wv) suggests a possible connexion between Adonis and the swallow,
but Baudissin, Adonis zmd Esmun, 168, n. 1 thinks aSwVfJIS here may be a
corruption of a6ovfs or OO]Sovfs (nightingale).
3 Lucian, Syr. D. 6 ('I saw too in Byblos a great temple of the Byblite
Aphrodite in which they perform the secret rites also for Adonis'). For
representations on coins see refs. in Frazer, AAO I, 13 f. Strong and
Garstang, The Syrian Goddess, 45, nn. I 1 and 12 suggest that the 'Byblite
Aphrodite' differed only in local attributes from the Sidonian Astarte.
Cicero, Nat. D. 3 59 mentions a fourth Venus, Syria Cyproque concepta,
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 16
p. 141, 4 mpt!<CXIetv Tci lhn)Tci] Demeter is again the prototype, for in
the Homeric Hymn, l.39ff. she is said to bum the mortal parts of
Demophoon in order to make him ageless and deathless (14l.); Meta-
neira however prevents her; cf. Ovid, Fasti, 4 ~n-6; Apotlod. 1. 5 1.
There is a similar story of how Thetis tried to make Achilles immortal,
see Ap. Rhod. 4 865-'79 Sir James Frazer, The Fasti of Ovid, m, 295
says that the myths indicate an ancient belief in the use of fire as a
means of immortality (though as a destructive force, operating against
the mortal element); they also suggest, he thinks, a custom of passing
children across a fire as a protection against evil influences; and the
Eleusinian myth may reflect an 'ordeal of fire' in the Eleusinian
Mysteries. It is the latter myth which Plutarch must be following.
p. I42, 5 XEAt66va] Transformation into a swallow (among other
b irds) is mentioned as a happy faculty of the deceased man in Egyptian
funerary texts. For the transformation of Isis into a bewailing swallow
the significant parallel, however, is her constant role, with Nephthys,
as one of 'the two hawks' or 'kites' which stand lamenting, one on
each side of the coffin. They are usually represented in human form,
but with protecting wings outstretched) S. Ronzevalle, Venus Lugens,
Io, n. 27 thinks that the change of lsis into a swallow shows Greek
influence since the swallow was, among the Greeks, the bird of !amen-
Ur/c.tv, 113,13 (Pai.Jeri); BDed. Naville, 86, I (Ca); BD 189 (Nu, 19, 10).
In Pyr. 1770a the King is said to have come forth 'as a swallow'; Pyr.
1130h and 1216c refer to swallows in a more obscure way. Budge, From
Fetish to God, 91 says that the swallow was 'sacred to Isis' and refers to BD
86. That is a spell 'for making transformations into a swallow', but it is
not clear that the swallow is identified with Isis. The vignette shows a
swallow perched on a conical object; Budge, op. cit. 92 calls it 'The
Swallow of Isis', but without adequate reason.
~ Cf. Minuc. Fel. Octav. n. 2 = HF 295, where the suggestion is that the
swallow figured in d1e Roman cult of lsis. Hopfner, 1, 59 suggests that Isis
as a swallow, in the sense of her return from Phoenicia, may be indicated
by the phrase' Arrival of the Swallow' associated with the 15th Tybi in
Brugsch, Drei Fes:-Kalender, 4 (and pl. 2, line 11). The phrase follows the
words 'Hathor, Mistress of Oenderah'. Brugsch has it thus : ~~~.;.,
but Junker, Der Ausr.ug Jer Hathor-Tef1Wt aus Nuhien, 75 has ~ \. .o for
the bird, translating' das Herabsteigen desirjt (?)'. Junker's reading seems
more likely, in which case the reference will be to Isis as 'Kite'.
3 E.g. Budge, Osiris, 11, 51; Bonnet, Bi/Jeratlas, 113. For the human forms
only cf. M. Werbrouck, Les Pleureuses dans l'Egypte Ancienne, uo-1.
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 16
tation par excelleMe, as the myth of Procne and Philomela indicates. 1
But a Phoenician source gives a more precise paralle~ for Isis as a
swallow is said to fly around the pillar, and Roman coins from Area,
on which Astarte is shown mourning, depict birds on pillars. These
birds may well be swallows, as Ronzevalle suggests. a Still, there are
some dear Egyptian antecedents.
p. 142, 11 ht cn!~eoeat Bv~:?l.fovs To ~:?l.ov] Wellmann, Bermes 31
( 1896), 227 compares the pillar of Dionysus, invoked in the epithet
mptKtovtOS' in Orph. Hymn. 47 1 Kti<Al'}axoo Bt'.tK)(ov mptKtovtov,
JJC6vSooTTlv. G. Q!!andt in his edition (Berlin, 1955), p. 3S refers to
Kem, 'Dionysos Perikionios' in jah.rh. 11 (I896), IIJ-16, where a
pillar at Thebes, a cult-object of Dionysus, is said to be referred to, as
also in a fragment of Euripides, Antiope, preserved by Clem. Alex.
Strom. 1, p. 102 ed. Stiihlin, in the scholion of Mnaseas on Euripides,
Ph.oen. 65 x, and in vase-paintings. It is more likely that the cult-object
at Byblos belonged originally to the cult of Astarte or her local
counterpart. We know that a sanctuary of Astarte existed at Bybios
in the middle of the second century A. D., in which the rites of Adonis
were also enacted, and that it contained a tall cone or obelisk.J The
1
Apollod. l 14. 8. Cf. Hopfner, I, 67f. B. Bruyere, Les Fouilles Je Deir el
Mldineh, 1952, fasc. 3 deals well with a Ramesside limestone slab de-
picting swallows as servants of Sokar. He refers on p. 107 to funerary
papyri showing two swallows perched on a mound, one being called 'the
ha of Isis ', the other 'the ha of Nephthys '; he also points to the four
s~llows who guard the sarcophagus and canopic urns (Isis, Nephthys,
Ne~th and Selket).
a Hill, A Cat. of Greek Coins from Plzoenicia, lxxii explains them as doves.
Lucian, Syr. D. 54, cf. 33 mentions the pigeon or dove (mp11rrEp1\) as the
most sacred bird of the Syrian goddess. According to Aelian, NA 4 2 the
dove was specially sacred to Aphrodite; cf. Garstang's note in Strong and
Garstang, The Syrian Goddess, 86, n. 66. Hesychius s.v. aSWVfJIS (I'J XMI-
6wv) suggests a possible connexion between Adonis and the swallow,
but Baudissin, Adonis zmd Esmun, 168, n. 1 thinks aSwVfJIS here may be a
corruption of a6ovfs or OO]Sovfs (nightingale).
3 Lucian, Syr. D. 6 ('I saw too in Byblos a great temple of the Byblite
Aphrodite in which they perform the secret rites also for Adonis'). For
representations on coins see refs. in Frazer, AAO I, 13 f. Strong and
Garstang, The Syrian Goddess, 45, nn. I 1 and 12 suggest that the 'Byblite
Aphrodite' differed only in local attributes from the Sidonian Astarte.
Cicero, Nat. D. 3 59 mentions a fourth Venus, Syria Cyproque concepta,
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 16
~;\ov may then refer to this obelisk which is shown on a coin of
the Roman imperial era from Byblos; 1 here it is a focal point of a
temple. It may be that the Osirian ~ed-pillar was eventually identified
with this cone, following the fusion of Isis~ and Astarte (or Ba'alat-
Gebal).
p. 142, u. KC&>Kiiacn TTJAIKOihov] The cry of Isis is mentioned in
Egyptian texts. In Socle Beltague e G it is said that 'Isis raised her cry
to heaven, her lamentation to the boat of millions' because of the
distress of Horus, who has been bitten; cf. Mettemich Stela, 171;
Junker, Der grosse Pylon, 171 II-IJ: 'Isis called out, and (sent) her
voice to heaven, that the souls of the gods in the firmament might hear it,
and give judicial commands for Horus, the son of Isis.' Klasens, Mag.
Stat. 91 compares Uric. VI, 2~, 4 and PGM 36, 141 f. (' Isis uttered a
great shriek and the world was disturbed').
p. 142, 13 tKecxveiv] This is the reading of e and v although Sieveking
records it as a correction of Reiske's. Wyttenbach argues for dis-
tinguishing tKecxveiv here from arro6cxveiv on p. 141, u, taking the
former as ' to be on the point of death', ' to be in a deathlike swoon'.
guae Astarte vocarur; Gruppe, Grieck. Myth.. u. Religionsgesck. 1 (19o6),
1355, n. 1 sees an allusion here to Aphrodite Aphakitis, i.e. of Aphaka near
Byblos; but A. H. Pease in his recent ed. vol. 11 (Harvard, 1958) obelizes
Syria. Cumont, PW s.v. Astarte (1896), 1777 seems unnecessarily sceptical
about the equation of Plutarch's goddess and Astarte; a local fonn, Ba'alat-
Gebal, may be involved. Astarte was a goddess of love and warj for her
early associations seeS. A. Cook in CAH n (1924), 348. From the N.K.
onwards she was worshipped also in Egypt; see Daressy, ASAE 11
(191 1), 258; in P. Chester Beatty 11 3, 4-5 she and 'Anat are suggested as
wives for Seth; see too Newberry, Amlzerst Papyri, pi. :z.o, fr. 1 ('Legend
of Astarte') and Chassinat, Edfou, VI, u:z, 3-4; Edwards, JNES 14
(1955), 49-P; cf. supra p. 326, n. 4
1
G. F. Hill, 'Some Graeco-Phoenician Shrines' in JHS 31 (19u), 6o ~d
pi. 3, no. 16. The cone is depicted as fenced around, but whether it repre-
sented Adonis or Astarte seems doubtful. See further Strong and Garstang,
Tile Syrian Goddess, 45 Hilt, op. cit. 59-Go suggests that the coins indicate
the existence of more than one temple of Astarte at Byblos.
2
Hopfner, 1, 56 is slighdy misleading when he refers to the wood as 'Holz
der Jsis' (which does not appear in his translation); also when he cites
Wiedemann, Rel.1 158 as evidence for the identification of the Byblite cult-
object with the Osirian tijed-pillar; Wiedemann does not seem to discuss
the fonner.
33
COMMENTARY CHAPTERS 16-17
In his Index he ~tes two occurrences of ~aKC&> (omitting this one):
one sup~o~ h1s argument (QJ!omodo adulat. 10, 54 I>-' I nearly died
o~ laughmg );. the other, De sera num. vind. 11, 5630 gives l~ave
wnh the meanmg of mortuus est in Wy.'s translation. Two writers of
arro-
the second century A. D. (Lucian and Aretaeus) use ac6vt!JcncC&> like
ev{J~; also Dio Cassius (A.o. ii- iii): see LSJ s.v. ~aKC&>. This
meanmg can therefore be confidently assumed here.
P 142, 15 <l>aiSpou] This river is not named elsewhere. Meunier 67
n. I, rightly t?inks that the name may have survived in the Wad;
Fedar, for whtch see E. Renan, Mission de PMnicie :122 where its
mouth is said to be not far from Gebeil. ' '
P I42, 16 tKep~~] Markland's OOTEI-IIJKWTOS is attractive but
the diffici/ior lectio is preferable. '
CHAPTER 17
P. 142, I? lpl).l-11~] Hopfner, I, ss summarizes by referring to Isis as
haVIng amved m Egypt. It is only at the beginning of the next chapter
that .Plutarch expressly places Isis in Egypt again, although there are
allustons to Egyptian customs here. In so, .371 o he refers to the cele-
bration of' the arrival of Isis from Phoenicia .
P 142, 19 6cnracnm6u1 Kal SCXKpvew] The tense-variation is not
uncommon in Plutarch with the narrative infinitive. It might be argued
~owe~er, that the aorist denotes a single act and that the present ha;
mcepuve force. Cf. Introduction, p. u.
The Egyptian accounts never refer to Isis opening a chest or sarco-
phagus, but they often allude to her lamentation when she found
<;>siris. She and Nephthys ~e~e constantly represented in funerary
1
ntes by statues and also by hvmg females who impersonated them. 2
Pyr. u8oc~.: 'They (~s~s and _Nephthys) have come embracing (or,
1
seeking) ther~ b~~ Osms . Ists, bewail thy brother I Nephthys, bewail
thy brother l It 1s wtth Nephthys that she is represented as lamenting in
the Songs and Lamentations of/sis and Neplukys of the Ptolemaic era as
als~ in the songs of the 'hour-watches' edited by Junker. In the Son~s a
typ!cal statement by I~is is, 'She embraces thee, and thou dost not forsake
her (P. Bremner-Rhind, 14, u). Isis is described in the Amen-Mose
~ymn to Osiris, 14~. as searching for Osiris, on her own; then, it is said,
she made a shade wtth her feathers .
a M. Werbrouck, Les Pleureuses clans I'Egypte ancienne, uof. Whether the
515u1JQ1 of the Graeco-Roman Apis-cult corresponded in position with Isis
331
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 17
In a well-known relief from Abydos Isis is shown being impregnated
by Osiris in her form as a mourning hawk although she is depicted as a
human female at the head of the bier.
p. 142, 22 oli)( oiiTws] At first Plutarch mentions only one son of the
king and queen of Byblos. This son, whom Isis nurses, must be the
'younger' one who dies on hearing her cry. The elder son, who now
dies of fright at her angry look, is first mentioned at the end of eh. 16.
If the reference to an alternative story of his death involves her foster-
son Dictys, mentioned in 8, 35JE1 a slight discrepancy arises in that
D ictys is said there to have fallen 'into the river'. Eisler has shown that
the same person is implied. Babbitt emends oos eipf1Tal Tp&rrov to ov
eipflTCXI 'lfAolov, diverting the allusion thus to the boat which left
Byblos at the end of eh. 16. This is ingenious, if not quite convincing.
1 Isis in the Book of the Dead'. Both these errors have been repeared in the
In spite of the discrepancy involved Plutarch is probably associating
the incident with that described in 8, 35JE.
p. 142.1 25 Mavepcjra] According to Herodotus, 2. 79 Maneros was
the only son of the first king of Egypt who died an untimely death
and was mourned in songs of lamentation. Herodotus also identifies
him with Linus; cf. Pausanias, 9 29. 7, where Linus, the son of Urania
and Amphimarus, is said to have vied with Apollo in music. It is from
this identification that Plutarch probably derives his statement that
Maneros discovered music. Nymphis, on the other hand (ap. Ath. 14.
62oA), equated Maneros with Bormos, a beautiful young man who
disappeared when fetching water for reapers, while Pollux, 4 7 54 says
that Maneros was the discoverer of agriculture; both Pollux and
Nymphis point to a peasant song of lament, and Rusch, PW s.v.
Maneros (1930), IO)O tends to believe that the allusion is to an Egyptian
song of lament sung at the harvest.1 This would agree with Plutarch's
idea ofManeros as the son of Astarte, although no Egyptian etymology
of the name can be accepted in support of the connexion.3
and Nephthys, as Hopfner, 1, 66 suggests, seems doubtful. The role of the
515wat was a lowly one: see Otto, PT 1, 116 ff.; 11, 13off.; Otto, Hiero-
Julie, 2.7.
1
Frankfort, Kingship anJ the Gods, fig. 18. lsis has one arm round Osiris in
Calverley, Abydos, m, Frontispiece.
a He compares Diod. Sic. t. 14.2 (a song in honour oflsis) and a reliefin the
tomb ofTiy.
3 Frazer, The Golden Bough, 1 (1890), 364, following Brugsch, gives mria-ne-
hra, 'come thou back' as the origin, adding that it occurs 'in the dirge of
33 2
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 17
Several attempts have been made to suggest an Egyptian derivation,
including' Menre, the maker of hymns' by Wilkinson; ma-rl-ari, 'the
truth of the watching or of the watcher' by Schwenck;Z maa-ne-hra,
'come to the house', 'come back' by Brugsch,3 although he afterwards4
suggested maa-n-chru, 'come in obedience to the call!'; ma-n-er-bos,
'a place where one sings, i.e. a feast' by Max Miiller;S .M~nl!~001r,
'oxherd' by MoJier.6 Cernfs7 proposal minw-rl, ' keeper of geese', is
philologically impeccable, but has little to commend it ideologically. a
A suggestion embodied (and rejected) in a note by Wilkinson9
deserves to be considered. Min-J:Ior, a fusion ofMin and Horus, was a
deity worshipped at Coptos, where Isis is often mentioned as his
mother. 10 Both Horus and Osiris are included in lists of the early god-
commentaries of How and W elts (1912) and Waddell (1939), although
Frazer himself published a partial correction in AAO 1/ (192.7), 46, fol-
lowing Wiedemann, Hdt. /1 (1890), 336. There is, unforrunately, no sound
modem commentary on Herodotus Book u .
1
Manners and Customs of the An&ient Egyptians, 11 (t837), 2.52. n.
1
Die Mythologie cler Aegypter (1846), 2.96. As an alternative he suggests
ma-n-her, 'the truth or righteousness of the revelation .
3 Die Aclonislclage unci clas Linosliecl (18p.), 2.4; cf. p. 3321 n. 3 supra.
4 Re/. Myth. (189t), 13.
5 Die Liehespoesie tkr a/ten Agypttr (1899), 37, n. t.
6
ZAS 5G (192o), 78-9; refuted by Scharff and Hengstenberg, ZAS 72.
(I9)6), 143-<i.
7 MisceU. Greg. (Vatican, 1941), 6o.
8
Indeed Cemy argues that the statement that the word was used of a song
should be rejected. Homblower in Man 47 (1947), 139, no. IjG accepts
Cemfs etymology and suggests that 'in early days a personage of royal
rank who had the charge of keeping the king's geese (an important source
of food at that time) and had thereby acquired the name "Maneros",
composed a song on the tragic death of Osiris '. 'In time', he adds, 'the
song may have come to be popularly known by its composer's official
name. ' This is not very convincing, especially as ' Maneros' would have
been the title, not the name.
9 In Rawlinson's Herodotus, n (1 88o), 13 I:' Some think the "son of the first
king " means Horus, the son of Osiris; and the name might be Man-Hor.' Cf.
M.Ibrahim, Aspects of Egn. Kingships (unpubl. diss. Liverpool, 1966), H
10
Gardiner, Onom. n, 28 and P. Wi/hour Comm. 14, n. 5; I. E. S. Edwards,
Hieratic Papyri in the British Museum. Fourth Series (196o), L . 2, vs. 49;
L. G, vs. 68; L. 7 21; P. 3, rt. 19; vs. 1G.
333
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 17
kings, and so is Min. 1 Min-l:lor is clearly a strong possibility as an ety-
mological antecedent of Maneros and he fits an Osirian context. But
what of the song of lament, which must concern Osiris himself as the
Egyptian parallel, here, to Adonis? A possible answer is the strange
paradox which resulted from the fusion of Min and Horus. Min was not
only identified with Horus as the son of Isis; he also became, as the
'bull of his mother', the consort oflsis and so is regarded sometimes as
Osiris. Min-Harsiesis is actually represented in the form of Osiris.=
The songs of lament for Osiris are exemplified in the well-known
Songs and Lamentations of Jsis and Nephthys.3
p. 142., 2.6 -rljv -rrO'hlV] There is no city called Palaestinus or the like,
and the word seems to be a gloss added by a scribe, unless Adonis
is involved (supra p. 281). Hopfner explains Palaestinus as a name
which connects the foster-son of Isis with Palestine, comparing the
Jewish story in 31, 363c of how Typhon fled on an ass and became the
father of Hierosolymus and Judaeus. He believes that a Sethian back-
ground suits the son of Melcarth and Astarte. Plutarch however is
clearly stressing a connexion with Isis, and Pelusium to him is a city
founded by the goddess. It is true that Seth was worshipped in the
East Delta;4 but Pelusium was not a Sethian centre.s The forms
Pl-lr-lmn and Pr-lr-imn6 ('House of AmCm)' suggest that Amiin was
its principal god. In Roman times he was called Zeus Casius, whose
temple has been excavated on a western mound of Tell el-Farama, the
1 Hdt. z.. 144-5, if Pan is taken to denote Min; Manetho ap. Euseb. Chron. I
(ed. Waddell, pp. 2.-4) where, however, Min is not included. Helck,
Manetho, 7 thinks the Herodotean Pan should be equated with Amiin-
Min. Hdt. 2. 145 does not regard Dionysus (Osiris) as among the earliest
gods. . hast done endure'); see further Wh. u, 61, 12..
: Bonnet, Real. 465, citing Calverley-Gardiner, The Temple ofKmg Sethos I
12t Ahydos, m, pi. 14 (centre, lower register).
3 See Faulkner, The Papyrus Bremner-Rhind (Brussels, 1933) and ]EA 22
(1936), 121-40i also Id. 'The Lamentations of Isis and Nephthys' in
M/FAO 66 (1934: Melanges Maspero, 1), 337-48 with 4 pis.
4 Especially at Tanis; see Gardiner, Onom. n, 172.*.
S Hopfner, 1, 77 says, 'Pelusium aber war eine durchaus typhonische Ge-
gend ', but on pp. 71 f. he cites classical evidence for Isis as the goddess of
the Pelusians. Cf. supra p. 28o.
6 Gauthier-Souas, Un Decret Trilingue en l'honneur de Ptollmle IV, 26-1
Cf. Spiegelberg, ZAS 57 (19u), 69; Gardiner, ]EA 5 (1918), 2.55-G;
Bonnet, Real. 585; Montet, Geog. 1, 199
334
C OMMENTARY CHAPTER 17
site of Pelusium. 1 A fragmentary Greek inscription of the time of
Hadrian discovered there mentions Zeus Casius.:~ The worship of Isis
at Pelusium is attested in several sources.3 The cult of Casius, on the
other hand, may reflect North-Syrian influence in Pelusium.4
p. 144, 1. aiaJIJ.(X KT'h.] Mariette, Le Sirapeum de Memphis, I, I2S was
probably on the right track when he suggested that Maneros in this
sense was derived from an expression of wish such as mn m. k, may
thy name remain!' of which he there publishes an 18th Dyn. example.
In the late period a common mode of voicing good wishes for the
future was (lw) mn r n!z~, 'let it remain for ever!', an expression some-
times added to a person's name.s The postulated derivation would in
that case, however, involve a locution stopping short at a preposition.
An expression like mn lr .I, 'may what I do endure!' would provide a
more satisfactory origin.6
p. 144, 4 EiSoo'hov 0:vep001TOU T6vr}J<Crros] Plutarch is no longer
explaining Maneros, but referring to a similar expression used among
people feasting. He alludes also in Conv. sept. sap. 2., 148A-n to the
custom of carrying around the image of a skeleton7 in a feast, and
1
40 km. south-east of Port Said; cf. Gardiner, Onom. n, 156*; Ball, Egypt,
.16; Porter-Moss, Top. Bih/. JV1 1.
~ j. Cledat, ASAE 13 (1914), 83 = SB 5689.
3 Avienus (iv A.o.), Arat .182. = HF 566: aut Pelusiaci magis es dea litoris
Jsis. Cf. P. Oxy. XI, IJ80, 74 (Isis is opj11a-rp1a, the bringer to a safe
anchorage', in Pelusium); Grenfell and Hunt ad foe. point out that separate
coins were issued by Pelusium, on which Isis occurs.
4 Cf. Kees, PW s.v. Pelusion (1937), 413.
5 Wh. n, 61, 1-3.
6
Cf. Uric. lV, 570,8 (mn pt mn ir. n .le, 'as heaven endures, so may what thou
7 One assumes that here and in V. Ant. 75 Plutarch is using the word al<EAETos
to mean a model or image rather than an actual mummy or skeleton, since
that is expressly the meaning in our passage. Lucian, De luctu, 11 = HF
312 talks, however, of a dried corpse, whereas Petronius, Sat. 34 speaks of
a 'gilded skeleton' (larvam argenteam) without mentioning an Egyptian
source for lhe custom. Silius Ital. I 3 474-G has a more ambiguous reference.
The closest parallel to the allusion in Petronius is a stucco relief from a
tomb in Cumae showing dancing skeletons: see F. Weege, Der Tcznr in Jer
Antilce (Halle, 192.6), 172, fig. 142; cf. lhe depiction of a skeleton on a
Greek drinking beaker, H. Diepolder, Griechisclte Vasen (Berlin, 1947),
59. fig. 40
335

COMMENTARY CHAPTER 17
Defradas ad /oc. rightly cites Herodotus, :1. 78 as the probable source
of this Greek tradition concerning Egypt. Wiedemann' points out that
in Egypt mummification usually excluded the idea of representing the
corpse as a skeleton. There was also great reluctance to depict the bare,
unequipped corpse, but wooden statuettes of the encased mun:uny
with a small sarcophagus are frequently found in the form of shahns or
servant-figures. Such figurines appear in tombs, but Montet~ found
some in a private house at Tanis, which he thin~ might h~ve been used
for the purpose mentioned by Plutarch. Otherwtse the evtdence for the
custom rests almost solely on the classical authors.
For the view of death, on the other hand, which produces the senti-
ment Carpe diem,J Egyptian literature produces clear pa~llels,. the
most famous of which is the banqueting song found tn vanous
versions. Its argument may be summed up by the sentences: 'None
cometh from there (the land of the dead) that he may tell us how they
fare . Follow thy desire so long as thou livest.' In the same way, in
The Man Who was Tired with Life, 68 the soul's exhortation, after a
discussion of death, is 'Have a good time and forget care! s
I been the mother of Horus in the earliest form of the myth.l Already in
p. 144, 6 olvc.>!1Evovs 1fapcnXAo\ivTEs] Wyttenbach, who supports
Markland's olvw~ovs (actually the present ptc. olvou!Jkvovs is the form
quoted by Squire, and not the perfect), aptly quotes Plutarch, QE_aest.
conv. 4 6. :1, 67:1 A1rlvew t<a\ olvoiia6at1fapcn<aAo\ivTEs &Ahi}).ous. Steve-
king's emendation of 1rapal<CXAeiv to 1rapcn<aAo\ivTEs seems necessary
1 Hdt. 11, 331. Cf. Maspero, Etudes de Myth. et d'ArcA. m, 403.
2 Everydily Life, 98. A. Hermann, AgyptiscAe.Kieinlcunst (Berlin, ~940), 101
reproduces an ebony figurine of a skeleton wtthout a mu~my-cas~ng, found
with a small wooden shrine. It dates from the late pcnod and ts the one
clear instance of an object such as Hdt. and Plutarch describe.
3 Montet, op. cit. 99 interprets Plutarch's. ex~lanatio~ of ~anero~ ~ equiva-
lent to the Greek ~flSW ayav, 'moderanon m all things , but thts ts not so.
4 E.-B. Lit. 133; Breasted, The Dawn of Conscience, 163 ff. For the song of
Nefer})otep, which is less sceptical, see Gardin.er, The Attitude of the
Ancient Egyptians to Death at~d the Dead (Cambndge, 1935), 3~; Roeder,
Uric. Rei. 6of.; Breasted, op. cit. 166f.; Montet, op. cit. 96ff.; Wiedema_nn,
Hdt. JJ, 331 f. M. Lichtheim, JNES 4 (1945), 178-2.12 offers a detailed
study. Cf. more recently Edward F. Wente,JNES ~ (t962.), 118-2.8, who
argues for the secular use of such songs.
s Faulkner,JEA 42. (1956), ~7 translates more literally, ~ollow the h~ppy
day'. For a similar exhortation in a stela of the Ptolem;uc era see Wtede-
mann, Rei. 96 f.
COMMEN T ARY CHAPTERS 17-18
since the infinitives after ev1ot ot cpaow in p. 142-, 2.8 seem to break off
with oVI< EaTI\1 in line 5.
p. 144, 8 &)(aptv rnlta:Jilov] So Emperius righdy in view of Pluta.rch,
Conv. sept. sap. 2., 148B &)(apts JXl Cic..>pOS rnlt<Ca:JilOS f}t<c.>\1 (of the
01<EArn)s).
CHAPTER 18
p. 144, 9 wBo\rr'll Tpecp61-1E\1011] We must assume that Plutarch is
depicting Isis as having proceeded from Byblos to Buto and that he
regards Leto as having nursed Horus in the meantime 'in the marshes
around Buto' (38, 366A). Herodotus, :1. rs6 also says that Leto hid
Apollo(= Horus) in the neighbouring island ofKhemmis. In Egyptian
tradition Wedjoyet, the cobra-goddess whose name means the Green
One', with her son Nefertem fonns the primary group here. 1 It was
with Hathor that Wedjoyet was first equated, and Hathor may have
the Pyramid Texts Horus is prominently linked with Pe, a part of
Buto, and with the neighbouring Khemmis.J It is in Khemmis that
Horus the son of Isis is consistendy said to have been born and
nurtured, being protected the while against the treacherous attacks of
Seth.S Tell el-Fara'in is the name of the modem site where Buto lay.6
This is Plutarch's first mention of Horus the son of lsis as distinct
from the elder Horus (u., 3S6A) who is the brother of Isis, and from
1 S. Morenz and J. Schubert, Der Gott auf Jer Blume, 33; Conflict, 94 Buto
is derived from Pr- W ls;l.t, The House of Wedjoyet'; see Gardiner, j EA 30
(1944), 5Sff. where, however, it is rather perversely argued that the loca-
tions of Pe and Khemmis are contrasted in Egyptian texts.
l Conflict, 94 In Junker and Winter, GehurtsAaus, 18 f. Wedjoyet guards the
Horus-child; ihid. 184f. Seshat attends Isis and her child.
3 T. G. Alien, Horus in the Pyramid Texts, Jl. This Buto was in the 6th
Lower Egyptian nome, south of Lake Burlos, and not that in the 19th
Lower Egyptian nome, south-east of Tanis. The goddess of Dep, the
other part of the former Buto, was Wedjoyet; cf. Bonnet, Real. 12.9.
4 Cf. 14, 3560 and n. supra. Klasens, Mag. Stat. 71-3 shows that Khemmis
as the traditional birthplace of Horus must have been near Buto. Cf.
Blackman and Fairman, ]EA 30 (1944)1 19ff., a very full discussion of
Khemrnis in the Edfu texts, where the tradition is confirmed.
5 Conflict, 46 ff.
6 Gardiner,JEA JO (1944), ss; Kees, Ancient Eg. 184;]EA 51 (1965), 10.
22 337 GDJ
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 18
Harpocrates (I 9, 3 58 D) who is born of her after Osiris achieves
posthumous union with her. These, and many other, distinctions are
apparent in the Horus-forms of the Egyptian texts. 1 The main reason
for the large number of these forms was the identification of local
falcon-gods with the royal Horus-falcon, but in the case of Horus the
son of Isis {Harsiesis) it is the equation of Horus and the Hying King
which seems to have demanded, according to the. needs of patrilinear
succession, the emergence of a similarly named son.1 Unlike Harpo-
crates, Harsiesis is depicted as a grown man. In the Edfu temple-textsl
he fights against Seth alongside of Horus of Bel)det, and he is shown
thus also in the reliefs. 4
p. I441 12. els TEaacxpeaKCXISa<a ~P'I'I] According to 8, 3S4A Typhon
was hunting a pig in the full moon when he discovered the chest. The
number of the dismembered parts is given a lunar interpretation in .p.,
368A. Diodorus Sic. I. :21. 2. states that the body was divided into
twenty-six parts. A list in the temple of Denderah gives the parts
together with the names to which they were distributed, and agrees
with Plutarch in numbering them as fourteen.s Another statement,
however, deriving from the same Ptolemaic temple,6 alludes to sixteen
parts which were distributed, according to this text, to sixteen differ-
ent nomes of Egypt.7 Forty-two sanctuaries of Osiris were eventually
developed in this way-one in every nome.8 The idea of dismember-
ment in sacrifice is common in Egyptian religion. Thus Pyr. 1544aff.
1
Mercer, Horus, eh. s distinguishes fifteen principal forms.
1
As the deceased King became Osiris, Horus is the son of the latter and of
his spouse Isis.
3 Chassinat, EJfou, VI, u1, r:z.ff.
4 /hit!. xm, pis. 516-7 (Harsiesis and Horus of Be!Jdet slay captives before
Isis and Osiris).
5 Dilmichen, Geographisclre Jnschrifien, m, 1; cf. Kees, Gotterglauoe, 405, n. 3
Kees also points out that the 'Ritual of Embalming' assigns forms of
Osiris to 36 nomes : see Sauneron, Rituel tie l'emoaumemem, 7, 11.
6 See Chassinat, Le mystere J'Osiris, us, 3 ff.
7 IDiJ. 1os, s f.: 'These (Osirises) are made in all the nomes of the sixteen
divine members.' Cf. Wiedemann, Rei. zrs- 17; Junker, Ahaton, 86.
8 Kees, Gotterglauk, 40s, n. 4, citing Brugsch, Diet. Giog. 13 S8 ff. = EJfou,
1, 329 ff. and quoting Et!fou, 1, 177, G(Sokar-chamber), 'His body is in the
forty-two nomes . There was a tradition at Edfu that a leg of Osiris was
preserved there and that the moon-god Khons was a 'son of the leg': see
Blackman and Fairman, Miscellanea Gregorimul (1941), 417f.
338
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 18
describes the sacrifice of a bull, identified with Seth, whose members
are distributed among the gods. Dismemberment after death was also
feared, so that a Pyramid spell {364aff.) can begin, Thou hast thine
heart, Osiris, thou hast thy feet, thou hast thine arm I Of these ideas ,
the former, that of dismemberment in sacrifice, probably has its origin
in the sacrificial meal of the clan which hunts the sacred animal of an
enemy clan. Typhon's division of the corpse, as here related, clearly
involves also an attempt to explain the numerous alleged burial-places
of the parts. 1
p. 144, I 3 wJ3apiSincrnvpfVtJ) 8Cip1s is doubtless from the Egyptian
hlyr, which fl7h. I, 465 transliterates as hr (hjr) without mentioning a
possible connexion.1 Several Greek authors use J3ap1s of an Egyptian
boat: see Aesch. Supp. 873; Hdt. .2. 41, 9(), I79i Diod. Sic. 1. 96. 8;
Iambi. My.rt. 6. 53 The Egyptian word could denote a large sea-going
vessel as in P. I:'arris I, 77, 8 and P. Anastasi 4, 6, 11. These were, of
course, made chiefly ofwood. The type made ofpapyrus only is attested,
however, from the earliest times;4 it was used mostly for fishing and
was light enough to be carried by a man. Paddles or steering poles were
used to work it; and the boat's two ends rose and tapered sharply as in
a Venetian gondola.S
The wanderings of Isis in a boat in the marshes of the Delta do not
1
Cf.. Theophilus, At! Auto/ye. I. 9 = H F 361; Athenagoras, Pro
C?nst. 21 = HF 344; Firm. Mat. Err. prof. re/. 1. 2 = HF 518-19; and
1
Zmunermann, Rei. 37
Wiedemann, Ht!t.Il, 387f. gives the Egyptian word as oarit, but such a
fo~ does not .seem to occur. Caminos, Late-Egypti4n Miscellanies, 156
th~nks that hryts the normal form; he compares the Coptic A~~o.&p (Crum,
Dt.et. 4za). According to UPZ 81 ii 7 (ii s.c.) the Egyptian word for a
papyrus boat was ~; perhaps the Egyptian rms is meant.
3
Aesch. Pers. H3 uses it of a Persian ship and Eur./A 297 talks of~ap~apo1
~p16es. Propertius, 3 11. 44 uses lxzris in an Egyptian context.
4
Wiedemann, Agypten 213, also fig. 37, p. 214. For a relief showing these
boats being made see N. de G. Davies, Rock Tomhs of Sneilc! Saiti, pl. 12
See also Erman-Tirard, 479-80. Harris and Lucas, Materials, 13of.
describe how boxes were made from papyrus.
5 Kees, Kulturg. no and figs. 15-18. Gressmann, Osiris, 18 states that the
Neshmet-bark of Osiris was originally a papyrus boat. This he does not
subs~tiate, but it is not unlikely, in view of the antiquity of these boats,
that 1t should be so thought of. Whether any special significance attaches
thereto is very doubtful.
339
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 18
prompt Plutarch, it may be noted, to mention the cult episode of the
navigium Isidir, although this is attested a little later in the Cenchreaean
cult by Apuleius (Met. 11. 17). But Plutarch may have this in mind as
the arrival of Isis from Phoenicia' (5o, 371 D)- a sea-journey, and in
a different sort of boat, even if the navigium implies a launching, not
a return, see n. ad p. 198, 14.
To explain the belief that crocodiles did not harm those in papyrus
boats, Kees 1 compares a relief on a Berlin sarcophagus of the :und
Dynasty where a crocodile with closed jaws is shown beneath a funerary
bark. Gressmann,1 however, is able to show that one tradition
represents the crocodile as positively co-operative. A black figure in
granite in Berlin (no. 11486) shows a crocodile bearing an Osirian
mummy on its back.3 Still more striking is the well-known relief at
Philae depicting a swamp in which a crawling crocodile bears a mummy
on its back, for above this, standing over the foot of the mummy, is a
6 cenotaph of Osiris, and the cult continued until the 26th Dynasty.S
figure oflsis.4 JunkerS quotes, in illustration, a text from Denderah in
which it is said that Horus came and brought the limbs of Osiris on
the water, on this day in his form of a crocodile'. An earlier myth tells
of how the crocodile-god Suchos or Sebek brought out of the water
the hands of Horus which lsis had cut off.7 Probably, then, Horus is
8
identified with Suchos in the Osirian episode.
p. 144, 16 1TOAAo\ls Tacpovs] Cf. infra 1.0, J59A and 35, 365-A. Dio-
dorus Sic. 1. 1.1. 5ff. gives an account which tallies only with the second
tradition recorded by Plutarch. The Egyptian tradition involves the
burial of parts of the god's body in different places, but it is easy to see
how the second interpretation arose : in all places where the Osirian
cult was enacted figures of the god were commonly used,9 and these
1 Kulturg. 110, n. 4 It is reproduced in Gressm:mn, Osiris, fig. 3
3 Osiris, 13 If. Cf. Kakosy, ZAS 90 (1963), 67 If.
3 Cf. the story in Diad. Sic. 1. 89. 3 of Menas (Menes) being rescued by a
crocodile.
4 Cf. Junker, Ahaton, figs. 10a and toh = Bonnet, Bi/Jeratlas, 154 (with-
out the Isis-figure). S A baton, 41 f.
6 Mariette, Derullran, 1v, 37, line 90.
7 BD Il3 = CT u, Spell Ij8; cf. Caminos, Literary Fragments, 14.
8 Cf. Kees, PW s.v. Suchos (1932), 5P
9 Cf. the Khoiak Festival, Chassinat, Le mystere J 'Osiris, 105, 5 f.: 'These
(Osirises, i.e. effigies) are made in all the names of the sixteen divine
members', discussed p. 338 supra.
340
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 18
might later have been explained as the god's body. 1 A common
feature of Egyptian sacrificial rites, as we have seen, was the dismem-
berment of the animal sacrificed. Very often the animal was identified
with Seth, and the members were sometimes said to be apportioned to
various gods (e.g. Pyr. 1544aff.), which in turn involves the idea of
allotment to different places.1 Junker3 has suggested that this is the
basic idea behind the story of the dismemberment of Osiris by his
enemy; the dissemination of the parts then gives rise to the idea of
many burial-places. But the ritual making of effigies probably also
contributed to the belief which was finally evolved.
Originally the god was deemed to be buried in one place, probably
Abydos. Nedyet, the scene of his death according to the Pyramid
Texts, was probably near Abydos, and so was P4er, mentioned on the
Stela of Ikhemofret as the site of his tomb. 4 From the r8th Dynasty
the tomb of King Djer, a king of the First Dynasty, was treated as the
From the N.K., too, comes the earliest allusion, it seems, to the burial
of separate members of the god's body.6 The 'Osireion' or cenotaph
1
Diod. Sic. I. ss. 5 reports a belief that Isis placed the parts of the god's
body into a wooden ox, but this is merely a far-fetched attempt to explain
the name Busiris. Strabo, 17, 803 = H F 157 states that lsis deposited many
coffins of Osiris throughout the land, although only one of them contained
his body; this she did in order to deceive Typhon.
l Cf. Pyr. 1BG7a: 'Thy thigh is in the Thinite nome, his leg is in the Nubian
nome', on which see Kees, Gotterglauhe, 331. The dismemberment of Seth
and the dispersal of the parts to various gods and localities is a theme
elaborately treated in the Horus-myth of Edfu, where Seth is represented
by a hippopotamus: see Edfou, vr, 84-G with Blackman and Fairman's
remarks in ]EA 30 (1944), Ioff. In a second dismemberment, EJfou, VI,
87-90, the Sethian hippopotamus is in the form of a cake or loaf of bread;
see Blackman and Fairman, op. cit. 13 If. 3 Onurislegende, 5s.
4 One early text, The Mempnite Theology, l.ID f. gives Memphis as the place
of his burial; see Sethe, Dramatisclze Texu, 40. For Petter see Schafer,
ZAS 41 (1904), 107-IO.
S Petrie, Royal Tombs, 11 7 and n, 8. Amelineau, Le Tomheau J'Osirir (Paris,
1899), 149-50 expresses the belief that he had discovered there the tomb
of Osiris who was now shown, in his view, to have been a historical
personage. Both beliefs must be rejected.
6
His thigh, head, two sides and two legs were kept in Naref in Heracleopolis
according to BD 18 = Uric. v, 131. Cf. Kees, Giitterglauhe, 3:11. That the
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 18
of Sethos I at Abydos was believed by Frankfort to be a conscious
imitation of the burial-place of Osiris, its essential feature being its
primeval hill in the form of an island. Certainly an island recurs in the
later tradition concerning Bigeh near Philae, where the god's left leg
was said to lie.I P. Jumilhac, which refers to twelve parts, claims that
the head was kept near Hardai: see Vandier's edition, zoo f.
The list of the fourteen1 buried parts given in DUmichen, Geo-
grapAisclze Jnsclzrifien, m, Taf. I includes the heart, said to be preserved
in the nome of Athribis, and the head, said to be guarded in the Thinite
no me; the 'N ubian no me', where the left leg is said to be, doubtless
refers to Bigeh.
p. 144, :tl TO cdSoiov] Cf. Diodorus Sic. 1.11. 6-7.3 Egyptian sources
do not reveal a tradition of this kind specifically about Osiris. A gloss in
BD 17, 28--9 (A.a. ed. Naville) alludes to the blood 'which flowed
from the phallus of Re' when he had turned to mutilate himself',4 and
one variant (probably of little authority) has 'the phallus of Osiris '.s
There is a cryptic reference in the daily temple liturgy6 to the pulling
or fishing out of the 'intestines ( ?) of Osiris ', and Budge7 compares
the story in BD 113 of how Sebek fished out the lost hands of Horus.
His other comparison- with the fortunes ofBata in The Taleoftlze Two
Brothers- is undoubtedly more compelling. In this papyrus (7, 9ff.)
Bata is said to have had his male member cut off and cast into the river;
god's whole body lay in the Abaton in Bigeh is suggested by Gehurtshaus,
ed. Junker and Winter, t8J, 13 and 10.
1 Junker, Ahaton, 86f. Contrast the previous note.
l For the list of sixteen see supra (n. ad p. 144, 11); cf. also Brugsch, ZAS
19 (t88r), 96; Loret, Rec. trav. 5 (r884), 85-6; Budge, From Fetish to GoJ,
193-4; Helck, 'Osiris', 498.
3 Hippolytus, Elenchus, 5 7 11ff. (ed. Wendland, m, SJff.) says that the
mysteries of lsis are nothing else than 'the pudendum of Osiris which was
snatched away and sought for by her ofthe seven stoles and black garments'.
See Goodenough,jewish Symhols, 6 (19s6), 94ff.
4 Cf. Grapow, BD 171 9 and 40; Budge, Osiris, 11 65.
S T. G. Alien, BD CAicago, p. 91, 11, 36. Brugsch, Thes. 618 finds a
reference to 'das Schamglied des Osiris' in an Edfu text; Blackman,JEA
3 (1916), 104 translates as 'the umbilical cord', to which Kees, ZAS 65
(1930), 70, n. 3 objects. The reading in Chassinat, Edfou, VI, 111,7 differs
from that given in previous texts; it suits neither of the two interpretations
advanced, but what it really means is doubtful.
6 Moret, Riruel du Culte Divin, 37 8 (m, 5-6). 7 Osiris, 1, 63.
1
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 18
the mutilation is self-inflicted, in order to suggest his innocence; and
the mutilated member is eaten by a fish. That Bata is an Osirian
character is sometimes stated, 1 but parallels with Amlln as Ka-mut-ef
are more to the fore. 1 The story of Bata corresponds more closely with
Plutarch's detail here in that the male member is eaten by a fish. But the
Egyptian tradition points to the phallus of Osiris as one of the god's
members successfully preserved as a relic) Further, the myth as
recorded by both Plutarch and the native sources tells of the posthu-
mous procreation of Harpocrates by Osiris, so that his phallus is
regarded as remaining intact in a specially vital sense, an idea confirmed
by pictorial representations. The possibility of an intrusive Greek
element must be faced. Cronus is said to have cut off the phallus of
Uranus and thrown it into the sea. Alternatively, the episode may have
been fabricated to explain why the lepidotus, phagrus and oxyrhynchus
were abominated in certain areas. 4 Egyptian texts emphasize the
1
Blackman,]EA 3 (1916), 105, n. 1 goes to the extent of calling him Bata-
Osiris; cf. Vikentiev, Bull. Arts Fouad I Univ. JJ (1949), 7o-1.
1
H. Jacobsohn, Die dogmatische Ste//ung du Kiinigs in thr Theologie der a/ten
Agypter, tG-17. On pp. x8f. he sees some analogies with Osiris and Attis
in Bata's first phase. Cf. also Massart, Stud. Bih/. et Orient. 3 (Rome, 1959),
141; Bakry, Main Elements of th.e Osiris Legend (Diss. Durham, 1953,
unpubl.), 109.
3 Dilmichen, Geogr. Jnsch.r. m, 1, (no. to); Diod. Sic. 1. 11. 6 gives an ac-
count similar to Plutarch's. Cf. Brugsch, Diet. Glog. 119 (the phallus is in
Mendes); Brugsch refers to the cult of d1e buck there, comparing Strabo,
17, 8o1, who cites Pindar for the intercourse of goats and women in
Mendes. P. Jumilhac B 41 20 ff. (cf. 4, 5 ff.) says that the phallus was
found, and placed in Mendes. See Vandier, p. 132, n. 887.
1 Kees, Giitterglauoe, 67. In Mercer, Pyr. T. IV, 134 Kees compares
Pyr. 145od: 'The King has not swallowed a member of Osiris'-a
difficult allusion based, possibly, on cannibalism. Goodenough, Jewish.
Symhols, S (1956), 14 says:' A fish ate the phallus of Osiris in many forms
of the legend, and probably this story arose because the popular mind
associated the fish with the phallus, especially with the phallus of Osiris.'
It would be interesting to know more of' the many forms of the legend ;
nor is the association of fish and phallus well attested; Goodenough refers
to a mummy of the Hellenistic period gazing at 'an oxyrhynchus fish'
above him and conjectures ('I should guess') that the fish is Osiris in his
phallic aspect. Spiegelberg considered d1e fish to be a representation of the
soul, while Wiedemann and Mahler thought it was the /net-fish which
conducted the solar bark in the celestial ocean: see refs. in Mon. Piot 47
343
 COMMENTARY CHAPTERS 18-19
phallic power of Osiris. He is the' mummy with the long phaUus' 1 and
his sexual virility is praised in The Festival Songs of Isis and Neph.th.ys.
To Plutarch the identification of Osiris and Dionysus undoubtedly
meant a strengthening of this aspect until it assumed a cosmic meaning,
as Goodenough; has shown.
CHAPTER 19
p. 144, 17 ~~ A1oov] Osiris comes from the world of the dead to
help Horus. This is consonant not only with the myth, but also with the
earliest and most persistent role of Osiris as lord of the dead. According
to Diodorus Sic. 1. 88. 6 he comes in the form of a wolf; here it seems
that Osiris has been confused with the jackal-god Wepwawet, who is
also a helper of Horus;3 or perhaps with Khentamenthes; cf. Kees,
Gouerglaube, 29. That the Abydene Osiris was thought of as a jackal
is possible too.
p. 146, I Tt;> ncrrpl 1<al oij ~1)Tpl Tl~wpeiv} One reason for the
popularity of the Osiris myth was the strong sense of family loyalty
and devotion which it vividly revealed. This marks not only the rela-
tionship of Jsis and Osiris (particularly the devotion of Isis to her
husband; the fidelity of Osiris is not unblemished) but also that of
(1953), 16. There Mme Ch. Desroches-Noblecourt calls attention also to
the N .K. tomb of Khabekhent at Deir el-Medineh where a large mummified
fish is shown on a bier, attended by Anubis, lsis and Nephthys: see ihiJ.
p. 14, fig. 1 t. The writer shows that the fish, which is the lares niloticus,
represents the Osirian mummy, recalling thus the hod y of Osiris floating in
the water after he was drowned. The address by Anubis is: ' I come; 1 am
thy protection for eternity, 0 fish Abdju of true lapis lazuli.' Mme Desroches
Noblecourt believes that the fish on the sarcophagus from Gamhud, cited
by Goodenough, also represents the deceased as identified with Osiris and
destined to rebirth in a new life. All this seems to shed no light, however, on
Plutareh's episode of the lost and devoured phallus, especially as the fish is
beneficent in the Egyptian sources here cited.
1 Erman, ZAS 38 (1900), 30 (a text from the end of the N.K.). Cf. Good-
enough, Jewish Symbols, 5 (1956), 193 % Op. cit. 6 (1956), 76.
3 For the help given by Osiris cf. Metternich Stela, 217: The protection of
Horus is the secret corpse in its mummy in its sarcophagus'; see Sander-
Hansen, 66 and 71, where a different version appears, and Klasens, Mag.
Stat. Base, 56. The reference is clearly to Osiris; cf. Klasens, op. cit. 95
and 86. On his early jackal form see my Origins of Osiris, 91 ff.
344
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 19
Horus to his parents. His epithets lwn mwt.f, 'pillar of his mother' 1
and nd lt .[, saviour of his father (> Harendotes); illustrate his filial
fidelity. The latter phrase has often been mistranslated 'avenger of his
father' although the verb nd never bears this meaning.l In the Rosetta
Stone (Urk. n, 189, 8-9) it corresponds to hra~ww, and it is twice
used in a rendering of&ol ac.rrijpes (Urk. n, 171, 2; n, 189, 1). That
TlJlc.>pEiv in our passage means 'to succour'4 rather than 'avenge' is
clearly possible, and the possibility is confirmed by Plutarch's descrip-
tion of Isis in ~7, 361 D as TJ n~wpos 'OalplOOS aoAtp1}1Xl )'Wli, for
in the case of Isis Tl~(l)pc)sS cannotrefer to revenge since it is Horus only,
according to the story, who carries out such an action in his defeat of
Typhon. Kees, Giitterglaube, 1 55 points out that the idea of the family
was an important formative element in the development of the circles
oflocal gods in Egypt, and that the whole Osiris myth is dominated by
the idea of the divine family with the attendant belief in the principles
of succession and inheritance which imparted a faith in the future. An
instance of the parallelism drawn between the Osirian family and the
ordinary human family occurs in the Kanais inscriptions, 30 (Schott,
Kanais, 187): As for any one who will ignore this decree, Osiris
will pursue him, and lsis his wife, and Horus his children' (temp.
Sethos I).
p. 146, 3 i1T1TOv} It is not clear whether Horus regards the horse
most useful for the single cavalryman or for soldiers employing
chariots. In any case the horse was not introduced to Egypt much
1
Wh. 1, 53 1 where it is shown to occur also as a priestly title; cf. Grapow,
Die hi/Jlichen AusJrii&ke des Aegyptischen, 164; Mercer, The PyramiJ Texts,
m, 763; Gardiner, Onom. u, 44f.
~ Wh. u, 375
l See J. Gwyn Griffiths, 'The meaning of nd and of nd-~r',]EA 37 (195t),
32-7. Hopfner, I, JoG reproduces the error, and confuses matters further by
translating n4 as Racher' and Retter' in the same phrase. The Egyptian
texts sometimes speak of Horus exacting retribution' from his enemies;
e.g. an Edfu text edited by Blackman and Fairman in Mise. Greg. (1941),
404 and fig. 4 1 cf.]EA 37 (t9SI), 34, n. 7
4 LSJ s.v. II: 'esp. in pres. and impf., succour one who has been attacked or
has suffered injury ... '. Wyttenbach, InJex, s.v. "TlJ.It.)ptt.) assigns the
meanings 'punio' and 'vindictam sumo' to the Middle; the latter meaning
is demanded in De HJt. Malign. 11, 8~9c TlJ.It.)pOviJEVOI IaJJ(OIJ5.
s Cf. De Hdt. Malign. %4, 86t A wruch Wyttenbach renders 'auxiliator' in
his Index.
345
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 19
earlier than the 18th Dynasty/ so that this detail could not have
belonged to the first form of the myth. It was for charioteering that the
horse was normally used in Egypt, although it seems that 'mounted
scouts ' were sometimes a feature of New Kingdom military organiza-
tion, as Schulman has shown. The cavalier saints of Capric an,
including St George,3 clearly owe something to the iconography of
Horus since the crushing of an enemy in animal form is often a feature
of Horus on the monuments called 'cippi of Horus'. Funher, a relief
in the Louvre4 depicts Horus on horseback spearing the Typhonic
crocodile. At the same time, the horse-riding element cannot be
Egyptian in origin and probably derives from Syria or Asia Minor.S
1 Erman-Ranke, 583; Aldred, The Egyptians, S3 Emery has discovered at
Buhen a horse-burial belonging apparently to the M.K.: see Egypt Ex-
ploration Society Report (1958), p. 6.
1 'Egyptian Representations of Horsemen and Riding in the New Kingdom',
JNES 16 (1957), ::z.6J--']I. The examples in d1e scenes of the battle of
~desh are explained by Faulkner, ]EA 39 (t9SJ), 43 as 'mounted
orderlies'. For the importance of the charioteers see Gardiner, Onom. r,
1.7 f. In The ./.(aaesh Inscriptions of Rame.rse.r II (Oxford, 19Go), 49
Gardiner calls the horse-riding men ' scouts on horseback' although
Schulman uses the term 'cavalry '.
3 A. Gayet, L' Art Copte (Paris, 1901), 2.41 ff.; John D . Cooney, Late
Egyptian and Coptic Art (Brooklyn Mus. 1943), pi. 19. For a sculpture of
Christ as cavalier see A. Badawy, L' Art Copte: Les Influences Helllni.rtiquu
et Romaines (Cairo, 19SJ), 78, fig. 43 (from Deir el-Abiad).
4 A. Badawy, L'Art Copte: Les Influences Egyptiennes (Cairo, 1949), 59,
fig. 43; cf. Maria Cramer, Da.r christlich-/coptische Agypten, Einst und Heute
(Wiesbaden, 1959), 72.. See also J. Stnygowski, Koptische Kun.rt {CCG,
Vienna, 1904), no. 72.84, pp. ::z.6f. Berlin Mus. no. 9685 also may depict
Horus on horseback: see Erman, Rei. 395, fig. 168; cf. a statuette in
Leningrad, Catalogue, p. 365. The last two refs. I owe to Sir Alan Gardiner.
An expression used of Sethos I is 'dte king who appears on a horse (~tr)
like the son oflsis': see E. Lefebure, Sphinx~ (1901), 98; but btr probably
means in full 'a horse-drawn chariot', cf. Gardiner, Onom. I, zs.
P. Dem. Mag. Lond. Leid. (A.D. iii), vs. col. 33, 1 mentions Horus 'on a
white horse' and ' on a black horse'. Cf. Conflict, 104 and 113 ff.
S Cf. Stnygowski, ZAS 40 (1901.), 59 f. Badawy, op. cit. 59 quotes him as
deriving the type from the Alexandrine representation of the emperor on
horseback. For the possible influence of the cult of Heron, the rider-god
from Thrace, see Bell, Cults and Creeds, 15.
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 19
Astarte is pre-eminently the deity associated with it; see Leclant,
Astarte a Cheval', Syria 37 (196o), 1-67, esp. p. 59
The lion in Egyptian art sometimes symbolizes the Pharaoh as in the
Sphinx of Gizeh. 1 Diodorus Sic. I. 48. r refers to a lion which is depicted
with Ramesses 11 (Osymandyas) in scenes of the battle of Kadesh.
This lion, however, is a mere decoration, as Breasted~ was able t~ show.
It is true that the words 'the living lion, follower of His Majesty,
Slayer of his Enemies'3 accompanying the lion as shown at Abu Simbel
could be interpreted otherwise, but the symbolic meaning is in-
escapable in the pictorial and literary contexts of the lion's role
generally. What is problematic in Plutarch's account is how the lion
can be thought of in any sense, and by any tradition, as being useful in
war. Horus replies that the lion is useful to him in need of aid. Elephants,
camels, and horses were used in war by various peoples, but in no
case are lions thus depicted. One possible explanation is that the
Egyptian pictorial record, which appears to show lions in this role,
was misinterpreted.
Benseler's emendation ofimrov to ;\liKov4 would suit the function of
Wepwawet as helper of Horus, but in view of the allusions to Horus as
a horseman, does not seem necessary. For the hiatus see Introduction,
11, P IJ.
p. 146, 9 9o\n)pts) The Egyptian hippopotamus-goddess Tawert
(lit.' the great one'), most often called Opet, appears as early as Pyr.
381 a ff. (in the form Ipy) as a benign goddess who suckles the King.
She is the protectress of pregnancy5 and in contrast to the male hippo-
1 C. de Wit, Le r8le et le sens du lion dans I'Egypte ancienne (Leiden, 195 x),
464 thinks it is an incarnation of the divine in human form.
l The Battle of KaJesh (Chicago, 1903), 44 Cf. the alternative explanation
added by Diod. Sic. That the lion was not a decorative part of the
chariot is shown by U. Schweitzer, Lowe und Sphinx im a/ten Agypten
(GlUckstadt, 1948), ~ 1. Of course this does not prevent it from being
decorative in another sense.
3 Gardiner, The ./.(atle.rh Inscriptions, 35
i Synesius (v A.o.), De provicl. I 1~ B says that Horus the child preferred the
help of the wolf to that of the lion. Diod. Sic. 1. 88. G says that Osiris
appeared to Horus in the form of a wolf. Cf. Conflict, 100 and supra, p. 344
S Wainwright,JEA 2.7 (1941), 142. points out that in the neighbourhood of
Zanzibar 'the Wandamba consider that it is good for a pregnant woman
to eat hippopotamus meat'. This he considers, no doubt righdy, to be an
instance of Egyptian influence there. When he adds that the hippopotamus
347
--
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 19
potamus, who often has Sethian associations, she has favourable
connexions, being even called ' the mother of Osiris'.' Save-Soder-
berght is probably right in suggesting that it is this contrast in the
attitude towards the male and female deities that has given rise to the
Plutarchean story of Thoueris deserting one side for the other. An
ambivalence was attached, as he shows, to the hippopotamus generally:
to the hunter, the animal was a coveted prize, but to the farmer it was a
cause ofhavoc to his crops. The final choice of Thoueris thus vindicates
her position as a beneficent deity.3 In the Roman era the goddess was
identified, or associated, with Athena at Oxyrhynchus,4 although the
grounds for the parallelism are not easy to see.
p. 146, 9 ~lS] Horus appears as early as the Pyramid Texts5 as one
who kills threatening snakes. In the Horian cippi6 he is often depicted
as holding snakes triumphantly in his hands. In The Winge!l Dislc
according to Chassinat, Edfou, VI, 121,9-10, ' Seth assumed a form as a
roaring serpent' .7 Probably then, ol mpl Tov wpov will imply Horus
himself, as indeed Plutarchean usage elsewhere would allow. The
custom of cutting a cord as a souvenir of this is not attested, 8 but the
was sacred to Seth ... the female hippopotamus, Thoeris, was his con-
cubine', he seems to be suggesting a conncxion which glosses over a basic
dichotomy ald10ugh he properly stresses that 'in Greek times her cult was
specially strong at Seth's city of Oxyrhynchus'.
1 C. de Wit, Les Inscriptions du temple d'Opet, d Karnak, vu. De Wit seems
to think that this derives from d1e association of the hippopotamus-goddess
with Opet, goddess of Luxor, but the Pyr. passage suggests that it be-
longed to the original character of Opet-Thoueris. Cf. J. Gwyn Griffiths,
JEA 47 (1961), 169.
2 On EGYptian Representations of Hippopotamus Hunting as a Religwus
Motive, 47 His suggestion on p. 55 that there may also he an allusion to a
theme concerning the pacification of a wild hippopotamus is more question-
able. Plutarch below (so, 371 c) mentions the male hippopotamus as a
Typhonian animal.
3 Cf. Kees, GotterglaulJe, 356.
4 B. R. Rees, Tile Merton Papyri, 11, 73 1 ~with remarks on p. 77; cf. C. H.
Roberts,JEA ~o (1934), ~3 and Bell, Cults and Creeds, IS
S Pyr. 444aff.; 663 aff.
6 G. Daressy, Textes et Dessins Ma!foJues (CCG, 1903), pis. 1 ff.
7 Cf. Fairman,JEA ~~ (1935), 3~
8 Guimet, Plutarque et l'Egypte (Paris, 1898), ~1, n. 1 adduces a Buddhist
rite as a parallel, suggesting that it is possible that the Isiac 'churches'
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 19
ascription of a symbolic meaning to a comparable action is found in
the daily temple ritual.'
P: 146, 12 Kpcrrfiaal:ov TWpov] In essence the struggle of Horus
agamst Seth-:yphon 1s for the sovereignty of Egypt, and the signal
mark of the vtctory of Horus is the fact that the living Pharaoh was
regarded ~ the. em~odiment of Horus. An earlier phase, reflecting a
less one-stded Sltuanon, portrays the King as embodying both Horus
and Se~,, The fullest mythological account of the quarrel is in the
Ramess1de Chester Beatty Papyrus No. r and Gardiner in his edition
has entitled it The Comendings ofHoru.s and Setlz. Here' the end of th;
struggle (15, IJtf.) is marked by the agreement of Seth himself that
1
the office of his father Osiris' be given to Horus. Although Seth is
th~s vanquishe~, he i~ yet given a position of honour, for Pre'-J:iarakhty
wshes Seth to hve With him as his son, 1 and he shall roar in the sky and
m~n shall f~ar ?im' ( r~, 4).J In the relevant Edfu texts, especially 1 The
Wmged Dtsk 4 and The Triumph of Horus',S the acclamation of
Horus of Bel_ldet as the rightful King is likewise the culmination of the
victory, but Seth is now treated more ruthlessly, his body being dis-
membered and divided.6 A similar ruthlessness towards Seth is shown
1
in the Books and Spells against the god Seth' edited by Schott in his
Urlcunden Mytlzologisclzen Inlzalts (Uric. VI). Seth is expelled from
E.gypt (p. 27); a figure of him is variously maltreated (pp. 37ff.); his
dismemberment includes giving his phallus to Min of Coptos and its
mutilation by the buck who is Lord of Mendes (p. 8J, r6-z7).
P 146, 14 Aiiaal Kal IJE&ival] Egyptian texts which describe the
fight of Horus and Seth in the form of hippopotami include a sugges-
~is~minated outside E~pt had adopted d1e rite and given it another
significance. The suggesuon seems very unlikely.
~oret, Rituel du culte divin, 4~ (9, m, 8) : 'Spell for untying the seal':
1
pulling the finger of Seth from the eye of Horus'; cf. J. Gwyn Griffiths
Aegyptus 38 (1958), 7 f. '
~ See Conflict, 23 ff.
3
J. Spiegel, Die Err.alrlung vom Streite des Horu.r and Setlz in Pap. Beatty I
afr ~iteraturwerlc (Giilckstadt, 1937), 102. finds a particular political
Sltuau.on reflected. Cf. J. Gwyn Griffiths, JEA ~4 (1938), 2.ss-G.
s Chass~nat, Edfou, vr, to8ff.; cf. Fairman, ]EA 2. 1 (r 9 JS), 2.6-JG.
1
Chassmat, Edfou, vr, Goff.; see Blackman and Fairman, ]EA ~8 ( 194~),
32-8; 2.9 (1943), ~-36; 30 (1944), S-2Z.
6
Chassinat, Edfou, VI, 84ff.; Blackman and Fairman,jEA 30 (1944), 1off.
349
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 19
tion that Isis showed an unexpected tenderness towards Seth. Ac-
cording to the Calendar of Lucky and Unlucky Days in P. Sallier IV
(recto, 1, 6ff.)1 Isis plunged a barb into Horus, but retracted it when he
appealed to her; she did the same with Seth, and her response to his
appeal angered Horus. The story occurs also in The Contendings, 8, 9ff.
It is at the end of The Conrendings, however, that the particular situation
appears in which 'Isis brought Seth tied in bonds as a prisoner' (I 5, I 2).
Isis is not said to have favoured Seth on this occasion; she rejoices in
the victory of Horus, although Seth, as we have seen, receives a con-
solation prize from Pre'-J:Iarakhty. Plutarch reverts in eh. 40 to the
continued existence of Typhon after his defeat; there he gives the idea
a cosmic meaning.
p. I46, I 5-16 TO ~).stov] The original story was that Horus
chopped off his mother's head in his furious anger at her tenderness
towards Seth when the two gods had been fighting as hippopotami.
The Contendings, 9, Sff. describes his action graphically:' Then Horus,
the son of Isis, was furious with his mother Isis. He came out, his face
being wild like a panther of Upper Egypt. His sixteen-pound chopper
was in his hand. He cut off the head of his mother Isis and he took it
under his arm and climbed up the mountain.' It is then stated that Isis
was changed into a headless statue, but the sequel in P. Sallier IV is that
Thoth restored her head as a cow-head(?)., While The Contendings
gives a more detailed version, it is P. Saltier IV that clearly gives the
original form of the myth, in which the fight is a real struggle and not a
sporting contest.3 Further, the aetiological motive ofThoth's action is
plain: the episode seeks to explain why Is is came to possess a cow head-
dress. Plutarch's statement that Horus removed the goddess' diadem is
obviously an attenuation of the story of decapitation; indeed, at the
beginning of eh. 2.0 he pointedly mentions 'the beheading of Isis' as a
detail omitted by him.4 It is softened, then, rather than omitted. The
boucranion was originally the head-dress of Hathor, but with the
1 See Gardiner's translation and discussion, The Clresrer Bearty Papyri, No. I,
19, notes stf. A version similar to that of P. Sallier IV is now available in
P. Cairo 86, 637, edited by A. M. Bakir in The Cairo Calendar: see recto
7, 4 ff.
1 See Gardiner, The Chester Beatty Papyri, No. 11 p. :z.o, n. :z..
3 J. Spiegel, Die Ert_iihlung vom Streize Jes Horus und Seth, ~ . of Horus".' Schott in note f says,' Min had begotten Horus instead of the
4 P. Mag. Harris, 7, 1off. (ed. Lange, p. 61) refers to a d1fferent kind of
assault by Horus on his mother-sexual violation.
350
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 19
frequent identification of the two goddesses, it was commonly worn
by Isis from the N.K. onwards, the equation of the two deities being
facilitated by the fact that each was the mother of a form of Horus. 1
One result was the identification of Isis and Io, whom Zeus was said to
have changed into a cow. See further 37, 365 F and note on p. 443
P 146, 17 vo6clcxs] In 54, 373 B Plutarch elaborates on the philo-
sophic meaning of the charge. Epiphanius, Ancorat. 104 HF Gos =
(A.D. iv) states that there was doubt as to whether Osiris or Typhon
was the father of Horus. Otherwise Plutarch's statement stands alone.
The litigation between Horus and Seth, which is alluded to as early as
the Pyramid Texts, concerns succession to the kingship, a matter
which is decided on the principle of patrilinear descent.l There is no
suggestion in those references that Horus was accused of illegitimacy,
but in one of the Coffin Texts (Spell 148) Re'-Atum, in a conversation
with Isis, who says she is pregnant with the seed of Osiris, seems to
suggest this.3 The litigation is one of the main themes of The Con-
tendings. Gardiner has argued that the summoning of Banebdedet, the
goat-god of Mendes, to decide between Horus and Seth (2., :z.ff.)
implies that as a god of generation 'he would undoubtedly be the most
suitable deity to determine the legitimacy of Horus',4 Banebdedet is
said to accompany Ptal;l-tanen, and Gardiner finds the theme of
legitimacy confirmed in this.S While this seems true in a general way,
there is not the slightest trace of an idea that Horus was charged with
illegitimacy, nor indeed that Seth was.6 The tribunal is faced with the
1
Bonnet, Real. 318 f. In Edfou, u, 168, 8--9 Anubis is said to offer cows ' to
his mother Isis on that day of putting her head on again'. See Blackman
and Fainnan, ]EA 36 (195o), 65; cf. P. Jumilhac, ed. Vandier, :z.1 1 4 f.
2
See Conflict, G8.
3 De Buck, Co.ffin Texts, u, 2.17dff.
4 The Chester Beatty Papyri, No. 1, 14, n. 8.
5 Op. cit. 15, n. :z.. He quotes from a decree of Pta\:l-tanen in favour of
Ramesses Ill (a stela at Medinet Habu): 'Thus speaketh Pta\:l-tanen, father
of the gods, to his son .. Ramesses: "I am thy father, I begat thee, all thy
limbs being gods. I changed myself into Banebdedet, and copulated with
thy noble mother in order to generate thy fonn as lord . ...'"
6
Schott, Uric:. vr, 1371 11 ff. contains these words in an apostrophe to Seth:
'Thou hast said against Min in his pride, "It is compensation for the birth
drowned Osiris '. The meaning is not quite dear, however. Perhaps Min,
as the god of procreation, is being blamed in a general way for the birth of
351
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 19
task of adjudging the claims of the two, and they are on a par. The role
of Hermes as an advocate on behalf of Horus and also on behalf of
Osiris is both ancient and persistent and it figures as well in the
posthumous trial of the dead which was evolved from the mythological
prototype of the litigation of Horus and Seth.
1 Abydos shows Isis as a falcon having union with the prostrate Osirisl
Hopfner, 1, u6, following a hint by Budge, Osiris, I, 96, says that since
Horus was begotten by Osiris after his death, Seth could easily accuse
him of illegitimacy, for hitherto it was unheard of that a dead person,
still less one who had been deprived of his genitalia, could beget an
heir. There is no suggestion, however, that such a reason is advanced,
for according to Plutarch it was not Horus, but Harpocrates who was
begotten and born after the death of Osiris. The charge of illegitimacy
is rather a mythical by-product of the divine trial attending the assess-
ment of a new King's credentials.l In this trial Horus and Seth are the
two contestants in the early theology. Since they were brothers and
Horus the elder brother, the proof of legitimate descent in the case of
Horus was crucial.
p. 146, 19 5valv &AAats ~Cr:xal!i] These two battles, which are said to
occur after Horus' successful law-suit, cannot be identified with any
particular two out of the many referred to in Egyptian texts. The
Winged Disk, for example, names numerous localities where Horus is
said to subdue his enemies; these localities are mainly near Edfu,
Thebes and Oxyrhynchus, but they include places in the Delta also
since the foes are driven into the sea.3 Especially mentioned in this
Horus, there being no suggestion of illegitimacy. The variant text is even
less dear. Hopfner, I, uG, takes a different view. He refers also to Schott,
Urk. VI, 91, 17ff. where it is said of Seth: 'Thou hast slandered a mother
before her son', but the following line shows that the ref. is to Isis being
roused to cut off the hands of Horus, a myth found in BD 113.
1 P. Boylan, Thoth, the Bermes of Egypt, 25, where, however, the original
phase is not recognized. For this see Conflict, eh. 3
l Cf. R. Anthes,]NES 13 (1954), 192. ('Note concerning the Great Corpora-
tion of Heliopolis '), who suggests that 'after the death of the old king, his
son and successor was submitted to a ceremonial questioning concerning
his divine descent. . '. 'This procedure,' he adds, 'which took place before
the Court of the God at Heliopolis, would represent the prototype of the
suit of Horus and Seth before the court of the gods.'
3 For a discussion of the significance of these place-names see J. Gwyn
Griffiths, 'The Interpretation of the Horus Myth of Edfu' in ]EA 44
(19~8), 75-85, esp. pp. 78ff.
3P.
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 19
connexion are Tjebu or Antaeopolis in the Xth Upper Egyptian nome,1
and Kher-'a}Ja(' The Place of Battle') near Heliopolis (called Babylon by
the Greeks and probably situated in what is nowknownasOld Cairo).~
p. 146, 2.1 'Ap1ToKpCm]v} A relief in the temple of Sethos I at
and Amen-Mose's Hymn to Osiris seems to refer to the same idea when
Isis is said to have ' revived the weariness of the Tired One' and to
have 'taken in his seed and borne an heir'.4 The activity of Isis is
referred to also in P. Louvre 3079, where the goddess is made to say,
'I have played d1e part of a man though I am a woman, in order to
wake thy (Osiris') name here on earth since thy divine seed was in
my body'. The suggestion is that Isis, having succeeded in reviving the
dead Osiris, was in a way responsible for both aspects of the sexual
act.S In the Pyramid Texts (6pa-d)6 Osiris is said to beget Horus Sopd
on Isis-Sothis; the correspondence is not detailed, however, nor is the
posthumous nature of the procreation here indicated. Harpocrates,
/fr-p/-l!rd (' Horus the child'), is not easy to distinguish from Harsiesis
save in that he is consistently depicted as a child.
In the Contendings, J, 7ff. the' Lord of the Universe' says angrily to
Horus, 'Thou art feeble in thy limbs, and this (kingly) office is too
great for thee, thou stripling the taste of whose mouth is bad !'7
1
Chassinat, Edfou, VI, 220, Sff.; Sethe ZAS 47 (1910), 54; Diod. Sic. 1.
2.1. 4; Gardiner, Onom. u, n.
l Pyr. IJ'jOa-h (it is not certain whether the ref. is to the fight of the gods);
P. Sallier IV, recto 2, 8 ff.; Tlr.e Comendings, 8, 9 ff. (though the name of the
place is not mentioned). Gardiner, Onom. n, 131ff.
3 Frankfort, Kingship and tlr.e Gods, fig. 18 and pp. 40 and J'jG, n. 1~.
4 Cf. E.-B. Lit. 143; BIFAO JO (1931), 743, line 1G.
5 See Pierret, Etudes egyptologitJues, 1, 22; Spiegelberg, 'Eine neue Legende
Uber die Geburt des Horus' in ZAS 'i3 (1917), 94 If.; Chassinat, Rec.
trav. 39 (192.1), 90; Klasens, Mag. Stat. 74; Conflict, 104f.
6
'Thy sister lsis has come to thee, joyous through love of thee. She places
for thee thy phallus on her vulva. Thy seed comes forth into her, so that
she is equipped as Sothis. It is Horus Sopd who comes forth from thee as
Horus who is in Sothis.' (For a slightly different translation, see Kees, Rei.
Lesehuck, 2~), no. 42.) Osiris may here be thought of as Orlon while Isis is
Sothis (Sirius), so that the episode is primarily astral. Sethe, Pyr. Komm.
m, 175 rather boldly regards it as the first ref. to the posthumous con-
ception of Horus.
7 In Junker, Der grosse Pylon, Abb. 12.0 (Phot. )12.) Harpocrates is shown
with his finger in his mouth.
J)J
23 OPI
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 19
Gardiner, whose translation has been quoted, states ad loc. (p. r6, n. :z.)
after quoting this sentence by Plutarch, 'The god Harpocrates, i.e.
"Horu.r-the-child", is in fact regularly figured as a sitting child (cf. 1, :z.)
and hence presumably unable to stand'. While this is true, there is no
suggestion of weakness or abnormality in the figure, and the allusions
in The Contendings and in Plutarch recall rather the Pataicoi representa-
tions which depict a figure like Harpocrates but with deformed
features. 1 The infant Horus is described as early as the Pyramid Texts
(66Jc) as 'the young child with the finger in his mouth', and the
attitude was wrongly explained by classical writersz as an appeal for
silence. According to Torhoudt,3 the feebleness of Harpocrates in
Plutarch's account symbolizes the material element of the world; and
he finds a parallel between this and the myth ofValentinian Gnosticism,
as recorded in Hippolytus, Refut. 6. 3o-1, concerning the origin of
matter and the problem of evil: Sophia corresponds to Isis and the
name given by the Valentinians to matter (mpoo1Ja, 'abortion')
recalls, in Torhoudt's view, the infant Harpocrates 'prematurely
delivered '.
1
See R. Hilck.el, 'Ober Wesen und Eigenart der Patiiken' in ZAS 70
(1934), 103-7; Conflict, 105-6; cf. Noblecourt, Rev. d'lgyptol. 9 (195~),
67; Spiegelberg, Siq6. Miinchen, 19~5, 8-11.
~ Varro, De Lingua Latina, 5 to. 57 = HF 83; Ovid, Met. 9 69.1 th~ discovery by Isis of the drug which conferred immortality; she
HF rp; Ausonius, Ep. 25. '-7 = HF 575 Cf. Graeco-Roman statuettes
showing the finger on the lips rather than in the mouth, see Hopfner, 1,
87-8, esp. fig. 19, p. 88. An example from Taxila in the Punjab (i .A.D.) is
shown in Sir Mortimer Wheeler, Rome heyond rne Imperial Frontiers
(Pelican, 195 5), pi. t; on p. 189 Wheeler, who thinks the figure is likely to
have come from Alexandria, describes it as 'a channing bronze statuette of
the child god Harpocrates, his right forefinger raised to his Ups possibly in
a gesture of silence'. The finger does not, in fact, reach the lips, and
gesture of silence', though a possible contemporary explanation of the
type, seems doubtful here. Cf. too Wheeler's p. 194 For a sixteenth-
century example of this interpretation seeP. C. Bailey in University College
Record (Oxford) m, no. 3 (Nov. 1958), 198+pl. no. 8, referring to a
carving in the Summer Room of the College and suggesting Andrea
Alciati's Em6!ematum Liher as the source. Alciati's motto for the figure of
Harpocrates is Silentium. Discussing bronze figurines of the god, A.
Dobrovits, Harpolcrates (Budapest, 1937), 4, suggests that they were
intended to denote both finger-sucking and the idea of silence.
3 Gnost. Syst. 119, cf. 37-9 and S5 If.
354
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 2.0
P 146, :Z.J ~~atpeeEVToov] For the omission of the offending elements
in the myth cf. u, J 55 D, where 'useless and superfluous ' features are
said to have been expunged; he states also in 58, 374E that myths
should not be used simply as logoi, but that what is fitting should be
chosen from each. Among the offending elements were perhaps not
only the two episodes mentioned by him here, but also the stories of
how Seth had homosexual intercourse with Horus 1 and of how Horus
violated his mother sexually;; in addition, no doubt, the castration of
Seth.J
p. 146, :Z.J Tov "Wpov 8t~ta1-1ov] The allusion must be to the story
in BD I I J of how the hands of Horus were cut off: see Sethe et al.
ZAS 58 (I9:Z.J), 57-78. His mother lsis is said to have done this and
thrown them into the water by means of a curse, whereupon Re'
commanded the crocodile god Sebek to fish them out, after which they
were preserved as relics in Hieraconpolis.4 The spell does not give the
reason for the action of Isis, but it seems natural to connect it with the
other episode in which they quarrel, to wit, dte attack made on Isis by
her son.S
Meunier wrongly compares the account in Diodorus Sic. x .2.5. 6 of
ratsed Horus from the dead and gave him immortality 'when he had
been plotted against by the Titans and was found dead under the
wa~e;' There is a ~onf~sion here with Osiris, or more precisely with
Ostnsas equated wtth Dtonysus Zagreus.6 Noris Hopfuer's comparison
(I, 139) of Plutarch's statement in De anim. procr. in Tim. 27, xo.2.6c
1
See Conflict, 41 If. 2 Ibid. 48fT.
3 !hid. 34 If. H.opfner, 1, 14~ suggests that the begetting of the four sons by
Horus on his mother Ists (BD ru) might be a rejected episode. This
Horus, however, is undoubtedly not the son of Isis, but the elder Horus.
Cf. Conflict, 49, n. 2.
4
Sethe et al. ZAS 58 (1923), 23 If. and 58.
~ Sethe et al. op. cit. 62.
6
He is said to be the son of Zeus and Demeter; when killed by the Titans,
he.~ restored to life by Demeter; see Diod. Sic. 3 62. 6. Festugiere, Rev.
B~blz:!ue, ""! (1935), ~78 If. argues that the legend of Dionysus Zagreus
ongmated m Egypt m the third century a.c. and was influenced by the
Osiris myth; cf. Nilsson, Mysteries, 2; 138-9. Cf. n. below ad p. 172 12
(the deed of the Titans). '
355
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 19
Gardiner, whose translation has been quoted, states ad loc. (p. r6, n. :z.)
after quoting this sentence by Plutarch, 'The god Harpocrates, i.e.
"Horu.r-the-child", is in fact regularly figured as a sitting child (cf. 1, :z.)
and hence presumably unable to stand'. While this is true, there is no
suggestion of weakness or abnormality in the figure, and the allusions
in The Contendings and in Plutarch recall rather the Pataicoi representa-
tions which depict a figure like Harpocrates but with deformed
features. 1 The infant Horus is described as early as the Pyramid Texts
(66Jc) as 'the young child with the finger in his mouth', and the
attitude was wrongly explained by classical writersz as an appeal for
silence. According to Torhoudt,3 the feebleness of Harpocrates in
Plutarch's account symbolizes the material element of the world; and
he finds a parallel between this and the myth ofValentinian Gnosticism,
as recorded in Hippolytus, Refut. 6. 3o-1, concerning the origin of
matter and the problem of evil: Sophia corresponds to Isis and the
name given by the Valentinians to matter (mpoo1Ja, 'abortion')
recalls, in Torhoudt's view, the infant Harpocrates 'prematurely
delivered '.
1
See R. Hilck.el, 'Ober Wesen und Eigenart der Patiiken' in ZAS 70
(1934), 103-7; Conflict, 105-6; cf. Noblecourt, Rev. d'lgyptol. 9 (195~),
67; Spiegelberg, Siq6. Miinchen, 19~5, 8-11.
~ Varro, De Lingua Latina, 5 to. 57 = HF 83; Ovid, Met. 9 69.1 th~ discovery by Isis of the drug which conferred immortality; she
HF rp; Ausonius, Ep. 25. '-7 = HF 575 Cf. Graeco-Roman statuettes
showing the finger on the lips rather than in the mouth, see Hopfner, 1,
87-8, esp. fig. 19, p. 88. An example from Taxila in the Punjab (i .A.D.) is
shown in Sir Mortimer Wheeler, Rome heyond rne Imperial Frontiers
(Pelican, 195 5), pi. t; on p. 189 Wheeler, who thinks the figure is likely to
have come from Alexandria, describes it as 'a channing bronze statuette of
the child god Harpocrates, his right forefinger raised to his Ups possibly in
a gesture of silence'. The finger does not, in fact, reach the lips, and
gesture of silence', though a possible contemporary explanation of the
type, seems doubtful here. Cf. too Wheeler's p. 194 For a sixteenth-
century example of this interpretation seeP. C. Bailey in University College
Record (Oxford) m, no. 3 (Nov. 1958), 198+pl. no. 8, referring to a
carving in the Summer Room of the College and suggesting Andrea
Alciati's Em6!ematum Liher as the source. Alciati's motto for the figure of
Harpocrates is Silentium. Discussing bronze figurines of the god, A.
Dobrovits, Harpolcrates (Budapest, 1937), 4, suggests that they were
intended to denote both finger-sucking and the idea of silence.
3 Gnost. Syst. 119, cf. 37-9 and S5 If.
354
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 2.0
P 146, :Z.J ~~atpeeEVToov] For the omission of the offending elements
in the myth cf. u, J 55 D, where 'useless and superfluous ' features are
said to have been expunged; he states also in 58, 374E that myths
should not be used simply as logoi, but that what is fitting should be
chosen from each. Among the offending elements were perhaps not
only the two episodes mentioned by him here, but also the stories of
how Seth had homosexual intercourse with Horus 1 and of how Horus
violated his mother sexually;; in addition, no doubt, the castration of
Seth.J
p. 146, :Z.J Tov "Wpov 8t~ta1-1ov] The allusion must be to the story
in BD I I J of how the hands of Horus were cut off: see Sethe et al.
ZAS 58 (I9:Z.J), 57-78. His mother lsis is said to have done this and
thrown them into the water by means of a curse, whereupon Re'
commanded the crocodile god Sebek to fish them out, after which they
were preserved as relics in Hieraconpolis.4 The spell does not give the
reason for the action of Isis, but it seems natural to connect it with the
other episode in which they quarrel, to wit, dte attack made on Isis by
her son.S
Meunier wrongly compares the account in Diodorus Sic. x .2.5. 6 of
ratsed Horus from the dead and gave him immortality 'when he had
been plotted against by the Titans and was found dead under the
wa~e;' There is a ~onf~sion here with Osiris, or more precisely with
Ostnsas equated wtth Dtonysus Zagreus.6 Noris Hopfuer's comparison
(I, 139) of Plutarch's statement in De anim. procr. in Tim. 27, xo.2.6c
1
See Conflict, 41 If. 2 Ibid. 48fT.
3 !hid. 34 If. H.opfner, 1, 14~ suggests that the begetting of the four sons by
Horus on his mother Ists (BD ru) might be a rejected episode. This
Horus, however, is undoubtedly not the son of Isis, but the elder Horus.
Cf. Conflict, 49, n. 2.
4
Sethe et al. ZAS 58 (1923), 23 If. and 58.
~ Sethe et al. op. cit. 62.
6
He is said to be the son of Zeus and Demeter; when killed by the Titans,
he.~ restored to life by Demeter; see Diod. Sic. 3 62. 6. Festugiere, Rev.
B~blz:!ue, ""! (1935), ~78 If. argues that the legend of Dionysus Zagreus
ongmated m Egypt m the third century a.c. and was influenced by the
Osiris myth; cf. Nilsson, Mysteries, 2; 138-9. Cf. n. below ad p. 172 12
(the deed of the Titans). '
355
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER lO
strictly relevant. Plutarch there (see C. Hubert's ed. 1959, p. 164) says:
'The Egyptians in their myths relate in a figurative way that when
Horus was convicted in a trial, his spirit and blood were allotted to his
father, and his flesh and fat to his mother.' Hopfner seems really to be
quoting the rather similar passage in De LihiJ. et Aegrit. 6 ( ed. Pohlenz,
p. 42.) where it is said that' one of the older gods .accus.ed him (Horus)
of having killed his mother when he was avengmg h1s father; he(?)
left him his blood and marrow, but took away his fat and flesh, since
the latter derived their composition from his mother while the former
accrued to him from his father in his procreation'. It is indeed hard to
reconcile with the known myth, in which Horus faces a trial where
his claim to the throne is examined. The true link here is with the
story in P. Jumilhac of how 'Anty was punished: 'As to his flesh and
skin his mother has created (them); as to his bones, (they exist)
thro~gh the seed of his father. So they removed his skin and flesh
from him, while his bones remained with him.' (u, 2.3-5, cf.
Vandier, pp. 6; f.) See also Sauneron, BIFAO Go (196o), 19-2.7;
Yoyotte, ihiJ. 61 (t961), 139-46; J. Hani, Rev. Et. Grec. 70 (1963),
111-l.O.
p. 146, 2.4 ;ov ta115os 0:rroK<paAia~6v] Plu~rch has, however,
already related this incident in an attenuated form 10 I9, 3;8n; see note
thereon.2
p. 146, 2.7 KCXT' Alaxvt.ov] Reiske recognized the iambic trimeter,
provided ;o is omitted. H. J. Mette, Die Fragmente tk_r T_ragodien. des
Aisclzylos (Berlin, 1959), fr. 31oh (p. tu.) places the hne m the Ixmn-
1See Conflict, 117. Budge, Osiris, I, 14 reproduces a depiction of Nephthys
standing over a mummy which is identified as Horus Daty (Horus of Dat,
the underworld). Budge refers to Horus as having been 'slain by Set and
his friends' but this is gratuitous, although Hopfner, 1, 140 follows and
indeed expands the ref. Minucius Felix (ii A. D.), Octav. 2.1. 1-1 == H F ::1.95
represents Jsis as having lost and found a son rather than a h~sband; ~nd
Lactantius, Div. inst. 1. 17 == HF 488 repeats the confuston. Re1ske
indeed thought that the same confusion appears here and so. he proposed
'Oalp1Sos for "Wpov. This is unnecessary because the Egypuan myths do
allude to a mutilation of Horus.
2 Sieveking refers to ZAS u (r884), 39 The ref. is presumably to an
address to Jsis and Nephthys on a stela from Abydos (temp. Ramesses IV~,
p. 39, line .u: '0 Isis and Nephthys, I have brought for you your h~d ,
but the allusion is to the setting up and adornment of statues; cf. K. P1ehl,
ZAS ::r.3 (r885), 16.
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 2.0
Trilogy.1 A feeling of horror at the crudity of some primitive myths is
expressed by several Greek writers. Thus Pindar (Of. t. :z.5ff.) rejects
the story that Tantalus killed and cooked his son Pelops as a meal for
the gods : he says that 'the myths, adorned with colourful fictions
deceive us'. a Plato, although he created his own myths, rejected th;
traditional mythology.J
p. 148, 6 'rilv lpw] In Amat. 2.0, 765 E Plutarch describes Iris as the
mother ofEros, and explains the rainbow as resulting from a refraction
of vision which gives the impression that what is seen is 'as though in a
cloud'; cf. De fac. 3, 92. I A and Cherniss ad /oc. (p. 4 I, Loeb). Just as
the rainbow, then, is a reflection of the sun, so the myth is a reflection
of a 'logos which turns the mind back to other thoughts'. Babbitt
has ventured to translate logos here as 'true tale'; even so the
present passage clearly suggests that Plutarch does not regard the
allegorical method as one which necessarily cancels out the truth of
the myth on which it is based.4
p. 1~8, 9 6vala1] Their gloomy aspect would probably derive,
accordmg to JI, 363B, from the fact that the Egyptians sacrificed not
what was dear to the gods, but the opposite, a process which involved
the invoking of curses; at Eileithyiaspolis it involved sacrificing
human beings (73, J8ocff.).
P I48, 1o-11 ;wv va&>v Staetasts] Colonnades within a central hall
were a frequent feature of Egyptian temples, but the 1n'Epa Ked Sp6~ovs
will refer to colonnades branching out from the main building and
serving as walks or avenues.s There were causeways with corridors
leading from the Nile to the O.K. pyramid-temples;6 at first they were
1
In Nauck, Trag. Grate. Fragm. 2 it is no. 354 (Aeschylus).
2
Cf. 0/. 1. 5::r.: 'I dare not call one of the blessed gods a glutton.' See J.
Adam, The Religious Teachers of Greece, uGff. Cf. Gilbert Norwood,
PinJar (Berkeley, 1945), 5~ff.
3 E.g. Lysis, ::r.o5c; PhaeJrus, ::r.29Bff.; Resp. 376Eff. Cf. P. Friedlander
(tr. H. Meyerhoff), Plato {London, 1958), 171 ff.
4 Hopfner, r, 14::r. appears to take a different view.
S The word Spo~os will differ, therefore, in its application from that men-
tioned by Strabo, 17, 8o5 (ed. H. L. ]ones, Loeb, p. So) ... HF158 (a stone
pavement at the entrance of a temple). Strabo goes on to mention the wings
as walls projecting on either side of the pronaos.
6
Margaret A. Murray, Egyptian Temples (London, n.d.), 5; cf. A. Badawy,
A History of Egyptian Architecture, I (Giza, 1954), 98 ff.
357
-
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 2.0
open to the sky, but afterwards they were roofed. 1 Plutarch, however,
is referring to something rather different, and the Mammisis or Birth.
houses1 of the Ptolemaic and Roman eras provide examples of the
spreading out into wings which he mentions.
As for the secret and dark stolisteria, a number of Egyptian temples
of the Ptolemaic era contain rooms which are subterranean, although
they are not specifically connected with lsis. The most striking instances
come from the Ptolemaic temple of Hathor at Denderah, where a
dozen 'cryptes' are noted by Mariette,3 six of them subterranean and
six built into walls. Chassinat devoted the whole of his fifth volume of
his Temple de Dendara to these crypts, the second fascicule (Cairo,
1947) providing photographs, and the first (Cairo, 19;~) the texts.
Various rites are recorded, for example, presenting the wedjateye
(p. 2.3 of textvolume), presenting the mnitnecklace of gold, and a
variety of ceremonies involving adoration of the gods. Occasionally
the secrecy of the crypts themselves is mentioned, as on pp. 107ff.; in
this text (p. 108, lines ;-6) we are told that 'there is nothing that is
known by others; their door is hidden, no man knows it ... apart from
the chief justice of the Mistress'. Daumas,4 describing a crypt in the
Mammisi of Denderah, notes that the entrance was perfectly concealed
by a stone sculptured like the rest of the wall, and the displacement of
the covering stone was probably achieved according to Pieron5 by
rolling it on spherical pebbles, a prototype of modem ball-bearings.
Pieron6 believes that the rooms served as sacristies for the keeping of
temple treasures. Plutarch's adjectives tcpVTrTa KCXI CJK6-na could cer
tainly apply to these, and many of their names expressly refer to the
motive of secrecy, e.g. sr dJc (' place of hiding' or 'hidden place'),
ht bnn ('place of concealment'), t}ryt ('an enclosed place').7 Mariette8
1 The causeway of the Great Pyramid was perhaps the first to be roofed:
see I. E. S. Edwards, The Pyramids of Egypt 2, 113.
1
Daumas, Les Mammi.ri.r, 91 ff.
3 DenJlralz, 111. He discusses them in his Description Glnlrale, u2.-6G.
4 Mammi.ri.r, JJl.-1).
S H. Pieron, BIFAO 7 (1910), 73: 'Ce resultat etait obtenu au moyen d'un
roulement sur caiUoux spheriques, embryon des roulements a billes si
employes aujourd'hui.'
6 Op. cit. 71, Cf. Daumas, Mammi.ri.r, 113.
7 Marieue, op. cit. Description Glnlrale, 2.7.)-4 Other names are st wCht
('place of purification') and st smlt ('place of uniting').
8 Op. cit. 2.14.
358
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 20
suggests that only the subterranean rooms were the true crypts; only
they have their festival.days recorded; precious objects were stored in
them, and images of gods were depicted on their waUs; and statues of
the gods were also kept there. They are not in general, as we have noted,
specifically connected with lsis, but one of these rooms is described as
' the hidden place of the Goddess Wsrt (Isis) in the temple of Dende-
rah '. Probably only a limited number of chambers were used as
robing rooms; the others were used to store objects and statues or to
conduct that part of the ceremonial which was to be secret. Similar
rooms occurred in many other Ptolemaic temples,2 and occasionally in
those of earlier periods.3 In the case of the tomb-chapels of Saite
Princesses at Medinet Habu the 'underground chambers' are now
known to be burial rooms.4 According to FairmanS rooms in the
Temple of Edfu entitled 'The Crypt' and the 'Privy Chamber of the
Crypt' were' specially connected with the cult and mysteries of Osiris';
there was also a passage under the foundations of the wall leading
to the sacred welt.6 From this survey it is dear that crypts were a fairly
common feature of Egyptian temples and that at Denderah their use
was elaborately ordered. That they were partly used as robing-rooms
is very probable, but their wider role as storerooms is clear. Although
they are not specially connected in Egypt with the temples of Isis, there
can be little doubt that the GraecoRoman temples of that goddess
1
Mariette, op. cit. nG.
2
Margaret A. Murray, Egyptian Temples, 101 (Kamak, temple of Opet), 173
(Kom Ombo), 191 (Debod), 2.oo-1 (Kalabsha).
3 Murray, op. cit. 41-2. (Abydos, Temple ofSethos I); 7.JG1 Gebel Adda (temp.
l;larem~ab). In 1937 the present writer took part in excavations at Sesebi,
Nubia, where the central temple, founded by Amenophis IV (Akhenaten),
contained a crypt whose walls were decorated with reliefs depicting the
King in the company of various gods: see A. M. Blackman, j EA 13
(1937), 148f.
4 Uvo Holscher, Post-RamessiJ Remains (The Excavation of Metlintt Hahu,
vol. v, Chicago 1954), 17, cf. u, 16, 2.7; Murray, op. cit. 1 ss (but no longer
are they 'of unknown use'). A. M. Blackman, The Temple of DenJt2r
(Cairo, 1911), 1-2. suggests that a 'hollow place in the back wall of the
sanctuary' was 'connected with the giving of oracles'.
5 'Worship and Festivals', 17o-t. For a subterranean chapel dedicated to
Osiris in the Graeco-Roman era at Kamak see C. de Wit, Les Inscriptions
Ju temple J'Opet, d Karnalc (Brussels, 1958), p. vi.
6 F. . 172..
atnnan, op. ctt.
359
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 2.0
outside Egypt were built, in respect of their crypts, on the Egyptian
pattern. 1
The best preserved temple of Isis of the Roman period is that at
Pompeii, which the present writer examined in 1956. Two groups of
underground rooms are noticeable here: first, within the sanctuary
itself, underneath the platfonn which served as base for the statue of
Isis were small chambers. Overbeck~ compares them with the space at
the back of the cella in the Temple of Jupiter, and Mau3 suggests
that this was used for the keeping of ritual objects.
Secondly, there was one in the small rectangular building outside,
which has a narrow underground passage with two benches cut in the
masonry; this is the building called the Purgatorium' by Mau,4 who
thinks that the inner part of the chamber 'was evidently intended for a
tank' for holding 'holy water'; there was also the building which Mau5
calls the 'Hall of Initiation',6 situated behind the sanctuary; but this
did not have crypts. The crypt in the sanctuary was probably used for
keeping vestments and ritual objects; that in the other building has been
explained as 'the megarum or probation hall where the aspirants to
initiation slept at night, to be visited by Isis in prophetic dreams'.7 In
other ways the temple, small as it is, seems to follow no Egyptian
pattern,8 but the crypts are perhaps an item of conscious borrowing. It is
1 There is plenty of evidence, in other matters, that the centres of Isiac
worship in Italy were eager to use any objects with an Egyptian association
and not only objects specifically lsiac, e.g. obelisks and sphinxes.
l Pompej~ 107.
3 Pompeii, 65-6 (' . in the little chambers underneath were perhaps
kept the trappings with which on festal occasions the images were decked').
Cf. the two vaulted crypts under the cella of the temple of Isis at Sabratha
as described by G. Pesce, Iltempio d'Iside in Sahratha (Rome, 1953), 9 and
fig. :t5, cf. 43, 72 f.; cf. also R. Scranton in Class. Phi/. p (1957), 62 ~
4 Pompeii, 172-3. Overbeck, op. cit. 108 is more doubtful about the. app~ca
tion of the name, with its suggestion of a place of washing and punficauon.
l Op. cit. 164 and 175
6 Overbeck, 1 09 suggests this was used by the Collegium of the Isiaci. The
hall next to it had 'arched niches' but neither had underground rooms.
7 A view cited by Moret, Rois et dicux d'Egypte2 (Pilris, 1923), 169.
8 Roeder, PW s.v. Isis (1916), 2107 compares the so-called temple of Venus
at Pompeii (the temple of Apollo). Mau, Pompeii, 165 speaks however of
'a marked deviation from ordinary types'. Gabra, ASAE 39 (1939), 484
compares a temple at Hermopolis.
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 2.0
true that a number of shrines in private houses at Pompeii were sub-
terranean,I and that the cella of the Temple of Jupiter resembles that of
the Temple oflsis in this respect; but the so-called Purgatorium seems
unique. Plutarch's reference to the stolisteria being like burial-places
and sacred precincts recalls the fact that some writers refer to grottos
or caves being used in the cult of Isis and Sarapis.l This does not seem
to have been common, but a distinctive feature of the Isiac temples
outside Egypt was their attempt to connect the crypts with water which
simulated that of the Nile, although in the case of Pompeii the river
Sarno actually supplied it.3 Plutarch's use of the word stoli.rterwn, as
with the English vestry and sacristy, may well intend functions other
than robing and dressing to be included. Otto, PT, 1, 327 points out
that BGU 1, 338 (A.o. ii-iii) mentions the sto!i.rterion as a place for
keeping precious objects4 and cites Grenfell and Hunt on P. Fay. p. :;o
I See Francesco di Capua, 'Sacrari Pompeiani' in Pompeiana (Napoll, 1950,
Biblloteca della Parola del Passato, 4), 6o-Bs, esp. 61-7. The Villa dei
Misteri has an immense 'criptoportico' but Amedeo Maiuri points out (La
Pil/a dei Misteri, Rome, 1931, 86) that the idea of subterranean rooms for
use as magazines occurs frequently in city dwellings. V. Tran Tarn Tinh,
Essai sur le cuite d'Isis d Pompli (Paris, 1964), 34 states that a crypt of this
ldnd occurs in the temples of Isis or Serapis at Lecce, Gortyna, Delos,
Sabratha and Alexandria, but that the last two instances differed somewhat.
For Sabratha, see n. 3 on p. 360.
: Roeder, op. cit. 1u5 refers to Letronne, lnscr. de l'Egypte, I, 453 ff. where
mention is made (p. 455) of 'un splos, ou chapelle creusee dans le tuf',
but with an exterior faczade of Doric architecture. This chapel, which con-
tained an inscription to Isis and Apollo on behalf of Berenice, does not
seem to have been typical, and the Isiac shrines were not usually like those
of Mithras, in natural or artificial caves. Moret, Rois et dieux tl'Egypte,
167 ff. raises the question of whether the lseum of Pompeii followed the
general pattern of the Serapeum at Alexandria. Certainly this building
contained what Rufinus, Hist. Eccl. u. 13 (A.D. iv=HF 627) calls a base-
ment 'divided into secret entrances, separated from one another and
serving various uses and mysterious functions' (cf. Moret, 167, n. 1);
further, if the Serapeum, as Moret says, was not only a church, but also a
convent and a school, the Pompeian Iseum gives a similar impression. At
the same rime, the Serapeum in Rhacotis was built in the Greek style: cf.
Visser, Giitter una Kuite, 23 (citing Wilcken, UPZ 1, 91).
3 Roeder, op. cit. 2108. This is overlooked by Tarn Tinh, op. cit. 85.
4 The first line is AVX,vov xcV.Koiiv li be. a-roA(IITI'Tiplov)?.
--
COMMENTARY CHAPTER ::Z.O
for the use of such a subterranean room in the temple of Karanis~ It-is
there stated (actually by D. G. Hogarth) that in the temple of Pne-
pheros and Petesuchos at Kom Ushim, whose portal has a ~edica~on of
the time of Nero there was a cavity beneath the platform m the mner-
most shrine and' that there was a similar arrangement in the shrine at
Kasr Kuril; Hogarth suggests 'the concealment of an oracular priest'
~ its possible use, but notes as an alternative the possi~ility .that they
were treasuries, adding that the small size of the Kararus cavtty makes
this less probable. What is striking is that the feature corresponds
exactly to that in the temple at Pompeii. . (line :t.o) to the god's grave, which is said to be in Peker.1 From the
p. 148, 14 1Tor.Acxxov] In 18, 358A (see n.) ~e many bunals :u-e
explained either as those of the separate parts of his bo~y or as. bunals
of images of the whole body. The disposal of the rem runs of D10n~s~
is mentioned as a parallel in 3 5, 365 A, although one place-Delphi-IS
claimed to have them.
p. 148, 15 91VITflV] Holwerda fills the lacuna or omission of most of
the MSS by invoking Diochites from Steph. ~yz. alth.ough the name
does not occur elsewhere. It is dear that a place m the netghbourhood of
Abydos was mentioned here in the ~~t and 9tvl~v may be confid~ntly
proposed referring to This or Thmts, the Graec1Zed form of Tn1 the
metropolis of the VIIIth Upper Egyptian nome, which has been
identified with El-Birba, 5 km. west of Girga.1 Abydos was in the same
no me.
w
p. 148, t6 T' 'Aj3v~] Archaeological discovery has fully home
out Plutarch's statement for at Abydos (Egn. /bgw, in Middle Egypt
near the modern Balianah) a large number of stelae beginning with the
Sixth Dynasty have been discovered in the temple of Osiris and in, or
near its enclosure.= Some of these derive from tombs, but others do not.
To be buried at Abydos was clearly prized as a privilege; the second
best thing was to have a memorial stela placed there on one's be~lf,
but only the wealthy could arrange even for this to be done.3 Remruns
1 Gauthier, Di&t. glog. VI, 59; Brugsch, Diet. glog. 951 f.; J. Ball, Ef:!Pt,
175 , who cites the occurrence in Steph. Byz. and Alexander Pol~b!stor
(i a.c.), Aegyptiaca (first book). For the f~nn 9tvi1'T\~ ~ :retst~
Wh. m, 300. The late tt:~dition of Osiris havmg been buned m Thts ~s
attested by p, Demot. Mag. Lond. Leid. 2.1, 1. (' ?siris . . .w~ose head 15
in This') and PG M 4, 1:t. f. (' Osiris ... lord of bunal, who 1s m the south
of This').
3 Ennan, Rei. :t.G9.
2 Porter and Moss, Top. Bih/. v, 44fl'.; ;off.; 5Gfl'.
COMMENTARY CHAPTER ::z.o
of th.e royal ~ombs of the firs~ ~o Dynasties are to be seen in Abydos,
and m the Fafth Dynasty Ostns, together with Khentamenthes, Wep-
wawet and Anubis, was honoured there as a god of the dead and was
also, unlike these other gods, identified with the dead king. The urge
to have tom.bs or stelae, or in some cases cenotaphs, 1 at Abydos
prob~l~ denved from the prestige which Osiris gained from his royal
assoctaaon. In the u.th Dynasty a dramatic portrayal of the god's
story was presented in special rites at Abydos, as we know from
the Stela of Ikhemofret, a text which makes the earliest allusion
t8th Dynasty onwards the tomb of Djer, a First Dyn~ty king, was
honoured as the grave of Osiris,3 The motives, therefore, assigned by
Plutarch to explain the Abydene burials away have been present from
this peri~, and in~eed from the Middle Kingdom. During the reign
of ~~Is an .offioal named Pef-tu-Neith was sent by the king to
rehabthtate a dtfficult and corrupt situation; his inscription {Statue A 93
of the Louvre)4 shows, however, that Abydos was still an esteemed
religious centre. On a sarcophagus of the same era (or slightly later)
fro~ Sa~ the tomb of Osiris (probably the Abydene one) is
depicted wtth four trees above the rounded top.S By the time ofSttabo6
(fl. 10 B.c.) the importance of Abydos was much diminished- a sign
that Plutarch's source is earlier.
p. 148, 18 wSe Mt!Jcpet] The site of Memphis, capital of Egypt in the
O .K., is a little south of Gizeh. For the cult of the Apis bull there, see
note on ;, 35JA; cf. 2.9, 362.c.
p. 148, r8 EiBooAov] The idea of the Apis as the image of the soul of
Osiris is repeated in 43, 368s-c and still more clearly in 2.9, 362.c-o.
Strength and fertility were the basic qualities venerated in the A pis and
as his cult originated in Memphis, his first associations were with ~tah
the chief deity of that city. A p is is called w~m n Pt~, 'the herald (or:
1
Cf. Frankfort, The Cenotaph ofSeti I at AhyJos, 1, l.j.
2
Schafer, Mysterien, 1.8 f. and ZAS 41 (1904), 107-Io; Clim; ZAS 84
(1959), 104. 3 Petrie, Royal Tomhs, 1, 7; cf. supra p. 341.
Cf. E. J. E. }elinkova-Reymond, ASAE 54 (1957), 2.7~.
4
5
M.-L Buhl, The Late Egyptian AntAropoiJ Stone Sarcophagi (Copenhagen,
1959), 63 and 164; cf. G. Maspero, Catalogue Ju Musle Egyptien Je
Marseille (Paris, 1889), p and Id. Rec. Trav. 37 (1915), 11.. None of these,
alas, reproduces the depiction.
6
Stt:!bo, 17, 813 (ed. H. L. }ones, Loeb, p. 112),
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 20
reporter) of Ptah' and also his ha.' The conception of the ha, 'the
external manifestation of the soul', involves the representation of the
soul, in the case of the deceased individual, as a bird with a human face.
As a means of showing the relation between gods, the ha confers a
second manifestation of the more important of the gods in question, as
when the buck of Mendes is called the ha of Amen- Re'1 Usually it is a
living animal that is the ha of a god, although it is itself a god. The
word eiS(.I)f.ov, used here by Plutarch, would seem to be a translation
of ha (cf. Ef.lf.lOPIPOV eiK6va, z9, 36zo). Whereas the association between
Apis and Osiris is abundantly attested in Egyptian sources,3 the word
ha is not actually used of it. ljpr tpy n IPnnnfr: 'the chief form of
Onnophris' is the clearest evidence quoted by Otto.4 The association
is also expressed, however, in another very common appellation which
involved seeing an incarnation of Osiris both in the living Apis in
Memphis and in the dead Apis which was buried in the Memphite
Serapeum: the names Apis-Osiris and Osiris-Apis.S From the latter
6
conjoined form was derived, of course, Sarapis. Other Greek authors,
it may be noted, express the original association between Osiris and A pis
as a mere identification, thus losing the precision of Plutarch's reference.
p. 148, zo Opf.lOV ayae&v} The name Memphis, which occurs as
' Otto, Stierlculte, zs-6 with refs. Cf. Morenz, Re/. to8f.
1 On a Ramesside ostracon, Leipzig, no. 1671 = Morenz, Rei. dust-jacket.
See also op. cit. 165, Kees in Bonnet, Real. 75 and Spiegelberg in ZAS 6l.
(t9l.7), 35
3 Otto, S:ierlculte, l.7 ff. Cf. 'corporate image', l.9, J6l. o.
4 Op. cit. l.8, of 'the living Apis-Atum' in Mariette, Sur la mere d'Apis, l.O
(on a stela from the Serapeum) (Ptol.).
S Otto, op. cit .1.&-9 shows that a distinction between the application of the
two tenns, discriminating between the living and the dead Apis, was not
maintained. Further, the epithet 'living' was often applied also to the dead
Apis to imply his immortality in constantly renewed manifestations.
6 Callimachus (ap. Tonell.) fr. 561 = HF 64-5 (putavcrunt ilium Osirim
esse); Strabo, 17, 807 (ed. H. L. )ones, Loeb, p. 86); but Diod. Sic. I.
85. 4 quotes a view that the soul of the dead Osiris passed into the Apis. In
the Canopus Decree, 31 the tenn 1KC:,v corresponds to Egn. sbm n!r;
cf. Daumas, Les moyens d'expression Ju Grec et Je I'Egyptien, 175 In dte
Rosetta Stone 9 eiK6VOS lcOOTl~ Toii At6s corresponds to Egn. p/ twtw Cn!J.
(n) 'lmn (from the text of N.). In both decrees the phrases are used of the
King. Cf. Morenz, Re/. 16of. They do not provide an exact parallel to
Plutarch's usage here.
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 20
Mtf.l,IS in Greek as early as Herodotus ( l.. 3, etc.) is derived from
Mn-nfr, which in turn is a shortened form of Mn-nfr-Ppl, ' the beauty
of Pepi remains',' the name assigned to the pyramid and pyramid town
of Pepi (or Phiops) I and afterwards transferred to Memphis. The
explanation cited by Plutarch, although not historically valid, is a
possible translation of the almost homophonous mnlwt nfrw, 'the
harbour of the good'. Nor is the collocation entirely un-Egyptian;
cf. mnlwt M, 'the harbour of eternity' (Kairo Wb. No. 1.7J. (5u),
quoted Wh. n, 74, 14).
p. 148, zo-1 &Cx~PCV 'Oa!ptSos} The etymology advocated here
might involve mnw ( JPnn) nfr, 'the tombstone of Onnophris' (Osiris).
Nfr by itself, however, refers in a demotic text to Osiris, as Spiegelbergl
has pointed out.
Another possibility, if the MS oos be retained, is to take the second
view to be a more precise explanation of the first: ' some interpret the
city (-name) as "the haven of the good", others as meaning by this
"the tomb of Osiris" ', in which case no further etymology is involved.
But the interpretation advanced by Spiegelberg is more attractive,
especially as mnw can now be shown to mean ' tombstone' in several
contextsl- a point on which he was then doubtful.
As for the tradition concerning the god's burial, it was believed either
that the head of Osiris was preserved in the Serapeum of Memphis or
that' the god's limbs were united within it'.4
p. 148, l.I 1rp0s $1Ao:ts Vllailia] Junker, Ahaton, 69-1o, makes a
spirited defence of the MS reading 'ITVt.ats or -mJAas. Placing a comma
after 'Oa!paSos, he argues that Tijv Se VllaiSa is parallel to the
1
Wh. n, 63, 7; Helck-Otto, K/. Wh. l.l.O. Gardiner, Onom. n, n.l. reads
Ppy-mn-nfr, 'Phiops is finnly established and well', but Cart Wilke, 'Zur
Personifikation von Pyramiden', ZAS 70 (1934), 56-83, esp. 59+73ff.
has shown that Mn-nfr was personified as a goddess. Edwards, PyramiJs2,
2.42 follows Gardiner. Hopfner, 1, 148 translates Mn-nfr, ' Der gute Ort,
diegute Statte', but this is not possible. Kees, PW s.v. Memphis (1931), 661
translates the pyramid name '(Konig Phiops) ist von bleibendem Gutig-
sein'. See also Fecht, Wortalqent und Si/henstrulctur, 81 ff.
l 'Zu der Etymologie von Memphis bei Plutarch, "Isis und Osiris", Kap.2o'
in ZAS 49 (1911), ll.?-JO. He cites P. Demot. Hierat. Rhind 1, f, 6 where
the demotic has ' thou callest on the good one (pJ nfr), that is, Osiris '. Cf.
Kees, op. cit. 661.
3 Wb. u , 70, 4 with refs.
4 Brugsch, Diet. glog. Jl.Ij cf. Wiedemann, HJt./1, 585.
365
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 2.0
previous Tl)v !lEv -rr6'h1v and must therefore refer also to Memphis and
the vicinity. It would indeed, as he says, be grammatically puzzling if
the second clause were to deal with an island r,ooo km. to the south of
the city Memphis named in the first clause. The only possible way out
of this is to reject the nexus of these clauses, thus leaving the 11tv before
-rr6'h1v unanswered. There are occasional examples of such a I!Ev. See
p. 194, 3; 220, 26 (with noS~ in p. 2.22, 6; cf. Denniston, The Greek
Particles, 364 ff.; Merkelbach in Studien :rur Textgeschichte (Koln,
1959), 178.
To Wesseling's argument that Philae can hardly be omitted from a
discussion of the tomb of Osiris, Junker replies that Plutarch has not
mentioned Sais, although Strabo does so in this connexion. His
strongest point, however, is that the conditions laid down for Philae
were merely a replica of the situation in the other Osirian centres at
Busiris, Ahydos and Memphis. He concludes that the island referred to
will be near Memphis, either in the Nile or in a sacred lake.'
In favour of Squire's emendation is the very similar expression in
Diodorus Sic. 1. 2.2. 3: TT,v tv T(i) Nel'h~ vfiaov KEIIJM\v ll'pOs TOts
KW.ovp!vas CI>IhaiS'. A decisive point in its favour is the weakness of the
vulgate reading 1rp0s ml'ha1s. What gates will these be? Those of the
city Memphis, presumably, unless the tomb is meant; but to speak of
the island as being 'before the gates' is strange.
The reading Vl')aiSa, which Parthey accepts from the Aldine and
Basle editions, has been oddly ignored by Sieveking. It is the more
acceptable in view of the parallel in Diodorus Sic. t . u . 3
Philae itself (Egn. P-lw-r!J.),1. the beautiful island south of Aswan,
which has been called 'the Pearl of Egypt', contains a temple built by
Nectanebus I from which a striking colonnade leads to the great
temple of Isis, a building which derives mainly from the time of the
early Ptolemies. Owing to the building of the first Aswan dam in
1898-1912. the island is visible only between August and December.
The present writer has seen a part of the temple (it does not wholly
emerge even in these months) and shares the hope of other scholars
that the new Aswan dam (196cr ) will not make the position worse.
The texts and reliefs published by junker in Der grosse Pylon du
1 Junker, Ahaton, 71. D. MUller rightly questions the existence of an island
near Memphis.
1
Junker, Der grosse Pylon, 5G, 19. See also now Junker and Winter, Das
Gehurtshaus des Tempels der /sir in Philli (Vienna, 1965).
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 2.0
Tempels tier !sir in Philii (Vienna, 1958) 1 give details of the cer
involved in the cult of the goddess at Philae his earlier b~o~es
. S J
D U! lz J 0 . . . , pu canon,
tunaenwac en m aen strt.smysterten (Vienna, I9Io), colleets texts
from the temples of Denderah, Edfu, and Philae which are cone d
with the vigil of Isis, Nephthys and others over the bier of os e:nel
. Ph'l h tns. t
was not m 1 ae, owever, that the god was said to be buried .a th
decree co~cem~ng his tomb, the 'Abaton , is inscribed on Hadrlan':
G~teway 1? P~tlae, and it refers to the sacred grave and grove on the
neJ~hbounng tsland of Bigeh. A relief3 shows the body of Osiris being
earned on the back of a crocodile to the island of Bigeh.
The term Abaton, as a name of the sacred precinct in Bigeh, corres-
po~ds to the. Egyptia.n phrase ,'lt
wCht,4 'pure mound' and may be
denved from tt; cf. Wtedemann sS proposals; a simpler derivation is the
Greek word &fXxws, meaning, when applied to holy sites 'not to be
~odden', a~d used often of Greek sanctuaries too.6 A compl~te prohibi-
tl~n, to be mposed on all persons at all times, is not usually implied by
th1s word, and in the case of Bigeh Plutarch states that the priests were
allowed access on certain occasions. It is to an annual funerary festival that
M KCXIP'il refers, probably to that which began on the und Khoiak and
lasted for ten days; frequent crossings would thus be involved but in
c~nnexion with one fes~val.7 ~ccorcling to .the decree, howev:r, daily
ntes were also enacted, mcludmg constant hbations of milk for which
365 offering-bowls were provided; music and singing were'forbidden
as also was the catching of fish and fowl within a prescribed limit.a Th~
last-mentioned prohibition, as Junker9 argues, is probably the source
~ See also the review by H. W. Fairman, Oriemalia 30 (1961), 223--9.
a F~1, AAC? u, r 11 misleadingly mentions' the grave of Oshis :u Philae',
m1smterpreung Brugsch. Perhaps Diod. Sic. r. u . G (' Osiris who lies in
Ph~lae') is responsible although he earlier (r. 22. 3) describes the island
whtch holds the grave as being 'near Philae ' (1rp05).
3
Junker, Alxuon, fig. roa-!J, p. 42 = Bonnet, Bilderatlas, 154
: Junker, Der grosse Pylon, 'jG, 19. 5 Hdt. 1/, i86.
Plutarch Q.Eaest. Gr.aec. 3~, JOOC refers to the Lycaion. Cf. W. R. Halliday
ad to,c. PP 1~9ff; Dtod. Stc. I. 22. 3 says that the island of Bigeh is called
the Holy Fteld (IEpOv m5fov) and that Isis was also buried ti1ere.
7
Jun~er, Ahaton, 72. For tl1e temple see Blackman, The Temple of Blge/,.
(Cruro, 1!.11 'j).
8
Cf. Diod. Sic. r..u. 3-f; Strabo, 17, 8o3 (ed. H. L. Jones, Loeb, pp.
72 If.); Seneca, Nat.Q 4a. 2, 7 = HF 178; ServiusadVergil, Aen. G. If4. All
these loci are discussed in detail by Junker, Ahaton, ~If. 9 Ahaton, 72
367
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 20
of Plutarch's somewhat fantastic statement that neither did birds alight
on the island nor fish approach it. A vivid indication of the holy silence
demanded appears in the Papyrus Dodgson (ii B.C.) 1 where two persons
are rebuked for kicking up a row in the neighbourhood. One is
accused of having drunk wine by night, 'when the female deities
(probably Isis and Nephthys) were in mourning garb' (line 15); he is
said also to have caused singing and merriment 'awakening Osiris the
soul ( ?) from his sleep ' (line 19).
p. 148, 241Jl)61Sos <pVTtj)] Junker, Ahaton, 72-3 shows that the grove
is called mnt1 in the Egyptian reference in the decree,z and that this
name would be philologically easiest to connect with the genitive
1Jl)61Sos (from a nominative 1Jl)61s) which Schubart proposes to read.
The reading 1Jl)6ISf\S found in L3 supports this to some extent. It is a
mistake to seek an equation between this plant and the Byhlite erica, as
Squire does, for various trees were found near the Osirian tombs, both
in the adjacent sacred grove and in the form of the single bush or tree
which is shown overshadowing the tomb itself. The ha of Osiris was
thought to inhabit these trees. Thus a text from the temple of Philae
says of the god, 'His ha comes in order to alight on the mnt/-bush, it
rests on the branches of the lw-tree'.1 A slight discrepancy between
Plutarch's allusion and the references to the mnt1 is that Plutarch seems
to apply to the tree over the grave the name which the Egyptian texts
give to the sacred grove.S Such a confusion, however, could very
easily have arisen.
1
See F. Ll. Griffith, 'Papyrus Dodgson' in PSBA 31 (1909), 10<>-9.
2
Incidentally, Junker's argument here somewhat contradicts his refusal to
see a specific ref. to Philae in this context.
3 It occurs, according to Parthey, in another Florentine MS as well.
~ Junker, Der grosse Pylon, 2.1, u-u ( = Abb. 10 = Phot. 184). Junker,
Ahaton, 73 identifies the i!Jr-tree, which is mentioned in texts con-
cerned with Osiris in Memphis and Busiris, with the tamarisk, but this
seems doubtful see W6. 1, 136. The Egyptian name for the tamarisk was
isr, cf. Hebre.; ';>Wtc; see W6. 1, 130. For the various trees named in
Osirian connexionssee Junker, Aharon, so fr. and the note above aJ p. 140,
14
5 Cf. Junker, Ahaton, 73 Moftah, Die lreiligen Biiume, 44f. compares mntl
and ~o~v61Sf1, but does not venture to identify the tree. For the way in which
Osiris took over the sacred grove of date-palms in the Butic Djeb'awet,
formerly associated with Re', see Ingrid Watlert, Die Palmen im A/ten
Agypten (Berlin, 1962), 128.
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 2.1
CHAPTER 21
w
p. 150, 1. BovalptSt] The name Busiris is derived from the Egyp-
tian Pr-Wslr(Copt. no1re1p1), 'house of Osiris', the name of the chief
town in the 9th Lower Egyptian nome in the central Delta, which was
earlier called Ddw.' In the Pyramid Texts the principal god of the name
was 'Andjety with whom Osiris became associated with the result that
th7 latter he~e d.ominant _there and in particular became the pro-
pnetor of the 4/ed-ptllar, a fettsh worshipped there. Keesl has advocated
the view that Osiris had his original cult at Busiris. Against this belief
is the fact that the Pyramid Texts give him a stronger early connexion
with Ahydos; also the consideration that at Busiris he is at first a
secondary factor in relation to 'Andjety. As time went on, however, the
association with Busiris became stronger, especially as Isis was linked
with the neighbouring Sebennytos. The statement of Eudoxus would,
therefore, echo a strong late tradition3 even though its earlier attestation
is weaker.
On the Stela of Ikbernofret and also, indirectly, in the Pyramid Texts
it is Ahydos which is the god's burial-place.4 The idea that Osiris was
born in Busiris, which Plutarch next states, seems never to be reflected
in Egyptian texts unless the very frequent epithet 'Lord of Busiris'
1
Gauthier, Diet. giog. u, 68 f.; Montet, Glog. 1, 98; Gardiner, Onom. u
1761f. In the Piankhi Stela it is twice (18 and u6) referred to as Pr Wsi;
nh IJJw, 'the house of Osiris lord of !2Jw'. Hopfner, r, 156 f. wrongly ex-
plains Busiris as Bu-Usir, 'place of Osiris'. Pr-Wsir was used of many
other places and also of temples: see Gauthier, Diet. geoa. u 69 Sethe
Pw s.v. Bustns (1899), 1073 f. O)J 1
a Kees, Totengltlllhtn2, 136Jf.
3 Mettemich Stela, 40 speaks of Osiris in the water being 'on the way to
Busiris' (for the writing gJr, usually of Mendes, see Wh. v, 6)o; Sander-
H~n, p. 33 ~ms. to err in translating 'nach Buto'); EJfou, r, 3.32, 9
mennons the cYeJ-pttlar and 'limbs of the god' as being in Busiris;
~ ~emo~ ~~g. Lond. Leid. col. 6, :Z.f refers to 'the great corpse which
ts tn BuSins. According to Herodotus, :z.. 61 the death of Osiris was
mourned there.
4
Kees, GotterglaulJe, 89 refers to 'the bank of Nedyet' {mentioned in Pyr.
too~~ 12.56a-h as the place where Osiris was smitten) as being near
Bustns. In Pyr. 754c, however, 'he who is in Nedyet' is also 'the power
who is in the Thinite nome'-evidence which Kees too ingeniously tries
to overcome in Gottergltlll6e, 331, n. 7
Clll
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 20
of Plutarch's somewhat fantastic statement that neither did birds alight
on the island nor fish approach it. A vivid indication of the holy silence
demanded appears in the Papyrus Dodgson (ii B.C.) 1 where two persons
are rebuked for kicking up a row in the neighbourhood. One is
accused of having drunk wine by night, 'when the female deities
(probably Isis and Nephthys) were in mourning garb' (line 15); he is
said also to have caused singing and merriment 'awakening Osiris the
soul ( ?) from his sleep ' (line 19).
p. 148, 241Jl)61Sos <pVTtj)] Junker, Ahaton, 72-3 shows that the grove
is called mnt1 in the Egyptian reference in the decree,z and that this
name would be philologically easiest to connect with the genitive
1Jl)61Sos (from a nominative 1Jl)61s) which Schubart proposes to read.
The reading 1Jl)6ISf\S found in L3 supports this to some extent. It is a
mistake to seek an equation between this plant and the Byhlite erica, as
Squire does, for various trees were found near the Osirian tombs, both
in the adjacent sacred grove and in the form of the single bush or tree
which is shown overshadowing the tomb itself. The ha of Osiris was
thought to inhabit these trees. Thus a text from the temple of Philae
says of the god, 'His ha comes in order to alight on the mnt/-bush, it
rests on the branches of the lw-tree'.1 A slight discrepancy between
Plutarch's allusion and the references to the mnt1 is that Plutarch seems
to apply to the tree over the grave the name which the Egyptian texts
give to the sacred grove.S Such a confusion, however, could very
easily have arisen.
1
See F. Ll. Griffith, 'Papyrus Dodgson' in PSBA 31 (1909), 10<>-9.
2
Incidentally, Junker's argument here somewhat contradicts his refusal to
see a specific ref. to Philae in this context.
3 It occurs, according to Parthey, in another Florentine MS as well.
~ Junker, Der grosse Pylon, 2.1, u-u ( = Abb. 10 = Phot. 184). Junker,
Ahaton, 73 identifies the i!Jr-tree, which is mentioned in texts con-
cerned with Osiris in Memphis and Busiris, with the tamarisk, but this
seems doubtful see W6. 1, 136. The Egyptian name for the tamarisk was
isr, cf. Hebre.; ';>Wtc; see W6. 1, 130. For the various trees named in
Osirian connexionssee Junker, Aharon, so fr. and the note above aJ p. 140,
14
5 Cf. Junker, Ahaton, 73 Moftah, Die lreiligen Biiume, 44f. compares mntl
and ~o~v61Sf1, but does not venture to identify the tree. For the way in which
Osiris took over the sacred grove of date-palms in the Butic Djeb'awet,
formerly associated with Re', see Ingrid Watlert, Die Palmen im A/ten
Agypten (Berlin, 1962), 128.
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 2.1
CHAPTER 21
w
p. 150, 1. BovalptSt] The name Busiris is derived from the Egyp-
tian Pr-Wslr(Copt. no1re1p1), 'house of Osiris', the name of the chief
town in the 9th Lower Egyptian nome in the central Delta, which was
earlier called Ddw.' In the Pyramid Texts the principal god of the name
was 'Andjety with whom Osiris became associated with the result that
th7 latter he~e d.ominant _there and in particular became the pro-
pnetor of the 4/ed-ptllar, a fettsh worshipped there. Keesl has advocated
the view that Osiris had his original cult at Busiris. Against this belief
is the fact that the Pyramid Texts give him a stronger early connexion
with Ahydos; also the consideration that at Busiris he is at first a
secondary factor in relation to 'Andjety. As time went on, however, the
association with Busiris became stronger, especially as Isis was linked
with the neighbouring Sebennytos. The statement of Eudoxus would,
therefore, echo a strong late tradition3 even though its earlier attestation
is weaker.
On the Stela of Ikbernofret and also, indirectly, in the Pyramid Texts
it is Ahydos which is the god's burial-place.4 The idea that Osiris was
born in Busiris, which Plutarch next states, seems never to be reflected
in Egyptian texts unless the very frequent epithet 'Lord of Busiris'
1
Gauthier, Diet. giog. u, 68 f.; Montet, Glog. 1, 98; Gardiner, Onom. u
1761f. In the Piankhi Stela it is twice (18 and u6) referred to as Pr Wsi;
nh IJJw, 'the house of Osiris lord of !2Jw'. Hopfner, r, 156 f. wrongly ex-
plains Busiris as Bu-Usir, 'place of Osiris'. Pr-Wsir was used of many
other places and also of temples: see Gauthier, Diet. geoa. u 69 Sethe
Pw s.v. Bustns (1899), 1073 f. O)J 1
a Kees, Totengltlllhtn2, 136Jf.
3 Mettemich Stela, 40 speaks of Osiris in the water being 'on the way to
Busiris' (for the writing gJr, usually of Mendes, see Wh. v, 6)o; Sander-
H~n, p. 33 ~ms. to err in translating 'nach Buto'); EJfou, r, 3.32, 9
mennons the cYeJ-pttlar and 'limbs of the god' as being in Busiris;
~ ~emo~ ~~g. Lond. Leid. col. 6, :Z.f refers to 'the great corpse which
ts tn BuSins. According to Herodotus, :z.. 61 the death of Osiris was
mourned there.
4
Kees, GotterglaulJe, 89 refers to 'the bank of Nedyet' {mentioned in Pyr.
too~~ 12.56a-h as the place where Osiris was smitten) as being near
Bustns. In Pyr. 754c, however, 'he who is in Nedyet' is also 'the power
who is in the Thinite nome'-evidence which Kees too ingeniously tries
to overcome in Gottergltlll6e, 331, n. 7
Clll
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 2.1
1
which occurs from the Fifth Dynasty onwards may be taken to imply
it. Like Abydos, Busiris was a popular place of funerary pilgrimages.
p. 150, 4 Tcxcp6a1p111] There were two towns called Taphosiris or
Taposiris: one was in the area of Mareotis in the north-west Delta,
the other (called 'little Taposeiris' by Strabo, 17, 8oo as opposed to
'great Taposeiris of the other) a little east of Alexandria. Both were
named after an Osiris-shrine, and the former, as the more prominent,
is probably meant here. It seems to have been founded in the early
Ptolemaic period., In an inscription from this site, now called Abusir,
cl &no Tacpocnlpe(A)S lepeic; are mentioned,3 and in a statue-dedication of
the Roman period Isis is called Domina Isis Taposiri.s.4
p. 150, 5 TOIJ.TJV ~A.ou KTA.] E. Lefebure, Le Mythe Osirien, u
(Paris, 1875), 197ff. thinks that the allusion should be related to the
ceremony described by Firmicus Maternus, Err. prof. re/. 27. 1-2. =
HF pr, in which a pine tree was cut down and made to receive, in the
heart of its trunk, an idol of Osiris 'made from seeds , the whole being
then burnt.S It is more likely that Plutarch is referring to the wood
used in making sarcophagi; cf. 42. 1 368 A, where they are said to be
crescent-shaped. In J, Jjl.C wearing linen is said to be characteristic,
externally, of the follower of Isis. Here, however, the funerary use of
linen in the covering of the Osirian mummy is probably referred to,
just as the libations mentioned are also funerary in origin.
p. 1 50, 8 -rCc llfv at:l~JQ"TCX] The eight gods of Hermopolis were said to
have rested in Medinet Habu; see Sethe, Amun, Io'l.; other gods were
1 Hopfner, r, 1S7 thinks that Bo\1<71pl, used of Osiri~ i~ PGM ~ 866 (not
P. Mag. Lond. t.u, 4P. as cited by him) expresses thts tdea, but tt probably
echoes the Egyptian phrase, and is equally non-committal.
1 Kees, PW s.v. Taposiris (1932), 22.59. He cites, in addition to this ref.,
Herodian, Gramm. 4 = HF 301; Ps.-Callisth. 1. 31 = HF 408; Steph.
Byz. s.v. Taphosiris = HF676; Procop. De aedif. 6. 1. 12. = HF7o8; see
further Ball, Egypt, 66, etc:.; add H F 72.2.. See also E. Breccia, Alexarulrea aJ
Aegypnun (Berg;uno, I914), 12.3 f.; N. Sauneron, Temples Ptol. et Rom. 3 f.
3 For other insc:rs. from the site see SB tSS4; soso-s.
4 CIL xr, 1544; cf. P. Oxy. xn, 1434, n-u (A.D. ii). But the ref. both here
and in P. Oxy. xr, tJ8o, 67 may be to Taposiris parva.
5 Cf. Meunier, 79 and Pastorino ad loc. Frazer, AAO n, to8 also believes that
Plutarc:h has this in mind. Diad. Sic:. I. 85. S says that Isis placed the limbs
of Osiris in an ox (els ~ow) of wood, and enveloped this with fine linen;
here he is recording a popular t:tymology of Busiris which ac:c:ords with the
practice mentioned in 39, 366 D-E. Cf. supra p. 32.4, n. 2.
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 2.1
likewise ~posed to death; cf. Edfou, I, 173, utf.; r, 381., toff.; Morenz,
Re/. :z.s. Those who are in the underworld, the gods of the west'l
would doubtless include the major gods, and the underworld was
represented in temples by subterranean chambers., Otherwise it was
n~t strictly ~magined as being a part of this world, much less of Egypt.
Dtodorus Saculus, 1. 2.7. 3 refers to a 'tomb' of Isis as well as Osiris
but the tradition is probably an artificial duplication of that which
concerns Osiris.3
~ . I so? 9 ~ S~ 'JN){tXs] The Heliopolitan tradition in Egyptian
re~.gaon adennfied many gods, or parts of gods, with astral phenomena.
Re represented the sun, Horus the sky (and his eyes were the sun and
the moon), and Osiris was equated with Orlon. The relationship was
often exp~ess~d by describing the star as the ha of the god,4 and this
word, whtch as often translated 'soul', is not surprisingly represented
here by 'JNXTJ. The King's death reunited him with his father Re' in
heaven and he then lived among the 'imperishable stars. Thus the
interpretation ~f death~ a return to heaven is thoroughly Egyptian;
cf. the Herme~c Ascleptus, 37 where it is said of Im~otep, remeavit in
caelum, for whach see Scott, Hermetica, m, :u5ff. The identification of
Isis with ~e dog star Sirius, called Spdt (whence the Greek Sothis) by
the Egypnans, can be exemplified from the earliest to the latest records
of Egyptian religion.s Plutarch refers to it again in :z.:z., 3S9Ei 38, 365 Ff.;
: Frankfort, The Cenotaph ofStti I at Ahytlos, pl. 34, line 34 and p. 48.
Run~le C::lark, ~yth and Symhol, 108. When Budge, Osiris, I, 2.2.2. states
that the tllustranons on the tomb of Seti I represent the tombs of Tern
Kh~~era, Ra and. Osiris ', he is misrepresenting the meaning of thei;
postnons as gods m the underworld. Equally misleading is his ref. in 1 99
to the ' tombs' of Horus, Seth and Osiris in the 'Other World'. The w'ord
~lt means 'mound' or 'village' and a celestial counterpart to earthly l.:oms
IS meant. Hopfner, 1, 162 uncritically follows Budge.
3
See D._Muller, lsis-Aret. ~4. n. r. Diod. Sic:. 1. u. 2.ff. mentions Memphis
and Phtlae as plac:es to whic:h the two graves are assigned. Pseudo-Clemens
(A.D. iv), Recognit. 10. 2.4 = HF s6s refers to a tomb of Mercury near
~e~~polis~ ~e Hermetic Asclepius 37 to a tomb of Asclepius (Im~otep)
m a Ltbyan sue (probably Arsinoi!-Croc:odilopolis); and Herodotus 3 s
refers to the burial (if KEKpvcp6at means that) of Typhon in the Serb~nian
lake. 4 Kees, Giitterglauk, 147.
5 Pyr. 6J2r:-d, where Horus Sopd is said to be born of Isis-Sothis with
?siris-O~o~ as~s fa~er. !n.viewof this Roeder, PW s.v.Isis (1916),2Q90
Is hardly JUstll1ed m mamtatmng that the association of Isis and Sirius occurs
371

COMMENTARY CHAPTER 2.1
61, 376A; cf. his Sol/. an. 974F. As the heliaca_l risin~ ~f Sirius
heralded the Nile inundation, Isis was through thts assoC1ahon con-
nected with fertility. In Graeco-Egyptian iconography Isis-Sothis was
depicted as riding on a dog.1 Orlon, however, is usuall~ ide~tified with
Osiris and not with Horus; since Plutarch repeats the tdea m :2.:2., 359E
the text cannot well be suspected. In Lament. Is. Neph. 4, 11-1:1 Isis
addresses Osiris 'Thy sacred image, Orlon in heaven, rises and sets
every day; I am Sothis following him and 1 will not leave him'.~
Faulkner, Mll. Maspero 344 compares Junker, Stundenwachen, 57,
no. , 'Hail to thee, Osiris, thou Orlon in heaven'. An equation of
25
Horus and Orlon is not attested. In p., 37:2. o Plutarch records an
opinion which regards Osiris as Seirio~ (here it is a ~ame of th~ s~
which is mentioned before this); there 1s some confuston, then, tn his
astrology and it seems likely that the homophone in Horus and Orlon
led to the nexus: cf. Osiris and Seirios, just cited. The nearest sugges-
tion of an affinity between Horus and Orlon is found in Kees, Farhen-
symholik 4:2.6 citing Brugsch, Thes. So (from the tomb of Sethos I and
the pro;aos ~f Denderah), where Horus is a constellation 'zwar in der
Nahe des Orlon'. F. Boll, Sphaera, 16)-6 thinks Plutarch has erred
here under the influence of etymological 'Spielerei'. Casanova states
in B/FAO :2. (190:2.), 19 that the zodiac of Denderah s_h?ws a ~aw~
perched on a lotus-branch immedi~te~y to. the e~t of _smus, which ts
exactly the position of Orion.3 Thts 1s a httle mtsleadmg. A crowned
first in the Ptolemaic-Roman period. 'lsis-Sothis' is mentioned in a 19th
Dyn. inscr.: see LD m, 170 (top reg.); cf. Bonnet, Real. 14? T~e l~tter
suggests (p. 744) that the use_o_f Sothis as a mere epithet o; lsts to mdicate
her position as sovereign of Stnus corresponds to Plutarch s_state~ent that
Sirius was the soul of Isis. In an Isis-hymn of the Ptolematc penod from
Aswan the goddess is called' Sothis mistress _of heaven'; se~ D.Miiller,!si.s-
Aret. s . She is given a sti\1 wider astral signtficance someumes. See Muller,
op. cit. 9 ; cf. Diod. Sic. I. 17. 4; Horapollo, I. 3 == H F 577; Boll, Sphaera,
39
:2.08-9
1 Weber, Terralcotten, pl. 31 nos. 36, 37 . hnke~ Wtth ~c bnghtest star of the constellation and that this was in turn
~ Hopfner 1 163 refers to this text and gives 'Orion (d. h. Hor)' Without
any justific~tion. For Orion and Osiris see furd1er Kees, Ciitterg/auhe, 167>
w. Gundel, Neue asrrologi.sche Texte, 116-17. . .
3 Cyril Fagan, Zodiacs Old and New (London, 1951), 31 mterprets ~s
rather differently: 'In the circular Zodiac of Denderah the summer solsoce
is represented by a crowned hawk-Horus, "the sun"-perched on the
top of a papyrus pole.'
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 2.1
Ho.~s-bird th_ere appears between two barks in one of which stands an
Osm_form Onon while in the other a cow (Isis as Sirius) is seated. 1 On
the cJrcu_lar Zodiac of Denderah, which is Roman in date, a crowned
~orus-btrd appea~ on a papyrus-plant between an Osirian figure which
IS u~~o~te~ly O':on and ~ cow seated in a bark which is probably Isis
as Stnus. Dtscussmg the Circular zodiac, Antoniadi3 considers that the
astral _constellation 'The Ship' may be regarded as having its place
occupted by the bark of the cow with Sirius; he compares this Plutarch
reference.
The equation of Seth and the Great Bear is well established on the
other hand; the Egyptian term was Ms!Jryw, 'Bull's Foreleg\ and a
2oth Dynasty text speaks of 'this Ms!Jryw of Seth' as existing in the
northern sky.4
P. ISO, 13 ~I!Eva 'W.elv] It is not dear what authority is
envtsaged as tmposmg general contributions. A papyrus from the
Roman era (P. Gen. 36 = Wilcken, Cltrestomatliie, 1, Ss, p. 1 u) bears
out the su~estion that not only the rulers, but also the populace at
large contnbuted to the cost of religious ceremonies for in this case
on .the .occasion of the death of the Apis-bull, a com'mission is set u;
wh1ch mclu~es Memphite priests and probably Memphite citizens as
well. What ts particularly interesting, as OttoS points out, is that a
Antoniadi, L'astronomie Egyptienne (Paris, 1934), 71, fig. 16 ( = the
1
rectangular zodiac of Denderah).
l Jea~ Ba~tiste Biot, Mimoire sur le {Odiaque circulaire de Dent/era!& (Memoires
~e I Instltut.royal de France, 1846 as Ac. des inscriptions et belles-lettres)
m pi. I factng p. 100 marks a star on the papyrus-stalk as 'Sirius'-no
doubt wrongly. 3 L'astronomie Egyptienne 7:1..
4 Wainwright in Grijfith Studies (London, 19):1.), 375 qu~ting Champollion
N~t. descr. u, p. 646 = 6;7; also Wainwright, ]EA t8 (1931), 163:
~llhelm Gundel, Neue astrologi.sche Texte des Hermes Tri.rmegi.rtos (Abh.
Mil?chen, .1936), :2.15 shows that a note in the astrological text with which
he IS dea~mg (perhaps of A.D. v in origin) connects Typhon with the
~onstella?on of ~e Great Bear; he suggests further that Typhon was
assoctated Wtth the planet Mars. That the Egyptians also equated Seth and
dte planer Mercury is shown by Kecs, PW s.v. Seth (1923) 1922 Kees
Farbensymholilc, 456 cites Brugsch, Thes. 65 f. (see p. 67) as ~ exa~ple of
the planet Mars being called lfr D!r (Red Horus) by the Egyptians.
5 PT J, 391. For a revolt of the Theban priesthood in Ptolemaic times see
J. A. S. Evans, Yale Class. Studies 17 (1961), 161.
373

COMMENTARY CHAPTER 2.1
61, 376A; cf. his Sol/. an. 974F. As the heliaca_l risin~ ~f Sirius
heralded the Nile inundation, Isis was through thts assoC1ahon con-
nected with fertility. In Graeco-Egyptian iconography Isis-Sothis was
depicted as riding on a dog.1 Orlon, however, is usuall~ ide~tified with
Osiris and not with Horus; since Plutarch repeats the tdea m :2.:2., 359E
the text cannot well be suspected. In Lament. Is. Neph. 4, 11-1:1 Isis
addresses Osiris 'Thy sacred image, Orlon in heaven, rises and sets
every day; I am Sothis following him and 1 will not leave him'.~
Faulkner, Mll. Maspero 344 compares Junker, Stundenwachen, 57,
no. , 'Hail to thee, Osiris, thou Orlon in heaven'. An equation of
25
Horus and Orlon is not attested. In p., 37:2. o Plutarch records an
opinion which regards Osiris as Seirio~ (here it is a ~ame of th~ s~
which is mentioned before this); there 1s some confuston, then, tn his
astrology and it seems likely that the homophone in Horus and Orlon
led to the nexus: cf. Osiris and Seirios, just cited. The nearest sugges-
tion of an affinity between Horus and Orlon is found in Kees, Farhen-
symholik 4:2.6 citing Brugsch, Thes. So (from the tomb of Sethos I and
the pro;aos ~f Denderah), where Horus is a constellation 'zwar in der
Nahe des Orlon'. F. Boll, Sphaera, 16)-6 thinks Plutarch has erred
here under the influence of etymological 'Spielerei'. Casanova states
in B/FAO :2. (190:2.), 19 that the zodiac of Denderah s_h?ws a ~aw~
perched on a lotus-branch immedi~te~y to. the e~t of _smus, which ts
exactly the position of Orion.3 Thts 1s a httle mtsleadmg. A crowned
first in the Ptolemaic-Roman period. 'lsis-Sothis' is mentioned in a 19th
Dyn. inscr.: see LD m, 170 (top reg.); cf. Bonnet, Real. 14? T~e l~tter
suggests (p. 744) that the use_o_f Sothis as a mere epithet o; lsts to mdicate
her position as sovereign of Stnus corresponds to Plutarch s_state~ent that
Sirius was the soul of Isis. In an Isis-hymn of the Ptolematc penod from
Aswan the goddess is called' Sothis mistress _of heaven'; se~ D.Miiller,!si.s-
Aret. s . She is given a sti\1 wider astral signtficance someumes. See Muller,
op. cit. 9 ; cf. Diod. Sic. I. 17. 4; Horapollo, I. 3 == H F 577; Boll, Sphaera,
39
:2.08-9
1 Weber, Terralcotten, pl. 31 nos. 36, 37 . hnke~ Wtth ~c bnghtest star of the constellation and that this was in turn
~ Hopfner 1 163 refers to this text and gives 'Orion (d. h. Hor)' Without
any justific~tion. For Orion and Osiris see furd1er Kees, Ciitterg/auhe, 167>
w. Gundel, Neue asrrologi.sche Texte, 116-17. . .
3 Cyril Fagan, Zodiacs Old and New (London, 1951), 31 mterprets ~s
rather differently: 'In the circular Zodiac of Denderah the summer solsoce
is represented by a crowned hawk-Horus, "the sun"-perched on the
top of a papyrus pole.'
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 2.1
Ho.~s-bird th_ere appears between two barks in one of which stands an
Osm_form Onon while in the other a cow (Isis as Sirius) is seated. 1 On
the cJrcu_lar Zodiac of Denderah, which is Roman in date, a crowned
~orus-btrd appea~ on a papyrus-plant between an Osirian figure which
IS u~~o~te~ly O':on and ~ cow seated in a bark which is probably Isis
as Stnus. Dtscussmg the Circular zodiac, Antoniadi3 considers that the
astral _constellation 'The Ship' may be regarded as having its place
occupted by the bark of the cow with Sirius; he compares this Plutarch
reference.
The equation of Seth and the Great Bear is well established on the
other hand; the Egyptian term was Ms!Jryw, 'Bull's Foreleg\ and a
2oth Dynasty text speaks of 'this Ms!Jryw of Seth' as existing in the
northern sky.4
P. ISO, 13 ~I!Eva 'W.elv] It is not dear what authority is
envtsaged as tmposmg general contributions. A papyrus from the
Roman era (P. Gen. 36 = Wilcken, Cltrestomatliie, 1, Ss, p. 1 u) bears
out the su~estion that not only the rulers, but also the populace at
large contnbuted to the cost of religious ceremonies for in this case
on .the .occasion of the death of the Apis-bull, a com'mission is set u;
wh1ch mclu~es Memphite priests and probably Memphite citizens as
well. What ts particularly interesting, as OttoS points out, is that a
Antoniadi, L'astronomie Egyptienne (Paris, 1934), 71, fig. 16 ( = the
1
rectangular zodiac of Denderah).
l Jea~ Ba~tiste Biot, Mimoire sur le {Odiaque circulaire de Dent/era!& (Memoires
~e I Instltut.royal de France, 1846 as Ac. des inscriptions et belles-lettres)
m pi. I factng p. 100 marks a star on the papyrus-stalk as 'Sirius'-no
doubt wrongly. 3 L'astronomie Egyptienne 7:1..
4 Wainwright in Grijfith Studies (London, 19):1.), 375 qu~ting Champollion
N~t. descr. u, p. 646 = 6;7; also Wainwright, ]EA t8 (1931), 163:
~llhelm Gundel, Neue astrologi.sche Texte des Hermes Tri.rmegi.rtos (Abh.
Mil?chen, .1936), :2.15 shows that a note in the astrological text with which
he IS dea~mg (perhaps of A.D. v in origin) connects Typhon with the
~onstella?on of ~e Great Bear; he suggests further that Typhon was
assoctated Wtth the planet Mars. That the Egyptians also equated Seth and
dte planer Mercury is shown by Kecs, PW s.v. Seth (1923) 1922 Kees
Farbensymholilc, 456 cites Brugsch, Thes. 65 f. (see p. 67) as ~ exa~ple of
the planet Mars being called lfr D!r (Red Horus) by the Egyptians.
5 PT J, 391. For a revolt of the Theban priesthood in Ptolemaic times see
J. A. S. Evans, Yale Class. Studies 17 (1961), 161.
373
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 21
contribution from the temple of Socnopaios is acknowledged. Since
these levies were raised by local corporations rather than by a tax
compulsory throughout the country, it is hard to explain the attitude
ascribed by Plutarch to the Thebans. Probably a specific act of non-
co-operation with temples from other areas is behind the statement, or
perhaps a tradition of being uncooperative in suc:It ma~ters. Xyl~der's
reading TPOcp6:s is attractive, but the chapter begms WJth a mennon of
'many tombs'.
p. I so, I 5 KVI)cp] This was the name of the primitive serpent-deity of
Thebes which became incorporated in the personality of Amun; in
Egyptian it was Km-Jt.f, 'he who has completed his age',~ or perhaps
'he who has completed his moment', i.e. has finished his lifetime in a
moment, an allusion to the serpent's swiftness. The description of
Kn~ph in Philo of Byblos (A. D. i ap. Euseb. Praep. Evang. 1. IO. 46 ff.)
includes the statement that he is the most spirit-like creature ('ITVEV-
IJCmKWTaToll yap To l4>ov) and so has unsurpassed swifmess; it is also
said to be the most long-lived creature and to rejuvenate itself, being
called Kn~ph by the Egyptians and Agathos Daemon by the Phoeni-
cians. These qualities, as Sethe3 shows, correspond to those of Km-Jt .f,
the serpent of Amun, 'the father of the fathers of the eight primi~ve
gods , whose self-creation and pre-existence are stressed as appropnate
to the head of the Ogdoad of Hermopolis-an emphasis which suits
Plutarch's comment. Porphyry (A.D. iii, ap. Euseb. Praep. Evang. 3
I I. 4S) calls Kneph the demiurge, which was eminently true of Amfin.
In Iamblichus, Myst. 8. 3 (if Gale's correction of the cod. illl~cp ro
KVI)cp be accepted)4 the god is called AmunS and explained as Nous.
t Quo, PT I, 39:z., n. x cites Brugsch, T~es. :z.63 as an ~pie o~ co~tribu
tions from temples in aid of each other m case of a spectal need (m th1s case,
the dedication ceremonies at the temple of Edfu): 'Die Tempel brachten
ihre Gaben herbei.' The text is on p. :z.jG. The contribution of the people in
Ptolemaic times could, of course, be made indirectly through the produce
levy imposed on them by the temples; cf.. M. Rost~vtze~ A La~ge ifstate
in Egypt in the Third Century B.C. (Umv. of Wtsconssn Studies m the
Social Sciences and History, no. 6, Madison, 19:z.:z.), I7 and 14I.
3
J Sethe, Amun, 38-4o; Kees, Gottergfauhe, 347 Amun, 38.
4 Or K11{jcp: see Scott, Hermetica, IV, 59 ; cf. Parthey ad foe., p. ::z.G::z.; Hopfner
ad foe., p. ::z.sG; des Places (1967), I96; my remarks in CR IS (1968), 54
S See Hopfner, op. cit. :1.56--7 and Scou, foe. cit. Both in his commentary ~n
Jamblichus, foe. cit. and in that on D/0 (u, 1oo-1) Hopfner explains
Kneph as equivalent to Ka-mut-ef, a view which is now discarded.
374
COMMENTARY CHAPTER :2.:1
CHAPTER 22
P I so, 2. I O:rro T&\1 &wv m' avapc:movs] The view attacked here is
that of Euhemerus and his followers. While the reference in line I6
(ol~Jh! . ) is anonymous, Euhemerus is named in the following chapter,
and the attack is continued to the end of eh. 24. His belief that the gods
were in origin great men enabled him to explain cleverly, as Plutarch
says, the demerits sometimes ascribed to them; but it was tantamount
to a denial of gods as such, and Sext. Empir. Adv. math. 9 17 states
that Euhemerus was called an atheist: see Jacoby, FGrH 1, 30I.
p. 1 so, 23 'Epllfill . yaAicXy!<c.lva] The odd detail that Hermes was
short-armed is probably an echo, as Hopfner, 1, 1 19 points out, of the
legend that Thoth became embroiled in the conflict of Horus and Seth,
with the result that Seth tore off one of his arms. Whereas the arm can
be thought of as restored,l this epithet perpetuates the injury.
p. I so, 23-4 Tov Se Tvtp&va ... 1TVpp6v] Plutarch mentions Typhon's
red colour also in 30, 36u;, 3I, 363A and 33, 364B; cf. Diodorus Sic. r.
88. 4 The Egyptian tradition confirms this association except that Seth
is never fully anthropomorphic. In the Horus-myth of Edfu Seth
appears as a red hippopotamus) Red animals, such as bulls and goats,
were sacrificed with a Sethian significance,4 although the colour in
earlier times was probably innocent of such association. KeesS suggests
that it was as the colour of the desert wastes that red was ascribed to
Seth just as black was associated with Osiris as a chthonic colour- an
explanation indeed added by Plutarch in 33, 364B in the sense that the
water which the god represents makes the earth and other things black.
Kees6 shows that the epithet 'black' (km) was used of Osiris in
1
A. Rusch, PW s.v. Thoth (I936), 370; Boylan, Thoth, 37; Conflict, 2; 38.
l E.g. Pyr. 53 5c (N). Cf. the epithet d) Jrt, 'souwnd of arm , used of Thoth,
see Boylan, Thoth, 185 citing P. Turin (Pieyte-Rossi), 24, I-4
3 For refs. see Fairman,]EA 2I (1935), 271 Kees, Gottergfau6e, 14.
4 Kees, Farhensymhofilc, 458-Gr. 5 Op. cit. 457
6
Op. cit. 4I8, citing as the earliest ref. Stela Louvre C 15 (nth Dyn.).
Oslris is sometimes depicted as black: e.g. Noack, Tut Ench Amun.,
pi. 2; Posener, Diet. Egn. Civ. 201; tomb of Nefertari (Re'-Osiris). More
often he is dark green or green: e.g. Budge, Ani, pis. 4, ::z.o, 30, 3:z.; Id.,
Hunefer, pi. 5; Calverley, Tomh of Sethos I, 1 (many cases) and m,
pi. I. G. Foucart, Me/. Maspero (1935-8), sB7 derives the black from
the concept of the night sky. Both black and green are probably
chthonic here.
37S

COMMENTARY CHAPTER l l
Egyptian texts from the time of the M.K. It is much more doubtful
whether Osiris was identified, as he maintains/ with 'the great black
one' (km wr), i.e. the black bull worshipped in Athribis.~ As for the
light or fair colour assigned by Plutarch to Horus, the fact that white
was the national colour of Upper Egypt, as red was that of Lower Egypt,
might be adduced to explain it; but the radiance of the sky-god is the
likely source)
p. r 50, :z.G cnpcmlyov) As we have seen in eh. 13 the view ~f Osiris
as a victorious general derives from the later development of Dtonysus.
Euripides in the Bacchae (lines 13-n) knows of Dionysus as a god who
had propagated his faith in eastern countries, but here he is a missionary
and prophet. It is only after the campaigns of Alexander the Great, and
obviously under their influence, that Dionysus is presented as a
victorious general4 conquering the Orient, including India ; and
Osiris is equated with him in this.
p. 150, :z.6 Kavw~ov] Here also Plutarch or his source h~ taken a
piece of Hellenistic mythology, in this case flavoured wuh Greek
astronomic lore, and fitted it into the Osirian myth. It appears that the
astronomer Hipparchus (ii s.c.) was the first to discover the star.cano~us
in the constellation of Argo, the most southerly star of great s1ze which
1 Kees, op. cit. 418; cf. also his Giitterglaube, 403 and Otto, Stierkulte, 33
~ Cf. however 33, 364B-c {of the Mnevis bull in Heliopolis).
3 Kees, op. cit. 442. Some of the epithets of ~oros are com~arable: e.g. sJb
!wt 'of dappled plumage'. Alien, Horus m the Pyranud. Texts, ~94t
translates an epithet as 'the gleaming one', but Wb. v, 370 ts uncertam.
~ H. Jeanmaire, Dion.ysos (Paris, 1951), ?;df. Ho~f~er, u, 101 quotes P.
Demot. Mag. Lond. Leid. :z.o, 5 for the tdea of Osms as a. general, but the
statement there (' thy father Osiris is King of Egypt, he ts ruler over the
whole land') is not specific in this sense. The account of the Battle of
Kadesh states that Ramesses 11 had his troops divided into four divisions
~alled by the names of Amlln, Pre', Ptah and Seth. Nor is the King, be it
noted himself compared with Osiris, but with Re' and Mont. Cf. Faulkner's
transl~tion in MDAIK 16 (1958 : FS Junker), tooff. and Gardiner,
Th~ Kadesh Inscriptions of Ramesses 11, 7ff. Hopfner 1, )l cites Piehl,
Inscr.' hilrogl. u 3; e-o for the idea of Osiris as general. This seems a wrong
ref. He adds Brogsch ZAS 24 (1886), Gf. who deals with a text ?f the
Roman era published by Diimichen, Hist. Jn.schr. u, 35 c, d. This text
describes unusually the crowning of Osiris as king of~; living (thoug~ ~
'the living Horos '). He is said to have made Horos hts Sole Compamon
and Thoth his vizier (not' Strategos' as Brogsch followed by Hopfner says).
COMME NT ARY CHAPTER l4
became known to the Greeks. 1 The star was named afiter th
f M 1 e steersman
o ene aus, concemmg whom Apollonius of Rhodes wr 1
h 1 b' 1 ote a ong
poem m c o tam tcs. According to this story, as Helen and Menelaus
approached Egypt, Canobus fell asleep and died of the bite of a _
~erp~nt; he was buried in Egypt and the city of that name was fou:d~d
m ~ts ho?our. No ~ttempt is made here to provide Egyptian parallels,
unlike ~todorus S1culusl who provides Osiris as general with at least
one adJUtant who has an Egyptian name. The exact relation of the
name Canobus. to the name Canopus, a town north-east of Alexandria,
and the Canoptc mouth of the Nile, is not easy to ascertain. The name
~f the town was doubtless transferred to the mouth and branch of the
nver, and Gardiner, Onom. u, 157* thinks that this transference may
not ha~e.ha~pened 'mu~h before the time of Strabo '. Gardiner, Onom.
u, r6:z. IS nghtly scepncal of Brugsch's conjecture that an Egyptian
tow~-?ame Gnp (~ ~), in the 7th Lower Egyptian nome, was
a wnnng of the Greek Canobus.
P I 50, :z.8 'Apyw] T~e constellation Argo, named by the Hellenistic
as~~nomers after the shtp of the Argonauts, is said to be of Egyptian
ongm by th~ French scholar P. Tannery,4 who suggests that Eudoxus
brou~ht the tdea f~om Egypt. Franz BoilS points out that although the
Arf?o IS the only ~htp (or, genauer gesagt, half-ship) in the Greek heaven,
wh1~e the Egypnan heaven contains numerous ships, yet evidence is
la~n~ for such a bo~owing. Osiris is depicted in a ship in his form as
?non, but Plutarch s following statement shows that this connexion
IS not known to him. Gardiner7 compares, however, an expression in
the decree of Canopus8 referring to the annual bringing of the sacred
bark of Osiris to the temple of Canopus. Admittedly the same word is
used for ship here in the Greek (l') avayc.>yf} ToO lepov "TTAolov) as
Plutarch has. But the allusion is clearly to the ships used universally in
: F. Liibker, Real/exilcon, 987; Rehm, PW s.v. Kanopos ( 1919), 1ss 1- 3
E. Maass, Aratea, 361 ff. for a full exposition of the sources.
3 1. 18. 1 (Anubis).
4 Cited by F. Boll, Sphaera, 174 .
5 Spltaera, 169. He refers to the Egyptian heavenly ships-those of sun and
moon; 36 decan-stars each in a bark, also Osiris-Orion the Isis-cow and
Sothis and Anukis (Brogsch, Tlses. 9 f.). ' '
6
B~gsch, Tires. 9, no. 31, where the inscr. refers to 'Orlon the worthy
divme ha of Osiris '. '
7 Onom. n, 196. 8 Uric. u,
144 , 1
377
 COMMENTARY CHAPTERS 2.2.-3
1
religious rites, and not to a celestial bark. Gardiner also considers
that Casanova (in B IFA 0 :z. (I 902), I ff.) has succeeded in bringing
Plutarch's statement about Canopus into dear connexion with the
topography of the First Cataract; but this is hardly so. Casanova deals
with the circular Zodiac from Denderah which represents Sothis by
the cow of Isis seated in a bark; and he points out that the Arabs call
the star Canopus (the star a of Argo) Suhel, i.e. the island of SeMl
near Elephantine. Plutarch refers in :z.o, 359B to an island sacred to
Osiris, and it is by identifying this with Sehel that Casanova maintains
a connexion of this island with Osiris, Orlon and Canopus. His theory
falls down in view of the fact that the island involved in :z.o, 3)9B is
not Sehel, but Bigeh; see n. ad loc. A depiction of the resurrected
Osiris in the solar bark being adored by Isis is found in the 21st
Dynasty Papyrus of Khonsu-Renep.
1 Messana in Sicily, although this latter name occasionally appears also
CHAPTER 2.3
p. tp, 2 TaladVT\'lliKtVEiv] 'To move the immovable', a p~overbial
expression relating to sacred matters and therefore to sacnlege; cf.
Amat. 13, 7)6A-B; Herodotus, 6. IJ4; Plato, Theaet. 181 A and Schol.;
Id. Leg. 684 o-E, 842 E. Plutarch means that the Euhemeristic treat-
ment of Osiris and Canopus is a vain task.
p. 1p, 3 Ltllt:.:IVIST]\1] Simonides of Ceos (55 6-468 B.c.) was famous
for his epigrams and elegies, defeating even Aeschylus for an elegy on
the men who had fallen at Marathon. See T. Bergk, P LG m, 522,
no. 193 and D. L. Page, Poetae Melici Graeci, p. 319, no. 138; cf. also
V. Thes. to; De E ap. De/ph. 17, 391 F; Arist. Pol. 12.64a 1 (where J.
Bemays would read lSvanv for rnatv, see Hermes S (1871), 301 f.).
p. I):l, 8 AeoVTt] The vulgate T(j) ae~ Ju:cf>, 'the godless rabble',
hardly suits the intellectually distinctive phrase ~~pc.ml3o\1Tl TO:
&ia which follows, so that Pohlenz's correction must be regarded as
brilliantly meeting the need. His deletion of t<CXi in the same line is not
essential as it would have the emphatic sense of' even'. Leon of Petla
was a co~temporary of Hecataeus of Abdera (jl. late iv s.c.). He wrote
1 Onom.u, 196*. Casanova,op.cit.loquotes an Arabic astronomer as locating
Suhl!l, i.e. the star Canopus, a of the Constellation Argo (Navis), 'on ~e
extremity of the second oar', referring to the Canopic branch of the Ntle.
l A. Piankoff, Mythological Papyri (Bollingen Series, 40, 3, New York,
1957), fig. 49, P 61..
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 2.3
a book on the Egyptian gods 1 and treated them, including the parents
oflsis and Osiris, as having been originally kings;l he described Amun
(Hammon in his text) as an African shepherd who worked for Liber
(Dionysus-Osiris), the King of Egypt, and was rewarded by promotion
to the status of divinity.l For the expression t<AaauxScxs avolyoVI'CX)
Sieveking compares V. Ale. Io.4 The following phrase, with its
reference to reducing the divine to human terms, was eminently true
of the approach made to religion by Euhemerus, but it was also true of
Lean's approach. The two men wrote in the same age, and it is hard to
say whether one, or which one, influenced the other.
p. 1S:z., 9 Elir}J.Lipov TOO MEO'Otlvlov] According to the geographical
epithet used here, Euhemerus,S whosejloruit was about 300 s.c., came
from Messene or Messenia in the Peloponnese rather than from
as Messene. He was befriended by King Cassander of Macedon, the son
of Antipater, and his most famous (or, to Plutarch, notorious) work
was entitled The Sacred Record Clepa Avaypaipfl) in which the worship
of gods was explained by the apotheosis of men who had served man-
kind outstandingly. Thus an ancient family of beneficent Cretan kings
was the origin, according to him, of Zeus and his divine relatives.
Commissioned by King Cassander to travel round the coast of Arabia,
Euhemerus maintained that on the island of Panchaea,6 in the neigh-
bourhood of India, he had discovered, on a golden pillar in the temple
of Zeus there, a representation which gave an expose of all primitive
history, beginning with Uranus. His influence was far-reaching and
1
Clem. Alex. Strom. 1. 2.1. 1o6. 3 = HF 59; see also Arnobius, Adv. nat. 4
.:z9; J. Geffcken, PW s.v. Leon (1925), 2ouff.; FHG n, 331 f.
l Augustine, De Civit. Dei, 8. 2.7 = HF 59; cf. Id. De Cons. Evang. I. 2.3. 33
(ed. Weihrich, p. 32).
3 Hygin. Astronom. 2. :z.o = H F Go.
4 IIE)'cXAas 6' cnrn:;"l MIU1a6as rnl 1'1)v noJ.mlav c!wolyOII'TQ5 "TOO iE ywous Ked
"I'OV nJ.o\nov ..
S Jacoby, PW s.v. Euemeros (1909), 952fT. thinks the choice between the
Sicilian and Peloponnesian cities to be open; see also Id. FGrH I A2 (1957),
no. 63 and Addenda, p. :z.o. In ta2 (1957), p. 562 he explains why he no
longer regards the work of Euhemerus as falling into the category of
historical fragments.
6 The form Ticly)(cno[v occurs in Callimachus, lamh. r. 1o; see G. Vallauri,
Evemero Ji Messene, 25 and cf. R. Pfeiffer, Callimachu.r, 1, 162.
379

COMMENTARY CHAPTERS 2.3-4
powerful as the bitterness of Plutarch's attack allows one to infer. At
Rome hi~ work was known and admired, witness the Euhtmeru.s of
Ennius probably an adaptation or translation, presenting a rationalistic
explan~tion of popular fables about the gods. That he was interest_ed in
Egypt is shown by the fact that Pliny, HN ?6.
1:1. 79 names hun as
one of the writers who discussed the Pyramtds. Euhemerus may be
said to reflect his age in his emphasis on _the individua~ ~an, for the
affirmation of individualism was shared m the Hellemsuc age by a
number of philosophic schools; and there is clearly a connexion
between the rise of ruler-cults and the rationalistic appr~ach to ~ytho
logy.t Miss G. Vallauri shows that the idea of men be~ng;onst:~ed
worthy of divinity through their E\lspyeala has its roots tn e tea mg
of the sophists, especially that of Prodicus and Persa~us.~.
p. p, u v,v6o'Aoylas] An allusion, probably, ~o th7 IEpCt Avaypaqni ..
1
See G. Vallauri, Evemero di Messene: Testtmonuznte e Frammentt
(Turin, 56), 48, who notes that Callimachus also a~cused Euhemerus
19
of falsity and bad faith. She suggests that Plutarch dtd not hav~ ac.cess
to the original text of the 'lepa 'Avaypa~i),_ but ?nly to ~ mdirect
source since the names of the island and tts mhabttants are mexact as
well ~ the statement about generals, admirals and kings.
p. :1, TptcpvMoiJS] Tpl<j~v'Aot is found (Steph. Byz. s.v. Tpt<jlv~la)
15 17
of the people of Triphylia in the west of the Peloponnese; cf. F. Bolte,
PW s.v. Triphylia (1939), t86.
CHAPTER 24
p. 5:1, I siE~.upalllOS] The fabulous origin and magnifice?t career _of
1
Semiramis are related by Diodorus Sic. z. 4 I ff.l Accordmg to htm
she conquered all Asia with the exception of India, as well as Egypt
1 Giovanna valtauri, Origine e diffusione dtll' Evtmuismo nel pensiero clas.si&o
(Turin 6o) 4. She shows the affinity in detail between the AI~<XKCI
of Diad. Sic. ~d the works ofEuhemerus. Unlike Spoerri, Spii:he/lemstucM
19
Berichte iiher Welt, Kultur and Glitter (Basle, 1959), 164ff. she holds to the
traditional view that Diodorus relied to a great extent on the Atyvrrn<XKC!
of Hecataeus of Abdera.
: G. Vallauri, op. cit. 14., citing, for Prodicus, Diels, n, 317 and, .for
Persaeus Cic. Nat. D. 1. 38 ( Persaeus . cos esse habitos Jeos, a qu1hus
aliqua magna .
' utilitas ad vitae cultum es.set rnventa)
3 Hdt. 1. 184 gives her a brief mention.
J80
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 14
~d Ethiopia; _she fo~nded _the city of Babylon and many other cities
tn Mesopotamta. She 1s obviOusly credited, in this account apart from
the fabulous elements, with the deeds of many other sove;eigns.' Her
name has been equated with Sammu-ramat, mother of Adad-nirari 111
who ruled as regent in Assyria in place of her young son, from 81 I to 8oS.~
There seems, however, to be remarkably little in common between the
deeds of Sammu-ramat and those attributed to Semiramis. Th. Lenschau3
sh.ows, following Lehmann-Haupt,4 that the saga cannot have originated
w1th the Assyrians, but is likely to have come from a nation which first
came into contact with the Assyrians during the reign of Sammu-ramat.
He sh~ws that the Medes, against whom this queen led two military
campatgns, are the probable source. Very soon there mingled with the
historical reminiscence of the queen a large element of lore concerning
Ish tar, the Assyrian goddess of war and love.
P tp, I9 Ieac.:xnptos] This name (found also as Sesoosis and
Sesonkhosis) derives from a nameS borne by three kings of the uth
D~nasty. The first and the third of these brought Egypt to the highest
potnts of the M.K. A legend arose in time around the name as in the
case of Sammu-ramat, so that it came to represent a paragon' of states-
manship and warlike success as presented by Herodotus, z. IOl.-IO and
afterwards elaborated by Diodorus Sic. 1. 53ff. Fantastic achievements
were ascribed to him; Herodotus, for example (2.. 10,3), makes him a
conqueror of the Scythians, while Diodorus ( 1. ss. 3-4) allows him to
cross the Ganges and overrun the whole of India to the sea. Tacitus
Ann. 2.. Go ascribes similar deeds (though excluding the conquest of
Ind!a) to a king called Rlzamses, doubtless Ramesses 11, whose military
achtevements were outstanding, even if not on the scale of the accounts
given by the classical writers. The numerous statues of him include
the colossi at Abu Simbel. Wiedemann6 indeed believes that Ramesses
1
E.g. in Diod. Sic: 2.. 13. 1-2 the inscription ofDarius the Great at Behistun
seems to be ascnbed to her.
l Sidney Smith in CAH 3 (192.5), 27; cf. C. H: Oldfather, DioJoru.s ofSicily,
r, 356 f., n. 2 (Loeb); B. Metssner, Baby/omen und Assyrien, 1, 38.
3 PW, Suppl. 7 (1940), 11.04-12, esp. 1210f.
4 In Roscher, Lex. IV (1909), 678-701.
S Sesostris Egn. S-n-Wsrr, 'man of (the goddess) Wosret'. She was
probably a form of Hathor: see S. Allam and S. Morenz, 'Warum hiess
Sesostris Sesostris?', FuF 36. I (1962), 8-9; also S. Allam Beitriige rum
Hatlzor!cu/t (MAS 4, Berlin, 196]), 73 and So. 6
HJ;.Il, 405.
 COMMENTARY CHAPTERS 2.4-5
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 7.4
been merely good ki g y 1.
li provided the starting-point of the legend. It seems more likely that1 following Callisthen: so. f heot mAuls V. Adlex. '-7 Plutarch tells the story,
, w exan er was greeted E
a king of the name Sesostris was the prototype, probably Sesostris III. son .of Zeus-Ammon., in the same work, eh m gypt
r ll as .the
33
p. tp., ~o M6:v1)v] He was a mythical early king of the Lydiansl Calhsthenes, he relates that AI d 11 ' agam JO owmg
th 'fh exan er ea ed on the gods .
(or the Phrygians),3 but the tradition probably conceals the figure of a em, I e were really son of Zeus' (Eim !:J. .1.6 , praymg
deity. The alternative form Masnes is given by the MSS in Dion. Hal. to help the Greeks Th P oVT~ tu ev ta-rl yeyovws)
~ e~
e present passage ma b tak . '
Ant. Rom. t. ~7 1-3, and Wilamowitz-Moel\endorff4proposesemending Plutarch did not himself believe Alexand de 'fi as evtdence that
the form in line n (Masdes-Masses) to Masnes, which he finds in accepted generally. J er s et catton to have been
Herodian (Et. M. SCxaA'I'lpa) as the name of a river. A. Willie\mS points
to an interesting intermediary form MCxw1ls on an Attic tomb-inscrip- CHAPTER lS
tion of the fifth century B.c.6 The Phrygian god Manes is identified8
with Zeus in a Greek inscription of A.D. 314 from Otowak.7 Ramsay ofPthe15myth
4, I 5 wh'ch
6cxtiJO\Ic.>V IJ.EYO:Ac.>v]
. The daemonoIoglcal
. mterpretation
.
describes Manes as 'the native name of the local god, adopted by the whether E~ti I ~.c~plesffichs. ,_ S-3 I' poses the initial question of
daemons in thea~~c~g:~:s~ ~~~y bas~s .for it. It ~s doubtful whether
Phrygians, but really an old Anatolian deity' and he identifies him with
a god called Men in Greek inscriptions. ods and me ed 0 mgs o mtermedtate status between
p. t p, n Kvpos] Plutarch undoubtedly is referring to Cyrus II, the g n are attest Bonnet~ sugg th th d" .
under the category of L es.ts at e avme beings
Great, who began his rise to world power by his defeat of the Medes in . . 1uw are comparable m status. The . h b
d efined as mfenor or minor gods lth h th . y mlg t e
divine element in men and of the,~es o~gd de3word /6 IS used also of a
H9 B.C. He afterwards subdued Asia Minor, Babylonia, Assyria, Syria
and Palestine.9 categories is m d se ea A common sequence of
p. 1p, :z.~-3 'AM~5pos] Alexander the Great (356-Jl.J B.c.) is
the glorified de:~' ~:ca~i:~ :~~=~~: !~~~:: :!~its~l~~o denote
naturally mentioned since his conquests were greater even than those
of Cyrus. Plutarch adds, however, that both are considered to have Egypes~oan
ohf men of the golden age, acting as tutelary deities. In thto souhls
owever
d 'thTyphon' 1sts
and Ostns. . are consistently among the oug. t ,
1
Cf. Kees, PW s.v. Sesostris (1913), t86t ff.; Sethe, Suostris (Untersucn. n go s, so at Plutarch cannot be here u . I . . maJOr
one derived from Greek 'd smg any c asstficatton other than
~ (1900), J-14)
Herodotus, 1. 94; 4 4S 3 Dion. Hal. Ant. Rom. t. 17. 1-3.
1 eas.

Humes, 34 (1899), n1.

o~~rl ~rlyi\~tCrn..:lersvasK'reA.].
Wl hereas 6a{1Jc.>V is used in Homer and
a~r
4 qulVa ent to god' dd
5 Beitriige {"' GIUcniscnen Inscnrifrenkunde (Wien, 1909), JS-7
907, t7S, lines ~-3 ,where, however, it is given as Mcl\miT\S with an
denote 'divine power', and whereas Hesiod go es.s or else to
6 CIG 1, p. noted, use the term of the blessed d d th d Th~ogms,
as we have
~odsaan:~;n isa~r~;~n;:~l:t~~~
erroneous addition, at the beginning of line J, of a letter which does not
belong. The deceased is described as the best of the Phrygians in Athens stituted an intermediate class between
and as the son of Orymas. Probably he was killed in the Peloponnesian
' ::;:.am's discussion in his Alexander the Great, 11 (Cambridge, 1948),
war.
7 w. M. Ramsay,]HS 4 (188J), ~o-1 (\rrro Mlxvov b.aov 'H}?.to5p611ov b.t6s
is the relevant phrase, second side, lines 4-5, p. 4~o). Cf. Ramsay's a Re.a/. I4?ff. Mercer, Rei. 191 says, 'Indeed, a demon
ev1l god . We are here using , d ,. "d was a god, only an
remarks injHS 38 (1918), t68, where he discusses Manes in CIG m, 4oo8. the Greek idea. aemo~ tn a WI er sense, corresponding to
JHS 38 (1918), 148. See also Lesky, PW s.v. Manes no. 1 (1930), toso f. 4 Wb Wb. 1, xsf.
9 See Weissbach, PW Suppl. 4 (1914), 1u~; G. B. Gray in CAH 4
8
affinities when he includes the ba ~ le
ERE ( 1
d4 ~9 t), S84-<)0 uses looser
I, 16. G. Foucart in Hastin

(1916), 1ff.; R. W. Rogers, A History ofAncient Persia(NewYork, 1919),

38-9 (the extent of his empire); Hans Henning von der Osten, Die Welt
: Op. et Dies, 1n; cf. 140 ff. and ~p.~. ~~:~ T~e:on~;P~ i~
c;, 34 his survey.
See G. Soury, La tilmonologie Je pfl '
Jer Perstr (Stuttgart, 19~6), 66 emphasizes that Egypt alone was not Conversion, ~uff. 11 gn '
utarque, ff. and cf. A. D. Nock,
conquered by him.
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 2.5
in the Symposium of Plato, 202.Eff., where Diotima says of them (20JA):
'It is through this being that all intercourse and converse happens
between gods and men'; she explains that the tasks of divination and
priesthood are performed through them. 1 According to Diogenes
Laertius, 8. 32, Pythagoras taught that the air is full of daemons and
heroes who are responsible for dreams in men, and for signs of disease
and health; but it is highly doubtful whether any such doctrine can be
reliably ascribed to Pythagoras himself, although Aristoxenus~
(iv s.c.) claims to follow him in commending the worship of daemons
(and of gods). By Xenocrates Plutarch doubtless means the disciple of
Plato, Xenocrates of Chalcedon, who led the Platonic Academy from
3I9 to 314 s.c. after Speusippus, Plato's nephew. He is said to have
supported the statement in the Timaeu.r, 90A that the guardian spirit
or daemon allotted to each man is his soul.l Xenocrates believed,
according to the view cited in 26, 361 B, that unlucky days and festivals
involving sadism and sadness were really concerned with evil daemons.
According to Stobaeus, Eel. I. I (2.. 29) .,. Diels, Dox. Graec. p. 304,
Xenocrates taught that whereas the fiery stars were the Olympian gods,
1 cf. ,_on: l<IXl yap 1rilv To 51l11.lOVIov IJlTC~ lO'Tl 6!oV n ~<a\ &vr!Toii. See
R. G. Bury aJ foe. and cf. the quotation by Plutarch in 26, 3GI B. Eros is
interpreted as a daemon. Plato reverts to the role of the daemons in Rup.
39'" A; 42.7 B; 617 E; 62.0 D-E (the daemon of each individual soul); Leg.
713 o; 717 B; Epinom. 984 E. Plato is probably following popular tradi-
tion when he says that daemons are the offspring of gods and nymphs
or other beings (Apol. :l.7D). In the Epinomis, 984E (if genuine) Plato says
that the daemons deserve honour in prayer, so that their favourable
mediation may be achieved; cf. Soury, Dlmonol. '"3
l Stob. Flor. 19 45 (ed. Meineke, m, 88); cf. Aetius, Plac. 1. 8. ,_ (A.D. ii; see
Diels, Dox. Grrur:. 307) who says that Thales, Pythagoras, Plato and the
Stoics taught that daemons existed as 'spiritual beings'; Porphyr. V.
Pyth. 41.
3 Aristot. Top. 8 G. 1ua 35 Cf. A. E. Taylor on Plato, Tim. 90A, where the
suggestion is made that the notion of guardian spirits comes from the
theogonies of remote antiquity'. Certainly Egyptian conceptions could be
readily invoked to explain Hesiod's use of 6al11o~ in Op. et Dies, IU,
where T. A. Sinclair aJ loc. says, 'Flach thinks that this shows Eastern
influence' without further discussion. Plutarch himself, De Jef. or. ro,
415 A wonders whether the role of daemons as mediaries between men
and gods may be in origin Zoroastrian or Thraco-Orphic or Egyptian or
Phrygian. Cf. supra p. 17.
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 2)
the . other sublunary ones were invisible daemons; cf. R. E. Witt,
Alhznu.r, 16f. The reference to melancholy festivals may well be
intended to include those of Osiris, for they portrayed deep sadness in
the mourning for the god, though ecstatic joy followed when he was
found'; an episode of bitter conflict was also present.
Still greater attention was given to the doctrine of daemons by the
Stoics, and their pantheism easily permitted a place for daemons in
their system. Chrysippus, who succeeded Cleanthes as head of the
Stoa, is said by Plutarch, De def. or. 28, 425 E, to have written a work
Concerning What is Possible (TTEpl Swcrrwv) in which the world is
stated to be made permanent by its centre, which partakes of infinity.
On the subject of daemons he is grouped with Empedocles, Plato,
Xenocrates and Democritus as having bequeathed the idea of 'evil
daemons', i.e. as well as good ones. 1
P IS4, 23 ff. TCx yap rtyCXVTIKCx KT:;\.] Degrading episodes, argues
Plutarch, are found not only in the Osirian myth but also in several
cycles of Greek mythology, and these should equally be assigned to
the influence of daemons rather than gods. The Giants were said to be
the children of Gaia who rebelled against the gods, but were defeated,
and buried under volcanic mountains.l In the Hellenistic epoch they
were imagined as having serpentine bodies instead of legs, as the frieze
of the great altar from Pergamon depicts them.3 This was itself a
gruesome detail, but Plutarch is thinking mainly of the episodes of
slaughter. The same applies to his mention of the Titans, the twelve
sons ofUranus and Gaia who were subdued by the younger gods under
the leadership of Zeus, and thrown into Tartarus after being bound.4
As Plutarch is comparing Greek and Egyptian myths, he may have in
mind the story of the mutilation of Zagreus by the Titans;S since the
final outcome was his rebirth, the comparison with the myth of Osiris
was a compelling one. The 'lawless deeds' of Cronus included the
1
De Jef. or. 17, 419A. See further H. von Amim, SVF n, 31of.
1
Hesiod, Theog. 185; Pindar, Pyth. I. 16ff.; Nem. I. 67; Soph. Trach.
ros8f.; Apollodor. I. G. I ff. with J. G. Frazer's note. For the significance
of the myth cf. Conflict, lJO.
3 The present writer examined this at the Pergamon Museum, Berlin in
August 19Go, by when it had been returned from Leningrad. At the
Ermitage Museum, Leningrad he later saw a well-executed cast of the whole.
4 Hesiod, Theog. 13:l.ff.; 392.ff.; G:l.9ff.
S Callimachus, fr. 374 ( = 643 ed. Pfeiffer); Diod. Sic. 3 62. 6 ff.
GDt
 COMMENTARY CHAPTERS 2.5-6
castration of his father Uranus; 1 the Python's fight against Apollo was
a prominent Delphic myth, and Apollo's victory reflected the ousting
of the chthonic cult of the serpent by the new religion.l 'The jealousies
of Dionysus' may refer to the tales of the god's wanderings from city
to city, where resistance to his cult traditionally produced shocking
disasters such as those at Thebes according to the story of the Bacchae.
The god's wanderings were not 'flights', properly speaking, so that
the reading cpvyc:l, taken from Eusebius, is not quite satisfying. Reiske's
cp6vo1, 'slaughters',3 for the vulgate MS reading cp66yyot, 'utterances',
is attractive, but m 2 gives cp66vo, 'jealousies', which is probably what
Plutarch wrote, referring to the attitude of one who showed himself to
be a 'jealous god' indeed. A more obvious allusion occurs in 'the
wanderings of Demeter': she searched for Persephone much as lsis
sought Osiris.
p. I;6, I 1-\VO'i'lKOiS lepois] Plutarch suggests that the enlightened
initiate will understand that the gross and repulsive episodes are the
work of daemons.
CHAPTER 2.6
p. I ;6, 3 '011~pov] 9eoeo~s and mnl&os are frequently used in the
Homeric poems; see e.g. Jl. 3 I6 and Od. I4. I73 for the former; 11.
12. 408 and Od. I. 70 for the latter. The expression 6e&v arro lliJSea
ElSt:ls is used of Alcinoils in Od. 6. r:z.; cf. Od. 13. 89 6eois War..IYJ<la
JJ~Se' E)(ovra. See further the Homeric Lexica of Ebeling and Capelle.
Other citations are noted in the text and translation. Plutarch's
argument that 'godlike' in Homer applies only to the good, whereas
'daemonic' is used of both good and bad, seems not to hold in its
second clause, for his quotations concern Hector, Diomedes, Patroclus,
Achilles, that is, heroes, and in the last case, the goddess Hera.4 His
1 Hesiod, Tlaeog. 178 ff.
~ See J. Fontenrose, Pytli.on (Univ. of California, I959), 465 ff., where
many other interpretations are reviewed.
3 Cf. Babbitt's cpSopo, 'destructions'; he refers to the death of Pentheus as
portrayed in the Baccli.ae. The reading cp86vo1 could well refer to this and
the similar incidents involving the Thracian Lycurgus and Proetus of
Tiryns.
4 The use of Sm!16ve implies the presence of a sinister power which the
speaker disapproved of in the person addressed; cf. Wilamowitz-Moellen-
dorff, Der G/auhe der Hellenen, 1, 365-6; 1, 368, n. 2..
J86
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 2.6
statement in De def. or. 10. 415 A is more acceptable, for he there says
that Homer seems to use the tenns 'god' and 'daemon' in common
and sometimes to call the gods daemons. See further above ad p. I 54, I 5.
p. 156, 16 ro.ch(ol)v] Actually the antithesis in this passage of Plato
(Leg. 717A-B) is between the Olympian gods and the chthonic gods;
in the following sentence daemons and heroes are mentioned- 'after
the gods' (in descending order). Plutarch preserves the exact antithesis
in V. Num. I4 where he says that Numa, like the Pythagoreans, 1
instructed people to sacrifice odd numbers to the heavenly gods and
even numbers to the chthonic gods.
P I s6, 18 ~evoKJXrn1s] See ad P I 54, I 5. A similar description of
melancholy rites, but with greater detail, is given by Plutarch in De def.
or. I4, 417c. Soury, Dimonol. pff. analyses the two passages.
p. IS6, 2.4 'HcrloSos] The first phrase quoted, which is from Hesiod,
Op. et Dies UJ, is quoted by Plutarch also in his De def. or. 39, 431 E,
where the complete verse is given: in each case Plutarch has ayvo( for
the accepted text's tcreAot2 The phrase cpvA~ CxvepWrl'oov is from Op.
et Dies 12.3 and 2.53 (in full cpvAc:I<Es Ehn]Toov avepc:rnc.w), while the verse
which follows corresponds to v. u6 (with the exception that EO"}{OV has
become exavras to suit the syntaX); Plutarch repeats this in De def. or.
13, 4I7B. He maintains in the same work3 that Hesiod was the first to
discriminate clearly between gods, daemons, heroes and men. Plutarch's
daemonology is dominated by Plato's ideas; a generous place is given
by him to Hesiod, but even in this he may be following Plato.4
p. I 56, 2.6 ro.choov] For the passage in Symp. ::tol.E see above ad .
P 1 S4, 15
p. I ;8, I 'E11m6ol<Afis] See Diels- Kranz, Vorso!cr. 31 B 115,
9ff. (p. 358). More of the poem, which deals with blood-guilt, is
extant.
1
Cf. Porphyr. V. Pytla. 50; Iamblichus, V. Pytla. 28. I 56 (28. I ~G).
1
Plato, Resp. 469A also has !ialllOVES ayvol in a quotation of lines 122-3;
so also Crat. 397E.
J De Jef. or. IO. 415 B. cf. Plutarch, Comm. in Hes. 6 ( = Fr.ed. Bemardakis,
7, p. p). In De E ap. Delpk. 13, J90E-F, a fifth category is added-' the
irrational and bestial'.
4 Cf. Resp. 4G9A and Crat. 397, already cited. See further Soury, Demonol.
l.J.
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 2.7
CHAPTER 2.7
p. xs8, 9 mp\ Tvcp&vos] To Plutarch Typhon is an example of a
daemon who, in the manner described by Empedocles, paid the
penalty for his errors. The 'envy and spite' which are said to motivate
his terrible deeds are probably intended to refer to his attitude to his
brother Osiris; the narrative of his stratagem in eh. 13 does not
elaborate on his motives. In the early myth Seth's hostility to Horus is
essentially a challenge for the sovereignty of Egypt, and his initial deed
of terror is to tear out the eye of Horus, the eye being here a symbol of
the royal crown. 1 His enmity towards Osiris culminates in murder, and
the early myth depicts this as the result of an attack by Seth in Nedyet
or Ge}:iestey or through his being drowned by him.= Other deeds of
terror ascribed to Seth include his molesting of the young Horus, his
belligerence as a hippopotamus or (with his followers) in the form of
scorpions, snakes, and other animals.l Two papyri describe his homo-
sexual attack on Horus.4 Plutarch's next clause alludes to the cosmic
disturbance caused by Typhon. Seth is ' the lord of the storm who
spits;5 he roars in the sky;6 he is associated also with the desert and
eventually with foreign countries.? As for Plutarch's statement that
'he paid the penalty',8 th:re are ~any allusio~s in Egyptian t~ts to ~e
punishment of Seth. He 1s descnbed as havmg to carry Osms on his
back, his role being that of a ship ;9 and the judicial ring ofShaw lSool<E\1
is well echoed in the persistent tradition that he faced a tribunal in
which Horus or Osiris was his rival. In the Books and Spells against tlze
God Seth. which Schott has edited, the spells of execration include an
announcement of his banishment from Egypt, 10 While ritual instructions
I Conflict, ux; in BD 1 12. Seth mutilates the eye in the form of a black pig.
1 Op. cit. 41f. 3 Op. cit. 461f. 4 Op. cit. 411f. . 5 Pyr. 2.61 a.
6 Pyr. 1150c (the King 'roars like Seth'); cf. The Comendzngs of Honu and
Setlr, x6, 4 and Gardiner's note ad loc.; Wainwright, Slcy-Rel. xoo. See also
J. Zandee, 'Seth als Sturmgott', ZAS 90 (1963), 144-sG.
7 Kees, Gotterglauhe, 2.58. . .
8 In De fac. 30, 945 a Tityus, Typhon and Python are saxd, after the~r
excesses to be received back by the moon and reduced to order.
9 See Conflict, u. Cf. H. Te Velde, Sun, God of Confusion (Leiden, 19()7),
97f.
10 Urk. v1,
13, 6 ('to the land of the Asiatics'). It may be that Seth here
represents the Assyrian invader; see J. Gwyn Griffiths,JEA 44 (1958), 83.
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 2.7
involve the defacement of a figure of the god made in red wax. 1 The
Horns-myth of Edfu, narrating as it does a series of campaigns against
Seth, reflects a religious war against Sethian cult-centres but also
probably, associates Seth with the alien Hyksos.2 Plutarch's view of
Seth as an evil daemon corresponds with the degradation which was
th.e god'~ lot in .many parts of Egypt by the Ptolemaic era, especially
Wlth the mcreasmg popularity of the Osirian religion. In origin, how-
ever, he was a respectable rival of the royal god Horus, and in several
Pharaonic official ceremonies,3 such as that of 'uniting the Two
Lands', he is shown on a par with Horus. In one religious role, that of
adju~nt of Re' in the sun-bark which opposes Apopis, he is always on
the s1de of the angels. Eventually, however, he is treated as a kind of
Satan, especially in the Greek magical papyri.4 That he was regarded,
as Hopfner says, as 'the prototype of all evil' from the time of the
und Dynasty is hardly true, for he still had his cult-centres; and the
long list of opprobrious epithets added by Hopfner is from Osirian
~ources.S If Seth never emerges, pace Hopfner, as an absolute devil
m the Egyptian sources, whence comes his Satanism in the Greek
tradition? W. M. Miillefi says that 'the interesting evolution of this
god into a Satan is due to the influence of the Babylonian myth of
Tiamat'; but he adds no evidence to support this extraordinary ex-
planation. A more likely cause of the development, it may be sug-
gested, .was the. equation of Seth with the Greek Typhoeus-Typhon, a
syncreusm wh1ch appears as early as the sixth century s.c. with
Pherecydes of Syros.7 Unlike the Egyptian Seth, this god was a rebel
and revolutionary all along the line; and the fusion with Seth deepened
1
Urk. VI, 5, Glf. The papyrus was made for the temple of Osiris in
Abydos.
2
Kees, Kultlegencie und Urgesclriclue, 357; J. Gwyn Griffiths,JEA 44 (1958),
7jff.
l For the two gods in purification ceremonies see Gardiner 'The Baptism
of Pharaoh' in ]EA JG (1950), 3 ff. '
4 A. D. Nock, ]EA 15 (192.9), uS; K. Preisendanz, Akeplralos, 2.1 f.
5 In~eed he not~ an 'exception' (11, 110) from the 2.6th Dynasty, when a
pnest of Seth ss attested. For a festival of Seth referred to in a Greek
papyrus see Bell, Cults anti Creeds, 72., n. 104. See also Kees, Gouerglauhe,
411
6
Egyptian Mythology, 392., n. 54
7 See J. Gwyn Griffiths, Hermes 88 (1960), 374ff.
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 27
the conception, while obliterating, at the same time, the latter's
redeeming features.
p. 158, 11 o!JoO -re] Reiske's Tt is unnecessary. F?r o!JOV ;t: and the
whole phrase cf. Ar. Eq. 431 OIJOV 'tapat-rwv TTIV TE yr}V 1<al Tl)v
eclAcrn'av ehdj.
p. 158, u Tl(.lWpOs] Although other editors and tran~lato.rs agree in
explaining this as 'avenger', the myth does not reveal Ists as tn any way
avenging Osiris even though she is said to 'quench and s~op Typh?n's
mad frenzy'; it is Horus who avenges. The altemanve mc:anmg,
'helper, succourer' 1 is more suitable. When the connected verb IS used
of Horus in 19, 358 B ( Tt;) 1ttXTpl~<al -rij 11rrrpl TIIJwpeiv l<CXI<WS Tta9oVcn),
it is doubtful whether the idea of revenge is present even there.,
p. 158, 16 mrnxTs] In several of the Isis-Aretalogies ~e goddess
claims that she has founded the initiation-rites of the mystenes: 'I have
shown to men the initiation-rites.'3 In the Kore Kosmou, 68 Isis and
Osiris are together credited with a similar achievement on the instruc-
tion of Hermes.4 Whereas lsis in Egyptian tradition is extolled for her
wisdom and knowledge,s no statement is made to suggest her role in
establishing mysteries; and the reference in aytc.rremxts . "l"EArnxTs
must be to the mysteries, just as l.lvfJctetS ('initiation-rites') in the Are-
talogies must refer to them.6 The question indeed arises as to whether
Egyptian religion contained mysteries at all in the proper :ense of. the
term. Of religious drama there was an abundance, and Schafer enudes
I Cf. Hdt. 2. 141.
2 Cf. J. Gwyn Griffiths,]EA 37 (1951),33; Daumas,LesmoyensJ'expression
Ju Grec et Je /' Egyptien, 192, where, however, the expression 6 mavwas "tftl
1TaTpl is wrongly interpreted as 'vengeur de son pere'.
3 D. Muller, lsis-Aret. 49
4 Cf. also Aristides, In Sarap. 17 = HF 303 and Diod. Sic. I. 20. 6,
where Isis and Hermes are made responsible. Hopfner, u, UJ points out
that Isis is called Ic.:m:tpa, 'Saviour', in inscriptions, a title used otherwise,
according to him, only of Artemis, Rhea, Demeter and Themis. To this
list should be added TycM, Eunomia, Athena, Hecate, Kor! and Cleopatra:
see LSJ s.v.; also Bubastis, see Visser, Giitter unJ Kulre, 22.
s Cf. above 3, JPA-B and notes.
6 D. Muller, lsi.r-Aret. 49 refers to Nilsson's emphasis (Gesch. Gr. Rei." n,
628 n. 4) on the difference between l.lvfl<niS and l.lvcm'lp1a. The former, how-
eve~, were clearly a part of the latter. That initiation involved a conscious
attempt to imitate Isis is well brought out by Merkelbach, Roman unJ
Mysrerium (Munich, 1962), 53 ff.
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 2.7
his monograph on the Abydene passion-play of Osiris Die Mysterien
des O~iris. Dr Dieter Miiller1 emphasizes, however, that such rites
were mtegrated parts of a cult devoted to the deity and were not
ceremonies which could enable any individual, by participation in them,
to have advantage or precedence over other men. They were com-
parable, he argues, with the medieval mystery-plays rather than with
the Greek mysteries of the Hellenistic era; but this fact would not
prevent a Greek interpreter from identifying them with the rites known
to him, as Herodotusl did. Dr Muller thinks that the basic ideas were
absent from Egyptian thought and speech. The verb mtr,3 he suggests,
might correspond in some ways to tmSEIKWIJI, used here in the Areta-
logies, save that it is not attested in the sense of religious foundation.
But other basic ideas are not foreign to Egyptian: in particular, It/
(Wh. IV, HJff.), used of religious secrets, and hs, ' to initiate' 14 are
important words. The main difference seems to be that in Egyptian the
secrecy and initiation apply to priestly functionaries and not to any
worshipper. An affinity of approach is present,S although it is dearly
Demeter and not Isis who has set the pattern in our context.
Another question which arises here is how early the mysteries of
Isis and Sarapis can be dated. P. M. Frase~ states that there is no
evidence for their presence before the Roman period and doubts
whether 'w_e should attribute to these Imperial mysteries, which
occur outstde Egypt, a Ptolemaic origin'.7 In this he follows
1
Op. cit. 49 l 2. 171 (' ... which the Egyptians call the mysteries').
3 Wh. u, 171, 14; 15.
4 Wh. J, 473 (to, of the initiation of a priest, and n, of being introduced to a
secret). Roussel, REG 41 (1919), 159, n. 2 rightly rejects the idea of
P. Foucart, Mysteres J'Eleusis, 78f. that the Egyptian imlbw may be
equivalent to v\lanis. See also Bleeker in Initiation {Leiden, 1965), 49ff.
S Sethe, Urgeschiclue, 124-5 and Erman, Rei. 381 favour the idea of
Egyptian mysteries. See also above, Introd. V, pp. 42 f. and 2Gof.
6
Opusc. Athen. 3 (19Go), 4, n. J,
7 Fraser compares the scepticism of Wilcken, UP Z 1, 7S on this point. It is
with mysteries of Sarapis specifically and exclusively that Wilcken is con-
ce~ed, and while he admits that Aristides, Sacr. Serm. 3 48 ( = 3, po,
Ke~l, n, p. 425) speaks of the -rWTt'l of Sarapis, this is evidence, he
stresses, only for the Imperial period, adding his impression that the
Osiris-mysteries remained with Osiris and were not transmitted to Sarapis,
or at least only later. Apuleius knows only of Osiris-mysteries in Rome,
and not of Sarapis-mysteries.
391

COMMENTARY CHAPTER 27
Rousselt who thinks that the assimilation of Isis and Demeter effected,
at a late; time, the introduction of mysteries on the Greek pattern into
the Isiac cult, but refuses to believe that this occurred earlier. What is
a little disturbing is the way in which h~ dis~isses th~ claim of Isis. in
the Andrian Hymn (lines 11-u) to have mscnbed the sacred doctnne
for the initiates (!!VOTatS lepov ;\6yov). This composition is admitted to
1
derive from the first century a.c. and is perhaps earlier. An Egyptian
element may have survived in the Greek Isiac mysteries, but Greek
influence broke down the idea of initiation as a priestly privilege; it
was now open to the laity.
P I) 8, 20 elc.; eeo\Jc.; 11ELC'(3aA6VTE'.i] Cf. JO, J62 E.
p. 158, 2o 'Hpcn<Ai)s ~<al 6.t6waos] Plutarch is. not ~e~emng to
Egyptian deities here, since Dionysus is equated wtth Osms and the
latter has just been mentioned. Heracles was regarded as a hero, not a
god, having Zeus for father but a mortal mother. Zeus ~ also said to
be the father of Dionysus; but although he too was gtven a mortal
mother (Semele, daughter of Cadm us, king of Thebes), he was usually
regarded as a god.3 . .
p. 15 8, 23 nAo\rrcuva] The identity of Pluto and Sarapts ts repea~ed
in 28, J62 A, while in 78, 382E Pluto and Osiris are eq~ated; cf. -~10-
dorus Sic. 1 25 2 , Tacitus, Hist. 4 84. It accords wtth the o~gtnal
function of Osiris as a god of the dead4 and with his role as Judge
of the dead, as well as with the fact that he is always depicted as
mummiform.
p. 1 58, 24 nepatcpcxcroav] Isis is normally equated with Demeter, ~.g.
Herodotus, 2 ) 9 Persephassa or Perseph_one ~called _Phe~ephone m a
quotation from Cleanthes in 66, 377 D) is tdenufied wtth lsts by Arche-
I REG ( ), 8-64. The Greek tradition may have rel:u'ed, by the
42 1919 15
Hellenistic era the stress on secrecy. Van Moorsel, The Mystenes of~mnu
Trismegistus, ~ 9 opines that 'this secrecy enjoined upo? ~e novt:e was
one of the most important characteristics of the mystenes .' but Ntlsso~
Dionysiac Mysteries, 4 denies that secrecy was observed m the Bacchic
mysteries of the Hellenistic and Roman eras.
~ See Fraser, Opwc. Athen. 3 (19Go), 3 n. o.
3 According to Plutarch, De Hdt. malign. 13, 8s7c-o, both Heracles and
Dionysus grew to old age as men. . .
4 There were of course other gods of the dead, and Osins 1s not menuoned
ili
e.g. in a 19 Dyn. h~mn to AmO.n concerned with burial in Thebes: see
J. zandee, De Hymnen aan Amon van P. Leide~ I3So (Leiden, 1947), 147.
(' AmO.n claims a monopoly a;; god of the dead ).
392
11
COMMENTARY CHAPTERS 27-8
machus probably because she was said t'l have married Pluto, who was
L
interpreted as Sarapis or Osiris. Like Persephone, Isis had a funerary
role which connected her with the underworld}
p. 158, :14 'Apxe~o~axos] He was a writer from Euboea not later than
the third century s.c. who composed a history of his native island. The
present statement is perhaps taken from a work entitled METCUWI.dat
(' Name-changes ').2
p. 158, 25 'HpcxMEISTl'.i] Heracleides of Pontus, a disciple of Plato,
I
f
II
wrote prolifically on a large number of subjects and has been dubbed
'the Paracelsus of antiquity'.3 Among his works was Tiepl XPl'lCTITJPicuv
('On Oracles'), the probable source of this citation.
.I
If
p. 158, 25 81 Ka\IW~] Cf. above on .12, 359E.
CHAPTER 28
I!
p. 16o, 1 TITOAeiJCXiOS S' oIc.m1p] The first Ptolemy, the son of Lagus,
who was kingofEgyptfromJOS to283,s is hereandelsewhere6 credited
1 Cf. Apuleius, Met. 11. H 23. See also Roeder, PW s.v. Isis (1916),
:1117f. Persephone is identified with the moon in Defac. 17,947.0 and in
D/0 s:1, 3710 Plutarch mentions an identification of Isis and the moon.
This may be a reason why Isis and Persephone are equated. See H. Cher-
niss, ad Defac. 27, 9420 (Loeb, p. 191, n. h). The force of the article with
Pluto and Persephassa is to mark the comparison of the familiar with the less
familiar-almost' our Pluto' and' our Persephassa '.Cf. Soury, Demonol. 88.
2
FHG IV, JIB Schwartz, PW s.v. Archemachos, no. 4 (1896), 456.
3 Daebritz, PW s.v. Herakleides, no. 45 (I~HJ), 483.
4 Daebritz, op. cit. 481 (no. 47); FHG n, I97 A comparison of Greek and
Egyptian gods was perhaps involved; cf. Soury, Dlmonol. 88, n. J
5 E. Bevan, History of Egypt under the Ptolemaic Dynasor, 18 ff. and n. on
p. 386; W. Schubart, Die Grieclzen in Agypten, 13.
6 Plutarch, So[[. an. 36, 984 A-B; Tacitus, Hist. 4 83; Eustath. ad Dionys.
Perieg. :1H = HF 7H According to Clem. Alex. Protr. 4 48. 1 ff. =
H F 367 it was Ptolemy Philadelphus who received the statue as a
thank-offering from the Sinopeans; cf. Cyrill. Alex. Contra Julian. 1,
p. S2I = HF 6Hf. According to Isidorus ap. Clem. Alex. Protr. 4
48. 1 = H F 365 the statue was brought by the Seleuceans near Antioch, and
Tacitus, Hist. 4 84 mentions this tradition in connexion with the third
Ptolemy (Euergetes). Wilcken, UPZ I, 81 cites epigraphic evidence,
including OGIS 16 (Halicamassus, c. J08-Jo6 u.c.), which he believes to
favour the origin of the cult in the time of the satrapy of Ptolemy I; he
393

COMMENTARY CHAPTER 2.8
with the establishment of a new cult, that of Sarapis. A cult of Osir-
Apis1 already existed at the Serapeum of Memphis, and it had some
following among Greeks resident in Egypt, as the' curse of Artemisia'l
shows. What Ptolemy Soter did, therefore, was to give official patron-
age on a national scale to an existing cult, and in the process he also
Hellenized its iconography. Plutarch does not discuss his motives. To
bring Greeks and Egyptians closer together was the basic motive,
according to Wilcken3 and Bell.4 VisserS has argued strongly that it
was to meet the tastes of his Greek subjects that Ptolemy did this; had
he not done so, Osiris with Isis would have been the principal god of
Alexandria. Roeder,6 on the other hand, argues that it was the very
popularity of the Osiris-cult that impelled Ptolemy Soter to devise a
deity closely related to it, yet having a Janus-like face that could appeal to
Greeks and Egyptians alike. In his recent elaborate study P. M. Fraser,7
argues further that Ptolemy I took an active personal interest in the 'new
religio~. Nett~ Greipl, however, in Philol. 8~ (t93o), 1~9""74 succeeds in
showing that OGIS 16 must be dated after 2.71/70, to the reign of Phila-
delphus; she also refutes (pp. 17o-3) Wilcken's other arguments for dating
the introduction of the Sarapis--cult to the period of Ptolemy Soter's satrapy,
but admits the last decade of his kingship as a possibility. P. M. Fraser,
Opusc. A then. 3 (19Go), 34, n. 2. accep~ ~raulein Greipl:s datin~ of ?~IS .16.
1 The forms Osiris-Apis and Apis-Osans were used Wtthout dtscnmmatmn
of meaning: see E. Otto, Stierkulte, 2.8. Wilcken's attempted distinction,
UP Z t, 2.1 ff. falls to the ground. Cf. supra P 364.
l Wilcken, Up z, ana
no. 1; Bell, Cults Creeds, 3 f. A Greek inscri~ti~n on a
bronze statuette of an A pis-bull found in the Delta records a dedicanon by
one Socydes to Panepi ('the ox of A pis'). It is dated to the sixth century
B.C. See Spiegelberg, 'The God Panepi',JEA 12. (192.6), ~4-'7 . the .statue was brought under the third Ptolemy from Seleuceia in
l UPZ 1, 83, where the co-operation of Greek and Egyp~an theologtans
(Manetho and Timotheus) is taken as a strong piece of ev1dence.
4 Cultsana Creeds 2.0. He adds that 'this is merely an assumption'.
una
5 Giitter Kult:, :zo-4. In this she is partly following Schuban who in his
Einfiihrung in cm Papyruskunth (Berlin, 1918), 33? deni~ ?tat ~e PtolemiC:S
showed any desire to reconcile Greek and Egypnan rehgtous mterests; !Us
view is that the Sarapis--cult is a sign of the powerful preponderance which
the Egyptian pantheon won without state aid.
6 PW s.v. Sarapis (1920), l.403f.
1 Opusc. Arhen. 3 (196o), 19. Cf. Ch. Picard, Les statues Pto/lmaiques ik
Sarapieion th Memphis (Paris, 19H), 35: 'L'institution n'thait pas tant
destinee a unir Grecs et gyptiens, qu't\ procurer aux Grecs d'gypte un
culte africain acceptable pour eux.'
394
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 2.8
after showing th~t royal patronage of the Sarapis-cult continued
throughout the thud century, while a decline in dedications appears
after '?at, sugges~ th~t 'i~ cr~ting Sarapis, Ptolemy did not have the
Egypoa.n populaoon m his mmd at all, but aimed at giving the Greek
pop~lan~n of E~t, and particularly of Alexandria, a patron deity'.
Whtle this conclus1on seems unobjectionable the choice of deity raises
.
two quesnons: fi rst, why was the choice made
' from the Egyptian
pantheon rather than the Greek? Secondly, why was the anthropo-
morphic Osiris or Isis not chosen rather than a god that was partly
theriomorphic in origin?
? r6o, I ovap ~l8e) Be~tley's ~mendation of the MS reading ave'!As
b~ngs the v~rb mto relanon wtth 'l"ilv 51t11 (line s) and l8eiv ~8o~
(hne 7) whtc~ are o~erwise unexplained; it also is parallel to
ohlatum per quzetem wvenem and noctumos visus in Tacitus, Hut. 4
83, ~lthough it is the colossus itself that speaks in Plutarch whereas
;acttu~ has the heavenly youth informing the king about the statue.
Ovap 1s of course adverbial, 'in a dream'.
P 16o, r hi !w&m.l] Tacitus, Hut. 4- 83 relates that Timotheus
recognized Sinope in Pontus as the home of the statue. (Pontus in this
account is revealed first, then the name of the city.) According to
Plutarch, Sol!. an. 36, 984A-B the two men despatched to fetch the
statue (Soteles and Dionysius) were caught in a storm off Malea, the
Peloponnesian promontory, and then led by a dolphin to Cirrha in
Phocis, where they discovered through an oracle that they were to take
only one of the two statues, namely that of Piuto, and not that of Kore.
Plutarch doubtless ~sumes that they were on their way to Sinope on
the Black Sea. Tacttus, however, adds two other versions; first, that
Syna; a~d secondly, ~at it was brought under the same Ptolemy from
Memphis (to Alexandna). 1 In modem times the origin ofSarapis in the
Po~tic Sinope has been supported by a theory that Sarapis is a Baby-
l~ruan .g od !ar apsi ('king of the water-deep') whose cult was estab-
hshed m the Black Sea area by Tiglath Pileser I.l Isidore LevyJ and
; Tac. Hist. 4 84. Cf. Isidorus ap. Clem. Alex. Protr. 4 48. 2. = HF JGs.
C. F. Lehmann, 'Sarapis contra Oserapis' in Klio 4 (1904) 396-401, For
other advocates of a similar view see Roeder, PW s.v. Sarapis (1920)
2.40~ f.; .Ruth Stiehl, Hist. ofReligions 13 (1963), 2.1-33 '
3 Rev. Htst. Rei. G1 (1910), 171, following Jablonski, Guigniaut, Brugsch
and Lumbroso. Cf. Bouch~-Leclercq, Rev. Hist. Rei. 46 (1902.), 2.4; Id. Hist.
395
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 2.8
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 28
Alexandrian temple to Sarapis built in Rhac .
others were probably right, however, in maintaining that the Pontic temple of Sarapis and Isis had existed. ons, where an ancient
origin of the statue (and cult) was a legend invented to explain the P z6o, 6-7 ~ooaiJ3tos Ic.:JTV,.
mentioned in this connexion ex ~ .. ~towcnov]
,
Sosibius is not
fidently identified with any ~ept k y Plutarch and he cannot be con-
epithet Sinopites sometimes given to Sarapis, as for example by Diony-
sius the Periegete (I. 2. 55 Evea ~wc.mhao ~tOs llfY&Aoto ~aepov) and
political leader under Ptolemyoiiie~ nown person of this name. The
Spartan historian look like him alJ::~getes cann~t be he,J ~or does the
deriving actually from a Memphite Sinopion (Eustathius ad lac.:
~wc.:~1tlnw 6 ZM i1 b Me\lcphns ~wc.Jmov yap opos Mt\lcpt6oc; i1 mm
~tvw'TtllS Ti\S noVTtl<i\S Steph. Byz. ed. Meineke, I, P 57 I, n. 8). It was of Ptolemy 11 Philadelphus : a;d . h g~ ~e 10
was Egypt m the reign
travelled' (1tOA\IlTA-..r....) c' M''llmtg t c atm to be regarded as I much-
J. Guigniaut1 who first made the attractive suggestion, which, if "'"'I u er FHG 11 6 .
e possible allusion here that h ' h , 25, suggests, m view of
Ptolemy Soter (if Plutarch:s t:: e ~ay ave come to Egypt under
accepted, clinches the theory of the Memphite origin of the cult and th
statue, namely that the place-name Sinopion occurs in Egyptian to re1erence IS to him) s 1 d .
denote the hill of sand on which the Serapeum of Memphis was built. are also mentioned only by Plutarch 3 T . . ?te es an Dtonysius
ambassadors and gifts were sent S
dacttus, Hut. 4 SJ f. says that
and that eventually the god (i t~ cy rothemis, the king of Sinope,
Brugsch, without mentioning a previous proposal, states that Sinopion
probably originated from the hieroglyphic-demoticsen-hI apl <.&; ~ ~~), own accord. .e. e statue) went into the ship of its
'the seat of the Apis '. In rejecting this decisively Sethe~ introduces the
article and transcribes t111(t) /fp, vocalizing as T-sl-n-bdpe. If the t1 be p. x6o, IO Tt~66Eov xcd McxvEeoova} . . .
Tacitus,4 Hist. 4 8J, but not Mane h .Tamotheus IS mennoned by
omitted, the only serious difficulty is the discrepancy in the penultimate
that provides the evidence for U:e od Plu~~ch's .statement, then,
'\IS
vowel of the words.J An equation seems not impossible.
p. t6o, 3-4 ds 'AAE~av5petav] If the cult was Memphite in origin, as
shaping of the cult Timoth
.
A eman of the clan of th E
eus IS
. d ua. specaltsm mvolved in the
escnbed by T .
1
:L. J
acttus, wta., as an
seems almost certain, the main reason for its establishment and summoned from Eleusis as : h'u~o ~~ds, whom Ptolemy Soter had
th
development in Alexandria was that this city was now the capital~ tarch's ~~yt)Tl')V a word fi g -pnest of the Eleusinian rites. Plu-
further, this would be the natural centre if the appeal was principally to ' , requently used of religious expositors is
the Greeks. According to Tacitus, Hist. 4 84S Ptolemy Soter had the
~ See Laqueur' PW sv S051"b"'!OS
See Geyer, PW s.v. Sosibios no (I " ,
. 3 9 7), 1149ff.
Jes LagiJes, I (1903), uS If. Parmentier, Reclaercltes, 119 makes the un-
likely suggestion that the Serapeum of Alexandria, being near the sea,
! no 2. (1917)
He.re and Soli. an. ;6, 984A-B.' .
6a
'114 n.; Athen. u, 49JE-F.
received an epithet connected with the sea (11"6\I'TOS) and that this gave an Wtth regard to Plutarch and Tacitus th . .
the other, or whether they u d , e quesuon anses whether one used
association with the Pontic Sinope. question which seems to ad s~t afco~mon source. In general it is not a
BoucM-Leclercq, Rev. Hist. Ref. 4G (1902.), :11 cites Guigniaut's ~s~rapis
(Oxford, 9S8), u, 674-6 (' ;.:ci~us a~dea;l answe~: see R. Syme, Tacitu.r
et son origine' (Mlm. insere au tome v du Tacite de Bumouf, pp. n I-~8,
1

present loci shows that Plutarch ives moreutarc? ) .A comparison of the

Paris, 1818) which I have not been able to see. names, but that Tacitus is moregel detatl wtth I -:~ard to personal
~ Sarapis, 7 See also Brugsch, Geogr. Jnscltr. 1, 140. latter excel in gt'ving three It . ab~rate generally; especially does the
3 Cf. Roeder, PW s.v. Sarapis (1910), 2.401 who notes the correspondence a emanves .or the f th
o which the last (the tradition of Mem . ?".gm o. e Sarapis-statue,
although omitted entirely by Plutarch phts) .s m~ubttably the true one,
of the Egyptian to the Greek 'A1fliov in the Rosetta Decree 19/33 f
Roeder's rejection of the equation rests partly on a vocalization 'alt-t~~ see Ch. Picard Statues JuS . F:?.r a dtscusston of the two versions
~ape, where the t would almost certainly have dropped out. t Tacitus is the earlier of the tw~ d . . n P .34 ~I e nghtly suggests
' a1 arap1e1on 31 11, 0 h .
4 At least by 320 u.c.: see Fraser, Opusc. At!ten. 3 (t9fio), 1-3 with notes. tha
D/0 to about uo He chara t 'pt anng Hrstoms 4 to about 98 and
5 Cf. Clem. Alex. Protrept. 4 48.1 (rnl-ri\S l!a<pas, 'upon the hill which they . c enzes utarch'
mediocre et naive relation, romanesque autants que narranve
vagu (p. JS) as 'cette
-1.d .
now call Rhacotis'). It was in the south-western district of Alexandria.
peu trop Ia cour des Lagides a !'as d' I e, qw n: wt un
Later Euergetes I built a Serapeum in the same area; see A. Rowe, Bu!J. Ryl. geoise'. pect une oge de conci~rgerie bour-
39 (1957), 49off. and B. R. Rees, ibiJ. 513ff.; P. M. Fraser, Opusc. At!ten.
3 (19Go), 11, n. 6; B. R. Rees, CR 11 (1961), 1-3.
397
396
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 28
obviously parallel to Tacitus' antistitem caerimoniarum, and Otto 1 well
argues that the strength of the tradition on this point cannot be lightly
dismissed; whereas the record about Sinope is a secondary element and
concerns properly only the question of the cult-statue, the participation
of an Eleusinian Eumolpid may help one to understand the Greek
elements in Sarapis. As partner in this religious project, according to
Plutarch, Timotheus had Manetho, an Egyptian from Sebennytus in
the Delta, who was also a priest if not a high-priest.l Himself bilingual
and in a sense, therefore, a bridge between the two cultures and
religions, Manetho wrote about Egyptian religion in Greek not only in
his 'lepO: 811311-os ('Sacred Book') but in several other works.l Since
Plutarch alone mentions his part in the foundation of the Sarapis-cult,
the value of this tradition might seem more questionable. But Plutarch's
heavy debt in other ways to Manethonian writings is an argument for
accepting this record. Further, Manetho's connexion with the cult is
confirmed by the occurrence of his name on a bust found in the ruins
of the Serapeum in Carthage.4
p. 160, JI rTholiTc..wos ov aye%Ailtt Ti;l I<Epj3~ 'TE!qlatp6jjevot] Macro.
bius, Sat. 1. :z.o. 13- 14 describes Sarapis as having a calathus on his head
and as accompanied by a Cerberus with three heads- of a lion in the
middle, of a dog on the right, and of a wolf on the left- while the body
of Cerberus is entwined with a serpent. This is borne out by coins
which exhibit Sarapis enthroned.S Michaelis6 shows that the type of
standing Sarapis-statue, on the other hand, derives from the Attic
1
PT n, :z.69, n. 1. He cites Amobius, J 5 (Timotheum, non ignohilem
tneologorum unum).
l The titles tepe\ls and apx1epE\Js, as well as ypcx~~CX'TEVs TWV Aly\nrrov lep(;.)v
&5\nc.lll are used of him; see Otto, PT u, 2.15, n. 3
3 Otto, PT n, 2.15, n. 4 See also Jacoby, FGrH m c 6o9 (1958).
4 C/L vm, 1007; cf. Otto, PT n, .115, n. 3 For the various forms of the
name see Jacoby, FGrH m c 609, p. 5, n. ad line 15. The Egyptian deri-
vation is discussed supra in the Introduction, pp. 79 f.
S A. Michaelis,]HS 6 (1885), 292.. Cerberus is shown to be rare, however,
on coins which depict Sarapis standing. For a group in limestone showing
the infant Dionysus (fragmentary) riding the Cerberus, see Lauer and
Picard, Statues du Sarapieion, 15, fig. 10 (from the dramas of the Memphite
Serapeum) and pp. :z.34ff.; cf. R. Pettazzoni, Essays on the history of
religions (1954), 164-70. . S It is noteworthy that there is nothing Osirian about this figure, so that it
6 Op. cit. 309. The historic reality of a Sinopic Pluto is urged by Pannenner,
Rec!.ercnes, ut.
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 28
Pluto, the substitute for Hades, a milder god whose cornucopiae
promised all kinds of bliss '. The identity of Pluto and Sarapis is
attested, as we have seen (:z.7, 361 E}, by Heracleides of Pontus, a
contemporary of Alexander, and a possibility of a statue of comparable
import having existed at the Pontic Sinope must not be ruled out, even
though the Pontic origin of Sarapis must be rejected. Tacitus also
(Hi.rt. 4 84), after mentioning Aesculapius, Osiris and Jupiter as gods
identified with Sarapis, states that the majority equate him with Di.r
pater, that is, Pluto.
p. 160, 13 Iapc!rmS6s] Sarapis is not normally depicted in the form
of a colossus, but there is a part of a colossal head of the god in the
Alexandria Museum. 1 The form in which Osiris-Apis was represented,
as distinct from the Apis-bull itself,l is not attested; in all probability
its form did not differ from that of the A pis. Wilcken3 has argued on the
basis of the Artemisia inscription, which speaks of 'Oserapis and the
gods sitting (f<a6ti1JEV0t) with Oserapis', that Oserapis was shown as a
seated, anthropomorphic figure, but this is the least convincing of his
postulates, since me,;v.evot here dearly indicates in the presence of'
simply, and probably represents the Egyptian ~tp.4 An enthroned
Osiris dispensing judgement is what Wilcken therefore sees in Oser-
apis, but he adds that ' it would be possible, however, that this en-
throned Osiris had home a bull-head'. He refers to figures of a standing
human god with the head of a bull in Mariette, Serapeum, m, pi. 17;
18; 24; :z.s, 3; :z.6; 2.7 and 35 (in the Naos) and to one instance in
Lanzone, Di{. M it. m, t. 203, 2., cf. r, 532.,s where such a figure is seated.
There is not a single example, therefore, of a purely anthropomorphic
Osiris-Apis; it is clear that he was represented either as a bull or as a
man with a hull's head. Linguistically the forms 'OcnpQ:ms and rapmns
are close enough to Osiris-Apis or Ws/r-~p,6 but in iconography a
radical change was introduced when Sarapis emerged stripped of every
theriomorphic vestige. The cult statue of Sarapis at Alexandria is said
1
See T. A. Brady, Harv. Stud. Cla.rs. Phi/. SI (1940), 65. He mentions ihid.
another colossal head of Sarapis in Saloniki Museum.
l For the magnificent statue of the Apis found in the Serapeum of Memphis
and now in the Louvre, see Lauer and Picard, Statues du Sarapieion, 13-14,
figs. 8-9. 3 UPZ 1, 2.4. 4 Sethe, Sarapis, 5, n. 7
cannot be explained as Osiris sitting in judgement.
6
Wilcken, UP Z 1, :z.6. The Greeks may have taken 0- as the article.
399

COMMENTARY CHAPTER 28
by Athenodorus ap. Clem. Alex. Protr. 4 48. ~ -= J!F89 to.have been
made by the artist Bryaxis and although he demes that tt was the
famous Athenian artist, he is generally taken to have been the author.t
Alexandria is usually posited as the birth-place of the curly-headed,
bearded, Zeus-like figure,1 but a berm of Sarapis found in the Memphite
Serapeum shows a broadly similar form.3 It is there part of a group; the
statue, now fragmentary, which Picard designates as that of Demetrius
of Phaleron, is leaning on the berm. Picard4 compares the treatment of
hair moustache and beard with that found in statues of Sarapis from
Al~ndria, which he reproduces in his figs. ;6 and 37; the hair
especially, with its six locks, is very similar; so is the drooping
moustache. Picard concludes that the Alexandrian forms have followed
a Memphite original, also the work of Bryaxis, but in a style which is
more Egyptianized. His date, however, for the statuary of the Mem~
phite exedra- the reign of Ptolemy Soter- is not u~ques~oned,5 and
his dating of the introduction of the cult to Alexandna, whtch he places
in the reign of Ptolemy Ill, must be rejected. It may be, therefore, that
the Memphite berm follows an Alexandrian original.
p. t6o, 1~ 'Hpcu<AEhov] See Diels- Kranz, Vorsolcr. B 1~' assumed
to be from his work flepl Cl>Vaec.>S ('On Nature').
p. t6o, 19 yA.{axpc.>S] The meaning 'subtly elab~rated' seems mo~t
suitable here as with the adjective in 7~, 381 o, apphed also to compan~
sons cf. Q.Eomodo adul. 31, 31E and Wyttenbach's note.
p. 't6o, :2.0 Tt;> fltoWa'!'] Plutarch ap.proves only. of an in~it:ect
affinity via Osiris between Sarapis and 010nysus. A dtrect assoetanon
6 th
in the Memphite cult is demonstrated by Ptcard, who pot~ts to e
I I
important role of Dionysus-Pais, the puer aeternw, w~o ts shown
riding the animals affiliated to his thiasos- the panther, hon, and pea~
t w. Amelung, 'Le Sarapis de Bryaxis', Rev. AreA. u (t903), 177-2.04;
J. Six,' Asklepios by Bryaxis',]HS 42. (t9n), 31-s; T. A. Brady, 'A Head
of Sarapis from Corinth', Harv. Stud. ClrJSs. Pnil. 51 (194o), 614>; Mar-
garete Bieber, Tlte Sculpture of zne Hellenistic Age2 (New York, t961), B3
and figs. 2.~ (on p. 83 the statue of Sarapis is assigned to ' the younger
Bryaxis , 'probably a grandson of the master who worked on the Mauso-
leum in the middle of the fourth century').
1 E.g. Brady, Rec. Egn. Cults, to; Wi\cken, UPZ t, 1B.
3 Lauer and Picard, Statues Ju Sarapieion, pi. B.
4 Op. cit. BJf. 5 SeeP. M. Fraser,]EA 42. (1956), taB, no. 19
6 Statues du Sarapieion, eh. 9, 'Dionysos et Sarapis'.
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 28
eo~-~ well as the .cerberus of Sarapis. In the Hellenistic age, he
mamtams~ and es~ec1a~ly at Alexandria, Dionysus shared funerary
p~wers wt~ Sarapts, wttness a fine relief now in the Louvre, depicting
~sts, ~arapt\ Harpocra~~ and Dionysus (the last only in part, but
mduh~?le). ~oung .mm1strants were natural in a cult which glorified
th~ Dtvm~ Chtld;. Ptcard recalls Plutarch's mention in 14, 356E of
chdd~en With man ne power. He also cites Callimachus, Anti:. Pal. 7 s9
as evtdence for the Bacchoi in the form of infant ministrants in the
Serapeum of Memphis, and calls attention to inscriptions of the third
an.d second centuries o.c. which confinn syncretism of Sarapis and
Dtonysus: e.g. Iapcnrt!it fltowa(j), "latSt 'AcppoS{TtJ, . . (Schubart,
G~A (1.914), 667 f.). He notes that Plutarch in eh. 35 comments on the
Dlonystac character of the burial of the Apis-bull.
p. t6o, u naat t<otvbs 6 Iapcrnfs] As the god of the capital city
Alexandria, Sarapis was ipso facto the god of the statel and known to all:
~luta.rch, ~owe~e~, is thinking of his universality in tenns of his
tden.n~ With Ostns who was worshipped throughout Egypt3 because
ofhts mherent appeal and popularity. Sarapis was identified with Zeus4
as ~ell as with He~ius;S and the exclamatory cry els ZeVs Iapams may
denve from th~ ttme of Vespasian's visit to Egypt.6 The adjective
t<~tv6s may poss~bly. refe.r to the wide diffusion of the Sarapis-cult out-
stde Egypt. Thts dtffuston has often been explained as the result of
Ptolemaic state propaganda, but P. M. Fraser has now shown that the
cu~t spread mainly through the influence of traders mercenaries
pnests and travellers: see his' Two Studies on the Cult ofsarapis in th;
Hellenistic World', Opwc. Atl:en. 3 (196o), 1-54, esp. pp. 2off.
. P 16o, 2 ~ ~~v] There is a clear suggestion here that Plutarch was
htmself an tntttate; cf. Introduction, p. 97
1
Picard, ~P cit. 2.47, fig. IJB and p. 2.49 He believes it to belong to the time
of Hadnan. Its provenance is doubtful: a place in Tunisia has been sug-
gested, but Picard thinks it could have come from the Alexandrian
Serapeum.
1
Visser, Glitter unJ Kulte, 98 points out that Isis and Sarapis only were
na_med in the Ptolemaic oath on behalf of the kings; cf. Wilcken, Up z 1, 31 :
thts pre~ant formula, asking Sarapis and Isis to confer world sovereignty
on .the kings, ~ppears alr~dy in the second century o.c. For the epithets
polzw.s and poltoucltos appl1ed to Sarapis see Pettazzoni, Essays, 167
3 Herodotus, :~. 41. 4 Wilc:ken UPZ 1 31
5 Pettazzoni, Essays, 165. ' '
6
Erik Peterson, El~ 9e6s (Gottingen, 192.6), 2.17, n. 4
:z6 401 CDS

COMMENTARY CHAPTER :19
CHAPTER 29
p. t6o, ~4 'TOlS <t>pvylo15 ypc!tllpamv] Parmentier,t Rech.erches, 1G
plausibly suggests the emendation of the second clause thus: w ols
AtyETcn Xaparrovs -ri\s !lhl 'TOii 'Hpc:xKhtovs yev~ 6vycrrp0s (6
Iclpcnt)lS, Alcncov 6~ 'TOV 'HpcxAAtovs oTvcpiliv. The corruption arose, he
suggests by the changing of the uncials 9YfATPOCOCAPAntCAIA-
KOY to1 eYrATPOCAPAniC AIAKOY, through omission of OC;
then a Christian scribe, haunted by a biblical name, attached IC to the
group AIAKOY, allowing the group APAn to becom7 unintelligible
and fall out. For Charopo as a daughter ofHeracles he cues Paus. 9 34
('Avc.rrEpc.:l !it ~CTTlV 'HpcxAAi\S Xc!tpo' hdl<AT)C'lV), suggesting that
4Heracles when he returns from Hades is called Charops (' the joyful'),
and that the daughter will have been named after a characteristic
quality of the father. Aeacus, a son of Zeus, was one of the three judges
of the dead. If he does not appear elsewhere as the son of Herades, his
connexion with the underworld gives him a possible link with Herades
and also with Typhon as a god of darkness. The Phrygian writings,
then, regard Sarapis, the beneficent god, as descende~ from the
daughter engendered by Herades o~ his . return to the ~~~ht; cf. tt:e
etymology given by Plutarch later m th1s chapter, denvmg Sarap1s
from the Egyptian sairei, interpreted as xaplloa\NT), 'joy'. It must be
admitted, none the less, that a connexion between Sarapis and Heracles
(or a daughter of Heracles) is otherwise quite ~nsupported. If He~cles
here refers to the Egyptian god Shu, then h1s daughter Nut Wlll be
involved as the mother of Osiris-Sarapis. This would suggest the
emendation of Xapotr&s to -ri\s 'Peas, for Rhea is equivalent to Nut in
eh. n.
The existence of a group of religious and mythological writings
emanating from Phrygia is suggested in various ~our.ces.l Diodorus
Sic. 3 67. s states that a certain Thymoetes, after bemg mformed about
Dionysus by the Nysaeans, wrote a mythological roma?ce known _as
'the Phrygian poem'. Cicero, De nat. Jeor. 3 41 mennons Ph.rygrae
[itterae in connexion with an Egyptian writer named Hercules.J Later
allusions serve to add confusion rather than clarity. Diogenes Laert. 9
r Reiske had previously realized the necessity of having !apcrms as the
subject, and he also read Alal(Oii. '1 Cf. Pl~tarc~, De Jef. or: t~, 415 A-
3 alter Nilo natus Aegyptius, quem aillnt Phrygras /meras conscrrpsuse. See
A. S. Pease ad /or:. in his vol. 11 (Harvard, 19~8), 1053 n.
402.
COMMENTARY CHAPTER :19
49 names a <l>pVylOS Myos among the works of Democritus; Schol.
Apollon. Rh.od. 1. sss .speaks of 6 TOVs <I>pvyfovs Myovs y~ as a
mythographical authonty. These writings probably go back to at least
the second . s.c. but hardly further Parmentier, R ech.ercnes,
'gh century
1
L 19
seems n t to reJect the h~othesis that Timotheus the Eumolpid was
the author of th~e works? smce the identification of Sarapis and Piuto
o~ Had~, pracucally ascribed to Timotheus in eh. 2.8, differs from the
vsew asstgned here to the Phrygian corpus.
P t6o, 2.6 <INAc!tpxov] Plutarch used the work of Phylarchus a
Greek historian of the third century s.c., in his lives of Cleomenes ~d
~tus. He wrote, among other things, about Egyptian asps,l and his
cunous remark about Dionysus leading two bulls from India may have
come. from a work on mythology.3 He was probably born at Naucratis
but his suggested derivation ofSarapis from aalpe1v ' to sweep indicat~
~at ~e thought of him as a Greek rather than Egyptian deity. Sarapis
lS pratsed as one who orders the affairs of the world in Aelius Aristides
InSarap.t4 -. HF303. Withtcw.A\Mtvcf. tc!XAAWTaf 'cleaners' UP~
I, 7 ' '
P. 162., 6 Am6os aopev] Another etymological fancy, rightly
casugated by Plutarch. Cf. Nymphodorus ap. Clem. Alex. Strom. 1 ,
.11. = H F 7S, who gives Soroapis as the first resulting form; Rufinus,
Hut. eccles. n. 23 ""' HF 6z9, Isidorus Hispal Etvm ' l . ..Otog.
' 8, 11.
85 -= HF7~; the SuJa s.v. Iclpcxms = HF7SJ
p162, ~ Af!6r}s] In a discussion of matters concerning Hades
~1odorus ~le. t. 96. 9 states that people say there is a temple of Hecate
m the reg1ons near Memphis, and 'gates of Cocytus and Le the ; cf.
Paus. J, 18. 4 ~d J. G. Frazer aJ foe. Squire, Sieveking and Hopfner
would delete this passage as a later interpolation by one who knew what
1
Cf. Diels-Kranz, Vorsokr.68a .199e;Parmentier Reclzerches 18. Tanan
'b d b k ' , ,
~7, no as~ e a c:,o called <llpliy1o1 /\oyo1 to Diagoras the Atheist, but
Jacoby, D1agoras 6 A&os (AM. Berlin, 1959), .18f. suggests that it was
not the real tide, but one intended to suggest a viewpoint scornful of all
r,agan theoloW,; he shows ~at. the designation was used of' a sort of pagan
Apokrypha , felt to be 1mp10us in tone. On pp. 46f., n. .131 Jacoby sug-
gests that the work mentioned by Plutarch 'would fit the period of th
Eumolpid Timotheos, adviser to the first Ptolemy'. The views cited b;
~ Plutan:~, however, make it unlikely that the Eumolpid was the author.
Cf. Aehan, NA 17. 5 = HF7Gf.; Pliny, HN 10. 74 2o8 ,. HF7?.
3 FGrH 11 c, PP 133 ff.; FHG 1, 357; cf. Kroymann, PW Suppl. 8 (1956)
471 ff. ,
403
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER l9
Diodorus had said. But Diodorus does not mention the Apis here nor
his burial; further, the power of sounding bronze is mentioned by
Plutarch, De esu earn. 6, 995 E-F, on which see Helmbold ad loe. (Loeb,
vol. I 2, p. 55 7); cf. Aristotle, fr. 196 ( ed. Rose) = Porphyry, V. Pythag.
41 (theclangofbeatenbronze,accordingto Pythagoras(?), was the voice
ofa daemon); Apollodorus, fr. 36 F HG (bronze is good for all expiation
and purification). 'E~~~ probably means 'lay hands on'
rather than 'be affected, be brought into sympathy' (Hopfner); cf.
995F with Tfj xetp{. In view of the mention of Lethe previously,
Xylander's trnt.cxv6avecrea has an attraction at first sight, but the use
of the verb in 995 F compels its rejection. Parmentier, Reeherches, 32
justly praises Amyot's acumen in giving the former interpretation in
his tranSlation of 1572 in spite of Xylander's suggestion two years
earlier. Parmentier himself proceeds to examine the ancient significance
of'soundingbronze' (he compares 1 Cor. IJ 1 XaAKOsTJXc7>V). He gives
many examples of a belief in its apotropaic value, but adduces also the
Pythagorean explanation to which Porphyry, V. Pythag. 41 refers.
He shows that the vases or tripods at Dodona, when they clanged, were
sometimes explained as conveying the voice of a daemon. Plutarch
here rejects the idea that the daemonic clang of bronze (for it is doubt-
less the Pythagorean explanation that concerns him) should be
connected with the Memphite bronze gates at the time of dte funeral of
the Apis. Elsewhere, as Parmentier points out, he is quite ready to link
Pythagorean ideas with Egyptian phenomena; in JO, 363A, for in-
stance, he seems to accept the Pythagorean assertion that Typhon is a
daemonic power. Is there an Egyptian tradition behind .the present
allusion? The Book of Gates gives many names to gates wh1ch the dead
has to encounter, but precise parallels to Lethe and Cocytus (except in
the sense merely of rivers) do not appear.1 The names may, however,
refer to those of gates in actual temples, as D. Muller suggests. Cer-
tainly such gates are sometimes elaborately described; cf. Urk. vm,
u 5 (no. I4J, I-2) and C. de Wit, CdE 36 (196I), 70 (where the images
of deities are said to be inscribed on them) and 290.
p. 162, IJ ~!lllOPtpov elK611<X] The idea is expressed a little differently
in 73, J80E (the Apis is sacred to Osiris), cf. Diodorus Sic. I. 85.4
where the soul ('!NXti) of Osiris is said to pass, upon the god's death,
1 The ninth gate in the Book of Night is called 'mistress of fear' (ed. Pian-
kef, p. 71), and the names are often calculated to inspire dread.
404
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 19
into the Apis. See further 20, JS9B with note. In favour of the reading
of the1
MSS
(ruiJoptpov) would be an allusion to Onnophris; cf. Mariette,
Sur ,a mere, 20: oprw tpy n Wnn. nfr, 'foremost form of Onnophris', the
element nfr in this name denoting 'beautiful' or 'vigorous'. But the
use of ~l.l'IN){0\1 in 43, 368 c favours Wyttenbach's correction.
p. I62, 15 xapJ.Loo\lvr)v] After correctly ascribing to the majority of
the priests a view which sees in Sarapis a union of Osiris and the A pis,
Plutarch lends his conditional support to a somewhat puzzling ety-
mology-conditionally on the name Sarapis being Egyptian. Sairei,
which the Egyptians are said to use in a festival of thanksgiving, is
traced already by Parthey to the Coptic !!J~lpl, 'gaudium ', 'festivitas '.
Crum, Copt. Diet. does not seem to record precisely this form, but the
word !!f~ 'festival' or its verbal form (Crum, 543) is probably impli-
cated. 1 As for the idea of joy in a Sarapis-festival, Hopfuer, u, I 3 I
suggests that it must derive from an author who identified the Apis
(lfpl) and the Nile~god l;l'apy. But in so far as Sarapis was the same as
Osiris, the moment of joy was when the god was 'found and his
revivification hailed. Charmosyna is found as a name of a festival of
rejoicing in Athens: see Hesychius s.v. and Schol. Aristoph. Acharn.
n89. A festival calendar from Socnopaiou Nesos (A.D. ii) places
an eight-day festival of the Charmosyna (or Charmosyneia) in
the month of Phaophi: see Bilabel, Feste, I4 and 3S Parmentier,
Reeherches, 69 refers to Herodotus, 3 27 where the celebration of the
birth of a new Apis is described as xap1J6ovva 'taiha and concludes
that there was no Athenian festival of this name, but that it was used of
expressions of joy in certain festivals, being especially concerned in
Egypt with the birth of the Apis. That Plutarch's Charmosyna involve
Sarapis or Osiris is rightly pointed out by F. Briiuninger in Bermes 63
(19::z.8), 484f.; he thinks it is the festival of the discovery and revivifica-
tion of Osiris, comparing Firm. Mat. Err. pro[. :2. 3 and also the
Hi/aria, celebrated on the last day of the Roman Isis-festival. Bilabel,
Feste, JS shows that calendrically this view is untenable; he adduces
the Cop~c !!Jb..!pl, 'sheep-fold, resting-place, cohabitation' (see Crum,
Copt. Dtct. 584a) and suggests that a 'sacred marriage' might be
involved, although he is not unfavourable to Parmentier's opinion.
It is more likely that YJ~ 'festival' or its verbal form is behind Plutarch's
1
Otto, PT n, 9, n. 3 explains it as !!)6., 'festival' and etpe, 'make'. One
wonders whether the Greek xatpE or xalpEI has not influenced the form as
given. Deubner, Att. Feste, 223 finds the rite in Cius and Tomi.

COMMENTARY CHAPTER 2.9
etymology. In itself this does not reveal anything of the specific
festival he had in mind.
p. 16.1, I7 Tlhcnc.>v) In the Cratyl. 403Aff. a derivation of Hades
from m161)s, 'invisible' (or &ttSi)s, 'unfriendly') is discussed and
rejected, with an explanation that this god is a great benefactor to the
dead. It is an instance of the frequent euphemism shown in relation to
death; hence the term 1Tpoatlvi'\, 'friendly', p. 162., 18. In line I7,
however, the MSS read AlSo\is v\ov and nothing in the Platonic discus-
sion seems relevant to this; in Cratyl. 404B Plato associates Hades with
knowledge and understanding, and so an emendation to d61)11ova,
'knowledgeable', may be suggested. Sieveking obelizes A\5ous v\ov
1
and cites a number of unlikely proposals.
p. 162., 2.1 'A~v) The Egyptian 'lmntt, 'the West', is used
commonly for the realm of the dead, and a god of the dead called
IJnty-lmnryw, 'the foremost of the Westerners', was early assimilated
to Osiris. Eisler's AaveavoVTtX l<lXl owovttX, of the sun-god's concealing
himself and setting in the West, does not, therefore, seem to fit this
context. Parmentier, Rech.erches, 79f. finds the idea of palingenesis
expressed here, and he credits the 'Egyptomaniac' Hecataeus of
Abdera with such an explanation of the name Amenthes. In Coptic
texts, as in their Egyptian forbears, the term indicates a subterranean
realm as Plutarch says; see Zandee, Death. as an Enemy, 31off. In
'Setne', a demotic text of the early Roman era, the Osirian psycho-
stasia takes place in Amente. Plutarch's etymology may loosely rest on
the Egyptian participles' m,"' he who swallows' and n!f3 'he who saves';
~nd the allusion may be to the two contrasting fates of the psychostasia.
The contrast is not actually pointed within one word; allusions to
death and to the West often indicate terror as of a robber, as Oerchain
shows in his article' La mort ravisseuse' in CJE 33 {t958), .1~p, in
4
COMMENTARY CHAPTERS 29_ 30
thI will not give my burd en to the male thief or to the female thief of
e West (Cwlyt nt lmntt:l the last being Plutarch's w d h )
p I62 22 b< ~ 'EMaS ] or ere
6 ' TTJS os Herodotus, .1. so took the opposite view
24 vcrrefpov] In 6o, 375 off. further etymologies are discussed.
Pt 1 2 'tha
bu not t o Amenthes. ,
CHAPTER JO
. P I64, I h<Scnll6vc.>vaycx6c;)v] In :.z.s 36oD the term d ,
1s used of T h . ' great aemons
d . yp on, 0 sms and lsts, but in .16, 36I Aff. a division of
d:::~:si~:~!~~~=~: b~~ i~:ade. In .17, 361 n Trphon as an evil
stated (27, 36I E) to h~ve chan pe~a!l' whereas lsts and Osiris are
because of their virtUe (Sl' O:p~=)' ~om ~od daemons .to gods
after two eh . ' utar returns to this theme
b liefi l apters on Sarapts. The souls of men also, according to his
~ s, were open to a promotion, after a period of purification to a
htg~r s~te. : more systematic approach to the distinction be~een
goo an ev daemons was made by Porphyry De AIJSt :1 36--43 3
who also explains Isis and Osiris as good daemons. ' 4 ' '
p. I 64, 4-S 1Tapf1yo~iial Ka0v~I30VCFIV] The appeasement of
~e po~er of] Typhon rrught refer to the continued veneration of him
m certam cu t-centres. In Ombos and other Upper Egypti
~ ~n. :Rs::;7o~~
well as O:'Yrhynchus, his worship survived the wide
tion o~ Osmantsm.S The reference might be, on the other hand to the
grudgmf acknowledgement of his power even in an Osirian or Horian
~ont~t. l:Defo_c. JO,CJ4S BTyphon, together with Tityus and Python
1S sai t~ . e. received back and brought to order by the moon As fo;
~e ~um~hation ~f Seth in various rites, this is elaborately illus~ted in
o emaic texts. n U rlc. VJ, 79 ff. the dismemberment ofSeth is described

a For 'Imntt, 'the West' see Wh I 87

the course of which he quotes Mother and Child, verso 4, I- z: l fi ' ., .
f:e:te~d:!~n4s3'~lf.D. Tfihe attendants of Cronus claimed to belong to 'the
Parmentier, Recherches, 71 ff. compares Plato, Phaedo, SoD and suggests ~ ac. J01 9440,
1
3 Cf. Soury, Demo!Wl. 4 6.
reading &iSoOs ICI1p1o11, 'lord of the invisible'.
4 Ap. Euseb. Praep. Evang. 5 6 4 - HF A I.
" See Wh. 1, 183 f. 3 See Wh. u, 374 I5J-4 = HF 36 descnbes 0 .'. - 47h4 pu etus, De Jeo Socrat.
4 A ref. I owe to D. Muller. After acutely criticizing my first suggestion of sms as a man elped b dd
view not easy to reconcile with that aiv . hi ..,. y goo aemons--a
an etymology, Dr Muller himself suggests, with some hesitancy, the words s K ~ c:r en m s .met. n. 2.7 ff.
ees, Gotterglauhe, 411 ff.; Bell, Cults and Creeds 71 n IO4
'Bs~E
/mm, 'grasp' and rdi, 'give'. The second element corresponds to the 6
Cf. the unexpected clemency noted by Drioton,
3 (~959), ~9 and
meaning supplied by Plutarch, but does not suit so well phonologically. '
the favourable way in which Seth is trea d. Tlr
One is dealing here, of course, with a false etymology, and it is idle to and Setlr, on which see umjlict, 84. te m e Contendmgs of Horus
pretend that an exact parallel has emerged.
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 30
and the distribution of his corporeal parts among the gods, including
his head shoulder heart and phallus;1 the gods are said to curse him
( Urk. v:, 29, I ff.)' but the ritual proceedings are sometimes directed
merely against a figure of Seth in red wax ( Urk. VJ, j B and VI, 37, I ff.).
The god is the object of many hostile rites and spells in the texts of the
temple of Edfu, and a number of them are directed a~inst animals
which are sacrificed and burnt and which are regarded, m the process,
as symbols of Seth and his followers. 1 There, too, it is fairly clear that
figures and models were sometimes used.J At. Edfu there was. o~e
model of the Sethian enemy in human fonn.4 A htppopotamus which 1s
dismembered is once indicated as being in the form of a cake or loaf of
bread.S
p. I64, 6 To\ls 1TVppo\is] For the abuse of red men as ?e~ng T_y-
phonic, cf. the milder statement in 33~ 364A-B, where assoCJano.n wtth
such men is said to be eschewed; cf. too 73, 380 D on the sacnfice of
living ' Typhonians', though their redness is not mentioned. Typ?on's
red colour is referred to above in 22, 359E; see note. Whereas ammals
and images symbolizing Seth are often said to be red~ evidence for the
treannent of red men in this way seems hard to come by. In the Songs
of Jsis and Nephth.ys (P. Bremner-Rhind, 5, 3) Seth and his c?n-
federates are called 'the Red Ones',6 and in a Ramesseum Magtcal
Papyrus (ed. Gardiner, The Ramesseum Papyri, pl. 41, 3 and P I3)
hooded ones with red coats'; but neither of these allusions proves that
living red men were maltreated as' Sethians'. Sir Alan ?ardiner drew
my attention to the 'Dream-book', where an express1on occurs (P.
Chester Beatty 3, recto, I 1, 5) which he transcribes lr s dlr and trans-
1 A sacrificial bull is thus treated, with a Sethian meaning, in Pyr. 1546aff.
, Junker, ZAS 48 (1910), 6tyn. . .
3 In the case of hippopotami and crocodtles: Brugsch, Dm Ftst-KrdenJer,
14 and pis. 8, :tGf.; perhaps with other animals too, if they were not
easily obtainable; cf. ]unker, op. cit. 71.
4 Blackman and Fairman,]EA 2.8 (1942), 34 . La religion Jes prl-lsrailites, pi. IV, 4; Stricker, OMRO 46 (1965), 52 f.
S EJfou, v1, 88, 1; cf. Blackman and Fairman, ]EA 30 (1944), 13 wsth n. c.
6 Cf. Faulkner, ]EA 22. (1936), ll.H 13~ The Greek 'TI'IIpp6s can denote
yellow as well as red and is used, for example, of the yolk of an egg: see
N. P. Benaky, Du sens claromatique Jans ~'antiquitl (Pari.s, 1897).' 1p. Used
ofTyphon, it dearly refers to a ruddy hatr and complexton; cf.ats common
reference to brown hair, W. Schultz, Das FarhenempfinJungssystem tier
Hel/enen (Leipzig, 1904), 61. For the Egyptian JJr see . Blackman and
Fairman, ]EA 36 ( 1 9~o), 72, n. 'i7 Eva Wunderlich, Dte BeJeutung tkr
408
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 30
1
lates AS FOR A MAN RED' (it is rubricized). He comments (Hierat. Pap.
B.M. m, x, 21) on 'the reference to red-haired men'. Some words are
lost, ~ow~ver, at the critical point and since, later on in the same passage,
mennon IS made of ' the redness of the white eye', this condition may
well be the subject of the fragment quoted, so that red-haired men (or
men of red complexion) will not be involved. 1
p. 164, 6 ovov] Whereas the Seth-animal itself was probably not an
ass,3 Seth's association with the ass is often apparent. Plutarch mentions
it again in 31, 363 c and so, 371 c. In the Dramatic Ramesseum Papyrus,
33 Seth is connected with asses and Osiris appears to be symbolized ..
before that by barley. It is possible that in BD 40, 1 (ed. Naville) Seth
is the ass attacked by the serpent hostile to Re'. Bonnet, Real. 172 cites
examples from the N.K. onwards of the depiction of an ass being
pierced by a spear before Osiris. In Chassinat, Edfou VI, 219-23 Seth
as a red ass (p. ~22, line 4, Cl dlr) is said to fight with Horus in the forrn
of a youth.3 In the Greek papyri he is often called 'loo and 'law, which
may possibly be derived from Egn. C/, 'ass', cf. Coptic eH.tl ;4 but a con-
nexion with Jaldabaoth or with Yahweh is also possible.S What is
beyond question is that Seth is depicted in the Greek papyri as a man
with the head of an ass;6 he appears thus too in some of the Sethian
ro!en Farhe im Kultus Jer Grieclaen una Romer (Giessen, 1925), 66 notes the
Widespread idea that red hair implies possession by evil spirits. In Egypt,
however, red seems to have taken on an unfavourable meaning in a more
general way.
1
Gardiner's interpretation is accepted by Wainwright, Slcy-Re/i"ion 31 but
" ed th DJJ
reJect in a review by e present writer in]EA 2.5 (1939), 12.6.
~ Scharff, ZAS 61 (1926), 17 once recognized the Seth-animal as an ass on a
pottery depiction of the N~da I culture. Later he rejected the Sethian
connexion: see ConjlU:t, 133-4.
3 Cf. Fairman,]EA:n (1935), 27. ForexamplesofSeth with the head ofan ass
~G. Daressy! BIFAO 13 (1917), 88 and ASAE :z.o (1910), 165-6, where
anstances are cted from the uth and the 21st Dynasties; cf. W. Pleyte,
4 So Hopfner, n, 139 and Orientalisclr-Religionsg. 135 Eitrem, P. Oslo 1,
p. 38 mentions another Egn. etymology which has been suggested,
namely iq, 'moon' ; cf. Ganschinietz, PW s.v. Iao (1916), 716.
S Banner, StuJies in Magicrd Amulets, 135-6; Conflict, 115; cf. A. Audollent,
Dejixionum Tahellae, no. 198, 8.
6 E.g. PGM 3, 70 (Preisendanz, Taf. n , 3); Hopfner, Orientaliscla-Religionsg.
I)Cifindsanexamplein P. Oslo. I, 1 (see PGM3G, I, Taf. m, 14 = Eitrem,

COMMENTARY CHAPTER 30
'curse tablets' published by Wilnsch.1 In P. Demot. Mag. Lond. Leid.
25, 23ff. the 'blood of a male ass' and an ' ass's skin' are parts of a
preparation recommended for making a wo~an love a .man,~ ~d
other elements obtained from an ass are ascribed a spectal mag1cal
potency.3 . also.' Its nearness to Busiris, an Osirian centre would agree with
Why was the ass associated with Seth? Animals rela~ed to this g~d
fall into various categories: see below pp. 549 f. The ass ts on a par wtth
the hippopotamus, the crocodile and the pig in that the god is s.ome-
times represented thus, or with the head of an ass; cf. B. H. Stnck~r,
' Asinarii', OMRO 46 (1965), 52-7), esp. p. 55 ; Delatte and Dercham,
Les intailles magiques grico-egyptiennes (Paris, 1964), 39 and 172;
H. Te Velde, Setk, God of Confusion (Leiden, 1967), pls. 3 and u.
Perhaps the mythological role of Seth as the carrier of Osiris may
explain the association. The ass was .the mos.t comma~ means of ~s
port, and the earliest allusion to tts Sethian meamng refers to tts
carrying the Osirian barley.4
p. 164, 8 D'llA1Tty~tv] In Plutarch, Conv. sept. sap: s,
I)OF flute-
makers are said to reject nowadays the bones of deer m favour of the
bones of the ass because they are believed to yield a better sound; the
people of Naucratis are said to have used such flutes and so to have
incurred the obloquy of the people of Busiris, who were forbidden to
hear the trumpet because its sound resembled the voice of the ass, an
animal ill used by the Egyptians because ofTyphon. J. Defradas ad loc.
(p. 98, n. 76) notes that religious scruples arose with reg~rd to .the
animal from whose limbs musical instruments were made m anoent
times. Aelian, NA 10. 28 names Abydos as well as Lycopolis as places
pl. 1) but the bead is not clearly asinine there. P~M 4, ,:P.H ff. t?ves
instructions that Seth be depicted on a seal as a ' runrung ass ; cf. Pre~sen-
danz, Alcephalos, n. . . .
Sethianuche Verjluchungstafoln aus Rom (Le~pug, 1898), 86-8; Pmsendanz,
Alcephalos, ::.6 thinks that the heads of ~ors~ are d~picted here and that
Anubis is involved; cf. Banner, Swdtes tn Magteal Amulets, II4; J.
Gwyn Griffiths, J WC/ n ( 1959), 36?, n. S; ~d A. A. Barb,.ihid. 369.
1 Hopfner, u, 139 wrongly calls it an EntzweiUngszauber zwtschen Mann
und Weib'.
3 P. Dernot. Mag. Land. Leid. 2.3, 2: Hopfner, n, 139 gives other instances;
see also J. Gwyn Griffiths, JWCI 22. (1959), 367, n. 7 and A. A. Barb,
ihid. 370
4 Dramatic Ram. P. 29'-33 Asses were not ridden in early times in Egypt.
COMMENTARY CHAPTER JO
w~ere the trum~et is disliked because of its asinine suggestion. Parthey
pomts out that 1f Lycopolis in our passage is regarded as near B
th 11 b th us1ns,
. en 1t w1 not e e well-known Lycopolis at Asyut, but a Lycopolis
m the Delta. ~trabo, 17, 8o2 names a Lycopolis with Hennopolis
and Mendes as m, or near, the Sebennytic nome, and thus near Busiris
an :mti- Typh~nic bias. Parthey's further suggesrlon, that a bassoon
or cow-horn must really be referred to, rather than a trumpet,
s~ems more doubtful. The Scholiast on Ji. 18. 2.1 9 describes six
dtfferent types of trumpets, the first of which is the large Hellenic
type, ~aid to have b~n invented by Athena, and the second the round
~gyptlan type used m offerings and called xvo(is this was it is said
mvented by Osiris.~ It is easy to believe that' among these type~
were some that produced sounds approaching the quality of an ass's
bray.
.P 164,.11 1T6trava] Cf. the reference in so, 371 o to cakes stamped
wtth the unage of a tied-up hippopotamus. Whereas the detailed usage
do~ not seem to be attested, the Egyptians often stamped images and
~nungs on figures and statues with a similar purpose in view. Depic-
nons of captives under the feet of the Pharaoh in a statue are com-
parable;3 so are the rites in which enemies were abused in the form of
'red vases' and of clay figures of captives covered with written threats 4
~n the Festival of Khoiak at Denderah figurines of Osiris were moulded
m barley and sand,s but in the temple of Edfu a hippopotamus figure
?f Seth ~ moulded in bread or cake.6 Loret 7 assumes that Plutarch
JS refernng t.o p~ec~sely ~s process; but whereas so, 371 o might
perhaps be hnguJstl~lly mterpret~ in this way ('they fashion by
means of ~es (or, m cakes) a ned-up hippopotamus'), the word
napc!xcrru.10v m the present passage seems not to allow of such an
1
It is mentioned also by Steph. Byz. Cf. Ball, Egypt, 172 In the Rosetta
1
Ston~ gr. 2.1-~ a Lyc~polis is placed in the Busirite nome; see Uric. 11, 1 8o.
A pomt at vanance wtth Plutarch's remark, but it means little
3 Cf. Spiegetberg, Hat .2.5 and pi. 1.
4 See Sethe, Ahhantfl: Berlin, 1926, Nr. Si Posener, CdE 14 (1939), 39-46;
cf. P. Bremner-Rhind, .26, 2ff. (translated by Faulkner, ]EA 13 ( 1937),
171); .Blackman and Frurman,JEA ::.8 (194:z.), 37-8.
! Chasstnat, Le Mystere d'Osiris, 14j ff.
Blackman and Fairman,JEA 28 (1942.), 13, n. c.
7 Rec. trav. 3 (1882.), 44, n. 3 Chassinat, foe. cit. corrects his version.
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 30
explanation. The stamping or sealing of an image seems rather to be
indicated; and it is probably so also in 50, 371 D, where rni'ITACrrroV<n is
best taken as governing ;rarravaas in the dative. Payni was the tenth,
and Paophi the second, month of the year.
p. 164, 14 xpvala] Whereas the injunction not to feed an ass is
intelligible in this context, the prohibition of gold ornaments is some-
what puzzling. Hopfner, u, 139 suggests that the paronomasia of
Nhty, 'he of Ombos ', a name of Seth, and nhw, 'gold', lies behind the
idea. A reference to the abomination of gold occurs in The Contendings
of Horus and Seth, 8, 1: here the god 'Anty, the ferryman who has
ferried Isis after accepting a bribe from her, says,' Gold has become for
me an abomination in my city'. The allusion probably is, as Gardiner,
Onom. n, 7o, has shown, to one of the alternative names of Pr-CAnty,
namely Pr-lfr-Nhw, 'House of the Horus of Gold', or lfwt-Nhw,
'Mansion of Gold'. Gardiner suggests tentatively that a legend
associating the town with silver-and so with a detestation of gold-is
involved. It is more likely that 'Anty in the story, who has been misled
by gold, finds the name of his town an abomination to him personally.
Gold was especially connected with the gods, particularly with the sun-
god Re', 1 and the prohibition may have implied simply the propriety
of humility on the part of an ordinary worshipper. We know, on the
other hand1 that some priests wore gold necldaces.3
p. 164, 15 otnv6ayopaKol] Their beliefthatTyphonwasa 'daemo~c'
power dearly involves taking the adjective in its evil sense; cf. Aehan,
NA 10, 28, where it is stated that the Pythagoreans say that the ass
alone among animals was not born in time (KarCc apjlovlav). Plutarch
refers in 48, 370E to the classification of' the even' (To &p-nov) by the
Pythagoreans as belonging to what is evil. Thus far the present
statement is clear. But the reference to the birth of Typhon 'on an
even measure the sGth is not easy to explain. The violation of
the hiatus rul;can be avoided by adding Tt;l before m~, since hiatus is
sometimes found after the article; cf. Porter, Plut. Dion. XXX and supra
P 13
According to u, 355 E-F Typhon was born unseasonably on the
1 The Deliverance of MrznlcinJ = G. Lefebure, Mlm. Mus. 1 (1886),
pan 4, pi. 15, line 2.(of Re'): 'his limbs were of gold ' ; cf. Grapow,
Bi/Jliche Ausariklce, 57; J. Gwyn Griffiths, ]H/17 (1956), II9
3 Cf. Kate Bosse--Griffiths, ]EA 41 (1955), 62. (three priests wear, among
other things, gold torques).
COMMENTARY CHAPTERS Jo-I
third of the epagomenal days, and Holwerda1 here emends to w
TCTap'l'~ !Jhpct> (Toov) ~~ Ked li'EVTI)KOVTa, explaining that the factors'
of ;6 are z, 4, 7, 8, 14, ~s, and that the fourth factor is therefore 8 so
that one must beli~ve that Typhon was in his mother's womb for :nly
8. luna~ months, 1.e. ~14 days.~ But c:lpTI~l is probably sound, as
Stev~ng no~es; cf. its evil connotation in 48, 370E. A fifty-six-angled 11
figure ts ascribed to Typhon at the end of the chapter. According to
Pythagorean doctrine all things not only possess numbers, but are
themselves numbers.4 The extension of this principle to theology was
perhaps a comparatively late step; it is best exemplified in the treatise
on the theology or mystic properties of numbers, the 9eoAoyovjlE\Ia
apa61J~:aKi'\5, attributed. to Nicomachus of Gerasa (fl. c. A.D. too), but
contammg some matenal of later origin.s
CHAPTER JI
P 164, ~2-3 Toov fk>oovTOvpruppo\15] Cf. Diodorus Sic. 1. 88. 4 The
sacrifice of red cattle6 is often recorded : see BD 144 (Nu 7 24)
Bru!?sch, Festlcal. pl. 7, line 24; Diimichen, Geogr. Inschr.' u:,
48;
Manette, Denderah, IV, 85, h; Chassinat, Ec!{ou, VI, 135, 9 ('red goats').
In the tomb of Mentu-~er-khepeshef7 red oxen are mentioned as being
1
P. 110. For lhe use of llhpov he compares Plutarch, De gen. Sor:r. u,
f9:ZC (actually 591 c).
a Meunier thinks lhe number involved is 1 u, of which lhe half is 56. He
translates 'i~ est ne a ~a .moitie du nombre pair dont chaque partie egale
represente anquante-svc . He does not state what text he is translating.
3
'The distinction between oJJ (mptaa~) and even (apTtos) doubt1ess goes
back to Pylhagoras'-T. Healh, A Hutory of Greelc Mathematics 1
(Oxford, 19u)1 70. '
4
Aristot. Metaph. 98Ga 1G; cf. T. Healh, op. cit. r, 67 and W. D. Ross
aJ foe. (pp. 146f.); Gulhrie, A HistoryofGreelc Philosophy, 1 (Cambridge,
1962), 2.%9 ff.
5
T .. Healh, op. cit. 1, 97 Cf. Martianus Capelta (A.D. v), 7 731 ff (ed. A.
Dtck, Teubner, 19:z5) where the monad is ascribed to Jupiter, the dyad to
Juno .and so. on. For lhe lheological doctrines of Nicomachus see F. E.
Robbms, Nrcomaclzus of Gerasa: lntroJuction to Arithmetic (New York,
1926), 95 ff.
6
That lhey were offered to Typhon, as Hopfner's translation states is
indicated neilher by Plutarch nor by lhe Egyptian texts. '
7 N. de G. Davies, Five The6an Tomes, pi. 2 and pp. to f.
413
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER Jl
1
used in the funerary procession, and Nonnan de G. Davies thought
that 'these draught animals were probably slaughtered at the tomb'.
Blackman and Fainnanl point out that d!rw in Ptolemaic texts can
mean 'enemies' (lit. 'red ones') from association with Seth, who is
himself called 'The Red One'. In origin, however, there can be little
doubt that the choice of red animals for sacrifice was guided by a
desire for a favourable and impressive offering and that the Sethian
meaning was imposed on this.J One may compare an emphasis in the
Old Testament (Num. 9 :1: 'a red heifer without spot, wherein is no
blemish'). The rigid examination of bulls destined for Epaphus (A pis)
is described by Herodotus, .'1. 38, who says that the appearance of only
one black hair is a disqualification. Other colours were nevertheless
pennitted and prescribed. Ramesses Ill, for instance, had black bulls
kept for offering purposes in the Delta.4
p. 164, :15 ov IJIIAov] This penetrating remark shows how Plutarch
(or his source) appreciated the outstanding difference between Egyp-
tian sacrificial rites and those of other nations. In the ancient world
generally offerings, whether of fruits of the earth or of slain animals,
were primarily intended as food and so as a gift of something inherently
pleasant. What is implied is that the gods, both chthonic and celestial,
are believed to live as men.S Bloodless offerings recalled man's earliest
food; but to the Greeks the chthonic deities seemed as pleased to
drink the blood of the sacrificed animal as to eat the offering of honey,6
although the flesh of the animal was not offered to them. Other gods,
however, accepted the meat-offering, which had to be without blemish.
The notion of hostility which enters into the animal-offerings of
Egypt probably had its origin in totemism. The offering was considered
to be something unpleasant in that it symbolized the enemy, but at the
same time it also afforded the pleasure of triumph over the defeated
1
Op. cit. 11. a ]EA 36 (I9fo), 72..
3 Nor was the Sethian meaning always present with the colour even in
Ptolemaic times. Kees, Farbensymholilc, 45of. cites Mariette, Dendlrah, lV,
79 (Osiris-rooms) for a red bull-god from the Delta who is a guardian
deity of Osiris. Cf. Morenz, 'Rote Stiere', FS. Grapow (19H), 138ff.
4 P. Harris, 1, 30, 3 See further Wiedemann, Hdt.l/, 181.
s Kem, Rei. r, 1~6.
6 Kem, Re/.r, 1~8f. In Gen. 4 s Cain's offering of the fruits of the earth is
not acceptable as compared with Abel's animal sacrifice, the nomadic
tradition being preferred to the agricultural.
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 31
ene~y. This was not, it is true, the only idea present in Egyptian
sacnfices. All manner of offerings were often identified with the eye
of Horus'. According to the myth this was injured and lost, but after-
wards restored, so that the offering of it has a happy significance. The
'eye' was also identified with the royal crown and its presentation to
the. King ~ the l~ving. Horus was therefore an act of homage, giving
dehght to Its receJVer; m the same way, offerings which were identified
with the 'eye of Horus', even in non-royal ceremonies doubdess
carried some of this nuance of honour and satisfaction. The two con-
trasting lines of approach in Egyptian sacrifices- and the second is
basically the pleasing food-offering- are sometimes present in the very
same litu~ical statement. An offering of parts of animals, for example, is
accompamed by these words of the sem-priest: 'I bring to thee the Eye
ofHorus before thee, I bring to thee all the things hated by Osiris-N.' 1
In his reference to the souls of wicked and unjust men Plutarch seems
to leave the prototype of Seth-Typhon and his followers; but of course
an element of euhemerism is present, as we know there is in me allu-
sions to Seth as an early king.1 In 6, 3 53 B a similar interpretation is
given of libations of wine. When he talks of the souls of these men
be~ng transfonned by removal into other bodies, that is, those of
anamals, Plutarch may be reflecting the episode of the metamorphosis
of Seth and his followers into various animals, almough this is not
involved in sacrificial fonnulae; see 71., 379Ef. and notes.
P I66, I ol aiJipaytcrral] Herodotus, l., 38 says that me examination
of the bulls ~f Epaphus (Apis) is carried out by 'one of the priests
allotted to thts task and that he marks the approved animal by rolling
papyrus round its hams and placing sealing clay on the papyrus which
he then stamps with a signet-ring. Such priests were called aljlpaytcrraf
('sealers') according to Plutarch. Otto, PT r, 84 shows that the terms
1-lc:x'Xoa'Ppaytcrral (lit. 'sealers of calves') and lepoiJOCJ}(oaiJipaytO"TCX{
(ht. 'sealers of sacred calves') are used in papyri,3 and he believes that
1
Schiaparelli, 1/ Lihro dei FUJJera/4 u, 171 ( = Turin, 13, 2.4-5).
; In eh. 13 Typhon is at least the brother of King Osiris; cf. u, 359.
Otto, PTr, 84,0.4 cites BGUJ, 150,6; P. Oxy. J, 4G, n; P. Grenf. n,6 ,
4
I; P. Gen. 31, I; Gr. P. Strassb. I 105 ( = Reitzenstein Zwei religions-
cf.
geschicluliclze Fragen, p. 7, n. 4), as well as some others. also Porph. De
Aim. z. SS = HF 73 and 4 7 (quoting Chaeremon) = HF 181; Clem.
Alex. Strom. 6, 4 36. l. = H F 373 For the earlier attestation of these
priestly officials see Kees, Priesurtum, 241 f.
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER Jl
they were a special category of stolists, who had general charge of cult
requisites. In his description of the sacrificial rites Herodotus, 2. 39 says
that many curses were invoked on the animal's head which was then sold
to Greeks in the market; or, if no Greeks are available, the head is
thrown into the river. Plutarch differs in his statement that the second
possibility was the earlier custom. In a description of crocodile-worship
Aelian, NA 10. 21 says that the Ombites used to throw the heads of
sacrificed animals for them to eat. Both Aelian and Herodotus state that
the Egyptians did not eat of the heads of such animals, but in texts
referring to sacrifices the head is sometimes included with the other
members which are described as being distributed after the cutting of
the body.1 In the Liturgy of Funerary Offerings, published by Schia-
parelli, and partly by E. Otto, the formula relating to ~e sacri~ce of
goats, gazelles and geese regularly refers to their beheadmg, but m ~e
case of bulls this is not usually included. What does agree wtth
Plutarch's statement is the fact that in the case of all these animals it is
the foreleg and heart that are regularly offered, whereas the head is not.,
The invocation of special curses against the head is not recorded, and
in this matter Plutarch and Herodotus seem to be echoing the idea of
the scapegoat which is found among the Jews and other peoples, but
not apparently among the Egyptians) Nor do the Egyptian sources
attest a throwing away of the head or its being sold. If these details are
as yet unconfirmed, Plutarch's description (following Castor) of the
seal as depicting a man on his knees with his hands tied behind h~s b~ck
tallies closely with the Egyptian hieroglyph used as a determmauve
I schott, Urk. VI, 79ff ('Dismembering the Evil One' beginning, 'Thy head
is given to Horus'). In a papyrus of the Roman era. the sacrifi.ce of a ng~
bull of Upper Egypt is said to begin thus: 'Its head IS cut off, Its foreleg IS
cut out, its heart is taken out.' See Daressy, ASAE 13 (1913), 2.64 =
GoMnischeff, CCG, Papyrus Hilratiques, no. S8oJ6, P 2.SS . supply an instance.
2 cf. Diimichen, Der Grahpalast des Patuamenap, I( (x88s), pi. I, lxnes I ff.;
E. Otto, Das iigyptisclre MunJOjfnungsritual, 1, scene 2.3, p. 44 and 1I ,73 ff.
(' Herauslosen seines Schenkels, Herausnehmen seines Henens '); scene 43,
u, 1o2.ff. According to Pyr. I 549a-h the head, tail, hands and feet of the
Sethian bull are to be given to Anubis and Osiris, and Kees, Kulturg. 70
with n. 6 argues that the insignificance of these parts is implied, since the
jackal-gods of the dead receive d1em. It is true d1at these parts are named
at the end; but the gods involved are important.
3 Lev. 16. 11; E. Rohde, Psyche, n, 78; Wiedemann, HJt.ll, I86.
COMMENTARY CHAPTER JI
in the word s~l, rebel and !Jfty, 'enemy'.1 Further, such depictions of
shackled capaves figured prominently in representations connected
with the cursing and condemnation of enemies., In a sacrificial context
~t impli~d the identity of the victim with Seth. While many clay seal-
tmpressmns have been found in connexion with letters mummy
wrappings and temple-doors, the type mentioned by Cast~r has not
been. exempli~ed in extant material,3 although an approach is made by a
seal m the Crura Museum QE 68o8o) to which Derchain kindly draws
my attention; it depicts nine bound prisoners beneath a jackal.
P 166, 3 Kacrroop] This remark probably comes from the work
Concerning the Nile (flepi TOO NeiAov) which Castor of Rhodes (i s.c.)
wrote. He was, according to the Suda s.v. Kacrroop 'P6Stos - Jacoby,
FGrH 250 T 1, the author also of works on Babylon and on the
rhetorical art. See Jacoby ad loc. cit. and also ad 250 fr. 17 (the present
statement).
p. 166, 71i~1v] For the sense of 'lust, lewdness' cf. QEaest. conv.
3.6.4, 654E; Theognis, 379; Xen. Cyr. 8. 4 14. Seth's sexual excesses are
portrayed mainly in the story of his intercourse with Horus in the
Kahun Papyrus and in The ContenJings ofHorus and Set!t (P. Chester
Beatty .1). I~ the latter narrative (6, sff.) he is also said to be wildly in
~ove wtth Ists when she appears as a beauteous maid; and a suggestion
IS made (3, 4ff.) that he be given two wives, 'Anat and Astarte. His
treattnent of 'Anat in P. Chester Beatty vu, vs. I, sff. recalls his
homosexual tendencies.4 In these contexts, however, he is not asinine.
His 'stupidity' is exemplified in The Comendings where he is a loutish
figure and is duped by Isis. The probable cause of Seth-Typhon's
association with the ass is discussed above, note ad p. 164, 6.
1
Gardiner, Sign-list AIJ. Wiedemann, HJt.II, I8z says that it is also one
of the determinatives of sm/, 'slaughter'; but Wh. IV, 112.-3 does not
2
Sethe,Die Achtungfiindliclzer Fiirsten, Vollcer unJ Dinge usw. (Ahh. Berlin,
192.6); Posener, Princes et Pays d'Asie et Je Nuhie (Brussels, 1940), 17.
~o: the magical sign~ficance of sealing see Eitrem, P. Oslo. 1, p. 40. The
Ritual of overthrowmg Seth and his followers' begins with an instruction
to bring an image of Seth made of red wax, 'on the breast of which his
name is inscribed'. (Schott, Urk. VI, 5, 6f.)
3 Wiedemann, HJt.IJ, 182.
4
Cf. W. R. Dawson, ]EA 11 (1936), 107; J. Gwyn Griffiths, ]WC/ n
(1959), 367; A. A. Barb, ihiJ. J68ff.
GDI
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 31
p. 166,8 TOV TWxov] In u, 355c the name 'Sword ' is said to have
been assigned to him, but the allusi?n agrees with the present ?ne in
stating that he slaughtered the Apts~bull. Perhaps, however, 1t was
Darius 11 who was called 'Sword ': see note ad p. 134, 5 Artaxerxes III
will then be intended here. His accession is dated by Kienitz, G~
schichte, 99 to 359-358 s.c. Aelian, NA xo. :2.8 also says that Okhus
slew the Apis, and adds that he deified the ass. It is possibl7 that by the
time of Artaxerxes Ill the Persian kings had abandoned m Egypt an
earlier policy of tolerance; see Wilcken, Chrestomathie, 1, x (x9n),
p. 9:2.; Morenz in FS. F. Zucker(Berlin, 1954), 181. See further the notes
ad p. 134, 5 and p. 188, 11.
p. 166, xo &lvoov] Deinon or Dinon of Colophon (jl. ~oo s:c.) was
the father of Cleitarchus of Alexandria, the Alexander~htstonan, and
the author of a lengthy work on the Persians which was used by
Plutarch in his life of Artaxerxes: see FHG n, 88ff. and Schwartz, PW
s.v. Dinon no. :2. (1905), 654 Plutarch has eight other quotations from
him see Helmbold and O'Neil, PQ :2.3 and FGrH m c 69o, PP p6ff.
p: 166 IJ-14 Ta 'lov6aiKa] Hierosolymus and Judaeus are dearly
eponym~ of Jerusalem and Judaea or the Jewish people, while the
seven~day flight of Typhon refers to the ~even-day w~ or ~abbath
of the Jews, a system which contrasted wtth the E~tJan umt of ten
days. 1 The attempt to link the history of the Jews wtth the legend. of
Typhon would suggest an anti~Jewish source; and Typhon's connexton
with the ass lent a convenient handle to this urge, since the Jews were
charged with worshipping the ass. Indeed a parall:l . to ~lutarch's
statement here is found in Tacitus, Hut. S :2.-4, where tt IS satd that the
Jews came from Egypt during the reign of Isis un~er the l~dership of
Hierosolymus and Judah; Tacitus goes on to descnbe a Jewtsh ~odus
from Egypt under Moses, who received help, we~ told, when :n need
of water, from a flock of wild asses; then, after a JOUrney of stx days,
on the seventh they took possession of a new land, and Moses con~
crated an image of an ass in the innermost part of a temple whi~h was
built.a Furthermore, Seth was given Semitic affinities from the nme of
1 These decades were presided over by decan-gods. See Bonnet, Real. I 54;
cf. Caminos, Late~Egyptian Mi.rceUanies, 309 (the expression 'every ten
days'). In the Hellenistic era the decade was adopted by the Greeks; see
B. R. Rees, CR ~ (1955), 143
2 cf. Joseph. c. Ap. %. So; the ass-headed. form in the. v.:ell~known mock~
crucifix suggests that onolatry was ascnbed to Chnsnans also; but see
COMMENTARY CHAPTERS JI-2.
~e Hyksos onwards,1 and this was another factor which helped the
tdea of fathering on him the origin of the whole Jewish nation. An anti~
Jewish writer such as Apion may well have fabricated the story.:
CHAPTER 32.
p. 166, 16 cptAoaocp&rep6v] Plutarch now turns from the daemon~
l?gical approach, which views Typhon as an evil daemon, to interpreta-
nons based on physical allegory. Although Plutarch himself seems to
be the first Greek writerl to use aAAflYopECa> in the sense of 'interpret
allegorically' (cf. 2.8, J62.A-B),4 the practice goes back to Theagenes of
Rhegium and Anaxagoras, and even earlier to Pherecydes of Syros: see
the present writer's study in }EA 53 (1967), 79ff. Two methods are
ascribed to Theagenes by the scholiast on Homer, Il. 2.0. 67: he either
supplied a physical explanation, indicating that by the names of the
gods certain parts of the physical world were meant, or he applied the
divine names to mental qualities. The former method is clearly referred
to here in the cases of Hera and Hephaestus, and the connexion of Hera
and air is manifesdy based on etymology, a favourite handmaid of the
Greek allegorists, as is the connexion of Cronus and time.s In 44,
;68 E Plutarch records a notion that Cronus and Anubis are the same
and it is the concept of time that is the link; see R. Pettauoni, Essays:
eh. IS(' Aion-(K.ronos) Chronos in Egypt'), esp. p. 179. Cornutus, a
younger contemporary of Plutarch, provides in his Theol. Graec. many
B. H. Stricker's fine study, 'Asinarii', OMRO 46 (1965), 58ff. for a
different interpretation.
1
He was identified with Baal and associated with 'Anat and Astarte: see
Morenz, Re/. %50ff.
c~. the view ofNeustadt, Wocla.lcla.rs. Plail. 1907. no. 41, I u6 and that of
2
R1card, quoted by Meunier, p. 1 Io, n. 1, although Apion is not named by
Ricard.
3 Unless Heracleitus, Allegoriae, precedes him. The date of this work is
somewhat uncertain.
4 He also resorts to some of the Platonic vocabulary in alluding to allegory.
He uses alviTTOI'at in 38, 36Gc and 39, 3660. In QJ!omotfo atful. 4, l9E-F
he says that the allegorical interpretations of Homer were formerly called
\nr6vo1at and are now called ahATJyoplat.
S An impossible connexion, of course: see Rose, G/c. Myth. 69, n. 1. But it
is as early as Pherecydes of Syros and was current in Orphic circles: see
Kirk and Raven, Tlae Presocratic Pltilosoplaers, 45 f.
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 32
coMMENTARY CHAPTER Jl.
has been put forward by Breasted, 1 who emphasizes Pyr. s89a where
. lanations of myths on allegorical lines. The
examples of the State ~ h nge of air into fire seems to be related to Osiris-King is named 'Fresh Water'. But it is the fertility associated
birth of Hephaestus as . e c a d b Plutarch in De E ap. De/ph. IS, with the King2 and desiderated in death that may be envisaged here.
the statement ofHeradett~s quot~ thy f . d the death of air is the As a god of the dead, Osiris clearly needed the power to renew the life of
( Th d th f fire 1S the btr o atr, an his subjects, and the attributes of both l;i'apy, the Nile-god, and Neper,
391 c e ea o . downward' process be considered;
birth of water'), if the oppostte ~e m th recorded by Hesiod, Theog. the corn-god, were eventually assigned to him, as well as, probably,
or there may _be an all~t~ ~ ra gav~ birth to Hephaestus without
0 the fertility aspect of the king. For Isis regarded as earth, see Junker,
,. ff. according to w c e Ahaton, 38, and for Typhon as the sea compare the note ad p. 168, 3
9 7
union with Zeus. .~.. "Oa tv] In '1'1 364 A the wiser of the p. 166, 24 rnl 't'OV Nef).ov] The statement that follows dearly con~
6 NeV.ov elvat "1'uV tp J.n ard' cerns the Nile, or Osiris as the Nile. In view of the MS reading rnl Tou
P I 6 , 10. eneralized form of this behef, reg mg
j
priests are srud to hold a more ower of moisture; cf. too J6, 365 B; in Kp6vov, the emendation of Meziriacus is preferable to that of Squire
('Oalp5os) and also to that of Schwartz (rn' cx\rrov), since it explains
Osiris as the whole source an P t which is upheld, see 38, 366 A;
other allusions it is the present statemen sent the Nile in 40, J67B more easily (from the ductus litterarum) the error into which the MSS
er I . H 0 rus who seems to repre , have fallen. A reference to Cronus here is hardly compatible with the
39, 366cn. t ts H F G98 reproduces Plutarch s
Lydus (A.D. vi), De m~d 4 4SA:=tl 9 9 ""' HF 4S9; and Porph. allusion at the end of the chapter to the sea as the 'tear of Cronus '.
statement h ere,. cf. Heho orus, .. '" = HF 471 Eus. op. ctt. . p. I66, :z.fi-..7 1TpOS ~oppav 6e~ta] This is at variance with Egyptian
3 51 modes of thought, which regarded the west as on the right, and the
De imag. ap. Eus. Praep. Evangf. ' u . ge. At Philae (Phot. 152.,
r 1 s-n 0 ourofpassa
3 3 11 reproduces mes ) th Osiris Onnophris is followed, east as on the left; the Egyptian words lmnt and 1/ht are used respectively
text in Junker, Ahaton, JS de ,namet H'apy who creates the corn with with these double meanings. With the former compare Copt. ~ii'f
.
tn an mscnpnon,
bythewor s grea ther W1'th' other allusions quotedb y and Gk. 'Allev&t,s. See Sethe, Die aegyptischen Ausdriiclce fiir rechts und
him' Toge linlcs und die Hieroglyphefl{eichen fiir Westen und Osten (Nachr.
the water w hich ts tn th . . was at this time equated with
, thi uggests at 0 sms Giittingen, 19:u.), 2.07, where a Lower Egyptian origin for the expres-
Junker, toe. ctt., ss . of H'a by Osiris need not be thereby
the Nile-god. The absorpnon p l . pfPhilae the Nile-gods are shown sions is maintained. Plutarch mentions left and right in relation to the
implied; ind~ed, on ~e Grealt . ~ ~~t Plutarch's statement slighdy
0
birth and end of the Nile in QEaest. conv. 8. 8. :z., 72.9B, but without
bringing _thetr offenng~ to ass:th the od of the Nile, rather than with linking them with north and south. It may be, as D. Miiller suggests,
obscures ts the fact that_tt_w ' d 'fi gd l. A well-known picture from that a misinterpretation of pictorial evidence lies behind Plutarch's
the river itself, that Ostrts was t enn e. . water from two jugs. That statement. Geb, the earth-god, is sometimes depicted lying on his back
Philae3 shows l:l'apy in a ~ro~o p~unn~ Junker4 and Bonnet.S The with Nut, the sky-goddess, stretched out above him; see Bonnet,
Osiris is here represented ts the ~~~w ~igh hill in Bigeh is doubly Bilderatlas, no. 2. and Piankoff, Mythological Papyri, I, 48. If Geb's
inscription, however, states at e rd h seems to be a punning face is the east, it may then be argued that the north is on his right and
hidden doubly secret' and the first. ~0 ' p, h and the two the south on his left.
, ' Th e of Osms of course, ts ere, p. 168, 3 Tvtpe;)vos aq>pov] Sir Alan Gardiner referred me to Sethe,
reference to l;l apy. e gravl . ' of Osiris and the Nile-flood
gods are associated. An ear y connexton Dramatische Texte, 138; here comment is made on an allusion in the
Ramesseum Dramatic Papyrus, 33, to the 'spitde' of Seth. Sethe com-
t Junker, Der !Jrosse, Pyloon, ~~ ff:n Phot 11.13 Qunker, Ahaton, 39) suggests pares Pyr. Ssoa, a passage in which the spittle of both Horus and Seth
~ The collocanon t.l apy- 51?s 1
the predominance of :bN~e-I~o~. often reproduced, e.g. Spiegelberg tr. 1
DRT JSB'. ; cf. Kees, Gotterglauhe, 1u.ff. According to Wainwright, Slcy-
; Junker, Ahaton, 37, . Biltk r[as 1~7 and Real. p8, fig. 131 Rel. 99 Osiris in this role replaced the older rain-god Seth.
Blackman, Hdt. 18, fig. 2.; Bonnet, ra , 2
Cf. Pyr. SO'Ja-h (the King is connected with the inundation and with
4 Ahaton, 37 . Sebek), on which see my Origins of Osiris, 97
s Real. ~2.8 ('Osiris als Ntl').
42.1

C OMMENTARY CHAPTER 32
is mentioned as a means of purification along with two kinds of natron.
This comes dose to the possibility of calling salt 'the spitde of Seth '.
For the priests' abstention from salt, see~~ )P.F with note. Hopfner, n,
1)7. cites Lexa, Magie, 108 (P. Hearst) for an allusion to Seth's
bewitching the sea. Bonnet, Real. 711. compares Herodotus, 3. ), who
says that Typhon hid himself in the Serbonian Lake. A special con-
nexion of Seth and the sea is not proved in either case, and the Egyptian
evidence for such a link is somewhat tenuous; see note aci P 17.41 6.
'The activity of their sea-ships' is a mark of foreign countries in Edfou,
VI, 196, 7-9; see Morenz, 'Eine "Naturlehre" in den Sargtexten',
WZKM )4 (FS. Junker, I957), 119-1.9, this on p. Il71 n. 36, a ref. I
owe to D . MUller.
P I68, 7TO ~.uasiV txe\n] cf. Horapollo, I. 44 and Clem. Alex. Strom.
574'4; cf. note above aci p. u6, S.A hieroglyph for a fish(Gardiner,
Sign-list, K:z.) was regularly used as the determinative of the word bwt
(j } C.), abomination', and also sometimes as an ideogram for the
word: see Wh. 1, 453f.
p. 168, 8 w Ia\ tcr:h.) Plutarch has mentioned a?other inscri~tion ~t
Sais in 9, 354c. Clem. Alex. Strom. S 7 41. 4 descnbes one at D10spo~s
(Thebes) which is similar to that reported here, except that a crocodtle
is mentioned instead of a hippopotamus. Cobet's restoration of the
76-letter lacuna indicated by E follows the thought and wording of the
description in Clem. Alex. The signs referred to-~~~~
could be read separately, according to Plutarch's first account, as !rei,
l/w ntr 1 bwt and db with various possible alternatives.~ Plutarch's
' s;mboiical' ~planarlon cannot be derived from these signs in the
manner denoted by him, but Ptolemaic writing in its condensed or
cryptic form might indicate some of the meanings thus.3 The word bwt
1 The article in TOv BE6v is doubtless generic. To have this meaning the
falcon must be depicted on a perch. It is very common in this sense both as
an ideogram and a determinative. . 4 Cf. Conf!ict, 89 ff. The element of mother-incest in the festival of Papremis,
% There are errors in Hopfner's list (n, lB) He seems to have taken /.1ft],
'a child' from Budge's Egn. Diet. Wh. does not know it, nor CJC in the sense
given by Hopfner. The latter word has a crocodile as detenninative ( Wh.
1, 18::.).
3 See Fainnan ASAE 43 (1943), 193-310; Iversen, Fragments of a Hiero-
glyphic Diet.' 13 refers to 'the utterly un-Egyptian .late conce~tion of ?te
"symbolic" nature of the hieroglyphs '. The use of tdeograms m Egypnan
did, however, give the theory some basis.
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 32.
s
could be written with the fish-sign alone ( Wh. I, 4 3) with the meaning
howe~er,.of'abomination '. In this case the clause .;hamelessness is th~
abomt~atton of the god' would involve nir coming after hwt r and not
b.efore It as Plutarch indicates. No word written with a hipp~potamus
sgn seems to mean 'shamelessness'. The head of a hippopotamus
?c~~ as the de~erminati~e.of a word lt which Gardiner translates as
striki~g power ; but th1s xs removed from &vai!ieaa. As for the first
two hieroglyphs mentioned by Plutarch, they might occur in the
phr:ase m.rw wrw (Wb. u, 139, 8--9), 'children of the great ones' in
whtch case Plutarch's interpretation is amiss.3 But enough is righ; to
show that he was in contact with a source to which the hieroglyphs
were not unfamiliar.
P 168, 14 aval6etav} ~f. Aelian, NA 7 19; Porph. De Abst. 3 zJ;
Horapollo, ~ .sG. The hippopotamus is said in so, 371 B to represent
Seth, ~nd thts ts often exemplified in the texts of the Ptolemaic period;
the htppopotamus-goddess, Thoueris, according to 19, 358c was a
concubme of Typhon. On Seth's sexual shamelessness see note ad
P 166, 7 The two details mentioned here, patricide and mother-incest
seem to be ascribed neither to Seth nor to the hippopotamus,4 '
P 168, 16 Kp6vov SCo<pvovJ Cronus was sometimes held to have
sway over moisture,S a domain more usually allotted to Poseidon. In
6~, . 378E Plutarch refers to people who called the winter Cronus
(Clnn~ The~pompus). For the expression cf. Pausanias, 10. 32.. 1 g
(th~ mundatton is said to be caused by the tears of Isis); see also
~tncker, De Over~troming van de Nijl, 9 Merkelbach, Isisftste, 1 4 gives
1t too much prommence; cf. my review, ZD M G us (1965 ), 348 f.
: Cf. Uric. IV1 390, 16 <.J}c& jl) and JV, 490, I6.
]EA 34 (1948), 14; cf. Id. Sign-list F3.
3 Frunn~n,
ASAE 43 (1943), 2.49 states that in the Ptolemaic writing'} has
someum~ the value nn. This does not yield a meaning suited to Plutarch's
explanatlon.
as descn~e~ .by Herodotus, l.. GJ, is more easily attributed to Horus.
5 See Max~mtlian Mayer in Roscher, Lex. s.v. K.ronos ( 18 ), 1471 ff. He
93
q~otes Schol. Verg. Georg. I. nquotl Saturnus umoris totius etfrigoris tleus
m ..Ciem. A:lex. Strom. 5 8. 50. 1 ascribes to Orphics and Pythagoreans the
belief menuoned by Plutarch (Kp6vov St SCrl<pvov Tl'}v e&Aaacrav a:J..A
poihri'Es). TIYo-
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 33
CHAPTER 33
p. 168, 2.1 -niv Vyp01fotov apxi}v] Cf. Origen, C. Cels. ~ 38.- HF
439f.; Hippolytus, Ref. 5 7 2.3 =- HF 435 eeatptv5e A!yovaw vSr..>p);
Sallustius De diis et mund. 4; who refers to this kind of view as 'ma-
terial' (v~tK6s) and 'the worst' (eaxcrros). Nock ad Sallustius, loc. cit.
(p. xlviii, n. 44) compares P. Leid. J. 384, col. vii, 2.3 (""' PGM Il.,
l.J4, c. A. D. lOO): !yoo eh.n Oatpts 0 KCXAOVIJ.E\10S v&lp, eyoo el~l ylcns 1'1
I<CXAovJ.LM15p6aos, where the interpretation oflsis as 'dew' differs from
the present one. The water associated with Osiris in the Egyptian cult
included that of the Nile inundation, the water of libations in the cult
of the dead, the life-giving effiuxes of the body, and the moisture which
fertilized vegetation. When Plutarch speaks of' the moist p~nciple ~d
power', however, he is using the tenninology of Greek phtlosoph~, m
which the analysis of the world into its primal elements or pnnctples
was an early preoccupation. Egyptian thought, on the other ha~d'. is
usually concrete.1 Even if the Milesian philosophers used &pxn m 1ts
first sense of' origin', so that Thales found the' origin' of the world in
water Anaximander in the limitless, and Anaximenes in air, an easily
perce~tible development gave the word its l~ter sense of '~a~erial
substratum'.~ It is noteworthy that the Egypnans saw the ongtn of
creation in the waters of Nun and not in any Osirian connexion.l
Typhon, be it noted, although still identified with the sea, is explained
as the dry, fiery and scorching element which is hostile ~o moisture, a
statement which agrees with the view that the sea denves from fire
(7, 3 53 E !K 1tVp6s, following the MSS).
1 B. H. Stricker, De grote Zeeslang (Leiden, 19n), 2off. argues that con~epts
propagated by the Greek philosophers were known t~ the Egypnans,
namely' The world is one; the world is eternal; the wo~ld ~~bad; th~ world
is not'. It is noteworthy, none the less, that the Egypnan sdeas are m each
case given a pictorial or mythological expression.
~ Cf. A. M. Frenkian, L'Orient et les origines tie l'itllalismc suhjertif tlans la
pensee europeenne (Paris, 1946), ut. On p. 109 he combats Bumet's v~ew
that &pxli in the sense of 'primordial matter' was not used by the earliest
Greek thinkers. Cf. Guthrie, A Hist. ofGic. Philosophy, I, ~7 Kirk in Kirk
and Raven, The Presoc:ratic: Philosophers, 89 and 91 f. denies to Thales the
sense of 'material principle' in his theory about water.
3 See J. A. Wilson in Frankfort et a/. Before Philosophy, ~9ff. and.~ and
H. A. Frankfort, ihitl. 2~off. (where, however, a too soph1sncated
attitude is ascribed to Thales).
C OMMENTARY CHAPTER 33
P _r68~ 2~ 1tVppO){POW] The adjective seems to be influenced by
1tVpr..>5esm hne~3, b~t cf. the use of the adjectiveofTyphon in 31 , J6JA
and the expressiOn T1J ~ llVppOV in u, 359E. The second adjective,
1r6pc.>xpov, 'pale, sallow', seems to be attested only once elsewhere-a
reason against deleting it here.
p. t68, 26 ~cl'yxpow] Cf. u, 3S9E and note.
P 170, 4 MVEOtvJ Diodorus Sic. I. 2.1. 10 records the view that both
Apis and Mnevis bulls were consecrated to Osiris, but Porphyryr ap.
Eus. Praep. Evang. 3 I 3 I f. states that the Mnevis was sacred to the
sun and the apis to the moon; cf. Aelian, NA 11. 11. Strabo, 17, s03
and 8os r~fers. to the .worship of the Mnevis bull at Heliopolis with-
out entenng mto th1s question. Hopfner, u, 18 wishes to delete
~luta~~s a!lu~ion to a belief that the Mnevis was the father of the A pis
smce lt 1s Sill~ 1? 43, J68s-c that the Apis is engendered by the light of
the moon striking a cow. The deletion is not needed since the words
lvt~l 5e.are a :.ufficient suggestion that this is not Plutarch's own view.
It _tS. W1th Re -Atum, the god of Heliopolis, that the Mnevis bull is
ongmally and firmly bound up. Atum himself is once called 'the bull
of Heliopolis ';: the Mnevis is called 'lord of heaven '.3 The Egyptian
name of ~e god ~s Mr-wr, pronounced Mnewe eventually; a
fonn Mnl1s on~e wrrtten.4 His connexion with Osiris was not by any
means as promment as that of the Apis. Upon his death the Mnevis
bec:a~e Mnevis-Osiris, with no implication of a special link with
Osms. The name Mnevis-Wen-nefer might on the other hand
~eto~en such a link. E. OttoS is doubtful ~ to whether Osiris i~
mphcated, and suggests that the sacred bull Onouphis, a fonn ofWen-
nefer or Onnophris mentioned by Aelian, N A u. 11, may be intended.
As for the grea.ter popularity of the Apis-bull, this is partly explained
by the greater Importance of Memphis, its home.
P 170, 7 XT)J,Ifav] Herodotus, 2.. 12. also refers to Egypt as 'black-
1 Unlike Plutarch Porphyry says that it is the action of the sun (not of
water) that produces the blackness.
1
Brugsch, Geogr.lnschr. r, l.57, Taf. 47 (1244); cf. Pyr. 716e. See further
Eberhard Otto, Stierlculte, 38.
~ E. Ot~o, i/Jitl. 4 E. Otto~ op. c:it. 34, following Sethe.
Op. c:~t. 4~ Rusch, PW s.v. MneVJs (1932), 2288 points to examples of
Mnevts being accompanied by Osirian symbols and epithets. For Mnevis
as a red bull see Morenz, 'Rote Stiere' in Agypto/ogisc:lre Stutlien (FS.
Grapow, 1955), 2)8-43, esp. 241 f.
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 34
COMMENTARY CHAPTERS 33-4
The Egyptians assigned two barks to the sun od
soiled' (~ayyalOS); cf. 'the land of the black-footed ones' (MeAa\,l- for use in the day and the .., k
.
b fi -g. , the M'andjet-boat
.mes etet- oat or use 10 th h 1
1T0Bc.>v x.t:>pa), Schol. ad Plat. Tim. 1.5 B, 'the black land', P. Mag. sentanon from the late period: shows the e ntg t. A repre-
Paris - PGM 4, 799f.; Verg. Georg. 4 1.93 The Egyptian name was moment when the goddess of th h two boats meenng at the
Kemet (Wb. v, Iz6), and it denoted' the black or dark land'1 as opposed hands over the sun-disk to the g::a.est, wf ~stands in the night-bark,
to 'the red land' of the adjacent deserts. Dr J. R. Harris points out the other boat.3 The journeys of both~s oks e ~ho i~ standing in
eas;.
that the word km 'may cover certain nuances of brown as well as which various deities were . d ar h were lvtded mto hours to
ass1gne ... T e Egyp . .
black'. In this case it refers to the dark verdure of cultivated land. The moon-god also as voyaging in a bark.S p h nans unagmed the
aspirate in Xttllla is explained by the fact that the Lower Egyptian dia- extending the remark to i cl d ll d orp yry was probably right in
. n u e a go s. The explanati h
lect sometimes aspirated k, cf. Copt. B. :X.R.Ml alongside of S.A. K.H.M.l! o f course different from that fti d b l on, owever, IS
and F. K.H.M.l; see Ebers, Korpertheile, 33 and Crum, Copt. Diet. uo. followed him. It is simply that i~ Eere Y p utarch and writers who
mainly by water 6 and the gypt ~vel and transport were done
That the phrase' like the black part (pupil) of the eye' should be taken contrast the Greeks, d hcustom was proJected to the celestial life. By
with Khemia rather than with the previous phrase is strongly suggested
S I n~ts, an so Homer frequently
, use orses and cha . d
by the parallels adduced by Ebers in his Kiirpertheile (Ahh. Miinchen, describes Helius in his cha .
Frenkian9 calls . 7
not. e ene IS also placed in a chariot 8
I897) to which Sir Alan Gardiner drew my attention. A text from
(Di?g. Laert. 9 ?-I I) who sees the s:r ~ erent concept in Heradeitus
attennon to the rath d"fti
Edfu (Ebers, pp. 33f. omits the reference) connects Kemet (Egypt)
with the pupil (ijd.) of the eye of Osiris. But it is of the eye of Horus
that mention is most often made in this association. Ebers takes
e~utpped with fire. But aKa~aJ bo:.~, ?) ~:nand
('
Kirk, Heraclitus: the Cosmic Fragment.r (C IS b ~dwor 1
:e
stars as barks
used: see G. S.
allusions to 'the black eye'l of Horus as involving the daily light of the P 17o, 13 oll pov tOO-rrep eaAi) ] Il am n ge, 954), 269ff.
11
'origin of the gods' (Ele&v m ; f.. I4 201 names Oceanus as the
sun (when removed). The adjectives 'warm and moist' suggest an
and Vergil, Georg. 4 382 ~ ow, c. 11. '4 146 (ytvE<nS 1TcXvnCJat)
enjoyable climate, the second adjective referring to the soil rather than , ceanumque patrem rerum. The Homeric
the atmosphere. The stonnless and cloudless sky of Egypt is praised in
Kees, Gotterglauhe, 23~' ff.. 5h OW5 how they were identified .th th
PSI vn, 844, zff.; cf. E. Heitsch in Mus. Helv. I7 (I96o), I85ff. eyes of the sun-god. W1 e two

CHAPTER 34
: :~~:~:~:;:~:5 1 J/;;
~ud~e, From Fetish to God, 137 r.
in Mythological Papyr~ I (~ndm~ o~er of the sun-disk see N. Rambova
p. I7o, I I 1TAolols] Cf. Clem. Alex. Strom. S 7 4I. 1 (of the sun); curious variant from the papyew foJch I9S7), 37 ff. On P 39t fig. 22. a
drawn by jackals; cf. A. Scha:s ~e o~su-Renep s~ows the bark being
to, fig. 6 and Heerma van Voss 'JE~tu(che S)onnenlteder (Berlin, 19'1.1),
Porphyr. De Antr. Nymph. IO (of all Egyptian deities); Euseb. Praep.
Evang. 3 I 1. 48 (of the sun); Martianus Capella, De nuptiis Philolog. et 1 1
4 See A p k ff. . ' 4 9H , 117.
Mercur. 1.. I83f. In the 'Mimaut Papyrus' (A.D. iv) is given a spell to s E.g. Pe~an ~ah Le Lrvre du Jour et de la Nuit (Cairo, I94l).
stop the sacred bark of the sun-god (PGM 3, 9Sff.). The 'Vision of e, un, Guroh and Hawara (London 8 ) I
where the sickle under the dt"5k shows that the moo I 90,
p. lJ, no. 75,
Mandulis', a Greek text from Talmis (Kalabsha) in Nubia, alludes to examp es see Bonnet, Real. . n ts meant. For other
I
.
the sun-god Mandulis 'making the bark pass' along the golden river.3 6
470
:~:~';(;~1n ~;~~: i~ ~:;;;sfits that the shrine in the form of a boat
5 1
1 Lexicograplaical Studies in Ancient Egyptian Minerals, :u6. 5
79 rightly finds its origin in the ea~ure of the sun-cult'. Bonnet, Real.
7 At night he~...~ .
l For km of the dark pupil of the eye see Grapow, Anatomie und Physio/ogie . d ge.nera resort to travel by water.
(Berlin, I9H), 35 The word Jfd was used for the iris with the pupil: see a Glc. Myth.. ... ..., amagtne as floanng in 0 cean an a huge cup: see Rose,
van Deines and Westendorf, Worterhuch der medi{inischen Texte, I 33
Homeric H't/t'ftiU 31. n-to
(Berlin, 1961), 74(.). 9 L' . ,... -- 7
3 Accepting Hans Lewy's restoration in ASAE 44 (1944), 131-32- See also Onent et les origines Je /'iJlalisme suhjectif, IJ.
A. D. Nock in Harv. Tlteol. Rev. 27 (1934), 6tlf.
426
 C OMMENTARY CHAPTERS 34- 5
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 34
1 ? siris ~n Philae Phot. 130 ( = Junker, Ahaton, 38). Since Osiris became
allusions are not necessarily cosmological. According to Kirk, they
m~reasm~ly the vehid~ o~ a belief in fertility, the ascription of even
'could imply no more than that the river of 0 keanos is the source of all this creanve role to h1m IS easily understandable. The reference to
fresh water'. It was Thales who first taught the Greeks, that since the
Tethys as Isis is an addend~m :'hi~h probably arises from the grouping
earth floats on water the source of everything should be sought in
of Oceanus a~d Tethys, hi.s Wife, m the two Homeric verses cited.
water.~ The first idea ;eminds one of the idea of the earth found in both p. 170, .lo Y~1p1v]. Wh1le the urge to mention this form is clearly
Egypt and Babylon, and Kirk3 puts forward as ~conjecture th: sugges- etymological, smce u provides a link with both vaat 'to rain' and
tion that Thales was indebted to Egypt for thts element of hts world-
4 Dionysu~, as well as :'ith e\ipeats (if wpmoos is sound), the form
picture'. That Thales visited Egypt need not be questioned and the here ascnbed to Hellamcus of Lesbos is authentic. In fact it probably
Egyptian view of the world was that it floated on wat~r.S Although a
approaches the sound of the Egyptian Wslr more nearly than the form
not dissimilar concept prevailed among the Babylomans, a debt to "Oatpts. Hellanicus of Lesbos was a contemporary of Herodotus who
Egypt seems indicated by the tradition of the visit to Egypt. ~hat
w~ote an Aegyptiaca. His claim to have heard the pronunciation of
should be nevertheless conceded is that Thales used the concept m a pnests may well be true; cf. the forms Ovatp and Ovatpt on engraved
way quite unlike that found in Egyptian texts. Derivi~g it f~om stones: Delatte-Derchain, Les intailles magiques grlco-lgyptienne.r,
mythology, he applied it in a sense which pioneered a phtlosophtcal,
6 nos. 98 and 99
as opposed to a mythological, point of view.
p. o, 1 -1~ Tov yap 'Wt<SXVbv "Oatpw] The true parallels~ Nun,
17 4
the god of the primeval waters, from whose chaos the first ptece of
CHAPTER 35
P 170, lJ 0 mrros] The reason given in IJ, JS6A-B for the identifica-
solid creation was thought to emerge as the primeval hill. Nun is not
ti?n of Osi~s. ~nd. Dionysus by the Greeks is that they were both
unexpectedly called 'the father of the gods' ,7 and is identified with psoneers of CIVIhzanon, peace and law. This image we saw to have been
1 The Presocratic Philosophers (Cambridge, 1957), 16. R. Anthes i~ P1PS superimposed on the Egyptian god by Greek tradition. Herodotus, 2
( 6 ), 76 says of Thales: 'The idea might have come to. htm et~h~r 48 finds a phallic element common to the two cults. Diodorus Sic. I. lJ.
107 19 3the Greek idea of Okeanos or from the heirs of o:oa~nt Astattc
through I ff. says that Orpheus transferred the rites of Dionysus from Egypt to
civilizations but certainly more clearly and more authontauvely from ?ree~e ~d ~at the god was a kind of 'epiphany' of Osiris. The
Egypt, whe;e he knew it was transmitted directly from earliest times.' See tdennficanon 1s posited without detailed reasons by Charax of Per-
also n. ad p. 130, :1.4 above. . ~amon (A.D. ii) ap. Anonym. De incred. 16 = HF 2.94; Porphyr. De
~ Kirk and Raven, op. cit. 87 ff.; Diels-Kran:r. tJ A 12. ( = Anstot. Metaph.
unag. ap. Euseb. Praep. Evang. 3 11. so-1, after referring to it,
A 9836 where J/. 14. :1.01 is also referred to: 'Ult<Eav6v 'TE yap Ka\ Tf\6W
3 stresses the power of Osiris over fertility and his identity with the Nile.
hfo(f\O'a\1 Tfi~ yEV{O'Ec.l) nanpas).
C?smas of Jerus~lem (A. D. viii) in H F741 records the view that just as
3 Op. cit. 91. . . D10nysus was dtsmembered by the Titans, so was Osiris by Typhon;
4 Cf. w. Nestle, PW s.v. Thales no. 1 (1934), 12.11; Ktrk, op. cu. 71
s Its shape is often assumed to have bee~ imagined as round, but there ts cf. the Suda, s.v. "Oa1pts. The evidence for the recognition of this
some doubt about this: see J. Gwyn Gnffiths, ]EA 46 (19Go), u:z.-3. identification in ritual practice is not strong. A Greek commander of a
6 When the present writer discussed cllis Plutarchean passage in a p~per ~v~ ga~on at ~yene in the reign ofPtolemy VI Philometor (tBI-146 u.c.)
at the International Congress of Orientalists, held at Moscow Umverstty tn menttons Dton~sus and Petempamentis as equivalent, the latter being
August 196o, Dr A. Dobrovits expressed the contrary vie": that the doubtless a vanant of Khentamenthes, the Osirian epithet: see OG/S
Egyptians did indulge in philosophi.cal thought. ~r B. H. Stncker sup- I I I. 1 Since Dionysus was held to be the mythic ancestor of the
ported this view in private conversauon. But the evtdence has not, so. far, Ptolemaic dynasty, his cult was officially much to the fore,"' but there
been produced. cf. supra P 424, n. I and Acta, XXVth lnternattonal
Congress of Orientalists, 1 (Moscow, 196:z.), 103. : C~. E. Bevan, Hist. Ptol. Eg. 294f.; Otto, PT 1, u6.

1 Kees, Gotterglauhe, :1.15.

Vtsser, Giitter und Ku/re, 35
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 35
1
is no trace of an association with Osiris. Otto, PT u, 2.68 states that a
conscious urge to promote identifications of Egyptian and Greek gods
was a very probable part of Ptolemaic policy, but. the only evidence he
offers is literary.l P. Foucart3 has attempted to show that the cult of
Dionysus in Attica was really an importation of the cult of Osiris. His
attempt was not well received,4 for the origins of Dionysus are to be
sought elsewhere.
p. 170, .14 &f>xTJtSa] The most sacred acts of the Dionysiac ritual
took place by night and only women and girls, who were called Maenads,
Thyiads, Bacchae and Lenae, were allowed to take part. According to
the myth, Castalius, a native of Delphi, had a daughter Thyia who
became the first priestess of Dionysus and who gave her name to the
Thyiads.S A. D. Keramopoullos6 has shown that the title given in
Delphic inscriptions to the leader of the Thyiads was apxTJts. He would
read &f>xTltSa here and in QJ!aest. Graec. n, .193F apxflt5 instead of
apxTJYOs in the expression '1'1 [Se] Twv 9viaSoov ciPXTlYOs The latter term,
nevertheless, can remain as a synonym. In our passage C:pxtJtSa is
convincing. The Thyiads probably derived their name from 'the wild
rushing dance of the Maenads',7 of which the verb evoo, 'rage, rave',
might be used. That Clea could have been not only the head of the
college ofThyiads but also an initiate, probably a priestess even (see note
ad p. tt8, I), of the Osirian religion was not untypical of the tolerance
engendered by the syncretism of the age; cf. the role of Herodes in
OGIS u I, although a unity is there suggested by an avowed equation
1
Hopfner, u, t6I states that 'youthful Oshis' occurs in a hieroglyphic
inscription as an equivalent of Ntos 6t6waos, a title of Ptolemy XIII. He
cites Budge, A History of Egypt, 8 (1901), 77, where Wsir ~wn occurs in
the first cartouche of line 5 of a sepulchral stela. That it was intended as ;m
equivalent of N{os 6t6waos is not at all certain.
2
He refers in PT u, 268, n. 2 to Diod. Sic. 1. 17ff. (which he assumes to
reproduce Hecataeus of Abdera) and the reference to Macedon as the son
of Osiris. In 11, 167, n. 2 he quotes Dio Cassius, so. S 3 (Antony called
himself Dionysus and Osiris, and Cleopatra used the names Selene and
lsis).
3 Le r:ulte Je Dionysos en Attique (M~m. Acad. des losers. 37 (1906)), 1-101.
4 See especially L. Famell, Cults of tlte Greelc States, m, 141 ff.
S Pausanias, 10. 6. 4; Herodotus, 7 178 calls her father Cephisus. Cf. A.
Rapp, 'Die Miinade im griechischen Cultus, in der Kunst und Poesie' in
Rltein. Mus. 17 (1871), 1-u, esp. 4
6 Arch. Ep!J. 1911, 167-8. 7 W. R. Halliday, Tlte Greelc Q:!mions, 71.
430
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 35
of the gods.T.h~ t~ ll9c.xrtw~v, 'consecrated', implies priesthood
rather than tmnauon as an ordmary worshipper; cf. De gen. Socr. 31 ,
597 B TOis &ois ll9c.xrtoo1Jtvov 'consecrated to the gods (on behalf of
his . native land). Plutarch uses ruioo of initiation; see p. I 20, 5.
A ntual practice of dedicating the young to Isis may be implied : see
V. von Gonzenbach, Untersur:hungen {U den Knahenweihen im lsislcult
usw. (Bono, 1957), I I 3 We do not know where Clea was initiated into
the rites of Osiris; further the adjective in 'OatptCXKois IEpois is somewhat
vague, and perhaps the cult ofSarapis is really implied. If Clea's father and
m.other were i?itiates before her, as this statement suggests, this agrees
w1th ~e.plennful evidence for the establishment of the cult of Sarapis
and Is1s m central Greece even before their time. 1
P 172.? 2 &~oVT5 .-rov T Anw] Although Plutarch has been arguing
fo~ the .dennty of ~10nysus and Osiris, he now adduces the alleged
DI~nys1ac elements m the burial of the Apis, a sequence of thought
wh1ch confirms the idea that the phrase 'OatptCXKOi5 lepois refers to the
cult of Sarapis. Elaborate ceremonies were involved in the burial of
the ~pis, as is sho~ by a. demotic guide to the ritual which Spiegelberg1
published and which denves from the Ptolemaic era. Plutarch's O){ESia
was a papyrus-boat,3 but it was showily decorated,4 and the nine
papyrus-rolls to be read on the boat included one dealing with the
~rotection of the N eshmet-bark' and another devoted to 'the glorifica-
non of the drowned Osiris ',sa reminder that A pis, upon his death, was
identified with Osiris. A section devoted to the cult-objects6 does not
include anything in the manner of thyrsus-wands,7 but leopard-skins
B~dy,Rec.Egn. Cults,43: 'Bydte time of Augustus, the cult ofSarapis and
1
lsts had spread dtroughout all Greece and remained the dominant cult there,
very probably until displaced by Christianity'; Fraser, Opusr:. A then. 3
(196_o), 41ff. For the cult of Sarapis and Isis at Tanagra, see Ch. A.
Chnstos, Arclt. Ep/,. 1956, 34-71 on an inscr. of c. 95 u.c. which records a
kind of ' Eisteddfod' of Sarapis-worshippers.
l 'Ein Bruchstiick des Bestattungsrituals der Apisstiere' in ZAS 56 (1910)
1
1-33. 3 Op. cit. 20 with n. 9
4 1
Erman, Re/. (Berlin, 1909), 191, fig. 106. Isis and Nephthys are present
as mourners. In A. S. G riffith' s translation ofErrnan' s first edition (London
.
1907) , 1t appears on p. 171, fig. Bo. '
! 01'.. cit. 20-1. Cf. ~e tradition that the A pis was drowned, n. aJ p. 114, 13.
Sptegelberg, op. cu. 17ff.
7
<l
Unl~ one compares the four dlt ""~j) of sycamore wood, whose
meamng seems very doubtful, see Spiegelberg, p. 15, lines 11-IJ. Hopfner,
431
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 35
were often worn by funerary priests and can be regarded as corres-
ponding to the ve~ploes of the Dionysiac cult. What about the revelry,
the shouts and the movements? The Apis-burial was doubtless full of
feeling, but it was sad. A 'cry of lamentation ' 1 is enjoined; when the
bier is drawn by the priests 'all the people must rruse a gr~at cry of
lamentation' ,3 A very different atmosphere, one would thmk, from
that of the Dionysiac revel.
p. 172, 6 Sto] It seems doubtful whether Plutarch is arguing that ~e
tauric images of Oionysus are derived from Egypt through a con~ext~n
with the burial rites of the Apis. There is therefore an attracuon m
Strijd's correction m.
p.172., 6-ravp6~o~opcpa ay~~o~o:rcx] Cf.Athenaeus, 11.476A; Thrae-
mer in Roscher, Lex. 1 ( 1886), 1149--51; L. R. Famell, The Cults of the
Greek States, v(Oxford, 1909), pls. 39-4oand pp. :z.jo-2.; P. Gardner,The
Types of Greek Coin.r (Cambridge, r88J), pl. 14, no. JI (the ~orned
head of Dionysus on a coin of Seleucus I). There are no undisputed
extant examples, it seems, before the Hellenistic era.
p. 172. 7 al S' 'HAI:IColV yvvalKS] Wilamowitz-Moellendorff, Der
G/auhe d;r Hellenen, u, 73 says that they must have been called Thyiads.4
Doubtless they were a similar group, but in Mu!. virt. Ij, 2.jiE they
are referred to as a college of holy women concerned with Dionys~s
and called The Sixteen. Plutarch gives their invocation to the god m
full in @aest. Graec. 36, 2.99A-B, on which see W. R . Halliday's
admirable note ad loc. (pp. 15Jff.). The short hymn (which Halliday
u, 161 refers to Apuleius, Met. 11. 27 where a priest is said to carry thyrsu~
wands and ivy and tacenJa quaetlam. It is not clear whether Wellmann m
Bermes JI ( 1896), 2.24 regards Plutarch's parallels as established. He
appears to suggest that a conscious Vermiscnung was promoted and that
Hecataeus of Teos (or Abdera) was a prime mover in this matter under the
first Ptolemy. . the sacrifice of the lamb the gate-keeper of Hades was propitiated, and by
Ace. to Diod. Sic. 1. u. 4 Osiris was represented as weanng a cloak of
fawn-skin (lva~J~Ja ... VE~piSos).
1 Spiegelberg, op. cit. 17, line 3 On p. 4, n. 4 he ~o";lpares ~Louvre 2~,
To nMos TOii Amos. A marble relief from AncCJa now m th.e Berbn
Egyptian Museum shows the Apis-bull prominent in an upper regaster and
in the lower register a wild scene of dancing and ecstasy: see Gressmann,
Osiris, fig. 1 and p. 27 and Erman, Rei.'-, fig. t 58, p. :z.68.
3 Op. cit. :z.o, line 15.
4 JbiJ. n. 1 he adds the valuable suggestion that Plutarch is here drawmg
from a 'learned book' on Dionysus.
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 35
translates '.Come in sp~ng~me, 0 D.ionysus, to thy pure temple by
the sea With the Chantes m thy trrun rushing with ox-foot') was
followed by a double chant of the words 'Noble Bull!' Hopfner, 11,
162. makes the remarkable suggestion that the 'ox-foot' of this
invocation must be understood as the god's erect phallus. As a
parallel he refers to the account in Diodorus Sic. r. 85. 3 of how
Egypti:m women lifted their clothes and showed their sexual parts to
the Ap1s-bull. Sexual fertility, it may be admitted, was prominent in
both cults, but the phallic interpretation of 'ox-foot' requires more
evidence.
P 172., 8 'Apyefots ot !3o\I)'EiriJs] Wilamowitz-Moellendorff, Der
Glaube der He//enen, u, 73 finds this impossible to explain with cer-
tainty. Its literal sense 'born of an ox' is not elucidated by any myth
about the birth of Dionysus.' The epithet 'TtXVpoyeviJs is used of the
god in Kern, Orpla. Fr. 297a7. Otherwise the epithets in literature are
not specific about the god's origin, cf. Eur. Bacch. 100 ('TtXVp6KPWV
6e6v) and E. R. Dodds ad loc. and p. xvi where he suggests that the
manifestation as a lion (Homeric Hymns 7 44) may be the oldest of the
god's bestial shapes. Plutarch's allusion to the summoning of Dionysus
from the water with a trumpet-call and to the sacrifice of a lamb for the
gate-keeper clearly involves the story of how the god died and dwelt in
the underworld in winter;l many references in myth and cult connect
him with the sea.3 For the Argives' use of trumpets in a Bacchic festival
cf. QEaest. conv. 4 6. 2, 671 E and the comparison with a Jewish festival.
In the festival of the Anthesteria at Athens Dionysus is depicted as
being drawn in a ship-carriage ;4 a trumpeter also takes part.
' H. Jeanmaire, Dionysos, 50 suggests that an ancient local cult was assimi-
lated in the tauric aspect.
1
With the coming of spring the god was awakened to new life. By means of
means of the trumpet the god was roused from the sleep of death. Cf.
Famell, Cults, v, ISJ-5, where Plutarch's ~vaaos is identified with Lake
Alcyonia nea.r Lema imo which Perseus flung the dead Dionysus; Good-
enough, jewuh. Symbols, 4 (1954), 170; Nilsson, Dionysiac Mysteries, 41.
3 Guthrie, The Greelcs anti their Gotls, 161-3; cf. the vase by Exekias in
Buschor, ?reek. Vase-painting (London, 1921), pi. SI, fig. 93, following
P 102; dascussed (but not reproduced) by R. M. Cook, Greek Painted
. Pottery (London, 196o), 84.
4 L. Deubner, Attische Feste, 101-3 and pi. 11; Jeanmaire, Dionysos, so.
::8 433 GDI
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 35
p. I72, I I ~oo!<pCm)s] C. MUller, FHG IV! 496 bel~eves that the
author of the nepl ' Oaloov was an Argive. 1 To htm he ascnbes the whole
of the passage beginning with a s ~!lcpavi:ls on P I7'1., line I to :0"
An<VITT'IV in line I9 Plutarch has a number o f other references to htm,
see MUller, ihid. and Jacoby, FGrH m B I 5 ff.
p. 171., u TtTCXVt!<Cx] NVI<1iAta, which follows, is a term. use~ especially
of the nocturnal festivals of Dionysus, and so the allus10n m TtTCXVti<O:
must be to the story of how the Titans attacked and killed the child
Zagreus ( = Dionysus), the son of Zeus and Persephone, af~er which
they dismembered and devoured him.1 Zeus destroyed the Tttans, and
from their ashes arose mankind. Zeus had swallowed the heart of
Zagreus and was thus able to engender him again, this .time with
Semele for mother.3 In this tale the episodes of return to bfe and re-
birth will be the reappearance of the Titans as mankind and the second
procreation of Zagreus. In the case of Osiris it is Seth-Ty~hon and his
followers who are responsible for the dismemberment, whtle the return
to life and rebirth concern Osiris himself. It is somewhat remarkable
that Plutarch refers only once elsewhere to Osiris' return to life: this is
in I9, 3580 where he mentions the god's posthu~ous procreation of
Harpocrates. In eh. I 8, when lsis has fo~nd the dtsm~mbered. ~arts of
his body, she simply buries them. But m the Egypnan tradtnon she
heals and revivifies: see e.g. Songs Is is Neph. I41 1.$ ff. ( transl. Faulkner,
]EA n (I936), 13o-I). By-rcaAtyyeveala Plutarch means rebirth in the
sense of reincarnation or transmigration; cf. 72, 379E-F and De esu
cam. 2.. 4, 998c. As applied to Osiris, he perhaps intends this as in-
1 He perhaps lived in the second century o.c.: see W. R. Halliday, The Greek
Q!!estions, nG. Gudeman, PW s.v. Sokrates no. 3 (192.7), 8os suggests
the third century o.c.; cf. Jacoby, FGrH mb 2.off. (aJ JIO).
:a Into fourteen pieces like Osiris, according to Hopfner, u, JGJ. ~ut seven
pieces are mentioned corresponding to the number of the Tttans: see
Wellmann, Hermes 31 (1896), u~ and Paus. 8. 37 s, where the story is
given an origin as early as the sixth century B.C. Cf. Rohde, Psyche, u, 117.
The god's prophet Orpheus, was also said to have been mutilated-at the
hands ofThracian ~omen, see Rose, Gk. Myth. 1.5 5 and Waiter Wili in The
Mysteries, ed. J. Campbell, 69 Festugiere, Rev. Bib/~~. 44 (193~), 378ff.
would ascribe an Egyptian origin to the legend of Dtonysus Zagreus;
cf. n. above on p. 146, l.J
3 Rose, Gk. My tA. p. Cf. De E ap. De/ph. 9, 389A; De esu cam. I. 7,
99Gc. Cf. n. above ad p. 146, 2.3 (the dismembennent of Horus).
434
COMMENTARY C HAPTER 35
volving the role of the Apis as an image of the soul of Osiris; see 2.0,
359B and note; cf. 43, J68B-c.
p. I7'1., 16 TOV f1towaov Ahyava] One form of the legend of Diony-
sus-Zagreus related that when the T itans had tom apart the god's body,
Zeus brought the mutilated members to Apollo and Apollo buried
them at Delphi. 1 The tomb was said to be in the shrine of Apollo-
near the oracle, as Plutarch here says, in other words, near the tripoda
of the Pythian priestesses.
p. I72., I9 ..Ov AtKVhTtv] The epithet occurs only three times,3 and
means 'he who is in the basket', referring to Dionysus as a child.
While this divine child has been often explained as representing the
vegetation which is awakened in the spring, Nilsson4 has conclusively
shown, after a careful examination of this and other passages, that it is
Dionysus in his ascent from the realm of the dead that is meant.
ProclusS says that Hipta, a goddess from Asia Minor, to whom the
49th Orphic hymn is addressed, placed the liknon on her head and
wreathed it with a serpent, thus receiving Dionysus 1<pCX6talos; the
adjective implies, cosmologically, that the god is the heart of the world;
it also refers to the mythic detail of some import which says that the
heart of Dionysus was saved, and that through it Zeus engendered the
second, re-born Dionysus. In the Hellenistic age the /ilcnon is shown
containing fruit and a phallus, and the latter probably symbolizes life-
giving power with a reference to new life after death, as Nilsson6 cogendy
argues, although the fruit must imply the idea of fertility in nature.
A well-known example in art appears in the frescoes of the Pompeian
Villa dei Misteri which come from the end of the Republican period.?
1
Rohde, Psyche, n, IJl., n. 1, cf. r, IJl.f.; Nilsson, Diony.riac Mysteriu, 40.
2
Callimachus ap. Tzetz. aJ Lycoplzr. 2.07; it was the serpent Python that was
buried under the omphalos. See Rohde, Psyche, 1, J)l., n. 1. for refs. to the
burial-places of both; Fontenrose, Pymon, 374ff.
3 The other occurrences are in the Orphic hymns: see Nilsson, Dionysiac
Mysteriu, 38 ff.
4 Loc. cit. Cf. Guthrie, The Greelu and their Gods, 161 f.
S In Plat. Tim. 1, p. 407 Diehl (who reads 'Hippa') ==Kern, Orplr. Fr. 199
Cf. Nilsson, op. cit. 41 ff.
6
Op. cit. 44
7 Nilsson, op. cit. G9, fig. Job; A. Maiuri, Pompeii (Novara, 1951), 83
(discussed but not depicted). It appears in Apuleius, Met. 11. 10 as 'the
golden winnowing-fan' (auream vannum); cf. Berreth, Studien rum Isishuch,
70; Gressmann, Osiris, 11 f.
435
 COMMENTARY CHAPTERS 35-6
p. 172., :u ntvSapos] Fr. IS3 ed. Snell; cf. QEaest. conv. 9 14. 4,
74~ A; Amat. I h 757F (where -rp6nov appears for VOIJ6v). Heyne's
vo116v for v0110V is convincing; but were it not for the other occurrence,
Wyttenbach's y6vov would attract, since it would stand more easily in
apposition to cpyyos. As the text stands, cpyyos might be in apposition
to llt6VV<70S; cf. Sir John Sandys, Pindar (Loeb, I930), Goo, n. I and
6oi, n. 1, where y6vov is mentioned without an attribution to Wytten-
bach. For Dionysus and the moisture of vegetation cf. QEaest. conv. S
3 I, 675 F; 'he is CmiSpiTTlS or "EvSev5pos, the Power in the tree; he is
"Av6tos the blossom-bringer, Kapmos the fruit-bringer, <l>Ae\Js or <l>AECal5
the abundance of life' (E. R. Dodds, EuripiJes, Bacc!tae, x).
p. 172., 2.3f. Sev5pov . 'TI'Tl'Yliv] Both prohibitio~s~ though .not
attested, may have arisen naturally, even with?ut rehgtous sa~cnon,
from conditions of life in Egypt. The prommence of trees m the
funerary cult meant that the religion of Osiris revered them in a
special way. Porphyr. De Aim. 1. 2.1 = HF 464 mentions an Egyptian
saying that it was wrong even to touch plants. Whereas Egypt con-
tained few wells outside the oases, there were wells and sacred lakes
s,
connected with the Nile; cf. 353 A (the Apis is said to be fed from a
'private well') and note. The needs of irrigation involved a constant
urge to promote the spread of Nile water under controlled plans.
Among the 'protestations of innocence' in Spell usof the Book of
the Dead2 is the statement, 'I have not dammed up water in its time'
(i.e. in the time when it should flow or flood).
CHAPTER 36
p. 17 2., 2.5 nav \rypov] Cf. 33, 364A and note; 38, )66A; 49, 371 A-B;
and QEaest. conv. 8. 8. 2., 72.9B. In the last three passages, as in the
present one, the expression 'effiux of Osiris' is referred to. Cf. Songs
Isi.s Neph. 9, 2.6: 'The Nile is the discharge of his body, to nounsh the
nobility and the commoners'; Pyr. 788aff. : 'Thy water belongs to
thee thine inundation belongs to thee, the effiux which has come from
the ~od, the body secretion which has come from Osiris, that thy
hands may be washed therewith.' Here the water of oblation seems to
be identified with the Nile-flood and also with the discharges from the
1 Kees, Ancient Eg. B ff.
3 Nu, 15; cf. Kees, op. cit. 57
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 36
body of the dead Osiris. 1 But other gods too were regarded as bestowers
of water, especially I;l'apy, Sokar,3 and ~ebe~-senewef,3 For the Nile
being regarded in Philae as the efflux of the left leg of Osiris, see Kees,
Gotterglauhe, 408 f.
p. I72., 2.6 -ro v5peiov] Since the genitive -ri.ilv lep(;)v is best construed
with the verb npo~t,4 the meaning must be that the hydreion,
the water-pitcher, is at the head of the procession. This conflicts some-
what with the account given by Apuleius, Met. u. Io-n of the pro-
cession in the Isiac spring-festival at Cenchreae. Here an amphora
(u. Io) is mentioned as being carried, as well as a golden vessel
rounded in the shape of a breast; but special veneration is given to an
urnula, also of gold, which is carried late in the procession ( 11. 11); this
is said to be a 'venerable likeness of the highest god' and to be shaped
with a long narrow mouth and with a handle on which an asp is shown
entwined. Clem. Alex. Strom. 6. 4 37 1 - HF 373 uses the word
vSpeiov,s but in his account the prophet who carries it comes fifth in
the procession. In the Vatican Museum four figures are shown in pro-
cession on a piece of marble relief,6 and the third of these is a bald man
wearing a long dress which reaches down to his ankles and carrying a
pitcher which is probably the Osirian hydreion; cf. a beaker with Isiac
scenes which comes from Pompeii and is now in the Naples Museum:7
a bald man with a cloak around him is shown holding a vessel with
one hand. But several types of vessel could be covered by the term
hydreion. A related idea is seen in Erman, Re/.a 2.71, fig. I6I, with
1
Cf. Breasted, DRT tBff. where a too sweeping application, however, is
made of this interpretation, which is followed by Kees, Totenglaukn,
146ff.
l Cf. 'Cold water is poured for thee through Sokar, 0 Osiris-N': from a
text of the 2.2.nd Dyn. quoted by Sethe, Ein/Jabamierunl{, 2.4.
3 See Sethe, ibiJ. -
4 So LSJ s.v. A partitive genitive is perhaps possible: ' Of the sacred objects
it is the hydreion that leads the procession.'
S Cf. Vitruvius, De archit. 185 = HF 154.
6
W . Amelung, Die Slw/pturen des Vatilcanisc~n Museums n (Berlin, I908),
pi. 7, H and pp. 142ff. The situla is often depicted : see Chassinat, Le
mystere J'Osiris, 2.1 I ff.; for sprinklers see Moret, Roi.s et Dieux J'Egypte,
pi. 11 ; cf. Tarn Tinh, Le culte J'Isis a Pompei, 94f.
7 When the present writer saw it in 1956, it was displayed without a
number. Of silver, it was grouped with a similar beaker marked Pompeii
1938'.
437
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 36
Osiris in the form of a water-vessel; the top of the vessel shows a god's
face with the divine beard, and figures ofisis and Nephthys are depicted
on the sides; compare the Osiru hydreios or canopites represented in the
Mensa Isiaca' which may have figured in the Isiac Hall of the Emperor
Claudius.' This type, however, is hardly the hydreion used in the cult;
cf. rather a central priestly figure in a temple door holding a vase. x
p. 172, 27 6pv~] Spiegelberg, 'Plutarchs Deutung der Hieroglyphe
der Binse' in Oriental Studies dedicated to Paul Haupt (Baltimore,
1926), 313 f. states that these remarks show how well Plutarch was
instructed in the Egyptian writing system of his day. Plutarch is
referring to the words +..!:..~, nsw, 'king'3 (Wh. u, 325) and ~'
r.ry-, ' south' (Wh. n, 452.); cf. Gardiner, Sign-list M 23 and 24. The
exact identity of the plant is not established; it is 'supposed to be
identical with the flowering scirpus-reed or sedge, Egyptian ~ 1m',
a common emblem of Upper Egypt'. Assuming that ~ep~T)veVrnn
will refer to another application of a similar sound-value, Spiegelberg
finds lTOTta'-'6S 'irrigation' a possible translation of a word derived
from the verb sw, older swr, 'to drink', cf. Copt. C(l.) and Wh. m, 418;
one might add, indeed, that some occurrences come closer still to
Plutarch's meaning in the sense of trees or land 'drinking water' and so
being irrigated : see no. 17 in Wh. m, 428. Since Xylander's lMlCJlS
impregnation' is preferable to the !d\IT)alS of the MSS, a group of
synonyms being suggested by the subsequent lTCXVTc.:w, Spiegelberg's
final proposal, which is more hesitantly offered, is rendered unnecessary.
It is that KfVT)CJlS might refer to~' Copt. R.~, 'a rush' ,sin a compari-
1 Scamuzzi, La Mensa Isiaca', 63, fig. 4 The water-pitcher heldelin the lef~
hand of a statue of Isis in the Capitoline Mus. (C. Pietrang i, Muset
Capitolini: I Monumenti clei Culti Oriemali, Rome, 19SJ. pi. 12. and P so)
is a restoration.
~ Tarn Tinh Leculte J'lsis d Pompei, pl.2; ; Fr. W. von Hissing, ' Notes on
'
Some Paintings . oJ.r
from Pompeii relating to the Cult of Isis' in Transacttons
the .3rJ International Congress for tlte History of Religions (Oxford, 1!)08),
2.25-8; cf. P. F. Tschudin, Isis in Rom, Jl.
3 Meaning literally 'he who belongs to the swt-plant'.
4 Gardiner, Egn. Gr. 73 The word nsw was used strictly of the ~ng of
Upper Egypt, and hizy, lit. 'he who belongs to the bee', of the King of
Lower Egypt. See Gardiner, Egn. Gr. 55. Ni-swt-hit was the full title
of the king of all Egypt; see Wh. u, JJO, S
5 Wh. v, 37 (as ~ml).
438
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 36
son with Copt. RUl~~r~m *m/,.1 */m), 'tomove',especiallywith R~,
the form of the parnczpuun conumctum. This is ingenious and the fact
that the las~ parallel involves a meaning found only in C~ptic is by no
means a disadvantage. But a synonym seems to be indicated . and
~though sw~ ~r is n~t at~ested in the sense of 'impregnate' ;r 'be
Impregnated , Its mearung rs near enough. It is the resemblance of the
rush, in some sense, to the generative member that is somewhat
b:uning-a puzzle given up by Spiegelberg himself. To an outsider the
hieroglyph Ct) might indeed have a phallic suggestion although the
Egyptians had a special hieroglyph for the phallus (Garchner, Sign-list
D 5.1-3)
Sieveking remarks on v6nov t<hl~UX that this manner of writing is
unknown elsewhere; but cf. T6 inrapi<Tlov l<Af~UX (pl.), v. Mar. u.
P 174, 1 TlQJ.~vi\fc.lv lopnw] Cf. u, 355 E and notes. For the ithy-
phallic image of Osiris cf. 51, 371 F.
P .'74, 4 Tpls] Plutarch is speaking of Greek practice. His source may
poss1bly have referred to the Egyptian analogy whereby plurality was
normally expressed by means of three signs in the determinative of a
~ord. ~ In the case of Trismegistus, used of Hermes, there is a slight
diVersiOn from the usage exemplified by Plutarch in that the superlative
of the adjective occurs; it is probably an attempted translation from
the Egyptian of a phrase like CJ q wr.3
P I74, 8 yilv &Epcx Kal niip] In lines 6-7 \nro Twv~cnc;)v must refer to
early .Greek thi"!ters, since Greek expressions found in Homer are being
explatnecl. The 1dea that earth, air and fire were produced by creative
moisture is close to what Thales may have taught: he regarded air as
identified with vaporous water and the 'aether' as fire which was feel by
vapour; earth to him might also have seemed to be a form of solidified
4
water. In Egyptian mythic concepts the primeval hill arises from Nlln
the waters that were in the beginning; air has a different role, for Shu:
the god of air, separates heaven and earth as Nut and Geb: cf. Clark,
Myth. and Symbol, 48f. and for a possible reflection of the idea in the
cosm~g?ny pres~nted by Diodorus Sic. I. 7 1 see W. Spoerri, Spiit-
h.ellemstuclte Berzclue iiher Welt, Kultur and Glitter (Base!, 1959), 116-17
I Wh. v, 33
: G~dine:, Egn. Gr. 13; cf. Kees, Gotterglauhe, 155; J. Gwyn Griffiths,
Onemalta 2.8 (1959), 37
3
Scott, Hermetica, I, 5, n. 1; cf. Rusch, PW s.v. Thoth (19J6), J8Gf.
4 Bumet, Greek Pltilosoplzy, 21 .
439
 COMMENTARY CHAPTERS 36--7
p. 174, ro ,.c, alSoiov] Cf. r8, 358B and n. The statement that lsis
'did not find' the phallus is contradicted, as we have already seen, by
Egyptian traditions that the phallus was preserved; according to one
claim it was preserved at Mendes, according to another at Denderah.
Ebers, Korpertheile, 43ff. tries to reconcile Plutarch's account with this
by suggesting that it was only the testicles that were lost, the memhrum
virile having been otherwise recovered. His suggestion must be firmly
rejected.
p. 174, 15 Anoms] The sun-god Re', according to Egyptian myth,
had daily to fight in the east of the heaven and also in the west against
his enemy Apopis, a powerful serpent regarded as demon of darkness
and of the underworld. In this fight Re' is aided by both Horus and
Seth, by Isis and Nephthys and by the gods in general, including the
Great Ennead of which Osiris was a member: see' The Book of Over-
throwing Apopis' in P. Bremner-Rhind, n, 1ff. ed. Faulkner, trans-
lated with a commentary by Faulkner in]EA 1.3 (1937), I66-85 and
24 (1938), 41-n; cf. Kees, Gotterglauhe, 54 f. For Apopis, however, as
the brother of Re' there seems to be no evidence, nor for the trans-
ference of the struggle to Zeus (Amun) and Osiris. 1
p. I74, I9-1.0 ,.c, nve0Jl(l] Diodorus Sic. r. u. 2. makes a similar
statement, explaining that Zeus was thought to be the source o: the
life-spirit (-rev 'fNXIKai:i) in animals and so the father of all things.
Amun, 'the hidden one was associated from the New Kingdom on-
wards with the air which gives the breath of life: see Sethe, Amun und
die acht Urgotrer von Hermopolis, I 87-1.16; Id. Urgeschichte, 164;
Bonnet, Real. J 5.~
CHAPTER 37
p. 174, 1.6 'xev6cnpts'] Cf. Diodorus Sic. 1. 17. 4 who says that' they
ascribe the discovery of ivy to Osiris and consecrate it to this god just
as the Greeks do to Dionysus'; he adds that it is called in Egyptian
'the plant of Osiris' and that it is preferred to the vine because it is
evergreen. In QEaest. conv. 3 :1. I, 648-F it is suggested that ivy is
used in winter as a convenient substitute for vine-leaves; according to
Q}faest. Rom. I u, 1.91 A it was tom and chewed in Bacchic festivals.
A good example, according to Kees in Bonnet, Real. 53, of where syncret-
istic confusion leads. In Greek mythology the struggle of Apollo and
Python seems a closer parallel in some ways.
~ For Amun as a god of the wind see D. MUller, Isu-Aret. 65 f.
440
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 37
Eur. Bacclz. 81 describes the worshipper of Dionysus as 'crowned with
ivy'/ and. Dodds ad foe. suggests that it had an earlier place in the cult
than the vme. In referring to lchenosiris Plutarch shows that he is more
interested than Diodorus in linguistic matters. Although no word
corresponding to it appears to have survived in extant Egyptian texts
the first element is doubtless yt and the derivation will be from *6t-n~
Wslr; for Egn. 6 represented by Gk. X see Wh. m, uo and 307. Cf.
Sethe, PW s.v. Chenosiris (1899), 2:136. ljt gives YJe in Coptic.~
It was not, it seems, till Roman times that ivy was used in the cult of
Osiris; cf. Tib. 1. 7 4f and Apuleius, Met. u. 27. Probably it was
borrowed from the rites of Dionysus.3
P I74, :17 Ap!o-r(l)v] Strabo, I7, 790 names him as a contem-
porary Peripatetic philosopher, who, like Eudorus, had written
about the Nile. Perhaps he is the same as Aristias the Chian who is
cited in Schol. Ap. Rhod. 4 1.64, referring tow mts etawa (~ICTE<Tt
Rutgers); cf. the title cited here. See Muller, FHG m, 314f.; Gercke:
PW s.v. Ariston no. 55 (1896),956f.;Jacoby,FGrHm b(337), pp. 83 f.
w
p. I76, 3 A~acxcpfls] The w.ords ,.41 &Acpa ypciJJj.ltm were rightly
deleted by Rerske; they look hke a learned gloss. Arsaphes is the Egn.
l;leryshaf (f:lry-!.f, 'he who is upon his lake'),4 the ram-god of
Heracleopolis Magna in the XXth nome of Upper Egypt. Himself a
deity of minor importance, l;leryshaf was connected theologically with
both Osiris and Re'. Middle Kingdom hymns describe him as a form of
Os~~s; see Selim Hassan, Hymnes religieux du moyen empire, 101.
Ostns corresponds to Dionysus in Plutarch's borrowed statement.
The etymology ,.c, &vSpsiov, 'manliness', is probably not sexual at all,
1
For. Dionysus himself thus depicted see Kurr Lange, Cotter Grieclren/antls:
Mez.mrwerke antilcer Miin{kunst (Berlin, 1946), pis. 5o-3.
1
See Wh. m, 339
3
Tondriau, 'Tatouage, lierre et syncnhisme', Aegyptus 30 (1950), S7-66
sh~ws that. the Ptolemies much affected the Macedonian and Dionysiac use
of JVy, which could be called, he says (p. Go), the' Ptolemaic royal plant'.
He. s~ggests that when Ptolemy IV and Mark Antony were represented as
Osms, they doubtless were shown wearing the crown of Oionysiac ivy.
Baillet, ~Osiris-Bacchus', ZAS 16 (1878), 106-8 with pl. 6 publishes a
Ptol.ematc bronze figurine of Osiris (?) holding a vine-plant in one hand.
HHe IS naked,. however, and has one finger on his mouth; undoubtedly
arpocrates IS represented.
4
Hopfner, n, 173 errs on this point. See Griffith, Rylantls, u6, n. 6 and
Gardiner, Onom. u, 114 .
441
 COMMENTARY CHAPTERS 36--7
p. 174, ro ,.c, alSoiov] Cf. r8, 358B and n. The statement that lsis
'did not find' the phallus is contradicted, as we have already seen, by
Egyptian traditions that the phallus was preserved; according to one
claim it was preserved at Mendes, according to another at Denderah.
Ebers, Korpertheile, 43ff. tries to reconcile Plutarch's account with this
by suggesting that it was only the testicles that were lost, the memhrum
virile having been otherwise recovered. His suggestion must be firmly
rejected.
p. 174, 15 Anoms] The sun-god Re', according to Egyptian myth,
had daily to fight in the east of the heaven and also in the west against
his enemy Apopis, a powerful serpent regarded as demon of darkness
and of the underworld. In this fight Re' is aided by both Horus and
Seth, by Isis and Nephthys and by the gods in general, including the
Great Ennead of which Osiris was a member: see' The Book of Over-
throwing Apopis' in P. Bremner-Rhind, n, 1ff. ed. Faulkner, trans-
lated with a commentary by Faulkner in]EA 1.3 (1937), I66-85 and
24 (1938), 41-n; cf. Kees, Gotterglauhe, 54 f. For Apopis, however, as
the brother of Re' there seems to be no evidence, nor for the trans-
ference of the struggle to Zeus (Amun) and Osiris. 1
p. I74, I9-1.0 ,.c, nve0Jl(l] Diodorus Sic. r. u. 2. makes a similar
statement, explaining that Zeus was thought to be the source o: the
life-spirit (-rev 'fNXIKai:i) in animals and so the father of all things.
Amun, 'the hidden one was associated from the New Kingdom on-
wards with the air which gives the breath of life: see Sethe, Amun und
die acht Urgotrer von Hermopolis, I 87-1.16; Id. Urgeschichte, 164;
Bonnet, Real. J 5.~
CHAPTER 37
p. 174, 1.6 'xev6cnpts'] Cf. Diodorus Sic. 1. 17. 4 who says that' they
ascribe the discovery of ivy to Osiris and consecrate it to this god just
as the Greeks do to Dionysus'; he adds that it is called in Egyptian
'the plant of Osiris' and that it is preferred to the vine because it is
evergreen. In QEaest. conv. 3 :1. I, 648-F it is suggested that ivy is
used in winter as a convenient substitute for vine-leaves; according to
Q}faest. Rom. I u, 1.91 A it was tom and chewed in Bacchic festivals.
A good example, according to Kees in Bonnet, Real. 53, of where syncret-
istic confusion leads. In Greek mythology the struggle of Apollo and
Python seems a closer parallel in some ways.
~ For Amun as a god of the wind see D. MUller, Isu-Aret. 65 f.
440
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 37
Eur. Bacclz. 81 describes the worshipper of Dionysus as 'crowned with
ivy'/ and. Dodds ad foe. suggests that it had an earlier place in the cult
than the vme. In referring to lchenosiris Plutarch shows that he is more
interested than Diodorus in linguistic matters. Although no word
corresponding to it appears to have survived in extant Egyptian texts
the first element is doubtless yt and the derivation will be from *6t-n~
Wslr; for Egn. 6 represented by Gk. X see Wh. m, uo and 307. Cf.
Sethe, PW s.v. Chenosiris (1899), 2:136. ljt gives YJe in Coptic.~
It was not, it seems, till Roman times that ivy was used in the cult of
Osiris; cf. Tib. 1. 7 4f and Apuleius, Met. u. 27. Probably it was
borrowed from the rites of Dionysus.3
P I74, :17 Ap!o-r(l)v] Strabo, I7, 790 names him as a contem-
porary Peripatetic philosopher, who, like Eudorus, had written
about the Nile. Perhaps he is the same as Aristias the Chian who is
cited in Schol. Ap. Rhod. 4 1.64, referring tow mts etawa (~ICTE<Tt
Rutgers); cf. the title cited here. See Muller, FHG m, 314f.; Gercke:
PW s.v. Ariston no. 55 (1896),956f.;Jacoby,FGrHm b(337), pp. 83 f.
w
p. I76, 3 A~acxcpfls] The w.ords ,.41 &Acpa ypciJJj.ltm were rightly
deleted by Rerske; they look hke a learned gloss. Arsaphes is the Egn.
l;leryshaf (f:lry-!.f, 'he who is upon his lake'),4 the ram-god of
Heracleopolis Magna in the XXth nome of Upper Egypt. Himself a
deity of minor importance, l;leryshaf was connected theologically with
both Osiris and Re'. Middle Kingdom hymns describe him as a form of
Os~~s; see Selim Hassan, Hymnes religieux du moyen empire, 101.
Ostns corresponds to Dionysus in Plutarch's borrowed statement.
The etymology ,.c, &vSpsiov, 'manliness', is probably not sexual at all,
1
For. Dionysus himself thus depicted see Kurr Lange, Cotter Grieclren/antls:
Mez.mrwerke antilcer Miin{kunst (Berlin, 1946), pis. 5o-3.
1
See Wh. m, 339
3
Tondriau, 'Tatouage, lierre et syncnhisme', Aegyptus 30 (1950), S7-66
sh~ws that. the Ptolemies much affected the Macedonian and Dionysiac use
of JVy, which could be called, he says (p. Go), the' Ptolemaic royal plant'.
He. s~ggests that when Ptolemy IV and Mark Antony were represented as
Osms, they doubtless were shown wearing the crown of Oionysiac ivy.
Baillet, ~Osiris-Bacchus', ZAS 16 (1878), 106-8 with pl. 6 publishes a
Ptol.ematc bronze figurine of Osiris (?) holding a vine-plant in one hand.
HHe IS naked,. however, and has one finger on his mouth; undoubtedly
arpocrates IS represented.
4
Hopfner, n, 173 errs on this point. See Griffith, Rylantls, u6, n. 6 and
Gardiner, Onom. u, 114 .
441
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 37
in spite of Hopfner's emphasis on Arsaphes as a ram-god;' it must be a
rendering of If, 'respect, dignity' (Wh. IV, 455), more commonly Ifyt
( Wh. IV, 4~7). In fact a writing of f:/ry-i .Joccurs ( Wh. IV, 4~7) where
the word If, 'ram-headed', is probably used with a suggestion of this
meaning.~ J:leryshaf is shown also with the sun-disk of Re' and he is
described as the ha of Re'.3 But Zeus-Amun is not named as his father,
nor Isis as his mother. One is tempted to read w ~ 'HA.Iov instead of
Valckenaer's w ~ t.t6s. This would at least reflect the strong connexion
with Re'. On the other hand, if an identification of l:feryshaf with
Heracles lies behind the genealogy,4 then of course Zeus as father has
another explanation.
p. 176, 5 'Ep~o~aTos] Reiske wishes to read 'Ep~ because a Hermeas
of Hermopolls is said to have written of his native city according to
Photius cod. Z79 If so, Hermeas might be the father of the Alexandrine
grammarian Nicanor, who flourished under Hadrian; see the view
cited by F. Jacoby, PW s.v. Hermaios no. 4 (1913), 712; but this is
speculative, nor is the consideration of date very weighty, since there
is doubt as to thejloruit of Hermaeus,S who is cited also in 42, 368B.
Reitzenstein's restoration oHopT{.;)v is plausible, though Jacoby, FGrH
111 c 6-z.o does not accept it. The latter suggests the first century, A.D.
as a date. The adjective oj3pt11o~, 'mighty' (an instance of the correct
reading being preserved by v alone, in spite of the frequent carelessness
of the scribe) is a good translation of wsr. Not only is Os iris occasionally
described as wsr with conscious paronomasia;6 some of the later
.writings of his name may have suggested this word.7
p. 176, 7 Mvaoiav] A writer from Patara in Lycia (f/. 150 s.c.), he
1 Cf. Wittmann, lsishuch, n;, n. GjS.
~ Cf. Bonnet, Rea/. z88; Selim Hassan, /oc. cit.
3 Bonnet, /oc. cit.; Kees, Gotterglauhe, jtGff. traces the god's dual role in
some detail.
4 Cf. Wiedemann, Hdt. 11, J.OS The name Heracleopolis implies this
identification. . identifying Dionysus and Osiris. On this author see Schwartz, PW
s Hopfner, u, 174 suggests c. A.D. 81-117, with a hint that this is late for
Plutarch's lifetime. Cf. MUller, FHG IV, 427. The matter is very uncertain.
6 Theban Tombs no. 157 {19th Dyn.), uGj = Wh. 11 360, l:t; P. of
Ani, z, ~ ('he is exceeding mighty, greatly feared in this his name of
Osiris").
7 Cf. 10, 355 A and note. Brugsch, Re/. Myth. 81 explained a late variant
writing as the might of the eye-ball'. For a suggestion that Wsir derives
from wsr see my Origins of Osiris, Go ff.
442.
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 37
was a pupil of Eratosthenes. His works included On Libya and discus-
sions of mythology; see Laqueur, PW s.v. Mnaseas no. 6 (193~),
uso-2.; and FHG m, 149-58. Plutarch may have disliked him because
of his Euhemerist tendencies. Epaphus was said to be the son of Io by
Zeus, and the myth told of his being born in Egypt; see Aeschylus,
P V 846fT. and Supp. 2.91ff.; Apollodorus,2..1. 3ff.; Ovid,Met. 748ff.
Io had been turned into a heifer, according to the tale, but on reaching
Egypt she recovered her human form through a touch of Zeus' hand;
so the nam~ Epaphus was derived from t~Cm--r(o), 'touch , cf. Aeschylus,
P V 849, where the form rna~a(o) is used. In the statement cited by
Plutarch it is the identification of Epaphus and Sarapis that is clearly
basic; the Apis-bull is identified with Epaphus by Herodotus (2.. 38;
2.. 153; 3 27), so that in spite of the story of Io's restored form, her
son is here regarded as a young bull; c Merkelbach, Roman und
Mysterium, 41 n. 1. The Egyptian end of Io's wanderings doubtless
derives from the resemblance between her (in her bovine form) and 11
Isis or Isis-Hathor, and the equation of the two goddesses (Io and Isis)
was probably aided, as L. J. D. Richardson suggests to me, by a
certain resemblance in their names, a point which applies also perhaps, ~.I
to some extent, to the association of f:/py, called Apis by the Greeks, l
and Epaphus.
p. 176, 9 'Avni<AEIST)v] A historian from Athens, who wrote at the
beginning of the age of the Diadochi, Antideides was the author of a
work called NOo-rot in which he collected mythical and historical home-
comings, and of a book called On Alexander, from which the present
statement possibly comes. For the view that Isis was the daughter of
Prometheus cf. 3, 352A and note. The union of Isis and Dionysus
recalls Herodotus, z. 156: 'They say that Apollo and Artemis were the
children of Dionysus and Isis ; but what is meant, in Egyptian terms,
is that Horus and Bastet were the children of Osiris and Isis; and
Bastet is not attested in this relationship. Antideides, too, was obviously
s.v. Antikleides no. 2. (1894), 2425 f.; Jacoby, FGrH 11 o pp. 525 ff.
p. 176, 11 olt<etcmrres] Babbitt translates 'peculiarities', Hopfner
Obereinstimmungen'; previous translators are on one of these lines.
But Plutarch has been discussing relationships, especially those of Isis
and Osiris. I have also deviated from previous translators in taking Tc;)ll
11ap-nipc.w as a genitive of description rather than of comparison.
443
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 38
CHAPTER J8
p. 176, 13 Tbv aelptov wll:noos] Sieveking accepts Squire's emendation
of tat6os to 'OalptSos because of the mention in p, 371. o of a view
that Osiris is the sun and is called Sirius (Seirios) by the Greeks. In that
context, however, it is clear that the name is used of the sun, as it some-
times was, rather than of the Dog-star. In :r.x, 359c the soul ofisis is
unambiguously said to shine as the Dog-star, this being explained as
Greek parlance, and the Egyptian name being supplied as Sothis; cf.
also 2.2., 3S9E and 61, 376A; and the note on :u, 359 c(p.1;o, line 9).At
first sight vopcxyCo)yov ('bringing water') might be taken to support
Squire's proposal by seeing in it an allusion to Osiris. But the true
reference is to the fact that Sirius or Sothis, when its first annual
heliacal rising occurred, was regarded as harbinger of the Nile inunda-
tion. The earliest evidence of such a view is an inscription of the First
Dynasty on an ivory tablet from Abydos, published by Petrie, Royal
Tomhs, u, pis. ;, 1 and 6, a, 2.. Winlock1 translates it as' Sothis, Bringer
of the New Year and of the Inundation'. Such a reading is by no means
clear in Petrie's publication, but Winlock strongly champions it after
perusing the tablet itself. He compares Pyr. 965 a-h, where Osiris is
addressed: 'It is Sothis, thy daughter whom thou lovest, who has
made thy fresh green plants (mpwt. k)~ in this her name of Year (rnpt).'3
This allusion is, at any rate, incontrovertible, although it precedes,
apparently, the merging of Isis and Sothis since Sothis is here the
daughter and not the sister of Osiris. They are frequently identified
afterwards; cf. Lepsius, Dkm. m, 170: 'Thou (Ramesses II) risest like
Isis-Sothis on the moming of the New Year.'
p. 176, 14 T0\1 iJovra] Cf. Horus' praise of the lion, though pre-
ferring the horse, in 19, 358c and see note ad p. 146, 3 But Plutarch is
thinking here of the constellation Leo, as his quotation from Aratus
shows: cf. QEaest. conv. 4 ;. :r., 67oc: 'Fountains emit their springs
through lions' jaws (reading t<aTO: xaaJJ.clTCo)\1 with Wyttenbach)
because the Nile brings new water to the fields of the Egyptians when
the Sun passes through the Lion.' Pliny, HN ;. 9 57 says that the Nile
1
'The Origin of the Ancient Egyptian Calendar' in PAPS 83 (1940), 4~7
See also R. A. Parker, The Calendars ofAncient Egypt, 34
l Parker, op. cit. 31. renders as year-offerings'.
3 Or 'Fresh Green One'. Winlock feasibly points to a pun.
444
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 38
begins to rise most strongly at this time, though a gradual rise occurs
when .the sun passes through Cancer. Whether the Egyptian lion-cults,
of whtch there were many, have any connexion with this is very doubt-
ful. Horapollo, 1. 2.1 --= HF 583- 4 says that 'to indicate the rise of the
Nile, who~ the EID:"ptian~ call Nun, which interpreted means "young",
they someumes wnte a lton, and sometimes three large water-vessels
since the sun when it reaches the Lion increases the rise of the Nile . ':
With regard to the adornment of doors with leonine jaws, which
Plutarch goes on to mention, Hopfner, n, 175 adduces the lion-headed
gargoyles of Egyptian temples, 1 but wonders whether the reference to
doors or gates (6vpoo1Jara) does not involve a textual corruption; a
word for water-spouts must have been here originally, he suggests.
But the Egyptians of the late period often used large door-bolts which
ended, on one side, in the shape of a lion's head and which were some-
times wholly leonine in fonn. 2 The word JnC, 'door-bolt' (cf. the verb
JnC, 'repeal') is written from the I 8th Dynasty onwards with the
determinative of a lion; cf. the late writing of ldrt and the word hkn
'lion-door-bolt'.3 In these cases the lion is not ~erely a decoration:bu;
has the role of protecting the building against evil." The lion sculptures
which sometimes flanked the entrance of a temple had a similar
meaning.S
p. 176, 17 'Oalpt5os O:troppo~v] Cf. p. 172., 2.5 f. and note.
p. 176, 17 tcn6os aw~ yfiv] Cf. J2., 363 o and note ad p. z66, :r.o
(end). Among writers who associate lsis with the earth are Heliodor.
Aethwp. 9 9; Origen, C. Cels. 5 38 ..., HF 439-40; Firm. Mat. Err.
prof. re!. l. 6 (Isim terram) -= HF 519;6 Servius aJ Aen. 8. ~6;
1
Cf. Brugsch, Re/. Mytlr. 349 They are found also in the Old Kingdom, see
U. Schweitter, Liiwe uru/ Spfzinx im alten Agypten, ::r.Gf. See also C. de Wit
'Les inscriptions des lions-gargouilles du temple d'Edfou , CdE ::r.9 ( 1954):
19-45
1
U. Schweitzer, op. cit. 69.; an exquisite example in pi. 16. 4
U. Schwei~~r, op. cit. 70. A lion is sometimes represented lying above a
3
door: see ihid. n. 433
4 U. Schweitter, ihid.
5
H. Goedicke, Rev. d'lgypto/. u (1957), S9
& See Pastorino ad loc. Hopfner, u, 177 says that there Isis is explained as die.r
et terra, but the first two words do not appear in Pastorino's text or
apparatus nor in HF 519 On the interpretation 'earth' see further
Zimmermann, Re/. 47 and Wiedemann, Hdt.ll, 188.
445
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 38
Sallustius, De diis et mund. 4 = HF 542; Macrobius, Sat. 1. 20 = HF
598; cf. P. Oxy. IJ8o1 I7o-'J The only writer before the time of
Plutarch to mention it is Varro, Ling. 5 57 Isis is said in the Areta-
logies, including that of Andros (i B.c.),1 to have discovered the crops,
but this is not the same thing. Nor is the idea found in Egyptian texts;
'Osiris is the Nile, Isis the land' in Junker, Abaton, 38 should be
' ... the Nile that covers the land'. Muller quotes a text where
Isis says to Ptolemy IV: 'I give thee the field (or land) flooded with
food and all things which come forth from it', but Muller shows that
although Isis was identified with the corn-goddess Thermuthis, many
gods were credited with being the source of crops and sustenance.
There can be little doubt that Plutarch's statement derives from the
assimilated cult of Demeter, a corn-goddess whose name was explained
in ancient times as 'earth-mother') Hopfner, 11, 177 tries to get a
similar meaning from an Egyptian word closely akin to the name lsis-
lst, which he translates as 'place, position, spot'. The word's most
prominent meaning (see it, Wb. JV1 df.) is 'seat, throne'; in any case
none of the meanings comes very dose to ' earth' .4 Here, then, is a
Greek superimposition.
p. 176, 20 ..l.Upos] Obviously a rather insipid attempt to connect
Horus and oopa etymologically; cf. Porph. in HF 4i9-1o and Euseb.
Praep. Evang. 3 15. J HF 478. For the probable Egyptian deriva-
tion of Horus seen. ad p. 136, 2-J Plutarch mentions the rearing of
.Horus in Buto in 18, JS7F on which seen. top. 144, 9
p. 176, u \nro A1'}To0s] The cobra-goddess Wedjoyet is said to
1
MUller, /sis-Aret. }I Cf. Vandebeek, lsisfiguur, 97
~ Op.cit. p.quoting Etlfou 1, 151, II . For Osiris as 'lord of the earth' (nhs/tw)
see Errnan, ZAS 38 (1900), 3of. The same expression is used of Sokar in
another hymn (p. 29 ihiJ. ). Earth' here means ' soil, land' and not 'the
world'. In Schott, Kanais, 136 Isis promises Sethos I : 'I give thee the
deserts of gold. The hills give thee what is in them of gold, lapis-lazuli and
turquoise'; cf. the words of Jsis in Junker, Der grosse Pylon, '-P.1 17:
'I give thee all the hills with all precious stones.' In this lsis has assimilated
a function of Hathor; cf. Cemy, Re!. ss. lsis is associated with Aker, the
earth-god in De Buclc, Coffin Texts, v, '-7J-e ('My sandal is made firm on
Aker by Isis, who makes it firm on the earth').
3 Perhaps correctly, see Guthrie, The Greeks and their Gods, l8J, n. 2.. Nilsson
and Rose do not accept it: see Rose, OCD 263.
4 sltw, 'ground, earth', lr:tb. 111, 423, is a more likely comparison.
COMMENTARY CHAPTERS 38-9
have nursed the Horus-chiJd in Khemmis: see Junker and Winter,
Gehurtshaus, 19, 1 J: 'Wedjoyet, rich in life, who protects him who
came forth from Isis'; cf. fig. 945 where both Horus and Wedjoyet
are theriomorphic, the goddess in one case being perched on a lotus
recalling her original role as the mother of Nefertem: see n. ad
P 144, 9 The tradition of Moses in the bulrushes may owe some-
thing to the episode of the Horus-chi)d in the papyrus-swamps of the
Delta: see Conflict, 9(i.
P 176, 24 Netp6vv] Cf. u , JHF and n. ad p. IJG, G; 59,3750. For
the adultery of Nephthys and Osiris and Anubis as their son cf. 14,
356E and n. ad p. 140,5 ;44, 368E and 59, 375 B. In connexion with the
initial barrenness here Bonnet, Real. P9 cites Pyr. unb. There the
goddess is curiously given the name of 'female substitute who has no
vulva'. The name Nephthys, Nbt-~t, 'Mistress of the house', would
seem to hold no such suggestion. Ledant, Enquires, too points to a
context in which Isis is called mwt n!,r, 'mother of the god', whereas
Nephthys is without the title. The name of Nephthys does not occur
in the extant lists of kings which derive from Manetho and from
Egyptian sources. It is a little doubtful whether the last word of the
chapter, <TTEpp6TTrros, 'barrenness', refers to the earth or to the
goddess; the latter reference is more likely since the goddess is ex-
~ounded here as ~ cause .of barrennesss who is herself barren (crreipcxv,
hne 8). To achieve thts meaning Wyttenbach proposed to read
crretp6nrros; but both <TTEpp6s and crreppOTT]s are occasionally used of
barrenness, though not elsewhere in Plutarch; see LSJ.
CHAPTER 39
p. 178, I3jXw~Ais AllMrroov] She is called Asd in 13, 3560; see note
ad p. _I 38, I. Plutarch's physical explanation of the queen of Ethiopia's
help mvolves the view that the Nile inundation is caused by rain in
Ethiopia. By Ethiopia Plutarch probably meant the land immediately
south of Egypt, corresponding partly to the Egyptian Kush but in-
cluding also what is today the Sudan and the north of the modem
Ethiopia or Abyssinia; cf. E. H. Warmington, OCD 340. The area of
causation is actually further south : the heavy rainfall of the Ethiopian
plateau swells the Blue Nile, while the melting snows on the mountains
around the Great Lakes bring increase to the White Nile; cf. Herodo-
tus, 2. 19ff. where, however, (2o), the etesian winds, according to one
447
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 39
said to prevent the Nile flowing into the sea, thus causing
the~ry, ~tion. plutarch, De placit. plzil. 4 I , 898A refers to the view of
the UlUO. ~s which describes the etesian winds driving rain-clouds 'to
pemo~ and to Egypt', after which the rain fills the lakes and the Nile.
the sou 8 10 t<pVqtl\1 v&rros] An interpretation which implies that
P .'? ' 'mply water see note ad p. 168,11. The incident is related in
Osinsts st ' Plutarch's dates are those of the civil year given in terms of the Alexan-
13, 3S
6
:-<: 'Ae\lp] cf. 13, 356c-o. The seasonal details supplied by
P;'ch ;~ not all suit an Egyptian background. The north winds do
plu December, that is, Khoiak, the last month of the inundation;
not~easthe m denudation or a marked lengthening of the night; there is
nor as . ere g of plants and foliage then, but ra ther a promtse . of new
no ~:~~th the sowing that follows the recession of the water. This
ver . ms the one Egyptian feature of the sequence. One may
last poant see . years: a lunar year, a civil year, and a lunar year adjusted from Sothic
. th t Plutarch did not know Egypt well htmself; or, more rele-
tnfe~ ~ t his source at this point was not well informed geographi-
va~ YAt athe same time the suggestion is probably right, that the
r
c:al 1 0 f Osiris in the month of Khoiak (here called Athyr) was
fesuva linked to a season: it was that of renewed cu1nvauon. 1 I n this. ~t
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 39
and Nephthys are said to mourn him in Sais, and Abydos witnesses the
arrival of 'those who shed many tears 1 On the other hand, the
resemblances between Plutarch's account of the festival in Athyr and
the record at Denderah of the festival in Khoiak compel one to
identify them. 1 The discrepancy in the names of the months can be
plausibly explained by Parker's view, as we have seen (p. 311.), that
drian calendar. A difficulty arises if we press this view to imply that
Plutarch revised the dates to accord with his own contemporary
situation,3 for there is overwhelming evidence that Plutarch used
earlier sources of varying date. An alternative explanation is to postu-
late, alongside of the civil calendar, a 'lunar Sothic' year, which Parker
allows. Khoiak would then be drawn from the Sothic year and Athyr
from the civil year. On Parker's own view Egypt had three calendar
observations ;4 and a pre-Ptolemaic phase of the shifting civil year could
have supplied Plutarch's Athyr.
p. 178, .:z.s--6 JX!w S16)(pvaov] Cf. I9,JS8D (Hermes gave Isis a cow-

1 1 Cf. Wiedemann, Rei. 2.64; also the Cairo Calendar, cited p. Jll., n. 2..
firm Y like those festivals which, fixed as they were only by the oVtl 1 See Loret, Rec. trav. S (1884), 102.f.; Chassinat, Le My sttre d 'Osiris, 2.9.
was und re allowed to move in a varied seasonal pattern-a state of Commenting on the Isia of the Heidelberg Festival Papyrus (A.D. ii),
c:alen ar, we .d ~ h
. which the Decree of Canopus (137 B.c.) tne to prevent. T e H. C. Youtie in Studies in Roman Economy and Social History, ed. Coleman-
alfatr:sak fi tival described in the inscriptions of the temple of Denderah Norton (FS. A. C. Johnson, Princeton, 9SI), 194 maintains that this
l{hoa es rded in this form before the time of the late Ptolemies, not festival, which he equates with Plutarch's rites in Athyr, was held in
v,rasnotreco
[I So B c,l A)thoughthe Ostnan . 1'ts sat'd to b e celb
. . fiesttva e rated Athyr 'at least from the third century s.c. to the second century A.D
~ ~rt;~ples. of Egypt, the only menti~n in the calendars of Edfu is, and lasted duough four days, from the 17th to the 2oth, equated in the
10 Roman calendar with November IJ-t6'. He adds that 'Geminus of
'b) nder the name of the Festtval of Sokar on the .:z.6th of
Rhodes, writing in the first century s.c., states emphatically that dte
P055~j'~ ~t Edfu the whole month of Athyr is called 'the feast of the date of the festival varied with the Egyptian annu.s vagus . '. He admits
Kh~ ) f oenderah',5 but there is one suggestion (see above, p. 311., afterwards, however, dtat Philocalus assigns I.ria to :18 October-1 Novem-
(La)~op Sallier IV that mourning for Osiris took place in Athyr: Isis ber, and in what follows he faces up to the complexity and frequency of
n.l 10
( K es Ancient Eg. 56. Parker, Rev. J'lgyptol. 11 (1957), 105 f. gives a Isiac rites, a situation realized by Merkelbach in his /sisfoste even if all his
1
c.~ e ' ._,,'The Khoiak feast was lunarand movable.' A correspondence solutions are not acceptable. What Youtie does not consider is the basic
di11erentVI""
m
th Alexandrian dates 13-16 November gaves . a better paralle1WI'th the evidence from Denderah.
W1 a~ details see Merkelbach, Isisfoste, JS f. 3 Cf. Parker, Calendars, 41 : 'Assuming that his festival actually ended on the
se;sc'Gn rdi er
1 c..
Eg. of~ Pharaoh..r, 64f. For 'a harvest festival performed
. als ' , 2.00. cf.. B H
2.0th ofAthyr, Athyno AI(exandrian) would be the same day as Choiak 30
a n <on'
I
see Fmrman,
Worsh'tp and Fesuv civ(il) in A.D. I J.:Z.. It is probable that his dates reflect a year which fell some-
out of due ,.._ where between A.D. 76 and the end of his life, and there is no need to
striclter, oMRO 37 (1956), 49ff. postulate a Sothic year to account for them.'
tto osiris und Arrwn, 65. 4 Parker, op. cit. s6. See also Alan E. Samuel, Bihl. Orient. 2.3 (1966), 39
l O '
E . S Parker, Calendars, 58.
4 Fairman, op. crt. t81.

29 449 ODI
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 39
headed helmet when Horus had removed her crown) and n. ad p. 146,
1 j f. In p, 37.2. s-e Plutarch says that 'at the time of the winter solstice
they lead the cow seven times around the temple of the sun, and the
circumvention is called the Search for Osiris : this clearly refers to the
same rite, for there is mention in our passage of the cry 'Osiris has been
found ! The reference to the winter solstice confirms the seasonal
nature of the festival and its occurrence in Khoiak, although the solstice
itself falls a few days later than the .1oth of the month. Herodotus, .2..
129f. speaks of a hollow cow-figure of gilded wood at Sais in which, he
says, Mycerinus buried his daughter; the goddess of Sais was N eith
and the figure probably related to her cult. 1 Herodotus adds, however
(.2.. Ip), that the image is carried out once every year 'whenever the
Egyptians bewail the god who is not to be named by me in such a
connexion , and he is referring to Osiris. Neith, then, is here one with
Isis-Hathor,1 and it is Hathor who supplies the cow-form to both
goddesses. In the Osirian rites in the Denderah text, the Isiac cow is
called Remenet and is said to have been made of sycomore-wood; it
rested on a golden base, and on its head carried an Osiris-crown which
included the sun-disk, ram's horns, uraeus-serpents, and feathers.)
Remenet seems to mean 'the bearer' (Wb. u, 4.2.1) from the verb
rmni, 'to bear', and the bovine image bears inside it the mummy of the
god; cf. Diodorus Sic. 1. 8~. 5 A cow-goddess called Sekhat-J;Ior
('She who remembers Horus ')is probably to be recognized as Hathor,4
who appears sometimes as the mother of Horus.s Shentayet ('the
widow')6 was perhaps the true name of the cow-goddess identified
with Isis as a mourning deity. The goddess called l:fesat (l;ls/t) may
have been associated with lsis because of a partial similarity of name;
she also was a cow-goddess and a stela (Cairo no. l.l.I8o) of the
Ptolemaic era records the death of a sacred Isis-J:Iesat cow and the
elaborate rites of mourning and embalming which followed.? This cow,
of course, had been a living animal; and it is Shentayet, who mourns
1
Spiegelberg, Hdt. 15, n. 1. Hdt. 2.. IJ2.saysthatapurplerobewasused to
cover the image. , Wiedemann, Hdt.II, 482..
3 Chassinat, Le Mystere J'Osiris, Gs f.; Loret, Rec. trav. 4 (1883)1 2.6.
4 Bonnet, Real. 402.. S She is the original mother: see Conflict, IJ.
6
Wh. tv, p8. Bonnet, Real. 404. points to the affinities with Hathor.
7 Spiegelberg, 'Ein Denkstein auf den Tod c:iner heiligen lsiskuh', ZAS 43
(1900), 12.9-35 Cf. Id. Arch. Rei. 19 (1916-19), 194f.
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 39
Osiris, that appears in Apuleius, Met. 11. u as omniparentis Jeat
fecunJum simulacrum, carried on the shoulder of a priest.
p. 178, 26 ~cxvt] Cf. ~cxva l((Xl 01<1t:lST'), .3, 3 52 s; also 77, 382 c and
notes. In p, 372. D some of the statues of Isis are said to have black
dothes. Drexler, 469 cites Lafaye, Divinith d'Aiexanarie 2.78 no. 51
referring to an Isiac statue found near Naples which had ~ blad dres:
on a white-coloured body. Most of the evidence suggests that black
clothes, as a mark of mourning, are involved; but Daumas, Mammisis,
3.2. quotes a text from the mammisi of lsis at Denderah which states
that the goddess was given birth to 'in the form of a black and ruddy
woman, endowed with life, sweet of love'; he compares Dilmichen
Baugeschidue, ~1, 1-2 ~'ruddy' is missing there). For the two epithet:
see Wh. v, 489 ( von ls1s als schwarzroter Frau '),and cf. the suggestion
of G Lefebvre, j EA 35 (I 949), 74, that this phrase (st l.:mt dfrt) invokes
the fact that Isis was a sister of Seth, who was red, and also of Osiris,
1
who was black. Such an explanation would seem over-elaborate. Kees
Farbensymbolilc, 421 mentions the two black cows harnessed before the'
plough at Denderah on the 3oth of Khoiak, and suggests that their
colour denoted fertility.
p. 18o, Iarrchijs~~T')Srnl5aca~~s] Hopfner'sstatement(u I8o
c .2.2) that &no Tfis ~~S611T)S (l((Xl S~s) ml elKocrriiS should be 'read'
is ruled out by the locution Tij S' ~ ml Skx V\1IC'TOs ('on the nin~
teenth day in the night') in line 7; c too p. I 84, line 4
P t8o, 7- 8 Titv lepav KfCTTT)v] The words for 'box' and 'casket'
(KfOTT) and Ktj3c;mov) differ from the words used for 'chest' in the
narration of the myth: 71.6pva~ occurs in 13, 356Bff. and aop6s in 1~,
357A (a word repeated also in the present chapter, 3660). In the rites
of Denderah the making of a sarcophagus is mentioned,a but the
sacred KfCTTT] seems to correspond rather to the basket of rushes said to
contain a casket with the head of Osiris,l which reappears in Apuleius,
Faulkner, An Ar;cient ~gyptian Book, ofHours, 12 ( 18, 3) translates {phJ tp,
1
used here of ls1s, as black-headed , but the colour involved is that of
lapis:lazuli, s~. 1176. m, 334 In Faulkner, op. cit. 6, 23 the same epithet is
~pplied to Osms; cf.]. Gwyn Griffiths, ]EA 46 (196o), 12.4.
1
A sarcophagus (nh 'no) of Khentamenthes' made of sycamore is referred
to in Chassinat, Le Myst~re d'Osiris, IIJ, 7; cf. Loret, Rec. trav. 3 (1882.),
Ho 43
3 Brugsch, ZAS 19 (1881), 91; Chassinat, op. cit. 12.1, col. 66 and p. 6 ,
5
though on p. 2.13 he compares the sirula (wlh).
451
 OMMENTARY CHAPTER 39
.... ~ celans onerta
C OMMENT ARY CHAPTER 39
c rpax pent..... magnificae
0 ..
as the cista secr~torum ea . r
. Gressmann, sms, Nile, since the pouring of' drinkable water' is a detail given in line 9
Met. JJ. I I th Studien zum Isuhuch., 79_,
iews tt as the divine uterus.
]WC/I6(19$J),~oi,v
. . cf. Berre , Merkelbach, lsi.rfeste, 35 makes the valuable suggestion, citing P. Oxy.
reltgzonud, .'Barb 1' ts mentioned in 3, 352-B 1382 and Aelius Aristides, Or. 45 29 ( oe: HF Jo6), that a miraculous
figs. 7 an 9 ' ' \] Cf. the hierosto IS
8 8 ollTI'OAt<rnx finding offresh water in the sea is involved. P. Oxy. 1382 is ofdoubtful

r. (exctama....p~ lihet'
P I o, . M 9 693 (num- relevance, but Sarapis is praised in the second citation for having drawn
and see note.
11 ~u TOV- 'Oalpd'ios] cf. Ovtd, et. ;

q P t8o, IO.

ro~itus 1
Osiris) and Juvena ' . 8 9 ~o
Seneca, Apocol. 3
up drinkable water from the middle of the sea. Still, Plurarch gives no
clear indication of such an idea. Be that as it may, the basic idea of the
uamque saw q 0 . '/ invento). Accordmg th cry in full
d clamat, str.t l
r~ HF 519 e
>C

populus quo nd Firm. Mat.Err.prof. ._z. 9 'th (you)' (Eilpl\l<Cq.IEV,

festival is dearly the identity of the god with verdant nature and its
self-renewal, and an earlier expression of this identity is seen in the so-
4 ""' HF78I a fi d (him) we reJOice W1 - HF 5'7 (a
We have oun .' Colonanum - . called 'Osiris-beds' planted with barley; cf. Gressmann, Osiris, fig. 5.
was, al ""'). The M<MIOJPWR rus'n.:; .
The Fmding' (H"":"")r ~TJV0e1Sts"
.fC:~e;er (Hil6a)r~as)~e
The adjective (line rz), describing the image, implies an associ-
::.calendar) mentionsb a the feast of joy ation of the god with the moon. If we assume that the crescent-shaped

~e e~n ~e d(~-:di~g ~f
d f Novem er, HF p image was robed and omamented a little later- on the 25th ofKhoiak,
fixed at Calendar of Phil?calus 54 Osiris is 1given following the embalmment of the god on the 24th- then the sign of the
'2 Novem er ertru'n The seeking an Pvr 2I44aff new crescent will also denote his rehirth. 2 Cf. 41, 367 c-off. In this case
.;1 fi ems unc texts e.g. .r
fr?~. ~
same east se th b 'nning in Egypnan , when they saw the adjective will differ slightly in significance from its application in 42,
J68A to the sarcophagus (M.cpVO!ca ~T]voeSfl). In each instance it seems
prominence e nd (him)", said Nephthys, d4 thee!"');
([' .. ] said Ists, I ~av~a: "My brother! I havesear~ e. ;rtraversing
Osirisonhissideon e (Isis 'seeks him without nn~ ~ . Junker doubtful whether the whole shape of the object is involved. Certainly
d
th~rnnland
H of Arnen-mose, I4-IS h lt until she finds htm ), . no image or sarcophagus in the fonn of a crescent moon is known, al-
in grief; she does not a d sought and found the Ttre though Bonnet, Real. 472 suggests that the vague outline of the Osirian
JS 6 (' I came an
S denwach.en, JIB, 7 1 'th corn-mummies may have been wrongly interpreted as being crescent-
tun
One'); cf. ad P I3 8 'l.4 ,. ] This description tan~es .Jfin genera Wl
. 1 which shaped. It may he, however, that both image and sarcophagus are so
- ~liJ.OVKTI\. described because the sign of the crescent moon was affixed to them.3
P I ~o, YTl~e
II. texts concerning ~e K.hoaak esnva,
Ostnan e filled with barley and 1

that gtven m ld effigy of Osms was to b 1 tarch's previous One mjght compare the 34 boats and J6f lights of the Denderah text; see
state that a hollow go . ng of water (cf. p u th barley Blackman in Myth and Ritual, 2.o; Chassinat, Le Mystere d'Osiris, 64.
earth and given a datly poun h afterwards to replace e : Cf. Parker, Calendars, Go and So, n. 2.3. A crescent moon occurs on the
allusion here:" m~9 d~es
' )' ) dry myrr was b t i<Op;niJ.OV may
not mention the barleyfth usimilarities, Rec. 'mystic casket' carved on an lsiac altar (A.o. ii) at Rome: see H. S. ]ones,
Sculptures ofthe Mus. Capitolino, pi. !)I, u==Gressmann, Ositis, fig. 9
and earth. p utar further Loret's summary o e ff .I Vandier, P.
imply~i<ts:,;:;,::r~~in ~Y'!t~::'~~Z,';9 ; m ><J" 3 Car] Fries, Class. et Med. 5 (1942.), IZJ f. suggests an Isiac lunarconnexion
and compares the Isiac cow head-dress mentioned in 19, 3580. Budge,
trav. J 840' Chassmat, e ._, 1 eh's account ts con- Osiris, I, 59 describes as Osiris a representation of a god who wears on his
]umilltac, 22.4, n. R l495 suggests that p utar 1 down to the
noctu~a glotthn~IS but Gress-
head a full moon within a crescent; cf. Frazer, AAO n, lJr and Hopfner,
passim. ea.
d 'th a town m the Delta,l The
Bonnet, u, 187. Kate Bosse-Griffiths points out to me that this cannot he Osiris,
ff.) ht tmp Y ' since the god is wearing the side-lock; it is probably Khons, the Theban
ceme
ea On Wl th day (lines 7 mtg 11 refer to the
s the nmeteen
. . th
thinks at e th , sea may actua Y god, who is pre-eminently a moon god; see Kees, GOtterg/au!Je, 354 and
mann, Ostru, 4 he pi. 10. An equation of Osiris and the moon is suggested in B.M.P. Jo2.o8,
Frazer AAO n, 84--9~
~~ Hopf~er's suggestion (n, ~~~:see chassinat, op. cit. 7~ ff.
that Alexandria is the scene. T 2., 12.: see Fayza Haikal, Two Hieratic Funerary Papyri ofNesmin (unpuhl.
: diss. Oxford, 1965), 102.f. This papyrus of a Theban priest is dated to
Denderah text concerns many p 312. B.c. and in t, 25-2., 7 it gives a list of the parts of the body of Osiris
and the related centres; the festival involved is for Khoiak l.Jrd-J.sth.
4f1 453
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 40
CHAPTER 40
p. I So, 17 o\n< &v1Jpf1rl] That Isis did not destroy T!phon when ~e
was delivered to her is stated in 19, 3580. Her nurtunng of Horus 1s
mentioned in I8, 357F; cf. :;8, :;66A. Here Horns as the son of Osiris is
assimilated into the physical interpretation of Osiris as moistur~; the
idea of Horns as Wp<x in :;8, :;66A is different. For the explananon of
Typhon as the principle of dryness or drought and his simultaneous
connexion with the sea, see notes ad p. 1 :1.4, 6 and p. I :1.6, :1.4-5 ; P 168,
:;; p. t68, :u.
p. 1 g0 , n amti<Crrols] Baxter's emendation involves the least
violence to the MS reading, unless Wyttenbach's m:1 or 6fJ be put for
the MS ~iJ.
P t8o, :l.J-4 ear.aaacx yXp ~v1'\ Atyvn-ros] Cf. Herodotus, :1.. I I-~:1.,
where reference is also made to the presence of shells on mountams
and the frequent excrndescence of salt. Wiedemann, Hdt. ll, 74ff.
points out that the view is fundamentally sound. It is only the lakes and
wells however which are near the Nile Valley that have salt water;
thos: further a'way have fresh water; a fact which prompted Pliny,
HN J 7 81 to suggest that the sea penetrated into the soil watered by
the Nile and so formed salt. The whole land between the first cataract
1
and the sea was once a narrow gulf joined to the Red Sea. Wellmann,
Hermes, 31 (1896), :1.53 n. 1 describes.Pluta~ch:s statem~nthere as the
view of Apion. It may have occurred m Apton s Aegypt1aca, ~ut wh.at
is the evidence that Plutarch borrowed it from there? Plutarch s detatls
are close to those given by Herodotus, and this suggests an earlier
source.
p. t8o, :z.8 ~ae] Cf. I9, JS8D; for the present interpretation
cf. Conjlit:t, I09
p. t8:z. 7 <l>&pov] Actually Pharos is less than a mile from the coast;
see Stanford ad Od. 4 355 ff. Strabo, 17,791 describes Pharos as 'very
near to the mainland', but elsewhere (1, :;a; I, 37) he tries to justify the
Homeric description. Merry and Riddell refer to a view, which Stan-
ford notes too, that Aiyvrrros in the Homeric passage means ~e
Canopic branch of the Nile and that the journey right up to Naucrans
is implied. Parthey (p. 2.37) says that the day's jo~ey is ~om Phar~s
to the nearest mouth of the Nile, that is, the Canoptc; he thinks that this
I Wiedemann, HJr./1, 77, followed by Hopfner, u, snf.
4S4
COMMENTARY CHAPTERS 4o-1
di~tance. (Gt miles according to Ptol~my) might have taken a day in a
shap whach had to be rowed. But hts other calculations from ancient
sources concede a good deal more as being possible; e.g. Herodotus
4 86 (700 stades - c. 87 Roman miles). In :z.. 9 Herodotus gives s 4~
stades ( ""' c. 68 Roman miles) as a normal day's journey on the river.
Neither explanation, therefore, seems satisfactory. When Plutarch talks
of Pharos as being 'now a part' of Egypt, one might admit that the
Heptastadium, the causeway joining Pharos and Alexandria 1 made all
the difference. His geological explanation is not acceptable.'
p. I 8:z., I I-12. TOTS \nro TWV ~TCI)IKW\1 6eo:Aoyov~tS] The point of
comparison is that the interpretation of Egyptian gods as cosmic forces
is similar to that of certain Greek gods according to Stoic teaching.z
It seems that the comparison is not intended to apply to the particular
gods mentioned, although Dionysus and Demeter are elsewhere
identified with Osiris and Isis. Certainly Typhon's connexion with the
sea is not represented as making him parallel to Poseidon. Plutarch's
expression 1TVEVIJO . Tb SafjK0\1 is used several times by Stoic
writers of the spirit that permeates the universe: see Von Amim, S VF
n, If4, 8 and other instances cited in IV, u6 s.v.
p. t8:z., I4 tliJIJT'ITPavJ For the form see LSJ where occurrences in
inscriptions are noted, and Wyttenbach, Index.
CHAPTER 41
p. 182., 16-17 &lr' &a-rpo:Aoy!as] Plutarch now devotes four chapters
to astral interpretations of the myth. It is not clear whom he regards as
the propagators of this view.J In line 2.4 the Egyptians are cited in
relation to Seth, but in line :1.8 the Stoics are mentioned. In fact both
Egyptian and Stoic sources provide evidence of the approach, although
in the particular views put forward the antecedents vary.
P r8:z., 17-18 T0\1 t't:Ateo<ov K6cr1Jov] For Typhon as the solar world
cf. Firm. Mat. Err. prof. re!. :z.. 6 (Tyfonem calorem) and Pastorino ad
I ss
Cf. Strabo, I, and u, nG; Caesar, Bell. Civ. 3 I 11. See also map IJ in
H. L. Jones, The Geography of Straho, vol. 8 (Loeb, 1959). Cf. E. M.
Forster, Pharos anJ Pharillon (London, 1913, repr. 19<h), r6: 'Pharos,
tethered to Alexandria by a long causeway ... .'
2
s
Von Ami m, S V F n, no. I 093 reproduces this passage. Id. IV, n f. shows
the importance of 'IT\Iiillcx in Stoic terminology.
3 Babbitt misleads when he begins his translation of the chapter with 'But
the Egyptians .. . '.
455

C OMME NT ARY C HAPTER 41
/oc. (p. 30, n.); it is the heat that ripens the crops that is inten~ed-the
beneficent heat of the sun, therefore, and not the d:Strucuve .?eat
associated with Typhon in 33, 364A- B. ~hen Sallusuus, De. dus et
mund. 4 ascribes to the Egyptians the vtew that Typhon 1s heat
(&ep1161'TlS), it is doubtful whether the beneficent acti?n ?f the s~n is
implied. In the Greek magical papyri the sun-god H~lt~s 1s somenmes
called Osiris or Horus or Sarapis, but not Typhon; 1t 1s as the enemy
of Helius that Typhon once appears. 1 The nearest that Set?, i~
Egyptian mythology, gets to having a share of the solar. ":'orld~ 1s ~s
role as defender of the sun-god Re' in the Bark-of-Mtlhons. It ts
perhaps from this role that Seth-Typhon derives the solar associations
assigned to him in several amulets of a much later era.3 Previously, it
should be noted (2.1, 359c- o), Plutarch has record~d a view ~at ~e
soul ofTyphon shines as the Bear. Unlike the solar mterpretauon, dus
has sound Egyptian antecedents. In p, 371 D-E Plu~rch expound.s a
belief that Osiris is the sun and brushes scornfully astde the equauon
of the sun with Typhon.
p. 82., 18 oatplV SE Tov CJEAfiVICXl<OV] Cf. 39, 366F on the moon-
1 s~n of Amiin and Mut, may be there involved; cf. the name Heracleion,
shaped image and n. The story of how Typhon found the wooden
coffin of Osiris when be was hunting a pig at full moon (8, JHA) seems
to imply an equation of Osiris and the moon, an idea which occasionally
occurs in Egyptian texts of the Ptolemaic era: seen. ad P 12.8, 14-15
Osiris is called the moon in a hymn of the time of Ramesses IV, see
Kees, Totenglauhen2, 145.4 Cf. Frazer, AAO n, 12.9ff.; Budge, Osiris, I,
384ff.; H. P. Cooke, Osiris, 66ff.; C. Fries, Class. et Med. 5 (1942.),
12.1 ff. The Egyptians, like the Greeks, believed that the moon ~ad. a
beneficent influence on growth in general and on sexual procreauon m
particular. The moon-god is addressed as 'lustful bull, who impreg-
x Nilsson, Rei. Zauberpap. 1~10. Hopfner, n, 184 gives a different view
without providing refs. . ,
2 Cf. The Contendings of Horus and Seth, 4, 4-6 and Gardmer s note. Se_e ~
above ad p. 158, 9 See also G. Nagel, 'Set dans la barque solrure,
BIFAO :18 (15129), 33-9; H. Te Velde, Seth, 99 ff. . serpents et hoc genus omne; this is suggested by Klaus Parlasca in' Herakles-
3 Campbell Bonner Studies in Magical Amulets, 130ff.; cf. Conflrct, 115
4 cf.td. Gotterg/auhe, 115. Kees' attempt to find a similar idea implied in Pyr.
5obff. is not convincing. For a scene in the chapel of Sokar at Den.derah,
14
where Osiris is identified with the moon in the form of the wed;at-eye
which is being fished in a net, see Ph. Derchain, Rev. d'igyptol. ~~ (1963),
II-:I.j.
C OMMENTARY CHAPTER 41
natest women' (Brugsch, Tlus. 2.99); see further Bonnet, Real. 47 1.
Hopfner, u, 187 wrongly describes the idea as exclusively Greek.
P 182., :1.4 ~it6] Cf. 49, 371 s-e; 6:~., 376A- B. In Egyptian dte name is
variously written St1, Stll, Sw~, and Swt!J; Coptic CHT, Babylonian
!uta!;; see Wh. IV, 345 Plutarch's explanation may rest on the verb
s!l, 'draw, pull': see Wh. IV, 351ff. The verb is sometimes used of
'o.ppressive and compulsive' actions, e.g. of taking captives to the
King ( Wh. IV, ~53 , 5). The Egyptians were fond of such etymologies,
and.~on L~ has su~ested thatst/ 'fire' in the phrase 'lighting the
fire m dte datly temple hturgy, refers punningly to Seth.
P 182., 2.5 HpcncMcx] According to one version of the story of how
Herades fetched the cattle of Geryon from the island of Erythia, the
h~ro became hot and bent his bow at the sun, whereupon the sun gave
htm a golden goblet in which he completed his journey across the sea:
see A~ollodorus, 2.. S 10, where Pherecydes is perhaps the source
accordmg to ~razer a~ loc.. (Loeb, 1, 2.I), n. 2.). Plutarch seems to imply
that Heracles ts here tdenufied with Seth as the sun. Herodotus, 2.. 43
refers to an Egyptian Herades in a Theban context, so that Khons, the
gtven to the Theban temple of Khons in the Ptolemaic era, see Wiede-
r:'ann,. HJt. II, 2.oo-I, who also notes other suggested identifications,
mcludmg Shu, but without any suggestion of Seth. Diodorus Sic. 1.
17. 3 says that Osiris placed his kinsman Heracles in charge of Egypt
Horus may be intended, although Apollo, who is identified with Horus'
is mentioned afterwards.1 All this does not lead to a tangible parallel:
1
ZAS :I.S (18~7), II4- 1S The suggestion is not entirely convincing: see
J. Gwyn Gnffiths, Aegypttu J8 (19S8), 6. Sieveking, ad /oc. compares
twti, 'be great, powerful' (Wb. rv, 77). See also H. Te Velde, Seth, 3 ff.
1
Manetho, fr. 61 ed. Waddell (Loeb, p. 1Go) gives Heracles as another name
of Osorkho (Osorkon III), a king of the :1.3rd Dyn. But this is a different
ke~e of fish; for a speculative treaunent see Wainwright, Slcy-Rel. 3S ff.
An tdentification ~f J:Io~ and He~cles may have followed the depiction
of Horus on the C1ppt of Horus where he is often shown throtding
~arpo~tes und : Ho~s auf den Krokodilen"' in Aleten des 24ten
tntemattonal~n Onentaluten-Kongresses Miinchen (19S7, pub!. 1959),
71-4. H7 pomts out that Ha~ocrates was a predominantly solar god in the
Ptolemruc-Roman era and ates examples in statuary of Heracles-Harpo-
crates. A club on the shoulder is the Heraclean element. In his pl. 10 he
457
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 41 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 41

but it is rather striking that the phrase used of Herades here, 'making
his seat in the sun', has a dose analogy in Egyptian representations CHAPTER 42.
which show the sun-god Re' sitting in the disk of the sun: see Bonnet, P 184, 4 'E~SOilTJ mlSEI<a] Cf. 39, 366 and note ad p. I8o, t.
Bilderatla.r, nos. 9 and I 5; at other times he is depicted as standing in it: P 184, 8 ~~ISEKa TETp<Xywvov] The numbers 16 and IS are
ihid. nos. 16; 18; 20. described as 'square' and 'oblong' in relation to the surfaces which
p. 182, 26 Tfj SE cn!.fi"T.. Tov 'EP'liiv] Cf. u, :H5D, where Hermes is they could denote; in this sense they are mlmSos, 'plane', 'representing
said to play draughts with the Moon, thus winning and creating the a surface'. See .eh. Mugler, Diet. hutorique de la termilwlogie geometrique
five epagomenal days. In De Pyth. or. 9, 398c-o the first Sybil uses a des Grecs (Pans, 1958-9), s.vv. Parthey, p. 2.39 gives a neat geometric
similar phrase when she states that after death she will 'go round in the demonstration of the Pythagorean statement concerning 16 and 18.
moon' (w Tfj cn!.fi"T.. mpleJO'l). Hermes (the celestial as opposed to the If the surfaces be divided into squares, the parts of the perimeter equal
terrestrial Hermes) is associated with Persephone and the moon in De those of the area, except in the case of 18 when it is figured as a
jac. 2.8,943B; see Chemiss adloc. (Loeb, p. 199, n. d). In Greek religion, rectangle of 2 x 9
however, Hermes has only a fiimsy and secondary connexion with the 2 3 4
moon. The Egyptian Thoth, on the other hand, develops a prominent
lunar aspect. Although the lunar role ascribed to him by certain inter- 16 I 2 3 4 5
preters of the Pyramid texts1 is questionable, the coupling of his name
with that of the moon-god I'al) in the N.K. is unequivocal;~ so is the 15 5 6 7 8 6
legend of the birth of Thoth from Seth's head.J Plutarch's allusion
recalls Thoth as the moon in the form of a squatting baboon with lunar 14 9 10 11 12 7
crescent and disk on its head. The comparison of the moon's affairs
with the works of reason and wisdom is consonant with the fact that 13 13 14 15 16 8
Thoth was a god also of writing and calculation; indeed his role as a
moon-god may have arisen from the concept of him as a deity who
12 11 10 9
calculated the phases of the moon.
p. 182, 2.8 ol Se ~Twu<al] The idea of the sun being kindled and 2 3 4 5 6
nourished from the sea recalls 7, 3 53 E, where the Egyptian priests are 18 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
said to believe that the sea consists entirely of fire. See the n. thereon
and ad p. 18o, 17. See also Diog. Laert. 7 145; Porph. De Antr. 17 7 8 9 10 11 12 8
Nymph. 11.
publishes a Late-Ptolemaic torso now in Heidelberg, which he refers to 16 13 14 15 16 17 18 9
Heracles-Harpocrates. He rightly rejects the possibility that Amon-Re'-
Harsaphes is involved, although this deity is sometimes identified with 15 14 13 12 11 10
Herades in the Roman era; see Bonnet, Real. 2.89.
1
E.g. Boyla.n, Thoth, 32. ff.; Bonnet, Real. 807. 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
1
Boylan, Thotlz, G3 f.; Bonnet, Real. 35s; also Kees, Gotterglaube, 31 4 22 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
3 Ennan, Sitrungsb. Berlin, 1916, 1 14~-4; Kees, ZAS Go (192.5), I ff.; 10
Conflict, 43
4 Petrie, Amulets, 2.oGh.
21 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 11
20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12

459
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 42.
P 184, 12. TOV rnoy5oov Myov] Wyttenbach's proposed restoration
of t<Crra before this phrase removes the difficulties discussed by Parthey
and Hopfner. The number 17 is divided 'in the ratio of 9 to 8' into
unequal parts, and this is precisely the meaning of 6 rn6ySoos Myos
(9 is ! of 8).
p. I 84, 14 6KTW Kal Eilxn] Cf. 13, 356 o. The present allusion points
clearly to a piece of superimposed astral theorizing.
p. I84, 17Mpvcnccqlf1VOE1Sii) Cf. 39,366F and note. 'The cutting of
wood' is mentioned also in 2.1, 359c on which see note.
p. 1 84, 19 J.i41Tl] There is a trace of a lunar interpretation also in the
mention of the division of the body into fourteen parts in 18, 357F-
358A in that Typhon is said to come across it when hunting by moon-
light. C. Fries, Class. et Med. 5 (I942), udf. zealously argues that the
lunar significance of the fourteen parts, referring to the time of the
gradual waning of the full moon, indicates the story to be funda-
mentally a moon myth. The tradition about the number varies,
however: see note ad p. I44, n. Osiris as a moon god is a late devel-
opment, although attested in Egyptian sources; cf. Frazer, AAO n, 131.
Plutarch does not himselfaccept this meaning as primary; cf. 33, 364Aff.;
43, 368c. See also note ad p. 182, 18.
P 184, 25 TOV w0j.1cptv aiepyrnw] Parthey's suggested reading of
wOvovqnv (cf. Oinouphis, the Heliopolitan teacher of Pythagoras, 10,
354E) hardly suits as a name of Osiris, although Aelian, NA 12. n
1
gives it as the name of a black bull worshipped by the Egyptians.
Omphis is likely to be a variant of Onnophris, a name often given to
Osiris in the Greek papyri (in the form 'Oaop6w(l)!pp1S'1 and the like).
In these papyri Onnophris occurs also as a personal name,3 and it is as
a personal name too that the Egyptian Wnn-nfr, from which it is
derived, first occurs (in the 5th Dynasty); only in the M.K. and after-
wards is it used of Osiris, often in the form Wnn-nfrw.4 That Omphis
is a possible by-form of Onnophris is suggested by the comparison
made by Brugsch:S Memphis has come from Mn-nfr just as Omphis has
1 Hopfner, n, 191 says of this bull that it was 'manifestly sacred to Osiris'
(' der o.lfenbar dem Osiris heilig war'). The matter is not beyond question,
but see Bonnet, Real. 469
1 PGM s, IOJ-2. Cf. Hopfner, n, I9l and Gardiner, w~PIS (Miscel-
lanea AcaJemica Berol. 1950), 44 Cf. too the Coptic forms there cited.
3 Preisigke, NamenhucA, 24~. 4 Gardiner, op. cit. 4S
S Cited by Gardiner, ihitl.
COMMENTARY CHAPTERS 42-3
come from Wnn-nfr. A form Wn-nfr also occurs, but Gardiner in his
study of the name rightly emphasizes the predominant writing Wnn,
an imperfective participle; he arrives at the translation 'he who is in a
state of permanent well-being', thus stripping nfr of any ethical
meaning. The 'well-being' he would refer to the state achieved by
Osiris when, in his new life after trouble and death, he enjoyed un-
disputed sway 'in a land where his power was absolute'. Stock1 has
also brought out the sense of new life and vigour which nfr seems
often to suggest. Both Gardiner and Stock appear, nevertheless, to
have ignored the many occurrences where nfr has an indubitably ethical
meaning. It often describes a father and mother, a king, a lord, or a god
in cases where 'kind, gracious, beneficent' is the natural meaning: see
Wh. n, ~54, IB-2.1, including the phrase CftC nfr of the beneficent sacred
serpent ( Wh. 1, 2~2) described in Greek as &ya&Sa[J.lc..>V.1 Whereas a
wide range of non-ethical meanings is attested, Plutarch's &Vepyhr]s
(from Hermaeus) probably preserves the main emphasis in the applica-
tion of the epithet to Osiris. He is beneficent because in his role as god
of the dead he favours graciously every deceased person who is identi-
fied with him. Wnn-nfr will therefore mean 'he who is consistently
beneficent'.
p. I 84, 25 'EpllCXi6s] In 37, 365 E Hermaeus is credited with the
remark that Osiris means 'mighty': see note.
CHAPTER 43
p. I84, l8 '~IVll\IKTA.] Cf. Herodotus, l. 13 and Wiedemann l
ad loc.; Strabo, 17, 787. The Egyptians measured the height of the \
Nile-inundation as early as the First Dynasty, as the Palermo Stone
shows, and they placed water-gauges or Nilometers at the Island of
Roda near Cairo and at Elephantine. Plutarch's figure of 2.8 cubits at
Elephantine corresponds to that given in the Ptolemaic 'Famine Stela ',
1
'N!r nfr ""der gute Gott?' (Hildesheim, 1951) Mr R. T. Rundle Clark
draws my attention to an occurrence of the adjective in P. Carlsberg 1 ( ed.
Lange and Neugebauer, u, pi. S, 7): 'He is nfr in the hands of his father
Osiris.' Since Osiris seems here to symbolize the waters of Oat, a sense of
'revived in vigour' is urged by Mr Clark, although the editors are content
with schon '.
l For nfr 'good' as opposed to hin 'evil' cf. Morenz, Re/. n9 and Wh. u,
~s4, ~s.
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 43
line 8 and in Aristides, Or. 36. 115 (ed. B. Keil, p. 299), but earlier
records give a height of nearly 4 or 7 cubits less: see Kees, An&ient Eg.
jof. ; similarly the figure for Memphis, given as 14 cubits by Plutarch
and Aristides occurs in the time of Sesostris I (for 'the House of the
Inundation' ~r Old Cairo) 1 as a little over 12. cubits. The discrepancy
may be expl~ned by assuming that the zero-point was fixed at a higher
level in the early measurements; cf. Kees, Ancient Eg. 51 f. Borchardt,l
however, has suggested that Plutarch's figures are arbitrary, being
constructed on the multiplication table of seven. Plutarch's figures are
admittedly drawn from a source which is pressing a lunar scheme. ~or
Mendes and Xois in the Delta (in the 16th and 6th Lower Egypnan
names respectively) Plutarch's 'six' has been emended to 'seven' by
Squire, whose general contextual argument is strong; palaeographi-
cally too a corruption of 3' to ~ is easy to accept. Parthey defends the
vulgate' '
by remarking that the new moon remams r
10r some days .m-
visible in the rays of the sun, so that only six days were reckoned until
the first quarter. There seems no evidence elsewhere for such a reckon-
ing, and Squire's emendation restores consistency to the enumeration.
p. 186, 5 .,Amv] For the relation to Osiris cf. 20, 3 59 B; 29, 362 c; 73,
JSoE and notes; also QEaest. conv. 8. 1. 3, 718A-B, on which see
Norden, Die Gehurt eines KinJes, 78, and supra, p. 49 Herodotus,
3 28 says that the Apis is generated by a light from heaven (ciAas
b< TOO ovpavoii), but he does not mention the moon; cf. P~mpon.ius
Mela, 1. 9 58 = HF 173; Aelian, NA u. 10. Later sources, mcludmg
the Suda s.v. "AmSES ""' HF 747, refer to the light of the moon.
Several classical writers state that the Apis was dedicated to the moon:
e.g Lucan, 8. 478-So; Amm. Marc. 22. 14. 7 = HF HI (referring also
to the image of the homed moon on his right side); cf. Theodoretus,
Cur. 3 46 - H F 669. When Porphyry says the same thing in Euseb.
Prcup. Evang. 3 13. 2 ,.. H F 472, he adds a remark that the A pis bears
the signs of the sun and moon, since the light of the moon also comes
from the sun. A connexion with the sun goes back to the early Egyp-
1 Pi-ij'apy is Atar en-Naby, 2. km. south of Old Cairo; see Gardiner, ]EA
JO (1944), 33f. , . .
1 Naclr.triige {ll 'Ni/messer unJ Nilstandsmarlcen (Stt{ungsh. Ber/m, 1~34),
197 (p. 6 of offprint), n. S Lacau and Chevrier, Une chape//e de Slsosms /er
a Karnalc (Cairo, 1956), 2.38-40 compare records given there with some
mentioned by classical writers (excluding Plutarch). See also A. Hermann,
ZAS 85 (196o), 39f.; P. Barguet, La sr~le de lafomine, 19
. 4(ll
COMMENTARY C HAPTER 43
tian tradition, for the Apis is depicted as a bull with a sun-disk between
his horns, 1 but the Egyptian sources seem to yield no trace of the story
of his procreation by the moon.:
Plutarch's allusion to the bright and dark parts of the Apis recalls
the somewhat conflicting accounts in classical sources; see Wiedemann,
HJt. ll, 548f. Probably the bull was black but had a white triangle on
s
its forehead. In The Tale of the Two Brothers, 14, Bata says 'I will
become a big bull which is of every fine colour'- hardly a specific
reference to the Apis, but an indication of the value placed on a hull's
colouring.
p. t86, 8-9 Tij VOVIlflVI!jt TOV <lla~] No Egyptian calendar offers a
parallel, unless 'entry of Osiris into the moon' recalls 'feast ofentering
into heaven' (Cairo Ca/. ed. Bakir, rt. 25, 9). In the festival calendar
of Edfu the date is signalized, among other things, by 'the burial of
Osiris in Busiris': see Brugsch, Drei Fest-KalenJer, pi. 2, line 13 ""'
Bilabel, Feste, 19. The mention of the beginning of spring suggests a
seasonal festival in which, in this context, the moon is honoured.
p. 186, 9 ~11j3acnv 'Oalp1Sos] In an astronomical inscription from the
pronaos of the temple of Denderah (Brugsch, Thes. 54) Osiris is
shown with Isis and Nephthys on a ship which rests on the sign for
heaven. Of Osiris the text says: 'He enters into the left eye (i.e. the
moon) on the fifteenth of the month.' Cf. Brugsch, Thes. 30 (lower
part): ' Osiris has united himself with the left eye.' In each case Osiris
himself is regarded as the sun; cf. Boylan, Th.otlt, 69. Plutarch's expres-
sion suggests a sexual meaning, in which case Osiris is really the sun
here and Isis the moon, although Osiris or Apis as the moon is the
contextual theme.3 Because the moon has also a creative function of
itself, the Egyptians are said to call it 'male and female'. The idea is
Greek,4 not Egyptian, for the Egyptians always regarded the moon as
male, as with the gods I'al;l and Thoth. The chief bisexual deity of the
1
Bonnet, Bilderarlas, 47 and Real. so, fig. 18; Wiedemann, Re/. 187,
fig. SI; 190, fig. 52.. :t Cf. Bonnet, Real. 50.
3 For Osiris as the moon cf. supra aJ p. 1~8, 14-15 and p. xB:t, 18.
i There are a few instances of the Greek goddess Selene being regarded as
Hermaphrodite: in PGM 4, 2.Cio9f. she is called 'Hermes and Hecate
together, male-female scion' (apcmro&ry.u lpvos); and in G. Qyandt,
Orphei Hymni, 42.. 4 Mise, the daughter of Jsis, is called 'male and female,
of double nature' (6pi7E\Ia 11l 6ijAw, 5ttpui'j). Cf. Marie Delcourt, Her-
maphroJite (Paris, 1958), 114 ( = p. 74 of the translation by J. Nicholson).
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 43
Greeks was Hermaphroditus or Aphroditus, and Nilsson, Griecltisclze
Fesre, 369ff. finds the origin of the idea in the cult, that is in the rite
which involved an exchange of clothes by the sexes.x In Egypt the
Nile-god l;l'apy seems sometimes to be bisexu~l, although senility is
often depicted by hanging breasts. Lanzone, D tr. m, tav. 136; cf. 137,
reproduces a bisexual representation of the The~an godd~s M~t. It is
the creator-god Atum, however, that is pre-emmently gtven btsexual
qualities. In the Coffin Texts, 11 161 a A turn says: 'I am he w~o e~
gendered Shu; I am he-she.'l Nothing more than mas~batton ts
involved, although the process of giving birth is so'?eho~ t~cluded.3
Scott, Hermetica, m, 135ff. argues for an Egypttan ongm of the
Hermetic idea of divine bisexuality; he rightly refers to Atum as an
instance. But when Akhenaten calls the Aten 'father and mother of
what thou hast made' (Davies, El Amama, IV, pi. 32, 4) the sun-disk
is not endowed with sexuality. The phrase 'father of fathers, mother of
mothers', used of Neith and K.hnum (see Scott, op. cit. IJG), is more
apposite, although the idea of ultimate originator is primary. See also
Nock and Festugiere, Corp. Herm. 1. 1. 9 and n . .14 (p .10). In the case
oflsis, whereas no suggestion of bisexuality occurs in her iconography,
she is once made to claim (P. Louvre 3079), ' I have played the part of a
man though I am a woman', referring to her role as theotokos: see
Spiegelberg, ZAS 53 (1917), 94 ff.; cf. Conflict, 104 and supra, 284, 353
p. 186, 17 &vaAvEoecn] In 19, 3580 Isis is said to free Typ~on after
his capture; this is cosmically explained also in 40, 367A, but tn a way
other than that suggested here. Hopfner, 11, 195 compares So, 384B-c;
the moon, however, does not figure there.
p. 186, 18 6 mplystos t<OaJ.tos] Other cosmic explanations of Horus
are 'maturing and mingling of the surrounding air' (38, 366A; perhaps
echoed here) and the force of moisture from rain (40, 367B).
1 Cf. V. Lye. IH QEaest. Graec. ss, 304c; M. Delcourt, op. cit. 7 (p. '-of
trans.). L anJ
: Cf. J. Gwyn Griffiths, }EA 44 (t9S8), u4; Rundle Clark, Mytn
Sym~44I~
3 Cf. Rundle Clark, op. cit. So; Pyr. 1248 a ff. In Pyr. tGpc an altemauve
version is given; Atum was able to spit out his offspring.
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 44
CHAPTER 44
p. t86, 2.1 i~Wimt] Turning from the regular phenomena of the
waning and waxing of the moon to the irregular eclipses, Plutarch
records an explanation which sees the encasing of Osiris in the chest
(cf. 13, 356c) as referring to an eclipse of the full moon. For the
shado.w of the earth cf. De foe. 27, 94.1E-F and Cherniss (Loeb) p. 195,
n. J; tn the De gen. Socr .1.1, 591 A-c the earth's shadow is' Styx' and
' the road to Hades'. Plutarch's reference here to the eclipse of the sun
involves Typhon in the role of the sun. Egyptian texts contain frequent
allusions to the eyes of Horus as the sun and the moon; Seth, as the
enemy of Horus, is now the power of darkness. Although this interpre-
tation is not the original meaning of the legend, it occurs quite early.'
It concerns Horus, however, and not Osiris; further, the role ofSeth is
different from that recorded here by Plutarch.
p. t86, .15 1'! "'lats] In this comparison Isis has replaced Osiris as the
moon; cf. the previous chapter. Manetho is the first to refer to Isis as
the moon: see frs. 82 and 83 (p. 196, ed. Waddell); cf. Diodorus Sic.
I. 11. 4 and 1. 25. I . The Egyptians did not envisage Isis as the moon
~eir ~oon-gods being male; but the Greeks often did so, identifyin~
Isas wtth Selene; see Drexler, 437f.; Wiedemann, HJt. II, 192f. ;
Roeder, PW s.v. Jsis (1916), 2.114f.; Vandebeek, Jsisfiguur, I27f. In
the Isis-Aretalogies the goddess is a mistress of heaven who has
ordered the course of the sun and the moon: see D . Muller, Isis-Aret.
40f.
p. I86, 26 f~s nA.] Although Jsis is again mentioned in this
sentence, the transition is somewhat abrupt. Sieveking assumes a
lacuna, but this seems unnecessary. Nor is there need of Paton's
emendation, yEWI'}6Wra 5' lt< Necp6vos, since yewfic.), though mosdy
used of the father, is used too of the mother; see Wyttenbach, Index,
and LSJ.
p. x86, .16 Tiis Necpevos ..Ov Avov~av] Cf. I4, 356E-F and note; J8,
J66s-c; 59, 375 s . In P. Jumilhac 4, 1 and 6, 3 (a work of the Ptole-
maic period, probably, ed. J. Vandier, 1962) Osiris is called the father
of Anubis, QUt Isis (identified with Wedjoyet) is his mother in 6 2.-3
. , , '
see Vandters note 130 on p. IS5. Nephthys in 6, toff. helps Isis to
1
See Conflict, 12.4 ff.; J. Gwyn Griffiths, Aegypws 38 (1958), r-ro; Hopfner,
11, 19G mterprets BD 112, where Seth attacks the eye of Horus as a black
pig, in this way. The text gives no clear inclication of such a meaning.
3 46S Obl

C OMME NTARY CHAPTER 44
defend Horus the child against Seth, and elsewhere she is constantly
paired with Isis. The role of Anubis in this papyrus is somewhat
complex. In 6, 17 he is said to have Sethian aspects, but in 2, 6f. he
leads his allies against Seth and his followers. An explanation of his
ambivalence is perhaps to be sought in the fact that in the xvmth
Upper Egyptian nome Anubis is closely linked with Horus, sometimes
in the form Horus-Anubis; see Vandier, op. cit. 32 and cf. Brunner,
Die Gehurt des Gottkiinigs, 29.
The opposing functions ascribed here to Nephthys and Isis appear
to find no parallel elsewhere. Nor is the function of Anubis as the
horizon, common to the upper and lower worlds (cf. 61, 375 E),
apparent in Egyptian tradition.1 PGM 17a, 3 calls Anubis the god
of the earth, underworld and heaven; but this is not a precise analogy.
Some representations2 of Anubis in the Roman era show him
grasping in one hand an object which Preisendanz, Akepnalos, 30
would explain as the opi3Go:1V KV!<Aos of our text; but this is more than
doubtful. According to Apuleius, Met. u. 11 the priest who enacted
Anubis in the procession wore a mask which was partly black and
partly golden. Hopfner, n, 198 thinks that the two parts denote the
two hemispheres and he compares Clem. Alex. Strom. 5 7 43 1- 3 ...
HF 371, where mention is made of two golden images of dogs which
figure in processions; these, he says, are symbols of the two hemi-
spheres, though some explain them as referring to the two tropics. See
also Diodorus Sic. t. 87. 3 and cf. Pietschmann, PW s.v. Anubis
(1894), 2646. What the Egyptian tradition does reveal, in the birth-
scenes concerned with the procreation of the divine King, is a function
of Anubis as the roller of a large disk which must have some connexion
with the theme of procreation and birth. See Naville, The Temple of
])eir e/ Banari, 11 (London, 1896), pl. H; ]unker and Winter, Gehurts-
naus (Wien, I965), fig. 930 and P 105, IO! 'for life and luck'. Brunner,
Unless one cared to argue that Anubis, as the lord of embalming, of the
1 schl"' 1'
sarcophagus and of the necropolis, was the instrument of joining the
upper world of the living with the lower world of the dead; cf. the tides
given to him in P. Jumilhac, 5, 1-6, :1.
~ Preisendanz, Alcepllalos, 17, fig. 1; Gressmann, Osiris, fig. 9 An ouroboros
is shown under Anubis in Bonner, Studies in Magical Amulets, no. 39
(pl. n), cf. p. :159; the ouroboros symbolized the world. Stricker, De Grote
Zees/(Jrlg, :18 says that 'the god was thought to stand between heaven and
earth'. (This god, the ouroboros, is Apopis.)
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 44
IJ_ie Gehurt des Gottkiinigs (Wiesbaden, 1964), 164f. shows that the
d1sk .was probably the moon (though interpreted at Edfu as a tam-
bounne) ~d ~at originally a rite of circumcision in full moon may
h~~e been l~phed, both the rite and the moon being associated with
vmle fecundity. See also Daumas, Mammisis, 476.ff.; Federn,]NES 19
(19~), ::z.s::z., n. ~ 17; Morenz, 'DasWerdenzu Osiris' inForschungenund
~eru:hte (S~tltche Museen, Berlin, 1957), )6. Plutarch's allusion must
mvolve a remterpretation of this lunar function of Anubis.
P 188, 3 ~l] . ~ubis was sometimes regarded as a jackal or wild
~og, but the dtstmcnon was not rigidly observed either by the Egyp-
uans or by the classical authors; see note ad p. 140, 10.
P 188, 6 'EI<Chr]] The chthonic aspect of Hecate can be viewed as
correspo?ding in som7 way to the role of Anubis as guardian of the
?ecropo.lts, for acc~rdmg to Sophron in Schol. Theocrit. ::z.. u. she is
ch.thomc and prestdent of the beings below'. She also appears oc-
casionally accompanied by dogs; see Farnell, Cults, n, pl. 39 a and d;
cf. QEaest. Ro"!. II I'. 290 D. (the use of dogs' flesh in a supper to
Hecate ~hthoma). It IS her tdentification at other times with Selene
that enutles .her to the adjective Olympian, but this aspect finds no
counterpart m the Egyptian Anubis.
7
. P. 188, Kp6vos]. Markland's proposal to read )(p6vos is hardly
)USttfied smce the lmk between Anubis and Cronus is otherwise
supported. An explanation of Cronus as )(p6'""'" .....~, 'u'me ' , ts of course
~ly and. comm~n, and is c~nspicuous here, although the comparison
ts. base~, m r~l~no~ :o ~nubts, on the paronomasia of t<\JGo:~v, 'dog , and
KVCa:IV, concetvmg It ts suggested by Pettazzonit that the identifica-
1 A. A. Barb,' Diva Matrix',] WC/IlS (1953), 193- 238 uses this etymology
as one argument for seeing Anubis figured on a number of gems from the
Roman era. In] WC/ u (1959), 367--71 he admits that most of these refer
to Seth (as the p~t writer suggested ibid., following Bonner); but on
p J68, n. ~~ he, explains ~e key often shown in the hand of Anubis as the
Key of Btrth of the Mithraic Kronos'. Morenz, 'A b" d
t nu as ma em
usse m Wzssensc~afi/iche Zeitscl.r. tier Karl-Marx-Univ. Leipr_ig 3
(1953-4), 79--83 explams the key, more plausibly as that of the unde _
world an~ derives the function from Greek mythoiogy. For an occasion:)
reference m ~reek papyri to a connexion of Anubis with sexual power, see
~ J. Gwyn Gnffiths,JWC/ n ( 19s9), 367.
~ssay~ (tr. ~ ~; Rose), 12~ f. (' Aion-(Kronos) Chronos in Egypt').
Sarapts and his Kerberos is the subject of the previous essay. For the
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 45
COMMENTARY CHAPTERS 44- 5
d~emons r~pectively. In another sense the discussion here is radically
tion of Anubis and Cronus derives from the three-headed monster
different, smce the powers of good and evil are the supreme beings and
associated with Sarapis at Alexandria. This was a symbol of time and
not members of an inferior divine order.
was interpreted by the Greeks as Cerberus, the three-headed dog.
p. 188, 19 el\10\] Baxter's correction of the MS ecnw seems preferable
Cerberus as the dog of the underworld was dearly comparable with
to ro~w (Elmtv), suggested by Bemardakis. Sieveking would add
Anubis. ~6vov after aVxl.l6\l. This improves Plutarch's logic, but its omission
p. 188, arropprrr6v Tt] The term suggests secret rites; cf. Reitzen-
9 leaves the argument in no doubt.
stein, Hellenist. Myst. 28. p. 188, :t<>-I l:t.fl~6xptTOS KCXl 'E1rlxovpos] The primal atoms ac-
P 188, n KaiJ~VaoV KTi\.] This is stated also by Herodotus, 3 29
cording to Democritus, and perhaps according to his teacher Leuci~pus
and by Aelian, NA 10. 28, both of whom add that the P~rsian king
also, were not only inanimate but also without qualities, save in so far
suffered for this outrage. Cf. H. Ludin Jansen, The Coptr.c Story of
as they vari~ in point of position, order and shape. See C. Bailey, The
Camhyses' Invasion of Egypt (Oslo, I95o), 3off. who argues that this
Greek Atomtsts and Epicurus (Oxford, 1928), 105; Kirk in Kirk and
version is a fanciful elaboration of the account in Herodotus. For other
Raven, The Presocratir: Pltilosophers, 42..3. Epicurus adopted the same
classical allusions to the enormities of Cambyses, see Diodorus Sic. I.
position, but maintained that a compound body could achieve qualities
46.4; Strabo, I7, 805; Pliny, HN 36. 9.66. The Egyptian evidence does
which were absent in its individual components; see Bailey, op. cit.
not support this lurid picture, for two Apis-bulls are recorded for his
:t9:tf. To Plutarch as (in the main) a Platonist the materialistic basis of
reign, and Cambyses himself is named as the dedicator of one related
the atomistic teachings was repugnant; cf. Adv. Calm. 8, 1 I I OFf.
sarcophagus; see Posener, La premiere domination Perse en Egypu
p. 188, u oll:Tc.>u<al] Plutarch's objection here is that Stoic teaching
(Cairo, I936), 3off. Further, he showed special solicitude for the
is monistic, offering no explanation of the existence of an evil principle.
temple of Neith at Sais. Somewhat later, none the less, .he r~uce~
For the Stoic emphasis on providence see Cicero, De nat. Jeor. .3 92
drastically the state contributions to the temples, and the pnests m thetr
and other authors quoted in von Arnim, S VF u, p2ff. According to
anger spread abroad the notion of him as a sacrilegious monster.' See
Stoic teaching the universe derives from two origins: matter which is
'without quality or attribute; characterless' (c!rnotos), and G~d (6e6s) 1
Kienitz, Geschichte, 55-6o; Gardiner, Egypt of the Pharaohs, 364f.;
Klasens,JEOL IO (1945- 8), 33~49 . . . the divine creative principle. See Diog. Laert. 7 1.34 and Spoerri
p. t88, 14 cnclaaiJa Ti)s yf\s] Cf. 55, 373 E. The vtew :Whtch ~stgns
Spiithellenistische Berichte, 38ff. '
this to Typhon accords with Egyptian thought, espectally w~th the
assimilation of Nebed, demon of darkness, by Seth; cf. Conjlr.ct, 71,
s
p. 188,2.5 'HpcXtci\eaTov] See Diels-Kranz, Vorsolcr. 228 1, where the
fullest form (Hippol. Ref. 9 9) has 1fcxAIVTparroS, doubtless synonymous
n. :r.; 12.5 f. with 1fcxAhnovos here; De tranq. anim. 15, 47.3 F also has mxi\I\ITOVOS in
one MS (D), cf. De anim. procr. in Tim. 27, I016B(MSS1Tai\IVTp01TOV);
CHAPTER 45 Porphyry, De Antr. Nymplt. 2.9 (1Tai\I\ITOvoS f) cXpi!OVIa). G. S. Kirk,
p. I88, I9 ~6ptov TOV Tv<pOOvos] The concept of Typ~o~ a_s the Heraclitus: Tlze Cosmir: Fragments (Cambridge, 1954), :r.o.3 thinks
destructive principle introduces the discussion of the dualasnc mter- 1fcxAI\ITOvoS is the original adjective and he translates, there is a con-
pretation of the universe to which Plutarch no.w devotes four chapters. nexion working in both directions, as in the bow and the lyre". His
In one sense this discussion is connected Wlth the daemonology of equivalent translation (p. 2 I s) ' under opposing tensions is more
chs. 2;-3 I where Osiris and Typhon are presented as good and evil satisfying. In the bow and the lyre there are forces which pull in
opposite directions, yet the result is pleasing. By the addition of the
cult of Cronus in Egypt cf. Epiphanius, Paruzrion, SI :u.; P. Oxy. 1025
word K6apov Plutarch makes it dear that he means ' the concord of the
(A.D. iii), 13-1 s; Bilabel, Feste, 43; Pettazzoni, Essays, 171 ff.
1 For Merkelbach's idea that Cambyses killed the Apis because the Persian world'; cf. Kirk, op. cit. 218. The latter argues that Heradeitus, on
king was the incarnate Mithras see n. ad P 134, S the other hand, could not have meant 'concord by ap~ovla, but only

469
 COMMENTARY CHAPTERS 45-6
'connexion'. Kirk's argument is detailed and energetic, but produces a
peculiarly insipid result. 'Unity', 'fusion' (cf. Diels' 'Vereinigung')
seems indicated. The opposites to which Plutarch refers are, of course,
good and evil. For the doctrine ofHeracleitus on their relation, and on
the relation of other opposites, see Kirk, 88ff.
p. 188, 26 Evpm{STJv] H. Schlapfer, Plutarch und du lr.la.rsuclzen
Dicluer (Zurich, 1950), 48 states that next to Homer Euripides is the
author most quoted by Plutarch. Cf. Helmbold and O'Neil, PQ viii
and 3off. The present quotation is from the Aeolus.
p. 190, 16 oveEv] For instances of this fonn in Plutarch seep. I 36, u
and Wyttenbach, Index; cf. also LSJ s.v. and Rutherford, The New
Phrynichus, 271 f.
46
CHAPTER
p. 190, 22 ZwpOOcrrpTJs of,layos] Plutarch has a number of allusions
elsewhere to Zoroaster and his doctrines: see De def. or. 10, 41SA;
Q!!ae.rt.conv.4. 5.2,670D ;Adprinc. inerud. J, 78oc;Adv. Colot. 14,111 SA;
V. Num. 4; V. Them. 28; V. A/ex. 30; V. Artax. 29. These and other
Plutarchean passages relating to Persian religion can be conveniently
consulted in C. Clemen's Fonte.r Hutoriae Religionis Persicae (Bonn,
1920)1 apart from De anim. procr. i'n Tim. 27, 102GB (ed. Bern.). The
best discussion of the Greek and Latin sources is probably that of J.
Bidez and F. Cumont in Les Mages He/lenisls (2 vols. Paris, 1938).1
Plutarch is one of the earliest extant Greek authors to mention Zoroas-
ter.~ His statement that he lived five thousand years before the siege of
Troy is repeated by Diog. Laert. Prooem. 2 who says that Hermodorus
' Their second volume gives the evidence in extenso, followed by comments.
One criticism of the arrangement of the evidence is that it is not chrono-
logical: on pp. 7 ff. Diogenes Laertius and the Suda are listed before Plu-
tarch. A valuable commentary on Plutarch's statement is given in eh. 4 of
~mile Benveniste, The Persian Religion according to the C!t.ief Greelc Texts
(Paris, 192.9), G9 ff.
a Xanthus the Lydian, who wrote in the fifth century, before Herodotus,
probably dealt with him: see Clemen, op. cit. 3; probably also Dionysius of
Miletus, see Bide2. and Cumont, op. cit. 1, 5, n. 1. According to Diog.
Laert. Prootm. 2 Xanthus held that Zoroaster had lived 6,ooo years (vl.
Goo years) before the expedition of Xerxes. Pseudo-Plate mentions
Zoroaster 1h Alcib. I, 122 A == Clemen, op. cit. 2.2. Benveniste, Tlt.e Persian
Religion, 16 wants to ascribe this to Plato, dating it to c. 390 a.c.
470
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 46
the :Iatonist' in his work On Mathematics gave five thousand years as
havmg elapsed from the Magi, beginning with Zoroaster the Persian
up to the taking ofTroy. Pliny, HN 30. 1. 3 (- Bidez and Cumont n'
9ff. ""' Clemen, 42) cites the view of Eudoxus that Zoroaster lived's~
thous:md years before the death of Plato. Other authors are referred to
by Phny, and among his sources were probably Apion's Tiepl Mayov
and Hennippus' Tiepl Maywv. a The Greek fonn Zc.>pa&cnpTJ~ is derived
from the Zend Zarathu!tra through the intermediate western Iranian
fonn Zarahu1tra.3
In 47, 3708 Plutarch names Theopompus and he is doubtless the
source of at any rate the section which follows his name. Eudemus of
Rhodes and Eudoxus of Cnidus have been named4 as possible sources
of the remainder. Plutarch's chronology of Zoroaster as we have seen
tallies ~th that of H~nnodo.~s of Syracuse. It is ob~iously mythical:
~envemste, The Pe~sran Reltgzon, Is ff. tries to explain it as an applica-
non of the enumeration of cycles inculcated by the religion of the Magi.
Horomazes and Areimanius are to reign alternately for three thousand
years; then a struggle for three thousand years will produce the victory
of Horomazes; see 47, 3708. According to Benveniste the Greeks
'g~fte? the. necessity of regular return of men and idea; on the long
penod .s Hts argument applies to the statement of Eudoxus who
mentions six thousa.nd years before Plato. Certainly, Plutarch and
Hermodorus approximate to this, and the suggestion that it was the
Academy that gave rise to the chronology has some force in view of
He was from Syr.~cuse and was a disciple of Plato; this work of his (Tlepl
1
l.laitrJil<hc.>v) may have dealt with the history of learning. See Natorp, PW
s.v. Hermodorus, no. 5 (1912.), 8G1.
1
Bidez and Cumont, op. cit. u, u, n. 2..
3
Bide2. and Cumont, I, G. For a detailed discussion see A. V. Williams Jack-
son, ZorD~Uter, The Prophet of Ancient Iran (1898), 12-14 where the
second element, ultra is explained as 'camel'. In Greek the sec~nd element
ap~red to contain&~~ 'star' and .so gave rise to astrological theories;
sc:e Brde2. and Cumont, ib,J.; Benvemste, Tire Persian Religion, 10, n. 2.
~ B1de2. and Cumont, op. cit. n, 72, n. 1.
5
He goes on thus: 'Since, according to what they learnt from the Magi, the
great cycle of twelve thousand years is divided into two periods of six
thousand years, the first of wich (which) is marked by the appearance of
Zoroaster, the relationship between Zoroastrian and Platonic duaUsm as
wel~ as the law of nature, had to bring back, at the end of the second perlod
of srx thousand years, a representative of the same ideas (p. 20).
471
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 46
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 46
wise man or priest in Persia who interpreted dreams (7. 37). I It is the
the fact that both Eudoxus and Hermodorus were disciples of Plato.
second meaning that is insisted on by many Greek.writers in references
Where Benveniste's argument fails, however, is its unwarranted
~o Zororu;t~r and his backgro~d; they emphasize that 'sage' and not
application to Zoroaster of a cyclic scheme promulgated by him in
sorcerer ts the correct meanmg. The third meaning of 'sorcerer' is
relation to the gods Ahura Mazda and Ahriman. Wemer Jaeger,t it is
often given to the word in other contexts: see on the various senses
true, adopts a similar approach suggesting that '6,ooo ~ears before
Bidez and Cumont, J, 93f.; 144, n. 2. and cf. Old Persian magu! and
Plato's death' (a view which Pliny, HN 30. I. 3 ascribes also to
Avestan moyu Qackson, Zoroaster, 6, n. 5). Doubtless the exercise of
Aristotle) is a reckoning due to 'the desire to connect Zarathustra and
magic arts was also associated. The term maga denoted a sacred en-
Plato as two essentially similar historical phenomena'. He wisely notes,
closure; also 'magic singing' and the people so engaged: see Henning
Zor?rz:ter, 8. Indeed Nyberg's interpretation of the prophet in his D~
however (p. I 34), that the cyclical pattern is not related specifically to
either Plato or Zoroaster.2 He remarks (pp. I 33-4) that 'the Academy's
Relt!JlO.nen des a/ten Iran emphasizes this aspect; Henning, op. cit. 13
enthusiasm for Zarathustra amounted to intoxication, like the redis-
sums tt up thus, perhaps too luridly: 'a prehistoric man a drunken
covery of Indian philosophy through Schopenhauer'. Could it be that
witch-doctor muttering gibberish on his ludicrous Maga .'
the parallel admiration of Plato made the Academics think .of ~e ~o
Dates assigned to the Trojan War by the ancient Greeks ranged from
sages as equivalents of Ahura Mazda? E . Herzfeld3 finds an tmpltcatton
1334 to 1149 o.c.: see Wiedemann, Hdt. II, 518. Thucydides placed it
of the Zoroastrian doctrine of the messianic return' here. Modem
in u6o B.c.-within about a decade of the date suggested today by
scholars vary in their views of Zoroaster's date. The Zoroastrian
Blegen, that is, not long after uso B.c. See Denys L. Page History and
tradition itself places his ministry at 2.58 years before the era of
4 the Homeric Iliad (Berkeley, 1959), 73 and 95, n. 155. '
Alexander; this would give the dates of his life as 66o-583 n.c. He.rz-
P 190, 2.4 "WpoJ.Lc~qllv] In Achaemenid times a form Auramatda was
feld5 believes that the tradition is correct, but interprets it as placmg
6 current, but in the Avesta, especially in the Zoroastrian Gathas a
the life of the Magus' between 570 and 500 s.c.' J. H. Moulton would
divided form Ahura Mazda appears; see Jackson, Zoroaster, 1; 1
place him 'some generations earlier' than 66o s.c. An early date, ~~ut
Ahura ~eans 'Lord' and Mazda 'wise.z He was pre-eminently also a
IOOO u.c., is given by M. N. Dhalla.7 Zaehner, The Dawn and Twilrght
lord of hght;3 cf. Porphyr. V. Pyth. 41: 'The body of Horomazdes is
of Zoroastrianism, 33 puts hisjloruit in the sixth century s.c... like the light and his soul like truth.'
The term J.LCryOS is used first by Herodotus who presents 1t m two
senses: (1) a Magian, i.e. a member of this Median tribe (1. IOI); (2.) a
P .9o,. 2.4-5 'ApetJ.L~tov] Angra Mayniu, 'Evil Spirit', later Ahri-
man, ts gtven a subordmate place by Plutarch since he is designated as a
a Aristotle'~. (tr. R. Robinson, Oxford, 1948), 133 'daemon' in contrast to the term 'god' used of Ahura Mazda. Ben-
2 Jaeger, op. cit. 134: 'For this reason the means at our ~spos~l will perh~ps veniste4 argues that not too much importance should be attached to this
not allow us to determine unambiguously the prease poants at which ~isti?ction which to him 'appears to correspond to the A vestic dis-
Zarathustra and Plato are supposed to appear.' nncnon betweenyQ{_ata and daiva'. A serious difficulty arises here. On
3 Zoroaster and his World (Princeton, 1947), 1, 3: 'Although no tradition
the one hand Plutarch has suggested the equality of the two gods in his
can ever have put Zoroaster and Plato into chronological relation, the
statement that each is a creator-god, the one responsible for the good
words ( ofEudoxus)contain something genuine; they combine two thoughts:
"Zoroaster shall appear after G,ooo years" and "Plato is an incarnati~n of the other for the evil. On the other hand, his use of the term 'daemon!
Zoroaster" . Alcib. I, 12.2.A speaks of' Zoroaster son of Horomasdes 1
For the connexion of the two cf. the term 'Levite' in the O.T. See also
4 A. V. Williams Jackson, Zoroczster1 16. Jackson, Zoroaster, 1 Zaehner, DTZor. 163 believes that the Magi were a
s Op. cit. t, 30. Cf. I. Gershevitch, ]NES 13 (1904), u. sacerdotal caste distinct from the Median tribe of the same name.
2
6 Early Zoroastricznism (London, 1913)1 viii. Gressmann, Orient. Re/. u<if.
7 History of Zoroastricznism (New York, 1938), 11 ff. So too H. Gressn_wmJ 3 Cf. Henning, Zoroaster, 14: ' .. the ancient Iranians had the highest
Orient. Rei. 114. 0. Klima, Archiv Orient.11 (1959), 564 favours the etghth regard for Fire and Light'. i The PersiiVI Religion, 71.
century B.C.
473
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 46
can hardly be taken to indicate an equivalence with 'god' as Ben-
veniste suggests, since he has carefully distinguished between them in
his discussion of daemonology. It seems that there are three possi-
bilities. One is to assume, with Zaehner, 1 that Plutarch is describing
the later, Avestan form of the religion, a kind of half-way house (as
Zaehner puts it) between catholic Zoroastrianism and the Mithraism
of the Roman Empire; the thorough-going dualism of the previous
stage has been abandoned. The second possibility is to assume with
Nyberg that this was the original faith; a position summarized by
Henning1 as a kind of Zervanism, with Ahura Mazdah in the role of
the later Zervan, with Ahura Mazdah as the father of both the Sac~
Spirit and the Evil Spirit'. Thirdly, it is possi~l~ to follow Benv~te
and believe that Plutarch is, after all, descnbmg a state of davme
parity as between Ahura Mazda and Ahriman.
p. 190, 2.6-7 TOV ML6pT)v] Mithra or Mithras, he~ given in an!oni~
Greek form is first mentioned on a clay tablet of a King of the Matanru
(c. 1300 B.C:) in company with Varuna and Indra.3 From the time of
Artaxerxes II he is named in inscriptions after Ahura Mazda and
Anahita. A hymn in his honour in the Avesta(Yashr 10) describes him
as created by Ahura Mazda, and he is glorified as the first heavenly
angel.4 His middle position, as stated by Plutarch, can hardly refer to a
condition of neutrality, for he is a leading spirit in support of Ahura
Mazda. Hopfner, n, 2.05 suggests that the reference is to the spatial
position occupied by him, namely ~e air. Zaeh?er, D.T~or .~~s thinks
that the intermediary status here assagned to Mathras as remaruscent of
the essentially earthly role of the hero-god Mithras as he appears in the
Roman mysteries'. . . . 19~6),
p. 190, 2.8 6Ve1V] The distinction in the types of o~enngs as accor~ang
to the nature of the deities, but in the view of Benveruste,S 'the very adea
of an offering to Ahriman is, in the eyes of a Mazdean, rank heresy'.
Plutarch must be describing Zervanism. Zaehner6 does not accept
1
DTZor. 12.3-5 , .
, Zoroaster, 49 Henning goes on to reject the theory m these terms: This
theory imposes on Zoroastrianism a tortuous development: fr~m Zer-
vanism to the true Zoroastrian dualism, from that back to Zervamsm, and
from that again to dualism; it can be dismissed as the projection of a late
beUef into earUer times.' 3 Gressmann, Orient. Rei. u6.
JhiJ. 139 S The Persian Religion, 73
6 Zurvan: A Zoroastrian Dilemma (Oxford, 1955), 13 f.
474
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 46
Benveniste's idea that Zervanism, a developed stage, is being described;
he believes that Plutarch is referring to people hostile to the Mazdean
community called divasn, 'devil-worshippers', in the Pahlavi books.
He alludes also to a Manichaean saying: 'If, thinking devils and spirits
to be gods, we have sacrificed living creatures to them . my sin
forgive.' If Plutarch were really describing Zervanism, he argues, he
would surely have mentioned Zervan, who was considered superior as
a deity to both Ahura Mazda and Ahriman. Cf. too the same author's
DTZor. l:l.Jff. According to Henning1 Zervanism originated in the
second half of the Achaemenian period and flourished within Zoro-
astrianism in the first centuries of our era, being later repressed in
favour of the 'orthodox dualism'. A certain phase of Zoroastrianism
opposed the offering of animals, especially of the cow and bull, even to
Ahura Mazda.=
p. 190, 2.9 61J.c..>~u] The difficult name must not be rejected in favour
of the familiar IJ.OOAV, which Diibner first suggested; cf. J. H. Moulton
CR 2.6 (191:1.), 81 f. It is perhaps tempting to identify it with the
- '
intoxicating drink, haoma, the Indian Soma, which was used in the
sacrificial rites of the Iranians before and after Zoroaster.3 Benveniste,4
however, cogently suggests that omomi is another name for amomum,
which was used in the cult of Ahriman as haoma was in that of Ahura
Mazdah. The steeping of the plant in the blood of a wolf, he points out,
agrees with the reference to a chthonian power, and the 'sunless spot'
suits a rite dedicated to the Prince of Darkness.
1
Zoroaster, 49
2
Gressmann, Orunt. Re/. u8; Zaehner, The Teach.ings ofthe Magi (London,
12.8-JO.
3 Henning, Zoroaster, 9f. On p. 11 Henning refers to Nyberg's idea that
Zoroaster, while accepting the use of haoma, insisted on a change in the
ingredients, allowing water, milk and plant-juice. On pp. 2.9 ff. Henning
refutes Nyberg's suggestion that the prophet was a hemp-addict.
Tne Persian Religion, 74f. Hopfner, n, :z.os wishes to identify oml'lmi with
haoma, suggesting that Plutarch here is wrong. Zaehner, DTZor. 32.9,
n. 5 says that 'omomi is obviously a dittography for H om' and that Ben-
veniste's rejection of this 'obvious equation' need not be taken seriously.
On p. us, however, Zaehner has to admit that the pounding ofhaoma in
honour of the Lord of Darkness is highly unusual; the normal rites in-
volving haoma ('something very like our rhubarb, which is found in the
Iranian mountains to this day', p. 88) are very different; see Zaehner,
DTZor. Ss ff. and cf. Nock, AJA 53 (1949), 2.77.
475

COMMENTARY CHAPTERS 46-7
s
p. 19.1, !!OshNSpcvs] Cf. QEaest. conv. 4 5 :r., 67oD, the source of
Squire's emendation. The classification of animals into good and evil is
described in the Videvdat, which designates dogs, birds and hedgehogs
as propitious.1 Only the 'water-rats' are mentioned by Plutarch as
belonging to the evil class. Since this creature is hard to identify
precisely Benvenistel suggests that it is the same as the mus marinus
referred to by Pliny, HN 9 19. 71 and involving a sort of tortoise-an
animal classified as malevolent in the Videvdat, 13. 6. In De invid. et od.
s
3, 37 A reference is made simply to pus; P. H. de Lacy and B. Einarson
(Loeb, vol. 7, p. 97, n.f) quote an opinion of E. H. Warmington to the
effect that' it is the water-shrew or water-vole or both'; see also D'Arcy
Thompson, A Glossary of Greek Fishes, 166 ff.
CHAPTER 47
p. 19::1., 10 l~ 6Eo\Js] The six 'Bounteous Immortals' created by
Ahura Mazda to be his attendants were called Amesha Spentas. Al-
though these were abstractions of virtues, they were also regarded as
guardians of specific objects in the world- Yohu Mano (' good will')
of cattle; Asha Vahishta ('the best piety or righteousness') of fire;
K.shatra Vairiya ('the desired sovereignty', i.e. of Ahura Mazda) of
metals; Spenta Annaiti ('holy resignation', not easily equated with
004pla) of the earth; Haurvatat ('health' rather than 'wealth') of plants;
and Ameretat ('immortality') of water.3 Other guardian angels were
the Fravashis, the heavenly prototypes of all living beings. Persian
angelology is admitted to have influenced Hebrew ideas in the post-
exilic period; see H. Wheeler Robinson, The Religious Ideas of the Old
Testament (London, 1913), 117 and 181.
p. 19:r., IJ &vn-ri)(vcus] The six ministrants of Ahriman are con-
1
~
Benveniste, The Persian Religion, 75
Op. cit. 76. Hopfner, n, :r.07 states that if otters are intended, then this would
be contradicted by the Vitllvt!at, I) so.
l The last three are obviously not close correlations to Plutarch's terms, and
Benveniste has suggested that they correspond to yar.atas other than the
traditional Amesha Spentas; see Bidez and Cumont, n, 75, n. u . Zaehner,
DTZor. u4f. thinks that it is only the last of Plutarch's terms that 'fails
in any way to render the Avestan original' . He adds: 'The wonder is that
the correspondences are as exact as they are, not that there are some minor
discrepandes.'
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 47
ceived of as exact counterparts to those of Ahura Mazda. Akam
Man~, ' evl'I tl' , e.g.
WI ; . see Duchesne-Guillemin, Orf7U11.d et Akriman
(Pans, 1953), 31 ; Brdez and Cumont, n, 75-6 n. IJ Zaehner DTZ
12.5. ' ' , or.
P .192 , I4 ~] Since ~v is easily understood from the
pre~10us p~e, Strijd's ~orrection to am!O'T11 is unnecessary in spite of
the a<pEaTr}l<E m the following line , cf Plethons mterpreta-
mtransmve
f
tton o Plutarch in Bidez and Cumont, u, 2.53. According to the
~v~ta ~Yasna, J6. 6 (14) and j8. :r.8 (2.1)) Ahura Mazda is seated in
~1s he1ght of heights, where one says that the sun is', that is, in the
th1rd heaven, above the zone of the moon and stars see Bidez d
Cumont, u, 76 (r 4). ' an
P 192., I 5 acrrpo1~} Whereas the sun and the light of day
regarded as the visible forms of Ahura Mazda, and he is also loo::~
upo~ as the creator of all good things, it does not appear to be stated
s~ec1fic~lly that he created the stars, unless ' the goodly lights' men-
ttoned m the third chapter in the Gatha of the ' Seven Chapters refer
to the stars; s~e Zaehner, DTZor. 75 According to Bidez and Cumont,
u, 76 ( 14) a ddferent explanation of the creation of the stars is g
the Pahlavi Btmtlah.ishn ('Original Creation ') where the h JVenm I
h th 1 ' eaven y
sp. ere IS e pnma entity from which Ahura Mazda creates ev _
thmg; cf. Zaehner, DTZor. 2.58.1 ery
P 1 9~, 17 cnlp1ov} Tishtrya is meant, 'a magnificent and glorious
star wh1ch Ahura Mazda has established as master and overseer of all
the stars as Zarathushtra is of men' (Yasht 8. 44); Tishtrya was
regarded as the gi~er of rain and as the opponent of Apaosha, demon
.
of drought; n 1c v~.lt 8 ~oo~y
see Btdez and Cumont, 11, 76 ,.,.z-n cl
ass1gned an Egyptian origin by Merkelbach, Isisfoste, 1 ofT.
P 192,. I 7- 18 -riaaapas t<al ei1<oa1 eeo\Js] Bidez and Cumont n 76
n. 16. pom~ out that these antithetic groups of twenty-four ~re' no;
menuoned m Mazdean literature unless one assumes with Darmest
th~t the ~d.ditionof the six Amshaspands to twenty-four produces e~;
thirty de1t1es who preside over the days of the month. Even so, this
leaves the opposed twenty-four unexplained. Diodorus s1c. .... .. 31. 4
1
The Fravashis, pre-existent external souls, are said to enable the sun moo
and s~rs.to follow their courses: see Zaehner, DTZor. 146. Ahura Mazd~
~en,_1s rude? by the Fravashis. Hopfner, u, :r.o8 tries to link the Fravashis
tdenufied With the stars, with Plutarch's statement about the creation of th~
stars; but there seems to be no real connexion.
477
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 47
refers to the twenty-four stars of Chaldaean theology, assigned to
divine judges. But this too accounts for only one group. . .
P , g els ~v] The lacuna indicated by Xylander ~~ line. 19
192 1
interferes somewhat with the interpretation; the MS re~dm? ~o~
yavc.l6tv, &vc:rp!IJlKTal makes little sense (yavc.l6tvcould mean pohs~ed ,
but a main verb is lacking). Bidez and Cumont, n, 76, n. 17 ctte a
parallel given by Windischmann from the Zend-Avesta where the
world is compared to an egg of which the sky is the shell a~d the earth
the yolk. the piercing of the egg by the gods of darkness 1s compared
to the Bundahishn, 3 1 3 : 'the middle of this earth was pierced and
entered by him (Ahriman)'. Bidez .and ~~mont are themselves m~re
attracted to the parallelism of an mscnpnon found at Rome whtch
identifies Mithras and Phanes;1 this latter deity was represented by the
Mithraists at the moment when he broke the cosmic ~gg and caus~d the
light to shine which was to illumine the world. Smce Ph~es 1s th~
bisexual god of the Orphic cosmogony, sprung fro~ the sliver egg
created by Chronos, and himself the creator of mgh.t, ~e ~oman
identification involves a fusion of Persian and Orphtc tde~. The
parallel with the present passage, nevertheless, is not very prectse, and
Windischmann's explanation seems preferable. . .
p. , 2o XPOvos et~~~] The phrase occurs firs~, tt appears, m
192
Plato Prt. 320 n, cf. Phd. 113A. Plutarch often menuons elllap~,
Desclny , in his works; see Wyttenbach, Index, s;v. ln De def. o~ 29,
6A the phrase destiny and providence of Z~us occurs, .a re~mder
42
that the idea of destiny could be devoutly religtous and qutte d1fferent
' See Cumont, Rev. Hist. Rei. 109 (1934), 63 ff.; M. J. Vermnseren, Corpus
/nscriptionurn et Monumemorum Religionis Mith~iacae, I (!he Hague,
19 ~6), no. 47 s; cf. no. 696. Cf. also Fritz Saxl, M~thras (Berhn, 1931), lii
and 73 and fig. 159 (pi. 2.9). . f
1 Cf. Guthrie, The Greeks anJ their GoJs, 319. For the ?osstble mfluence o
Egyptian ideas on the Orphic concept of the cosrruc eg~, see Mo~nz,
Agypten und die altorphische Kosmogonie' in Aus Antike unJ Orrent:
Fesuchrift Wi/helm Schuhart (Leipzig, 1950), 64-11 I; he refers on .P 76,
n. 2. to the formation of the 'Com-Osiris' in the shape of an egg (m one
allusion: Mariette, Dendlrah, IV, pl. 83). See also Morenz, Rel. 2.~9 Pluta~h
refers to Orphic ideas in QJ!aest. conv. 2.. 3 t, tlJS E If. (devoted to e
question of which came first, the hen or the egg). . . .
3 cf. Nock, Gnomon G (1930), 32.: 'It is characterisnc of Mtthrcusm as=~
know it in the Graeco-Roman world that it embraces Greek thought
Greek art.'
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 47
from its fatalistic interpretation in astrology. 'The destined time ,
however, although a long-established Greek term, is clearly used with
every propriety to convey the Persian idea. On el11ap~ see Reitzen-
stein, Hellenist. Myst. 301; Bidez and Cumont, n, 2.44, n. 3
P 192, 21 AOIIJOV rnayoVTCX teed AIIJOV] Cf. Hesiod, Op. et diu, 243;
Herodotus, 7 171; Cic. Div. 1. 47 (clamitasse Magos pestem ac perni-
ciem Asiae proxuma nocte natam (of the birth of Alexander the Great);
Lactant. Epit. 66 (71). 4 (pe.stilentia et fame, of the revelation of
destruction given to Hystaspes). Bidez and Cumont, n, 77, n. 18 point
out that the verbal collocation is Greek, but that the idea is authenti-
cally Mazdean. 1 Cicero, it may be noted, tries to reproduce the allitera-
tive clang of the Greek. Cf. too the oracle quoted by Thuc. 2. 54
P 192, :1.2 rnrrrtSou l<Cxl 61-lc:xAfis] Bidez and Cumont, n, 77, n. 19
quote the Bundalrislrn, 30. 33: when the universe is renewed 'this earth
becomes an iceless, slopeless plain'. Mountains are regarded as the work
of the Spirit of Evil and will disappear with his fall. Cf. /sa. 40. 4,
'every mountain and hill shall be made low ; but the reverse process is
also predicted ('every valley shall be exalted'), although the result here
too is perhaps envisaged as an unvaried tlatness.1
p. 192, 23 ~va ~!ovnA.] One of the Pahlavi books, the Dinkart, sees
the final victory of Ahura Mazda as involving the union and solidarity
of the human race: 'At the final Rehabilitation the whole of mankind
will be firmly and unchangeably linked in mutual love, and this will
mean that the demons will utterly despair of ever being able to harm
man again .. Then there will be a universal joy for the whole of crea-
tion for all eternity; and fear will be no more.'3 Behind this is the belief
that' man, in achieving his own total integration, must also be integrated
in God'.4 The reference, on the other hand, to 'one government of men'
seems like a reflection of the Stoic idea. Whether the vision of men
1
Cf. the Phaethon relief in the Mithraeum at Dieburg, discussed in Gnomon G
(1930), 32. by A. D. Nock, who compares Dion of Prusa, 3ti. 4off. as a
genuine Persian work 'in spite of the obviously Stoic character of the
repeated world-catastrophes of which it speaks'. Nock goes on to say:
'The truth is, I think, that small groups of J.layot, lingering here and there in
Asia Minor ... adapted their doctrine to kindred elements in Hellenism.'
1
Cf. Lactantius, De ave PIJoenice, 5-6 = HF 490 (line G: nee tumulus crescit
nee cava vaUis hiat.). D. Muller points out that early Christian poets
describe Paradise in a very similar way.
3 Q!!oted by Zaehner, DTZor. 2.8of. Cf. the BunJahishn, 30. 8.
~ Zaehner, op. dt. 181 f.
479
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 47
speaking one language is part of the Persian thought seems doubtful.
Bidez and Cumont, u, 77, n. 2.1 compare the Bundahislm, 30. 2.3: 'All
men become of one voice and administer loud praise to Ahura Mazda
and the archangels.' Does 'of one voice' here imply merely 'united in
sentiment'? Stoic sources do not seem to mention one language as a
requirement of the Cosmopolis, but the Hebrew tradition concerning
the Tower of Babel in Gen. 11 denotes the possession of one common
language to have been a mark of the original state of bliss; cf. Hygin. Fah.
143: under the reign of Jupiter men lived without towns and laws una
lingua loquentes; then Mercury divided languages among the nations and
discord arose- a story which probably reflects the Babylonian legend
of the division of tongues. 1 In Rev. 7 9 ('a great multitude of all tribes
and peoples and tongues') the earlier biblical tradition is reversed in a
vision of diversity in unity; in Egyptian religion, too, the creation of
many languages by Thoth or other gods is a beneficent act." Plutarch
is doubtless reproducing a tradition inherited from Babylon.
p. 192., 2.4 96nol!lTOS] He is cited also in 69, 378. A historian from
Chios, he was born c. 378 B.c. His two main works were the Hellenica
(perhaps the Oxyrhynchus Hellenica, see R. Laqueur, PW s.v.
Theopompos no. 9 (1934), 2193 ff.) and the Philippica; the eighth book
of the latter probably discussed the present theme: see Diog. Laert.
Prooem. 8.
Bidez and Cumont, n, 78, n. n find the doctrine of the nine thousand
years in the Bundanishn, 1. 2.0 (West's translation): 'Three thousand
years everything proceeds by the will of Auharmazd, three thousand
years there is an intermingling of the wills of Auharmazd and Ahannan
and the last three thousand years the evil spirit is disabled, and they keep
the adversary away from the creatures.'3 A later doctrine4 embraced a
total of twelve thousand years which were connected with the signs of
the zodiac, by adding an initial three thousand when the supreme God
created the spiritual prototypes of material beings; on the other hand,
the magi of the West spoke of a total of seven thousand years, placed
under the domination of the planets : see Bidez and Cumont, ihid. In his
Textes et monuments figures relatifr aux mysteres de Mithra (Brussels,
1
P. Schnabel, Berossos unJ Jie hahylonisclz-lzellenisrisc!te Lireratur, 9ofT.;
D. Muller, Jsis-Aret. 56.
l D. Muller, ihiJ. 3 Cf. Zaehner, DTZor. JIOfT.
4 Probably of Zervanism: see J. Duchesne-Guillemin, Orma{J et Alzriman,
66.
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 47
1896-9), n , 33f. Cumont rejects the view that Plutarch's whole section
from rne1a1 5E xp0\105 EIIJaPJ.IEvos should be assigned to Theopompus
and decides in favour of a compilation alexandrine as the source in which
Plutarch found the Theopompus quotation. J. Geffcken, Hermes 49
(t914),347 suggests that Pliny,HNJo. 1. 3 points to Hermippus as the
source of Plutarch's earlier statement in the chapter concerning
Zoroaster's place in time. The Persian doctrine may have influenced
the statement of Herodotus, 2.. 12.3 that the cycle of metempsychosis
is J,ooo years; cf. Plato, Phdr. 2.49A; 'three times ten thousand
seasons' is the cycle given by Empedodes in Plutarch, De exit. 17,
6o7c, on which see P. H. de Lacy and B. Einarson, Loeb, vol. 7
(1959), ~69, n. d.
P 192, 2.8 cmoAEia6at] Markland's correction has the merit of se-
curing a future infinitive to balance eaea6cn in the following line,
although the previous infinitives are admittedly present. Further the
MS reading c!rrroi\ehrEa6cxl gives the somewhat feeble sense of 'fail'
whereas the complete defeat of Areimanius has just been mentioned.
Hopfner explains cmoAEima6cn quite differently, translating 'und class
schliesslich nur der Hades iibrig bleibt' - an unlikely interpretation in
view of the happiness predicted for men immediately afterwards.
p. 192, 2.8 e\tSal1-1ovas] This happiness comes to men who have
achieved a new life after resurrection: cf. Aeneas of Gaza, Theop!trastus,
ed. Colonna, p. 64 '-" Bidez-Cumont, n, 70, o 3 =- Clemen, Fonus,
95; Zaehner, DTZor. 57ff. and 316Jf. Being freed from the need of
sustenance recalls the teaching of the Bunda!tishn and the Den/cart; the
fanner especially in eh. 30 states that men finally will renounce meat,
milk, bread and water and will be immortal without sustenance of any
kind: see Bidez and Cumont, n, 78, n. 2.4. 1 The statement that they
will not throw a shadow is a little more puzzling. According to
QEaest. Graec. 39, 300c the followers of Pythagoras say that the souls
of the dead cast no shadow and do not blink their eyes; see Halliday
ad loc. (p. I 73) who sees the reason for this idea in the belief that 'the
shadow is an essential part of the living personality'; cf. De sera num.
vind. 2.4, 564c-o; Dante, Purg. 3 2.5-30 (Dante.is seen to be a living
man because of his shadow). The present allusion seems to rest on a
different idea, namely that the Spirit of Darkness, Ahriman, produces
1
D. Muller notes that early Christian poets speak of Paradise as a place
where food is not needed; he has studied these sources in his Das Para dies
in Jer frii!tc!tristlic!ten Dic!trung (Leipzig, 1958, unpublished).
Jl GDI
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 48
COMMENTARY CHAPTERS 47-8
Plato to regard Hades as a beni, ~ lo~. u~ refers to an attempt by
P 194, 7 CrnOTp6mx1ov] In 29 6 PI eh
all shade and shadow. According to the Avesta, the radiant horses of
seeking to establish an equan g fgS , b.ut m that chapter Plutarch is
Sraosha and of Mithras move through the heavens 'without making a on o arap1s and Hades
shadow'. 1 In Manushchihr's Diitastiin i Denik it is said: 'The sunt P 194, 8 Ap~ovlav] Cf. Hesiod The
]. G. Frazer ad foe (Loeb 1 , )og. 937; Apollod. 3 4 :z. and
abstractions Love, ~ar and ~~n~~~~ Plutarch is thinking of the
moont and stars will (indeed) exist, but there will be no need for day- 7
light or a succession of glimmering dawns, for the whole world will be
light and devoid of any darkness, and each (individual) creature will s::n:~~~ ~:::::~y~\r.rrwv] The correction of l!u6oAoyo\hnai by
be light. Being light, they will be full of joy.'~ Plutarch seems here, would have been ~elmopnrlo~es the consftruction but also excludes what
then, to be reproducing via Theopompus an Iranian idea which differs Y mstance o a middl f th' .
from that ascribed by him elsewhere to Pythagoreans. Nor does it Plutarch or elsewhere. e use o IS verb m
seem likely, pace Bidez and Cumont, n, 78, n. :z.h that the Mazdean
belief has passed into Pythagorean speculations-at least not in its ![. I8. 107 Plutarch has slight~y :~~~fi:~~~g ~eracleitus'. ~riticismi
P 1 94, 10 'Hpcn<AEITOS] I d
of
primary form. The Iranian idea of not casting a shadow is to be in light a hexameter. Cf. Aristotle E h E d. e me so that lt IS no longer
and Raven Th ? t : u em. 123Sa 2S and Kirk in Kirk
and life and joy; the Pythagorean idea implies death and loss of fi , e Presocratrc Phrlosophers 196 Plutarch' .
rom Homer are very numerous; see Heln:bold. ' .s quotattons
personality.
p. 19:1, 30 ilpEilEiv] Ahura Mazda's rest does not seem to be men- ~ccor~ing
ere
It~ H. Schlapfert Plutarch und die ~~:!s~c~e~\;.~ ter,
a s lght preference for the Il"
IS
39-48.
13 tc
tioned in the Persian sources. Helmbold and O'N t . zad, a statement borne out by
e1 s comp11anon.
CHAPTER 48
again in D 16 yJ.c:rrras]
p. 194, l 6 Plutarch quotes mIS d.!Ctum of Heracleitus

rw~se
p. 194, 3- 4 XcU\6aio1] The u!rm includes Assyrians as well as the . e exr II' 04 A; there the last clause is ' othe . th .
(weEnnyes), ministers of Justice will find h. ' e Funes
peoples of Babylonia. For yEVEElAiovs cf. Diodorus Sic. :z.. 31. 1 who here have Aw ' , ' lm out Instead of 'EplWES
speaks of the Chaldaean view that the five planets exerted the greatest IO.c;)Oas is no~ a~' ton~es , which is a little difficult. Schuster's
influence on the birth of men. Seven planetst with sun and moon in- Meziriacus. Aeschyl:~c~ equtvalent. B:er is JJO!pcxs proposed by
cluded, are more commonly mentioned in Babylonian sources: the
,
D;
J.IOipal J<al So:IIJOVE)
'
tpanqum. 1?2. uses e term of the Erinyes; cf.
' amm. Is, 4740.
Sun (Shamash)t the moon (Sin), Mars (Nergal), Mercury (Nabu),
Jupiter (Marduk), Venus (lshtar) and Saturn (Ninurta). From this P 194,r;. 17 leE~m5oi<Afis] Cf. Anstot Ie, Metaph. 98S a:z.t - o 1
ranzt YOrso r 3IA37 Em d 1 le s-
elements, Fire ~r Earth a cl p~ oc es taught that there were four
grouping, of course, is derived the seven-day week3 and the continued K
use of the names of the planets for the days of the week in Welsh and be equated wiili a Sphere I. n h' hatther, and] that the rule of Love could
in the Romance languages.4 The classification of the planets as good n w 1c ese e ements d
envisaged a cosmic cycle in which 1 were mlxe . He also
or bad or mixed in influence seems to have varied somewhat. See F. rule of Love and the rule of . two P~ ar stages represented the
Cumont, The Oriental Religions in Roman Paganism, eh. 7; E. 0. the other and back ag . T ~:'feilithere bemg transitions from one to
James, The Ancient Gods (London, 196o)t 234ff. See Raven in Kirk a~~ R~ Im e ~le of Love was the primal state.
J ven, op. czt. 32.7; K. Freeman, The Pre-
1
Yasna, 57 2.7; Yasht 10. 68, quoted by Bidez and Cumont, llt 78, n. :z.;.
For other statements mad b H I. .
~ Zaehner, DTZor. 32.0. Philip Wheelwright Hera:l't y per:c eJtus m criticism of Homer see
3 Cf. H. Gressmann, Die lle/lenistisclle Gestimreligion (Leipzig, 1915), :z.t.
4 So too in a few of the English names. On the general influence of Baby- t ,...,
S
(fr. 93) Kirk Her~c/im. T.r~ nn~eton, 1959), 29 (fr. 17) and BJ
ne o..osmrc Fragment 2 ff.
vers10ns of the saying (including Pl h' ) d . s,. 41 quotes four
lonian astrology see Jean Bottero, La religion Babylonienne (Paris, 19p.), he concludes that 'this im u~rc s an m V\ew of their variation
142.1f.; A. D. Nock, Conversion, toolf.In Greek astronomy too the sun is fragment'. portant saymg cannot he given the status of a
regarded as a planet; cf. De exit. u, 6o4A and P. H. de Lacy and B.
Einarson ad loc. (Loeb, vol. 7, p. ~49).
48:Z.
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 48
Socratic Philosophers, 18:z.ff.; Jaeger, The Theology of the .E_arly Greek
Philosophers, 1 4:z.f. Bidez and Cumont, 1,138 ff. n~te affimues ~etween
the teaching of Empedocles and that of Zoroastnamsm, suggesung that
they derive from the former's Pythagorean contacts.
p. 194, .:z.o Dv6cxyoptKol] For the Pythagorean ;~le of ?PP~sit~'
see Aristotle, M etaph. 98 5h 13 ff. and J. E. Raven .s dtscu.ssto~ 1~ hts
Pythagoreans and Eleatics, I off. and I 1.:z.ff. ~n et~ucal ~nuthests ts not
consistently canied out. 1 The opposites as gtven 10 Anstotle, Metaph.
986a 15 include the following correspondences with Plutarch's list:
"TTtpcxs- 6:mtpov eVeV t<CXIlmiAov
mptmv apTtov 'Pc;:,s 01<6Tos
~v 1TAi\6os lrya66v t<CXK6v
5Eft6\l aptOTEp6\l 'm'pOyc.:l\10\1 hp61111KES'
Plutarch's IJM\1 and fPEp61JWov dearly reproduce ijpEilOW and Ktvov-
JJ\10\1. Aristotle's appev (male) and 6i\AV (female) are missing; but
Plutarch has a new pair, iaov (added by Xylander) and avtaov, and ~e
opposes the Dyad instead of Plurality to the One. J. E. Raven, op.ctt.
1 8 discusses the interesting tradition which connected Pythagoreantsm
and Zoroastrianism : see Hippolyrus, Ref. I. 1. 1.2. = Diels-Kranz,
Vorsokr. 141 11 - Clemen, Fontes Hist. Rei. Pers. 76. This statement,
assigned by Hippolytus to Aristoxenus, the disciple of Aristotle, makes
out that Pythagoras went to Babylon to recei~e the .teac!lln~ of
Zaratas ( = Zoroaster) the Chaldaean ',1 a locuuon whtch 10 Itself
marks the statement as legendary; see Bidez and Cumont, 1, 33ffJ
A minimal deduction, however, is that a similarity between the
teaching of Zoroaster and Pythagoras had been observed as early as
the fourth cenrury.4
1 J. E. Raven, op. cit. 12 9 remarks : ' If, for instance, evenness is unlimited
and bad the number 4 ought not to symbolize justice. But 4 is also the
first squ:ue number and to be foursquare is to be fair and just.'
: cf. Hippolytus, Re}. G. "3 l. ,.. Clemen, op. cit. 76: 'Zaratas the teacher of
Pythagoras.' . .
3 zaehner, DTZor. 19 5 infers that 'works ctrculaung under Zoroasters
name might contain Pythagorean ideas'. . .
4 J. E. Raven, Pythagoreans am/ Eleatics, 18. Duchesne-Gutllemm, Or"!~J
et Ahriman, 8? argues that an Iranian influence on Pythagoras and Orphtsm
should not be a priori excluded. G. Soury, Dlmono/. 61 f. shows that some
of the Neoplatonists probably used and adapted the Book of Ostanes.
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 48
P 194, 25 'Avafayopas] The fifth-century philosopher from Asia
Mm~r .taught that the primal elements are seeds (01Ttp1.1<mX) or lzomoeo-
mereun (substances with subdivided parts alike) and that the seeds are
indefinit~ly numerous; cf. Aristotle, Ph.ys. 203a19 (Anaxagoras and
Democntus make the elements unlimited in number); Simplic. Ph.ys.
54 xo; F. M. Comford, CQ 24 (193o), uf. To Anaxagoras Mind was
the force which controlled and vitalized matter. His system contained a
pattern of opposites such as Hot and Cold, Moist and Dry, but he also
contrasted Nous (Mind) with everything else: see Comford, ihid. 86.
P 194, 26 ' AptCM'OTEAT)s] Cf. his Metaplz. 986axsff. Form (llop!p{J,
el8os) and Ma~ter (v~Tl) were the two basic principles envisaged by him,
and the latter ts rather loosely conveyed here by Negation. Potentiality
as opposed to Actuality is what Aristotle associates with Matter see
Taylor, Ari.rtotle, p .ff. '
P 196, t nAchoov] It was Xenocrates who probably introduced a
belief in evil daemons into Greek thought,1 but Plutarch here shows
that Plato, whose influence he is eager to avow at least believed in a
cosmtc. antagonism. A. E. Taylor in his Commentary ' on Plato's Timaeus
(Oxford, 19.2.8), n 5ff. rejects Plutarch's interpretation of the Timaeus
and finds no suggestion of an 'evil world-soul' in this dialogue; cf.
F. M. Comford, Plato's Cosmology (London, 1937), 59ff., and Burner,
Greek Philosoph.y, 342. Tim. 35 A describes how God created a world-
soul, b~nging or?er f~om disorder; Plutarch quotes from this passage in
De anzm. procr. m Ttm. 1, IOI.lB-c, cf. 6, IOJ4D and De virt. mor. 3,
441 F. The Tlinaeus, like the Laws, belongs to Plato's last period, in spite
of Plutarch's contrast in 'being now older'. Plutarch likes to give
emphasis and priority to Plato's mature views; cf. the use of the same
phrase in V. Num. I 1 and QEaest. Plat. 8. t, 1oo6c. The passage in the
Laws (896 off.) is quite explicit, although Taylor denies that even here
two 'souls of the world' are involved. Bidez and Cumont, 1, t .:z. believe
that Iranian influence is indubitable here as well as in the Epinomis and
I Cf. De aef or. 17, 419A; R. M. Jones, The Platonism of Plutarclz (Wis-
, : consin, 1916), 17; Skemp, Plato's Statesman (London, 195l.)1 97, n. 3
The Laws of Plato (London, 1934), 1.89, n. 1. Cf. Id. Plato (7th ed. 1900,
first publ. 1926), 491 : ' . .. there must be more than one soul which is the
c:'use of cosmic movements (i.e. Plato's theology is theistic, not pantheis-
tic) ... It must be carefully noted that there is no trace in the language of
the doctrine of a "bad world-soul" read into the Laws in ancient times by
Plutarch and Atticus, and in modem times by Zeller and others.'

COMMENTARY CHAPTERS 48-9
in the Myth of Er in the Repuh/ic;1 they suggest that such ideas reached
Plato and his school through the mediation of Eudoxus.
p. 196, 9 oVS' &K{Vf\TOV ~~ a\ni1s) Cf. ss, 374E.
p. 196, 12. -rcx\rnJ Tfj cptJ..OO'Oq)lq:) I.e. that of Plato. 0. Greard, De la
morale de Plutarque2 , z67 f. argues that Plutarch follows Plato only and
does not accept the principle of' dualisme Manicheen'. Manichaeanism
with its contraSt of spirit and matter expounded a dualism very
different from that of Zoroastrianism: see Zaehner, DTZor. I8Jf.
Assuming, however, that Greard is really thinking of Zoroastrianism,
one can hardly agree with his interpretation. Plutarch has pointed to
what is in his view an affinity between Plato's teaching and that of
Zoroaster. This philosophy', then, will include an allusion to Zoro-
astrianism. To Plutarch the Egyptian theology in this context may
provide an instance of the 'third nature' he has mentioned, in the
persons of Isis and Osiris; for they are of mixed nature, but have been
promoted from the rank of good daemons to that of gods (z7, 361 E).
On the other hand he seems to view Osiris in eh. 49 as the deity parallel
to Ahura Mazda. Probably, then, the 'third nature' does not involve
Osiris or Isis; perhaps a person like Mithras is intended: see 46, 369E
on his intermediate position.
CHAPTER 49
P 196, 1 sou ~T)v laoo6evwv) This is suggested in 47, 370B in relation
to Ahura Mazda and Ahriman, although the opening of eh. 46 seems
to put them on a par; Zoroaster is then said to view them as god and
daemon, but to allow 'gloomy offerings' to Ahriman. The present
implication would be true of only early Zoroastrianism, which views
Ahura Mazda as the sovereign god, the 'Wise Lord' who according
to the Gathas created the two spirits of light and darkness.l
1 A. M. Frenkian, L'Orient et [es Origines Je I'JJialisme Suhjectif tians la
Pensee Europeenne, 2-3 is mildly sceptical. See also J. Gwyn Griffiths in
Efrytiiau Athronytitiol l.O (1957), rof. W. J. W. Koster, Le Mythe tk
Piaton, tie Zarathoustra et ties Cha/Jeens (Leiden, 1951 ), :u ff. accepts the
position of Bidez and Cumont. . ..
l It was the later tradition that identified Ahura Mazda Wlth the Holy Spmt:
see Zaehner, DTZor. 5off. where the doctrine of the Manual of Discipline,
one of the documents from Q_gmran, is compared.
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 49
. ~ 196, 16 aSWcrrov] Cf. Asclepius, 16 (ed. Nock): 'non poterat Jeus
utcttlere atque avertere a rerum natura malitia.m?' Scott, Hermetica m
90 compares P Iato, Theaet. 176A: &AA oC'rr' &noMcrecn .a kaJ(cX
' '
SVV<rTOv.
]' 196, 19 qyeJ.loov tcal Jaip105] Cf. :z, .3 51A. That the previous phrase
TC>VQp{C'T(A)\1 'TfCnrr(A)\1 is masculine is suggested by Apuleius, Met. r 1 .30
Jeus tleum magnorum potior et maiorum summus et summorum maximus
et maximorum regnator Osiris. The pre-eminence of Osiris as here
denoted makes him equivalent to Ahura Mazda to whom the moral
emphasis could also apply. Osiris as 'mind and :eason' is however a
piece of Platonic colouring; and the physical allegory or' the order~
element is c~r~nly Greek although the phrase 'Oalpt5os throppoi), the
efflux of Ostns , occurs often in Egyptian: see .36, 365 B and n.
. ~ 19~, :ZJ mx6r)nKov tcal TI'TCl\ltKOVKTA.] In so far as a moral antithesis
1s 1.mphed by these epithets, the evil role of Typhon reflects a status
ass1gned to him in Hellenistic and Roman times but hardly before
that; cf. Conflict, 1.18. Egyptian texts often associate'seth with the power
of d~rkness which threatens both sun and moon; cf. BD 39 14-1 (ed. s
N~v11le); the ~tes of' lighting the fire' and of' drawing the bolt' in the
d~ly temple hturgy; cf. Junker, Onurislegende, 134ff.' and 44, 3680
Wtth n. See also H. Te Velde, Seth, God of Confusion, 138ff.
P 196, .17 TO !1)6] Cf. 41, 3670 and n.; 6z, 376A-B.
P 198, I mpm;s,cnv] Holwerda's correction seems unnecessary;
cf. the use of the related verb in De superst. 14, 171 F.
. P 198, I B~~wva] Cf. 62, 376A-B. In spite ofSethe's early objections
m PW s.v. Bebon (1899), 180 it is now generally agreed that Bebon
must be identified with the Egyptian deity Baba (written also Babawy
and Baby); cf. Wh. r, 419. Hellanicus ofLesbos (v s.c.) refers to Babys:~
too as identical with Typbon: see HF 47, cf. P. Derchain, Ant. Class.
~5 (1956), 408-n and Conflict, 116. Whether Bapbao, a name of Seth
m the Greek papyri,3 is etymologically cognate is much more doubtful.
In Pyr. 1349a Babawy is said to be 'red-eared and with coloured
1 ]unker deals with the Eye of Horus or of Re' as the moon. There seems to
be no ~n~ub~table allusion to Seth causing an eclipse of the sun.
2
The Slmllanty of .form may be coincidental. Tilmpel, PW s.v. Babys
(1896), 2.7.19 descnbes. the name as a 'Thraco-Hellenic word', perhaps
preserved an the Thracan name Ba~v1.T), a town of the Odrysae.
3 See Bonnet, Real. 87 with ref.
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 49
posterior'. A species of monkey ts suggested , 1. and von atssmg
: h~
propounded the idea that the babo?n (Papw cynocef!halus L.~ ts
involved and that the animal as well as tts name, from whtch he denves
babuin and Pavian, were imported by the Egyptians from central
Africa. Baba was associated with the kingship of Upper Egypt and his
early cult was centred in the region ofEl-Kab; later he was worshipped
in the neighbourhood of Heracleopolis Magna, where he competed
with Thoth, a deity who, in his baboon fonn, was externally similar;3
cf. his association with Thoth and Re' in the P. Jumilhac.4 Although
Baba never seems to be specifically mentioned, in the manner of the
first view recorded by Plutarch, as one of the companions of Seth, his
Sethian affinities are clear enough. In Pyr. 5166 he is called (as Baby) a
'lord of darkness'; in BD u.s, in the address to the judging gods, line 6
(Nu), he is one 'who lives on the entrails of the princes on this day of
the great reckoning' ;Sin the Book of the Two Ways, 16,9 the deceased
6 fXJSt36VToov &vcrrpomas (' subverters of well-ordered doctrines').4
is identified at once with his phallus and with Seth; like Seth, too, Baba
1 Cf. Gardiner, P. Clrtsttr Beatty, 1, 16, n. 4; Kees, Horus unJ Setlr als
Giitterpaar, u, 47 f. . .
1 Die altafrikanisclre Herlcunft des Wortes Pav1an =Bahum unJ sem Vor-
kommen als Gottesname in altagypti.rclren Texten. Sirrungsh. Miinclren
(1951). Whedter me varied orthography of me word in Egyptian is firm
proof of a borrowed word is question.able; but dte de~vation o~ hahuin and
hahoon, etc., from dte Egyptian form ts cogent, espeaally as lexicographers
have no oilier origin to suggest.
1 See Ph. Derchain 'Bebon le dieu et les mythes', Rev. J'egyptol. 9 (195~),
' , th d. 'th
23-47, esp. 3off. On p. ~6 he points out that in Pyr. 5!6c e ?o as e
bull of the baboons'. In P. ]umilhac 16, 7ff. Baba 1s at vanance wrdt
Thodt and has dte form of a dog, for which compare the dog-headed
man who represents Baba in me Papyrus of Kenna (BD) = Derchain,
p. 2.7, fig. I; in a Ptolemaic version of BD, on the other hand
( = Derchain, p. 2.8, fig. ~ = Lepsius, Th. pi. 12) Baba is wholly human
in form.
4 J. Vandier, Le Papyrusjumilhac, 15,9 and 16, 7ff. cf. Id. I La legende de
Baba (Bebon) dans le papyrus Jumilhac (Louvre E. I7IIo)', Rev. J'egyptol.
9 (195~), 111-3
S This role is usually assigned to Ama, 'the swallower'. In the Book of
Gates dte 'swallower' is depicted once (B.M. Guide, 1930, :uo, fig. 114)
as a pig which is perhaps Sethian. For me occasional ascription of a
judicial function to Sedt see Conflict, 83.
6 Cf. Kees, Horus unJ Setlr als Giitterpaar, u, 48, where, however, dte ref~
rence to dte phatlus of Osiris is hardly relevant. Cf. the obscene legend m
488
COMMENTARY CHAPTERS 49-~0
is a guardian of Re' when he is fighting Apopis in the solar bark, 1
although in The Contenaings of Horus ana Setlz, J, 9ff. he is mischie-
vously insulting to Re'-J:Iarakhty. Manetho's view that Typhon him-
self was called Bebon could be supported by an allusion like Songs Jsis
Neph.. I 4, 1 3 where Is is sings to Osiris: ' Baba: is in fetters, thou shalt
not fear ; or P. J umilhac 16, 2.2. where Baba is called Nebed, a name of
Seth. In origin Baba is essentially independent of Seth; his designation
in CT v ue as the eldest son of Osiris arises probably, however, from
the link with Seth.J
p. 198, 4 6St;)] Plutarch is partial to the use of phrases in which
6S6s is omitted, such as &-rr' eVeelo:s, St' eVeelo:s, t<crr' eVeeiav: see Weis-
senberger, Sprach.e, 8. On the other hand he often uses 65t;) by itself
to mean 'in good order'; several instances show it with a collocation
like that found here, e.g. De gen. Socr. 2.9, S9S F Tfis 1Tpa~ws 6S4l
jXxSt3olicnls; De comm. notit. aav. Stoic. I, 1059A Soyll&rc.>v 6St;)
CHAPTER 50
p. I98, 7 o110v] Cf. JO, 362 E and note; also 30, JGlF; 3 1, 363 e-o.
Cbassinat, Eafou, VI, 219, sff. deals with Horus' attacks on Seth as a
'red ass'.
p. 198, 8 t<p01<6Se1Aov] In 18, J58A a tradition is noted that crocodiles
P. Jumilhac, 16, 7ff.: here Thoth, angered because Baba has accused him
falsely, manages to gain possession of Baba's phallus, after which Re'
ridicules him and puts him in the power of Thoth, who slaughters Baba
before Re'. On Baba's sexual powers see furdter Derchain, op. cit. 33 ff.;
and Id. 'Nouveaux documents relatifs 3 Bebon (BJhlwj)', ZAS 90 (1963),
l.:z-s, esp. l.3
1
Derchain, Rev. J'lgyptol. 9 (195~), 36ff. On p. 44 Derchain observes that
both gods are sometimes described as red; both are also thieves and spitters.
Like Sedt, Baba is once called 'me eldest son of Nut'.
1
There is slight doubt as to the reading, since me double crown occurs
instead of the usual white crown: see Faulkner, ]EAu (1936), 139; but
cf. Wh. I, 419, I 3; Derchain, op. cit. 44; Zandee, Death as an Enemy, 209 f.
3 Derchain, op. cit. 45 compares Tire ConunJings, 8, 8 (Sedt claims to be the
elder brother as opposed to Horus, the younger; i.e. the elder son of
Osiris).
4 Wyttenbach cites others in his Index, but the refs. appear to be wrong.
 COMMENTARY CtlAPTER 50
COMMENTARY CliAPTER 50
an oryx (Edfou, VI, 307, S; also in the name of the nome of Beni Hasan,
T . a rus boats and behind this there may
do not harm those sat mg 1~ .P PY t ts ~f the crocodile-god Suchos the oryx-nome, Wh. u, ui, u) and on a hippopotamus, as Fairman
be a beneficent role? in Ofsman ~on ex o'te ad loc. Here, however, the points out to me; it is clear, then, that the image referred to by Plutarch
. the guise o Horus' see n th . 1 is a possible type, even if no actual example is forthcoming. For the
or Sebek m d'l . . lved Whatever the Se -amma
. . f th croco 1e 1s mvo .h falcon on the oryx, occurring only in the Saite era and afterwards see
Seth1an v1ew o e od'l The cult of this animal flouns ed
was, it was certainly not a croc. 111 e. t Ombos (Kom Ombo), Denderah Ph. Derchain, Rite.s Egyptien.r.J. Le sacrifice de l'oryx, 14-16. A ;om-
in several parts of Egypt, espe~a; ~tolemaic period that the animal is plicating detail, perhaps, is the serpent with which the falcon is said to
and the Fay(lm. It is n~t ':{:u ~t that some of the cults are degraded be fighting. The serpent figures with other Sethian enemies on the
associated with Seth, w~thrah e ~u mple where the nome-sign (the Cippi of Horus, but Plutarch does not interpret the serpent here. One
and rejected. At D.en ed ~ odr exa ocodile on a standard, a feather wonders whether the royal uraeus occurred in the original and was
Egypnan) ep1cte a er . misinterpreted. An exact parallel, then, is wanting. To equate Plutarch's
VI th U pper . . x lained as Osiris above Seth: see Manette,
above the crocodtle 1S now~ p d Seth als Gotterpaar, n, 43 ; Id. image with the frequent depiction of an anthropomorphic Horus with
fa)con-head 1 harpooning a hippopotamus seems too facile, although
Dendlrah, 111, 78; Kees, ; : =m le of Edfu the crocodile is often
db ~orus and his followers: see refs. Bonnet, Real. S29 wants to do this. Further, the serpent is thus ignored.
0
Kulturg. IJ On the walls h

in Conflict, I OJ; cf. the croco I :a

shown as a Sethian enemy u~~~ ~tacked in the Cippi of Horus, and

the spell to be recited by Maga, e son

of Seth over twO crocodiles in
'
For Hermopolis cf. J, 3 pAff.
p. 198, 14 aq~t~tv "lmSos b<<llowiKTJs] Tybi was the fifth month of the
Egyptian year, and was earlier called 'The Growth of the Spelt' or
p , Mag. Harris 9, ~ff. t :t Cf
' Min '. The way in which Isis set out in a boat from Byblos in Phoenicia
F-J6 4 J. and note; also 19,
8 8 V 1fO'TCti..IIOV 1f1fOVJ 32' 363 1 is described in 16, 3570; in IS, JS8A she is said to sail through the
P 19 , TO ) Like the crocodile, the h1ppopotamus
J~Sc and note (on Th~uens db Horus and his supporters in the marshes in a papyrus boat. Is the celebration here to be identified with
is often depicted as b~mg hu~te ~dfi VI 213 7 tr. seth appears in the Navigium Isidis of the Roman cult? E. Lefebure, Sphinx 6 (I90J),
temple ofEdfu; and m Chassmat,, ou~ 'VI ~ 1 6 2ff.). Plutarch's 4 rightly suggests that the Navigiwn was commemorative of the
the form of a 'red hippopotamus l~see ~~ns'one ~lement which is departure of Isis for Phoenicia, whereas here it is her return that is
at Hermopo 1s con .... celebrated. According to the account in Apuleius, Met. 11. 7ff. the
account o f the 1mage . . . of the falcon of Horus on
fairly ~ommon, th~t. is, th:~up;~:~::~=own example is the l;lr-"! Navigium was certainly concerned with a launching, as the term
an obJe~t symbo.hzmg S . lemaic times as ' conqueror of bts VI, tl.J, s as being on the head ofHorus as he fights the hippopotamus (cf.
title whtch was 1~terpr~ted lln ~o h' h shows the Horus-falcon3 on Hopfner's quotation, ihid.) cannot well correspond to Plutarch's serpent
enemies'.~ There IS a b1erog yp w IC here since they are the royal protective uraei. In EJfou, VI, 117, 2 Horus of
. th metimes used to
those who are m e water , so Bel)det is said to smite the hippopotamus 'while he is on his back'; cf.
1 Cf. the phrase ,myw mw, 1 ckm d Fairman ]EA 29 (t94J), )1, n. 19
include both animals; see B a. a~ anth tion' translated by them (ibiJ. Fairman,JEA :u (1935), JO.
tamus is prollUnent tn e sec . 1
In )1, JGJF lipa~ must mean the Horus-falcon as a hieroglyph; cf. SI,
T he hi ppopo . . h of Horus over his Enenues
l.ff.) under the ude The Tnump S nd Sethe, Urgeschichre, t07ff 371 E. Although it is not referred to Horus here, it will doubtless denote
~ cf. the beginning of the Ro:e~ta l ~~~~i~g For other views see). Gwyn the Horus-falcon simply, and hardly the falcon-headed human Horus.
where this is taken to be th)e oGn~n~lutarch's ~planation wrongly suggests A good example of the latter on a hippopotamus is EJfou, xm, pi. 512.,
a ref. I owe to Fairman. In view of the fact that the oryx-nome has a
Gn.ffiths' ASAE ~G (19~9 ,h 4 hi opotamus
the ascendancy of the Typ omc :~th falcon. head, standing on a bull or strong tradition in the line of what Plutarch here records, Fainnan
3 There ?ften occurs a huma~ ~~an j EA 19 (194)), )Of., n. 7 All the
makes the interesting suggestion that a confusion has arisen about the
crocodtle; see Blackman an , Horus as a human hunter and places concerned, the tradition being transferred to the opposite bank
instances cited by Hopfner, u, n~ f. ~~ce.:.,o uraei' mentioned in Etlfou, (Hermopolis).
are therefore not precisely appostte. e
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 50
COMMENTARY CHAPTERS 5o-I

:Je:P
1
trAota!pana in eh. 17 indicates, although no mention is made of Phoeni- these animals were eaten b I
cia.: In the Hellenistic and Roman eras there was a widespread cult of Apomnopolis Magna, the ;d~ho . lived near Elephantine.r
Isis Pelagia or Pharia or Euploia,3 and in the case of the Cenchreaean about half-way between Thebes and Ele h srr:uated on the West hank
festival described by Apuleius the cult is connected with the springtime cult of Horus of Be~det, to whom th~ :nnne, was the centre of the
renewal of shipping activities following their cessation in winter.4 This secrated. Inscriptions and "ep . ast temple there was con
role of Isis may be of Greek origin and occurs in the Aretalogies (D. bli h . resentattons in th I -
pu s ed m Chassinat's Edfi th . th IS temp e have been
Muller, M 39); in Egyptian texts the sea is often treated as being one The Legend of the Winge;ubiske' s;h volu.me of which contains
with the Nile, and as D. MulierS shows, Amun is the god who mostly other narratives which tell 0 fth 'f e Tnumph of Horus' and
rules over this domain.6 th , ewaro Horusa=i s th
seen, e latter s main animal r . th o-nt e As we have
p. 198, 1 ~ lTO'Tfavots] Cf. the cakes stamped with an image of a tied- . IOrms m ese texts th
and the h lppopotamus For ex I f are e crocodile
up ass, 30, 362F and note. A cake in the form of a hippopotamus is d b .
deplcte as emg speared and I . amp es o scenes wh th .
ere ese animals are
mentioned in a stage-direction in Edfou, vz, 88, I f.; cf. Edfou, xm, 123-68 pa.rsim. The texts als~ a;:fjsee Porter and Moss, Top. Bib!. VI,
pi. ~ 14 and Blackman and Fairman, j EA 30 ( 1944), 13 f.; T. Save-Soder- eating.: Plutarch's statement prob~ o~ten /o the ~tual slaying and
bergh, On Egyptian Representatwns of Hippopotamus Hunting a.r a the people are said to throw th . y lnvo ves a ntual eating, since
Religious Motive, :t6 and 29 (where Payni is named as the month ~dfu temple records, on the ::;~~s od,ut ~pposite the temple. In the
instead of Tybi).7 The verb trrmAmovcn probably govems trOlTavots mstead of actual bodies. For the an Stm~lacra were often used
in the dative, so that the whole cake is not envisaged as being in the crocodile cf. Edfou VI I u 8-n. Thtransfon_natton of Typhon into a
form of a hippopotamus as in the allusion from Edfu; cf. note ad p. 164, were ehanged into' cro ' d'l' 7 d h.e enem1es went mto the water and
. co es an lppop tarn. ' th
II. ttons are mentioned elsewhe o I. 0 er transforma-
p. 198, I~ w 5' 'AnciMoovos tr6Aet] Cf. Strabo, I7, 8I7 and Aelian, confederacy of Seth cam rde,che.g. BD ed. NaviJie, t 8, 27-8: the
N A 10. 21 ; the latter says that the Apollinopolites flogged and tor- they were slaughtered in ethe an anged the fc
p f th lr orms mto goats; then
tured crocodiles before finally eating them. Herodotus, 2. 69 states that came down from them'. cf. Br;;ence of. ese gods, and their blood
1
A likely emendation; cf. Drexler, 477f. (!.ions, hippopotami and ~ees.e). VI ?4, 4 ~Nu); Edfou, VI, 77, 9-to
1
Cf. Cumont, Les religions orien.talesA, 90 with nn. 94f. on p. ~43 hippopotami) VI .2I6 2. (' th s' th' hiJ, 2 an VI, II6, 4 (crocodiles and
3 See Drexler, 474-90; Vandebeek, bisjiguur, 441f. esp. 49; Frazer, AAO vr, 222, 3- 4 (a' red ' ass)' Cf. en1 e c angedi n toaredh'lppopotamus')
a so 7.2, 379E- F and n. '
n, 119 for the view that the Virgin Mary perhaps owes to lsis her epithet
of Stella Maris.
4 Cf. Acts ~8. u, 'a ship of Alexandria, which had wintered in the isle'.
Merkelbach, lsisfeste, 36. makes a case for linking Plutarch's present CHAPTER 51
allusion with the festival of the Cicellia on Khoiak ~8-9, when the Osirian ~ 198, 22 o'P8aAIJc;J t<al Ol<~lTTpooJ C
ship went forth. There is much similarity, as he argues, between this and tattoo here added is conventionall' G IO, 3.5 4F and~ The interpre-
the Navigium IsiJis, but his equation of the dates (pp. 57f.) does not folk etymology which . d yd reek, unltke the piece of Egyptian
convince. S /sis-Aret. G41f. ' h IS appen e m ro, 3f5A.
6
Other gods are occasionally given tltis position, e.g. Neith in the Nau- T. ese people were sometimes involved . .
cratis Stela, n., cf. B. Gunn, ]EA ~9 (1943), 59; Isis in Denderah and pnescltood: see Fainnan 'W: h'1 d m. ntes arranged by the Edfu
,ou, IV, 21 1, II - ~ 1 , ' 1 'Iorsth P an Festtvals'' 19Gf.
2
Etlf-
Sebek-Re' in Ombos, see D. Muller, lsis-Aret. GJ. ., rust at th v
7 Budge, Liturgy of FuMrary Offirings, 7l. cites sympathetically an explana- theu bodies, I slay their old ones with th . e oracous crocodiles, I pierce
tion offered by Dumichen, Der Grahpalast Jes Patuamenap, 11 l.l. f. of 'l;lem- I smash their eggs'. cf. Blackm d ~r young ones. I kill their females
r. ' an an Frunnan j EA ( '
cake' which would connect it with Plutarch's statement. But both the 2
r4, G (,ear IS wrought in 'those who . th' ~9 r943), 2G; cf. IV,
reading and the etymology suggested seem to be without foundation. the blood of your enemies.' are n e water'); vr, 77, 8: 'Drink

493
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 5I
COMMENTARY CHAPTER ~1
. e (/I 8 n) begins Zi'\v' \nrcrrov ~1\CTT6)p' special features constantly present: he is shown in a mummified form
P 198, :1) o~qpos1 The 1m . . and he carries royal insignia of crown, flail and crook. 1 He was prob-
so that Plutarch' s l(a( mars the me~el. ts said to denote 'the god'= ably conceived of originally as a god of me royal dead, and his human
\EnN~et] In 32, 363 F a 1a con
P 198, :7.7 r--- h. 1 h. practice see n. ad loc. In so, form is likely to have derived from his identification with the dead
' a god' a very common terog yp tc ,h if' this god' king.:l
' H s as often. Here, owever,
371 c the falcon represents oru ' e then it is difficult to sub- p. :100, 6-7 t~p6tcqov T{il alSo!~] Cf. I :z., 355 E and n.; I 8, 3 58 B and n.;
. . as commentators assum ' . .
refers to 0 sms, "t:ings 1 But the quesnon anses and 36, 365 B. Ithyphallic representations of Osiris are rare. In addition
stantiate the idea except by ve7 rarezwn wh~ has just been described. to Frankfort, Kingship and the Gods, fig. 18 see Bonnet, Bilderatlas,
whether ' this god does not re er t~ ~u~at Aelian who describes the nos. t so-t and E. Otto, Osiris und Amun, pls. 17-:10. Kees, Totenglauhm2 ,
This idea gains support from the a~ . n 0 :a
1 14
the falcon as dear 13 5 f. compares the special attention occasionally given to the phallus
falcon in NA :1. 4:1; 10 14; 11 " 39, ~e ers~ 11 l If Plutarch is thinking in mummification; thus the phallus of Tutankhamun was specially
to the child o~ Zeus and Leto, ~a~~u:o th~~ i~Amun (see 9 3Hc), it wrapped so as to suggest erection. The Osiris of the myth is sexually
of the Egypnan counterpart o , . nee of a writing or repre- potent even after death, for he begets Harpocrates (19, 3580 and n.);
would be equally difficult to adduce a~ t~s~inative. For the falcon's cf. too me phrase 'thou mummy with the long phallus' (ZAS 38
sentation with a falcon, except as~ e e of the unburied dead, cf. (1900), 30, v line :1). Sir Alan Gardiner suggested that statues of Min,
alleged habit of casting earth on 6 e ey;Aelian N A :1. 4:1 (' on the who is constantly depicted as both anthropomorphic and ithyphallic,
Porphyr. De Abst. 4 9. "'"' HfFth4 7 an) On its keenness of vision cf. lie behind Plutarch's allusion, in which case they will have been
unb une . d ' , wt th no mennon o e eyes. wrongly explained as Osirian.
Horapollo 1. 6 """ H F 578. of this form in Aristotle and p. :1001 7 cpAoyoelM] Cf. 77, j8:z.c where me robe of Osiris is said to
:7.1ftovllVOS} For the occurrence . be 'of one simple, radiant colour'. In paintings on tomb walls and on
P :1oo, th d The New Phrynzchus, 91.
afterwards see Ru er or , ] I Egypt the cosmic gods of sun, earth, papyri the dress of Osiris is generally shown as white in colour.3
P l.OO, 6 cXvepc.m6P.opcpov n h" . but there are others too, p. :100, 8 f)Atov] Cf. De E ap. Delph. 2.1, 393 o, where those who
sky, air and water are anthrl~pomorbpe atct~ested as well as Osiris, Isis identify Apollo and the sun are said to regard mis deity as synonymous
. d " M" ne of the ear test to ' . th
me1u mg m, o d 1 human and partly antma1; o ers with what mey honour most; in De tranq. anim. :10, 477C-D the sun is
and Nephthys. Many go s are partY nve thest"s although one mentioned with the moon, stars and rivers as one of the sustaining
. th hic.3 An attrac '
are conststently enomorp ted by Hanns Stock,4 who forces provided by the divine nous, in accordance with Plato's teaching
hardly vindicated in full, has b~en presen hie gods deriving as they (cf. Tim. 92.c); in De fac. 30, 944E the 'image of the sun' is one
suggests that the cosmic and a; 1~~~~~:u~nce in co~traSt to the gods mrough which shine me finest qualities, and Chemiss ad loc. (Loeb,
do from the East Delta, show emt E t whom Stock regards as p. :Z.IJ, note g) thinks mat Plato, Resp. 507-9 is Plutarch's main
of the West Delta and of ~ppelr gypld t'n the case of Osiris, whose
. fi th African amma wor . 1 For a study of the posture of the arms in bronze figures of the god, see
stemmtng rom . e . r. l . tently maintained,S there are two Roeder,' Die Anne der Osiris-Mumie' in Agyptologisclu SruJien (Grapow
th omorphtsm ts Iatr y consts .
an rop . e ah IV 66 The falcon on a perch ts, Festschrift, Berlin, 1955), ed. Firchow, :148-86.
' Hopfner, u, 1.:14 cites Manette, dDenJ, ~ rlv: in .;,riting the name of Osiris, 1
Other views are that Osiris was originally a human king, or that his
of course, commonly used as a etermma assodation with the god 'Andjety of the Busirite nome gave him royal
e g The Contentlings, 16, 3 ) symbols. The former view is taken by Sethe, Urgeschichre, 79 and by Kees,
~ A. u' NA IO. 14 also quotes Homer (I/.~~. 137. Giitterglauhe, 112. (somewhat less firmly in his Totenglauhen2 , 147). Both
e an, R l 8 tr.
3 er Frankfort, Ancrent Egypllan e
1. (
8)
.n
_ Cf. ConJ.zct, 144 f scholars adduce Gardiner's support, but see his denial inJEA 46 (r96o),
4 In Die Welt des Onenrs I, 3 194 ' 135 . 45 ted by a fish see Ch. 104
. f 0 .ris bemg represen
s For a possible mstance 0 st. ( ) 14 fig. 11 and above on 18, 3 Cf. Bonnet, Real. )75; Nims, Thehes ofthe Pharaohs (London, 196)), pl. 40.
Oesroches-Noblecourt, Mon. Prot 4701~5? ' ./os,'ris 91 tr.
..
JiSB. For Osans as a JaC
. kal see my rzmns ,-
DJ ,

494 495

COMMENTARY CHAPTERS p-2
inspiration in this and in our passage. For the Platonic phrase \IOT'ITfJ
o\ia{a cf. Scott, Hermetica, n, 443 .
P ~oo, Io-I 1 Tijv i}Mov acpo:ipav Tvcp{l)vt1TpocrvE~6VT~v] A stncture
on those who equate Typhon and the sun is repeated m p, 372E, but
in 41 , 67 c-o the idea that Typhon is to be explained as the solar
3 IQ-I).
world is recorded without obloquy. . . .
~ ] Baxter's correction of the reading ols ts convtnctng
P 200, IJ os . f 1
since epyov and cp&lpEt are both singular, and tt seems ou~ o ~ace to
bring in Typhon as the subject of cp6elpet in a sentence whtch dtscusses
physical reactions only.
p. ~oo, 16-I7 &vaevtclO'E15]
..
cf. 36' J6S D (moisture strengthens the
exhalations).
CHAPTER 52
P ~oo, 18 wis lEpols CIJ.lVOt5 TOO 'Oalpt6os] . The ~~red ~ymns of
Osiris form a numerous category in Egypnan _rehgtous ltt~rature.
There are several examples in the Pyramid Texts, mterwo~en tnto the
spells which aim at securing the King's posthumous bhs~: see e.~.
J. Sainte Fare Gamot, 'A Hymn to Osiris ~n ~e Pyramtd T~ts,
] N ES 8 (1949) 99-103, in which Pyr. ~)8aff. ts nghtly thus explamed,
as in the same ~uthor's L'Hommage aux dieux (Paris, 19~4), ~19ff.; cf.
Pyr. 5aff. addressed to Osiris-King;1 and Pyr. 9;6aff. m w?tch parts
57
(e.g. 6oaff.) are addressed to Osiris. From the ~~ denve many
9
hymns to Osiris; see Selim Hassan, Hymnes rel'IJ'eUX du Moyen
Empire and Erman-Blackman, Lit. 145ff.; from the r8th Dynasty
comes the famous hymn of Amen-mose, for which see More~ BIFAO
30 (Melanges Loret, 1931), 725-;o, E~an-Bl~ckman, Lu. 4tff.,
1
Roeder, Uric. Rei. nff. Later literature, mcludmg the. Book of the
Dead and related texts, contains many such hymns, whtch occur also
pre-eminently in the Songs and Lamentations ofIsis and :!eph.th.ys? and
in the texts for the 'Hour-watches' over the body of Osms, pubhshed
by Junker in his Stundenwaclzen. The decree conc~min~ the Ahaton,
which is inscribed on Hadrian's Gate in Philae, begms wtth a hymn to
the ha of Osiris: see Junker, Das Gotterdekret iiher das Ahaton, 1-7.
As one might expect, the texts from the great pylon of the temple of
Isis in Philae also include short hymns to Osiris, although they are not
numerous; see Junker, Der grosse Pylon, 6, 18 -7, 4; ;o, 14-19; p,
1 Cf. ]. Spiegel in Agyptologie: Literatur (Handbuch ~:r Orientalistik,
Leiden, 19 p.), u.off.; for the form of hymns see Kees, ihrJ. 61 ff.
CO MME N T A RY CHAPTER p.
7-1 2. In fact they are not more than short addresses to the god, to be
recited in the course of various rites. His titles are sometimes rehearsed
there; e.g. ;, 17 - 6, 5; 4~, u - 17; 44, 16-17; 49, 14- 19; p, 7-1~; 91,
4-s; JIO, 17-18; us, 1- 3; 175, 15- 18; 18~, ~-3; 209, 3-4; n8, s; 200,
3-6. Cf. Junker and Winter, Gehurtshaus, 183, 16-2o; ~03, 8-t 1; 309,
p. 200, 18-19 TOV w TalS &yt<CrNxis 1<pV'Jla611E\10v ToO 'H~fov] The
expression ' the arms of the sun recalls the frequent depiction of the
rays of the Aten or Sun-disk in representations of the Amama period;
the rays are shown ending in hands: see Bonnet, Bilderat!as, 23;
Wiedemann, Rei. fig. 11 ""' Lepsius, Diem. m, 103. Somewhat different
is the idea of a god being hidden in the arms of the sun. In Pyr. 1101 a
it is said of men and gods,' your arms are under the King and in IIOI c,
that the arms of the god Shu are ' under the heaven . There is nothing,
then, per se which makes Plutarch's allusion impossible. 1 According to
Diodorus Sic. 1. n. I~ Osiris is the sun and Isis the moon; cf. Macro-
bius, Sat. 1. 21. 11- 12. ..., HF 598; Firm. Mat. Err.prof. rel.8 = HF
po; Diog. Laert. Prooem. 1o; Eusebius, Praep. Evang. 3 2. 6 = HF
477; Statius, Theb. I. 717ff. = HF784f.; Apuleius, Met. 11.24 (sic ad
instar So/is exornato me). The increasing ascendancy of Osiris in the
later phases of Egyptian religion involves the attribution to him of
many solar qualities; thus in junker, Der grosse Pylon, 51, 13 Osiris is
one who 'gives light (sip according to J unker) in the place of darkness ;
cf. 6, 3 'who illumines faces .3 But these are secondary assimilations,4
1
In the Hymn of Hori and Seth to Atmln it is said of Am(m as the sun,
'When thou departest thou art hidden from their faces . An 18th Dyn. hymn
to Amon-Re' says of Re', 'whose shrine is hidden'. (See translation in
Wilson, ANET 366.) In the Book of Gates the gods say to Re', 'Thou
hast hidden thyself from those who are in the caverns' : see Piankoff, Tlte
Shrines of Tur-Anlch-Amon, u, who suggests that Am!ln, 'as his name
indicates, was the invisible, mysterious aspect of the sun .
1
Spoerri, Spat!tellenistisc!te Berichte, 205, n. 17 asks whether the equation
of Osiris and the sun had already been assumed by the time of Hecataeus of
Abdera (iii B.c.). The answer is yes. But a lunar lsis is not so early.
3 Erman, Re/. 103 points out that in a late writing of the name Osiris, Re' is
sometimes made to form the ending; see Wh. 1, 359 (a writing in Dyn.
19-20). Cf. also Daumas, BIFAO 59 (196o), So.
1 The early extension of Osiris' power in this way is well outlined by
Breasted, DRT 142ff. Cf. Roeder in Roscher, Lex. s.v. Usire, 1]7 For
later phases see Ledant, Recltercltes sur les monuments Thlhaines ere. 262ff.
J:Z 497 Gill
.
COMMENTARY CHAPTER. p.
and Osiris maintains his primary dominion over the world of the dead
as opposed to the celestial world of Re'. Frazer has the correct pe~pec
tive in his chapter on 'Osiris and the Sun', A-'!.0 11, n~ff. A vt.ew of
the sun as a universal god and as the mens mund1 ts found tn Treattse 16,
6ff. of the Hermetica: see Nock and Festugiere ad /oc.; A. S. Ferguson,
Hermetica, IV, 391 f.; Cumont, Or. Rei. 133 f. Reitzenstein, Po~andru,
198 n. 1 compares the pantheistic worship of the sun found tn Egypt
sin~ the time of Amenophis IV. Plutarch's present allusion1 may not
involve anything more than an association of Osiris and Re' ; unless it
may also imply, as Or J. Zandee suggests to me, that the sun-god
revivifies Osiris when he visits the underworld-a well-attested con-
cept, in which Osiris functions as the leader of the dead.
p. o ocpeccAIJ.wv!J)pov yevleA\ov] Epiphi was the eleventh of the
Egypti~ months. For the eye of Horus which Typhon seized see H,
20 20
373 o-E; this was often interpreted as the left e~e and as the ~oon,
whereas the right eye through being identified wtth the eye of R~ was
regarded as the sun; cf. (above) 44, 3680 and n.; ]. Gwyn Gnffiths,
'Remarks on the Mythology of the Eyes of Horus', CJE 33 (1958),
8z-<) .2 One of the equinoctial dates (:11 March and :z.z Se~
tember) is implied in the ern clause. Parthey, P :148 argues th~t this
1 3
clause qualifies the 3oth of Epiphi, that is, it is only when thts date
coincides with the sun and moon forming a straight line that the
festival is celebrated; in Parthey's view this would be every twenty-
five years Certainly a movable date is involved, for the :13rd of
Phaophi dte next date mentioned by Plutarch, is connected by him
1 Os1r15, but Mm (as Blackman and Fairman point out) who is the centre
with the autumnal equinox, and since Phaophi was the second month
of the Egyptian year, separated only by Thoth and Mesore from
Epiphi, Plutarch's two dates cannot possibly have re?resented the
spring and autumnal equinoxes in a permanent relanon but must
denote the much rarer points when, within a movable calend~, the
calendar came round to them. The birthday of the eyes of Horus ts not
recorded in the extant calendars, but P. Satlier IV (ed. Chabas, P 83)
names the 7th of Phamenoth as the day when the Eye of Horus called
t For Re'-J:larakhty-Atum-Osiris as one god see Leclant, E1UJuites, 19
(2.5th Dyn.); cf. Re'-Osiris in Piankoff, Tomh of. Ram_mes r:1, J4, fig. 5
~ It is shown there that the eyes were sometimes tdennfied W\th th~ morn-
ing and the evening boats of the Sun-god. Several other equauons are
noted. See also Kees, 'Zu den ligyptischen Mondsagen', ZAS 6o (19:z.5),
1-15
COMMENTARY CHAPTER p.
~n the followers of the god. The Eye (or eyes) of Haroeris are rnen-
noned under Jrd and 8th Pharmuthi. 1
P :z.oo, :z. 3 ~plcxs ftAiov) The expression 'staff (or support) of the
sun' does n?t seem to occur in Egyptian, but the frequent use of lwn
( Wh. I, SJ) m the sense of' pillar, support' suggests that the phrase is
~orou~hly Egyptian in metaphor; cf. the supports of heaven rnen-
noned m Pyr. 11436, the phrase lwn mwt.f, 'pillar of his mother'
used of Horus and certain priests, and lwn ~cc ( Wh. 1, SJ, t?), as narn;
of the moon. See also Wh. n, 178, 6-9 Derchain compares a festival
rnenti~ned in an I 8th Dynasty stela (Edwards, Hieroglyphic Texts from
Egypt~ St.el~e, ~ondon,. 1939, pl. 39, pp. 47ff.) where the high priest
of Hel~opohs IS Said tO bnng branches of the res/zed-tree on 'the day of
the fillmg of the sacred eye in Heliopolis' (line 9). Cf. Schott, Festdaten,
97, nos. 10~ and 1.07 Other parallels will be discussed by Derchain in
a forthcomtng arncle; a private missive is the source of the above.
P ;oo, ~7-p :10:1, .I.""!\1
~w . . .mpuptpova1] Cf. 39, 366E and n.
The findmg of Osms JS mentioned there: seen. ad p. 18o, 10 and
P IJ~,:z.4. Herethe'search' for Osiris recalls a phrase in the texts which
descnbe the ceremony of'Driving the Calves' in the temple ofEdfu:
see Blackman and Fairman, ]EA )6 (1950), 78: e.g. the King is 'like
Horus, who drove the calves to seek his (Osiris') grave'. The editors
translate the verb M as 'tread' in all the cases, but this verb, in the sense
of' to s~ek', is frequent in Osirian contexts: cf. Pyr. 97:1a; Ramesseum
Dramattc Papyrus, 14; Hymn of Amen-mose, 14; Stundenwachen, u8
76.. !he tex~ then talk of 'hiding' the grave. Originally it is no;
of this rit:, .w~ich deri~es from a pastoral and agricultural background.
In the Ostnamzed vers10ns, however, Heliopolis is named as the site of
the grave and of the ceremony,= and this might connect it with Plu-
tarch's 'temple of the sun' here, although the cow of Plutarch's
ceremony is dearly representative of Isis.
1 With the latter allusion cf. Cairo Ca/. ed. Baltir, rt. z8, 5 P. Snllier rv names
the 1st ~~ons as the 'festival of Horus son of Isis and of the gods who
follow h1m (Chabas, p. 97). The Eye is the object of veneration under Gth
and 1oth Pakhons. The birthday of Horus the son of Isis was celebrated on
Ph~nnudti:z.Sth; see Brugsch, Thes. Go9, 71-nnd cf. 370, 14; cf. also Sethe,
Zmrechnung, n, 38, n. r. For festivals of Horus star of heaven and of
z Horus-who-saves-his fother see Schott, Festdaten, G~ and 87.
Blackman and Fainnan,]EA 36 (1950), 79f.
499
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER p.
p. 202, 5 navroov npOO-ros ~wpos] Wyttenbach, following Squire,
suggests that the name of a month lies behind 'Tt'avrc.>v np&Tos, since
previous references have been precisely .calen~rical; he there~ore
proposes na0v1 or ncxxwv, or else 11'CXVT6s, m Which case the sacnfice
will have been made on the fourth day of every month. The initial
argument is not entirely convincing, since the most recent allusion
refers only to (the)seventhmonth(withoutnamingit)and to the. winter
solstice. Keeping the MS reading will imply, in any case, a sacnfice on
the fourth of every month. Meaning can be assigned to navroov
npc7nos by assuming that 'Horus, son of Isis' 1 here refers to the King,
who is the living Horus. His performance of a sacrifice is naturally one
which is undertaken on behalf of his people.
p. 202, 6 feve6Aiots wpou] No writing of this name is known to us,
but the birth of Horus is mentioned in several of the calendars: those
from Edfu Denderah and Esna place the birth of Horus on the second
day of the,lunar month: see Parker, Calendars, 59 In P. Sallier IV the
birth of Haroeris is on the second of the epagomenal days (Chabas,
p. ros); so too Cairo Cal. ed. Bakir, vs. r6, sf. ; cf. u, 3H E and n.
p. 202, 7TPIX00s] Sethe, V on Zahlen wui Zahlworten, 1:o quotes Roug~
Jnscr. hilrogl. 27 (Dyn. r8): 'My lord caused my pra1ses to b: three.
I owe this ref. to the late Sir Alan Gardiner. For the three offenngs see
chs. 79-80 and nn.
p. 20::1., 12 :Ulptov] Unlike the allusions in 38,, 365 F f. and 47, 370A,
which are to the star Sirius, Seirios is here an epithet of the sun; cf. n.
ad p. 176, 13, and for the view that Osiris was the sun cf. n. ad p. 200,
18 f. According to u, 3H F 0 siris was the son of Helius.
p. 202, 14-15 "law oV){ hipav Tiis aEATJVfl5] In 43, 36~~ the. power of
Osiris is said by some to be located in the moon and lsts IS sa1d to have
intercourse with him, with the result that the moon is called 'the
mother of the cosmos' and is believed to be bisexual; this is the only
other place in the work where lsis is associate~ with the m.oon,.unless
the allusion to Isis and Typhon in 44, 368 E mvolves the1r bemg .re-
garded respectively as moon and sun. A number of the dass1cal
authors, as we have seen (n.adp. 200, r8 f.), know Isis as the moon, and
clearly the cow horns which she derived from Hathor were open to be
1 Squire's emendation of the phrase to 'son o~ Osiris' ~s unnecessary since
the phrase in the text is commonly paralleled ~~ Egyptian sou~ces from the
M.K. onwards; see Wb. m, uJ, 8; cf. Conflt.ct, sf.; Gardmer,]EA 39
(1953), ::1.1 on a 19th Dyn. ex.
soo
COMMENTARY CHAPTER p.
explained in the way noted by Plutarch. 1 But what is the evidence that
she was so regarded by the Egyptians? None, suggests Bonnet;1 it is
purely Greek exposition that is here projecting Isis-Selene in analogy
to Osiris-Helius (a fusion which, however, had Egyptian tradition
behind it). Attempts3 to find a purely Egyptian lunar Isis have cer-
tainly failed. In the Graeco-Roman era this aspect of hers is well
attested in literature and also in iconography.4
p. 2.o::r., 17 ~avcOToAots) Cf. 14, Jj6D (Isis puts on a 'robe of
mourning' on hearing of the death of Osiris); in 39, 366 E a 'black
linen garment' envelops the gilded cow which stands for Isis, see n.;
cf. too 3, JPB on the clothes of the initiates and 77, 382c on the
garments of the two deities. Only here does Plutarch give a lunar
meaning to the Isiac black.
p. 202, :z.o ~af3E\Js1v Ta ~pc.mt<a] Hathor rather than Isis was the
goddess of sexual love in Egypt. By contrast Isis was the embodiment
of wifely fidelity, typically shown as a mater Jolorosa, bewailing her
dead husband and defending her child Horus. Her depiction in these
two roles was common in the Graeco-Roman era: before that her
funerary function in association with Nephthys is the dominant one.
In sculpture she is shown most often with the child Horus, and so as
pre-eminently a mother goddess.S G. Michailides6 has entitled a study
of the goddess, 'Isis deesse de l'amour'; but after noting her many
affinities, he is content to emphasize her loving devotion to Osiris.
While this is always apparent and while the sexual element is some-
times prominent, as Michailides says (his p. 199), what is striking in
1
Some authors, nonetheless, refer to her horns without explaining them thus:
see Hdt. 2.. 41; Aelian, NA 10. 2.7; Ovid, Met. 9 688f. says: inerant
/UMria fronti cornua. Apuleius, Met. 11. 3 interprets what the Egyptians
regarded as the disk of the sun on the head-dress of lsis to be the disk of
the moon.
1
Real. 32.8 and 471.
3 Drexler, 437 fi'. refers to several of these and rightly questions them.
4 Drexler, ihid. refers to coins showing Isis with a half moon on her shoulders.
G. Michailides, B/E 37 (1956), fig. 14 (facing pi. 13) reproduces a bronze
figurine in which a lunar crescent occurs with Isis. He also quotes Kaibel,
Epigr. 814a, actually 874a oxcWO: 'TE 1<parl rui!Vfl\1 ~fll<Vp-ro(v. Cf.
Vandebeek, /sisfiguur, 117f.; D. Muller, lsis-Aret. 4of.
3 See the exceJient expose by H. w. Muller, 'Isis mit dem Horuskinde',
Miinclmer jh. tier hi/JenJen Kunst 14 (1963), 7-38.
6
B/E 37 (1956), 191-113, with ::r.6 plates.
SOl

COMMENTARY CHAPTERS P,-3
such texts as the Songs and Lamentations ofJsis ana Nephthys. is that it
is the sexual attractions of Osiris that are constantly eulogtzed, not
those oflsis.1 It is true that Isis was eventually identified with Hathor,
Venus and Astarte.: But her conjugal love and her love as a mother are
the leading traits;3 her sexuality is conforming, appealing and ~nd~y-
4
p. :1.0~, 21 Tvcpe;Jva notoWTc.>\1 'T0\1 f\Atov] Plutarch n:eats thts vtew
respectfully in eh. 41 but ridicules it in ~ t, )72A on whtch seen.
CHAPTER S3
P 202, 2.4 Tt611'1111 Ked "'TCCV5E)(i)S] Plato, .Tim. 49A .and SIA us;; an
expression like this of a third princtple whtch ~e p~st~ after the pat-
tern' (napa5etyllcx) and its 'copy' (llh11Wcx); thts prtnctple he calls the
receptacle ( \rrro5oXil) or 'matrix' (b<llCXYeiov) or the 'nurse' ; ~f.
A. E. Taylor, ad /oc. pp. 311ff. Isis is not mentioned by Plato at. all 10
this context nor by Plutarch when he refers to these passages 10 De
anim. procr.' in Tim. ;, 1014C-D and 7, 1015 D. The idea of Isis as a
'mother of all' is found in Apuleius, Met. 1 1. 5 (rerum naturae parens,
elementorum omnium domina).
p. 20~, :z.; ~vptcllWllOS] A Ptolemaic Greek inscription at Philae
applies this epithet to Isis: seeOGJS695; further,SB 101~,6f.; 4101, 2.;
I:z.7, 2.1 ;5 4650, 4; PGM 57, 131 cf. No~JEA 16 (1930~, ~2.4; PGM
4
59 end. Comparable is the epithetlTOAVc.>vv~of used oflsts m.the post-
A~gustan Anubis-hymn from Cius in Bithynia (see Peek, Isuhymnus,
, line~) and in P. Oxy. t38o,97 and IOI f. (A. D. ii); this epithet is used
139
1 cf. the criticism levelled against D. H. Lawrence, that he lyricized the
sexual beauty of the male rather than that of the female.
l Vandebeek, Isisfiguur, 81 ff.; D. Muller, Isis-Aru. 44-5; 53 . xcllpa t<cxl v?l.ll) R. M. )ones, The Platonism of Plutarch, 98ff. argues
See Michailides, 200 ., esp. on the touching poignancy of lsts as mater
1
Jolorosa. Unlike Demeter, however, Isis mourns her husband.
4 In the Hymn of Amen-mose and in reliefs Jsis renews ~e ~al ~otency
of Osiris. As early as the Pyramid Texts (631a-d) lsts ts described as
sexually active. Cf. supra p. jO and P 3B
s See A. D. Nock, Harv. Theol. Rev. 27 (1934), 53-I04 He comp.ares (on
p. 6?, n. '1.I) an instance of the epithet on a mummy amul~t pubhsbed by
Preisendanz, Etudes Je papyro/ogie, I (Cairo, 1932), 19ff. ltne 13 (actually
line 14). Jsis is not in the extant text, but the reference must be to her, as
Preisendanz, p. n points out.
6 cf. TrOAVIlOPcpO~ of Isis in P. Oxy. IJ8o, 9
~02..
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 53
also of Demeter,' with whom Isis was identified as early as the .fifth
century B.c.~ Cf. also ~vpt6j.lopcpo!> (Anth. Graec. I6. 264) and Apuleius,
Met. I I. u, aea multinominis, on which cf. Drexler, 546f. There is a
counterpart in Egyptian to Plutarch's epithet, though not, perhaps, to
the conception oflsis Panthea implied by it. The phrase CJJ mw, 'with
many names', is used of a number of gods- AmCtn, Re', Horus, Osiris
and Hathor; see Wh. u, 42.5, 17. Isis could well have borrowed the
designation from Hathor, but an instance applying it to Isis does not
seem to occur. Similarly the epithet ~vpt6~op~pos is paralleled by CJJ
bprw, 'with many forms', as D. Muller reminds me. A 19th-Dynasty
tomb describes the sun-god as 'with many forms and with many
names': see Wh. 1, 2:z8, 1 ~ (p. 2.1 of the fully quoted Bekgstellen). Isis,
again, is not the recipient of the designation. Origins of some of the
later developments can be sought in her connexions with Hathor and
Thermuthis;3 but in the Egyptian texts it is Osiris rather who verges on
pan-syncretism. The Greek epithet represents, then, a process assigned
to the goddess by the Greek interpretation and involving a detailed
assimilation of the functions of numerous other goddesses.S
p. 2.o:z., 2.6 TpElTO!lMl] The discussion of this relation in 54, 373 B-e
suggests that mov!lMl should be read here : 'made complete by
reason '. For the role of Isis as the female function of mere receptivity
cf. ~8, 374F and 78, 383A. The idea of the receptivity of forms (on the
part of the cosmos) is found in the Corpus Hermeticum, I I. 16, where
'TTCX1.11"611opcpos is used of the cosmos; cf. Scott, Hermetica, n, 32.1.
Festugiere ad foe. (vol. 1, p. 163, n. p) points out that j.!opcpi) and lSea
have the same sense there; this is doubtless true here also, in spite
of the chapter's Platonic background.
p. 202, 2.7 croj.!cpiJTOv epc.rrcx] Isis is here represented as matter (p. 204, 2.
that the idea of the desire of matter for God does not occur in the De
anim. procr. in Tim., Plutarch's most elaborate exposition of Plato, but
1
See C. H. Roberts, Aegyptus 14 (1934), 448; cf. Bell, Cults aru1 Creeds, t6.
~ Hdt. 2.. 59 and I s6. 3 Cf. Bonnet, Real. 329 If.
4 A. D. Nock, Conversion, 1so ff. discusses the universalist pedestal given to
Isis in P. Oxy. 1380; and he notes 'the descriptive phrase, una 9uat! es
omnia'.
5 Cf. una fJUal! es omnia Jea, Jsis (ClL x, 3800; Dessau, lnscr. Se/. 4362 from
Capua, now in the Naples Mus.) and Roeder's remarks, PW s.v. Isis
(1916), 2114. Cf. also Dessau, 4361 with refs.
 COMMENTARY CHAPTERS n-4
that it is found in other works by Plutarch such as Amat. 2.4, 770A-B and
Defac. 30, 944 E. This doctrine, according to R. M. Jones, is Aristotelian
in origin; cf. Metaph. 1072.ai9ff. and Phys. 192.at7ff. (the first cause
moves c:.>s ~pWIJ.EVOV and matter desires form).
CHAPTER 54
p. 2.04, 7-8 'Oalp16os \jNXTJV aoo~a] For the fate of his body cf. t8,
58Aff. Typhon's action is described in similar terms in::., 351 F, and that
3
oflsis in 2.7, 3ch of. and 59,375 A. The body and soul ofOsiris are con-
trasted also in ::.o, 3 59B, but the description there of the Apis being ?te
image of the soul of Osiris (cf. 43, 368o-c) corresponds to Egypnan
ideas unlike this thoroughly Greek statement.
p. ;o4, 15 K6cr1JOV] Sieveking wisely f~llows the rea~ing of v, a ~S
which often varies in a fanciful and erranc way but whtch here av01ds
the hiatus of K6cr1JoV.
p. 2.04, 16 51K1'1v] The charge of illegitimacy brou~h! by Typ~on
against Horus is here based to some ~.tent on a Platomc .mterpre?'non
of the leading figures in the myth. Ostns becomes, accordmg to this, the
creative Logos, himself pure and genuine, but made spuriou~ by
matter, which is Isis. Horus, the child of Isis, therefore becomes tamted
himself. standing as he does for the perceptible world and representing
what i; only, according to Plato, a copy of an original ~odel. The
Egyptian myth, which is mentioned in 19, 3580 (seen.), .s of course
innocent of any such theorizing. Nor does the Platomc approach
appear to explain it all. Torhoudt in ,his ing~nious s~~y, Een o.n-
bekend Gnostisch Systeem in Plutarchus De lstde et Osmde (Louvam,
1942.), which was published just after Hopfner's second v~lume of
commentary, was able to discern resemblances between the ptcture ~f
Isis given here and that of Sophia given in the Valentinian Gnost1c
myth as represented by Hippolytus in his ~efutatio ( 6. 30.6 - 3! 6).
A fundamental idea in Plutarch's account ts that matter (vJ-.11) ts the
result of error (nJ..clvr!). This idea has now appeared in a further
Gnostic source which has lately become accessible, namely in the
Gospel of Truth, 9, 14-17 (ed. Malinine, Puech and Q!Jispel); and ~n the
Apocryphon ofJohn the Cosmos is regarded as the imperfect creanon of
Yaldabaoth, the son of Sophia.'
1 See Waiter C. Till, Die gnosti.rc!Jen Sclarifien des lcopti.rc!Jen Papyrus Bero/.
8501 (Berlin, 1955), 38, 14fT. (pp. u6ff.). See also Conflict, nt; M.
504
C OMMENTARY CHAPTER 54
p. 2.04, 19-2.0 Eplloii, TOV'licrrt Tov Myov] This role of Hermes
(= Thoth) in the trial is described in 19, 3580. Cf. P. Jumilhac, 1 6
2.3ff., where Thoth, sitting on a mat, judges the claims of Horus and
Seth, and decides on giving the whole of Egypt to Horus. Thoth is
usually, as here, the advocate. Plutarch has just stated that the father
( Osiris) is himself the Logos. When he uses the same word of Hermes
it cannot have precisely the same meaning. In the former case there i~
every reason to believe that he is using the term in the sense of the Word
or Wisdom of God as a creative principle, 1 a usage which began at
Alexandria and is best known for its occurrence in the Gospel of John.
In 62., 376C 6 TOV eeov voOs KCXl Myosis a clear instance of this sense.~
Hermes, however, will denote reason in the more general sense of the
word.
p. 2.04, 2.3 yiveats AmSi\Aoovos] The union of Isis and Osiris in the
womb of Rhea is mentioned too in 12., 3 56 A, where Apollo is explained
as the elder Horus.
p. 2.04, 24 (\nro) TOii Myov] Baxter's restoration (cf. too Markl.2)
well explains the reading and is consonant with Plutarch's fondness for
the use of this preposition and the genitive in phrases where no per-
sonal agent is denoted; cf. 3 5, 364 F \nro aaA1Tiyyoov; 38, 366 B \nro Toov
~A~v~v.
p. 2.04, 2.5 cpvaa fuyx0$!M)v KTA.] A difficult phrase, but needlessly
obelized by Sieveking. Matter, represented by Isis, is 'shown by (its)
nature to be incapable of itself'. The latter phrase is prominendy
focused in Torhoudt, Gnost. Systeem, see esp. 2.8 ff., 63 ff., and 11 5 ff.,
where the reading of the MSS is cogendy defended.
P 2.04, ::.6 avCrrr,pov] The elder Horus is ' maimed ', thus, through
being bom in darkness; Harpocrates is 'untimely born and weak in
his lower limbs' because he was engendered posthumously by Osiris
(19, 3580, cf. 65, 377B-c). Plutarch clearly distinguished the two forms
of Horus mentioned in the present chapter. The second one (Apollo ....
the elder Horus) is not the cosmos; the Horus mentioned earlier,
Krause and P. Labib, Die clrei Verswnen cles Apolcryplton c/es jonannes
(Wiesbaden, t9(i1), u, 2.4, 11 (p. 176) and context.
1
An idea foreshadowed by the Stoic doctrine of the ~6yos cmtpj.ICXTIIC6s, cf.
SVF, 1, 18, 101 (Zeno).
2
Cf. LSJ s.v. My05, X. If Plutarch is using the term here also with this
meaning, Torhoudt's approach is confirmed. See further Leisegang, PW
s.v. Logos (192.6), 1064 and to68.
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER H
COMMENTARY CHAPTERS 54-5
1 victory
11 of
h Horus in. the way detailed by Plutarch M"m s ng h t arm ts

however, is the 'perceptible cosmos' if the reading of v be adopted;
us~a .Y s ~wn as nused and sometimes grasping a whip. He is described
the reading of the other MSS (line 1 5 ehc6va 'TOV VOT)TOV K6ap.ou 'an
as With ratsed arm, destroying the enemies ' 1 and as 'Ho "th d
image of the perceptible cosmos') identifies the two Horuses, for in arm' ., T thi th rus W1 ratse
line 28 the elder Horus is said to be 'only a picture and a vision of the : ~ s ~tent, en, the god's form was reinterpreted to suit the
Hona_n vtewpomt of the victorious fighter. Whether anything held b
cosmos to come'. See also Chassinat, Le Mystere d'Osiris, 333
the nused ~corresponded to Plutarch's description or was misunde?-
CHAPTER S5 st?od by him, must. r~main an ~pen question. On the whole it seems
WJser to see here a mismterpretanon of the ithyphallic Min-Har-Nakh 3
p. 206, 1 "Wpos oV'TOs] Pohlenz wishes to delete oV'TOs. Its acceptance P~oG, s-6 T<X vrupa xopSaTs XPftaaab] The role of Thoth (He~
confirms the interpretation of eh. 54 as involving two forms of Horus, mes) m the fight of the warring gods is more often that of a reconciler
the former of which is the 'perceptible cosmos'.: A difficulty arises in But he also befriends Horus and restores his injured eye.4 wha;
that the cosmos is envisaged as decidedly imperfect, whereas Horus Plutarch says here of Hermes must, however be an echo of a G eek
here is 'determinate and complete' ; but this may be a distinction myth. Hermes was the inventor of the lyre.S According to the Ho~eric
operated against the elder Horus who has just been described as having H~ 4 Hermes stole the cows of Apollo and made a lyre, using a
failed to emerge in the form of a tangible cosmos. fi dfor the frame and sheep-gut for the stn"ng s, the 1ater
tortoase-shell

p. 206, 3-4 w K01TT{i) To ayaAv.a ToO wpou] That this was a statue versaon, oun hi m Sophocles,
akj Jclua. 168ff. and Apollodorust J I 0. 2
of Min, the ithyphallic god of Coptos, is well suggested by Chassinat, repre:ents m as m ng the strings from the cows which he sacri-
Rec. trav. 39 (1921), 93, who recalls that Horus was joined with Min in ficed. Typho~ do~ not figure in this story; but the tale of how
the personality of Min-J:Iar-Nalcltt (Min-J:lar-the-Mighty) and that he Typhon, fighnng With Zeus, tore his sinews from him after which
in turn was assimilated by Horus the son of Isis and Osiris.3 The inter- Hermes and Aegipan returned them to Zeus,7 does not ;eem a closer
pretation of the statue as one of Horus would therefore be under- paral~e~8 since the musical use made of the sinews by Hermes is not
standable. In the next chapter (56, 374B) Plutarch himself refers to the mennoned.
identity of Horus and Min. As they stand, Plutarch' s details would seem p. 206, 1 1 KEpawwv] For Seth as a storm-god cf. n. ad P 15 8, 9
questionable. Seth's testicles were tom out by Horus according to the 1
myth;4 but if this were a statue of Min in any form, the god would be Edfou, r, 403, 16.
., EJfou, 1,.399, 7 Cf. Junker, Onurislegende, 35 f. For the explanation of the
shown holding his own erect membrum virile.S One must not, however,
god as simply Horus see Rusch, PW Suppl. 6 (19JS), 441. Aelian, NA 7
discount the possibility of a sculpture which aimed at depicting the 18 names the god of the temple of Coptos as Apollo cf. the s--L
Tlplcnros where the M"m-fi gure .IS described as 'the statue
' of p uaa, 11s.v.
1 R. M. ]ones, The Classical journal 19 (1924), ~6~-6 argues against the Horus by th E . , napus ea e
d
interpretation of the elder Horus here as being the spiritually intelligible e gypnans . See a1so Gauthier, Les Files Ju Jilu Min 249
world. He suggests that he symbolizes rather the state of matter described 3 S~ ~onnet, Re~. 46~; Rusch, op. cit. Bilabel, Feste, 7, n. 1 suggests ~t the
in Plato, Tim. 53: it moves irregularly and contains traces of the elements. ongmal worship of Seth in the neighbourhood (cf. Strabo 17 8tS th
But the correspondence is not very clear. Typhonia) is reflec~d in the Sethian det:~ils of the statu:. His ea:lies~
., The fact that oVTcls will not refer to the nearest of the two mentioned, attested cult-centre ts Ombos (N'*ada) on the western bank opposite
4 ConnU:t 8r ff.
as frequent usage demands, is not really troublesome. For oV1-os often refers s RCoptos.. !! '
to the more important of the two under discussion. See LSJ s.v. omerzc Hymns, 4 15 ff. Cf. Horace, Carm. 1. ro.
11
3 Cf. Gauthier, Les Flzes Ju Jilu Min, 33ff.; Wainwright,]EA 17 (1931), See Alien, Halllday and Sikes, Tire Homeric Hymns2 (Oxford 1936),
190f.; Bleeker, Die Gehurt eines Gottes1 15 ff. 17off. and :z.8o; Eitrem, PW s.v. Hermes (r 9 u), 787 '
1 Apollodorus, 1. 6.
4 See ConjlU:t, :z. ff. and 34 ff. 3
1
s Cf. the colossal statues of Min in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford and Hopfner, u, 230 cites it without referring to the better known sto of
Hermes and the lyre. ry
Petrie, Kopzos (London, 1896), pls. G and 9

COMMENTARY CHAPTER 55
p. :106, 16 -rcj) 'HAt~] Thoth presents th~ e~e (of. Ho~s{ ~ The
Contendings 1 3 to 'the mighty prince who IS m Heltopolts , I.e. the
Sun-god as' A~m or Re'-Atum; see Gardiner ad loc. (p. 13, notes :1
and ). In the Pyramid Texts the myth represents, as one would expect,
4
the restoration of the stolen eye to Horus himself, although Horus is
sometimes said to give it to the King or to <?siris-~ng. ~h~s i~ be~use
the eye has taken on important qu?lities;. an parncul~ 1t IS tdennfi.ed
with the King's crown and with vanous kinds .o~ offenngs._Then, With
the fusion of the Horus myth with that of Ostns, the eye IS presented
to Osiris.r The presentation of the eye to the Sun-god probably
involves the mythology of the eyes of Re' in addition to that of the eye
ofHorus.
Seth's attack on the eye of Horus is a perennial theme, and the
description of it by Plutarch corresponds to frequent phrases used in
Egyptian texts. That Seth smote (brO:Ta~) the eye is suggested by the
term' injury' (n/cn) in Pyr. 142a; cf. the mention in BD 99, 24 (Aa ed.
Naville) of the hand of Isis 'wiping out the blood from th; eye of
Horus , and the description in BD 17 (Uric. v, J7.~.) of Seth s .attack
when he wounded the face of Horus'; 'he dealt him a very gnevous
wound , says a text from the tomb of Antefo~er., Tha~ Seth 'dev~~~ed'
(l<Crrimev) the eye is suggested by Pyr. 61 a and 88c; ~e ate of .lt. IS at
least the probable meaning. Plutarch proceeds to ex~laan the smttmg of
the eye as implying the waning of the moon, a meamng well supported
in Egyptian texts; e.g. BD So, 6 f. (Pa ed. Naville).31t is n.ot so easy to
point to a passage where an eclipse of ~e ~oon, w~ch Plutarch
explains as being indicated by the devounng, 1s unambtguously read
into the myth. 4
P 206, 17rn'uxuaw] Plutarch uses this word in Q!!aest. conv. 7.. I.
1 Conflict 4 ::z.r and ::z.9; cf. Rudnittky, Die Aussage iiber 'Das Auge
des no:.US:
(Copenhagen, !956), 39ff., discussing examples where the eye
is given to Horus who is in Osiris-King'.
% See Conflict 28 ff. for these and other refs.
l 'I have carrled away the darkness by my power. I have filled the eye with
what was lacking in it, before the fifteenth day of the festival ~ad come.'
See Conflict, 125. For Horus ofEdfu as a moon god see Kees, GOtterglauk,
4:14, 'th f -1.' 1 '
4 An allusion in BD us to completing or restoring e eye o TQJI , on
the day when the sun becomes stronger than the darkness', is likely to
refer to an eclipse of the sun: see Sethe et al., ZAS 57 (19n), ::z.7ff.; Kees,
Rtl. Lesehuclz, 26.
COMMENTARY CHAPTERS )5-6
6JJC of a disabling of the eyes. On the other hand, 1TMpc.lO'l\l, which
the MSS read, suits well the frequent mention of' filling' (mft) the eye
in Egyptian texts, save that here the opposite sense is required, in fact
one corresponding to the 'devouring' mentioned in line 15.
p. 2o6, 18 'ri!v cn<1av Tfis yfls] Cf. 44, 368F (Typhon is the 'shadow
of the earth' which causes eclipse of the moon).
CHAPTER 56
p. 206, 19 m< -rptwv] Cf. 54, J7JA-B.
p. 2o6, 7.5 -rwv -rptyoovcuv -re;; t<aAA!<n"ct~] Plato, Resp. 54GB is
referring, in relation to the period of human gestation, to the Pythago-
rean 'procreative triangle', which had the numbers 3, 4 and 5; see
James Adam ad loc. (n, 205). Three represents the male principle, four
the female, and five the fruit of their union; the numbers correspond,
then, to Osiris, Isis and Horus. In eh. 57 Plutarch applies the pattern to
Hesiod, where he finds Love (Eros) analogous to Osiris, Earth to Isis,
and Tartarus to Typhon; and he finds that in the myth of the Sympo-
sium Wealth (Poros) is the equivalent of Osiris, Poverty of Isis, and
Love (Eros) of Horus!
p. 208, 7 'li}.aos] Euclid's definition of a perfect ('l'iAEos) number
was (7, Def. n) one which is ' equal to (the sum of) its own parts'
(i.e. all its factors including 1); but before Euclid the word was used to
indicate other properties; see T. Heath, A Hist. ofGic. Mathematics, 1,
74f. and cf. Guthrie, A Hist. of Gfc. Philosophy, 1, 225.
P lOB, 8-9 TcX s~ 'Jl'ivTE] Five represents the hypotenuse of the
triangle which in turn represents Horus or the cosmos.2 Obviously
9, Plutarch suggests an etymological link between TTivTe and mXv-ra as
well as with m~o~m1aaa6at ('number on five fingers, count'), although
none exists in the former case.
p. 208, 17. ypaj.lj.IQor(l)\1 1Tap' Alyvrrr{ots) The term yp&~o~~o~crra as used
of Egyptian signs might not of itself imply that Plutarch regarded them
as being used in a way comparable with that in which the Greeks used
1
Cf. R. M. ]ones, The Platonism of Plutarch, 9S For a study of Plato's
mathematical concepts see Anders Wedberg, Plato's Philosophy of Mathe-
matics (Stockholm, 1955) to which Mr Andre Gombay drew my attention.
: Ta 1Tavtawould seem here to be synonymous with K6allos = the universe
(rather than the world simply).
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 56 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 56
th h d'est term a Greek could think of.' p. 208, 13 ~311 XP6vov 6 ..Ants] That the Apis-bull was killed after
their alphabet; it could b~ enu':b~red twenty-five does imply th~t twenty-five years is a statement quite unsupported, but a plausible
But the statement that ey h . the manner of the alphabenc explanation, put forward by Mahler,' derives it from the custom of
. th' ki f them some ow 10 th
plutarch IS 10 ng 0 E he records a view that e naming as an 'Apis-period' the interval of twenty-five years within
738
syste~. Indeed in QEaest. ~r~er; ~;~~rs by means of an ibis- a state- which the moon-phases fell on the same days. The name of the A pis
Egypnans wrote the. first . rt in I versen' s Fragments ofa may have been assigned to this lunar-based interval because the bull
ment which finds an mteresn~g counftethrp: text (see PP 8 and t6). The was officially installed usually at the full moon. Evidence is not
. l h'u: D'u:tionarv
Hzerogr.yp 'J'
secnon 4th o . gns consistently m . a1phabenc available even for the killing of the Apis;l nor for a special festival in
. d'd y time use etr st 1
Egypnans I not at an . 1 h did eventually come c ose his twenty-fifth year.3
fashion, although::a nu~~~:~:~r~~~~e: of signs used, it went ~nto p. J.o8, 14 Kal Mlv] The majority of the MS scribes could not make
to such a system. A5
d'1
. in hts Grammar 27
(p ) lists twenty-four stgns
1
anything, apparently, of Min as a name, and so the telescoped form
hundreds; but Gar ?er , The Al habet') as those most common! ml~tv emerged. For Min and Horus, cf. ss, 373C and n. The meaning
(entitled for conveme~ce p niliteral consonants. From this 'that which is seen' was probably extracted from the name Min (Mnw)
. M'ddl Egypnan to convey u Wh
used m 1 e ~ Pl tarch ....,., not far wrong. en by reading into it the verb mU 'to see'.4 Thus mU .l nw means 'I see it';
. f w there1ore u .. ....
pracncal po10t o vte ' . ' d eloped in the early centunes again mU .n.l 'I saw', or mU n 'seen to', might be involved. Hopfner,
Coptic, the last stage ofEgypnan, wals ev ('tn Sa'idic Jl. in Bohairic) 11, 240 thinks that OpOOilEVOV relates only to Horus etymologicatly. But
babe f thirty-one etters '
of our era, an a1p t o fi f these were borrowed from Greek.3 an explanation of Min on Egyptian lines, although a wrong one, is
was evolved, but twenty-;.e o . 1 attributed an alphabetic system discernible here; and this suggests that Hopfner is not justified, either,
Authors othe~ than p\~ta: thc;r::ntfcation of Plato, Phileb. I8Bff.,4 in remarking that Plutarch has here wrongly named Horus instead of
to the Egypnans. Thts IS P h th Egypt was the first to Osiris.
. 'd that 'a certam T eu 10 "bed
where it IS sm f this passage that Plato ascn p. 208, 1 5- 16 Move mlncXr.tv "A6vpt ml Me6Vep] The Egyptian mwt,
classify sounds. EislerS argues ~omal habet 'mother', was naturally a frequent designation of Isis, especially in the
twenty-four letters to the Egypnan P
'hi 1 hie letters' and he compares Thoth (vowels; semi-vowels or liquids; and mute consonants) and,
t In to, 3~4E Plutarch uses the term :~ y~e was there thinking of the applying them to the Greek alphabet, reaches a total of twenty-four
the precepts of Pythagoras: Cl~~~e different from the Greek lette~. letters.
hieroglyphs as symbols which w b ~ tinguishes hieratic and demooc. 1
Die Apisperiode der alten Agypter', Sit'{U11gsb. Wien, Math.-nat. KJ. sJ, l.
Hdt. :z.. )6 uses the term y~llllaT~ ut. s ks on Egyptian writing see (1894). See also Otto, Stierlculte, t8f.; Bonnet, Real. so. Chassinat, 'La
For a compilation of classl.cal au' ors. rema:, !' anriquitl c/assique (Paris, mise amort rituelle d'Apis', Rec. trav. 38 (1916), 33-00 cites examples of
Pierre Marestaing, Les ecrrrures egypr~nnes the Apis having lived for different periods.
I913) . ent b the Egyptians of the advantages ~ He was drowned in a well according to some classical writers: see supra
~ This happened without a dlscemmd. y'Writing and Literature' in The p. 173. Chassinat, op. cit. so ff. cites examples of the word ~b~t used of the
of an alphabetic system. Se~ Gar mer, 64 Iversen op. cit. 8 shows that death of the Apis: 'The Majesty of the Apis proceeded to the ~bbr' which
Leg~ of Egypt (ed. Glanville), esp. ~bl for the ar:angement of the signs Chassinat translates as 'the lake of the temple'. But as Otto, op. cit. 19
'alphabetic considerations were responsl\ bee f the 16th Dyn. or later). shows, the meaning' heaven' is more likely, especially as the determinative
'(:=PCars rg7,o
on the first page of our text la .r E t and its Hieroglyph.s (Copenhagen, is not the sign for water but that for mountain or horizon (~).
3 See Erik Iversen, The. Myr o; {://a survey of the development; also 3 Ouo, Stierlculu, 18. He points out that, with the exception of two, all the
19c; 1), 31 and preceding pages. recorded cases indicate a death before this age.
Gardiner's Grammar (lntroducuon). " Lefebvre, Gr. Je flgyptien clas.rique, l.4S b refers to a fonn of the perfective
4 Cf. P. Marestaing, op. cit. 37ff . l hie Dicrionary, 8. R. G. Bury sdm .fwith n (m/n .f) and Donadoni in Anna/i del/a scuola norm. super. di
S Cited by Iversen, Fragments o~~ Hrero~~: grouping of letters ascribed to Pisa t6 (1947), 4~ thinks this form is involved in Plutarch's statement.
ad /oc. (Cambridge, t897, p.:z.4) IScusscs
511
510
 COMMENTARY CHAPTERS 57-8
COMMENTARY CHAPTER )6

phrase mwt-rw, 'mother of the god', referring to H~rus;' Plutarch's CHAPTER 57

explanation of A6vpt as 'the cosmic house of Horus shows1 that the
name Hathor (Egn. Jft-Jfr, literally 'house of Horus ') usually
? ."~8, :~.s. Ti;i ~ "la1S1 ..0 Tiis ff\s KTA.] See Hesiod, Thtog. I 16ff.
Is1s ts 1dennfied w1th the earth in 32, 363 o.I Although Osiris is not
rendered A6vp by the Greeks is involved. In the N.K. Jft-Jfr appears
call~d Eros elsewhere, his role as described in eh. 53 invites the com-
as the name of a festival, which is the origin of the later name of the
pans?n. Plutarch sp~ of three Egyptian Erotes in Amat. 19, 764 B
third month; see Wb. m, s,u..3 In the Timaeus pD-SJA Plato uses the
(a third, the sun, bemg added to the Greek pair). Cf. Reitzenstein
expression xoopav KCxl ytvc11V (space and generation) in a cosmological
'Eros als Osiris', Nachr. Gottingen, I93o, 39<'-9 Tartarus is not els~
sense and states that they existed before the heaven; he does not, of
where compared ~th Typhon by Plutarch, but according to Hesiod,
course, make any allusion to Egyptian. myth?logy,. and Pl~tan:h's
_Theo~. 82I ~ he 1s the father of Typhoeus, the giant who was later
citation is an attempt to fortify the meanmg of c~smt~ house . It ts a
tdenttfied wtth Seth-Typhon.1
shining example of his method at its best; he begms.Wlth an observa-
P :1.10, 1 Iw~<hr\5 w Iv11'1TOO'I~] In Plato's Symp. :103 Bff. it is Dio-
tion which is correct in its interpretation of an Egypnan name; then he
nma who tells th1s story to Socrates, but the latter is reporting her words.
adds a remark which provides, in his view, a dimension in depth, drawn
P 2.10, 8 ~pCXO"TOv] Markland wished to emend the reading of the
from Plato's cosmology. Plutarch's explanation of Methyer as' full and
MSS to ~pcrroO, a word attested in poetry only. 'Epcxcrnis, on the other
good '4 clearly employs the verb mb 'to fill' in its first part; the second
hand, is a word frequently used by Plato and often in a metaphorical
meaning adduced is harder to explain, but Wied~mann, S~m~lung, :1.9 sense such as here: e.g. ~patnC.rs rnl aocp{~ Men. 7oB; nempov JJn TOO
suggests g'r (~'V'), 'the heart as the seat of the.w1l1, thedestre ;perhaps
ovros TE Kal &A11&Ias ~pao-ras elvcn 'TOVs cpiA~vs; Resp. sot o; see
nfr good was somehow involved, although tts first syllable does ,not
fit phonetically into Methyer. The true derivation ~s ~rom mbt wrt, th~
further D. F. Astius, Lex Plat. 1, 8I7, s.v.
P :1.10, It KOOilO!i t<al ~wpos] The inevitable imperfection of Eros
great flood , a designation of the ocean of heaven m tts fo~ as a cow.
born from such a union, is shared by the cosmos and Horus in ac~
see Wh. n, ul.; Pyr. :1.89c; BD I7 (Urk. v, 37, 4); Kees, Gotterglauhe,
~ordance with the doctrine enunciated in 54, 373Aff. Poverty (Penia)
f.5 Isis may have had this epithet from Hathor, the cow-goddess who
75 IS the source of the imperfection; she is identified with matter (0Atl)
and th~ wor?s describing matter ('of itself lacking in the Good') recali
in this description represents in female form the primeval waters from
which the world was believed to have emerged. ~e des1gnatton of matter, as identified with Isis, in 54, 373 s-e. For the
1 wb. 11 H Mwt as a name was used of the vulture-goddess of Thebes; see 1dea that the world and Horus contrive to maintain youthfulness
Wb. n: 53, 15-16, where the meaning 'Vulture' is given. . thro~gh change cf. Asclepius, 30: ordo et tempus innovationem
~ For an early tradition that Hathor was the mother of Horus, see ConjlJ&t, ommum. rerum, quae in mundo sunt, per alterationem faciunt; and Scott,
Hermetu:a, Ill, :1.0:1.
1 ;!ilie, zur Wiedergabe des 5gyptischen h am Wortanfang .~u.rch . die
Griechen ' Na~hr. Gottingen, 1915, so-6 shows that whereas Sa tdsc. glVes CHAPTER 58
86-&wp Bohairic does not preserve the initial b of 1;/t-l;lr. The ending -z
for the feminine is also Bohairic. . . . p. :~.to, IS pV6otsOVxWsA6yots] Cf. 201 JS8Eandn. TherePlutarch
~ Markland's emendation is approved by Wyttenbach m his AnunaJv. reserves the right to deny the historical or factual truth of certain
( g ) so that Sieveking's critical note on line ::10 is rather misleading. episo_des in myths; the myth of Osiris, he argues, in general reflects a
1 11
; Cf. c .'Maystre, 'Le livrede la vache du ciel', BIF_AO 40 (1941), n-II5 certatn truth (:1o, 359A 6 llii60S Wra06a Myou nvas ~lllf!CXO'(S tcmv).
A representation of the divine cow, as well as a verston of ~e legend, occurs
1
in shrine 1 of Tutankhamun, see A. Piankoff, The shrrnes of Tut-onlch- R. M. Jones, The Platonism of PlutarciJ, 95 couples Chaos together with
Amon (New York, 1955), pi. facing p. ::17; and PP 17-37; cf. pi. 56 and Earth in the equivalence with lsis. This seems unwarranted.
fig. 6; see also Sauneron, Les Fetes Religieuses J' E sna, 168.
2
Cf. H. J. Rose, Glc. Myth. 58; J. Gwyn Griffiths, Bermes 88 (r96o), 376.
4
33 5IJ CDI
 COMMENTARY CHAPTERS 58-00
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 58

(~~:"eT~0r:;) Geo.ge ~~o::!, =:.:!"d::.~-=

reminiscent of the Greek traditi ( . t
The difficult word ft.6yos, both there and here, seems to refer to the
real or factual. Myths to Plutarch are not entirely factual narratives,
but they contain a reflection of fact, and it is the interpretation of prevalent ~~on~ prl::::;:~:~~' s~tesdtha: th: same belief is 'widely
them, in the way here described, that enables this reflection to be based 'on the analogy of th :S ' anf P auslbly suggests that it is
e soWing o seeds in the earth .
understood.
p. :uo, I 8 &yux6v n KTA.] Cf. 48, 370F. According to Stoic doctrine,
here rebutted, the creative A6yos fashioned the world from bodies
CHAPTER 59
which were inanimate.' Matter, according to Zeno (Diog. Laert. 7 134)
P ::z. I ::z., 5-6 .,.c;)v ~O)(CrrW\1] The out
was &ttotos, 'without quality, undiscriminated'; the creative principle
which works upon it he calls God. For ~os, 'inanimate', see SVF
ciated not with Typhon but 'th N e~~ego.ns.
10
0 f th
e earth are asso-
this chapter ( B: the out Wl ef ys 38, .366 s, and later in
n, ::z.o~, 1. 4 (Clem. Alex.) and n, 1.87, 1. 4l. (Origen). Plutarch records the phon's wie, as 375 Plutarch p er palrts o matter); but Nephthys is Ty-
Stoic view in De comm. notit. adv. Stoic. 34, I076c-D, where emotos resent y remarks.
is used to describe matter and where the differentiations of matter are P :::' '4 ;vtpCi.'>va ~ N~tplhll] Cf. u, 356A and n.
regarded as properties to be later imposed; the passage is discussed by P ' 15 Ocnptvt<pvtpa] Cf. '4' J56E and n.. 38 366s
Margaret E. Reesor, A]Ph 7~ (I954), 461.; cf. Spoerri, Spiithellenis- P 21::!., 16 TeAarriJv] c I:!. 3 F
form of Nephthys had 'thHfi an~ n.; JS, J66B. Kheresket, a
' '

tische Berichte, 381.

. ,
thts may connect with oxaro. Cf. 5
a cu1t at e ronner to
~ 0 f El h
a~nne,
ep
.
and
p. 1.10, n "t'Ov-re voOv KTA.] Aristotle, De an. 429a2.7 says ml V
Sf\ o\ Atyovns Tf\v 'V'I)(ft\1 Elvat "TOTtov etSCi.'>v, which J. A. Smith tranS-
iigyptisclten Bauforscltung 6 (Cairo, .19:-)~e:~~ m Rtcke, Bettriige :rur
lates (Oxford, I931) 'It was a good idea to call the soul "the place of
forms"', adding in a note, 'The idea is Platonic, but the actual expres-
sion is not found in the extant works of Plato'. Sir David Ross ad loc. CHAPTER 6o
(Oxford, 196I, p. 292) confirms the latter statement, but doubts
whether Plato is involved at all, concluding that probably 'it was not P bz12, 1.o ovros]
. The reerence must be to Osiris. Although h h
not een mennoned by name since lin h" . h ' . . . e as
Plato himself, but some member of his school, that described the soul saving power' referred to afi d ~ I 5' !s IS t e fernltzmg and
as the place of Forms'. weak and is most\ de terwar s, m the outer parts' his seed is
p. 210, 24 TO crntp11a Tf\s ywatKOS) Cf. QEaest. conv. 3 4 3, 611 c; he is the strange~ S str~y~d by Typhon, but 'in general' (Ka66ft.ov)
De placit. phil. ~ 5, 901 B-C (Pythagoras, Epicurus and Democritus . qutre s proposal to read "W
Where Plato and Aristotle r. . . . pos
. . .
ts mtsgu1ded.
believed that females also emit seed, but Aristotle and Zeno that it was Pl h . reler to 0 sms IS not kno p h
merely watery matter and not <Ttlip11a 'T'CE1iflK6v). Cf. Aeschylus, Eum. utarc. mtends a reference to their belief in the tn' wnh. fer aps
over evtl. ump o good
65 8 If. where Apollo maintains that' the mother of what is called a child
is not its parent, but only the nurse ('Tp~6s) of the embryo sown in P zl2, :14 iea6at] While Plutarch trea th
Egyptian gods as derivin fi ts e names of most of the
her; the parent is the male'. The male, according to this belief, con- the possible exception oFG:om Egypt, he a?heres consistently (with
tributed the spirit of life, while the female merely nourished the is to be explained as Greek. a Jr~) dto ~e ~tew that the name of Isis
embryo with the blood that was otherwise lost in menstruation. e envanon from ra~ 'we know
Headlam, in his note on the passage in the Eumenides, states that the In that theE~nans
a thelines JIT. do
Greeks he says
p th . ea11 Ists
. thus for the same reasons as
doctrine was Egyptian, and he quotes Diodorus Sic. I. So. 3-4; but the Greek and Egy. p:r ey, 254, thinks that this means that the name is both
doctrine is not evidenced in Egypt, and Diodorus uses a phrase an, a statement possible he bel' 1
!
the universal language which the Magt envisage at teves, onofYrime.
the end m relation to
Plutarch
1
Yet the soul (\j/VX"') was itself corporeal according to the Stoics. See S.
Sambursky, Physics of the Stoics (London, 1959), 16.
514
 C O MMENTARY CHAPTERS 6o-I
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 60
Plutarch has apparently changed the ~ .
or daotJ.cxt 'I shall know' in 2, 3s1 F and see n. The 'hastening' attri- suit his argument. orm, unconsctously no doubt, to
buted to Isis on the present view is 'with understanding' (tJ.E'T' hncmi-
P 214, 12 kaKiav KTA.] Babbitt cites Plato C
tJ.1)S) and commentators have not realized that a double derivation is the source of most of these l'. l'. I d . . ' ratylus 40tC-41 5 E as
anc11u envanons '.
intended, the root of Isis being seen both in the first syllable of iEcrllat
(for te~at) 1 and in the second syllable of hna-n'\tJ.11S (For Isis and
understanding cf. 2, 351 Fff.) A parallel double derivation, according
CHAPTER 61
to Plutarch, is that of 6E6s 'god' from 6ar6s 'who is seen' and 6E<.lv
'who rushes'. In themselves these derivations seem foolish to us;'l the P 114, IJ oa{ou (Kal) lpoii] This is a pall'd ffi
the authentic statement in IO 1 e ort compared with
idea of a triple derivation is the crowning folly. But in the case of 6E6s and meaning of the name 'J; 4 :ff (cf. p, 37 1E) about the writing
concerning the pronunciarl r. a~m .J4, J64 o, ascribed to Hellanicus,
the second derivation was widely accepted.3 At least Plato in his 0
Cratylus, 397 D makes Socrates mention it (6eol from 6iv 'to rush') 0:
an attempt based on know~e~ of~m 37~ 365 E (Hermaeus:' mighty'),
J68B, ascribed to Hermaeus, ~fa b ~:an; or the ex~lanation in 42,
without any nuance of ridicule; the idea reflected the movement of
heavenly bodies, the earliest gods. It is doubtless from the Cratylus that Graecizing attempt may be PI yeh' of Onnophns. The present
Plutarch takes this view, and in that source, according to Hopfner, n, renewed blessing at the end of thutachr s own, and seems to get his
242 Plato was just making fun of Sophistic etymologizing. Certainly e apter.
who not only retains an early 'th l'k ;~ eve ope figure of Osiris
his considered view of the process seems to add up to a firm rejection." P 214, 14 KOIVOs KTf..] This is true of th d 1 d
p. 214, 6 ovalav] Socrates says in Plato, Cratylus, 401 c that 'what derived l'. th epi et I e oremost of the westemers,
we call ovala (essence), others call laala (a Doric fonn of the same ( nom ano er mortuary d Kh
'lord of heaven' Cf. dgo ' entamenthes), but is also
' 78 t 382E an 28 36 B ( h
word), and others again Wo-la (another Doric fonn)'. He is arguing
that a meaning is discernible even in foreign names if they are analysed;
'
urged between Osiris and S . tb 2 w ere an association is
Hades on the other). arapls on e one hand with Dionysus and
the second fonn, laala, is compared with t<TTia (Hestia, the goddess of
~mission in the text better than does Ma ~1 c~r;ecnon e~plains the
'lt'cXAat (E~)] Wyttenbach'
the hearth), and the third, Wo-la, is compared with W&iv, 'to push . p. 214' 15
Plutarch has rendered taalav, according to the MSS, as talav, so pro- simply. r an s restoration of ~6os
viding another etymology of Isis. Thus, while Baxter's correction of
oalav in line 6 seems necessary, talav in line 6 should be retained. P l.l4, 17 'EptJ.avou~ts] A relation 'th th'
above the earth in the form of the hori W1 . .mgs both below and
more probably thought that the Egyptians had taken over a Greek name; 68 E. see n A fi . f zon IS claimed for Anubis in 44
fi ,
3maic 'era, and u ~s appea:S rs.t in the Ptole-
. uslon o Hermes and An b.
Anubis is sometimes sh
t~~~ :! k~J(plceton
cf. 6t, 37j E-F on such borrowed words.
1
Parthey aJ /oc. thinks that the two last syllables of tdVIlatS 'movement' are signifying his role as leader of souls the LofHermes,
also intended to be taken etymologically, in which case there are three In the myth ( f. r wor sycnopompos)!
derivations suggested, although l((vflaiS is dearly provided as synonymous 19,Jj 8 o,c. 54,373B)itisthepartofThoththatHe
with tea6a1. It is nonetheless very likely to be intended as another ety- PIays, b ut the fiunerary

prommence
. of Anubis invited compari o rmes
s nwt
.th
mology. 1
Banner, StuJzes lll Magical Amulets 41 and nos
1
cf. J. Tate, CQ l.J (1919), 14), who describes the etymology of the Greek staff (Urykeion) carried by Anu b'IS accor
' d'mg to Apul
39-40.
M Cf. the herald's
allegorists as 'that pseudo-science which, assuming that the original form on a marble altar from Cali I I ems, et. II. IJ and
(To (-rwov) of a word represented the true meaning, furnished many fig. 14, P 39) Thoth's fun~o~sass;~ in Rome (s~e Gres~mann, Or. Rei.
fanciful clues to the hidden significance of the myths'. Thotlz, 140 It was not this f1 ychopompos IS magnafied by Boylan,
3 Cf. Comutus, Tlzeol. Graec. z. t. Herodotus, however, 1. p records another association with writing that ~~cno:;; as Bo~lan suggests, but rather the
suggestion, that 6eo{ comes from 1(6a\l~ 6Wns, 'putting in order'. Plato, Phileb. I BB. ' to e equanon of Hermes and Thoth; cf.
4 See J. Tate, op. cit. 1 p. If.
 C OMMENTARY CHAPTER 61
him.~ Porphyry, De imag. ap. Euseb. Praep. evang. 3 11. 43 calls
Hermanubis 'synthetic and half-Greek'. Nevertheless it was an idea
that took on life. Anubis,: like Hermes, is now shown with the key to
the underworld in his hand; people in Egypt were sometimes named
after Hermanubis 3 in the Paris Magical Papyrus (PGM 4, 313Iff.) a
three-headed figu;e is spoken of, with heads of baboon, hawk and ibis,
and the baboon head is to bear the d iadem ofHermanubis- a case where
Thoth has got mixed up with Anubis. A late Ptolemaic or ~arly R~man
inscription from Alexandria'~ reveals townspeople of that City making a
dedication to Hermanubis, who is described as a' great god'. There~
also a Horus-Anubis in Ptolemaic times,S but the form Hermanub1s
does not derive from this combination.6
p. 2.14, 19 ~pu6va] This practice, if it existed, was undoubtedly
derived from the Greek side of the cult. Although Egypt had an
abundance of fowls,7 they do not figure in sacrifices.8 In Greece, on the
other hand, cockerels were sacrificed to chthonic deities.9 One recalls
the famous remark of Socrates, just before his death : 'We owe a
cockerel to Asdepius; pay it and don't forget' (Plato, Phd. 11~A).
p. zt 4, n b< ,;;s roaSos] In z9,. 362. D-E . Plutar.c h promised. to
return to this theme. It does not fit mto the Immediately precedmg
context, unless the opening of the chapter, where a Greek explanati~n
of Osiris occurs is being recalled. Herodotus, 2.. 50 held the opposne
' .
1 Cf. p. D. Scott-Moncrieff, Paganism and Christianity in Egypt, 11.
~ Formerly thought to be Thoth (see Erman, Rei. 409 and Hopfner, n, 143).
See Moren:t, ' Anubis mit dem Schliissel', So in Wiss. Z . ckr Karl-Marx
Univ. Leiprig, 1953- 4 and Rei. 161.
3 Pre.isigke, Namenhuclr., 104; cf. too the names Hermanobammon, Her-
manoubas and Hermanoubion).
4 SB 3481; cf. Visser, Gotter und Kulte, 71 and .14f.
S See Robichon Barguet and Leclant, Kamalc-Nord, IV (Cairo, 19S4), 97
.
with n. 3 and 'refs.; Helck and Otto, Kleznes Wh. 43, n. 9
6 Edfou, I, 341, 1o has Qr-m-inp (or imy in the middle). Budge, Gods, I, 493
and n, .165 connects such a form with Hermanubis. In I, 493 he appears to
be wrong in stating that Hermanubis is mentioned by Diodorus. .
7 Fowls, i.e. of the genus gal/us in the strict sense. Geese were a promment
item in sacrifices. Cf. M. Cobianchi, Aegyptus 16 (1936), 91 ff.
8 cf. Wilkinson, Manners and Customsoftlr.e Ancient Egyptiaru, m (Lo~don,
1878), 31 9f. It was not until the N.K. that the Egyptians b~eacquamted
with the fowl: see Howard Carter, }EA 9 (19:13), 1-4 wuh pl. .10, fig. I.
9 Rohde, Psyche, 11 142., n. 3
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 61
view with regard to gods' names, believing that most of them
Greece from Egypt. came to
P .:114, :14 ~apJ3apllQuaav] The people who make this charge con-
cemmg certam poetry are said to apply the term yAwna1 to the rd
5
used (words originally Greek, according to Plutarch but now r w?
1 ki ) - . ' IOreagn-
oo ng ; YAc.>na tn the sense of an obsolete or foreign word is used
by one author at least before Plutarch: see Aristotle, Rhet. 14oGa ;
1
I4Iohn.; Poet. 1457h4 (cf. Bywater ad loc.). Of what poets was
Plutarch thinking? Aristotle, Poet. 1458 a~~ ff. commends the use of
what he calls ~tKov yAOOTrcnl as well as metaphors and lengthened
ro~s, bu.t he adds that a whole statement in such words will be
e1 ther a nddle or a barbarism (J3apJ3ap1a116s)' ; cf. 1458 a 30 f.: a.; Th.)v
YA~wv ~apJ3ap1a~ ('from the use of strange words (in the case
mentioned) a barbarism results'). Aristotle does not mention instances
of poets guilty of this. Bywater ad loc. (p. :195) notes that Qyintilian
(r. 5 8) took up the idea and distinguished three kinds of harharismus
in Latin, the first of which involved the insertion of a foreign word
(such as an African or Spanish nomen) into a Latin speech. In Rlzet.
1400 a 7 ~stotle cites instances of the unfortunate use of yA~ in
prose, nammg Lycophron, Sdron and Alcidamas.
P 2.14, :1.5 'TaiS 'Ep11ov Af'yopivms ~~~AOIS) The identification of
Hennes is here with Thoth, to whom was ascribed, as Hermes Tris-
megistus, the corpus of literature generally known as the Hermetic
which derives from Egypt. Of the seventeen treatises included in th;
Cor!'us Hermeticum, a number consist of conversations by Hermes to
v:m~us persons (to Tat, Asdepius, Ammon, names of the spiritual
das7aple), and in others Hermes is addressed (by Nous and Agathos
D~mon). Other Egyptian gods figure in other treatises. Agathos
Da1mon talks ro Osiris; in the Kore Kosmou (from the Anthologium of
Stobaeus, c. A. D. 500) lsis talks to Horus. In spite of this the main ideas
are said to be Greek, 1 although the ascription to Hermes is a mark of
the veneration felt by the Greeks for the Egyptian religious tradition.
~H. Stri~er has argued(in Mnemosyne 2. (1949), 79f.) that the corpus
ts predorrunandy Egyptian in origin; Derchain 'L'authenticite de
!'inspiration egyptienne dans le "Corpus Hermerlcum"' (Rev. His c.
Characte~zed by Nock, :orp. Herm. 1, v as ' Greek popular philosophic
1
thought, m a very eclecuc form, with that mixture of Platonism Aris-
totelianism, and Stoicism which was then so widespread'. Cf. Beli, Culu
and Creeds, 741f.
519
 COMMENTARY C HAPTER 61
Re/. 161 (1962.), 17~-98), while he regards the content as being of
heterogeneous origin, shows by specific instances that the ~gyptian
element is a good deal more prominent than Nock and Festugtere have
supposed. But is Plutarch referring to this type of work? His statement
appears to be the earliest reference to the 'Books of Hermc:s' by ~
classical author, but it need not imply that books comparable tn detrul
to the Hermetica were circulating in the early second century A.D.
Perhaps their prototypes were in being,t although they are now lost.
Certainly what Plutarch cites here from the content of the 'Books of
Hermes' has little affinity with the Hermetica. The view that Horus or
Apollo is in charge of the sun's course recalls p., 372.8 (the eye of
Horus as the sun) and p., 373 c (Horus sacrifices to the sun on the
fourth of the month); it accords with the position of Horus as a god of
heaven, equated with the sun-god Re'. Cf. the way in which Mandulis,
the sun-god, in a Greek hymn of the Roman era at the temple of
Talmis (Kalabsha) in Nubia is called both Horus and Apollo.-: For
Osiris as the controller of the air ('TtVWpa) there seems to be no other
evidence. Sarapis is probably named as an obvious counterpart. After
Sarapis a lacuna must be posited, as Holwerda has shown; fro": 38,
6; Fff. one might suggest (-rf\v 6' rnl Tiis yi'\s. .o\ J.,1W ~lpt~v~, ol Se~wew.
3
Holwerda does not convince in suggesting law, for Is1s 1s mentioned
three lines later as the goddess to whom the star is peculiar. Hopfner,
n, 2.44f. argues, perhaps rightly, that the conce,Pti~n of Swapts h~re
applied to gods aligns the 'Books of Hermes w1th the Hermetrca,
whereas the 'Books of Hermes' in Clem. Alex. Strom. 6. 4 3 5 3ff. -
H F 372. concern rather the sacred books found in Egyptian ~er_npl~; of
such books there were forty-two, according to Clement, d1v1ded mto
six classes. Plutarch's books may have bridged the two types. Par-
mentier Recherches 7 compares the phrase 'Books of Hermes' with
'
'the Phrygian '
writings' (2.9, 362.8) and ' the sacredhymns ofO'.' stns
(p, 372.8); the three phrases seem to indicate ~ompilations used as
sources. Judging by the all too brief excerpt provtded by Plutarch, one
concludes that the 'Books of Hermes' named by him contained com-
1 cf. Scott, Hermetica, ,, 6, n. I. Plutarch's statement deserves a place with
the early testimonia of Hermetism even though,. li~e the remarks. of
Athenagoras {Scott and Ferguson, op. cit. IV, 1), Jt mvolves something
rather different from the Hermetica as later established.
2 H. Gauthier, ASAE 10 (191o), 82.ff.; Nock, Harv. Theol. Rev. 2.7 (1934),
6o. The temple has recently been removed to Aswan.
po
COMMENTARY CHAPTERS 61 - :2.
pariso.ns ~f Greek and Egyptian deities based on their physical inter-
pretation m the manner of the Stoics. 1 The name could well have been
used for more purely Egyptian collections. The Egyptian Thoth is' the
scribe of the sacred books' (P. Salt 82.5, 7, 3 ed. Derchain, Brussels,
1965; cf. Gardiner,]EA 2.4 (1938), 167f.).1
p. :u6, 6 t<Vc..:w] Isis as the Dog-star is treated in 2.1 1 359c; 2.2., 359E;
and J8, J65F (seen.). In 44, 368Ef. Plutarch records a view about
Anubis and Cronus which involves the same pun on KVc.lV in the senses
of'dog' and 'pregnant'.
p. 2.16, 8 vcpefi!TI"] Bentley has rightly restored an optative, but
Plutarch often omits av in main clauses of hypothetical structure
according to Weissenberger, Sprache, 34
P ~r6, 9 To\rro s 'I:AAT}vtt<Ov] That is, according to the etymology
in 6r, 375 o. While the two gods are clearly bound together (cf. ~8,
36u), Plutarch can thus claim a Greek origin for the more important
of them. A foreign, i.e. Egyptian, explanation of Sarapis is sympa-
thetically presented in ~9, 362. D.
CHAPTER 6:2.
p. ~16, 13 ' ijAeov O:rr' iJlaV"rils'] There is some affinity in the gran-
diose self-proclamation of Athena or Isis (really perhaps Neith) at Sais
in the inscription cited in 9, 354C ('I am all that has been and is and will
be . '). The notion of self-begetting was conspicuous in Egyptian
religious thought;3 it was often attributed to Amtln, and the phrase kJ
mwt .f (Kamephis), ' bull of his mother', seems to involve the idea."
Hopfner may be right in suggesting that the meaning 'I came from
myself' concerns the name Neith, Egn. Nt, and he refers to an allitera-
tion with nCJ 'come'. The simple verb lw would give lw. n .I, I came';
1
Cf. Otto, PT n, 218, n. 3
: Cf. Boylan, Thotlt, 94, citing BD 68, 9-10 on 'the writings of the words,
the book of Thoth (ed. Naville, Cllt line 10). On a stela at Abydos
Ramesses IV says that he has not neglected any sacred book of Thoth in
his search for information on the gods; see Posener, De la Jivinite Ju
Pharaon., 71 with refs. The role of Thoth as the originator of religious texts
is elaborated by Morenz, Re/. 2.3off.
3 Cf. Goodenough, Jewish Symbols, 5, I79
4 Jacobsohn, D~ t!ogmatisc/,e Ste//ung des Kiinig.r in tier Theologie Jer alttn
.Agypter, 15 ff.; Bonnet, Real. 364 f.

C OMMENTARY CHAPTER 62
the explanation of from myself' would remain obscure. Gunn, cited
by Waddell, Manetho, p. 190, n. 1, sugg~sts that.a c?~nexion was
imagined between Nt (Neith) and nt(~), th~t whtc~ 1s If so, the
Plutarchean explanation may reflect Anstotle s doctnne that th~ first
essence is the highest mover and is itself unmoved: see Jaeger, Aru~otle,
p.. Autogenesis is thus attached to the first. ~sence. Altem~uvely
3Plutarch's explanation may arise from an elltpucal reproducuon of
lw.n.t(mfis. t), thou (fem.)hast come from thyself'; cf. the expression
ms.f Js.f, 'he created himself', Wh. v, 6o7, u.
p. ~6, ~~ l:11v] The other names are mentioned elsewhere~Seth in
, 6 o and 49, 371B; Bebon in 49, 37n-c (where two v1ews are
41 3 7
noted one that Bebon was a companion of Typhon, the other that he
was Typhon himself). Th. Deveria, Bihl. Egyptol. 5, 2., 340 n. d:rives
Smu from smyw or smw (BD tS, '-7, Navllle), a term use~ of the ~on
federates' of Seth. This ingenious idea would of course 1mply a shght
misinterpretation. Kees1 says of Smu that it probably hides the name
of an Egyptian daemon; cf. Bonnet, Real. 714. It may be suggested that
the name refers to Seth as the sacrificial bull, the sm1, slaughtered and
dismembered as an enemy ofHorus and Osiris; see Wb. IV, 12.3, 14ff.;
Conflict, 2., n. 6; 35 . iron'? That is hardly likely. In each phras~ the word is doubtless
p. , 6, 6o-dov wpov] No evid~nce seems t? be forthcommg
17
for this particular appellation, connecnng Horus ~th th~ loadston~.
1
The general idea that the gods were associated Wtth certatn metals 1s
suggested, as Ebers, Korperth.eile, 40 points out, in a Greek papyrus at
Leiden (P. Lugd. Bat. u, 5),1 which implies that names of gods ':'ere
linked not only with metals but also with substances from the ammal
and vegetable world, so that doctors and magicians caul? in.vest th~m
with mystic power. J. R. Harris, Lexicographical Studzes m Anczent
Egyptian Minerals (Berlin, t961), 167 notes tha~ 'hae~a~te,,magnetite,
and other iron ores were universally confused m annquJty
p. ,_ 1 6, 17- 1 s Tvcpoovos Ss ,.Ov aiSflpov] A con~exion between Seth
and the metal called hB is attested in the Pyramtd Texts, where the
opening of the mouth of the deceased King is said to be performe~
'with the bl/ which came forth from Seth' (Pyr. t~a). The reference t.s
to a metal adze. Since the Egyptians did not work uon themselves unul
PW s.v. Seth {I91J), t897
t Some of the bones at l_(aw were wrapped in linen. They were sacred to
1 See esp. col. , ff. ( = PG M I 1, 4 I 8 ff.). Phrases like' the blood ofHephaes:
13 3
tus' 'the seed ofHennes', 'the blood ofCronus' and 'the seed ofHeracles
occ~r. The phrase 'bone of the physician' occurs too.
p.l
C OMMENTARY CHAPTER 62
the sixth century B.c.,1 the question arises whether hi/ in this context
does not mean copper or bronze; cf. E. Otto, Das iigyptisch.e MunJOjf-
nungsritual (Wiesbaden, 1960), u, 8I, who translates 'mit dem Erz das
~us Seth ka~ '. -:r:he earliest iron known to the Egyptians was met;oric
tron, as Wamwnghr has shown, and the full expression for this was
~l/ m pt, 'ir.on from heaven'; the phrase was, however, extended to
mclude all tron.3 It is thus possible that Seth was associated with
mete~ric i~on from early rimes, and the association persisted, it may be,
espectally m the ceremony of opening the mouth, which was a part of
every respectable funeral. Wainwright has made a further valuable
suggestion in this connexion. Noting that hippopotamus-bones found
at ~aw el~Kebir (Antaeopolis) in Middle Egypt, 'an important centre
of s;th worship'," were very dark in appearance,s he was so struck by
the tdea that they looked a great deal like iron that it occurred to him
that herein lay the origin of the phrase. Since the hippopotamus was, at
a~y rate from the N .K., prominently linked with Seth, the iron-like
~1ppopotamus-bo~e co~ld have. led to a designation of iron simply as
~e bon~ of S~th Thts attracnve ~lanarion might seem to deal well
~th the bone elem.ent of the phrase were it not for the parallel phrase
the bone of Horus Was falcon-bone, then explained as 'magnetic
metaphorical and should not be applied to the god's animal. There
remams, however, a probable association of Seth with iron. Bonnet,
' Harris and Lucas, Materials, ~o.
~ 'Iron in Egypt',]EA 18 (1931), )-I~.
3 Harri~, Lexicographical Stuclies, Go. On pp. t6Gff. he shows that meteoric
matenal other than. iron was so~e~mes designated as hi/. By the 19th
Dynasty the Egypttans were begmmng to import manufactured iron see
Harris, ihicl. 59 '
4 ~ainwri~ht, ]EA 18 (1931), 14 with n. 4 It may be noted in addition,
"'?th specal rel~vance to Wainwright's argument, that the cult of Seth as a
htppopotamus ts attested here by the N.K. See Conflict, 47, cf. 99.
5 They are now at the University College Museum London where the
. h ' ,
~rese~t wnter as ~mined them and can confirm Wainwright's descrip-
non ( they were mtneralized, heavy, and black, and presented a metallic
lustre and appearance'). Harris, op. cit. I68 accepts the appearance as
suggesting hi/ of some sort.
6
Seth, argues Wainwright, and 'were considered to be some sort of iron or
possibly meteorite'. '

C OMMENTARY CHAPTER 62
the explanation of from myself' would remain obscure. Gunn, cited
by Waddell, Manetho, p. 190, n. 1, sugg~sts that.a c?~nexion was
imagined between Nt (Neith) and nt(~), th~t whtc~ 1s If so, the
Plutarchean explanation may reflect Anstotle s doctnne that th~ first
essence is the highest mover and is itself unmoved: see Jaeger, Aru~otle,
p.. Autogenesis is thus attached to the first. ~sence. Altem~uvely
3Plutarch's explanation may arise from an elltpucal reproducuon of
lw.n.t(mfis. t), thou (fem.)hast come from thyself'; cf. the expression
ms.f Js.f, 'he created himself', Wh. v, 6o7, u.
p. ~6, ~~ l:11v] The other names are mentioned elsewhere~Seth in
, 6 o and 49, 371B; Bebon in 49, 37n-c (where two v1ews are
41 3 7
noted one that Bebon was a companion of Typhon, the other that he
was Typhon himself). Th. Deveria, Bihl. Egyptol. 5, 2., 340 n. d:rives
Smu from smyw or smw (BD tS, '-7, Navllle), a term use~ of the ~on
federates' of Seth. This ingenious idea would of course 1mply a shght
misinterpretation. Kees1 says of Smu that it probably hides the name
of an Egyptian daemon; cf. Bonnet, Real. 714. It may be suggested that
the name refers to Seth as the sacrificial bull, the sm1, slaughtered and
dismembered as an enemy ofHorus and Osiris; see Wb. IV, 12.3, 14ff.;
Conflict, 2., n. 6; 35 . iron'? That is hardly likely. In each phras~ the word is doubtless
p. , 6, 6o-dov wpov] No evid~nce seems t? be forthcommg
17
for this particular appellation, connecnng Horus ~th th~ loadston~.
1
The general idea that the gods were associated Wtth certatn metals 1s
suggested, as Ebers, Korperth.eile, 40 points out, in a Greek papyrus at
Leiden (P. Lugd. Bat. u, 5),1 which implies that names of gods ':'ere
linked not only with metals but also with substances from the ammal
and vegetable world, so that doctors and magicians caul? in.vest th~m
with mystic power. J. R. Harris, Lexicographical Studzes m Anczent
Egyptian Minerals (Berlin, t961), 167 notes tha~ 'hae~a~te,,magnetite,
and other iron ores were universally confused m annquJty
p. ,_ 1 6, 17- 1 s Tvcpoovos Ss ,.Ov aiSflpov] A con~exion between Seth
and the metal called hB is attested in the Pyramtd Texts, where the
opening of the mouth of the deceased King is said to be performe~
'with the bl/ which came forth from Seth' (Pyr. t~a). The reference t.s
to a metal adze. Since the Egyptians did not work uon themselves unul
PW s.v. Seth {I91J), t897
t Some of the bones at l_(aw were wrapped in linen. They were sacred to
1 See esp. col. , ff. ( = PG M I 1, 4 I 8 ff.). Phrases like' the blood ofHephaes:
13 3
tus' 'the seed ofHennes', 'the blood ofCronus' and 'the seed ofHeracles
occ~r. The phrase 'bone of the physician' occurs too.
p.l
C OMMENTARY CHAPTER 62
the sixth century B.c.,1 the question arises whether hi/ in this context
does not mean copper or bronze; cf. E. Otto, Das iigyptisch.e MunJOjf-
nungsritual (Wiesbaden, 1960), u, 8I, who translates 'mit dem Erz das
~us Seth ka~ '. -:r:he earliest iron known to the Egyptians was met;oric
tron, as Wamwnghr has shown, and the full expression for this was
~l/ m pt, 'ir.on from heaven'; the phrase was, however, extended to
mclude all tron.3 It is thus possible that Seth was associated with
mete~ric i~on from early rimes, and the association persisted, it may be,
espectally m the ceremony of opening the mouth, which was a part of
every respectable funeral. Wainwright has made a further valuable
suggestion in this connexion. Noting that hippopotamus-bones found
at ~aw el~Kebir (Antaeopolis) in Middle Egypt, 'an important centre
of s;th worship'," were very dark in appearance,s he was so struck by
the tdea that they looked a great deal like iron that it occurred to him
that herein lay the origin of the phrase. Since the hippopotamus was, at
a~y rate from the N .K., prominently linked with Seth, the iron-like
~1ppopotamus-bo~e co~ld have. led to a designation of iron simply as
~e bon~ of S~th Thts attracnve ~lanarion might seem to deal well
~th the bone elem.ent of the phrase were it not for the parallel phrase
the bone of Horus Was falcon-bone, then explained as 'magnetic
metaphorical and should not be applied to the god's animal. There
remams, however, a probable association of Seth with iron. Bonnet,
' Harris and Lucas, Materials, ~o.
~ 'Iron in Egypt',]EA 18 (1931), )-I~.
3 Harri~, Lexicographical Stuclies, Go. On pp. t6Gff. he shows that meteoric
matenal other than. iron was so~e~mes designated as hi/. By the 19th
Dynasty the Egypttans were begmmng to import manufactured iron see
Harris, ihicl. 59 '
4 ~ainwri~ht, ]EA 18 (1931), 14 with n. 4 It may be noted in addition,
"'?th specal rel~vance to Wainwright's argument, that the cult of Seth as a
htppopotamus ts attested here by the N.K. See Conflict, 47, cf. 99.
5 They are now at the University College Museum London where the
. h ' ,
~rese~t wnter as ~mined them and can confirm Wainwright's descrip-
non ( they were mtneralized, heavy, and black, and presented a metallic
lustre and appearance'). Harris, op. cit. I68 accepts the appearance as
suggesting hi/ of some sort.
6
Seth, argues Wainwright, and 'were considered to be some sort of iron or
possibly meteorite'. '
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 61.
1
Real. 709 derives the association from the god's chthonic character.
What militates a little against Wainwright's theory is that the mineralized
bones at Kaw included those of animals other than the hippopotamus,
as well as a few human bones.l
p. :u6, 2.3 ,;;v mcAflplav] The reading of the MSS involves a ana~
My. <1XAnpla for <n<AflP<Yrrls, but this seems better. than Marklan~'s
proposal Tilv <n<AnpO:v, for the adjective goes poorly With tdvnatv, whsch
must be understood on Markland's view. Bottcher adds To before
'lVcpwvtov.
p. 2.16, 2.4 lrrretplav] The correction by ?Cylander seems neces~.
Although c!nropla is used of the evil. power m p. :114, 1 ~' TO.&mtpov 1s
used of it in p. 194, 2.3, and here smts the state of molhficat10n (rather
than of defeat) just mentioned. The reference, in any case, as Baxter
saw, will be to Typhon and not to 'the beneficent movement of the
world'.
p. u6, 2.6 at<EAwv av~.~TIEcpvKOT(.o)V] S~~ral Egyptian deities are
sculptured with legs undifferentiated: Thts. 1s ~e of early. statues ~f
Min ;3 it is always true of Osiris, but h1s case IS d1fferent ash~ IS m~mms
fonn. If the reference is to Amun,4 there may be a connexson With the
explanation- a correct one- of his name as' the hidden one' in 9, 354c;
5 Isis addresses Osiris as a' fair SistrUm-player' (lfry); cf. Songs Isis Neplz.
but the mythic allusion to Isis freeing his limbs remains a puzzle.
1 For an early discussion see Th. Deveria, 'Le fer et l'aimant' in his Mlmoires
et fragments 1 {1897, fii'St publ. 1872.), 339fT. ~A.H.G.) He sugges~ (p. 3~1)
that iron was suited to Typhon as the Egypuan Mars-a rather m1sleadmg
comparison. . one in the agitation and instability caused by the action of Shu in separating
: See G. Brunton, Qau and Badari, 1, r; 2.; 12.. Petrie, Antaeopo/r.s: Tile
Tomhs of Qau, 1 and 1of. mentions only hippopotamus bones. When
Or A.]. Arkell showed them to the present writer on 2.0 June 1958 there
were no human bones among them, but there were bones of crocodiles and
of other animals, including homed animals; most, however, were bon~ of
hippopotami. The blackening or min~ralizing had taken ?lac~, accordmg
to Or Arkell, before burial. Perhaps tt should be borne m mmd that the
Greek Typhon or Typhoeus was said to have stolen the thunde~bolts of
Zeus and that he has volcanic connexions; see Rose, OCD, 93o; his sword
or sickle may have some ancient sacral connotation' (Rose, Glc. Myth. 59)
3 Gauthier, Les Fetes du Jieu Min, IJI.
4 For an example of Min-Amun depicted thus see Lepsius, Diem. m, 189h;
cf. Blackman,]EA G (I9lo), S9
s The story of Isis and Re', adduced by Hopfner, u, ~8, supplies no such
detail.
P.4
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 63
CHAPTER 63
p. 218, 5 TO aeiaTpov] Plutarch's etymological explanation of what
the sistrum indicates rests on the connexion of aelaTpov and cnfc.l
'shake'; 1 the connexion is a valid one; cf. the English 'rattle' (noun
and verb). A precisely similar meaning does not seem likely in Egyptian.
The word for 'sistrum' was s!!t (Wb. m, 486.) and perhaps it derives
from t?e verb s!! ( Wb. ibid.), used of plucking the papyrus, the stalks
of wh1ch were shaken in honour of Hathor.l Another word for
'sistrum' was s6m, and this may3 have indicated the looped type as
opposed to the naos-sistrum. Plutarch is concerned with the looped
type.
p. :u 8, 7-8 Tvcpwva .. &rro-rpbretv] The sistrum became very
popular in the cult of Isis, especially outside Egypt. Juvenal, Sat. 13. 93
suggests that Isis could inflict blindness with it on a sinner (irato foriat
mea lumina sistro). 'I drive away the enemy of the Mistress of Heaven ,
says the royal sistrum-player in Mariette, Denderalz, 1v, pi. 18; cf.
Blackman, ]EA 7 (1921), 21 f. It expresses mourning according to
Lucan, Bell. Civ. 8. 832, but it doubtless expressed joy4 also, both
emotions arising from the story of Osiris. In Lament. /sis Neplt. 2, 2
r, 12 and often. FaulknerS points out that l~y is 'properly the title
1
G. Michailidis, BIE JG (19f5), 454 seeks a situation in Egyptian religion
where an 'antinomy between movement and immobility' is seen, and finds
Nut and Geb. The parallel is hardly convincing, even though he rightly
emphasizes that the antinomy, as expressed in Plutarch, is viewed from dte
angle of Greek thought. For the papyrus stalk and the origin of the sistrum,
cf. the outspreading head of papyrus set on a stem which is the shape of the
Gth Dynasty example published by N. de G. Davies,]EA G (192.0), G9Jf.
2
Hans Hickmann in Helck and Ono, K/eines Wh. 337
3 See Gardiner, Notes on Sinu!e, IOI-J. The view is questioned by N. de
G. Davies,]EA G (192o), 70f. The type shown by him is the naos type,
in which wires carrying disks of metal were contained in a small box.
4 In an apparently similar background, the 'Harvestei'S' vase from Haghia
Triada shows the sistrum being used by a troop of singing harvestei'S.
Perhaps, in view of its religious associations elsewhere, especially in
relation to fertility rites, this depiction, too, should not be given a purely
secular meaning. See Webster, From Mycenae to Homer, pl. 16.
5 ]EA l l (1936), 132.; cf. Peet,JEA 6 (191o)t 57
P.5
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 61.
1
Real. 709 derives the association from the god's chthonic character.
What militates a little against Wainwright's theory is that the mineralized
bones at Kaw included those of animals other than the hippopotamus,
as well as a few human bones.l
p. :u6, 2.3 ,;;v mcAflplav] The reading of the MSS involves a ana~
My. <1XAnpla for <n<AflP<Yrrls, but this seems better. than Marklan~'s
proposal Tilv <n<AnpO:v, for the adjective goes poorly With tdvnatv, whsch
must be understood on Markland's view. Bottcher adds To before
'lVcpwvtov.
p. 2.16, 2.4 lrrretplav] The correction by ?Cylander seems neces~.
Although c!nropla is used of the evil. power m p. :114, 1 ~' TO.&mtpov 1s
used of it in p. 194, 2.3, and here smts the state of molhficat10n (rather
than of defeat) just mentioned. The reference, in any case, as Baxter
saw, will be to Typhon and not to 'the beneficent movement of the
world'.
p. u6, 2.6 at<EAwv av~.~TIEcpvKOT(.o)V] S~~ral Egyptian deities are
sculptured with legs undifferentiated: Thts. 1s ~e of early. statues ~f
Min ;3 it is always true of Osiris, but h1s case IS d1fferent ash~ IS m~mms
fonn. If the reference is to Amun,4 there may be a connexson With the
explanation- a correct one- of his name as' the hidden one' in 9, 354c;
5 Isis addresses Osiris as a' fair SistrUm-player' (lfry); cf. Songs Isis Neplz.
but the mythic allusion to Isis freeing his limbs remains a puzzle.
1 For an early discussion see Th. Deveria, 'Le fer et l'aimant' in his Mlmoires
et fragments 1 {1897, fii'St publ. 1872.), 339fT. ~A.H.G.) He sugges~ (p. 3~1)
that iron was suited to Typhon as the Egypuan Mars-a rather m1sleadmg
comparison. . one in the agitation and instability caused by the action of Shu in separating
: See G. Brunton, Qau and Badari, 1, r; 2.; 12.. Petrie, Antaeopo/r.s: Tile
Tomhs of Qau, 1 and 1of. mentions only hippopotamus bones. When
Or A.]. Arkell showed them to the present writer on 2.0 June 1958 there
were no human bones among them, but there were bones of crocodiles and
of other animals, including homed animals; most, however, were bon~ of
hippopotami. The blackening or min~ralizing had taken ?lac~, accordmg
to Or Arkell, before burial. Perhaps tt should be borne m mmd that the
Greek Typhon or Typhoeus was said to have stolen the thunde~bolts of
Zeus and that he has volcanic connexions; see Rose, OCD, 93o; his sword
or sickle may have some ancient sacral connotation' (Rose, Glc. Myth. 59)
3 Gauthier, Les Fetes du Jieu Min, IJI.
4 For an example of Min-Amun depicted thus see Lepsius, Diem. m, 189h;
cf. Blackman,]EA G (I9lo), S9
s The story of Isis and Re', adduced by Hopfner, u, ~8, supplies no such
detail.
P.4
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 63
CHAPTER 63
p. 218, 5 TO aeiaTpov] Plutarch's etymological explanation of what
the sistrum indicates rests on the connexion of aelaTpov and cnfc.l
'shake'; 1 the connexion is a valid one; cf. the English 'rattle' (noun
and verb). A precisely similar meaning does not seem likely in Egyptian.
The word for 'sistrum' was s!!t (Wb. m, 486.) and perhaps it derives
from t?e verb s!! ( Wb. ibid.), used of plucking the papyrus, the stalks
of wh1ch were shaken in honour of Hathor.l Another word for
'sistrum' was s6m, and this may3 have indicated the looped type as
opposed to the naos-sistrum. Plutarch is concerned with the looped
type.
p. :u 8, 7-8 Tvcpwva .. &rro-rpbretv] The sistrum became very
popular in the cult of Isis, especially outside Egypt. Juvenal, Sat. 13. 93
suggests that Isis could inflict blindness with it on a sinner (irato foriat
mea lumina sistro). 'I drive away the enemy of the Mistress of Heaven ,
says the royal sistrum-player in Mariette, Denderalz, 1v, pi. 18; cf.
Blackman, ]EA 7 (1921), 21 f. It expresses mourning according to
Lucan, Bell. Civ. 8. 832, but it doubtless expressed joy4 also, both
emotions arising from the story of Osiris. In Lament. /sis Neplt. 2, 2
r, 12 and often. FaulknerS points out that l~y is 'properly the title
1
G. Michailidis, BIE JG (19f5), 454 seeks a situation in Egyptian religion
where an 'antinomy between movement and immobility' is seen, and finds
Nut and Geb. The parallel is hardly convincing, even though he rightly
emphasizes that the antinomy, as expressed in Plutarch, is viewed from dte
angle of Greek thought. For the papyrus stalk and the origin of the sistrum,
cf. the outspreading head of papyrus set on a stem which is the shape of the
Gth Dynasty example published by N. de G. Davies,]EA G (192.0), G9Jf.
2
Hans Hickmann in Helck and Ono, K/eines Wh. 337
3 See Gardiner, Notes on Sinu!e, IOI-J. The view is questioned by N. de
G. Davies,]EA G (192o), 70f. The type shown by him is the naos type,
in which wires carrying disks of metal were contained in a small box.
4 In an apparently similar background, the 'Harvestei'S' vase from Haghia
Triada shows the sistrum being used by a troop of singing harvestei'S.
Perhaps, in view of its religious associations elsewhere, especially in
relation to fertility rites, this depiction, too, should not be given a purely
secular meaning. See Webster, From Mycenae to Homer, pl. 16.
5 ]EA l l (1936), 132.; cf. Peet,JEA 6 (191o)t 57
P.5
 COMM E NTARY CHAPTER 63
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 6J
of the youthful god Harsomtus, son of Hathor '. Hathor is indeed
that thy countenance may lighten and th' h
the goddess of music par excellence- music as an encouragement
of love, joy and fertility. 1 Music, however, was a cult attribute of
p~ace :md thy rage be mollified . Both Ha~:r ae:~t he glad, thy ka be in
With Slstrums in other representations at Phi! z Tefenetarepresentecl
many gods, as Hickmann~ shows; he remarks that Bes 'seems to
be the only Egyptian god (at least according to our evidence) who P zx8, ~o-r I mpttpepovs avc.>Sev n?..] ;~ .
confirmed m all its factual detail b u~ch s descnption is
is never represented with the sistrum'.3 The goddess Bastet, who Hickmann lnst..-~ J ~ y representations and by r...... ~:
' , _,,K>nts ae Mu.rtljue ( CCG ~......ns.
was worshipped in Bubastis in the Delta, is the subject of numerous reproductions of sistrums in th C . ' 1949), pis. 45--JO gives
statuettes which show her with a sistrum in one hand and a basket on t:r e a1ro Museum and d'
her arm.4 In the Aretalogy from Chalcis Carpocrates says, 'I produced
PP 76 u. His no. 693 I 6 (pi. 46), an elaborate l~sses them on
ments mentioned by Plutarch z An . type, contains all the ele-
the sistrum for Isis ,s but it is dearly in the wake of Hathor that Isis decoration is revealed The rat.tl dlmmh~se variety of shape and
achieves prominence here. In fact Hathor is once described as bewailing e-ro s w 1ch d th
sometimes three some.:mes fi . b pro uce e noise are
even Osiris 'with her necklaces and sistrums'.6 Still, the sistrum figures ' .. our m num er a d .
sh aped. To explain them as the fj . n are occastonally snake-
conspicuously in the Isiac rites. The ceremony of presenting the Piutarchean superimposition of ;:er cos~tc ele~ents is typical of the
sistrums to Isis is depicted at Philae;7 and one text includes these words concrete Egyptian details h'ch ek philosophic schematism on the
by the King: 'I play the sistrums before thy fair countenance, 0 Isis, made of bronze or fayen; r are correctly recorded. The sistrum was
Eye of Re', who has no peer'; another text pertaining to the rite8 makes silver, and Hickmann bele, mothre ~rely of wood, alabaster, gold or
Cleopatra, the queen, who holds sistrums in her hands, say, 'I play the . Jeves at rt was of Afi . . .
used. m water- and fertility-rites before b . n~ ongm and was
sistrums before thy fair countenance, leader of the goddesses in Bigeh, of ntual music. ecommg, 10 Egypt, a symbol
1
Hans Hickmann, Dieux et Jlesses Je la musique (extrait des Cahiers d'His- p. %18, t6 cxii.ovpov] The cat de .
toire Egyptknne, Cairo, 1954), 39ff. In a song to Hathorquoted on pp. 40ft who is often represented as w h nves drom the cat-goddess Bastet
(cf. Junker, 'Poesie aus der Splitzeit', ZAS 43 (1901)), Josf.) Hathor is lr'ke1y that Bastet was indebted
' e ave note with th .
to Hath fj' . e srstrum. It seems
called 'mistress of the sekhem-sistrums' and 1 of the naos sistrum '. was indebted to both of these 3 p ~r or ~er srstrum, and that Isis
that this was the case but th . _re~e questions the view of SachsS
2
Op. cit. On p. 34 he says that Anubis, who is aroused by the sistrum,
evokes the aspect of music which Hickmann regards as a vestige of ancient Davies6 showed in a 'dl. ~ pnofnty of Hathor is at least dear as
apotropaic rites. scusston o an 1 h . ,
Dynasty. Plutarch's referen th a a aster ststrum of the 6th
for Bastet does not ever appc:a~oth e h~man face ofthe cat is problematic,
3 Op. cit. 37 Bes he describes (n. 39) as the comic god of popular merry-
making whereas Hathor was the goddess of sacred dances. ' u . us, tt seems.7 For examples of the cat
4 Op. cit. 35 E.g. Erman, Rei. 34. fig. 10; Bonnet, Bi/Jeratlas, no. )9 There 1 nker, op. cu. figs. 119 and 71 ,. L t
l Th , u~uurtsnau.r c() nn
is a charming example in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford (no. 1871. 70). ere were only three rods tw . ' ' , 7-' 100.
S Harder, Karpolcrates, line 5 Cf. the claim of lsidorus Hispalensis (A.D. vii) added which Plutan:h does ~ot ~ ~f ;hich are extmt. Several features are
that Isis discovered the sistrum, which was named after her: see H F 723. Bc;s~tigure at tlte base. None of~~ u e, e.g. the four kittens, the naos, the
6
Junker, Stu~~Jenwachen, 97, 55--6. thts work seems to have four rods =pies reproduced by Hickmann in
7 Junker, Der grosse Pylon, fig. 1)5 The King carries two sistrums, one ~ds, an asymmetrical arrangemen: witho::no. 6!)J44 1las space for four
of each type. L. Klebs, 1 Die verschiedenen Formen des Sistrums ', ZAS 67 WJth four is reproduced by B was preferred. An example
(1931), 6o-3 says (p. 61) that she has never seen men depicted with the J Bastet as Bubasti . ~nnet, Real. 717 (fig. 171).
' s, ts mentioned ~th 1 .
looped sistrum. Here, then, is one example. There is another in Junker, Latin inscrs. cited by Steudin . I srs m rnscriptions: see the
op. cit. fig. 19 Cf. Junker and Winter, Gehurtshaus, 358 and )86. 4 PW.s.v. Sistrum (1927), 370.g m Roscher, Lex. s.v. Bubastis {1884), BJI.
8 Junker, Pylon, fig. 144 and p. 250. Cf. the phrase used of the King in a 5 In his All ~ .L
6 tagyptucne Musif.irutrumeme (Lei zi
hymn to Isis from her temple at Aswan (of the Ptolemaic period): 1 he who N. de G. Davies An Alab
I . p g, 19%0).
aster Ststrum ded' d b .
plays the sistrums before thy fair countenance . See D. Muller, /su-Aret. 89. 7 6 (1920), 69-'71 (wrongly cited by Piepe !. t~te) y Kmg Teta', JEA
Many bronze li . h r, oc. Clt
p6 gunnes s ow her with human body and a eat's head.
527
 COMMENTARY CHAPTERS 63-4
depicted on sistrums see Hickmann, Instruments de musique, ~os. 69316
(with cat and four kittens, also a cockerel on top), 69303 (wtth a ~tat
the base of the circular or looped part), 69304, 69309, 6932.7 (all wtth a
cat on top).
p. :u8, 17 tat6os 6E Nt!pevos] The ~ace of Hathor, doubly
depicted, is what is really figured. See Htckmann, Instruments tk
musique, nos. 69302.; 69303; 69316, all on P~ 45, cf. P 78 and PP Bof.
For Isis as the principle of generation or brrth (yiveats) cf. 43, 368c;
and for Nephthys as death or finality(~) cf. u, 3SS F and 59,
3 5 a although there is some doubt as to whether the present occur-
7
renc; implies death' as opposed to birth, whereas the others denote
finality or destiny.
p. 2.18 1 -rflv <W.t\\IT\Y] The cat of Bastet has become that of Isis,
1 9 1
and it is from Isis that Plutarch derives the lunar connotation; cf. 52.,
372.0 and n. For the eat's increasing progeny cf. Pho~us, !lihl. 2.42.
(558H). Herodotus 2.. 66 and Aelian, NA 6. 2.7 menuon Its sexual
potency.
CHAPTER 64
p. 11 8, 2.9 IweMvn] In summing up the Platonic approach Plutarch
now gives it a moral emphasis. Osiris ~s ultim~tel~ the well-ordered,
the good and the useful, while Typhon 1s what 1s wtthou~ ~easure a~d
order. The Platonic phraseology is clearest in the descnpoon of lsts.
The well-ordered the good and the useful is her work and is the
~~~1'\IJa lXl Myos ~f Osiris. Does this represen~ Plutarch'~ final vie'!'.?
In , 6 A he gives high praise to the priestly mterpretanon of Osans
33 3 4
as moisture and Typhon as drought.
P 2.18, 3o-p. no, I o\fre m:ip o<Tr' aVxiJOV ov6E eC~A~] l:'he
three are regarded as having affinity. For the view that the sea consts~
of fire cf. 7, 3SJE; 32., 363 D (Typhon as the sea); 41, 367E (the Stoic
view that the sun is kindled from the sea); and 45, 369A, where Typhon
is also explained, along the present lines, as everything harmful in
nature.
p. 210, 5 Ev6o~ov] What Eudoxus questions is whether Demeter has
charge of sexual love as well as Isis;~ he questions, therefore, the
1 A cat symbolizing a lunar Isis is sho"':" on the ~ensa.lsiac~: see Seam~,
p. 62.. The fusion ofisis and Bastet as attested an Daod. Sac. 1. l.7 4 cf.
PGM 7, 495 f. (Isis-Bubastis).
2 Hopfner, u, l.49 offers the converse interpretation.
p.S
COMMENTARY CHAPTERS 64-5
identity of the goddesses. His affirmation of the role of Isis in sexual
love is recorded in p, 372. D-E. Similarly he obviously questioned the
identity of Dionysus and Osiris, since he would not allow Dionysus
~o of the powers possessed by Osiris, namely the ability to swell the
Ntle and to rule over the dead; on the Nile cf. 34, 364cff. and 38, J66A;
on rule over the dead cf. 27, 361 E and 78, 382.E.
p. 22.0, 8 tu6waov nA.] Schwartz wishes to restore 'Oalp161
npoao~.totovm ToY, which repeats the previous construction smoothly.
The variation, however, is not violent.
CHAPTER 65
P: no, 14-1,5 Kap'Tt'WV ~1] The derisive allusion to the 'many
bonng people who assoctate these gods with seasonal changes or with
vegetation seems rather at variance with the favour shown earlier by
Plutarch (33, 364A; cf. 36, 365 s; 38, 365 Fff.) to the interpretation of
Osiris as the moist principle and Typhon as the dry. Who are the
people attacked by him here? We know that the Stoics indulged freely
in physical allegory in their treatment of the gods; so did members of
the Neoplatonic and Neopythagorean schools. In modem times the
phenomena of vegetation have been elaborately applied to ancient
religions by Frazer, Reinach and others. The statement that Osiris is
buried when the seed is sown and lives again when it sprouts7 can be
paralleled in a number of sources, which Hopfner notes: see D iodorus
Sic. 1. 14. df. = HF 95 f. (Isis discovered wheat and barley and Osiris
the method of cultivation; the firstfruits at harvest are dedicated to
Isis.) The other allusions are later than Plutarch: see Athenag. Suppl.
22. 6 = HF 344 (Osiris is the seed of corn); Porphyry, De imag. ap.
Euseb. Praep. Evang. 3 n. so - HF 47of.; Tertullian, Adv. Marc. 1.
IJ ~ HF _3~2; ~irm. Mat. E_rr. prof. re/. 2.. 6 = HF P9 (frugum
semma Osmm dtcentes esse, /sun terram); Martianus Capella, 2.. 12.6 =
H F 6;o. The ~gyptian :ources confirm the seasonal and fertility
emphases, espectally the ev1dence concerning the Osirian festival in the
month of Khoiak: see notes on chs. 33 and 39 In the context of this
festival cm t<plirrreTcn 6 Kap1TOs ('when the corn . is hidden') will
refer not only to the general sowing of the seed but to the moulds in
c:>si?an shape in, which barley was planted. When. it sprouted, this
stgrufied the god s return to hfe. What Plutarch obJects to is the too
narrow identification of the god with the physical product, and in 66,
34 P9 GDI
.......--------- COMMENTARY CHAPTER 65
COMMENTARY CHAPTERS 65-6
8f., where a folk-etymology, involving I<CXp1TOqiOpOS and Kap1To56-n)s
. of Oionysus with wine, and attacks
377D he instances ~e equan~nas Oemeter. Plutarch prefers to speak
is invoked to account for its currency.
p. no, 2.1 chehfi Kal VECXpbv] Cf. the narration of the birth of
Clean thes. fo.r refemng t~ ~o would have appreciated Oylan Thomas'
of the pnnclple or force, the h the green fuse drives the flower'. Harpocrates in I 9, 3S8 D and n.; and the allusion to him in 68, 378B-c.
allusion to 'the force that roug d p. no, 2.2. cpaKwv] Hopfner, u, 254 suggests that the offering of
i}I;--J. 1ov] cf. 68, 378 B an n. lentils to Harpocrates derives from Greek rather than Egyptian
P :z.2o, I9 cpv W'"tP h \ d "cal assertions are made here:
..,. ( lCTh} T ree ea en n custom. Cf. s, 351-F: priests in Egypt are said to abstain from most
P 2:Z.O, :z.o "'acucp h egnant on Phaophi 6th; (:z.) she
(I) Isi~ became aware that s ~eW::n~: solstice;' ( 3) her confinement is
legumes. One Greek view of the bean (l<\iai.los) was that it was a
gave btrth to Harpocrat~s at . p they argues that since the last receptacle of generative potency; cf. Q.Eaest. conv. 2.. 3 I, 6JSE and Le-
celebrated after the spnng e~umox. a; seasonal events, then Phaophi normant in Daremberg and Saglio, 11, 947; in this case the offering to
two refer to regularly recu;:n; a~nu~ar related unchangingly to the Harpocrates, on a Greek basis, might be compensatory for his ill-timed
6th will also belong to ~n x~t .:lt:orrespond to 3 October in the
birth. According to 68, 378c offerings of pulse were made to him
in the month of Mesore.
seasons; then, he goes , n h ve been bom less than three
Julianic calendar; H~rpocra~e~::onfi~ement will be celebrated more
months after concepuon, ~~ b" th Since the latter is said to be pre-
CHAPTER 66
than three months after ISh btr "ble unless a period of less than p. no, 2.7 t<otvo\ls] In staking humanity's claim on the glories of
ll this mig t e poss1 , .
mature1y b o~, a . . e to allow even for a premature birth. We Egyptian religion Plutarch is reflecting the eager syncretism of his age
three months IS too ltttle tt~ tha Pl tarch took the three statements as welt as the universalist outlook of the Stoics; see the introduction to
cannot be sure, unfortunate .y,h ~d uthat this source was unitary or F. C. Grant, Hellenistic Religions (New York, 1953). What is re-
from the same sour~e;. or, tf ~ta I 'it might well derive from a period markable is that he is pleading not for a common pool of all religions,
mixed; further, even tf tt was un ry,bl elated to the second date and but for the sharing by the Egyptians of their Isiac cult. In other words,
when Phaophi 6th was more reasona ~ y r in spite of its universalism, the chapter is an impressive tribute to the
was therefor~ in aomova~e c;~;~~S give carpocrates, not only here influence of Egyptian religion on the Greek world. Doubtless it also
P :z.:~.o, .l.O Apn iCpCml ]
(where
L2 1
a one
delees the initial K). For other
. )
reflects the wide diffusion of the cult oflsis. 1 The Greeks, of course, had
but a1so tn P 2.24, I 9 R H der Karnokrates (Ahh. Berlzn, I944 , long since revered Egypt as the repository of ancient wisdom.
instances of the form see . ar , .r
p. n2, 5 lrrr<XV"nS] Wyttenbach's correction to c!rmxvras is not
f om ares Macrobius, Sat. I. t8. IO == H F 596, felicitous, for the gods of the lsiac circle were not so numerous as to
1 Sethe, Zeirreclmung, n, 37 c p d d th un on the shortest day of the
th E tians regar e es require this emphasis. On the other hand, the claim involved in
who says that e ~p d at the time of the spring equino~ as a young
year as a new-bom child, an ls . a bearded man m the bloom accepting the reading CrrrCWTES is not unreasonable, for the whole
man, and at the time of the summer so ttce; oung sun-god, and thinks known world had by now become familiar with the cult even if it was
of life. Sethe. refers t? H.:ocra~~ !e:C~solsti~e fits in with the statement possessed intimately only by the initiates in every nation.
that the aUuston to his bt at 1 here to equate Harpocrates and p. n2, to-n .6t6waov.OvolvovKT:h.] Cf. 35, J6SA where P indar is
. Pl h does not seem e sew . . th
of Macrobtus. utarc (the Elder) and Apollo. If Sethe ts nght, ere adduced as evidence that Dionysus is considered by the Greeks to be
the sun as he does Horus th b" thda of the sun-god and the the lord and originator not merely of wine but of all moist nature. The
will be an interesting parallel bd~~een the ~~irth ~f Christ. Cf. Gardiner, view that Dionysus was simply wine is referred to by Saltustius, De deis
. d Christian tra ttton to e
date asstgne m . Merkelbach, I sisfoste, )8 f. et mund. 4, see Nock, p. 6 and xlvii f. For Hephaestus and fire cf. 32,
Rev. J'lgyptol. to (~9H), '-9, roach in Calendars, 4off. except that the
: This would agree Wtth Pha~k~s a'i m a viewpoint of' between A.D. 76 and 1
Cf. the Isis Aretalogies, M3 a 'I am Isis, mistress of every land', which is
need to interpret Plutarc s tes ro . sed "th included in the text from Andros (i B.c.). See D. Muller, lsis-Aret. 19.
the end of his life' (p. 4 t) would be dispen Wl

5JI
SJO
 COMMENTARY CHAPTERS 66-7
363 o and the discussion of physi~l alleg~ry inn. ad p. ~66, 16. That the
gods should not be treated in tlus way ts urged also m Amat. 13-14,
7j7Bf.
p. :n.2, 12 IO.Cxv&T)s] Cleanthes (331-.133 u.c.) succeeded. Zen~ as
head of me Stoic school. The Stoics often talked of me creauve rur or
spirit (1T\IEV~); the present fragment of Cleanmes (no. H7 in ~VF 1),
which offers an etymological explanation, may have been from his book
nepl &c;)v, mentioned as one of fifty by Diog. Laert. 7 175 ~om
1
Demeter and her daughter Kore or Persephone had clear connextons
with vegetation, especially wim corn, and me unknown epic ~oet here
cited (Epicorum Graec. Fr. ed. Kinkel, p. 73 wim ~c.>}.atOp.evat from
anomer source) identifies Demeter with the corn. The words are
quoted also in pseudo-Piutarch, De vita et poesi Homeri, .13 as an
example of metonymy (~c.>Willa). In De fac. ~7, 94.1 D Pl~tar~h gives
anomer explanation of Phersephone, namely bearer of light (lp<lla-
fOpos): see Chemiss ad foe. (Loeb, p. 193, n. c).
CHAPTER 67
p. 222 , .14- j ovS ~pj36:povs t<al ru11vcxs] The universalism of this
eloquent passage bears the impress of Stoic teaching as related to the
concepts of 6v.6vot~ (concord}~ and ftAcxvSpc.mla (lov~ of ma~kind)i
Concerning Homonota was me utle of a book by me StOIC Chrystppus.
All men, regardless of race or status, were embraced by these concepts.4
Although the collocation 'barbarians and Greeks' does not happen to
occur, apparently, in Stoic works, as it does inS~ Paul'~ epistle~ (Ro. I .
14, cf. Col. 3 u), me idea of me cosmopo~ts, which begt~S Wtm
Cynics and Stoics, firmly advocates the deletton of the bamer; a?d
Plutarch is applying mis approach to the god~ of th~ peoples.Th.e lsts-
Aretalogies (M 31, D. Muller, p. 54) make lsts say, I have dtstnbuted
languages to Greeks and barbarians'; me fonnulation is Greek, but a
parallel Egyptian development can be adduced.S
r Comutus was an admirer of Cleanthes: see Pers. Sat. 5. 63 f., cited from
Pearson by von Amim, SVFt, 124, n. ad line 3 But in his Theo/. Graec. 28
(p. ~5 ed. Lang) he gives a different explanation of ~ersephone.
~ See e.g. S VF m, 71 f. 3 S VF m, zor, hne 27.
4 s VF r, nos. 259-68; Tarn and Griffith, HeU. Civ. 79 and 12.2.
s See D. Muller, fsis-Artt. 54ff. An equality of Greeks and barbanans ts not
explicitly stated here, but may be implied.
C OMMENTARY C HAPTERS 67-8
P .124, I lvos Myov] A tendency towards monotheism was often a
concomitant of me Stoic doctrine of universal lzomonoia. See F. c.
Grant, Hellenutic Religions, xxxiii; Edwyn Bevan, Later Greek Religion,
3 I ff. Pl.utarch has argued mat. me man~ gods of the nations are really
shared tn common, so that be 1s not urgmg a belief in monotheism. be
proffers ramer a kind of moral substitute in the one logos and ~ne
providence .w~i~h ~rders na~ral phenomena (TaiiTa), adding a
reference to numstenng powers below them, who will be either gods
or daemons.
P 224, 7- 8. SetatScn~ovlav . &&onrraJ Superstition and atheism
are mentioned as two dangerous extremes in 1 r, 355 e-o; see n.
CHAPTER 68
P .124, 9-10 llVcrrayc.>yov] The words ~vcrrayc.>ytc.> and I.JV<rra-
yc.>yla a.re used of initiation into the mysteries; the adjective can also
mean thrs (cf. V. Ale. 34), but me present instance denotes general
guidance.
P 2.24, n 9e6Sc.>posJ Cf. De traiUJ. anim. s, 4678 (Theodorus is
d~cribed as having been called 'the atheist') ; 1 Plutarch also mentions
hts banishment from his native city:' According to Diog. Laert. 2.. 86
Theodorus the ameist was afterwards known as 'god' (no doubt
scornfully), and was a pu~il of ~stippus me Cyrenaic philosopher.
Ome~ teachers too are asc~bed to him. Among his sayings as recorded
by Drog. Laert. 2.. 99 was the world is my country' (elva{ TE 1TaTpiSa
Tbv I<Oa1.1ov). H~ probably came fro~ Cyrene and was bom c. 34o u.c.;
he spent some ume at Athens. An tmmoral outlook is assigned to him
in Diog. Laert. :z.. 99, and the present remark may refer to a later
to~ing down of his immoralism, implying a complaint that people bad
mrsunderstood what he had said; see Kurt van Fritz, PW s.v.
Theodoros no. p (1934), IB2.j-JI, esp. IBJof.
P .124, 16-17 topT6:lO\rn5TCj) 'Ep1.1fj] There is an exact correspondence
The word ~os caul~ imply opposition merely to traditional religion or to
1
the H~menc conception of the go~s; or it could mean a belief that gods did
not extst at all. See F. Jacoby, DMgortU 6 A6os (Ahlz. Berlin 1959) esp.
PP. I 5ff. jacoby considers Diagoras to have been the first Q6EC:S in th~ last,
radical sense.
3
De uil. 16, 6oGs; seen. by de Lacy and Einarson (Loeb vol 7 p 56 1
n. h). ' ' '
533
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 68
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 68
Naville) the amulet is called 'The Blood of Isis', and von Bissing1
. . . 1 of Thoth recorded in the Festival- interprets this on physical lines in the sense that the blood of Isis, in
of date and de1ty m a fesnva d' t Habu for 'the first month of
calendar of Ramess~ Ill in chMe m~ tdaten 6:2..1 That Thoth in the role of the great sorceress, was secured as a nourishing element
. D y I 9 . see S ott, .res ' 9 . through the wearing of the amulet, which further, according to Budge,~
Inundanon, a ' d 'th the ceremony of presenttng a
Plutarch's statement is connec}e w~ (or justice or righteousness or symbolized the vagina. It is more likely, as Schafer3 shows, that the
figure of MJCt, the goddess o trub f parallels Moret3 quotes and original symbolism of the amulet derives from the 'nq-sign denoting
. d )~ . 1 fi om a num er o life.4 Plutarch's record of how the amulet was interpreted is at first a
cosmtc or er 1S c ear r 1 0 f Sethos I at Abydos, where the
translates from a text in the te~p e th god4 the perfume of the little intriguing. In his expression q>C&lvfl &A1)6Tis the adjective is probably
King is described as prese~nngl to t eeye of Horus the honey of predicative, so that it corresponds to an Egyptian expression well known
h this p easan ' in funerary contexts, namely m1C l;rw, 'the voice is true', used of
festival and the. 0 ?ey: . h d . his name of hit'. The presenta-
1
which the abomman?n ts a ~e .oo ~~~weet sustenance which symbol- vindication in the judgement of the dead with a resultant sense of
tion of honey, then, 1S the o ethnng d I . the identification, however, 'justified' or 'triumphant'. Osiris was the god who conferred or
f truth for ego us guaranteed this favourable verdict, and we must assume that Isis too at
izes the swe.etness. o . th fi re of MJCt) with the eye of Horus
some stage was thought able to secure it for the dead through the
of the offenngs (mcludmg e gu 11 cation of honey and truth. All
that explains the otherwise strang:dco ?fi d W1'th the eye ofHorus; and presence of her amulet. A. A. Barb, ]WC!u (1959), 368f. compares
fii gs were 1 enn e the Babylonian goddess Ishtar wearing a girdle beset with 'birth-
manner of pleasant o enn fii the resentation of Ml<t, perhaps
a similar process of thought a ec:; b pth Cf Moret Rituel du culte stones', i.e. haematites; in Assyrian, he finds, haematite is 'the stone of
th d who oners o ' truth', and he also compares a Hebrew-Aramaic word for a childbirth
because T h oth ts e go tioned together as offerings to
. . I 42 n. 2. Figs and honey are men amulet, Emath ~ haematite, cf. the Hebrew Emeth which means
dtvm, ' ( Wh v 417 ll).
a god in Philae Phot. I) ,._-J.' ' ] c'f Gc B. A girdle fronted
'Truth'. The long arm of coincidence seems to be involved.
- tcn5oc; q>VAUI'o' qptOV n 377 d fi p. 224, :2.1-~ Myov . 'Tt'poo-rc!mtv] For the physical imperfection
P 224, t81'TlS d' . nexions in the O.K. an ram
with a loop or knot~ is used i~l 1Vln~ c~n Isis.6 In BD t)6, 2 (Aa ed. of Harpocrates cf. 19, 358 D and n.; 6), 3770-c. The interpretation of
the N.K. onwards ts espec1a y use y his upraised finger as a symbol of silence diverts from the original
' r 1 10 . (19S5) 11 and :z.s, n. J meaning; see n. ad p. 146, 21. Offerings of lentils to Harpocrates are
I cf. Gardiner, Rev. J egypto , 8 Rundle Clark, Myth. and mentioned in 6), 377C. Plutarch is not denying the physical imperfec-
2 Cf. Wilson Th.e Culture of Ancrent Egypt, 4 .
tion of the god or his connexion with pulse and lentils, but pressing the
s;mbol, 4'j ~ranslates it 'Wor!d Ord;r'. 1 40) I-14; ad h.unc /oc. P 6. The philosophical symbolism at least of the former fact. Harpocrates is the
3 'La doctrine de Mait', Rev. J egypto D.4 (h9 le'_:. van de eavptisch.e godin
. d' d b Bleeker e eree e,.... patron and exponent of the logos concerning the gods among men- a
ceremony ts tscusse y b d
DJ,
A th Die Maat des Ech.naton von
Ma-a-t (Leiden, 1919), 71ff. an / nf[ ~~iegelberg OLZ 31 (1928), logos which as yet is imperfect. Torhoudt, Gnost. Syst. 83 identifies this
Amarna (Suppl. ]ADS. 14, I9J7.~:~f.Manetho as MJCr (-n-) Q~wry, logos with the lsiac gnosis.
14'j ff. (arguing for an mterpretaln . tion ofThoth and MJCtin the 1
'Agyptische Knotenamulette',Arch.f. Re/. Wis.r. 8 Beiheft (1905 ), ~J-'7, esp.
Truth of Thoth ') points to the c ?se assocta p. 2.6. He suggests a derivation from the hieroglyph used in writing s1,
N K and late writings of the god s name. th resents the image, as in 'protection'. Cf. Vandebeek, lsisfiguu.r, G4.
4 Mo~t, Rituel Ju cu/te divin, IJ8.ff. Thoth e8re)p lnnff. Cf. Bakir, Cairo ~ Cited by von Bissing, op. cit. 3 z.Js 6:z. (192.7), 108 ff.
. L'b L' Funeralt 11 (Rome,I 90 ' 7- h .
Schiaparelh, I1 1 ro ""1 ' 1 b ' 'e J' aheille ed. R. C auvm 4 Plutarch refers to lsis wearing the amulet' around her' (mpuxtT~crila1), but
f . Ledant m Trattl ae ro,ogr
Cat. rt. n, 10 ., 5 See Bonnet, Real. JJ:Z., fig. 8~. this does not necessarily imply 'about her neck' as Babbitt has it. Vande-
(Paris, t968), 59 f. "Bl t der Isis" und das zeichen "Leben"', beek, /oc. cit. cites an instance of the nude lsis-Aphrodite with a necklace
6 H. Schii.fer, 'Das sogenannte u. 'th lsis probably appears in its use (mplall~-~C~)-P. Perdri:z.et, Les terres cuites grecque.r J'Egypte, I, p. 3 and u,
ZAS 6:z. (1917), toB-to. A ~o,nnexto~~nkoff Th.e Slr.rines of Tur-Anlch.- pl. 4 left. But the amulet may equally have been shown on her garment,
in the Tutankhamfin matena ; se~ ta ' and in fact the very common 'Isis-knot' derives from it.
and schafer, op. err. 108.
A mon, :z.o, fig J
ns
B4
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 68
p. 2.2.4, :2.3 Meaopfl] A parallel in Egyptian festival dates is hard to
come by. Hopfner, u, :z.~6 cites Brugsch, Festkalender, 6-7 where
Epiphi uth is given as the birthday of 'I~y son of Hathor and it is said
that 'the firstfruits are gathered from the fields'. But the month is
different, and so is the deity; nor is there mention of pulse.
p. 1.:2.4, :2.4 y'Ai:>aaa "t\Jxt'l] Exhortations to restraint in speech are
common in the Egyptian wisdom literature; cf. Pta~-botep, 1.4 = J6~
(P. Prisse, 11, 9ff.): 'If thou art silent, that is better than teftef-tlowers;
1
speak only if thou knowest thou canst solve (the difficulty).' In the
Kuban Stela, 14 f. the King is praised thus : 'Thy tongue is straight as a
balance, thy lips are more exact than the plummet,of Thoth'; cf. Tlte
Eloquent Peasant, B :z., 92ff. ( ed. Vogelsang, p . .119): The tongue of men
is their stand-balance; it is the hand-balance that searches out deficien-
cies.':& The importance of speech is stressed in the title of Spell 21 of BD
(Nu, ed. Budge, and Turin, ed. Lepsius): 'Spell for giving a man his
mouth (i.e. speech) in the necropolis' and still more in the' Ceremony
of Opening the Mouth', which was a basic part of the funerary liturgy
and which assured the magical coming-to-life of the dead man's statue.
The use of his tongue was thus looked on as a vital part of a man's
destiny in the afterworld; cf. S. Herrmann, ZAS 79 (1954), 106-
1 5
p. n4, 2.6 Tflv mpcrtav] The Egyptian word for this tree (Mimusops
Schimperi) was !wb ( Wb. IV, 435); cf. Keimer, GartenpjlCUJ{en, I (1924),
144 Hopfner, u, 256 refers to lld, a word which was used of other trees
too: see Faulkner, A Concise Diet. of Middle Egn. (Oxford, 1961), 31
and Gardiner, ]EA p (1946), 50.3 Keimer4 has well illustrated th.e
truth of Plutarch's dictum about the persea-tree; the heart-shaped fru1t
I cf. E.-B. Lit. 6t; Wilson, ANET, 414 Cf. too Duaef in E.-B. Lit. 7Ij
M erilr.are, 3:1. f. : 'The tongue is a sword, and speech is more powerful than
any fighting.'
:~. Cf. Gardiner, ]EA 9 (1913), 20; E.-B. Lit. 129f.; Wilson, ANET 410.
Similar sentiments are found in Tlae Instructions of 'Onclr.slaeslao111Jy (ed.
Glanville, London, 19S5; a late Ptolemaic text, but deriving perhaps from
v-iv B.c.), 7, 13f. and 8, 23: speech should be deliberate, truthful and
sparing; the blessing of a wise man is his speech. For a possible relation to
Hesiod seeP. Walcot, JNES 21 (19G1), 115 ff.
3 Chassinat, Le myst~re d'Osiris, 234-48 argues that both names were used
of the persea.
4 fnterprltatio" Je quebJues passages J' Horapollo" ( CASAE S, 1947), 3 Sff.,
esp. figs. 33-S
COMMENTARY CHAPTERS 68--9
was imitated in glass objects found in the tomb of Tutankhamtin. The
lid probably denoted the persea quite often; and it was firmly linked
with Os~ris~ if not with Isis: Osiris-Onnophris is called ~ry-lhp/ ild in
the Eth10p1c era at Thebes, and Ledant in Proc. 2.3rd Congress of
Orientalists (Cambridge, 1954), 74 translates 'au cceur du persea',
suggesting a connexion with the tree mentioned by Plutarch in chs. r ~
and zo; cf. Leclant in Orientalia 20 (1951), 461 and more fully in
Recherches sur les monuments TMhains de la XXVe Dyn. 275 ff. Well-
mann, Hermes 31 (1896), u6 shows how Greek symbolical explana-
tions liked to discover and emphasize, when possible, the form of the
human heart in plants and animals, as in the Dionysiac pine-
cones, the Egyptian ibis, the persea, and even the shape of Egypt
(JJ, J64C).
p. 226, 2 WraOOa] It may therefore be assumed that Plutarch wrote
this work at Delphi. Chaeronea could hardly be regarded as near
enough to Delphi to count it as roughly in the same neighbourhood in
relation to the rest of Greece and to Greek cities abroad from which
visitors would come to Delphi. Plutarch may have written parts of the
work in Delphi itself, where Clea, who was a priestess there, may have
discussed relevant topics with him.
p. u6, 2 napeyyvCZl~JEV] These exhortations were made by heralds
and also, in the case of the temple of Apollo at Delphi, by maxims
inscribed at the entrance. These included yv<i.)6t aE<XVTov, ' Know thyself
(that thou art mortal)', and I!T)Sev ayav, 'nothing too much'. The
mysterious letter E, discussed in one of Plutarch's works, may have
stood for eV')Ifli.IEi-n or elicpf)IJEt, 'keep holy silence'1
CHAPTER 69
p. 226, 10 6afots] Sieveking supports a variant IC1fo1s recorded in m;
but the sequel shows that Plutarch is not only comparing Isiac rites
with those of Demeter (indeed he mentions the latter), but relating
sacred ceremonies of Egyptians and Greeks to the seasonal factor.
w
p. u6, 11 9eaJ,.~ocpoplots] This festival, as Plutarch rightly states
(in contradiction, somewhat, to his strictures in eh. 65), was concerned
with the sowing,:~. in particular with the sacral ploughing in Sciron in
See J. Gwyn Griffiths, 'The Delphic E: a New Approach', Hermes 83
(1955), 237-45
2
Cf. Comutus, Theol. Graec. 28; Deubner, Attische Feste, 51.
537
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 69
Attica. The aim was to awaken the fertility of the earth, and the married
women who alone could partake in the Thesmophoria (men were
banned, and probably so were unmarried women). height~ned ~eir
sexual fertility on a sympathetic level; putrefied rematns of ptgs, mtxed
with seed corn were placed on altars. See Nilsson, Greek Fo/Jc Re/. l.i
It was on the ~econd of three days that the N11aula or Fasting took
place, on the t:z.th of the month of Pyane~sion. :asting is not .attested
1 phrase mpl ID.euxSas will refer to the setting or disappearing of the
for the Isiac cult in Egypt; but for vanous pnesdy abstennons see
eh. S with notes. In the Thesmophoria the fasting was an interim of rest
and preparation before the reception of the fructifying forces on the
third day. Deubner compares the fast imposed on those who under-
took the ' temple sleep' and notes the idea that magical potency was
heightened by keeping the body pure of alien matter. A_ regimen of ten
days, though not a complete fast, is included by Apuletus, Met. IJ. 23
as a part of the spring festival of Isis at Cenchreae. . ,
p. :z.:z.6 12 BotOOTol] Pausanias, 9 8. 1 says of the Boeonans cult of
Demete; and Kore that 'they throw sucking pigs into what they call
the halls' (ts ora ~~apa I<CXAoVIJE\ICX aqnacnv Vs -riilv veoyvwv): see). G.
Frazer aa /oc. (vol. s, :z.9). Achaea (' Axooa or'Axala) was an e~ithet of
Demeter not only in Boeotia but also in Athens and the Atnc tet~
polis; the interpretation 'the sorrowin~ o~e (cf. the ~orm 'Axa) !s
given by ancient lexicographers and ts m accord Wtth Plutarch s
account here (cf. rnax6i\ wand &)(et), so that it may be preferable to
the meaning 'Achaean goddess' and also to 'th: loud.-sou~ding' (from
1'\xt:l).l If the majority reading l<tvovaw be retatned, movm.g the halls
of Achaea will refer simply to carrying around small shnn~ of ~e
goddess in which case the Egyptian parallel may be promtnent tn
Plutarch's mind. The first form given, however, by the codex E seems
pretty clearly (in spite of Sieveking's doubts) .to hav~ been. 1<ovow~v, a
comparatively rare verb with the basic meamng of to ratse dust If
this is what Plutarch wrote, a correlation with the statement of P?usa-
nias seems possible: 'they disturb with dust the halls of Achaea, the
halls being the pits or vaults into which the pigs were thrown, after
1 Plutarch, V. Dem. 3o places it wrongly on the r6th; see Deubner, op. cit.
s:z., n. :z..
: Op. cit. 55 f. ( )
3 Cf. Famell, Cults, m, 69fT.; Wentzel, PW s.v. Achaia no. 10 18~4,
198. Preller, Griecllisch.e Mytllo/ogie4 1, 752, n. 3 favours the mearung
'Achaean'.
COMMENTARY C HAPTER 69
1
which their putrefied remains were recovered. Pyanepsion the fourth
month of the Attic calendar, corresponding to mid-Oc~ober-mid
November, and Damatrius,z the eleventh of the Boeotian calendar 3
which began with the winter solstice, are given a seasonal nexus b~
Plutarch in the time of sowing; Athyr is similarly linked by him, and
in all three instances his statement involves a fixed season. The
Pleiades in November.
p. :z.26, 17 96rro~lt'OS] See Jacoby, FGrH n B us, no. JJS Theo-
pompus of Chios seems here, according to Jacoby (u o 396) to be
following an Orphic theogony; cf. Maximilian Mayer in Roscher, Lex.
s.v. Kronos (t89J), 14pff., esp. 1471ff.; Pohlenz, PW s.v. Kronos
(19n), 1991 f.; also J'-, 364A and n. By the west, according to Mayer,
col. 1472, is meant Sicily and South Italy. This seems more likely than
Hopfner's suggestion that the Spanish Iberians or the Celts of Gaul are
intended, for the name Cronus would not apply in their case except by
a devious equivalence, whereas the Greeks of Magna Graecia or Sicily
would have known Cronus direcdy, and even the Romans had
absorbed him to some extent in their Saturn. Indeed it was in the
Roman cult of Saturn that the association of Cronus with winter
became most pronounced, for the Sarurnalia were there celebrated in
the shortest days of the year. The story of how Cronus swallowed his
children was given a physical symbolism in this way, for winter
swallowed the sown seed; and so Cronus is said to be the winter.S As
the goddess of fertility in vegetation as well as in sexual relations,
Aphrodite is often linked with the blossoming and blooming of
nature, but the connexion specifies spring rather than summer.6
Persephone too was symbolic of spring, for she was the corn-seed
which was hidden in winter but returned in spring.7 The Phrygians
' Cf. Kovtwaw suggested by Schwartz. Kovlovaw, from Kov!Co3 'sprinkle with
dust', would be preferable. '
2
It is often mentioned in Boeotian inscriptions: see Dittenberger, PW s.v.
Damatrios no. 9 (1900), :z.os:z.f.
3 For the likely origin of the Attic-Ionic and Doric calendars in a common
Boeotian source see George Thomson, ]HS 63 (1943), 55 f.
4 Cf. Nilsson, Primitive Time-Reclconing (Lund, 19:1.0), 134fT.
5 Lyd. De mens. init. and 154 (p. 17:1. WOnsch); Proclus aa' Plato,Resp. n, 61
zoff. See further Pohlenz, PW s.v. Kronos (19z:z.), 1991..
6
Roscher in Roscher, Lex. s.v. Aphrodite (1884), 398.
7 Nilsson, Greelc Folic Re/. p ff.
539

COMMENTARY CHAPTERS 69'""""10
and Paphlagonians are doubtless mentioned, as Hopfner suggests, to
complete a picture of universality in which easterners as well as
westerners are involved in an explanation of certain gods as being
protagonists of seasonal events.
CHAPTER 70
p. n6, :z.G 'ITPOs TO 1.11'1 3i)v ayploos tXl &T)pl(t.)~s] A differe~t view is
sometimes found among the ancients. To Hestod, Op. et Dres, n6ff.
the men of the golden race did not have to toil for their food since the
earth produced it for them spontaneously. But Hesiod himself in the
myth of Prometheus (ihid. 47ff.) gives the other view that ~rometheus
freed man from early ignorance although he brought evtls, such as
disease and toil (lines 9o-:z.), in the wake of his daring theft. Even so,
the toil for crops is a punishrnent.l Lucretius, 5 92.5ff. includes agricul-
ture as a mark of progress; cf. Diodorus Sic. 1. 8. 1, who refers to the
pre-agricultural life as 'disordered and bestial'. Cf. Spoerrl, Spiithel-
knistische Berichte, 161.ff.
p. n8, 3 m' a5tiA~] Hopfner, n, :z.Ga rightly points out .that ~s
picture of strenuous labour in tilling the earth, and of uncertamty WJth
regard to the results, can hardly apply to Egypt. He draws the conclu-
sion that Plutarch can have known Egypt only superficially and can
hardly have gone beyond Alexandria. But it is clear that Plutarch is
here talking of mankind in general and that this is his viewpoint from
the end of eh. 69. Only at the end of eh. 70 does he revert to the
special properties of Egyptian life and religion.
p. :z.:z.8, 7 nottiv.crra] Although the word is used ,most ~ften .to mean
'poems' in our sense, its employment here to mean plays (whi~ were
composed in metre), referring to those of Menander, accords WJth the
use of the adjective 'IT011)TIK6s, as in Aristotle's 'Poetic', where tragedy
is in fact the main theme.
p. :z.:z.S, 1 5 ~s o Ko).a~poovtos] The sixth-century philosopher
from Colophon in Ionia is credited by Aristotle (Rhet. I40065 =
Diels-Kranz, Vorsokr. :z.1 A 13) with a similar saying about the
Eleates: 'Thus, when the people of Elea asked Xenophanes if they
should, or should not, sacrifice to Leucothea and mourn for her, he
advised them not to mourn for her if they thought her a goddess, and
1 Cf. J. Gwyn Griffiths,jH/17 (t9S6), n:z..
C OMMENTARY CHAPTERS 7o-1
not to sacrifice to her if they thought her a mortal woman ' I B PI
ta eh r . th E
r app tes Jt to e gyptians, not only here but also in De superst.
ut u-
IJ, 171 D-E, and Amat. I8, 763c-o; in the second of these
he 0 th b' passages
. names ~1ns as e ~ Ject of the lamentation, while in the first he
mcludes the 1dea of sacnfice which appears in the Aristotelian 11
PI tar h' th 11 a usJon.
u c s ree a ustons constitute the sole evidence that Xenoph
had been in Egypt.l anes
P :z.:z.S, 16 8p1)veiv] O~iris is doubtless thought of mostly; cf. Amat.
IS, 763c-~. Other classtcal authors refer to the mourning for Osiris;
see e.g. Jrm. Mat. Err.. prof. re!. 8. 3 ... HF po; Orphic
Argon. p -_HF 533; Augusttne, De civit. Dei G. IO=HF 179 Some
other occastons ~f mourning are specified by them. Arnobius, AJv. nat.
I 36 refers ~o Is1s bewailing the loss of her son; Herodotus, :z.. 6 5ff. and
D10dorus S1c. 1. 83 5 refer to the death of sacred animals. The Egyptian
sourc~s confirm this. In particular, the death of the Apis-bull was much
bewaaled.
P 228, 17 OTI yEAoiov] 'AAA' may have been mistakenly inserted here
tfo .a~swder ovd1.16thvov which had wrongly replaced ro IJEv ow in line I 5
1
I Jt IS e ete , ere is no need to assume a lacuna.
. P :z.28, ~ 8 avaqalvav] The intransitive use of the active of this verb
as foun~ m later Greek according to LSJ, citing Musaeus (A.D. v-vi)
a~~ Hehodorus (A. D. iii). Both avacpcxh!EI\1 and 'reAe1ow may be intran-
sltl~e here unless ~CXVTOiS be emended, with Baxter, to ~CXVTO\)s. cf.
~eassenberger, 27, citing V. Crass. IJ, qIAovnoleiv (active for Attic
mtddle). Sophocles, Lex. does not record tlte usage.
CHAPTER 71
. P uS, :z.G 8eovs IXAeiv] The incorrect use of names is castigated also
m Q:!aest. conv. 7 6. 2, 707F ('l't T~\16VOl!Crr(t.)\l Vxipela tXl ~llOAOXI
'tolerance and ribaldry with regard to names'). It may be that Xen~
1
Tr. by W. Rhys Roberts.
3
Cf. Hopfner, Orie.ru. undgrieclrische Philosophie, 6. Epiphanius, Ancorar. Io4
says that Heracle~tus (of Ephesus?) told the Egyptians, 'If they are gods
why do you lament them?' Either the ascription is wrong or Heracleitu~
was repeating a saying which had become well known: Diels- Kran
Vorsolcr. :2B12.7 ascribe a similar saying (ap. Aristocritus, Theos. 69)
to Heracleatus of Ephesus. For later echoes ofit see Minuc. Felix, Octav. n;
Clem. Alex. Protrept. 2.. 2.4 3; and Firm. Mat. Err. prof. re/. 8. 4 and
G. Heuten ad foe. pp. t6t f.
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 71
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 71
properly states, animals are associated with
phanes is still the source of the rebuke made: see Diels-Kranz, Voroskr. embodiments
. of the gods . There are nonethelesgods and Inot. regarded as
:us I4: 'But mortals think that the gods are bom and have clothes, true. thenolatry. In an earlier stage ev;n if "d s, p entrful signs of
a voice and a form as they have'; and B I~ voices another warning by lacking, animals must have been ~fte ev~. enc~ of full totem ism is
him against equating the anthropomorphic image and the trUe being of Arcadian Pan is represented "th n w.ors ppe as gods. Thus the
Wl goat s feet, d th
fiounder of the Arcadians Areas . an e eponymous
who had changed into a ~he-be;r~s.sa.d to h~ve b:e? bom of CalUsto,
the god: 'If oxen, horses and lions had hands or could paint, then the
horses would make horse-like images of the gods and the oxen would
a belief that the Arcadians had . , thlls ~~ only mtelhgble on the basis of
make ox-like images, and fashion the gods' bodies in their own mearytrmeswo h" d h
likeness.' Scott, Hermetica, m, I 54 rightly stresses that in Egypt, 'the elty.r In the same way the h' rs tppe as e-bear as a
where by girls who dressed u~~~al of f:mis at Brauron and else-
d
belief in the real presence of the god in the statue survived in all its
that Artemis was once thought of a:oan s~o-bes t~ e~act b_ears, indicates
primitive force'. Zeus Lycaeus points to an a . If.e ear. Ltkewlse the cult of
p. :z.:z.S, :16 Aaxap115] Having made himself dictator at Athens in
sacrifices.3 Animal-worshi nctent ';o -god who demanded human
300 s.c., Lachares resisted a blockade of the city by Demetrius Polior-
creasing anthropomorphis~ :;~put tnto the background by the in-
Plutarch is a common one a d h~eek cults.4 The relationship stated by
cetes, and in order to pay his mercenaries stripped the gold robes from
the chryselephantine statue of Athena which was the work of Pheidias;
he also melted down the golden shields dedicated on the Acropolis. well substantiated. To Aphr:dite~:x~mples can be, :or the most part,
See Paus. 1. :z. ~. 7; Athenaeus 9 40~ F (a comic poet said, ' Lachares the ram, although the he-goat h o~e was espectally sacred,S with
made Athena naked'); P. oxy. :z.oS:z., fr. 4, cr-1 ~'on which see Ferguson,
with her. She is sometimes re ' are an spar:ow are also associated
Nilsson7 has persuasively thr!:~nte~ as holdmg. a dove in her hand.6
dove is ofMinoan-Mycenaean ori _oul t upo~ the tdea that Aphrodite's
Class. Phil. 2.4 (192.9), 1-:z.o. Plut. V. Demetr. 33-4 describes the
genera\ situation and in Non posse suav. vivi sec. Epicur. 6, 1090E refers l
linked with Athena but h gm. t was e owl that was most often
to the harshness of Lachares. That some of the gold coins strUck by ' a uge serpent occurs under the shield f
Lachares are extant is the opinion ofW. B. Dinsmoor, A]A JS (1934), 1 Kern R l o
' e I, 14 , K "h" J
97, who states that 'the gold of the Athena Parthenos could have 3 Kern ern, r '"
. ' op. crt. 1 5 He proceeds to ve .
ammal cults which survlved I. h" 19. lmstances of ammal fetishes and of
furnished tJ:z.,ooo of these staters'. n 1stor1ca times th .
p. :z.:z.S, 2.7 tuov\lalos] Aelian, Var. hist. I. :z.o relates this ofDionysius, Smintheus) and the b n Th '.e.g. e mouse m the Troad
4
(c.f Apollo
ana tlzeir <:ocls, ,_,_ and g,. n. 3 u m espae. Cf. Guthrie, The Greeks
tyrant of Syracuse, in very similar terms ('and he plundered the statue
of Apollo, which also had golden locks, having ordered some one to Ind~d,
op. cu. 1, 17, n. ::~.; H. J. Rose OCD
animal-worship has been denied b so .
dip them off'). The reference is to Dionysius I (c. 43o-367 s.c.). y .me, e.g. C. Burslan m Kern,
p. :130, I ZeVs o Kc:r:tm'Wf<tos] Although the Capitol was bumt in
~ The etymology of mpt<Trtpa ~ unce; s:v. Am~als, sacred, plays it down.
phrase meaning 'bird of Ishtar' tal~ but tt may come from a Semitic
A.D. 69 when Vitellius destroyed his enemies there by setting fire to the
temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus,t Plutareh's phrase about the civil
A.Glossary of Greelc Bircls, :l.J8. I;
With Aphrodite does not, probabl
:Sho::~h~n in D'Arcy Thompson,
. iJ. ::1.46 that the association
war must refer to the earlier conflagration during the campaigns of 6 Furtwiingler in Roscher Lex ~ o~cur.m early Greek literarure.
Sulla in 83 s.c. against the Marians; cf. Tacitus, Hist. J 72., after doves on the temple of ~aph~ss~: a ~ ro?Jte (I.884), fig. on P 409 Cf. the
describing the burning by Vitellius: arserat et ante Capitolium civili Diet. 39 ypnan com of Caracalla, see Seyffert,
hello; and Id. Ann. 6. t:z.: post exu.stum sociali hello Capito/ium. See Th.e Mintxzn-Mycenaean R l J . .
further V . Su/1. :z.7; Cic. In Cat. 3 4 9; Sallust, Cat. 47 :z.; Austin
7
Sir Arthur Evans ....L. p le. an us Survrval
' " n~ a ace of Mi
m Greelc Ref.2 336fT.
d thnos, I, ::~.n a httle doubt that
hd .
oves are involved and he
Roscher, Lex. s.v. luppiter (189<>-7), 714f. d connecte em with h
p. :z.Jo, 5 "E}J.T)vEs Myovaw op6ws) In Greek religion, as Plutarch IV, 4U, n. J. he suggests a connexi "th t .e Dove Goddess'. In

1 Tac. Hist. 3 71; Suet. ViteU. 1 S

t)
Les religions prllr.elllniques (Paris on I Aphrod~e; cf. u, 8J8. Picard,
' 194 '78 notes this and other affinities.

543
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 71
CO MMENTARY CHAPTER 72

Pheidias's statue of the go ess; an ~~a1<a) which lived in Athena's

dd d c ording to Herodotus, 8. 41 a
'huge guardian serpent' (Oqllv ll~av cp ched 1 Plutarch's word is CHAPTER 72
h the Persians approa
temple went away w en t be thought of Many animals are p. 2JO, 17-18 e!~'l'tliiTaTO: lcfjaT~6E~ . IJTaf3aAeTv] This story
Sp<XKc.uv, but .the samlel cr~atul rdelnmgu~e wolf. the doiphin, the swan and occurs also in Nicander ap. Antoninus LiberaUs, ::8; ApoUodorus r.
t d wrth Apo o me u
connec
h ek th w or 'raven IS
,
. a1so Ollr.ten represented wr 1m.

~
' th h' , A-
b a
6. 3; Ovid, Met. 5 319ft:; Hyginus, Fa/J. rp; and the Suda ;.v.
1
the aw ; e cro h tress Artemis is accompamed y a TvcpC:,v (.,. H F 75 J). Plutarch names only three of the animals- ibises
7s:
goddess of wild nature a~d ~ S~nwas ;lso a moon-goddess, and from
dogasindeedbyothera~tma He te Ho fner 11 ;:()2 suggests that
dogs, and hawks. Ovid:: gives more detail about the animals and alsoJ
about the gods who cha;'lged into them; he says that Hammon (Amtln)
this stems her identification wrthd d eca at.tn'b~tes ~f 'the deities, must changed into a ram, Apollo (Horus) into a crow, Dionysus (Osiris)
I th 1 now regar e as .
al ese amma s, . . th 1 es. This is certainly not so m into a he-goat, the daughter of Phoebus (Artemis """ Bastet) into a cat,
originally have bee~ ~eddem~ ems~pvle, is an attribute assimilated ]uno (Hathor) into a white cow, Venus into a fish,3 and Hermes
each case; AphrodJte s ove, or exa
(Thoth) into an ibis. A still fuller list is given by Nicander(... HF8r).
from another cult. a TO: ~c.;;a) This does not It was R. Holland who first noted that some of the transformations
p. 230, ro ol '":oMol eep7o~ ~boratio~ in the following described fit in with the equations of Egyptian and Greek gods
entirely agree wrth. Plubtarc s o;yphon and various animals, for mentioned by Herodotus as evidenced by the animals ascribed to them.
chapters. The relatton . etw;e~e A is in relation to Osiris are on The main motive of the story is clearly to explain the origin of the
instance, and the ~unct:Jon o . ~ ross sim lification, even when Egyptian animal cults.S In the Egyptian myth Seth and his companions
different lines. Whtle the state~ent ~ gl cults y! the adoration of the
1
are said to have changed into various animals, and the attribution of
. d f the Egypttan amma , .
apphe to a part o p r De la divinite du pharaon (Pans, the trick to his enemies is probably a development of this episode
animal per se was often present . os:neth,e development of some of the which simultaneously serves an aetiological purpose.6
b s an attenuanon m d
I9Go), u o serve. . omous divinities, they were rawn p. 230, 21 'lr<V.t)'YEVea!av] Having rejected the theory that the
animal-gods; begmmng ;s. ~uto:s the Apis was subordinated to Ptah animal cults derived from the flight of the gods in fear of Typhon,
into the o~bit of ~reater th~tt:d not happen to the falcon of H?rus or Plutarch goes on to reject likewise the theory, supported by other
and Mnevts to Re. But IS tu . Ill .. 31 f. commennng on writers,? that animals were worshipped because the souls of deceased
f H th Scott, nermetzca, , .... .,
the cow o a or. .. f the Hermetist near to that of most men found new life in them. The Egyptians certainly believed that a
Asclepius, 37, finds the(~?sthtt.on ? the beast, as well as the statue, is man's soul, at death, could leave his body in the form of the ha, a bird
Egyptian worshippers m ts vtew, 8
with human face; further they believed that spells could enable him to
an actual god'). d
make various transformations, such as into a hawk, a crocodile, a
' Nilsson, Gesc!J. Gr. Re/.3 I, J48 f. finds a prototype m Minoan omesoc 1
There is probably a ref. in Pindar also (see HF 4) although Rose, CQ 24
shrines. . Hdt 1.,' Aristeas daimed (19)o), 107f. rejects its Pindaric origin. :: Met. 5 3211f.= HF 151.
~ f
Cf. the story o Ansteas o f Proconnesus hm h had
that he had taken on the form of a raven w en e
4 been in the company 3 Hopfner, u, 264 compares the Syrian Atargatis. One legend related how
this goddess together with her son were changed into fishes; in her pool at
of Apollo. d IG de Allertums und der Neureir, pi. .12 Ascalon sacred fishes were fed. See W. Robertson Smith, Tlze Religion of
3 G. Lippold, Gemmen un "{"~en s 'th a stag but in no. 7 two of her tlte Semites (London, 1894), 173 If.
(the goddess is shown severa nm~ Wl ( ' th a' stag) Liibker, r:zof.; H.
4
In one respect it is more correct too: Apollo changes into a hawk.
c~eon grtechucne
ck A ) Seyffert Dtct. 72 wt ' d
dogs atta Archauche
Schrader ' . . .' PlastiA:, fig. 74 (Artemis with three ogs S Cf. J. G. Frazer,
6
Apollodorus (Loeb, 1921), I, 49; H. J. Rose, CQ .14 (19JO),
attackin~ Actaeon; from Selinus, c. 480 u.c.). 107-8. Conflict, uG; and more fully in Hermes 88 (z96o), 374ff.
87 Celsus ap. Origen, C. Cels. I. 20. .338; Porphyr. De Aim. 4 9 = HF 4GGf.
Budge, From Fetish to God, JJI ff.

544 3S
545 GOI
 1\I>.PTER 7'-
ENTAl\.Y C th ttheanima\
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 72 coMM ..Aiftt"tc1\V1 ThevteW ad cl a\so by
- lttfc:t.\scrcov 1ft""',.- ra' is recor e f
goose. While these beliefs differ from the Pythagorean concept ,_.,.,. 6-7 61~S \" of divide et unpe
0
ares the statement d
h"ch d d d
metempsychosts, w 1 Hero otus, 2.. ll.J enve from Egypt, t 15 arose from a
l .,..,
1-i0 pfner, u, l.66' n '1.1 comp
po tcY
) that Moses esta
b\ishe
. ofCroco-
pictorial representations of the Egyptian ideas may have influeneodorus Sic. t. 89 S nus (.t..D i, HF l.71afeguard the rule of King d. Sacred
the Greeks; cf. L. V. Zabkar, ]NES 2.2 (x96J), 57-63 .! Jewish writer J\t~P:\ cults in order tO s n account
p. 2.3o, ~ rniC1111.1a 5owat (t<al] 3Cj)61.1op~a] Cf. Diodorus Sic. I.~ diversity of the anun . c that priests genera .Y Ptolemy
4f.; 1. 90 I f. The use of animal figures as tribal standards is a strikiljlenephres. It is stated m 4, _3P ool and flesh; and ~n ans; cf.
feature of various archaeological remains deriving from predynastp. ,_ ,., 13 1tp6~ "1 d abstained from
0
3
115
~iven as reasons for ~ts having
and early dynastic Egypt. Depicted in this way, among others, are tl;;nerated the sheeP an and advantages arecl 6 the people of Men\ :S to the
Seth-animal, the falcon of Horus, a lion, a scorpion, and a jackaJ.l T~ JSOE its usefu~nes:o Herodotus, '- 4'- an e everywhere else s. atn
4 hatred'
last of these, which appears in the Nanner Palette,3 probably represente~eration. Accordtng creel although they ~er red sheep as offertngs :,tured,
the god Wepwawet, who is often represented later as leading the wa:garded al\ go~ts. as~ ther~fore they slaug t~. suabo, 17, SoJ s~st to the
in royal ceremonies." What emerges clearly from these early depictio~ sacrificial vtcnms' owhere else thus. tr~at the western Del_ta, ; hated
is that Egypt then was in a phase approaching totemism, in which th~though sheep were nabove Momemphts ~ plutarch ascnbes e ds.l
divine animal of the tribe or clan was identified with its king or ruler the Nitrlote nome do people sacrific~ ~ eep~ome in this matter tot
an idea which was perpetuated in Egyptian theology by the status ofhere alone in Egy~~ndes or of ~e _N:~~e )acka\-gocl V:epw;:~.
the Pharaoh as the living Horus.s Plutarch therefore is here preservin&istinctiveness of be that the deptcnon rise to plutarch' 5 re the
an ancient tradition, save for the fact that Osiris never occurs in thist.ycopo\is. It maY r y on his standard gav~ deled the fancy that d .1.
6 eh's
pattern, unlike Horus, Seth, Min and Wepwawet. This is one of the 0 f Asyut (Lycop~ ~s cl him as a "\VO~f an tsheep are rarely attes~~e Vert
reasons why a historical aspect must be denied to Osiris. The Greeks eJtP am~ of sheeP offenngs ~ p and goats ~ay f the ss
p. 2.30, 26-?hmhiJ~c.JSEvEKaTOOV1To}.ei.II<>V] Cf. Diodorus Sic. I. 61.. 4 Lycopo\itans pa:tood"stinction between e~e sacrificial eanng
5 0
te he
and Aelian, N A 6. 38; the uraeus (or uraei) on the royal head-dress was and an imprectse ~ the statements about. situation.3 A dege~erathe a
1
the outstanding example. The Pharaoh wore a lion's tail, and a hawk given rise t~ som;: ndes there was a spe~a a\s was a\so a factor tn of \e
and vulture are often shown in close proximity to his head.7 He is former, while at :on in the cu\ts of a~tm that of pigs, the facto\ in e
sometimes depicted partly as a falcon.8 excess and exagglerathe case of sheep as dtn ainst their employme; d ~
dynasties n . --' militate ag the aods invo ve
BD 77. 88 9 later domesuc antffi'U cl cl "'ho were ~:~'1'-o~'n but
' f 1ness as a th regat" e ' e "'e ,.., .. '
a Qgibell, Hieralconpolis, I, pi. 26c, nos. I and 5; Petrie, Ceremonial S/au use ~ ~ If sheep were ~s un and K}tnum ar that they were
Palettes, pi. G 19; cf. Conflict, IJ4ff. 3 Qgibell, op. cit. 1, pl. 29. sacnfices. d nes embodied m Am by l(ees5 suggests
4 A dual form was evolved; cf. Sethe, Urgeschicllte, 191 f. The ram- :'ties are hard to come Je
s Conflict, 14G. the sheep- et be 4 fig. 3 k en rum T~ropfor. '
7
6 It seems unlikely that he is echoing the reference in dte texts concerning e.g. Kees, GiitterglCill ' ~\ly in his ~emtr ~) 76, where he po~n~
the Battle of ~desh to the division of Ramesses ll's troops into con- ;:es op. cit. 73 and m;;~ (Naekr. Gotttngen, 9 4 d 'goats in the fesuv~
1
5 1

tingents named after the gods; cf. supra p. 376, n. 4 See, for a transla- ~ ;, ;ter unJ seiMr Sym d however, with ox~.an ~ Kees, Tieropfer, 7 1;
tion, Wilson in ANET, 255ff. Animal standards are not mentioned, and ~that sheep are. natn~ 'astY King Ne-user-re beep ~ere not eaten.at a 3
except in the case of Seth would not have been wholly possible. ~u nations of the Ftfth- yn na\ Sat. 1~ n-U: btless tOO sweepmg
7 Cf. Breasted, A Hi.rt. of Egypt, 38f. The horns of a cow or ram are repre- ~~J ?S According to ]~vet ;mnis mensa); ou \
sented in some forms of the royal c:rown; see Abubakr, Untersw:hungen ~ (t'a:.ansanimalihus absttne . Re-Heiligtu/1'1, 11 , P :'
iikr die aluigypti.rch.en Kronen, 7ff.; 6:z.ff. neralization. eh deitY (Bisstng-K~, es of small size T e
8
The back of his head and body is thus represented in the instances given by ; ~~iJ. 7 6. He notes one~ 'Cf) which he u-ans at
Brunner, ZAS 83 (1958), 74f. and 87 (1962), 76f. and Paule Krieger, Rev. 104
) called NJs Jir (..}"l- [tain. 35~
d'igypto/. u (I96o), J7-s8. ';~ond element seems unce S47
546
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 72
lowly and insignificant. Spiegelbergt published a demotic stela from
Naucratis, of the time of Ptolemy Philadelphus, honouring the curator
of a sacred sheep: it is the ram of Amun, which was kept in the god's
temple, but the word 'sheep' (lsw, ~ tW) is used which can refer to
q m Dtodorus Stc. I. 83. 8 of the trouble caused in the reign of Ptolemy
either sex.~
p. 2p., t61((X'l'a(TTCwnS ets noi.e1Jov] In these two instances, as in that
of the Lycopolitans, Plutarch is discussing the eating of sacrificed
victims) The animal eaten in totemistic communities was the sacred
unifying god of the clan. In Egypt, whatever may have been the
earliest situation, animals sacrificed came to be identified with
the enemies of the gods, especially with Seth; they were, therefore, the
abominated, or at least the unsacred, animals. The notorious feud of the
Oxyrhynchites and Cynopolites, who lived in towns separated by
.
the Bahr Yusif, if not also by the Nile in Middle Egypt,4 reflects this
attitude. In the 25th Dynasty the Piankhi Stela records a proscription
of fish for king and priests, and Kees5 suggests that the Oxyrhynchites
might have defended their zeal for the oxyrhynchus fish by main-
taining that it originated in the wounds of Osiris. Strabo, 17, 812
states that this fish was revered by Egyptians in general, but in fact the
fish-cults followed local divergencies. Wars caused by the cults of
different animals are mentioned by Asclepius, 37 and Scott, Hermetica,
6
m, 234f. cites the evidence of a papyrus relating to the year 123 s.c.,
t Neue Urlcunden \um iigyptischen Tierlcultus (Sil{ungsh. Milnd.en, 191.8), 4,
I-14 . I
1 Spiegelberg, op. cit. 8. Erichsen, Dem. Glossar, 43 gtves Wtdder for uw,
but cf. his p. 441,n/ isw. w, 'die Schafe'. Hopfner, Tier/cult, 97 suggests that
it was only as the female mate of the sacred ram that the sheep was venerated.
3 Cf. line 15, ~ tepEiov. Doubtless an animal thus eaten could also be eaten
in the ordinary way.
4 Behnesa and Hardai (or el ~es) are perhaps the modem names. See Kees,
Anc. Egypt, 99 (map). There was a second Cynopolis in the Delta~ see
ihiJ. 186 (map). The 'dog' of Cynopolis in Middle Egypt was Anubts.
; Giimrglauhe, 67, citing Aelian, NA 10. 46. The attack on the oxyrhynchus
fish he illustrates by citing D/0 18, 358B, where it is said that the lepidorus,
phagrus and oxyrhynchus devoured the phallus of Osiris. It is, of course,
uncertain whether these beliefs can be placed in the period suggested. An
inscription (A.D. 46) records an oath of fishermen in two villages in the
Fayflm not to catch oxyrhynchus and lepidotus fish (PSI 8, 901).
6 P. Gi2.eh 10, JP, see Grenfell and Hunt, 'Ptolemaic Papyri in the Gi7.eh-
Museum', Archiv fur Papyrusforschung 1 (1900), 17-61. A quarrel in-
COMMENTARY CHAPTERS 72-3
i~ whi~ a quarrel is described between priests in the region of Croco-
dl.opohs near Thebes concerning the possession of an island. Sacred
~mm.als, howe~er, are not the cause of the quarrel; nor does the account
XIII when a Roman killed a cat, relate to a feud among Egyptians. cf.
the rather similar allusion in Aelian, N A I r. 27 to the Thebans ha~ing
m~de ~ against the Romans 'for the sake of a dog'. More to the
pomt IS ]uvenal, Sat. I). 33ff. who describes the 'undying hatred'
b~tween Ombos and Tenty':; in the. feud a Tentyrite is captured,
killed and eaten by the Ombttes. The mcident probably relates to the
year A.D. u7.' ]uvenal, it should be noted, says that each town hated
each other's gods, but he does not say that they were animal gods.:
CHAPTER 73
p. 232~ 18-19 Tl)v Tvcpwvos cnrrov Stt;~pfjo6at 'Y'JXilv] Wyttenbach's
emendation to St1)pi)o6at ('was assigned') would suit 1Tpoavt~ovat
('they allot') in p. 234, n. On the other hand the St6paa9cxl of the MSS
would be acceptable if the middle of Stcxfpc..> could be attested with the
sense.of Sia!pel (se. lCXVT~V), he crosses to ; see LSJ. Certain}y such a
1
meamng would agree wtth the part of the myth which tells of the
animal transformations of Seth-Typhon and his followers. The
reference. of' to these animals' is a little difficult. Is it the dog of the
Cyn~pohtes and the fish of the Oxyrhynchites which have just been
mentioned? Hardly. Plutarch seems to mean animals in general, as his
next statement shows; cf. p. 234, I 1 ('they allot most animals to the
former, i.e. Typhon '). This exaggerates the god's function in relation
to animals; that function is nevertheless complex and far-reaching. It
concerns, first of all, the Seth-animal itself, probably a kind of dog;
volving Oxyrhynchites with people from Cercesis (ol arro KWJ.I'lS KEpKi'j<TIS)
is ~escribed in BGU IV, IOJ5 Cf. Otto, PT u, 140, n. G. Dio Cassius,
Hut. Rom. 41.. 34 = H F 374 notes the tendency of the Egyptians to resort
to war among themselves because of religious matters.
1
See Hopfner, n, :z6Gf. and supra p. 16.
1
He refers to some of these gods in the opening lines of the poem. Scon,
Hermetica, m, 2.35 says that 'Juvenal's details are not to be trusted'. The
story of cannibalism, as he rightly says, is hard to believe; but the objection
that Omb~s was far from Tenryra is unfounded, since the adjacent Ombos
(Na~ada) IS clearly meant. cf. Introduction, P 17
549

COMMENTARY CHAPTER 73
then a group of animals closely associated with him, the ass, the
hippopotamus and the pig, in the form of which he sometimes appears;
a third group consists of the creatures into which he and his followers
were transformed, according to the myth; a fourth embraces the
animals identified with him in sacrifices, especially the bull, the goose,
gazelle and goat; from this category stems a still larger one, where :'e
find, as in the Cippi of Horus, the malevolent foes of Horus bemg
throttled and trampled on, especially snakes, scorpions and crocodiles;
finally his astral connotation as the Great Bear must be induded.I For
the use of the term 'soul' (\fNXTJ) here cf. :~.o, 359n and :1.9, 36:1D with
notes. Comparable expressions such as h/ and wbm do not seem to be
used of Seth's relation with animals.
p. :!.J:l, :15 &m!Aoiicn lCTA.] Gardiner called my attention to Moret,
Mysteres Egyptiens (:~.nd ed. Paris, 19:12.), 18:1.ff. where he argues,
after quoting the present passage, that it was the kings themselves, and
not merely their totems in the sacred animals, that were regarded as
responsible for public calamities. Moret cites the Biblical story of ~e
seven years of famine and the ten plagues, and the Manethoman
legends about Amenophis and Bockhoris. His main, and vain, thesis is
'the Dying God'. The animals do not figure much in these stories,
save for 'the lamb spoke', a statement recorded by Manetho (ed.
Waddell, p. 164) and alluding probably to an oracular response by the
ram or buck of Mendes.~ More apposite to our purpose is Moret's
allusion to the 'Famine Stela '. This Ptolemaic inscription relates how
King Djoser of the 3rd Dynasty, when a famine had persisted for seven
years, learnt from ImQotep that the ram-headed god, Khnum of
Elephantine, controlled the inundation. The god was appeased by the
gift of a large tract of land.J Admittedly this act of appeasing is not
directed at the sacred animal, so that Plutareh's 'appeasing and
assuaging' (line :11) is not paralleled except by his own allusion
(3o, 36:1E) to sacrifices which have this effect. Nor is the threatening
l Cf. :u, 359c-o and n.; also Kees, Giitterglaube, :1.2., 32.1 f.; Conflict, JI; 3S;
10:1.f.; 108.
~ Moret, De Bocchori Rege, 42.; Wainwright, Slcy-Rel. 39; cf.JEA 53 (I967),
9:1 ff.
3 See Paul Barguet, La ste/e tk la famine ci Slnel (Bibliotheque d'l!tude, 14,
/FAO Cairo I9B)i Wilson, ANET 31 ff. For special prayers to the gods
on oc~ions' of a dangerously high Nile see Posener, De la Jivinitl du
Pnaraon, H
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 73
and killing of animals in such a situation (of plague or pest) exactly
paralleled.~ Even if one reverts again to Plutarch's own accounts of the
~eatment of the ass (30, 36:1.E) or of the treatment of the crocodile and
htppopotamus .(5o, 371 c .ff.) there are no details like those mentioned
here. In Egyp nan texts, especially in the temple texts of Ptolemaic Edfu
there are numerous descriptions of Sethian sacrifices: and of vano '
d . . d' ed .
ra~anc n tes tre~t agamst Sethian animals.3 Their tone is vigorously
us
hostlle. To descnbe them as 'threatening' would be an understate-
ment; and there is no element of cajoling. The threatening of gods on
the o~er hand, including animal-gods, occurs frequently both in
Egyptlan texts and in the Greek magical papyri.4
P :134, I w EIAI:t6vl~ 11'6;\et] Marsham's emendation of the meaning-
less name 1Sv61~ or 16t6Uas is convincing to the extent that nothing
better has been suggested. Manetho is the source of this important
~tatemen~; cf; 30, 36:1.E on the abuse of red-headed men; probably
Typhomans were chosen for this quality. Although Herodotus, 2 45
dem~d tha~ the ES!'ptians sacrificed human beings, several other
classtcal ~nte~ provtd.e.the opposite view.S It is stated by some6 that
an Egypnan king, Busms, used to sacrifice foreigners; others7 rightly
1
The ~ogging of.the crocodiles in Aelian, NA 10. :u is broadly similar, but
there ts no ~en non of drought or disease. The Egyptians were prepared to
threaten thetr gods; thus a M.K. text (Lacau, Rec. trav. 2.6 (I904) 71 lines
36f.) says: 'As for any god who will cause the relatives of thi; N 'to be
snat~ed a~y fr?m him,, t_hls N will cause his head to be cut off him.' In
Gardmer, Hte~attc :apyn tn tlu B.M. ,3rd Series, no. v (p. ~ 1 of text vol.)
a charm for dtspelhng headache threatens an unwilling god thus: 'I will
cut off the head of a cow taken [from] the Forecourt of Hathor I will cut
off .the head of a hippopotamus in the Forecourt of Seth.' ~rotection
agatnst the harmful action of gods is often promised in magical texts cf.
~ Edwards, Hieratic Papyri in the B.M. Fourth Series, vol. I, p. xxi. '
See junker, ZAS 48 (19Io), 6~.
! See e.g. the translations by Blackman and Fairman in]EA 29 (I 943), :~.-1 8.
Cf. Waddell, Manetho, p. 2.01 n.; Grapow, 'Bedrohungen der Glitter
du~ den Verstorbenen', ZAS 49 (1911), 48-~ 4 .
5 :r~etr statemen~ hav~ been collected and discussed by J. Gwyn Griffiths
m Human Sacnfices m Egypt: the Classical Evidence', ASAE 48 (1 948)
409-2J. '
6
Pherecydes ap. Schol. Apollon. Rhod. 4 I396; Vergil, Georg. 3 5; Ovid,
Ars Amat. I. 647- 5:1.; Statius, ThehaiJ, I1. 155; Plutarch, Par. Graec. Rom.
38, 315 s-e; Apollodor. 2. 5 11; Hygin. Fah. JI; 56.
7 Hdt. 2. 45; Isocrates, Busirir, H Diod. Sic. 1. 67. 11 (otherwise in 4 1 J).
7
551
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 73
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 7J
denied this. A number of more general statements maintain that the
weak, although Hopfner, u, 268 is ready to acce t it .
Egyptians used to sacrifice human beings.' From these it can be in~ S~y-Rel. 33 f. and 53 would connect Plutarch's cita~0 Watnwnght,
ferred that such sacrifices did occur in some parts of Egypt in the With the ceremonial sacrifice of the king h. b ~ ram Manetho
Roman era. Plutarch's statement, deriving as it does from Manetho, fertility-bringers. He points out that Nekhor bs su Stltut.e as Sethian
concerns a much earlier period. Diodorus Sic. I. 88. 5 cites a view that and that opposite was Nekhen (H'
annqurty e was a cty . o f great
'men also of the same colour as Typhon were of old sacrificed by the dynastic city where a 'place ofbuming' WI'th re~confpchohs), a pre-
kings near the grave of Osiris . He does not mention a burning of the d b h , remams o arr d d
~n ones, as been found. ' In being burned alive' h e woo
men nor a scattering of the ashes. Plutarch has just described animal these men were put to death in the ma ' e .says (p. 53),
sacrifices aimed at securing rain and fertility; the same interpretation, whether of Nitocris and Bocchoris or of th nner of certain Pharaohs,
probably, should be applied to the human sacrifices, especially as the Nitocris we are told was red, henc; Typhon~~t~~;~n~~~~;~s, and
dog~days provide a seasonal aspect. There is no need to question the
men, he suggests, were substitutes for the ki s. cf. ~ . ~hese
essence of this note from Manetho.1 Such sacrifices probably did occur 88. 5 (they were sacrificed 'b th ki ng ' Dtodorus Stc. r.
in a certain region.3 They may have been of great antiquity. From the
Egyptian side Emery has revealed evidence from the First Dynasty
Wainwdnd'ght afdds an interes/ng
thego ess o El~Kab
~fer:!~!t!ns:~:i~ ~~r:);/ekh,
6 6 nb. t,7
c
' says, ome and save Psammetichus from the
e
of compulsory group burial. Apart from this, examples are few and sIaug hterers o f Sakhmet' Th 'd .
sporadic. In the Theban tomb of Mentu-l)er-khepeshefS are representa- sacrificing human 'S th' . ' e ~~ ence pomts to an ancient rite of
tions which may depict the sacrifice of Nubians. It could be argued that common procedure e~~~::e a~thels ~lace. This cannot have been a
the depictions are symbolic; they are not tangible burials, at any rate,
as in Emery's instances.6 Budge, Osiris, 1, 197ff. maintains that human :u::c~fices. in Ed~ptthwo~Id have y~=d~::o~=~~ r:~:~:.e~~:~
e reJecte e adea that there
IS . .
sacrifices accompanied the annual burials of Osiris, but his evidence is ceremonial sacrifice of th Ph h ~ a connexton With the
1
that this practice ever e;sted:rao ' for there IS no convincing evidence
Seleucus (A.D. i) ap. Athenaeus, 4 172.0; juvenal, Sat. 15 (cannibalism,
more precisely, is averred here); Sextus Empir. Pyrr. hypot. 3 '-4i P 234, ro lepos dVCXJ ToO 'Oalpt8o] c
Porphyr. De Ahst. " 55 (Amosis abrogated the law of human sacrifice; Plutarch's 'few' is belied b th thS' .' 2o, J 59 B and 29, J62 o.
Manetho is cited); Achilles Tatius (A.D. iii), l 1s; Proc:opius of Caesarea The heron was . y e o. er ammai connexions of Osiris.
the buck f Mandemb3odrm~nt.of hrsha;r so was perhaps Anubis; and
(A.D. vi), De hell. Pm. 1. 19. 36 (the Blemyes sacriiice men). 0
en es. He as linked with th d
: Manetho's other statement (cited in the previous note) is by no means so addressed as 'lord of the two h . th e cennpe e Sepa;4 he is
valid, for it postulates, behind the use of' waxen equivalents', the necessity
of real human sacrifices as a previous stage. Such arguments are dangerous. so that Plutarch'
'
the animal connexions of Seth-;m~ r.e. e ra~-god !=feryshaf.S But
. YP on are more mmedtately obvious
3 The emended name, Eileithyaspolis, is the Egyptian Nekheb (EI-Kab) in s statement rs a very natural one. '
1
the Illrd Upper Egyptian nome on the east bank; cf. Kees, Anc. Egypt, Kees Giitterglauhe 5.2.. BD lJ k
12.5 f. this :ole; it was aiso ~ kindx~f~e~~. '; 17, 3 At Philae the phoenix has
4 Excavations at Saqqara, 1937-1938: 1;lor-A~a (Cairo, 1939), 1; Id. Great Mytlz ana Symool .2.46' Helck, PW ' Oee .~oed( er, Uric. Re!. Jli Clark,
z K ' ' s.v. Sins 19Gl.) so2.
Tomhs oftlze First Dynasry-, 11 (London, 1954), 1 and 1Jj Id. Archaic Egypt 3 S ~th' Giitterglauhe, 3.2.5, referring to the Hymn of ~en-~ose
2
(Pelican, 1961), 135; cf. Petrie, Roya/Tomhs, 1, 14. They are not comparable rru er, JEA '-S (1939) 1 8 I' 8 ' '
ibid. ' f ; me = Kees, Rei. Lese6uclz, 15; Helck,
in scale to the Sumerian burials.
5 s 'th Kees, ZA'S sB (1923) 84
S N. de G. Davies, Five Thehan Tomhs (London, 19IJ), pi. 8. rru er, ioiJ. For Osiris and the bull of Ath 'b' '
6 A M.K. tomb of an Egyptian nobleman at Kerma in Nubia was found by and for his being aided by a benefi nd.sl see E. Otto, Stierlculte, 33
. cent croco 1 e see n aJ p. 144, 13; c f..
Reisner to contain traces of sacrificial burials amounting to 'well over one Heck,
I op. Clt. 499
hundred'. See Excavations at Kerma, 1-111 (Cambridge, Mass. I92.J),
141 ff. Cf. J. Gwyn Griffiths, Kuslz 6 (1958), 11off.

553
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 74
CHAPTER 74
p. ,_ , 16 TO )(pEtoo!'ies Kal TO C1\Jil~OA11<6v] In chs. 71 and 7'" Plutarch
34
has discussed theories which he has rejected. Now he presents the true
reasons, in his opinion, for the rise of animal worship. The qualities
mentioned here undoubtedly played their part, but there were other
facets to these cults, some of which are attested in the earliest pre-
historic phase of Egyptian culture; the Badarian burials of cows, d~gs
or jackals, sheep and goats are the first evidence. A ~ifference ?f feelmg
1
must have been entailed in the approach to ammals whtch were
domesticated, such as the dog, cow and sheep, two of which are
naturally included by Plutarch under the category of the useful; the
wild animals in contraSt to these, were impressive for vigour and
ferocity, but'even when they struck terror, the ne.ed for propi.tiating
them led to worship as a process aimed at captatw h~evolentzae; .cf.
eh. 73 Animal worship was by no means an exclustvely E~pnan
phenomenon.:~ What is remarkable in Egyptian development ts that
from about 700 B.C. onwards there was a flourishing revival and
extension of these cults, whereas among other civilized peoples a
gradual attenuation occurred.3 A matrix of fetishism rather than of
4 deeper meaning even from its gruesome features. His explanation of
totemism is accepted but some totemistic features are present. Stock,
as we have noted above (p. 494), sees the anthropo~orphic god~~
the product of the East Delta, en rapport with Sumenan and Se~ttic
deities whereas the West Delta and Upper Egypt produced the ammal
gods from the primitive African world of the totem and. fetish. It
remains a hypothesis, however, and it is noteworthy that ammal cults
flourished also in the East Delta as the name-signs show.
The usefulness of the cow as a cause for its veneration is noted also
by Diodorus Sic. I. 87. :1, who mentions its work in ploughing; cf.
Philo, De decal. 76 f. ... H F 168; Diodorus Sic. ihid. remarks ~at the
sheep produces wool, milk and cheese, and he goes on to pratse the
2
1 Baumgartel, The Cultures of Prehistoric Egypt , I? '-3 . Plutarch refers to the sun only to compare its movement with that of
2 Wiedemann Der Tierlcult Jer a/ten Agypter, 13 thinks that fatlure to recog-
nize this is ilie main error of both ancient and modem interpretations of
these Egyptian cults.
3 For special studies see Wiedemann, op. cit.; Id. H~t.ll, 2.71 ff.; T~. Hopf-
ner Der Tierlcult Jer a/ten Agypter (Denkschr. Wten, 57, '-i 1913), Budge,
Fr;m Fetish to God, 67-105; Kees, Gotterglauhe, 4-83; Bonnet, Real. Sn-
2.4. 1 Die Welt des Orients t, 3 (1948), 135-45.
554
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 74
~s.efulness not only of the ichneumon but also of the dog, the cat, the
1b1s, and th~ hawk; the ichneumon is said by him (1. 87. 4f.) to crush
~e e?gs ~atd by ~e female crocodile and also to kill crocodiles by
JUmpmg mto thetr mouths and gnawing through their bowels; cf.
Strabo, 17, 8u. Moreover it was a killer of snakes and was
worshipped as a manifestation of the Sun-god, especially i~ Letopolis
and Heliopolis.1
~ 234, !9 AT}!lVIOt] Both Pliny, HN n. 2.9. 106 and Aelian, NA J 12
asstgn thts function to jackdaws (KOAOtol, graculz). Hence Schneider's
proposed emendation. See also D'Arcy Thompson A Glossary of
Gree!c Birds, 167. '
p. 2.34, 2.0 Sfac:raAol] Cf. Aristotle(?), Mir. au.rc. 83:1 a 14; Pliny,
HN 10. :13. 62., who also states that some say that storks (ciconiae)
have no tongue; Steph. Byz. s.v. Seaa<XAia. See further D'Arcy
Thompson, op. cit. UJ, who cites Aelian, NA to. 16 and Horap. 2.. 58
for the view that the Egyptians honoured the stork as an emblem
of filial piety.
p :134, n-3 ~o-rrl!'ia Se
IXI y<XAfiv IXI K0veapov] Plutarch gives
pnde of emphasts to the symbolic aspect of animal cults, just as, in his
approach to the myth, he uses the symbolical method to extract a
the cobra comes at the end of the chapter. The weasel is stated also by
Antoninus Liberalis, Met. 2.9 (Mythogr. Gr. n, p. 109) to become
pregnant through the ear; but he says that it gives birth 'from the
neck'. Aelian, N A 15. It has some odd things to say about the weasel
(or land-marten, XEpacxla y<XAfi), but not this. Even more fanciful than
the alleged habits of conception and giving birth is the allegorical
meaning found, namely the creation of speech. That the scarab-beetle
was connected with the sun is correctly stated by Manetho and
Hecataeus of Abdera ap. Diog. Laert. Prooem. 10 ... HF 6o.~ Aelian,
NA 10. 15 has zoological details similar to Plutarch's the latter has
mentioned the insect already in to, .355 A whereon se~ n. Although
th~ scarab-beetle pu~hing i~ balls of dung, the god Khepri, who had
thts form, was associated With the sun-god Atum and was assigned the
1
See E. Brunner-Traut, Nachr. Gottingen 1965, 131 ff.
2
Sp~rri, Spiitkelleni.rti.rche Bericlue, 55, n. 10 has a comment. He is against
taking the whole of the section as derived from Manetho or Hecataeus but
this statement explicitly cites them. '

COMMENTARY C HAPTERS 74- )
role of the morning sun.l One wonders whether the meaning of the
Egyptian name ('He who comes into being (of himself)') may not
have originated the common belief that all scarab beetles were male; at
least it denotes the same idea of self-generation.2.
2.J6 6liaTpt.:1 1TpoaEtl<ClOlXV] This is the reading of E. If the ii of the
othe~ is corr~ct we may assume that something like Ti3 !t.:~6e{ has
dropped out, si~ce Sothis (Sirius) was the star conn;cted ~th the
beginning of the inundati~n. Hopf~e.r suggests. rn1 ~' ~eca~hng the
fact that the cobra is used m the wnnng of jr, eterntty . Smce ~s
means 'year' and not 'eternity', the suggestion is scarcely feasible m
spite of Horapollo's remark ( 1. 2.) about the serpent's significance) The
cobra or uraeus was embodied in the goddess Wedjoyet of Buto, and
Plutarch's first remark (p. 2.34, 2.1 ff.), that it provided an image of the
power of the gods is well justified, since the uraeus on the royal head-
dress, the terrifying symbol of the divine power which protect~d ~e
King, was a constant reminder of this. 4 It wa.s through. an asso~aanon
with Isis that Wedjoyet could be connected tn turn wath Sothts. For
d1e attribution of agelessness to the cobra cf. 10, 3 HA and Horapollo,
1. 2..
CHAPTER 75
p. 2.36, 7 o 1<pOK6SEV.os] Plutarch matches each descriptive de~il
with a metaphysical inference: the crocodile's tonguelessness makes tt a
5
likeness of God so does the transparent membrane over its eyes - like
the highest God' it sees without bei~g .seen to ~o so'; it lays si':ty eggs
which are hatched in sixty days, and at hves for stxty years, recalhng that
sixty is a key number in dealing with heavenly phenomena. The last
expression (Ta ovpen11a) has, of course, theological overtones. By
comparison, Herodotus' famous description (2.: 68.ff.) sticks to zo.ology;
even so, it is essentially different, the only pomt m common bemg the
remark that the crocodile has no tongue. Herodotus, 2.. 69 correctly
cf. Bonnet, Bi/Jeratlas, 2.0, where the rising sun is shown e~erging fr?m
the body of Nut goddess of heaven, as a scarab beetle, while the setung
sun is shown be~een her arms as a man. Cf. also ihiJ. nos. 16-19 and
Bonnet, Real. 134 l Cf. Kees, Giitterglauk.' ~f. . pr.obably meant 'crocodile' originally, but that he was most often depicted
3 A serpent (6qus) devouring its own tail is said there to s1gmfy the untverse
(tc6allos) and its scales suggest stars. It sheds its skin each year.
4 Kees GBtterglauk, nf.; J. Gwyn Griffiths,]EA 47 (1961), JI)ff. .
s Con:rast Hdt. 1 68 who describes it as blind in the water. Plutarch ts the
more accurate.
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 7)
reproduces ~e. ~~ptian name as Xclll'f'a; see ms6, Wh. u, t 36; the
Greek word ts, tmttally, that of the Ionians for 'lizard , and is probably
derived from KEpK05 'tail' and SiA05 'worm '. 1 The Nile crocodile
(crocodilus vulgaris) certainly has a tongue, although small, which grows
closely bound to the top of the lower jaw ;2 this was known to Aristotle
(Part. a~. 66oh8).3 The latter gives the maximum number of eggs
also as stxty and the same number of days for hatching; cf. Aelian,
NA 2.. 33 and 10. 2.1 (where still more sixties are found, e.g. number of
vertebra7 and teeth); and for the careful choice of spot cf. Soli. an. 34,
982. c. It ts the god Sebek .or .suchos, worshipped mainly in the Fayum,
that stands out as the pnnopal crocodile-god.4 His affinities with the
sun-god induced Hopfner (Tierlcult, u6) to find here the main cause
of his veneration; Kees5 more wisely finds it in the fact that the
crocodile, to the ancient Egyptians, was the strongest and most
dangerous animal in the water as the serpent was on land. Claudia
Dolzani6 points out that early texts emphasize its aggressiveness
vigilance and fecundity. '
P 2. 36, 9 o 6Eios My05] God and 'the divine Logos are used
synonymously here; cf. the Philonic and Johannine Logos; cf. too 54,
3730 and n. That 'the divine Logos' should be compared with the
crocodile shows how far Plutarch is prepared to go in his symbolical
pursuit. The words from Euripides, Troad. 887 f. are quoted also by
Plutarch in QEaest. Flat. 8. 4, 1007C.
: G?ssen-Steie.r, PW s.v. Krokodile und Eidechsen (1912.), 1947.
Ihz~ 194~. It ts wrongly s~ted, however, that Plutarch knows of the tongue.
A lank With Harp~crates ~swell i?voked by Kakosy, ZAS 90 (1963), 73 .
3 Hopfner, n, 173 cues Anstot. Hut. an. 1. 10 for the opposite view. Plin.
HN 8. .1.5. 89 says linguae usu caret.
4 See Claudia Dolzani, 11 Dio Sohlc (Rome, 1961). On p. 1:2..1. she deals with
the crocodile aspect of Khentekhtay of Athribis; cf. Bonnet, Real. 131 ff.
5 PW s.v. Su~os (1931), 541. Wilkinson, Manners and Customs, m (1878),
331 f., follo~ng P.auw, says that the maintenance of canals was the object
of the worshtp. Wtedemann, HJt.II, JOJ f. thinks that the indolence of the
animal was the basic cause.
6 11 Dio Sohk, 170ff. and .1.64. She shows on p. 167 that the name Sebek
wtth a human body and crocodile's head. Discussing (on p. t66) the
problem of the relation between the god and the animal Dr Dolzani cites
Roeder's view that the god Sebek and the crocodile 'could have been
worshipped originally in the same place without their being identified.
557

COMMENTARY CHAPTER 7)
p. l.J6, IS rnlcrravTat] Aelian, NA S p Q.oyi3QVTal) supports the
correction by Meziriacus, whose proposed emendation of the following
participles is also sound.
p. l.J6, l.l. mpl ~ TOii KVVOs] In I I, 3ss B Plutarch has mentioned
the clog's qualities as a watchful guardian together with its wisdom; and
in 44, 368 F he has noted the highly honoured position of the canine god
Anubis, equated with Cronus as 'the one who conceives (t<Voov) every-
thing within himself, thus gaining the name of dog (t<Voov)'. He also
remarks there that a dog sees equally well by night and by day. Both
passages, then, provide the reasons of usefulness and symbolical
significance. The canine deities included Anubis, Wepwawet, K.henta-
menthes and probably Seth. A distinction between a wild dog and a
jackal was not clearly made.1 In some of these cases, particularly that of
Wepwawet, the clog's function as the hunter's assistant in the wilds is
prominent.z
p. 236, l.J f) S' T~s] Herodorus, 2. 75 gives a memorable account of
how ibises attacked 'winged serpents' entering Egypt from Arabia; cf.
Diodorus Sic. r. 87. 6; Pliny, HN IO. 28.75; Aelian, NA I. 38 and 2. JS.
For the ibis as a teacher of bodily purgation cf. Sol/. an. l.o, 974c, where
the Egyptians are said consciously to imitate it; cf. also Cicero, De nat.
tleor. 2.126;3 Pliny, HN8. 27. 97; Aelian, NA 2. 35; Galen, De ven. sect.
6. That the Egyptians were much addicted to purges is remarked by
Herodotus, 2. 77; cf. Diodorus Sic. 1. 82. r. The insistence of the ibis
on dean water is noted by Plutarch also in his Soli. an. 2.0, 974C and by
Aelian, NA 7 45 It was foul-feeding, however, according to Aelian,
NA 10. 29.4 Plutarch's statement concerning the equilateral triangle
formed by the spread-out of the legs in relation to one another and to
the beak is more difficult. The MS reading Sta~aaEI seems not to be
exemplified elsewhere with this meaning, and Bottcher's correction
1
Cf. n. adp. 140, 10 and adp. 188, J. Joachim Boessneck, Die Haustiere in
Altagypten (Veroffentl. der zoologischen Staatssammlung, Munich, 1953),
2.3 points out that the exact derivation of the Egyptian domesticated dog
from the canides (i.e. the true wolves and jackals) has not yet been satis-
factorily established.
1
Kees, Gouerglauhe, 2.6 If.
3 See A. S. Pease ad foe. (vol. u, 873) for further refs.
4 Cf. D'Arcy Thompson, A Glossary of Greelc Birds, 112.. A. S. Pease,
Cicero, De Natura Deorum, 1, 41 s notes that the abusive poems entitled
'Ibis' by Callimachus and Ovid allude to the 'rather dirty and scavenging
habits' of the bird.
\
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 75
links up well ~~ the use of &rrcmxcm in Q!:aest. conv. 4 S 2 , 6 oc
(~ere too of the JbJS). If the theory is considered vis-a-vir the Egyptian
7
h1eroglyph for ~e ibis. whi~ is also used (on a perch) for the god
!hoth <s:e Gardmer, S1gn-ltst Gl.6), its cogency is not apparent. But
m some mstances the feet are shown widely astride and an approach
to an e~uilateral triangle can be produced by straight lines joining the
lower np of the ~~ to the two feet and joining the feet themselves; see
Posener, A Dtcttonary of Egyptian Civili{ation (London, 62.),
19
p~otograph .o n P ~36. Hopfner, u, l.74f. argues for the connexion of
th1s strange 1dea ~th th~ mystic parallel drawn by Aelian, NA 10
29
~d by Plutarch h1mself m the passage just cited (67oc)1 betWeen the
bs. and the h~rt. In support of the connexion Hopfner suggests that
a tnangle standmg on its top resembles a heart. In Egn. the words for
'heart' (lh) and 'ibis' (h.hl) sounded akin.
~or the moon-crescent shape produced by the interplay of black and
whu.e.fea~ers, cf. Lydus, De mens. 3 u. Aelian, NA 1 o. l.9 notes other
affimnes wtth the moon ascribed to the ibis, and Clem. Alex. Strom. .
5
7 43 l., describing the ibis as a symbol of the moon says that the
shadowed. part is compared to the black feathers and the shining part
to th~ ~bite. How much of this is derived from Egyptian tradition[
The _sbts-god Thoth of Hennopolis was the inventor of letters and
leammg as well as of medicine,l so that the triangle and the dysters
may stem.from these ~s~ects. ~e~resentations and ibis-mummies prove
~at the b1rd was the iDu aeth.topzca, which is still seen in Upper Egypt
m the ~u~mer.3 Allusions in Egyptian texts tell of the care bestowed
on the 1b1s as a sacred bird ;4 Thoth himself is addressed as 'the Great
Ibis' (P. Anastasi, s, 9, 2); and Thoth as a moon-godS clearly lies
behind the idea that a crescent-moon can be seen in the feathers.
1
He says that the newly hatched ibis weighs only two drachmae only as
much as the heart of a new-born child. '
3
Cf. Roeder, PW s.v. Ibis (1916), 815 on the use of 'an ibis of wax' to
treat a female disease in P. Ebers 94, 7-8. Thoth was associated with the
babo?n as well as dte ibis, but the ibis-cemeteries at Tuna ei-GebeJ and
Sa~~ara ~ttest the primacy of the ibis in the Graeco-Roman era: see
Kakosy, Problems of the Thoth-cult in Roman Egypt', Acta Arch.
Hung~r. I~ (1963), usff. and Emery,]EA p (1966), sf.; cf. the ibises in
the Istac ntual at Pompeii, Tarn Tinh, Le cu!te d'Jsir, pi. 2.).
3
Roeder, PW s.v. Ibis (1916), 8o8. D'Arcy Thompson A G'' .r
G le L , 1ossary oJ
ree Brra.s, zo6 says that it 'is now found no nearer than the Sudan
4
Roeder, op. cit. Bu, 3 5 Boylan, Thotlz, 62. If.
559
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 75
p. 2.J8, 8!1toS'i'jv ayW.11a] The opposite idea, that the god attentively
hears, is found too. G. Michailides, BIE 36 (1955), 413f. quotes Pliny,
HN u. 4S 2p on the innermost ear as the seat of the memory (est in
aure ima memoriae locus) and explains the ears found depicted on some
Egyptian stelae as a mark of the god who hearkens to the suppliant and
who hears everything. Zeus was said to have been born in Crete.1 His
missing ears could hardly have been due to the artist's intention, but
probably resulted from attrition; cf. Herodotus, 2.. 131 on the missing
hands of the naked female statues of the 'concubines' of Mycerinus.
p. 2.38, 10 Cl>Et51Cl')] For the serpent on the shield of his chrys-
elephantine statue of Athena on the acropolis cf. 71, 379 D and n. It was
protective in a general sense. Pheidias's statue of Aphrodite is men-
tioned in Coniug. praec. 32., 142. D and Pausan. 6. 25. 2, where it is said
to be that of Aphrodite Urania who is shown with one foot on a
tortoise. While Plutarch's interpretation can hardly be right in view of
Aphrodite's nature, the true meaning of the tortoise remains proble-
matic. See Frazer ad Pausan. vol. rv, 105; Furtwangler in Roscher,
Lex. s.v. Aphrodite (1884), 412; Gossen-Steier, PW s.v. Schildkrote
(192.3), 431; Farnell, Cults, u, 674 (it belongs to Astarte Aphrodite as a
water-goddess); and Rouse, Greek Votive Offerings, JSl who well says
that 'more prosaic souls will remember that the tortoise was a common
form of footstool'. Plutarch's view might gain support from the story
in Athenaeus, 13. 589A of how the attractive Lais was beaten to death
with wooden tortoises in the temple of Aphrodite, unless one could
simply believe footstools to be implied (cf. Gulick, Loeb, vol. 6, 177).
'Domesticity' and 'silence' were, of course, traditional virtues in
Greek women, especially in the Attic tradition; cf. 1 Cor. 14. 34 (in a
Greek city).
p. 238, u-1 3 Ooaet5wvos Tplawa] The word for 'third' (TPITOS) is
used to explain 'trident' (Tplal\la), Amphitrite and the Tritons. In fact
the trident was probably regarded, in the first place, as a weapon which
could induce lightning.:a
1 Hesiod, Theog. 477ff.; Apollodor. I. 1. 6. Several places in Crete claimed to
be the birthplace; see Nilsson, The Minoan-Mycenaean Re/.2 534
2
Emst Wast, PW s.v. Poseidon (1953), 478f. gives it as the view of
Wilamowitz, Kem and Otto; cf. Kem, Re/. 1, 197f.; F. Schachenneyr,
Poseit!on unt! t!ie Entstehung tks griechischen Gotterglauhens (Bem, 19~ I),
164 ff. Nilsson, Gesch. Gr. Re/.2 1, 446, n. 1 clings to the opinion that it was
a fishers' harpoon.
COMMENTARY C HAPTERS 75-6
P 238, I71a0n-AvpovTp(yC&)\IO\I] On Pythagorean arithmology and
geometry cf. supra 30, J6JA; 48, 370E; 56, 373Fif. and notes.
. p. 238, I 8 TplTOY~tav] A commo.n appellative of Athena, especially
m poetry, the name ts found somettmes as Tritogenes (TptToyevfts).
The goddess is thereby connected with a sea or river called Triton she
was said to be. born in the Libyan river Triton. 1 Many explanatio~s of
the name, anCJent and modem, occur: among the ancient are 'born of
the ~v~r Triton ', 'legiti~ately born' and 'born on the third day of the
be~m~tng of the month. Krusel thinks that none of these is wholly
sausfymg and concludes with a 'non liquet'.
P 238, 19 TO S' !v] Cf. to, 354F and n.; also De E ap. De/ph. 20,
393 c. Apollo is etymologically explained here as the negative &- and
1t'OAV!ii 'many'.
P 238, 23 TeTpCXK'TVs] The sum of the first eight numbers (the first
four even and the first four uneven) is meant: 2+4+6+8+x+3+s+
7 36. The term is used elsewhere for the sum of the first four
numbers.
CHAPTER 76
p. 238, 27 tv Q\vVxots t<exl &a(&)~arots] That is the numbers and
geometrical figures just discussed, which, unlike ~mals, have neither
soul nor body, nor perception and character.
p. 240, 6 ~ epyavov KTA.] Many suggestions have been made in
order to remedy these corrupt lines. It would seem wise to keep the
phrase epyavov il TEx\IT'lV of the MSS; although Wyttenbach's n;v
'VV)(i)v would link with the contrasted adjectives of lines 7-8 his text
exalts too highly the animal 'jiV)(i). '
p. 240, ~ )(pvaov t<exl a~&paySov] What follows suggests that
gold and emeralds for the adornment of statues are meant.
P 240, 15 'Hp&kAEtTov] Cf. Diog. l.aert. 9 1 where Heradeitus is
accused of arrogance and made to say, 'Much learning does not teach
understan~ing, otherwise it would have taught Hesiod and Pythago-
ras, or agam Xenophanes and Hecataeus; for this one thing is wisdom,
to understand thought (yvoo'-'Tl") as that which guides the universe
throu~ho~t ('Jt'~ Sta 'lt'MC&)\1)' - Diels-Kranz, Vorso!cr. 11 a 4o-1;
cf. Kirk tn Kirk and Raven, The Presocratic Philosophers, 182. f.
1
Aeschylus, Eum. :191ff.; Hdt. 4 180. See further Kruse, PW s.v. Trito-
geneia (1939), 144f. 2 /hid.
GDI
 COMMENTARY CHAPTERS 76-7
In Heraclitus: The Cosmic Fragments, 388 Kirk thinks that the reading
Onc.>S here favours cm:~ in Diog. Laert. 9 t, but admits it is 'very
difficult'.
CHAPTER 77
p. :r.4o, :r.o C't'Oi.al] Cf. 3, 3S'-B (the robes of the dev~t~es are in
some cases black, in other cases radiant); 14, 356~ (Is~s robe of
mourning); 39, 366 E (the black linen garment of the lstac gtlded cow);
p, 37:r.o (Isis as the moon has statues with black robes). In th~ present
passage Isis is neither the earth nor the moon, bu.t the Platomc ~tter
(vAT)) by means of which Osiris, the primal creative element, f~shions
the world; the variegation of the Isis robes reflects, ~en, the vanegated
nature of matter. Isis is depicted with robes of vaned hue: cf. Budge,
Hunefer, pl. t (blue-green), pl. 5 (yellow); Id. Ani, pl.4 ~green), pl. :r.o
(red), pl. 33 (white); Nina M. Davies, Anc. Egn. Par~ttngs, u, pl. 91
(red with black and green patteming), pl. 103 (red wtth blue .grdle~.
Apuleius, Met. u. 3 speaks of a multicoloured garment <;estu multr-
color) woven from fine linen, 'now radiant with snowy whtteness, now
saffron-yellow like the crocus, now flaming with. roseate red'; she also
wore according to Apuleius, a cloak (pal/a) whtch was of deep black
(nige;rima) 'shining with sable gloss'. Plutarch's account seems to
suggest, 0 ; the other hand, that all her robes were multicol?ured. He ~s
doubtless referring to the first type mentioned by Apulems; and hts
other allusions agree with the latter's mention of a black cloak. For the
robe of Osiris referred to in the singular, cf. St, 371 Ff. (they adorn
his statues widt flame-coloured clothes) and n. One might co~~a~e
pl. 4
of the Papyrus of Ani: here in the judgement scene o.stns ts
portrayed with a white garment which is interpointed wi~ destgns ~f
blue and yellow; cf. too the colour schemes in Posener, Dzct. Egn. Ctv.
pp. H)7 and 201. When it is said that Osiris' robe is put on only once
(p. 240, :r.s) and then taken off, this presumably applies to one occasion
or festival only. Parthey explains it as 'once' more or less permanently,
suggesting from the Suda s.v. HpatOKOS that the robe was taken off
only during the burial of priests. . _
p. 24,., 4 aylov] A-rr7\ov was proposed. by Empex:u~ and ayvov by
Markland ; the former suggestion agrees With lv erni.ow m p. 240, 24 and
1 Desrousseaux, Rev. Et. Grec. 46 (1933), :u2., n. 5 suggests c!ryvoii with~ut
noticing that Markland had already proposed it. For the c~ncept ~f detty
involved see ]. Scltroeter, Plutarch's Szellung rur Slctpsts (Gretfswald,
1911), so.
COMMENTARY CHAPTERS 77-8
ern7\ow in line 9; but the reading of the MSS need not be rejected, in
view of the religious phraseology of what follows. In particular the
word bromlKov, 'intended for the initiate', is taken from the language
of the Mysteries, though applied by Plato in the Symposium, 2.09E f.
to the final understanding of love. What passage of Aristotle was in
Plutarch's mind is puzzling, since the word bromrtK6s does not seem
to occur in his extant works.
p. 242, to w ~] Reiske's felicitous emendation involves a
climax of the thought in which initiation is the metaphorical frame-
work.
CHAPTER 78
p. :142, 13-14 apxettXl j3aatAMI ruvnOvr}!<&r(I)V] Cf. the suggestion
in 6r, 375 D that Osiris is lord of both heaven and Hades and the view
recorded in z8, 362A that Sarapis and Pluto can be identified, to which
is added the remark (36zB) that Osiris and Sarapis are alike; cf. also 19,
358B (Osiris comes to Horus from Hades). The modem priests to
whom Plutarch refers were expressing the basic and original truth
about Osiris: he was a god of the dead among other such gods, but
assumed a position of ascendancy among them, achieving eventually
also the function of judge of the dead, which he at first shared with
Re'. He became moreover, under Heliopolitan influence, a god of
heaven; and perhaps the caution and reserve shown by Plutarch's
priests in asserting the god's basic connexion with the world of the
dead is due to the fact that such a connexion, especially to Greek minds,
was less auspicious than the celestial association; it implied an equation
with Hades and Pluto rather than with Zeus and the Olympian gods.=
In spite of his remarkable functional expansion Osiris maintained to
the end his titulary and pictorial prominence as king of the dead.3 His
designation 'Foremost of the Westerners' seems to have been as
popular in Ptolemaic times as it was in earlier times.4 'Foremost One
1
According to V. A lex. 7 Aristotle taught Alexander 'mystic doctrines'
(StSaa!CCXAias rnoltTIKO:)).
l Hopfner, u, ~83 f. suggests that the reason for their reserve was the fact
that Isis had come to the foreground at the expense of Osiris. It is true that
their statement stresses the sovereignty of Osiris, but their reserve is more
likely to have arisen from their explanation of the nature of this sovereignty.
3 Cf. Kees, Giiuerglauhe, 2.68 ff.
4 Originally it was the designation of a separate god, Graecized as Khenta-
menthes. See Kees, Gouerglauht, J29 ff. and my Origins of Osiri.r, 116.
563 362
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 78
of theWest' was a frequent variant in the 25th Dynasty. The god con-
tinues to be also the judge of the dead and is often depicted on his throne
in the vignettes accompanying Spell 12.5 of the Book of the Dead.a
p. 242, t6 tv yij t<al \rrro yilv] A distinction may possibly be dis-
cerned in these two phrases in the sense that 'in the earth' may refer to
Osiris as the lord of burial and of the necropolis,l whereas 'under the
earth may allude to him as the lord of Dat, the underworld. An
Egyptian priest of the Graeco-Roman era might well object to these
associations being exclusively applied to the god. For, long before this
time, Osiris was also 'lord of heaven'. The 25th Dynasty knew him
especially as 'lord of eternity and everlasting', 'lord of life', 'he who
bestows life', and 'he of the beautiful eyes'.S
p. 242, 17 IEpOV t<al cSalov] An echo, perhaps, of the etymology of
Osiris given in 61, 375 o, although presented here in the wrong order.
p. 242, 241'1YellC:lV tCTTl t<al ~lAWs o &~] It is the understanding
gained from philosophy, in particular from the Platonic philosophy,
which invests Osiris, according to Plutarch, with the ineffable beauty
of the qualities which have a part in the origin of things and which are
hard to apprehend in this world. This is far removed from the Egyptian
ideas about Osiris. Nevertheless those ideas had, at their highest, a
meaningful and profound appeal. One was the idea that as Osiris had
overcome decay and death, so the deceased would also do so: 'Hail to
thee, my father Osiris! Thou shalt be, thy body shall b~; thou shalt not
decay, thou shalt not putrefy .. I am the god Khepn, my body shall
exist for ever. I will not decay. I will not rot' (BD 154, Nu ed. Budge,
I 5ff.). Again, it was believed that Osiris could secure for the deceased a
favourable judgement in the tribunal which faced every one after death.
1 Leclant, Montouemhat (Cairo, 1961), 6; :z.4 er saepe; cf. Id. Enquires, 100.
Songs Jsis Neplt. 3, 2.4 gives the variant 'Bull of the West' as well as the
common phrase 'Foremost of the Westerners' (1 1 2.). 'Foremost one of
the West' is probably to be read in Junker, Stundenwachen, 35, line 33
2 E.g. the Saite recension (of the :16th Dyn.) ed. Lepsius pl. so.
3 Cf. 'he who sits on his throne in the necropolis', Hymn of Amen-mose, 3;
'king of those who are yonder', Hassan, Hymn. re/. 56.
4 Cf. Songs Jsis Neph. 16, 2.8: 'They who dwell in the Underworld receive
thee with joy.' Oat came to be regarded as a second kingdom of the dead;
see Erman, Re/. :112.; cf. the word igrt in junker, Ahaton, 1, 4, also the
domain of Osiris.
S Leclant, EfiiJuetes, 100; cf. his admirable expose in Ret:hercltes sur les
monuments Thlhains de la XXVe dynastie etc. (Cairo, 1965), :z61ff.
564
COMMENTARY CHAPTERS 78-9
This became possible, it was thought, because the deceased was
identified with Osiris, being actually called 'Osiris So-and-so', and
because the god, who is regarded equally as a successful litigant
and advocate, assumed in addition the role of judge. A doctrine of
salvation was thus evolved which, since it promised the double triumph
over death and sin, invites comparison with other soteriological
systems. Further, the deliverance was to be achieved through identifica-
tion with a personal deliverer who had the initial advantage that he was
lord of the dead; he had, moreover, suffered and died himself before
attaining victory in renewed life and sovereignty. In the Roman era
the equation with Osiris was given a new pictorial vent: see Morenz,
'Das Werden zu Osiris', Forschungen u. Bericlue I (1957), 52ff.;
Kakosy, OLZ 63 (1968), 19f.; for a different view, Parlasca,
Mumi'enportrats, 171 ff. The Osirian system may seem to be lacking in
moral depth. Salvation, it could be argued, was attainable by purely
magical means such as the recitation of spells. 1 Moral standards, how-
ever, are present by implication, as in the 'Protestations of Innocence
in BD 12.5. The figure of Osiris had an intensely human appeal, and if
the blessings he conferred were upon undeserving mortals, an approach
is thereby made to the Christian doctrines of grace and of the forgive-
ness of sins.a
p. 2.42, 26ff. 1T06ovaaas ~aav Stwt<Ovaav yevmc.lS] Cf.
53, 372E-F: Isis lovingly pursues the source of creation.
CHAPTER 79
p. 244, 5 VnEO){OilTJV] In 52, 372c Plutarch has mentioned the
offerings of incense three times a day to the sun: of resin, myrrh and
cyphi at sunrise, noon and sunset respectively.
1
Breasted, DRT 176 maintains 'the early moral superiority of the Solar
religion' and on p. 309 he finds in the Osirian judgement 'a revelation of
ethical decadence'. But in The Dawn ofConscience, :169 f. he says that what
'saves the Book of the Dead itself from being exclusively a magical vade-
mecum for use in the hereafter is its elaboration of the ancient idea of the
moral judgement and its evident appreciation of the burden of conscience .
Junker, Die Osirisreligion unJ der Erloesungsgetlanke hei tien Aegyptern, :z89
states that theoretically moral feeling was strengthened, but that practically
it was hindered. See too R. E. Witt, Proc. Camh. PAil. Soc. 19:z (1966)1 66f.
2
Jacobsohn, Die Bewusstwertlung des Menschen in tier iigyptischen Religion,
9 defends the morality of the Psychostasia from this point of view.
565
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 78
of theWest' was a frequent variant in the 25th Dynasty. The god con-
tinues to be also the judge of the dead and is often depicted on his throne
in the vignettes accompanying Spell 12.5 of the Book of the Dead.a
p. 242, t6 tv yij t<al \rrro yilv] A distinction may possibly be dis-
cerned in these two phrases in the sense that 'in the earth' may refer to
Osiris as the lord of burial and of the necropolis,l whereas 'under the
earth may allude to him as the lord of Dat, the underworld. An
Egyptian priest of the Graeco-Roman era might well object to these
associations being exclusively applied to the god. For, long before this
time, Osiris was also 'lord of heaven'. The 25th Dynasty knew him
especially as 'lord of eternity and everlasting', 'lord of life', 'he who
bestows life', and 'he of the beautiful eyes'.S
p. 242, 17 IEpOV t<al cSalov] An echo, perhaps, of the etymology of
Osiris given in 61, 375 o, although presented here in the wrong order.
p. 242, 241'1YellC:lV tCTTl t<al ~lAWs o &~] It is the understanding
gained from philosophy, in particular from the Platonic philosophy,
which invests Osiris, according to Plutarch, with the ineffable beauty
of the qualities which have a part in the origin of things and which are
hard to apprehend in this world. This is far removed from the Egyptian
ideas about Osiris. Nevertheless those ideas had, at their highest, a
meaningful and profound appeal. One was the idea that as Osiris had
overcome decay and death, so the deceased would also do so: 'Hail to
thee, my father Osiris! Thou shalt be, thy body shall b~; thou shalt not
decay, thou shalt not putrefy .. I am the god Khepn, my body shall
exist for ever. I will not decay. I will not rot' (BD 154, Nu ed. Budge,
I 5ff.). Again, it was believed that Osiris could secure for the deceased a
favourable judgement in the tribunal which faced every one after death.
1 Leclant, Montouemhat (Cairo, 1961), 6; :z.4 er saepe; cf. Id. Enquires, 100.
Songs Jsis Neplt. 3, 2.4 gives the variant 'Bull of the West' as well as the
common phrase 'Foremost of the Westerners' (1 1 2.). 'Foremost one of
the West' is probably to be read in Junker, Stundenwachen, 35, line 33
2 E.g. the Saite recension (of the :16th Dyn.) ed. Lepsius pl. so.
3 Cf. 'he who sits on his throne in the necropolis', Hymn of Amen-mose, 3;
'king of those who are yonder', Hassan, Hymn. re/. 56.
4 Cf. Songs Jsis Neph. 16, 2.8: 'They who dwell in the Underworld receive
thee with joy.' Oat came to be regarded as a second kingdom of the dead;
see Erman, Re/. :112.; cf. the word igrt in junker, Ahaton, 1, 4, also the
domain of Osiris.
S Leclant, EfiiJuetes, 100; cf. his admirable expose in Ret:hercltes sur les
monuments Thlhains de la XXVe dynastie etc. (Cairo, 1965), :z61ff.
564
COMMENTARY CHAPTERS 78-9
This became possible, it was thought, because the deceased was
identified with Osiris, being actually called 'Osiris So-and-so', and
because the god, who is regarded equally as a successful litigant
and advocate, assumed in addition the role of judge. A doctrine of
salvation was thus evolved which, since it promised the double triumph
over death and sin, invites comparison with other soteriological
systems. Further, the deliverance was to be achieved through identifica-
tion with a personal deliverer who had the initial advantage that he was
lord of the dead; he had, moreover, suffered and died himself before
attaining victory in renewed life and sovereignty. In the Roman era
the equation with Osiris was given a new pictorial vent: see Morenz,
'Das Werden zu Osiris', Forschungen u. Bericlue I (1957), 52ff.;
Kakosy, OLZ 63 (1968), 19f.; for a different view, Parlasca,
Mumi'enportrats, 171 ff. The Osirian system may seem to be lacking in
moral depth. Salvation, it could be argued, was attainable by purely
magical means such as the recitation of spells. 1 Moral standards, how-
ever, are present by implication, as in the 'Protestations of Innocence
in BD 12.5. The figure of Osiris had an intensely human appeal, and if
the blessings he conferred were upon undeserving mortals, an approach
is thereby made to the Christian doctrines of grace and of the forgive-
ness of sins.a
p. 2.42, 26ff. 1T06ovaaas ~aav Stwt<Ovaav yevmc.lS] Cf.
53, 372E-F: Isis lovingly pursues the source of creation.
CHAPTER 79
p. 244, 5 VnEO){OilTJV] In 52, 372c Plutarch has mentioned the
offerings of incense three times a day to the sun: of resin, myrrh and
cyphi at sunrise, noon and sunset respectively.
1
Breasted, DRT 176 maintains 'the early moral superiority of the Solar
religion' and on p. 309 he finds in the Osirian judgement 'a revelation of
ethical decadence'. But in The Dawn ofConscience, :169 f. he says that what
'saves the Book of the Dead itself from being exclusively a magical vade-
mecum for use in the hereafter is its elaboration of the ancient idea of the
moral judgement and its evident appreciation of the burden of conscience .
Junker, Die Osirisreligion unJ der Erloesungsgetlanke hei tien Aegyptern, :z89
states that theoretically moral feeling was strengthened, but that practically
it was hindered. See too R. E. Witt, Proc. Camh. PAil. Soc. 19:z (1966)1 66f.
2
Jacobsohn, Die Bewusstwertlung des Menschen in tier iigyptischen Religion,
9 defends the morality of the Psychostasia from this point of view.
565
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 79
p. 244, 6 npos \ryletcxv] Cf. Herodotus, 2. 77, who says that the
Egyptians are the healthiest of men, next to the Libyans; cf. Diodorus
Sic. 1. 81.. 1 ff. and also t. :1.5. 2 f., where a great experience of medicine is
ascribed to Isis. While these writers explain the health of the Egyptians
as mainly due to their care and discipline, others ascribed it to the
healthy climate of the country; cf. Aeschylus, Supp. scil (the water of
the Nile is 'untouched by diseases'); Aristides, Or. 36. u4 f.; Pliny,
HN 17. :~.. 15 (in :~.6. 3f. and :~.6. t. 7f., however, he traces certain
diseases to Egypt); Chaeremon ap. Porphyr. De Aim. 4 8 - HF 181.;
see further Wiedemann, Hdt. ll, 3uf. Grapow1 roundly states that
'hygiene in the medical sense was unknown to the Egyptian'. There is
evidence of frequent washing, but it was not done consciously for
hygienic reasons. Plutarch proceeds to find such reasons in the
religious rites, purifications and rules of dietetic regimen, though he is
careful to add that the urge for holiness is coexistent with that for
health. There is litde doubt that sacral purification went hand in hand
with the idea of bodily cleanliness.~ Cf. the writer of 'A Vision of
Mandulis-Aion' who says, 'I offered the due incense-offering in holy
piety'; see Nock, Harv. Tlteol. Rev. 27 (1934), 74 who says, 'Like
Plutarch .. our writer may have thought of incense as hygienic and
purificatory'.
p. 2.44, r s bn6vl!tooat ~TJTI\ITlv] While ~TJTt\ITl is a generic word for
the resin used in incense,3 Plutarch may be referring to a special kind,
perhaps frankincense (olihanum), a fragrant gum-resin which occurs
in the form oflarge tears, generally of a light yellowish-brown colour.4
Harris and LucasS say that it was derived from Somaliland or Southern
1
Kranlcer, Kranlclteiten und A'tt (Grundriss der Medizin der alten .Agypter,
m, Berlin, 19S6), 7 He goes on: 'A man washed himself because he was
dirty or because he needed refreshment through a bath, hardly because he
believed that the body required the bath for maintaining its health'
(translated).
: See Blackman, 'Purification (Egyptian)' in Hastings, ERE 10 (1918),
476ff. Although he does not seem to state this explicitly, it is obvious from
the details he supplies. Grapow, Kranlcer, Kranlclteiten und Arrt, 7, n. h
excludes religious practices from his discussion.
3 LSJ probably err in giving 'resin of the pine' as its exclusive meaning.
4 Harris and Lucas, Materials, 91.
S /hid. It was called tltus in Latin. The Egn. tennis hard to pinpoint. Wb. vr,
182. gives six words for 'incense' and adds other designations. Cf. Harris,
Lexkograpltical Studies, 171 ff. Steuer, JAOS GJ (1943), 2.79 suggests snlr.
566
COMMEN TARY CHAPTER 79
Arabia and th~t in the Ram~ era duty was levied on its import into
~gypt. Th~re ts abun~nt testimony to the use of incense in religious
ntes, h~th. rncense and sncense-burners having been found in tombs, 1
~nd dep1cnons of ~e ceremony being frequent. The braziers used were
tn the. form of basms or bowls held in the hand of the officiant,; but
somenmes they were placed on special stands which were in the form
of a human lower arm.3 Fumigation often followed lustration and th
che~ng of natron, and it~ considered to effect not only purificatio:
but, m the case of the King at any rate, communion with the gods
Horus, Thoth, Seth and Sepa and their ka.s.4 The private individual also
fr~l! resorted t~ incense, especially when preparing himself for
rehg1o~s ceremomes, and sometimes even simply to enjoy its sweet
aro~a tn a secular sense.S Texts inscribed with depictions of incense-
offenng show that a release from evil is sometimes believed to be
ensured thereby; in the funerary ceremonies the deceased is assured
that his ka is with him, also that his ha is brought to him again the
cloud of incense which brings 'the scents of Punt' may b:token' and
con~rm ~e presence of the god who is worshipped.6 In the Berlin
Amun-Rttual (u, Sff.) the incense is described as 'that which has
come forth from him (the god)', i.e. his sweat.7 As a divine sub-
stance it is often assigned in origin to Horus but Osiris eventually
replaces fhi_m in thesthe contexts.8 When Pluta;ch says, then, that by
means o tncense ey 'revive the spirit which is inbred with the
body', he suggests only a little of the significance of the rite to the
Egyptians.
1
Harris and Lucas, Materials, 90
~ E.g. Junker, Der grosse Pylon, figs. 12. and 68, where incense is offered
before lsis.
3
Bonnet, Real. <iz6. Cf. R. 0. Steuer, Oher das wohlriecltende Natron hei den
a/ten Agyptem (Leiden, 1937), 39.
4
Blackman, Rec. trav. 39 (19~1), 44ff. esp. 4~
5
Bonnet, 'Die Bedeutung der Riiucherungen im agyptischen Kult', ZAS 67
(1931), ~o-8. On p . .:zo he quotes P. Ebers, 98, u, an incense recipe 'for
making pleasant the smell of the house or of dothes .
6
Bonnet, op. cit. ~1-3.
7
Ibid. 24 Cf. Zandee, De Hymnen aan Amon, p. 136 (the god is offered the
substance of his own being to strengthen his life: 'the oil which comes
forth from thy body').
s B . .
. ?~net, op. czt. zs-~, correcang Blackman's view that it was regarded
trunally as an emanatton of Osiris.
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 79
p. 244, 20 -rljv GJ.1Vpvav] Harris and Lucas1 describe myrrh .as 'a
fragrant gum-resin' which is 'obtained from the ~'?e co~ntne:' as
frankincense namely Somaliland and southem Arabta and ts denved
from variou~ species of Bauamodendron and Commiphora. Osiris is
called 'lord of myrrh in Busiris' ;2 but Plutarch is, of course, not
thinking here of exclusively Osirian or Isiac rites.
P 244, 2I eot.Epav] cf. Diodorus Sic. I. 7 I and Spoerri, Spiithel-
lenistische Berichte, 18, n. :z. For the idea that air is watery, thick and
foggy he compares Philyllios, fr. :z.o (air is -n6ot.wJ,Itvos as opposed to
I<Cl6ap6s); Heracleitus, A/leg. 34 (6of.Epas Cn1p); Macrob. Sat. I. I7. H
(aer umidus). .
p. 244, '-5 A~<pc.lva] Acron of Agrigentum was at Athens dunn~ the
plague (c. 430 a.c.) and his fire is mentioned by several other wnters;
see M. Wellmann, PW s.v. Akron, no. 3 (I893), 1 I99 His fame was
such that the Empiricists wanted to claim him as their founder; cf.
Pliny, HN 29. I. 5; Diog. Laert. 8. 65; and the Suda ~-~ . cyphi' is sometimes used, implying that cyphi could also be used for
p. '-44, 27 'Aptcrro-rit.ns] His remarks on the health-gtvmg properties
of fragrance probably belong to a writing now lost. Parthey compares,
as more loosely connected, Proh. u . u and Part. an. '- 7
p. 246, 2 aC.tA] Jablonski's correction of the reading~ is based on
the Capt. !Y~'A (shal}, see Crum, Diet. 5576; this in tum is found in Egn.
as l;ry ( o qq j ~~ Wh. m, 323. See Loret, Kemi IJ (I954), I7, who
1
compar~for the Greek form, the derivation of l:oOcpts from .ffwfw.
A word 6/J (Wb. r, 432, 7) meaning 'myrrh' differs from the MS
reading in its last consonant; so that an emendation to j3a5 may be
suggested with equal force; indeed a corruption of 6 into !. occurs
easily.
1 Materials, 92f.; see also Lucas, 'Notes on Myrrh and Stacte', ]EA 2.3
(1937), 7.7-33
~ Caminos A prayer to Osiris', lines 4-5 in MDAIK 1G (19sB), .1q see
too his~- on p. :Z.J. Lucas, ]EA 2.3 (1937), 2.7 points out _that the w~rd
Cn.ryw is uanslated 'frankincense' by some. Helck, Mattrialen rur Wrrt-
sclraftsgeschiclue des Neuen Reiches, IV (Abh. Main:z., 1963)! SI4 notes ~t
according to P. Harris I, 49, 6 incense-treeS were specally pl:mted m
Egypt. R. 0. Steuer, Myrrhe unJ Stalcte (Vienna, 1933) and in ]AOS 63
(1943), 2.79-84 makes a good case for equating Cnzyw with a specially
fragrant kind of myrrh and md,t with the oil d~ved fro~ i~. Cf. Zandee,
op. cit. G and the Cairo Hymn to Amiln, 9, 1 W1th Casstrer s note aJ /oc.
(unpubl. thesis, Oxford, l9SJ)
COMMENTARY CHAPTER So
CHAPTER So
p. 2.46, 4 'TO St Kiicpt] Unlike frankincense and myrrh, this was a very
composite mixture. 1 Since the Suda s.v. MavE&.>s mentions a work by
Manetho On the preparation of Cyphi-materiau (Tlepl 1<.CXTCXO'I<EVis
KV~Iwv),2 it seems likely that Plutarch has derived his description from
thts source. A form 1<0Tcp1 also occurs, as in Athenaeus, Deipn. 2. 73
(ed. Kaibel, 1, p. 157).3 The Egyptian word was lcJpt: see Wh. v, Io4,
I and 2. It is connected with the verb lcJp, 'bum (incense)' instances
of which are quoted by Victor Loret, Le Kyp!t4 parfUO: sacrl des
anciens Egyptkns (Extrait du journal Asiatique, Paris, I887), 11-61.
P. Ebers 98, uff. names ten ingredients for it,4 Manetho's plural and
examples in the Berlin Medical Papyrus 3038S show that there were
many recipes for cyphi and that Plutarch is reproducing one only.
p. 246, to ypa!!P.&rc.lvlepe;lv] In the Greek papyri6 the term 'sacred
profane purposes, as indeed Plutarch suggests when he describes its
general effects and when he refers to its use (p. 248, 4ff.) as a drink and
as a purge, one effect being to purify the inner parts. Recitation ofspells
1
Harris and Lucas, Materials, 89.
l Cf. FHG u, 616; FGrH me Go9, p. 99; Manetho, ed. Waddell, 202fl'.
3 See further Ganszyniec, PW s.v. Kyphi (192.4), p.
4 Cf. G. Ebers, 'Ein Kyphirecept aus dem Papyros Ebers', ZAS 12. (1874),
!OG-11. The recipe is headed 'Cyphi which is prepared for making
pleasant the smell of the house or of clothes'. It is also to be used for
relieving complaints of the womb, and women can take it as a pill in the
mouth in order to sweeten their breath. In P. Med. Berl. 3038, 6, Gff.
( = Grapow, MeJi{in Jer a/ten Agypter, v, p. 447 Bin. GGff.) lr./pt is used
for the repelling of the influence of a god or of a dead person; in Bin. G8
~e excrement ofa lion, ofan ibex, and ofa gazelle are among the ingredients;
m Bin. 69 the removal of a demon is promised thereby, while 70 and 72.
treat diseased conditions. Von Deines, Grapow and Westendorf in vol
IV, 261 translate Hpt as 'Rauchermittel' (incense) simply; cf. Wil. tier
meJi{inischen Te::rte (MeJi;.in, vu, 2), 89Gf.
5 See previous note. Cf. the elaborate mixture examined by Dilmichen,
'Ein Salbolrecept aus dem Laboratorium des Edfutempels ', ZAS 17 ( 1879),
97-118. On p. 99 he suggests that every large Egyptian temple probably
contained a laboratory. Victor Loret, Le Kyplai etc. has considered pre-
scriptions in texts from Edfu and Philae, making a brave attempt to
6
identify the substances named. PGM 4, 1313f.; 7, 538.
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 80
is often prescribed in Egyptian medi_co-magical texts; c~. P. Ebers I,
1o-1 I: To be recited when a remedy 1s brought to every hmb of a man
that is painful: Really superb, a million times:' An ins~ce of the
1
continuation of this practice, in the case of cypht, an to the Mtddle A~~
is cited by Parthey,1 who says that Nicola~s ~~repsus (1, .199; .A.D. Xl~t}
gives the instruction: arida contere cum lrqurdu et haec conficrendo dw:
a. e. vt. ov. oo ('Pound the solids with the liquids and in doing this say:
a. e. ui. ou, 0 , i.e. the vowel sounds). Plutarch refers to the 'unguent-
makers' (l.lVPE\Yols); priests would presumably be reciting to ~em.
P :146, l i TOV s &pt6!16v] Dioscorides, De mat. med. J, .lS ~ves ten
ingredients only Nicolaus Myrepsus gave fifty; others prescnbed .18
or 6, and Panhey, 2.78ff. reproduces some of the ~etails. Lore7 Le
3
Kyphi, 59 maintains that ten of the ing:edients. recur an all the ~ectpes,
Greek and Egyptian, and these, accordmg to htm, ar~ the ten ga:en by
Dioscorides. His identification of some of the Egyptian names, lt must
be added, seems highly adventurous.3 As for ~lutarch's number sixteen,
G. Ebers4 points out that it occurs frequently m the Papyrus Ebers; and
Loret finds the same number in the texts examined by him.S
p. 2.46, u. ~oov Tcilv iaoov] The reading of the MSS makes ~ier
syntax ('if it seems to be the square of a square, and, alone ~on~mmg
an equal number (4} an equal number of times (4), to extend tts arcum-
ference to be exactly equal to its area': cf. Hopfner), but the statement
of the uniqueness of the number would be manifestly wrong. W~tten
bach's emendation is therefore necessary, apart from ayarraa6at,
which need not supplant ciyayro6cn.
p. 2.46, .10 xa'AF[. KCXl Saa'A\Ist] The seductive brin~ng on of sleep. and
the relaxation of the sorrows and tensions of dmly cares consntute
effects which remind one of narcotics such as opium which have been
t cf. p, Ebers 1 , 6.: 'To be recited when one takes the medicine: Really
superb, a million times.'
a P. :2.Bo; also Ganszyniec, PW s.v. Kyphi (1924), 54
3 In a letter to the late F. Ll. Griffith dated 19 May 1916, the late J. P.
Margoliouth expressed his puzzlement at the fact that Loret distinguish~
between Cannelle and Cinnamon, which usually mean the same, e.g. m
Chaucer and in modem French . (The letter is attached to Loret's study in
the Griffith Institute, Oxford.)
4 ZAS u (1874), 111. _ . ,
5 Ganszyniec, PW s.v. Kyphi (1924), ~~ refers to a. KVcpl. Wtth thirty-siX
ingredients connected with the decans and the thirty-sax parts of the
human body.
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 8o
popular in Eastern countries. Perhaps the sacred drink haoma is the
clearest parallel, although cyphi was not simply a drink. Incense was,
of course, widely used in other religions. Nock, Harv. Tlzeo/. Rev. 27
(1934), 74 reminds us that 'from the time of Augustus onwards, every
member of the senate offered intense at the beginning of each of its
meetings'. Parthey describes his experiment with the various recipes
when a Berlin chemist prepared cyphi for him according to the
prescriptions found in Plutarch, Galen and Dioscorides. All types,
when mixed only a little with wine, gave it a very astringent taste,
according to Parthey, reminiscent of the acridity of retsinato in
modem Greece. The prescription of Dioscorides gave the best result;
it excelled too as a burnt incense, although all three gave a sharp
aromatic odour which was in no way repellent. 1
p. 248, 4 KCX6ap~-tara] Paten's proposal )(p{IJan ('ointment') for the
t<pCr~-t<nt of the MSS has found favour with Babbitt and Sieveking.
Neither knew of Markland's brilliant suggestion KCX6ap11crn, 'purge',
because this has only recently been published by Helmbold in Class.
Phi!. p (19~7), 106. It is entirely convincing for two reasons: it is
closer to the corruption which has arisen in the MSS and it is in perfect
accord with the explanatory clause which follows, where the verb
KCX6alpetv is used (line 5).
P 248,6 epyov it'hlov] In p, 372C Plutarch States that the three daily
offerings of incense are 'to the sun'. It may be that the religious use of
cyphi should be assumed to be connected especially with the sun-god,
in which case the physical comment that resin (or frankincense) and
myrrh are the product of the sun may be relevant too in a religious
sense.
1
Cf. the instructions prepared for Loret by a French perfumer in Loret,
op. rit. 6off. It is not stated what results were achieved.
571
 COMMENTARY CHAPTER 80
is often prescribed in Egyptian medi_co-magical texts; c~. P. Ebers I,
1o-1 I: To be recited when a remedy 1s brought to every hmb of a man
that is painful: Really superb, a million times:' An ins~ce of the
1
continuation of this practice, in the case of cypht, an to the Mtddle A~~
is cited by Parthey,1 who says that Nicola~s ~~repsus (1, .199; .A.D. Xl~t}
gives the instruction: arida contere cum lrqurdu et haec conficrendo dw:
a. e. vt. ov. oo ('Pound the solids with the liquids and in doing this say:
a. e. ui. ou, 0 , i.e. the vowel sounds). Plutarch refers to the 'unguent-
makers' (l.lVPE\Yols); priests would presumably be reciting to ~em.
P :146, l i TOV s &pt6!16v] Dioscorides, De mat. med. J, .lS ~ves ten
ingredients only Nicolaus Myrepsus gave fifty; others prescnbed .18
or 6, and Panhey, 2.78ff. reproduces some of the ~etails. Lore7 Le
3
Kyphi, 59 maintains that ten of the ing:edients. recur an all the ~ectpes,
Greek and Egyptian, and these, accordmg to htm, ar~ the ten ga:en by
Dioscorides. His identification of some of the Egyptian names, lt must
be added, seems highly adventurous.3 As for ~lutarch's number sixteen,
G. Ebers4 points out that it occurs frequently m the Papyrus Ebers; and
Loret finds the same number in the texts examined by him.S
p. 2.46, u. ~oov Tcilv iaoov] The reading of the MSS makes ~ier
syntax ('if it seems to be the square of a square, and, alone ~on~mmg
an equal number (4} an equal number of times (4), to extend tts arcum-
ference to be exactly equal to its area': cf. Hopfner), but the statement
of the uniqueness of the number would be manifestly wrong. W~tten
bach's emendation is therefore necessary, apart from ayarraa6at,
which need not supplant ciyayro6cn.
p. 2.46, .10 xa'AF[. KCXl Saa'A\Ist] The seductive brin~ng on of sleep. and
the relaxation of the sorrows and tensions of dmly cares consntute
effects which remind one of narcotics such as opium which have been
t cf. p, Ebers 1 , 6.: 'To be recited when one takes the medicine: Really
superb, a million times.'
a P. :2.Bo; also Ganszyniec, PW s.v. Kyphi (1924), 54
3 In a letter to the late F. Ll. Griffith dated 19 May 1916, the late J. P.
Margoliouth expressed his puzzlement at the fact that Loret distinguish~
between Cannelle and Cinnamon, which usually mean the same, e.g. m
Chaucer and in modem French . (The letter is attached to Loret's study in
the Griffith Institute, Oxford.)
4 ZAS u (1874), 111. _ . ,
5 Ganszyniec, PW s.v. Kyphi (1924), ~~ refers to a. KVcpl. Wtth thirty-siX
ingredients connected with the decans and the thirty-sax parts of the
human body.
COMMENTARY CHAPTER 8o
popular in Eastern countries. Perhaps the sacred drink haoma is the
clearest parallel, although cyphi was not simply a drink. Incense was,
of course, widely used in other religions. Nock, Harv. Tlzeo/. Rev. 27
(1934), 74 reminds us that 'from the time of Augustus onwards, every
member of the senate offered intense at the beginning of each of its
meetings'. Parthey describes his experiment with the various recipes
when a Berlin chemist prepared cyphi for him according to the
prescriptions found in Plutarch, Galen and Dioscorides. All types,
when mixed only a little with wine, gave it a very astringent taste,
according to Parthey, reminiscent of the acridity of retsinato in
modem Greece. The prescription of Dioscorides gave the best result;
it excelled too as a burnt incense, although all three gave a sharp
aromatic odour which was in no way repellent. 1
p. 248, 4 KCX6ap~-tara] Paten's proposal )(p{IJan ('ointment') for the
t<pCr~-t<nt of the MSS has found favour with Babbitt and Sieveking.
Neither knew of Markland's brilliant suggestion KCX6ap11crn, 'purge',
because this has only recently been published by Helmbold in Class.
Phi!. p (19~7), 106. It is entirely convincing for two reasons: it is
closer to the corruption which has arisen in the MSS and it is in perfect
accord with the explanatory clause which follows, where the verb
KCX6alpetv is used (line 5).
P 248,6 epyov it'hlov] In p, 372C Plutarch States that the three daily
offerings of incense are 'to the sun'. It may be that the religious use of
cyphi should be assumed to be connected especially with the sun-god,
in which case the physical comment that resin (or frankincense) and
myrrh are the product of the sun may be relevant too in a religious
sense.
1
Cf. the instructions prepared for Loret by a French perfumer in Loret,
op. rit. 6off. It is not stated what results were achieved.
571
 APPENDIX

Athena= Equilateral triangle (75, 381 E).

= the Hebdomad (1o, 3S4F).
APPENDIX - Isis (9, 3 54c; 62, 376A).
Athenais= Nemanous (15, JS7B).
DIVINE EQUATIONS Athyri- Isis (56, 3740).
Bebon= One of the companions of Typhon (49, 371 s-e; 62., 376A-B).
Ammon (Amun) ...Spirit which receives (40, 367c). = Typhon (ibid.).
- 'What is concealed' (9, 354 C). Cronus ... Anubis (44, 368 E).
= Zeus (9, 354C). = Time (32., 3630).
Anubis= Cronus (44, J68E). JE: Winter (69, 378E).
- Dog in form (44, 368E). Cronus, tear of- the Sea (32., J64A).
- Dog in name with the additional meaning of 'conceiving' (44, Daemons, great... Typhon, Osiris, Isis (2.5, 36oo).
368E- F). Demeter- Com (66, J77D-E).
= Guard and attendant of Isis (14, 356F). = Qyadrilateral in nature (3o, 363 A).
- Hecate in significance (44, 368E). - (with Kore) Spirit which permeates the earth and crops (40,
- Hermanubis (61, 375 E). 367c).
= Horizon (44, 368E). Dikaiosyne Qustice)= lsis (3, JS2.A- B).
- Revealer of matters pertaining to the heavens (61, 375 E). Dionysus= Arsaphes (37, 365 E).
Aphrodite= Mother of Harmonia (48, 37oc). = Bringer of two bulls from India (29, 36:z.s).
= Nephthys (n., J55F). - Epaphus (37, 365 E-F).
re Qyadrilateral in nature (3o, 363 A).
- God of the sacred basket, Liknites (35, 365 A).
- summer (69, 378E). = a God who was once a good daemon (27, 361 E).
Apis- Bull from India (2.9, J62.B). '"" Hades (2.8, J6:z.A).
- corporate image of the soul of Osiris (2.0,359 8;2.9, J62.c-o; 43, - Lord and originator of all moist nature (35, 365 A).
3688-c). o:::: Osiris (28, 36:z.s; 34, 364o; 36, 36so; 37, 365E).
- osiris (29, 362c). - Spirit which procreates and nourishes (40, 367c).
- son of Mnevis (33, 364c). = Triangle in nature (3o, 363A).
Apollo= the Elder Horus, Haroeris (u, 355 E; 12., JS6A; 54, 373 8-c). - Wine (35, 365A; 66, 3770).
- Horus (6r, 375 F). Dionysus Hyes= Lord of moist nature (34, 3640).
- the Monad (1o, 354F). Epaphus= Dionysus (37, 365 E-F).
= the Number One (75, 381 F). = Osiris (37, 365 E-F).
Apopis=-Brother of Helius (the Sun) and enemy of Zeus (36, = Sarapis (37, 365 E-F).
365o). Eros= Osiris (57, 374C).
Areimanius= Creator of evil (46, 3690-E). Hades= the Body (:z.8, 36u).
Ares,.,Father of Harmonia (48, 37oc). - Dionysus (2.8, 36:z.A).
= Triangle in nature (3o, 363A). = Osiris (78, 382E).
Argo- Image of the vessel of Osiris (n, 3S9E). - Pluto (78, 382.E).
Arsaphes- Dionysus (37, 365 E). ""'Triangle in nature (30, 363 A).
Artemis= the Dyad (ro, 3)4F). Harmonia- Daughter of Aphrodite and Ares (48, 370c).

573
 LINGUISTIC INDEXES LINGUISTIC INDEXES
Poaxoacppay~enal, 'se:dcrs of calves', 167, mplTTOV and 6PTJOV, 484 nTJidyc.:ovcv and hrp611'll<lS, 484 <DMV$ or <IIMc.lf, 436
41S mcnmm'lptcv, 193 "Tn'liqlc.:opat, and Typhon, :I.S9 ~11ETV1 :1.87
MoVe,uo m\pc.xns, so8f Tl&flV1} 1 jO:I. cpwvfl 671'l&f!5, 53 5
llviiOEtS, )90 1TloVIIEVCS, 494 Tlllc.:op~tv, and Tlllc.lp6s, 'succour', 345, 390 ~ and C71C6-fos, 484
llu9c1.oycM7tv, 101 1T71aV1}, S04 TptTa)'iVta, scSJ cpc.:oacp6~ and Persephone, SJ2
llVphcTI, 313 'lf1-i\8cs and h, 484 -rpltoS, and 'trident', Amphirrite, Tritons,
ll\lpt6pc~cs. soJ 'ITMpc.:ocns, S09 soo XaA'K6s flx~v, 'sounding bronze', 404
puptC:.VVIlCS, Sit JOlf '11'1-otacpiota, 491 X61J'f'Q. ' crocodile', SS7
llV<mJ)'t.JYfC.:O, llVcmJ)'t.JYla, 5)3 'ITVEiilla, 4SS, 5J1 vAfl, sB, 48s, SO.J, S041 5I ] 1 SG:l. xcrploiClC7IIV1}, 'joy', 401
ll\1(7Tt\pla, J90 'ITOJflpa"Ta, 540 inr6, with non-personal noun, sos Xtv6atpt5, ' ivy', 108
!Wanls, and lmlbw, 391 1T071vjicv1.cs, of Isis, 156 \molioxt\, 501 X'lllla, 107, 108
.u;.i1.v,47S m:~1.~,sc1 \nr6vctat, and allegory, 419 x\IOiis, 'Egyptian trUmpet', 411
'!TC71Va1.11CS, 100 ~crat, ' rain', 419 X6vcrvcpt5, no
Vjipl6ii, 4Jl m:~1.vctapKla, 2.74 "Yatpts, Jo8, 42.9 x!l6vcs dpap!livcs, 47Bf
Ntcs tu6vvaos, 430 m:~1.vC:.vvllCS, SOl "Yat~, fo~ Isis, 108
N'lCTrla, SJ8 trOTJC71'6s, 'irrigation', 438 't'ELICX'Ifa&1}S, 110
VC'l"rit cWla, 496 trpotfl~~:l-66,167 l!la:M'lcpOpta, 299 'fNXil sso, 561; and h..,J711 404; corporeal,
trpc.no<TT011tct"rils, 166 cpEp611Evc~ and !live~, 484 514
~plllCS, '09 441 'ITUvecltvcpat, 319 cpl11av8pc.mla, f)%
666s omitted, 489; ~. 'in good ordt!t', 'ITVppOs, 4o8 f11.~~' 18 1 IOJ wpa, and Horus, 446
489 'ITVpc;,&'lS, 86
o!ICI:t6-n,'Ttf, 443
Of~ts, uo ~'lTIIIIl, 'resin', s66
6516vota, SJl, S33 Mt339
COP TIC
6pllhrrpta, 'bringer to s:Ue anchornge', 335
~.MD 'I', 'come I', :1.85 .MepsT, .Mei\sT, 2.98
6ppcs ciyaGc";lv, 107 Ialpa, of Charmosyn:~, 107f
~os and lfj)Os > Ocnpts, H. s 17, 564 cralpuv, 'sweep', 'order', 403 ~.MWIRI 1 285 ndu~w, 305
'Oacp6vv~ps, 46o atlcrrpcv and cnlc.:o, S:l.S ~.MnTe, 107, 108, 411 O!!J, 188
oU&tv,470 If!&, 109 ~~&1, o~, 1o6 no.,npt and Busiris, 369
oVpQvta, -M, Sf6 atv6cvoq~~, 2.70 !&'i\, 107 CHT, 457
cWla, laala, c:,gja, s 16 ~.42.7 !6.6.pe, 339 cw, 438
cVws, reference of, so6 01C711}pla, S:l-4 II!IW, 409 O'l'llo.ROqp, 109
C71C61'os and op<:'ls, 484 nee, Her, Isis, 258 !!J&., 'festival', 1 oB, 405
m:rAt~Vcria, 71,434, S4S I6yxts, 110 Klt...M, 'rush', 438 !!Je, roB, 441
m:rAIVTOVCS and m:rAII'TpO'TfOS, 469 Ioilpts, 'the great Isis', 3:1.7 KH.MII! 1 KH.MI, 4:1.6 !!J~'i\, 'myrrh' (?), 568
Oa~s,198 acp6s, 'coffin', 311 KJ.M, 'move', 439 !!Je.lpr, 'gaudium', 'cohabitation', 4os
rnxvtK6s, 314 Ioiicpts < Qwfw, sG8 .Mnqe, .M.uqs, and Memphis, 109 Xlt.MI, 416
rnxVT6pc~cs, 503 accpla, 476 .Mlt..RII!fl'\01'1 'oxherd', H3
amppa 1mrruc6v, 514
f6.-&Wp, SI%
1T!Xfllr6Etypa, SOl Al!l.lll'fTO, 8o
mrpa6t66vcn, 16o G'W!!J, 'Kush', JIO
CTrpp6TT)s, 447
'trapwx~, 'pale', 415 CTT01.tcnal, :~.Gs
lraC'TOf6pct, l6f ctcppaytcmxl, 41sf
DEMOTIC
nax\IOiillts, zB6 O')(t6la, 'papyrus-boat', 431
11'Ell'ITacaa6cn, 'count', S09 Ic:mtpa, 390 'mnt, Io8
m~m and rili'T'CX, 509
mpas and 6:nttpcv, 484 'Tallpcytvf!S, 4JJ
mpl, periphr.JStic use of, 11, J48 n6c71c.:o!livcs, sGB
mplappa and mptatrnaGcn, ns 'ri71ttcs, S09 HEBREW
mplEpyCS, 179 T171ttoiiv, HI
mptKt6liiCS, of Dionysus, 319 mnat, 390 f,K 'cedar', JU
mptcnr6s, 'odd', 413 'Tt71lvTft, s18 o~D :1.91
mptCTrpfl, J19i mptCTrpa, S4J TrMc.:o, of initiation, 431 ;tz.ftc 'tamarisk', 368 D~ ' plC:IS:lnt', 3:1.7
 LINGUISTIC INDEXES
LINGUISTIC INDEXES
l:m, 'black', 'brown', 375f; 416 Jh, 'hippopotamus', 4u A16waos jlOiila!pc.:lS or ~111\s, 89
KmJt.f, 374 Jlmy, 'who is in the chest', 311 6~".f44 lfpoiJOC7XOOfpery10Ta!, 41 f
J:m wr, 'great black one', 376 d!r, 'red', 408f, 414 lrpes 116yos, 2.6o
lip61J0S, 3S7
Kmt, 'Egypt', 1o8 6pc;,IIEliO Ked liEIICWIL!VO, :1.6!)
1Ep6crro1\oa, 681 :1.65
!llt, of sycamore, 431 fEallal and fcns, f I Sf
6Uli01JIS1 po
r/ JJ(t) 1;/p, 'seat of Apis' and Sinopion, !lfs!, 'pupil of eye', 416 'htd!pCil$, 107
396 Jr, 'desire', fl1 'lcnaiCOf, G,, 99, :zG!)
lyC:. dill, 2.1!4
t/-lh, 'hot of hean', 2.89 dry:, 'enclosed place', 358 16os,11!J raaSos TplxES, 314
"lens, :~.ss
TJ-wn, 107 !lt, 'eternity', 71 1 2.88, Sf6 d with c!iv, 11
Th!tJ, and Typhon, 2.Go DJw, 'Busiris', 369 Taov and &111aov, 4B4
dSos and u11'1, 49~
Q.ar, 'Busiris', usually of Mendes, 369 dllc.:l?.ov and ha, 36<!
lcrropoiicn, 101
T.nl, 'Tilinis', 362. d!Ccl.v and s/pn ntr, 36<!; d!Ccl.v llroii, :lf4 Kc!cOap~~cr, 'purge', 571
d~~C<pl!iVI), 'Destiny', 478
ICCI9ap6s, of air, f68
ds zros Iapcnns, 401
Etcns, 158 ICallc.:lOICol!liVfl, 'consecrated', 431
GREEK bc8111\C71Cc.:l, ))Of Kal<6v and Cyae6v, 4B4
IKpaytfov, so:z ICallmiAov and row, 484
ICaVI)opOpos, :1.66
~~.JIS7 cplanpov and &~6v; 484 liCTpCt)IIC<, 'abortion', Jf4
~TIJp(a, 10
Kapmos,436
6ppovla, 469 lv and tr11i'i8os, 4B4
6:yae1\ ~. 58 'ApoUT) piS, 107 lv traWypolS (trapllypos), 87 1Cafl1T066Tils, ICaf'11'0'1'6pos, and Carpocrates,
S)l
&yaeo!iai~~Wv, 461 6pcnv0er)11u lpvos, 463 "Ev8Evl5pos, 436
c!:ya66v and l(a1(6v, 4B4 KIVI)OIS and raas, sr6
c!ip'TICIV and tnpln0V1 4B4 hrtzllvllc.:l, 345
ram., :md Isis, 58 c!ipTIOS, 'even', 412. tm11alljl0:VECI'8al, 404
IC1\aaa65as O:volyov-ras, )79
ICOTfl, ~1, fti9
o!rylaf6pol, 2.66 6:PXf1,42.4 hrfm6os, 'plane', 4S9
~miav, 'fast', 2.75 ICCIJ.oaol, 'jackdaws', HS
CPl(T)fs, 430 imnrniCOs, and Mysteries, 563 IC01rn1v, 315
65c.:nri)IS :md 65avls, 319 CPl(IGT0111an'IS, 2.66 lpaan'ls, s13
61&/)s, 'invisible' and Hades, 4o6 Can'lp :md Zc.:lpo6:0Tp'IS, 471 lpd!CtJ, tpi!CtJ, )2.2. Kom-Os and IC61m~~t, 31 s
Kpa15aatos, of Dionysus, 4H
6:-I)Sfls, 'unfriendly' and Hades, 4o6 'Axcna or 'Axala, ns 'Eaarxillls, 304
&eavaala, 71, 2.Sf KpoiC68Ea11os, < IC!p!COS and 6171os, H7
dljNxos, sr4 fttpOIJI)ICli nnd 'm"pCyColVOV, 484
ICUpaos, :1.96
6:8Eos, two meanings of, H3 MPYala and Euhcmerus, 38o
lriif11 Bohairic, 1o8
&6~ n, 191 Bajlu11tJ, town, 497 rorpytTns,:~.99,461
Aeup, fl:t; "A8up1, Bohairic, no, 512. jlapjlcrp1~, Sl9 row and ICaiJmiAov, 484 ICUc.:lv, 61; in two senses, 467f, f:ll
AI)'II1T'TOS, 454 jlap1s, 'papyrus boat', 339 EW4jlna, :1.91
ASI)s, "ASilS, to jlcrcmzyEIS, 165 E~'IIL!ITE, f37
M1111'p6s, of lsiac garments, 2.6?
1\apvo~ 'chest', 90,JIO
alviTTCIICXI, and allegory, 419 B61cxop1s, r ro ~~. and Epaphus, 443
alC:.vos lc.:lfl, 1ss 116yos, 6 llEros, H7
jlouytlii\S, 433
~1\yo~Cil' 419; ~~~yopla, 419 Bujl11os and jlvjl11os, 319 116yos cmrplla'TIIC6s, sos
ZColpo6:CTTptJS, derilllltion of, 471
'AllivEI'IS, 108, 411 I!CiliiOfOpol, :~.6s
"AIIIIWII, 1o6 lldov, "1'6, 20, :~.8 llc!cyos, 47U. 479
lliya mvOos, 63
c!iv, omitted with optative, u, 52.1 ytVEms, p8 llEol ac.nij~, }45
civajl[CI)O'I$1 72. IIE)'C:AooppoaUVI), 16
yEvvd:Cil, 465 IIE6s, 19, :~.o, 2.4, 469; and~. 'seen' and lliyas ~cn11EVs, :1.98
Cvg(8Eia, 42.3 y~, 'foreign word', Sl9 Otc.:lv, 'who rushes', f16
CliOfalvEiv, S4 r M~p, 107, uo
yvW&a ataii'T6v, H7 OrpcnmiEIS, 97
"Avlhos, 436 yvW!ns, 2.62. IIEC71J08ms, 2.6<j IIEAa"'''1'6PDS, of Isis, 90; in Delian cult,
c!i!IIOOII and laov, 4B4
:lG,
ypa~o~IJ(t"ta, s09 11Ea110f6pos,:~.G<j,309
&tropia, 52.4 lliv unanswered, 366
9oUT)pas, 107
&mlpov and mpas, 484 !livov and fEpOIIvov, 484
5aii!Wv, 3B3f llilc.:l, 'rage, rave', 430
'AmE1ov, 396 IIETc.:JIIUlllcr, 131
&lal!iaiiJQvla, 2.01 2.6, 2.91
MXUp, uo
&rrc1os, 469, s14 &v8phT)S1 436 rac.,, 'le:., 4o9
6- and 'ITOA\Is >Apollo, 561 liE~6v and 6p1CI'TI!p6v, 484
lltJ&v v, 336, f37
l&a :md IIDP'I'fl, SO? III')Ois, 368
arropla, S14 8aaljX>J, 549 llpaf, 'Horus-falcon', 491
llfllf)lla, soz, s:z8
dlr6pPf1-n:t, 69. 468 5\llv~~C<I, in Apis-cuh, 331f IEpafOpol, 68, 16~
lloptfl and IStcr, so3; IIDP'I'fl and u?.tJ, 4Bs

LINGUISTIC INDEXES
(w/yt nt 'lmntt, 'thief of the West', 407
fht, 'tomb', 4S
ffJw, 'melllot', 316
qr, 4u
fm, 'swallow', 4o6
( nbsign, and girdle oflsis, SJS
fmyw, 'myrrh' or 'frankincense', ~68
frln, 'lentils', 1.71.
( ~( nfr, of saaed serpent, 461
fJ, 'juniper or fir or pine', 31.1
fJ, 'cedar' and (JI, 'groan', 311
(JJ and In, and 'many-eyed', 1.8S
(JJ rnw1 'with many mames', ~03
(JJ 6prw, 'with many fonns', 503
wfhw, 'pure ones', 1.70
wn, wnpr, 166
Wnn-nfr, Wnnnfrw, 109, 199, 405, 46o
wr nsll!)'t, 'great in king5hip ', 19S
w~,no
w~m n Pt~, 'herald of Pcah, 363
Wslr, 109
Wslr ~wn, 'youthful Osiris', 430
Wslr-bp and Oserapis, 399
wsr, 'mighty', 109, 44:z
Wsrmlft-Rf, 109
wlh, 'situla', 4~1
wtil fin, ' sound of arm', 37S
/JJ, SJO
hJ mrwtl, 197
hJyr, 'papyrus boat', 339
hJicnrn .f > B6K){opas, 11 o
hJJ, 'myrrh', s6S
6/J, and Seth, su
6/J m pt, 'iron from heaven', P.J
6/n, ' evil', 461
hlty, 438
hwt, 'abomination', os, 4:z1
!M, 'introduce to', 'initiate', 16of, 391
6t lmn, 'place of concealment', 35S
P-lw-rl}, 'Philae ', 366
P/-lr-lmn, Pr-lr-lmn, 'Pelusium', 334
p/ (J-mrwt and Pamyles, 198
Pr-Wl!ir, 'Buto', 337
Pr-Wsr, and Busiris, 369
Pr-n1r (chapel), 4S
Pr-I;Ir-N6w, 411
P-!r-fo-pbt, 110
fly, 'bearer', 166
I'Jy n!Jy, :z66
,
LINGUISTIC INDEXES
fJf!!tty, 1.66 Nt, 'Neith', p1f sfrr, 'wool', 170
fJyJnt, :166 Ntrw, place, 161 sw, swr, 'drink', 438
nJr, 411, 413; nJr (J, 'Great God', 19S; swtl, 'be great', 457
m/J, 'see' and M11w (Min}, uo, Sll 111rmn6, 199 shl, 'rebel', 417
MJJ.n .t 'lmn, So nr(r), 'that which is', sn SpJr, Sothis, Sirius, :m
MJJ . n . / /2~wty, So n!l, 'save', 4o6 rm/, 'sacrific:W bull', sn
m/1, 'sphinx', 1.S3 Ntis !lr, deity, S47 sm/, 'slaugh~er', 417
mJ( 6rw, no, S3S sm/priest, 166
MJft, H4 rmnl, 'bear', 450 sm/yt, 'confederates', 311
mlnw-rJ, 'keeper of geese', 333 rmnw-nJr, 'bearers of d1e god', 266 smyw, 'confederates', and Smu, sn
mlnw-~tr, 8o rms, 339 smsw, 'eldest', and Horus, ;oo
mwt, 'mother', and Isis, 511 rsy, 'south', 438 S-n-Wsrt, 'Scsostris ', 381
Mwt, vulture-goddess, ~11 s111, 'd101ughts', 293, 294
mwt 111r, 'mother of the god', 447, p1 l;lfpy !!!J, 174 SIIJr, 'incense', 566
mn, 'so and so', :z81. l;lw, sphinx of Giuh, 1.83 sr Jlc, 'hidden place', 3 sB
mn lr.l, 'may what I do endure!', f4, 107, I;lw:N6w, 'Mansion of Gold', 412 .r~m ntr, and llll&ov, 364
335 bp, 'hide', 4:10 s~, ' looped sistrum', p~
m11 rn . lc, ' may thy name remain!', 33S ~m-ntr, 'prophet', 283 sii, 'pluck, shake', ~2~
mnlw sbt, 'shepherd of the land', 178 I;lr Wr, 'Horus the Grca1', S9 1 107, 300; silt, 'sistrum', s:z.~
mnlwt 11/rw, 'harbour of the good', 107, J:lrpl-!l.rJ (Harpocr.ucs), 3 n; l;lr-m- slt/, 'secret', 16o
36S lnp, pS; l;lr-n6, title, 490; J:lr Dlr, 'Red st, 'throne', 258, 4-16
mnlwt ~~.'harbour of eternity', 365 Horus', 373 st wfhr, 'place of purilic:ation', 358; st
Mnw (Min) and m/1, 511 ~ry-16-p/-IJJ, of Osiris-Onnophris, SJ7 sm/t, 'pbce of uniting', )SS
mnw (Wnn) 11{r, 'tombstone of Onno- ~ryw rnpt, ::194 stlcmt Jln, 'black and ruddy woman', 4fl
phris', 365 ~ry s!r 11 Mnw, 'superintendent of linen Su, St{!, etc., 4S7
M1111fr and Mllnfr-Ppl, 'Memphis', 109, wear ofMin', :z66 stl, 'lire', 4S7
36s, 46o I;lry-1 .f, 441 sJ/, 'puU ', 109, 4~7
mnw nfr, 107, )6S M, ' seck', 499
mnt/, of grove, 368 ~kn, 'lion-door-bolt', 44S lwh, 'persea', SJ6
Mr-wr, 'Mnevis', 41.5 ~tp, and Oserapis, 399 If, lfyt, 'dignity', 442
m~, 'fiU', S09, 511. ~" )46 J~r, 'Upper Egypt', 43 s
m~t wrt, 'great flood', sa I;lr-l;lr, 'House of Horus', 511 Jmw, 'summer', 66
msw wrw, 'children of the great ones', 4:13 ~!!1, 'destroy', 18o ln, 'door-bolt', 44~
ms .f!Is .f, p1 ~tlw, 'onions', 1So Jnf, 'repeal', 445
ms~, 'crocodile', H7 Sin~, 'Sheshonk', 1S7
Msbtyw, 'Dull's Foreleg', 373 .(Jwfw >~'I' IS, 568 ltl, 'secret', 391
mtr, 391 .f:l/,r, place, 161
mtit, 'oil from myrrh', fG8 bpr tpy 11 Wn11nfr, 364 g6t, 'heaven', :z88
bfty, 'enemy', 417 Gnp, and Canobus, 371
nl-swt-hlt, 438 .f:lntylmntyw, 4o6
Nh-m/ft-Rf, 19S bry, 'myrrh', sGS #rt, 44f
nh 11M, 'lord of eternity', 196 6s6J tp, oflsis, 4P #/;r, and Apis, f 11
nh r tlr, 'Lord of aU ', 196 6:, 108; 6tnWs/r and K"enosiris, 441 /Jm, 'rush', 438
n/, s/tw, of Osiris, 446 ~m/, 'rush', 438
11hw, 'gold' and Nhty, 'he of Ombos', 411 !fnm, Khnum, 18o ~m/, ~Jm, 'move', 439
Nht-~t, 'Nephthys', 305, 447 {!rJ, 41:z
nfr, 51:1; of Osiris, 107, 109, J6s, 461 lcJwty, 1.66
nn, 4:13 s Jlr, 'red man', 408f lclpt, 'cyphi' and /cJp, ' burn (incense)', J69
N~m.fw/yt, goddess, 317 sJ, 'protection', and girdle oflsis, ns lcJ mwt.f, 'Kamephis', 343, 374, 521
N~mw-fnyt, goddess, J17 sJ/, lwt, 'of dappled plumage', 376 K/nfr, 286
nsw, 'king', 43S 1/rw, 'earth , 1s8 Kpny, 'Byblos', 319
lllcll, 'injury', so& srnf,, and Sonkttis, 287 kpnwt, 'sea-ship', 319
 GENERAL INDEX
Wilcken, Ulrich, 1o8, :1.6~, :~.67, 339, 373,
394. 399, 400, 401, 418; on Serapeum in
Rh:lcotis, 361 ; on form of Osc:r.1pis,
399; on mysteries of Silr.lpis, 391; on
origin of s~r:apis-cuh, 393f
Wilhelm, A., 38:l
Wili, Waiter, 434
Wilke, Carl, 365
Wilkinson, J. G., ~18, H7i on Maneros,
333
Wilson, John A., :1.71, 4:l4, 497, 534, 5J6,
~46, no
Wind, called Zeus by Egyptians, [)6,
36~ o], 440; and Osiris or Sar:apis, [Gr,
37~ F), po; wind through crops, and
Persephone, (66, 371D], s;:~.
Windischmann, F. H. H., 478
Wine, as blood of gods' enemies, (6,
JS)B-c], :1.76; in cyphi, (So, 383E], ~69;
and Dionysus, b~. 36~A], 436; (66,
J77D), n1f; s;o; little used by priests
generally, [6, 3B B], 17~, and not in
Heliopolis, (6, JSJB], 17~; and Psam-
metichus, {6, 353 B), :l7Ji resaicted for
kings, [6, JSJB], 17H 81; wineless
periods of purific;~tion, (6, JB B), 17~;
and Mithras, 171; Sethmn symbolism,
176
Wine-press, feast of, [18, 36u]
WingeJ Disk, 348, 349, 35:1., 493
Winlock, Herbert, 194, 444
Winnowing-fans, [73 1 J8oo]
Winter, and Cronus, (69, 378B], n9f; 76;
and s~rch for Osiris, [J:l, J7lC], 499i
winter solstice, {p., 37:1.c], ~oo; 6J, 450;
(6~, 377B), SJO
Winter, Erich, ix, 337, .34:1.., 366, 466, 497,
fl6, 5:1.7; on the Birth-Sanctuary of the
Temple of Isis in Philae, 40, 447
Winter, J. G., 1.70, 314
Wisdom, mysterious, [9, 3Hc]; and Isis,
see lsis
Wissowa, G., x
Wit, C. de, lBJ, 359, 404; on hippo-
pot:ltllus goddess, 348; on role of lion,
347; on lion-~rgoyles, 44S
Witt, R . E., xvii, J8S, J6J
Wittmann, W ., Jti, 46, '1.6:l, z66, 447.
Woenig, F., 1.71, 313
Wolf, blood of, mixed with om6mi, (46,
369E], 475; god of Lycopolitans, [7:1..,
)BOB], S47
Wom~n, seed of, as ~terial of creation,
[ss, 374F], 514f; women aduded, 4Si
Greek women, domesticity o~ s6o;
women and Isis, 73; mourning customs
of, 314f; as stolists, 267
Wood, cutting of, {1.1, Jf9c}, 370; [4:1..,
)68A}, 46o; 97
Wool, oostention from, by priests, [4,
JS2C}, 170f
Woollc:y, C. L, 3ll
Word, ~cred, destroyed by Typhon, {z.,
JP F], 26o
World, to come, picture: of in Horus the
Elder, (s4, 37JC), fOJf; terrestrial, as
Horus, (43, 468D], 464; [S4t 37JA], S04i
[S7, 3740}, JIJi 48
Wriling, and Isls or Thoth, z6Ji set also
Thoth
Wrilings, ~cred, set Sacred Wrilings
Wnnsch, R.,159, 410, B9
Wiist, Emst, s6o
Wunderlich, Eva, 408f
Wynenbach, Daniel, xii, 3, 111, us, 117
ttpassim
Xanthus, the Lydian, 470
Xenocr:ates, of Colophon, and daemons, ~
(lJ, )GoD-E), J8Jff; 1.6, 17, 56, 99, 485; :
on Egyptian view of gods, [70, 379B];- ~
s4of; Sz., ~61 ; on unlucky days and
gloomy festivals, [261 361 B], 387; and
Ac;~demy, :~.8; on anthropomorphism
of gods, f4l
Xenophon, 11; Cyr., 417; HJI., Jl ~
Xenophon, of Ephesus, Jl S
Xerxes, 470
Xois, Nile at, (43, }6So}, 461; 47
Xylander, G., ~ 76, 111, 117, :z89, 374,
404. 4)8, 478, 484, J:l4
Yahwc:h, 409
Yaldoo:~oth, son of Sophia, sc4
Yaslat (B), 471; (ro), 474. 48:1.
Yasna (36 and ~8), 471; (S7), 48:1.
Yohu Mano, 'good will', 476
Youtie, Herbert C., &], 1.70, 314; en
Athyr festival, 449
Yoyotte, J., Jf6
z.,
:Z.ooa, :~.s9
iookar, L V., xvii, 71.; on metem-
psychosis, 1861 546
GENERAL INDEX
Zaehner, R. C., xil, 472, 473, 47S, 476, 477,
4So, 481, 48~ 484, 486; on Plutarch's
picture of Zoroastrianism, 474; on
s1arus of Mithr:as, 474; on D&lkart and
human unity, 479
Zagreus, killed by Titans, 434; and
Osiris, 7:1.., 89, JH1 385
Zandee, ]an, xvii, 168, 196, JSS, 489, s67,
568; on Amethes, 4o6; on Amfln, 391;
on sun-god in underworld, 498
ZarWbar, 347
Zaphon, and Typhon, 16o
Zarotas (Zoroaster), 484
Zeller, E., :zz., 1.3, lff, 485
Zend, 471; Zend-Avesta, 478
Zeno, 1.9, SS, sos, 514, 531
Zervan, 474; superior god, 475: Zervanism,
474f; 480
Zeus (often Amlln), :1.0, 48, 71, 2SS1
z9s, JSJ, 3Bz., JSs, 39:1.., 4:1.0, 434, 440,
443, 494, SO?, 563; [1, }~ro}; a~~:~chc:d
by Apopi,, (36, J6S o], 440; Capitoline,
bumt, [71, 379c-o], 541; and Dionysus,
~ {J6, )6S D), 440; [)7, J6S B], 44~ cf. 391;
anddodeCOigon, [}o, 363 A); and Egyptian
--:- Amiln, [9, JS4C], 18S; given good lot,
(48, 370c]; helped by Osiris, (36, 365 o],
EGYPTIAN
Jht!w, 'Abydos', 362
Jmm, 'grasp', and Amenthes, 4o6
J6w, and daemons, 383
Jst, 'lsis', 158
Jt, 'striking power', 41.3
IJw, 4:1.:1
IJ!Jt, 'left' and 'east', 4:1.1
IJt, 371
lit wrt.r, 'pure mound', Abaton, 367
tr~. 'moon' and Ia6, 409
(lw) mn rn~~. 'let it remain for ever!', 335
lw.n . t (m !fs. t), sn
lwn mwt .f, 'support of his mother', 345,
-499
'lwn-n/r, 1.87
lwn ~rr, of moon, 499
'lwnw-nfr, 297
iwtyt, 'b~ ', :171.
1/J, 'h~' and hU, 'ibis', H9
44o; s:z; (Amun), legs of separated by
lsis, (6~ 376c), ~:1.4; SJ, 83; makes
Osiris his son, (36, 385 D), 440; slatue of,
with no ears, l7S1 )BID], sGo; temple of,
in 'Thebc:s, [1:1.., JHE], :198; and wind,
[)6, J6S o}, 440
Athena born from h~d of, 301;
Zeus Casius, 28o, 334i 'destiny' of,478;
Euhc:merus on, 379; and Hc:r:a, 308;
Zeus Lycaeus, wolf-god, 543; and
Poseidon, 1.H; and Sar:apis, ~9, 401;
opposed by Typhon, 7.S9, f:l4i and
Zagreus, 72
Zeus-Ammon, and Alexander, 383
Zeus Helius Sarapis, and Antaeus, JOS
Zic:gler, Konr:at, xli, 4. IJ, 14, as, 16, 17,
us
Zimmermann, F., xii, 1.8o, 339, 44S
Zoroaster, 99i date of, (46, )69o}, 47ofT;
-481 ; llllc:ged hemp-addict, 47S; and
Plato, 472; and Pythagor:as, 484
Zoroastrianism, '1.t, '1.), :z7, so, 74, 76, 88,
384,484
Zucker, F., 411 zGs; on Greeks in Egypt,
'1.86
Zyhlarz., E., 31o
lmJ6w and 11WTI)s, 391
(i)ml.n, 'come!', 285
lmywmw,490
lmn, 'conceal', 1.85
lmnr, 'right' and 'west', 411
'lmntt, 'West', 4o6f
lrp, 'wine', 275
lrryw, 'blue linen', :1.71
lrt-n/frw-lrw and '1116-pws, 107
lrt /frw, 107
l~y, 'sisllUIIl-player', szsf; son ofHathor,
SJ6
uw, 'sheep', 548
ur, 'tamarisk', )68
IItlt, tree, )68, 4991 536
lgrt, J64
(J (J wr, and Trismegistus, 439
(J mrwt, 'great of love', 1.98
(JJir, 'redass',409
 GENERAL INDEX
Typhon, son of Ae:u:us ('"onr.)
Aeacus, son of Herocles, [19, 36lB
(emended)], 401; son of Cronus, [u,
35F]; soul of, assigned to animals, [73,
JBoc], 549f; soul of, called the Bear, [::u,
359c-o], 373; spit of, name for salr, [31,
363 E), 41.tf; stories abouc, [1.s, )6oE-F),
385f; 97; and storms, [H, 373o], 507,
59; as sun, obscured by Isis 35 moon,
[44, 368 o), 465; cf. [4t, 367 e-o], 4H f;
{44, 368o], 465; 88; a rejected con-
nexion, [fl, )7U), 496; [p, 371.E],
so:~.; 91; and T:artarUs, h7, 37411-C],
flli 509; and Thoueris, concubine,[t9,
JsBc], 347f; ss; throws male member
of Osiris into river, [36, 365 c), 440;
vexation of, in animal burials, {73,
JBoD-E), fSlj without measure and
order, (51, )71-'j Ho 37JAj 64, 376Ff],
ss
phallus of, given to Min, 349; and pig,
41o, 488, sso; and black pig, )88, 465;
as red ass, 409, 489, 493; as red hippo-
pot:lmus, 375, 490, 493; and sacrifices,
179, 548; as a Satan, 389; and Serbonian
lake, 2.73, 371, 42.1.; sexual excesses of,
417, 42.3; slayer of Osiris, u; thunder-
maker, 304; and Ti;\mat, 389; trial of,
)4, )52.
Typhonia, 507
Typhonian men burnt, [7), )Boo], Hllf;
47
Typhonic destructiveness, subdued and
freed, (43, )68o), 464; Typhonic signifi-
cance. of certnin animals, [73, 38oc),
70
Tzetzes, AJ Lyrophr., 435
Underworld, Osiris comes from, (19,
358a], 71, 37'
' Unfinished Blessing', of new moon, [4~
36B-'l. 6s
Universalism, [66, 377 af], n I; 5I
Universe, and chaos, [57, 374c], 513;
happy end of, (47, 37911], 4791f; and
most beautiful triangle, h6, 373 F), 509;
regulated by reason, [H, 373 e-o], cf.
{?6, 3818], s6rf; ruled by many powers,
[45, 3G?a-c)
Unlimited, All:llt:lgoras on, {48, 370E], 485
Unlucky days, Xenocr.ues on, [2.6, 361 a],
387
Unmentioned secret rites, [Js, 364}
Urocus, on royal head-dress, 546, 156;
two, 49of; royal uroeus and Wedjoyet,
H6
Urania, 33:1.
Uranus, 379, )BB phallus of, cut off, 343,
38sf
Urlcuntlen tles iifiYptisclztn Alterrums, ed. K.
Scthe, (u), :1.66, 2.67, 2.94, 345, 377, 411;
{IV), 2.67, 2.83, p8, 335, 42.3; (v), 34t,
fl1, H3 i (VI), 302., )07. JJO, 349. 351f,
388, 407, -ao8, 416, 417; (VIII}, 404
Urnula, golden, in [siac procession, 437
Valckenaer, L C., 117, 441
Valentinian Gnostic myth, 49, 354, 504
Vallauri Giovanna, 379; on Euhemerus
and Oiodorus Sic., 38o
Vandebeek, G., xi, 4~ 179, 304, 446, 465,
49~ 501, fO~ f)5
Vandier, J., xi, 40, 16?, 190, 317,319, 342.,
343, 351, 356, 4Pt 46f, 488
Varro, De Lingua Larina, 354, 446
Varuna, 474
Vatican Museum, relief in, 437
Vegetarianism, 261
Veget:ltion, and Oionysus, 89; and Osiris,
)6, 37, 63, 89; pre-Osirian symbolism
of, 37
Velde, H. Te, 388, 410, 4f6, 457, 487
Venus, f4H as lsht:1r (planet), 481.; and
Isis, so2.; Venus lug~ns, )2.2. 0 32.4f;
temple of, so-called, 36o
Verbal voices 311d tenses, uf
Verbs with two prepositions, 14
Vergil, Aen., 317; Georg. (1, Schol.), 42.3;
(J), HI ; (of), 426, 427
Vermaseren, M. j., 478
Vespasian, in Egypt, 401
Vitlllltl.it, 4?6
Viereck, P., 327
Vikentiev, V., 343
Villa dei Misteri, 361, 43f
Vines, from gods' enemies, (6, 3H B-C],
276
Visser, Elizabeth, 9~ 309 1 361, oao1, 429;
on Hermanubis, pB; on lsis Ma'ac,
2.64; on motives of Ptolemy Sorer, 394
Vitellius, 542.
Vitruvius, Dt arc!Jl., 437
Viziers, 1.89; 'Installation of the Vizier'
289
GENERAL INDEX
Voher, D. E. j ., u6
Vogelsang, F., fJIS
Voice, true, of amulet of Isis, [68, 378a],
ns; no
Volkmann, R., 17, 114
Vou, M. Heerma van, xvii, 4:1:7
Waddell, W. G., 2.8r, 333, 334, 457, 465,
51.~ sso, sp, sG?
Wady Fedar, 331
W:ldy Natnin, 173
W~dy es-Sebua, Nubia, 2.83
Wainwright, G. A., xi, xvii, )to, 373, )88,
409, 42.0, 457, So6, no; on alleged
sacrifice of king, H 3; on hippopot:lrni
and pregnancy, 347; on iron :~~~d Seth-
Typhon, 513
Walcot, P., 536
Wmlle, B. van de, 5
Wallc:rt, lngrid, 368
Walton, F. R., 113
Wandamba, tribe near Zanzibar, 347
War, 483; Heracleitus on, (48, 3700], 483;
of Horomazes and Areimanius, [47,
37oa], 481
Warmington, E. H., 447,476
Warriors, kings chosen from, [9, 354a],
28:r.f
Water, brought by Sirius, {J81 J6S Ff), 444;
darkcns, [3), 364a]; disappearana: of,
and shutting up of Osiris, [39, 366 o],
448; drinking water, poured into golden
casket, [39, )66F], 451f; holy, and ibis,
l75, 38r e-o], ss8; of Nile, fattens, [s,
:H3 A], 2.74; :~~~d Osiris, set Osiris; salty
in Egypc, [4o, 367a], 4S4l fresh,
rnil'llculously found in sea, 4S3; gift of
gods, 4J7j IIJld lsis, )OJ, f11.j and
lltales, 4:14, 42.8
Water-pitcher (hydreion), always leads
pi'Oa!SSion, [)6, 365 a], 437f
Water-rats, and Areimanius, (46, J6?B-F),
476
Wealth, primal lover, father of Eros, [57,
374cf], sr3;and Osiris, S09
Weasel, image of divine power, [74. JBoF],
5ssf; portrays creation of spec:ch, [74.
)81A), HS
Weber, Wilflelm, xi, 42., 285, 372.
Webster, T. B. L, f2f
Wedberg, Anders, S09
Wedding figure, of Plato, (56, 37)F], f09
Wet/jat-eye, 1.88, 192., 358, 456
Wedjoyec, 18o, 337; and lsis and Sothis,
Sf6; mother of Anubis, 46s; mother of
Nefenem, 447; nune of Horus-child,
446f; and Hathor, 337; as royal Ul'liCUS,
SS6
Weege, F., 335
Wegehaupc, Hans, u4
Wegehaupr, 1., 6, 7, 8, 115
Weihrich, F., 379
Weill, R., 311.; on Byblos episode, 54,
3:1:0
Weinreich, 0., 76, :r.83
Weissbach, F. H., 381.
Weissenberger, Burkard, xi, ro, u, 12.,
103, 115, 489, f:l:lt 541
Wellmann, Max, 99, 261, 299, )to, 313,
316, 32.9, 43~ 434. 537, f68; on Apion
35 likely source, 88-jl4; 45 4
Wells, A. F., 7
Wells, j., 333
Welsh names, for days of week, 481.
Wenamun, 171
Wendland, P., 342
Wente, Edwanl. F., 336
Wentzel, G., ns
Wepwawr:t, 30~ 344, 3471 363, 546; and
Anubis, S4. JIB; liS dog, sss; son of
Osiris, Jt8
Werbrouck, M., 305, l'f 328, 3Jt
Wc:sseling, P., 234, 366
Wessetsky, V., 44
West, E. W., 48o
West, people of, [6?, 378), S39l and
right, 42.1
West, Stephanie, sS
Westendorf, W., xvii, :1:74,4:1:6, 56?
Wesd<lke, H. D., 99
Westman, R., us
Wheeler, Sir Mortimcr, 354
Wheelwright, Philip, 483
White, and Upper Egypt, 376
Wiedemann, Alfred, xi, 1, 104, 2f8, ~64f,
zG?, z?G, 2.78, 1.8o, 282., 287, 301, 312.,
JJO, 333, 336, 338, 339, 343t 365, 367,
381, 414, 416, 417, 44:1:, 44ft 449, 450,
454, 457, 461, 463, 465, 473, 497, H7,
sG6; on animal cults, H4l on droughts,
194; on Methyer, sr:r.
Wigs, 1.68
Wilamowitz-Moellendorff, U. von, 117,
16?, 382, J86, 432., 433, S6o
 GENERAL INDEX
Tiamat, and Seth-Typhon, 389
Tiber, :~61
Tibullus, 2.61, 441
Tiglath Pileser I, 39S
Till, Waltcr C., JoB, S04
Tillyard, H. J. w., XV
Time, and Cronus, [3:, 363 D), 419;
destined, (47, 370B), 47Bf
Timothcus, the interpreter, [:~8, )6:l.A),
397f; 76, 78, 84, 93, 394, 39S 403
Tinh, V. Tran Tarn, :~69, 437, 438, H9l on
Isiac crypts, 361
Ti.r:lrd, H. M., viii, 339
Tishtrya, star, 477
Ticms, deeds of, [:as, )6oE), JBSf; JS,
364; 434; ns. 4:19
T itchener, J. B., 114
Tityus, )BB, 407
Tiy, tomb of, 331
Tjebu, JS3
Tondriau, J., on ivy, 441
'Tongue is fonune, destiny', {68, 37Bc], TUmpel, K., 487
S)6; tongues (of the Furies), [48, )70D],
483; and pc:rsc:a, (68, )7BC], SJ6f
Torhoudt, Albert, xi, 1)0 49, 104, 16o, 161, TurinRoy:d Cmton, 3o;Turinstela(1oo),
sos, S3Sl on Harpocrates, 3S4l on lsis
and Sophia, S04
Tortoise, and Aphrodite, [7S. )BI E), s6o
Totemism, 414, Hlo f46, J4B, sso, SS4;
and sacrifices, 414
Trajan, 199
Transfonnations, of deceased, HSf
Transmigration, of souls, [7:1, 379E}, Tybi, month of, so, 6s, 491; Tybi (7),
s 4 sf; 7 1, 434; cf. Metempsychosis
Transvestism, 464
Trees, and Dionysus, [Js, 36S A), 436; and
Osiris, [Js, 36s A],436; s9, :l.B7, 36s, 370; Tyche, and lsis, 73; as Soteira, 390
funerary use of, 313
Tn:nch, R. c., IOJ
Treu, Max, aB, 114
Triad, Osirian, 74; triads in Roman and
Pharaoni.:: eras, 44
Triangle, and Arcs, [Jo, 363 A]; and
Dionysus, [Jo, 363 A]; equilateral, and
Athena, [7S, )BIE), S6t; and ibis, [7s,
3BI D], sssf; and Tritogeneia, [7h
JBIE-F), s6; and Hades, [Jo, )6JA];
most beautiful triangle, and Osiris, lsis,
Horus, [s6, 37JFf1, s09; S7, 6o, 74
Tribal standards, S46
Trident, ofPoseidon, [7S. )Bl B], sGo
Triphylia, JBo
Triphyllians, alleged to be non-existent,
(13 1 )Go A-B), JBo
Triptolemus, 91,309
Trismegistus, origin of, 439, S19
Tritogeneia, and equilateral triangle, [7St
JBI E-F), f61
Triton, Libyan river, s6
Triton, and sea, as third region, [7s, )BI E),
sGo
Troad, S43
Troy, siege of, [46, J69D], 470, 473l date
of, 473
True belief, import:llll:l: of, [11, :HS c], 191
True voice, of amulet of Isis, (68, 3788),
m parts, (18, JJBA), )38f; cf. (54, 37JA)
Trumpets, in Dionysia.:: rite, [Js, 364F],
433; no1 used by some, [3o, )6u], 41of
Truth, philosophkal, [1, JS 1c-D; l JS1c),
1f4j 70; pure truth, and Oslris, [77,
381 D-], S63; sweet, [68, 378 B), Sl4
Tschudin, P. F., 438
Tuna cl-Gebel, ibis-~:emeteries in, SS9
Tunisia, 401
)1)
Tumchus, A., 117
Tut:mkhamCln, SJ4l 1:0ffin of, 314; persea
fruit imitated in glass objects from tomb
of, s:J6; phallus of, 49H shrine of, p:a
Tuthmosis III, :l.B)
Two, number, alled Strife, [?s, 381 F)
saaifi~:e on, ho, 371 o), 491f; Tybi (u),
festival of drawing water, 198; Tybi
(1s), 318
Typhoeus, Slli Typhoeus-Typhon, and
Sedt, 389, S14
Typhon (Greek), burial of, 371; fights
Zcus, ~S9t ~07; steals thunderbolts of
Zeus, S2.4l and TM/, 16o; and Z:lphon,
16o
Typhon (Seth-Typhon), 16,)710 440,.489;
akin to Titans, [49, 371 B), 48?; arumals
allotted to, [7;, )BoE], Hli S44; in
animal rolts, [73, )BoC}, s49f; and ass,
(so, )71 c], 489; 59 410, no; ftees on
ass, (31 1 363c}, 41Bf; S~, 94, 334l
asinine in form, [Jo, ;61), 409f; and
(Great) Bear, [11, 3S9c], 373; S9, 4S6,
fSO; as Bchon, {49, 371 c], 487f; (61,
GENERAL INDEX
Typhon (Seth-Typhon) (co11t.)
J76A-B], sn; S9. 78; birth of, violent,
(11, 3H F) 1 )Oiff; S)j birthday of, (1:1,
3ss F], 301 ff; 65, 3o6f; bone of, as iron,
(6:~, 376B], 5nff; J9 1 78; bomonaneven
measure, (Jo, ;6;A]1 413; charges
Horus with i!legitima.::y, [19, 3SBD],
JSif; h4, 37JB], S04l ss, 71; chest
arranged by, [13, )J6B], Jll; ~:Dnfeder
ates of (72), [;, JS6B], 311; a7G, 302.,
4S, 493, S4S, S49i and aooodile, [so,
371 C, D), 4B9f; p, 59, 346, 4o8, 410,
SSOi changes into aoc:odile, (so, J71 D],
493; 51; cuts body of Osiris into 14
and Ahriman, 18; aids Ri!', JoG, 456;
and Anat, Astarte, 29:1, 330, 417, 419;
and animals sac:rifil:cd, sso; and 'Anty-
wey, 61 ; and Assyrillll invader, 388; and
Ba:d, 419; and Bab3, Babawy, Baby,
Babys, Baph:lo, 4B7l beneficent roles of,
)o6; as bull in sacrifice, 408; WIITier of
Osiris, 410; CJStration of, JSS; changes
i01o bull, 40; charged with aime against
Osiris, 34; and aowns on trees, 314
Typhon,asdaemon, great,[:~s, )GoD), 383;
[Jo, J6JA), 411f; 11, S6, 7H as evil
daemon, [73, )So c), S49f, cf. S9; and
darkness, (44, J6BF), 46S; S91 194. 40:1,
468, 487; defeated by Horus, [19, ;sBo],
349i 34, SSi (40, 3678}, 4S4i s4,J7JB],
sos; in two (other) battles, [191 JSBD),
n1f; destroys weak seed of saving
power, [s9, 37S s); as dry element, [33,
364Af), 42.4i [39, )66C; 40, 367 A), 4S4i
ss, BJ, 86; not~:aused by sun, [sr, 37~A],
496; and earthquakes, [ss, J7JD]; eats
Eye of Horus (moon is eclipsed), [ss,
373 o], soBf; p; and evil things, [so,
371 D], 493; father of Hierosolymus and
Judaeus, [31, 363c], 41Bf; 94; fear of,
and metamorphosis of gods, [7:, 379),
S4H feud with Horus, [B, ;sSA-a; 19,
)f8D), 349l (so, 371 D), 69:; (S4> )7JA),
71, 1S9, 303, )Of, 37S, )BB, 493, So6, S11
and desert, ss, )BB; dismembered,
349, 407, as hippopotamus, 341, as bull,
339; in divine dynasties, ;ro; and
Falsehood in tale, 101; father of Maga,
490; feud with Osiris, :l.J, 34, SJ, su
Typhon, finds ~:affin of Oslris when bunt-
ing, (B, JS4A], 181; (18, 3S7Ff), ))B;
flight of gods before, [?a, 379) S4S"
n . ~I~; friends of, push box' with
Ostns tnto sea, [141 3s6s]; genitals of,
held by Horus, [ss, 373c], soGf; harm-
ful element in nature, [4So J69A], 468f;
sB; helped by AsO, queen of Ethiopia,
(t3, JS6B), 310; and hippopotamus, [So,
37l C, D), 490; S9t 109, 341, 4o8, 410,
sso, ss; husband of Nepbthys, [1 :~,
JS 6 Aj 3B,366s-c), 447l [S9,)7JB], JIJ;
6:, B;, 307; image of, in Hennopolis,
[so, 371 c], 490f; 47l lust of, [31, 36Jc],
417; mad frenzy of, stopJ?eli by Isis, [17,
JG D], 390; name of, 11a1d to be Greek
(see also Seth), [:~, 3SIF], :&S9> mclilot
shows wrong done to, [)s, 366a], 447;
and outermost regions, [S9, 37S A], SIB
overcome but not destroyed, [40, 367 A],
454; [ss, 373c], soG
followen of, change into animals,
41 s, S4S, S49, sso; hippopotamus figun:
of, in c:ake, 411 ; and hippopotamus-
bones, S13 ; homosexual relation of,
with Horus, 351, JBB, 417; as king, 41s;
and planet Mars, 373; and Mercury, 373;
metamorphosis of, 41 s, S4St S49, no;
and Nebed, 468; and Ombos (N~a),
303, SD1i in nome-sign at Denderah,
490
Typhon, as passionate element in soul, (49,
371 a], 487; pays penalty, [:~7, 361 o],
JBBff; plots against Osiris, [13, 3S6s],
3 10; and polygon with s6 sides, [Jo,
36JA], 41:; s9, B); as prisoner, [19,
JSBD], 3so; promises chest as gift, [13,
3s6c), )lt; pUl'Sucs pig in full moon, [B,
JS4A), 181; red or ruddy, (11, 3f9E),
37S j (;o, )61], 40Bf; (31, 363 A0 )3,
364A-B], 42.Si S9, 414; ruled domain of
Osiris ona:, [40, 367 A], 4S4l sac:red
doctrine con~:eming, [7, 313 o); and sea,
[31, 36) DIT], 411; [33t J64A], 414l S9.
Bs, 86, :1790 4n; se~:redy measures body
of Osiris, (13, 3s6s], 311; set fn:c by
lsis, (19, JS8 o), 349f; [40, 367 A], 4S4l
cf. [43, 368 D), 464; as shadow of earth,
see Earth; sinews of, rot out by
Hennes, [ss, l7JC], S07i Pi sistrum
repels, (63, 376o), S1Sf; stnites Eye ot
Horus {moon wanes), [ss, 37JD-E],
soRf; as Smu, [61, 37GB], su; s9; as
solar world, [41, 367c-D], 4ssf; son of
 GENERAL INDEX
Summer, and Aphrodite, {69, 378E], B9f;
76; summer solstice, h~ 371c]
Sun, birthday of s1aff of, [p., 37111], 499i
6s; boundaries of, [48, 3700]; course of,
and Horus, [61, 37S F), 510f; and eclipse
of moon, (44, J68o], 46s; and Eye of
Horus, [S1, 37111], 498; [ss, 37JE], soB;
6o, 371, p.o; Heracles goes round with,
(41, 367o), 4S7f; hinders growth, (41,
J67D], 456; image of, in rain-drops, (74.
381 A]; incal5C, resin, cyphi offered to,
(51, 371c], soo; kindled from sea, (41,
367E), 458; and moon, in line, [S1,
J71B], 498f; 66; sun and moon, as Eyes
of Horus, (51, J7U], 49Rf; moves in
boat, [34, 364c], 4:1.6f; 377; not c;;~use of
fiery ' heat, [p, 371A], 496; and Osiris,
see Osiris; passing through sc:orpion,
[tJ, 3s6o]; passage of, [S~ 371c); pro-
diKeS resin and myrrh, [So, )8411], S7li
sacrifice to, by Horus, [S1, J71C], soo;
6s, 510; and Typhon, su Typhon;
temple of, [51, 37111-C], 499; 63
and Apis, 46:tf; and ApoUo, 49S; as
child, young IIUUl, bearded man, no; as
Eros, SIJi and RI!', 371, po; as Sha-
mash, 481; viewed as planet, 48:l
Sun-god, so3 ; arises from locus-Bower, [ 11,
3H11), 190; tos; eyes of, and boats,
417t 498
Sunrise, symbolized, [tt, JH 11], 190; lOS
Superstition, absent from religious rites,
(8, )f) E); and animal c:ults, (7~ )BOA),
547;no less evil than atheism, [n, 3SS o),
191; [67, 37RA], Hli r;{. [71, 379E], lO,
1sf
Surplus matter, impurity of, [4, 351 of], 171
Swallow, lsis becomes, in Byblos, {t6,
3S7C], J1Rf; and Adonis, 3:1.9; and
Ast:u1e, 54, 319; as !HJ of Isis, 319; and
lsis, Nepbthys, Neich, Selket, 3:1.9; and
Sokar, 319; ttanSformation into, J1R
Sweet Bag, in cyphi, (So, 383E), s69
'Sweet is truth', (68, 37811), Sl4
Swine, prohibition of, as offerings, 17:1.
' Sword', name of Persian king, [u, JSS c),
19Qj 83
Sybil, 458
Sycamore, guarding the dead, 3:1.3, 314
Syenc, 419; people of, and phagrus fish, [7,
JBC), :1.78
Symbolic: meaning, importance of, [u,
JSSIIfl, 189; rot; symbolism and
hieroglyphs, [to, 3S4E], 187; ros;
symbolism, Egyptian, imi~ated by
Pythagoras, [to, 3f4E], 287
Syme, R., 397
Synocllus, 8o
Syncretism, t, ~:as, 42, 154, 2s9, 3t9, 31~
430, 440 SJl
Synesius, D proviJ., t46, 347
Syracuse, 47t, 54:1.
Syria, 3f, 4,, 346, 381; Anubis in, 318;
Syrians, and gods, 19, 316, d. S4S
Tacitus, and Plutarclt, 397; .AM., 38t,
541; Hist., 39~ 393, 395, 396, 397, 399
418, S41
Tackholm, Vivi,:a8o; V. and G. T:icltholm,
321
'Tale of the Two Brothers', 30~ 31t, J1S,
341f, 463
Talmis (Kalabsha), 4:1.6, SlO
Tam:~risk, and erie<l-ttee, 313, 368
Tamm111, and Oictys, :1.81
TammU1-Adonis, and Osiris, po
Tanngr.a, Sarapis and Isis at, 431
Tanis, 311, 3361 337; and Sech, 334
Tanitic mouth, [13, ;sGc), 311; 47
Tannery, P., 377
Tantalus, 3S7
Tanu~amuo, 3o6
Taphosiris, tombofOsiris', (u, 3s9c], 370
Taposiris Magna (T:~phosiris), 41, 47, 370
T:~posiris Parva, 41, 370
Tarentum, 103
Tarn, Sir Wm., xi, :1.99 38;, 53:1.
Tartarus, ;Bs; and Typhon, [S7t 37411-C],
St3; SOS!
Tat, St9
T:~tc, J., tal, s t6
Tatian, 403
T:~wert (Thoueris), 347
Taxi!:~ (Punjab), 354
Taylor, A- E., 14, 1H, 384, 485, soz.
Tebi, soB
Tefenet, 191; and sistrurn, p7; violated
by her son Geb, .2.91
Tekhoactis, father of Boclthoris, and
frugal life, (8, 3S4B], .:r.81
TcleutHEnd), and Nephthys, [t1, 3U F),
)05; (38, 36611), 447i [Silo 37SB], flH
61, ;os; meaning death, {6), J76B), 518;
and Kheresket, 61, fiS
GENERAL INDEX
Tell el-Fara' in ( Bute), 337
Tell ci-Faramll (Pelusium) , 334f
Tempt& doors, ndomed with lions' jaws,
(38, J66A), 44Si temple ritual, daily, 33
Temples, lny-out of, (:~oo, 3S9A], 3S7lf; and
schools, 31 s
Tense u53ge, ~ 331
Tentyra, tGf, S49
Terrace, EdW:Ird L. B., xvii
Tertullian, AJv. Marc., 529; Coron., 170
Tethys, as lsis, [34, 364 o], 4:1.9; S7
Tetralrtys (36), and the Cosmos, (75,
381 Ff), f61
Thales, debt of, to Egypt, [34, 364c-o],
417f; 414; in Egypt, [to, JS4E], .:r.Ssf;
7S; on water as first principle, [34,
;64 c-D], 42.7f; 439; on daemons, 384
Theagenes, of Rhegium, and allegory,
too, 419
Thebaid, people of, refuse to aid burial of
animals, [:~ot, 3S9 D), 373f
Thebans, .2.7:1.
Thcbes (Egypt), :as;, JS~ 41~ 457, 493
SI~ 549; and birth ofOsiris ft.:r., JSSI!],
198, 300; s!atues of judges in, [to,
3SS A), :1.89; stelil in, (8, )54 A), 1Blj
temple of Zeus in, [1~ 3SSE), :1.98;
tomb of Osiris in, 39
Thebc:s (Greece), J86, 391; and pillar of
Oionysus, 3:1.9
Themis, Soteita, 390
1heoaicus,1Jyll. (1~), 310; Sclrol. (.:r.), 467
Theodoretus, So; Graec. ajf. cur., IS4, 461
Thcodorus, {68, 378A-B), f)); 75; on
'World is my c:oumry', SJ3
Theognis, 3831 4t7
Theology, Egyptian, and Platonic philo-
sophy, (48 1 371 A], 486; of numbers, 413
Theophilus, AJ Autofyc., 339
Theophorous names, toR
11leopompus, on Magian escluuology, [47,
3708], 48o; 481; on seasons and gods,
[6?, )78E), S39f; 4:1.Jj 76, 99, 471;
Hel/enica and Plrilippica of, 48o
Thermuthis, corn-goddess, and Isis, 446,
so;
Thesmophoria, at Athens, [69, J78D-E),
')7f; ..s. 111, 309
Thespiae, S43
Thcssalians, and storks, [74, 38oF), SH; 48
Thessalooie:~, stel11 from, 26s
Thessaly, Egyptian cults in, 41
Thetis, 318
Theuth, for Thoth, :1.93 510
1bierfclder, H., JoB
Thinis, holds real Osiris, [z.o, 3S9A
(emended)], ;6.:r.
Thinite nome, 47, 369; and head of Osiris,
J4:1.j and thigh of Osiris, 341
Third nature, 48G
This, and tomb of Osiris, 362
Thomas, Oylan, no
Thompson, D'Arcy W., 476, 543, sss,
ssB, SS9
Thomson, George, s 1s, S39
Thoth (Hermes), 159, 193, 376, n6;
Festival of, [68, 37811), 533f; G4, 66;
month of, [7, )S) o], :1.79; Thoth 19th:
(68, 378 11], n;f; 64, 49B
and Anubis, sS; and Baba, 488, 489;
birth of, from Seth's he:ad, 301, 458;
as cynocephalic ape, :1.90, 488; in divine
dynasties, 310; equated with Hermes,
S17; as Great Ibis, H9i helps Horus, 33,
375; and Hennes, ;o, 84; and I'al,J, 458;
and ibis, SS9; as judge, sos; and ka,
s67; and languages, 163; and Ma'at,
S34i inventor of medicine, SS9i as moon
god, .:r.8t f, 4S B, 464; in name ofManetho,
79f, 534; presents Eye ofHorus, sos; as
Psychopompos, 517; and Re', conftict
of, :1.95; scribe of sacrui books, 511; and
writing, 16), 194. 458, s S9; and writings
in temples, 84
Thoueris, crocodile goddess, Typhon's
concubine: joins Horus, [t9, ;sBc], 347f;
ss, 107, 413; and Athena, 348; benefi-
cent diety, 348; 'mother of Osiris', 348
Thrace, 34G, 434; Egyptian c:ults in, 41
TI!r:~Cmer, E., 431
11tn:e, elements of divine nantre, (s6,
374 E], 509; number three, c;;l(led Justice,
[7S, )RI F); three offerings, [S~ 37:1.11),
soo;per{ectoddnumber, (s6, 374A], S09i
three times, for plurality, [36, ;Gs B-C],
439; three-headed figure, p8
Throne, and Isis, .2.59
Thucydides, 171, 473, 479
T!tus, sG6
Thyia, 430
Thyiades, [Js, ;64o-a], 43of; 17, 9S; [Js,
;Gs A], 435; 154, 431
Thymoetc:s, 401
Thyrsus-rods, (H, )G4Ef), 431f; 89f
 GENERAL INDEX
Sirius, brings water, [38, JGS Ff], 444; and
earth, (61, 37f F (restored)), f~j and Jsis,
(38 )6fFf], 444; ~ee abo Sothis; made
guardi:~~~ by Horom:u.es, {~7, J?OA), 477;
and Anubis, 318; heliacal rising of, 37:1
Sistrum, {63, 376clf], S:lSff; St, :~.67; Clt
engraved on, (63, 376o), P7i lsis and
Nephthys on, [6), :J76D}, f:l8j repels
Typhon, (63, 376o], f:lSff; top of, :~~~d
moon, [GJ, J76D], S:l?i AfriCill origin
of, S:l?i with Bastct, s:l6; and Carpo
crates, s:l6; with Cleopatr.l, s:~6; pre-
sented to Isis, p6
Situb, in Isbc scenes, 437
Siw, Hindu god, 9S
Slw;ili, s;dt from, 171
Six, J., 400
Six gods, created by Horomazes, [47,
369Ff}1 ~76; :111d :l4 others, (47, J69FfJ,
476; six rival gods, created by Arei-
manius, with :l4 others, [47, J~Ff], 476
Sixteen, number, qualities of, {So, 383 E-F),
f70
Skeleton, image of, (17, JS?F], J}Sf
Skemp, J. B., 48S
Sleep, induced by c:yphi and c:xhalation
from food, (Bo, 384A], S70f
Smith, J. A., S4
Smith, Sidney, JBI
Smith, W. Robenson, S4S
Smith, W. S., 176
Smither, Paul, 303, SS3
Smu, name ofTyphon, [61, 3761], su
Smyly, J. G., 193
Smyth, W. R., xvii
Snakes, game of, 193
SneU, B., 436
Soe/1 Bllaague, :lf6, 330
Socnopaios, temple of, 37~
Socnopiliou Nl!sos, 64, 40f
Socrates, [S7, 374c], SI:Ji Sl6, SJ8
Socrates, of Argos ( ?), 84; Concerning t/,e
Holy Onu, (3s, 364F], 434
Sbcydes, 394
Sokar, 63, 197, JJ8, 437, 4s6; festival of,
448; Lord of the Eanh, 446; and Ptah
and Osiris, :l97i and swallows, 319
Sobr-Osiris, 313
Solinus, on Apis, :l7J
Solon, in Egypt, [to, Jf4E], :~.Bsf; ?Si
taught by Sonkhis the Saite, [to, Jftfl!],
:~8sf;"
Soma, 47S
Somaliland, s66, sGB
Song and poetry, used by Osiris, [13,
)f6B), 309f
Song of Songs, ss
Songs of Isis anJ Nep!.t!.ys, J8f, 63, ~.
)161 JJI, )340 344, 408, 434, 436, ~89,
496, so:~o s:~s, s64
Sonkhis, the S:aiJe, teacher of Solon, [10,
JS4 E), :~.BGf; ?So 110
Sophia, 48; and lsis, 49, JS4, s~
Sophocles, leAn., SO?i OT, )11; Trac!..,
38S
Sophocles, E. A., s~
Sophron, ~67
Soroapis, 403
Sosibius, and c:olossus in Sinope, [:1.8,
JGI F), 397
SOsis, for Cronus, 317
Soteira (Saviour), of Isis, 317; oflsis and
other goddesses, 390
Soteles, took c:olossus from Sinope, [:~.8,
361 F), 397i 39S
Sothk: year, 19~ 1 311, 449
Sothis (Sirius), and earth, [6t, J?S F (partly
restored)], s~; Egn.nameforsoul oflsis,
[:n, JS9C], 371f; 1S?f; means pregnancy,
[61, 376A], pr; as soul of lsis, supra,
cf. [%1, JS9Bi )81 )6fFfj 61,)76A), f:llj
J~, ~:lo 43, ~8, 371, 377; in bark, 377;
brings water, )OJ1 Sf6; daughter of
Osiris, 444; heliacal rising of, 194. 371,
444; and Nile-rising, sso
Sottas, H ., 166, 334
Soul, and body, [5, JSJA], 17~; [14, l7}B;
78, )hF], 71, 74;soul as pl:ace of Forms,
~~~
Sou), rebirth of, in animals, [71, 379&],
f46f
Sources, Egyptian, 1, totf; Creek, 75-100
Sourdille, C., 97
Soury, Guy, :l4, :tS, 18, 383, 38~, 387, 393,
407,48~
South, as left, (3:~, 363 E), 411; southern
region, written with a rush, (36, 36~ B),
438f; roB
Sowing, month of, (69, J78E), SJ9j 6s,
Jl:lj and ritual burial, [70, )78Ff], S~
Spamns, 171 . Steward, in hotel, [4S1 J~c]
Spenta Anniliti, 'holy resignation', ~76
Speusippus, 384
Sphac:teria, 171
GENERAL INDEX
Sphinxes, plnced before ~brines, [9, 3 S4 c],
:1.83; sphinx of Gizeh, 347; sphinxes,
hawk.headed, 183; in Italy, 36o
Spices, in aesa:nt4 h<lped image, [39, 366 F],
~s1f
Spiegel, J., 184, 3~9. )So, ~96
Spiegelberg, Wilhelm, xi, 101, IO?, lOB,
:lSJ, 198, )04, J%7, 3)4, 343t JS3. 3S4.
364, 39~, 41t, ~w, ~so, SJ4, 5~8; on
n.
bisexual clilim of Isis, :1.84, 3 ~64; on
burial of Apis, ~3' 4r~; on death of
Isis-l:fesat c:ow, 450; on Greek forms
of Egn. n:unes, uo; on Manetho, 79f;
on Memphis, 365; on Psammetichus,
17S; on rush in hieroglyphs, ~38f
'Spit of Typhon', of salt, (31, J6JE],
~11f
Spoerri, W., 4~ 1 497, 51~, HS, S68; on
Diodorus Sic., Brf, 38o, 439, 540; on
Poseidonius, roo
Spring, beginning of, ;md Osirian festival,
(43, J68c], ~63f; spring equinox, [6s,
J77C), S}Oj 6s; fertility of, (33, J64B)j
and Persephone, [6?, 378E}, S39f; 76
Sprinkler, :l66, 437
Squarciapino, 44
Squire, S:unuel, t), 39, 111, 117, J~, 336,
366, )68, ~03, ~:1.1, 444, 46:t, ~76, soo,
f!Si edition of D/0 by, ::I
Sraosha, ~81
Stadelmann, R., 319, 3:16
Stadler, 313
Scahlin, Otto, J:l9
Standards, military, 2.89
Standford, W. B., 454
Stars, crea1ed by Horomazes, [47, J70A],
~77; powers flow from, [Bo, 384a]; as
souls of gods, [11, 3S9C], 371f
Statius, Silv., :~.s6; T/,e6., 497, ss 1
Staufrer, E., s 8
Stcindorff, G., ~
Sttlla Ma,U, and Isis, 491
Stcphanus Byzantius, :l7J, 176, 3~, 362,
370, J8o, 3?6. 411, sss
SICphanus, H., 1, 111, 117
Stcuding, H., S17
SteUer, R. 0., on ina:nse, s66, sG?; on
myrrh, s68
Stiehl, Ruth, 395
Stobaeus, IJO, 1p, :lS7i Ant/,o/ogium, sr9;
&1., 384; Flor., 384
41
Stock, Hanns, xvii; on c:osmic and anthro-
pomorphic: gods, 494i on nfr, 461
S1oics, ~f, 2.1, %9, 31, 48, p, 71, a1, 87,
ss, 99, roo, :~.ss, :l~, 519, s~ S1B, n,
SJ1i on one rultng providence, [ s
4
J69A], 469; ~n sun ~d sea, [41, J67a):
~ss; theoloBJCI! doctnnes of, [40, J67c),
4SSi on animal cults, 93; and Cosmo-
polis, 480, S):t; and c:re:ttive Word, sos,
f14i on daemons, 384, JBs; on gods as
c:osmic: forces, 4S S; influente on Plur-
arch, ss; and monotheism, n 3 ; :~~~done
government of men, ~79; and physical
allegocy, ~~. S19
S!olisteria, r~. JS9A], JsBfr; 6:t, 2.67
Stolists, (39, 366F], ~s:~; yo, :l66f
S1orks, and Thessalians, [74, 3BoF], HS
Srorms, and power of Typhon, [n, 373 o),
50?
Strabo, 83, 174, 3~' 343, JS?, 364, 356,
J67, )70, 377. ~~. ~:lS, 441, ~,... ~Sf.
461, 468, ~91, SO?, S~7, f48, SSH on
Abydos, 98, 363
Strachan, L. R. M., :t96
Striclcer, B. H., xvii, 38, :lfSo 3% 307, JIJ,
409, 413, 428, ~8; on Egyptian origin
of Hermeti&a, f19i on ouroboros, 466;
on Paamyles, 198; on philosophical
c:ontepts in Egypt, 42.4; on Seth-Typhon
and ass, ~to, ~18f
Strife, and number r:wo, [?s, ;Br F]
Strijd, J. H. W. , 114, 117, 174, 431, 477
Strong, H. A., 319, 330
Strzygowski, J., 346
Die StunJcnwac/,en in Jen On,Umy~terWJ,
eel. H. Junker, 3Bf, Jlf, 331, 367, 371,
4S:t, 496, 499, p6, ~64
SIUtm, J., %90
Style, r~-16
Styx, as earth's sh<ldow, ~6s
Suchos, see Sebek
Suda, the, %68, 403, -417, 419, 461, SO?,
S4S, s6:~, sGB, S69
Sudan, 447, H9
Sueronius, PitJJ., S4:l
Suh~ star, 378
Sulla, S41
Sumerian burials, and human s:taifices,
H:l
Sumerian gods, Jf4
Sumero-Babylonian hymn, to Tanunuz,
%81
GPr
 GENERAL INDEX
Saunc:ron, Serge, 4~, 61, 81, JoG, 338, 356,
su; on Amun as greeting, 1Bs; on
epagomenal days, )O}; on Khercsket,
SI~
Sax!, Fritz, 478
Sbordonc, F., 188
Scaliger, J. J., 11, 111, 194
Sc:Jmuzzi, E., 438, p8
Scarab-beetle, [74. J81 A], snf; 10i all
mnles, (10, JH A, 74, )81A], n6; image
of divine power, (74, :J80F], SHf; seed
emitted into dung-bnlls, [74, 381 A],
sHf; as soldiers' stamped badge, [1o,
:JHA), 1B9
ScepU"e, in writing of Osiris, [10, JS4Ff1,
1BB; (Sit 37111], 49Ji JoG, 109
Schachermeyr, F., sGo
Sdmchter, A., xvii
Sdlileder, H. H., 74
Schafer, H., 36, 114, 1Go, 166, 301, 311,
314. 341, 363; on girdle oflsis, SJ4o SJ S; Sealers, ofsacrificinl oxen, [}I, J63 B), 4' siT;
on Ish as rain-goddess, 303; on Mys-
teries, 390f
Scharff, A., 194, ))3, 409, 417; on Osiris as Seasonal changes, and gods, [6s, 3no],
vegetation deity, JS; on pre-Osirian
symbolism of vegetation, 37
Schellcns, 16o
Schiaparelli, E., 41 s, 416, B4
Schiff, 91
Schlapfer, Hans, 7S, 4Go, 483
Schmertosch, R., 15
Schnabel, P., 48o
Schneider, IS4t 134, SH
Schneidcwin, F. W., x
Schools, and temples, 3 1S
Schopenhauer, ArtllUr, 471
Schott, Siegfried, 181, 184, 301, 304, 316,
34~, 349, Jsf, 388, 416, 417, 446; on
c:pagomennl days, 303, JoG, 307; on
festivnl dates, 66, 499, S34
Schrader, H., S44
Schroeter, J., s61
Schub:u1, W., 41, 79, J68, 393, 394,401
Schubcrt, J., 105, 180, 1')0, 337
Schulman, A. R., xvii, 341i
Schultz, W., 408
Schuman, V erne B., 68, 161, 170
Schuster, M., s, 114, 194.483
SchWllttz, Ed., 76, ll7, }93r 418,411, 443r Self-begetting, f11, H6
519, S39
Schweitzer, Ursula, 183, 347, 44S
Schwenk, C., 333
Sd1wyzer, E., 1S8
Sciron, 519, B7
Scorpion, sun passes through, [13, JS6D)
Scott, Waiter, 1H, 371, 374,439, 464,487,
496, SOJ, 513, 510, 541, S44, S4B, S49
Scott-Montcrieff, P. D., 49, 96, JIB
Sc:ranton, R., 3Go
Scriptores Historiae Augustae, 317
Scydrothemis 397
Scyt!Jians, 381
Sea, abominated by priests, [p., J6:JE];
Egypt formerly as, (40, 367 A], 4S4i and
fire, [7, 3BE), 179; ss, p8; kindles sun,
[41, 3671!], 45B; procession to, on
Athyr 19, [39, J66F], 63; and Typhon,
(31, J63Pff], 411; [33. J64A], 414i S9.
8~, B6, 179; as tear of Cronus, [31,
364A], 413; ss; as third region, bs.
)81 E], sGo; and lsis, see Navigium
lsitlis
77.167
Search, for Osiris, [p, 371c], 499
s19f; [6?, 3781!], J39f
Scbek, crocodile god, 411, 490, H7i and
Harpocrates, 44; fetches hands ofHorus,
340, 341, JH; rome of, H7
Sebek-Rc', in Ombos, 491
Sebennytic nome, 411
Sebennytos, 4ft 78, 161, 369, 398
Secrecy, in Mysteries, relaxed, 391
Seed, of woman, [ss, 374F}, ~1,.
Seele, Kcitl1, xvii
SehCI, island, 378, s~o
Scirios (sun), and Osiris, [s:::, 37:1. o), soo;
S7, 371
Sekhat-Hor, cow-goddess, 450
Sclene (Moon), 181; mother of world, [43,
J6Bc), 463f; moves around in boat, b4,
364c], 411if; In chariot, 417; and Cleo-
patra VII, 430; and Hccate, 467; as
Hermaphrodite, 463; Homeric Hymn
to, 417; and Isis, 465
Seleuceans, 393
Seleuceia, Syria, 395
Seleucus, of Alexandria, 5P
Seleucus I, 431
Selinus, S44
Selket, as swnllow, 319
Semele, 391; and Zagreus, 71,434
GENERAL INDEX
SemiramiJ, great derds of, [14, JGob],
38of
Semitic inftuence, on Egyptian religion,
494, H4
Semler, J. S., 117, 1Go, 161, t64, r6G, 134,
1n
Seneca, Apocol., 451; Nat. Q!!aest., 174,
367
Senephthys (lsis and Nepluhys?), 317
Sepa, god, centipede, and Osiris, HJi and
lea, 567
Septuagint, s8
Serapeum, in Alexandria, 361, 396, 401; in
Carthage, 398; in Memphis, 364, J6s,
394. J96, 398, 399. 400 401
Serapls, 44, 361; in RollUin Britain, 44;
and Helius, 44, 401; in Hungary, 44;
and Jupiter, 44; and Neptune, 44; in
Ostia, 44
Serbonlan Lake, and Typhon, 173, 371,
411
Serpent, and falcon, [so, 371 c), 49of; and
Pluto and Sarapis, (1B, JG1A), 398f;
near Statue of Athena, [7S, )BI E), sGo;
sacred to Athena, (71, 3790), S43f;
slain by Horus, [19, Jf8C), 348f; Sf,
cf. 109; serpent-deity, of Thcbes, (11,
359o], 7t; serpent as symbol ofeternity,
:::n,ss6
Servius, atl Aen., 1J8, 309, 367, 44S
Sesebi, 359
Seshat, goddess of writing, 163; and Isis,
337
Sesonkhosis (Sesostris), 381
Sesoosis (Sesostris), 381
Sesostris, great deeds of, [14, 3GoB], 381f;
m Sickinger, A., 114
Scsostris I, 461
Sesostris Ill, 381
Seth, 376, )BB, 411; name of, 'oppressive
and compulsive', {41, 3670], 457; [61,
371iA-B), sn; 59, 109, ::tS7t 4S7i 'over-
powering and violent', [49, )71&], 4B7;
as dog, sss; and lea, s67; and Typhoeus-
Typhon, 389; and Typhon, equation of,
::tS9
Seth-anirnnl, 59, JOJ, 409, J46, S49
Sethe, Kurt, xi, to6, 11o, 159, :::61, :::74,
18J, 196, 301, Jll, 311, 3:::4, 341, JSJ,
JSS, 369, 370, 374, JS:r., 391, 399, 411,
417, 41ft 437, 440, 487, 490, 499t 500,
so8, s11, no, s46; on aduhery of
Osiris, 316; on Byblos episode, f4t 319,
311, )2.1; on Memphite Sinopion, 396;
views Osiris as human king deified, 34,
495; on West and East, 411
Sethians, as 'Red Ones', 408
Sethos I, 1B1, 341, 345, 346, 353, 3 59, 371,
371, 37f, 446, S34
Semroe, N.E. Delta, 303
Serne, Demotic text, 400
Seven-dlly week, and Babylon, 48:1
Sextus Empiricus, Atlv. mar!.., 37S; P.)'Tt!..
!.ypat., 18o, H1
Sexunl abstinence, 161
Seyffert, 0., xi, S4J S44
Seyrig, H., 311, 31~
S!t~ru, 336
Shadow, not cast in fin:~! bliss, [47, J70b],
481
Sham J Nassim, 179
Shamas!t, sun , 316, 481
Shaven heads, of initiates, f 1
Shaving, oflsiac devotees, [3, 3flC], 16Bf;
shaving habits, 168
Sheep, nlleged to he venerated, [4, JS1C],
170; a~titude to, [s, JS1F]; honoured as
useful, [74, J8oE), H4i not eaten at
Lycopotis, [71, 38os], 547f; 47, 70
Shells, in Egypt, [4o, 367 A], 4S4
Shentayet, 'the widow', as Isis, 450
Sheshonk, 1B7
ShipwreclceJ Sailor, 178
Shore, A. F., 61
Shrine-aetiology, 311
Shu,god,l91,191,J171 401,4J9,4f7t464,
497, PSi and Aten, 191; lifts Nut, 191f
Sicily, and West, 539
Sieveking, W., 1, J, 7, li:t, 111, 117 et
passim; edition by, 4
Silence, symbol of, (68, 378c), SJ6; and
married women, {75, }81 E), f6o
Silius Italicus, 335
Similes, If
Simonides, of Ceos, [13, 3S9P], 378; 75
Simplicius, Phys., 485
Simulacra, use of, in Edfu, 493
Sin (Moon), 481
Sinclair, T. A., 384
Sinope, colossus of Pluto in, {1B, 361 F),
39Sf; 76, 7B, 397, 398; Sinopeans, 393
Sinopion, Memphite, 396
Sinopiru, of S~rapis, 396
 GENERAL INDEX GENERAL INDEX
Rces, B. R. (cont.) Ritutl Je l'tml>aumtmtnt, JJS Sabbath, and Right of Typhon, 41B Sambursky, S., 514
on ten-day week, 418; on Ser.~pcum in Robblns, F. E., 413 Sabratha, temple of lsis in, )6o, 361 Same, the, Plato on, (48, )?DE], 48sf
Alc:undria, )96 Roberts, C. H., 8~ 91, :ss, 298, 348, SOJ; Sachs, C., SZ7 Sammu-ramat, and Semiramis, ]SI
Reesor, Margaret E., f14 on ~ and Isis, ss Sacred lore, more: important than ritual, Samuel, Alan E., 67, 449
Rehm, A., 377 Roberts, W. Rhys, HI (~ JS I E), Zf6 Sanchuniathon, 3:1:6
Reinach, S., P9 Robichon, C., 300, fiB Sacred rites, unmentioned, [Js, 364E], 97 Sandbach, F. H., s, 46f, 114; on metrical
Reincarnation, {7~ 379S), S4sf; 7~ 434 Robing-rooms, subterranean,. [:r.o, 3S9-'], Sacred Writings [6, )f) s], Bt; 6j), B4; cl:~usulae, 14
Reiskc, J. J., J, u 1, 114, 117, 26t, .JOS, 3S9fl" read out when cyphi is made, [so, 383 E), Sander-Hansen, C. E., 344, ]6j)
33o, 316, 386, 390, = s6:J Robinson, H. Wheeler, 476 s6j)f Sandman-Holmberg, Maj, 263, 324
Reisncr, G. A., ss: Robinson, R., 472 Sacrifice, to Anubis, [61, 37S E), SIB; fit, not Sandys, Sir John, 436
Reitzenstein, R., xi, :9, 64, 74, 77, 96, 176, Rod a, Island, 461 dear to gods, (31, J6JB], 414f; :1:79, JS7, Saa, 326f
:6o, 26~ 41S, ""~ 468, 479. 498, SIJj Roedcr, G., ld, s, 36, 39, 11 ~ 2.J6, :67, S48; as incarnation ofimpious men, [31, Saosis, queen of Byblos, [ 1s, 3 S7 B], 316
on Philo, 49; on Phrygian writings, 84 336, J6o, 361, 371, 393, 394, J9S, 396, J6JB], 414f; of pig, (B, 3S4-'], 6s ; of red Sarapeion, z6z
Remenet, name of lsiac cow, 4SO 46s, 49S, 496, 497, fOJ, Hl SS7, fS9 i catde, {Jr, :J6JA-a], 413f; secret, in Sarapis, 47, 64; born of Charop6, [z9,
Renan, E., 331 on iconography of Osiris, JS temple: of Apollo, [JS, 365 -'h to sun by J6lB), 402; and Ccrberus, [zB, 36:u],
Resin, in cyphi, {8o, J8J E), s69; offered to Rogers, R. W., 2.90, 381 Horus, [s~ J72c], 6s; S:Jcrilices, [11, 398f; S9o 46B, alleged to be 'coffin of
sun at sunrise, [S:, 37:r.C; 79, .JB.J B], Rohdc, E., ldv, 416,434, 4JS, SJB nsc; :r.o, H9-'), 3S7; (6B, J77B; 7~ Apis', [29, 161c], ofO); common to all,
s6sfT; [8o, 38411-C]; product of sun, (So, Romance languages, and days of week, 482. )Boa], s4Bf; 62; sacrifices, appease [:z8, )62B], 401; 97; denotes cona:rted
384 a], S71; purifies air and revives spirit, Romans, separate feuding Egyptians, [7~ SethTyphon, []o, .J6U], 407f; with movem~t of universe, [:1:9, )6zc};
[79, JBJ 1!1-C], s66f; from Byblos, 3:1.0 :J8oB-C], S4Bf; and animal cults, S49 curses on head of victim, [31, 363 s], denotes Joy, (29, )61c), 4os; and Epa-_
Rest, in fin;d state, [47, J?OC], 48:z Rome, 38o; and lsis, )18, Sl7i and Osiris, 416; human, (7], JSoo], Sflll'; 18, 78, phus, f37, 36JS-F], 443; S7, 77; name
Restraint, sexual, 26: 44, 46; Plutarch in, 19, 1o2.f 3S7 i sad appearance of, [:o, )S9-'l, 3S7i of, Egyptian, [19, 3620), 403; (6r, 376-'],
Rttsinato, and cyphi, S71 Ronzewlle, S., ps, 32.8f (6j), 378o]; dismemberment in, 39; of fll; '-S7, 364; orders universe, [z9,
Reveren~ (68, J78D], H7 Rope, rot up in public, [19, :Js&c], 34Bf geese, fiB, sso; animal, and Sech- J62c}, 403; origin of cult, (:~:81 361 vff],
Reymond, E. J. E. (n~e Jelinkova), l'Vli, Roscher, W. H., xi, SJ9 Typhon, sso, H 1; Iranian, 47S ; and 39311'; 4of, 93, 99, )66; and Osiris, [2.B,
J6J Rose, H. J., xi, 19, 283,418,427,434,446, totemism, 414 3618), 400f; (61, ]76A), J:zl; 9S1 399t
Rhacotis, 361, 396f 467, SIJ, S14. S43. S4S Sacrorum geruli, 165 S17i and Pluro, (z7, 361 E), 391; (z8,
Rhampsinitus, and Demc:ter, 293 Rose, V., 404 Save-SoderbergJt. T ., 492.; on hippopota J6u), 399f; f6J; 76; and wind, [61,
Rhamses, JBl Rosetta Stone, 6B, 267, 34S, 364, 396, 411, mus goddess, 348 37SF), S:O
Rhea, [Jo, 363 A], 402; sos; cursed by 490 Saft el-l:fenne, 312; inscription from, 292 and Aesculapius, 399; in Alc:undria,
Helius, (n, JH o], 291f; lsis and Osiris, Ross, Sir David, 413, Sl4 Saglio, E., viii, 2681 193, SJI 41, 4), 47, 49, 401; and Asclc:pius, S9; in
united in womb of, [1~ JS6A], 307; [S4, Rostovtzeff, M., 374 Sahure', :1.76 Athens, 46; calatlaus on, 398; colossal
37JB-c], sos; loved by Hermes, {1~ Rouge, E. de, soo Sa'idic:, Jo6, loB, SJO, su heads of 399; consort of Isis 4:1:; in
J6S o], 291f; secret union of, wich Rouse, W. H. D ., 314, s6o Sairti, Egn, for 'gladness', [29, )620], Delos, 46; and Dlonysus, 400, 401; and
Cronus, [1~ .JSS o], :1.91f; for Nut, :JO, Roussel, P., xi, 6o, 26~ 2.64, 26s, 270; on 4Si 40% Hades, ofBJ, fl7, s63; and Helius,
191; Soteira, 390; chree consorts of, Mysteries, 391, 392 Sais, 7S. )1~ 32.7, ]66, 449. 4SO, 468, JZI; 401, 456; important in Gn!ek world,
SJ. :1.91 Row, E. F., J:O inscription of Athena-Jsis in, [9, JS4C], 431; and Jupiter, 399; Lord, :1:96;
Rhetorical devices, 1S Rowe, A., 396 2B3fl"; inscription on pylon in, [J~ Memphite in cult origin, 396; minor
Rhosus, Joannes, 6 Rudnitsky, G., soB J6)F), 4nf; lOS, toR; cf. 47 role of, in DIO, 4Sf; Mysteries of, 391f;
Rican!, Dom, 111,419 Rufinus, Hut. Eecl., 361, 403 Sakhmer. 176, 177, 307, Hl po/i~us and po/iouelaM, 401; relative
Richards, H., 114, 117 Ruler-cults, and rationalism, J8o Sakhmer-Jsis, 3 18 import:31lCc of, Zfl; Sin4pitu, 396;
Richardson, L J. D ., l'vi; on lo and lsis, Rumour, divine breach of, [IS, JS7A] Salclp\ra, 33, B4> 363, H9 spread of cult of, 401 ; statue in Alexan-
3 Rusch, Adolf, xi, 4. 41, 46, 6o, 2.64. 290, Sal, Egn. for 'mynh , [79, 383 o], J6B dria, 399f; in Tanagra, 431; and water,
Ricke, H., ss 297, 3:1:7, 37S, 42S, 439, SO?i on Egyp- Salem, M. S., z61 4S3i and Zeus, S9, 401
Riddell, J., 4S4 tian cults in Boeoria, 94f; on Maneros, Sallust, Cat., S41 Samo, river, 361
Ridgeway, W., 2.93 332 Sallustius, D~ Jiis tt muntlo, 424, 446, 456, Satan, 28; Sech-Typhon as, 3B9; and
Right, regions of, and north, [3~ .JGJE], Rush, in cyphi, [So, JBJB), s69; like SJI Cronus, SJ9
42.1; right side, ascribed to Olympian gener.~tive member, (]6, J6S a], 439; as Salmasius, C., 117 Saturn, Ninurta, planet, 481
gods, [26, 361 A), 387 writing of'king' and ' southern region', Saloniki, Museum, 399 Satumalia, 139
Ritual, less important chan sacred lore, (]6, ]6S B), 438; 108 Salt, alleged impurity of, [s, 3S2F], :1:72f; Satyrs, 310; and death of Osiris, [14,
[:, JSIE], 2.Jo; than trUe belief, [u , Rutgcrs, A., 44t avoided by priests, [s, )JlF), 271f; 4u; Js6o], JJf; SJ
JH c], 291; book of, 69 Rutherford, W. G., 470, 494 called 'spit ofTyphon ', [3~ 36] 1!], 4llf Sauneron, Nadia, 38, 370

 GENERAL INDEX
Poverty, mother of Eros, h7, 374ef],
513; called the material, [p, 374ef],
5t3; and lsls, S09
Prc', 376
Pre'-l;larakhty, 349, 350
Preaux, Claire, 308
Preisendaru:, K., 389, 409, 410, 501; on
Anubis nnd horizon, 464
Preisigke, F., 161, 166, 198, 314, 317, 361,
4Go, fiB
Preller, L, 811 SJS
Priapus, 507
Priests, [6, JSJCj 39. )GGF), sG, 68, 69, 81,
83, 84, B9 1 96, 101 1 373; abhor onion,
[8, JSJ a),18of;abominatesea, (31, )GJE);
llbsbin from fish, [7, 353e], 178; [p.,
J6JF), 4:u; from mutton, [4, JJ1C),
170f; [s, :Jsu); from pulse, [s, JP.F);
pork, salt, [s, JpF), 171f; 411, SJij
from wool, [4, Js1e), 17of; and gilded
cow of mounting, ()9, )6Ga], 4sof; hair
of, cut off, [4, JS1C], 2.68f; at Heliopolis,
and wine, [6, 353 A-B], 174f; kings
chosen from, [9, 354B], 2.81; cf. {6,
JB s], 171; linen clothes of, [4, Jf1C],
170; on Osiris as ruler of dead, (78,
382. E), 563f; praise Tekhnactis, [8,
354a], 181; sacrifice to Osiris on island
near Philae, [2.0, 3S9B], 367; say Hysiris
for Osiris, [34, 364D], 419; as teachers
of Greek philosophers, [to, jf4D-E],
1BsiT; 75, 101; threaten animals in
drought, [7), 38oc-o), ssof; and water
used by ibis, [?s. )Bt e-o), sss; will
not greet piloiS, [p, 363 F); wiser of,
on Osiris as moisture, bJ, 364A], 414
initiation of, 391; and offerings, 41 s;
recite to unguent-makers, 570; and
Bigeh, 367; quarrel of, H9: as teachers,
315; Theban, 4S3
Pritchard, J. B., xi, 171
Processions, (GB, 378D], led by water-
pitcher, [}6, 365 s), 437f; noctUrnal, to
the sea, [39, J6Ga), 63; D ionysiac, 199
Prod us, ad Plato, Resp., 539; In Tim., 281,
43S
Procne, )19
Procopius, De aeclif., 370; De k/1. Pers.,
SP
Prodicus, and Euhemerism, 380
Proetus, of Tiryns, 386
Promethcus, discoverer of wisdom, [3,
JPA], 2.63; father of lsis, [}, JSU],
163f; [37, )6fF), 443; 77: myth of, 540
Propertius, 16t, 3t7, 339
Prostitution, and Isis, 2.61
Protesilaus, 193
'Protest:llions of Innocence', s6s
Providence, one ruling, [45, 369A), 469;
universal, {6?, 371F), S33i n
PsOIIllmetichus, SS3i kings began to drink
wine in time of, [6, JSJB), 175f
Pseudo-Callisthenes, 370
Pseudo-Cl~ Recogni:., 371
Psychostasia, 4o6, 565; and Re', 7'-
Ptah, 190, 376; and Apis, 363, 544; nnd
Jjed-pillar, 37: and Sokar, 197
P~-I.Jotep, SJ6
Ptah-Sokar-Osiris, 325
P~tanen, 35
Ptolemais, :z61
Ptolemy, geographer, 454
Ptolemy I Sotcr, 88, 90, 175, 400, 403, 431;
begins cult of Sarapis, {1.8, j6t FIT],
393fT; 40, 93; dream of, [18, 361 F], 39H
motives of, 394; policy of, 79
Ptolemy 11 Philadelphus, 548; marriage
of, 308; policy of, 79, 393, 394, 397
Ptolemy III Euergetes I, 199, 393, 39So
397, 400; Serapeum of, 396
Ptolemy IV Philopator, 446; decree of,
1Go, 334; as Osiris, 441
Ptolemy VI Philometor, 419
Ptolemy VIII Euergetes 11, 296
Ptolemy XIII, 430, 549
Puech, H.-Ch., 504
Puer aeurnus, 400
Pulse, offerings of, (68, J7BC], 65; rejected
mostly by priests, (5, 351F), 171.f;
lentils offered to Hnrpocr.ttes, [6s,
377B), SJijcf. (68, J78B,c), SJf, SJ6
Punt, scents of, and incense, 567
Pure, and impure, [4, Jf1D)
'Purg:uorium', 3Go, 361
Purge, cyphi as, [So, 38411), 571; use of,
and ibis, [75, 3B1 c), HB
Purification, beforehand, [4, 3511!); and
health, (?9, JS] A-B), JGG; windess
periods of, [6, 353 11), 17S
Pyanepsion, month of, [69, J7BE), SJS,
SJ9j6f
PytOIIllid TexiS, 34, S4o 107, 159, 190, 191,
196, )000 JOI, )01, )30, 304. jll, 31St
]::U, ]1)0 314, 318, JJI, 337, 338f, )4),
GENERAL INDEX
Pyramid Texts (con:.)
347, )48, ]St, JSJ, 354, 36'}, 371, J7S,
388 4 8 4l6, 4 2t, 41S, 436, 444, 447,
4SZ, 4S6, 4SB, 487, 488, 496, 497, 499,
SOl, so::, soB, Sl1, su; date of, ]]
Pyramids, 380
Pythagoras, 404. 481, 5t4, s6t; and
daemons, {1s, J6oo-a), J831f; 16; in
Egypt, [o, J54E], 1Ssf; 1s; and
Egyptian symbolism, [o, JS4E], 2B7;
most celebrated philosopher, [76, jB:tA];
to~ught by Oinouphis the Heliopolitan,
(to, 3S4E], 186f; 4Go; and wine, 275;
and wool, 171; and Zoroaster, 484
Pythagorean sayings, compared with
hieroglyphic writings, {to, 3S4E), 1B7;
104f; ' procreative triangle', 509
Pythagoreans, 13, 59, ?S, 90, 99, 161., 387,
413, 481, 482., 4B4; (3o, 363A), 411f;
(31, 364A; 41, 3672f], 4S9i on con-
nexion of gods witl1 numbers and gen-
metrical figures, [?s, 381 E- F], s61; on
good and evil powers (table ofopposites),
(48, 370 s], 484; and lyre, [So, 384 A)
aversion of, to fish, 178; on fire, 188;
on numbers (16, 17, 18), 1.88, 411f; and
metcmpsycllosis, 546
Pytllian priestess, 435
Python, )SS, 407, 4JS; struggles of, with
Apollo, [:zs, 3GoE), 3ssf: 440
Qyadrilateral, assigned to goddesses, []o,
]63A]
Qyandt, G., 319, 463
Q!!ecn's maids in Byblos, [1 s, 357 Af]; her
shriek, [16, 3S7C]
Qydl, G., ss
Qyibell, J. E., 546
Qyintilian, St9
Q!!ispel, G., so4
Q!!mr.ln, 486
Rain, symbolized by victory of Horus,
[40, 367 B), 4S4
Rainbow, compared with mytl1, [:zo, 3f8F],
JS7
R:Ungeard, Pierre, 1 3, 114
Raisins, in cyphi, [So, 383 a], sii<J
Ram, and sphinx, 183
Rambova, N., 194. 427
Ramesses II, 346, 347, 376, JBr, 444, 546;
praenomen of, t09
Ramcsses Ill, JS t, 414; Festival-Calendar
of, 66, 534
Harnesses IV, 356, 4S6; .stelae of, 279
fll
Ramesseum, ceiling, 29s; and schoo~ Jts
Ramuseum Papyri, 302f
Ramesside kings, and Seth, 3o6
Ramsay, W. M., 381
Ranke, H., viii, t07, 168, 169, 171, 178,
18o, 186, 187, 194, 346; on game of
snakes, 193
Rapp, A., 430
Raven, J. E., 4t9, 483; on Pythagorean
opposites, 484
Raven, sacred to Apollo, [71, 3790] S43f
Rawlinson, G., 333 '
Ra, p, 1.84, 307, ns, 36s, 111, 376, 409,
441, 497, 498, SO}; and Apopis, )o6,
389, 440, 489; nnd Bnba, 488, 4B9; and
the celestial, 37, 497f; eye of, s:~G; eye
of, as moon, 487, as sun, 498; eyes of,
soB; and gold, 411; J;lcryshaf as &. of,
442; and Horu~, ~2.0; and Isis, 70 s14
~judge of dead, 563; and Mnevis: f44;
tn name of O siris, 497; and lotus, 190;
and Nut, confliet of, 19f, 196; and
O siris, 49B; phallus of, 341; phoenix
of, 37; and psychostasia, 71; Seth-
Typhon aids, JoG, 4S6; and Shu, 192.
sining in disk of sun, 458; and sun:
371; and Thoth, conflict of, 195
Ri:'-Atum, soB; and lsis, JS; and Mnevis,
4lS
Re'-l;larakhty, 4s 9
Rt:'-l;larakhty Atum-Osiris, 49B
Re' -Osiris, 37S
Rc;~son (Logos), divine quality, [68,
378e]; and happiness, (68, 378e); and
Hermes, [s4, 373 aJ, sos; needs no voice,
[75, )Bta], H7i regulates universe, [ss,
J7Jc-o), S07; [67, )71F), S)}; :u
Rebirth, [71, 379E], s 4 rf; ?2.
Receptive element, lsis as, s~e Isis
Recitation of spells, with medidnes, S70
Red cattle, sacrificed, [31, )6jA-a), 413f;
red men, jeered at, [Jo, )611!), 408f; cf.
33, J64aJ; red, and Lower Egypt, 376;
'Red Ones', Sethians, 4o8; and Seth-
Typhon, stt Seth-Typhon, red
Red Sea, 454
Rees, B. R., xvii; on Athena and Thoueris
)48; on brother-sister marriage, 308 ~
 GENERAL INDEX
Phoebus, ~4~
Phoenici:a, arriv:~.l of Isis from, [so, 371 o ],
491f; so, 6f, :n1, 340; Isis in, 3u;
Phoenicians. 374
Phoenix, and Osiris, 37; in Philae, su ;
symbol of etemiry, :ass
Photius, Bi6!., p8; cod., 44:1.; Lex., 197
Phrygia, l.7
Phrygian writings, [z9, 36u] 1 401f; 84,
99, SlO
Phrygians, 48, 38:&; on Cronus and winter,
[69, 37BE}, sz9f; and Manes, [:14, )Go.a),
)b
Phylarc;hus, on two bulls from Indi:a, [z9,
)6:&8), 403i 76, 81, 99
Piankbi Stela, l.78, 369, S48
Piankoli, A., 1.81, 189, 1.94, 378, 404, 411,
417, 497, p:z., S34
Pic:ard, Ch.,294.397,)98, 3994oo,4o1, S4J
Piehl, K., 1.90, 3f6, 376
Pieper, Max., l.94, f:&7
Piem; R., xvii
Pieron, H., Jf8
Pierret, 3 fl
Pietr.~ngeli, C., 438
Pietsdlmann, R., 466
Pig, tonsidered unclean, (8, :JS3F], 1.81; 78
c;apulates when moon wanes, [B, 3f3F],
1.81; milk of, e~uses rash, [8, 3SJF], 28 t;
pursued by Typbon, [8, JS4.1.], 181;
gc:rifia:d at full moon, [B, 3f4 .~>),
z8r; 6f; offerings of, rprohibited, 17:1;
and Seth-Typhon, 410, 488, HO
Pi-J:I'apy, 461
Pilots, not greeted by priests, [p, 363 F)
Pindar, 7St J4J, f4S, on Dionysus, [}s,
:J6S .~>), 436; Nem. (1), )Bf; 01. (z), [So,
J84a), 3S7i 1.48; (7), 198; Pyrl.. (z),
:J8s
Pinder, M., zoo, :ao8, :1.26
Piraeus, and lsis, 41
Plaa:s, des, 374
Plagues, ten, HO
Planets, presiding at binh, [48, J70C), 48:1.
Plants, assigned to good and evil powers,
(46, J69E)
Planudean tradition, 7f
Plato, 11, l.:Z., ss, Go, 7S, 76, 100, 419, 471,
471, 48), f03, Sl4, srs; on Athyr, [s6,
3748), SJ:&j books of, (701 379.1.-B);
on aeation of Eros, [S7, 374cfJ, f13i
and d:lemons, [l.f, )OOD-E], )831i; 16,
2.70 sG, 48S; on intermediary role of
daemons, (16, 361 B-C], 387; on dualism
in cosmos, [48, 370F), 48sf; in Egypt,
[1o, JS4E], 1.8sf; 7S. 83; on intermediate
third nature, (.o~B, J?OFfJ, 48sf; and the
Mysteries, (77, )82.D), ~63; and Olym-
pian gods, [:a6, 361 .~>], 387; on Osiris,
[Go, 37S c), ~ 1s; on the Same and the
Other, (48, 370E], 48sf; on the spiri-
tually intelligible and the material [s 6,
373 E); Iranian influence on, 4Bs;
mathem:nic:l! toncepts of, S09; and
~s, }S7i and Zoroaster, 471.
AptJI., 384; Cl.arm., 118; Cratyl.,
[2.9, 361o], 406; (Go, 67s o}, p6; 1G:z.,
:t14, 387, f17j Epinom., 384, 48s;
Eutlrplrr., :asG; Hp. Ma., 1f9i Leg., [1.4,
)OOCj :&6, )6U), 387; (48, }?OF), 48sf;
2.1, :zB, z s:z., 2.62., 378, 384, 387; L;ysu,
JS7i Men., SIJj Plraeth, (4, )~:&o], -406,
478, fiB; PlrJr., :140, l.f9, 163, 2.79,
::t93t 3f7, 481; Plrlh.. 2.63, 279, fiO, fl7i
Pol., 1.4, :a83, 485; Prt., 163, -478; Resp.,
[u, JfSB; fG, 37JF), S09i 1-48, 3S7,
384, 387, 486, 49Sf, S09t P3i S;ymp.,
(2.6, )GIB-c), 387; [S7, }74CfJ, SIJi [77,
)82.D}, sG); 110,:141, :zG8, 273, 383, S09,
s r); Tlaeatt., 378, 487; Tim., [48, 370E},
4 ssf; (SJ, J7:&E}, f02.j (sG, 37JEj f6,
3748], su; 2.fS, 2.8], )84, 4:&6, <48s,
49ft so1, so6, Su; Pseudo-PI~to, Alcih.
470, 47l.
Platonism, 21, :aB, 31, 31, 48, s z, S?, 71, 7J,
1 4, 88, 99, 4~, 487, SO}, fU, f19, f:&8,
s64; and Egyptian theology, (48, 371 .~>),
486
Pleiades, setting of, [69, 378 E), H9
Pleonasm, 14
Plethon, G. G., 477
Pleyze, W., 409
Pliny, on Apion, 93; on Apis, 2.73; on
crocodile, H7i on Euhemerus, 38o;
HN, xiv, '1.701 271, :&7J, :174, :a8o, 314,
)So, 403, 444. 4J4, 468, 471, 471, 476,
481, SfS, fS7, fSB, JGo, f66, f68
P/oi4plruia, so
Ploutodotas, 309
Ploutos, 309
Pluralism, in tosmic order, {4S, 369a-c},
l.O
Pluraliry, expressed by three, [36, 3Gs a-c],
439
GENERAL INDEX
Plutarch, compared with Apuleius, 491i; a
Delphic priest, 16, 1,9 ; eclecticism of,
19; in Egypt, 17, 94, 98, 101, J40j
Egyptian of, 101-zo; intonsistencies of,
in D/0, zoo; and Isis-cult, ~8, -401 ;
Latin of, rozf; library of, 99i life and
c:areer of, 16f; Livu, restricted material
of, 18; Moralia, xii-xiv; editions of,
:z.f; scope of, r8, 46f; and Plato, roo,
469; pupil of Ammonius, 94; quotations
in, 7S; reticence of, on Osirian rites, 97;
soura:s of, z, ?J-IOOj Stoic influence on,
Bs; sryle of, 14ff; and Tacitus, 397;
travels of, 19
Plutarch,Livu: P. AgiJ.,&z; V.AI~.>J19t
S33i V. A/ex., 383, 470; V. Ant., :Z7J,
33 s; V. Arati, 1) 1 403; V. Artaz., 470;
V. Cleom., Sz, 403; P. Crau., J41i
V. Dem., 99, IOJ, f)B; Y. Demetr., f4l.j
V. Dkm., '1 :aG, :aB; V. L~ 464;
Y. Mar., 439; V. Num., 49, 190, :&88,
387, 470, 48s; V. Rom., 14; V. Sal.,
1.8s; Y. SuO., S<l:&i Y. Tlaem., 470;
Y. Tlau., 378
Plutarc;h, Moralia: AJ prin~. ineruJ., '1.J4,
470; AJv. Col., l.S9t 469, 47o; Amat.,
Jf7, 378, 436, S% S13, SJ:Z.. S41; An
seni rup. ger. sit, 14; Coniug. prate.,
J6o; Consol. ad uxor., 96; Conv.sept.sap.,
}JJ 1 337, 410; D1 A/ex. fort., z9; De
anim. prr. in Tun., :Jssf, 4~, 470,
48s, so:z., fO}j De comm. notit. adv.
Stoic., 13, :1.9, 4891 f14j De def. or., :as,
27, )IJ, 384, }Bf, 387, 401, 470, 478,
4Bs; De E ap. DJplr., 1.88, 378, 387,
4:10, 434. 49S, f61; De uu earn., 404,
434; De exil., 481, 48l., 483, f}); De
fac., u, ,.,, 314, 3f7, 388, 393, 407, -tJB,
46f, 49S, f04, SJ:&; De gm. Socr., :as,
1.86, ofl}, ofJ1, 46J, 489; De Hdt.
maGgn., 18, 103, J4J 1 391; De invid. et
oJ., 476; De lih. cduc., 187, 1.88; De
LihUI. et Aegrit., JS6; De placit. plril.,
448, sr4; De Pyrla. or., 1.90, 4f8; De
sera rwm. vinJ., JJI, Dt supust., :as, :zG,
291,487, S-41; De tTrlllq. anim., 4~ 483,
49S, f}J; De virt. mor., 48s; Mu/. virt.,
9f, 2f4. 43z; non pozsc suav. vivi sec.
Epicur., 1.77, f<l:&i Par. Graec. Rom.,
SS I; QHaut. conv., I J, 17, 29, 47, 49,
ss. 101, 17:z., 'J.79, 116. 417, 4:11, 433,
436, 440. -444, -461, 471, 476, 478, sro,
sr-4, SJI, S41, Sf9i Q..uaut. Graec., 367,
430, 433, 464. 481; QHaut. Plat., 48S,
fS7i Q..uaut. Rom., 19, 2.71, 440, 467;
0Jc;moJD odul. (Deaudiuulitpoctis), zoo,
400, 419; ~omodo aJulat., 1.68, JJij
~omoth guis suoz. 1-4, :1.69, 298; SoU. an.,
393, 39ft 397, SS7, ss&; Pseudo-
Piutarc;h, Comm. in Hu., 387; De vita
et poui Homeri, fJ::t
Pluto, colossus of, [18, }GI F), 39sf; [:aB,
}li:zA}, 471 76, 78; oracle of, in Canopus,
(:a7, J6n), 393; 76; and Osiris, [78,
)82E), Sli)f; f7i and Sarapis, (z7, 361 E),
39:1; (2.8, )6u), 399f; 76, J6J; Attic
form of, 398f; Sinopic, 398
Pnepheros, temple of, J6:&
Poetry, foreign words in, [61, 37S BfJ, f 19
Pohlenz, Max, 6, 7, 8, 11-4, 117, )J61 378,
soG, SJ9; on Plutarch and the Stoics, 88;
on Xenocrates, 2.7
Pollux, on Maneros, 331
Polybius, 314
Polygon, and Scth-Typhon, [Jo, 363 A],
41:z.f; J9o 83
Polytheism, 2.4. 30, :Jl.
Pompeil, so, 68, 438; ibises depicted in,
H9i lsiacs in, ::t~, 437; temple in,
}Goff; with crypts, )Golf
Pomponius Mela, 46:z
Pontus, 39S
Pork, rejected by priests, [s, JSl.F], 2.72.
Porphyry, 446; on animal cults, 93, 99;
on Apis, 461.; on gods in boats, 42.7;
on Knlph, 374; on Mnevis, <~:&Si D
Alut., 17, So, 167, ::t78, 407, 41J, 4:11,
436.494 S4S, 4S:Z.. sGG;DeAntr.N;ymplr.,
4:1.6, 4f8, 4~; De imag., 4:0, 4:19, sxB,
s:a9; Y. Pyrlr., 104, 2.6:z., :JB-t, 387, 404,
473
Port Said, 33S
Poner, B., xi, 38, 1.89, :198, }OO, JJSo 362.,
493
Porter, W. H., 13, 16, :8, 114, 412.
Poseidon, 42.3, 4fH and first cube, [xo,
JS4F), 2.88; Stoics on, [40, JG?c]; trident
of, [?St 381 E), fGoj and Zeus, :&f S
Poseidonius, influence of, 100
Posener, Georges, xi, :J7s, 411, 417, px,
no, 4S9, s6:z; on animal cults, S44i on
Cambyses, 468
Posthumous proaeation, by Osiris, [19,
3sBo}, 3Hf
G Dl
 GENERAL INDEX
Papyri, Egyptian (cont.)
z56; P. Dcmot. Hierat. Rhind 1, 365;
P. Demot. Mag. Lond. Leid., z77, z8o,
Z\)01 )18, JZD, 346, JGZ, 31>9, 376, 410,
495; P. Dodgson, 368; P. Ebe:s, 303f,
H9. sG7, 569, 57o; P. Hanis r, z7z,
z78, 339, 414, 568; P. Hearst, 4n;
P. Heidelberg, 449; P. Hi~101t, CCG
(58o36), 416; Hieratic P.B.M. (3rd
series), H l j (4th series), JJJ, H 1; P. of
Hunefer, 375, s6z; P.jumilhac, 371 40,
JIB, 342; 343, 351, 356, 465, 488, 489,
505 ; P. Kahun, 417; P. of Kenna, 488;
P. of Khonsu-Renep, 378, 41.7; P. Leid.
(t, )46), JoG, )07; (1, )48), Jo6j (1 0 }50),
391.; P. Leid. T . JZ, j8; P. Louvre
(3079), 353, 464; {JZB4), z64; P. Mag.
Hanis, lOO, 192; }04, )It, JIB, )50, 4\)0;
P. Med. Berl. 3038, sli9; P. Prisse, zs9,
536; Ramesseum, Dr.unatic P., z?<>,
316, 4091 <!IO, 4ZI, 499; Ramesseum
Mag. Papyri, 4o8; Rhind Mathematical
P., 303f; P. Ryerson, 37; P. Sallier IV,
JoG, JIZ, J501 3f3t 4<!Bf, <198, 499t fOO;
P. Salt (815), p1; P. Mag. Turin, 70,
zs6, z84, 375; Turin Royal P., BJ, 84;
P. Westc:ar, z99, 317
Papyri, Greek Magical, 173, 389,456, 487,
H 1; and Seth-Typhon, 59
Papyri, Greek: Osu-. SU'3Ssburg {3u),
317; P. Ant. {, tS), 91; (1, 36), 198;
<.
BGU {1, 16), 11>9; 149), Z75 ; (1, zso),
41 fl (1, JJB), J61; (IV, IOJS), 549;
P. Cairo Zenon (sl)OzB and S93fo), 91;
(S91S4), 16z; P. Col. Zenon (19), 9z;
P. F:~y., 36tf; P. Gen. (Jz), 41 s; (JG),
37); P. G iessen (18), 9z; P. Giz.eh (to),
548; PGM (t), 46o; (3), 409, 4z6; (4),
z6J1 3171 JG:z., 3701 410, 4z6, 463, SIB,
569; (7), 5:&8, 51>9; (u), 4%4, 5u;
(1701), <166; (JG), 3JO, 409f; (57) , Z84,
soz; (59), soz; P. Grenf. (u, 64)1 41 S;
P. Louvre {zs), 4p; (ZJ91), 159; P.
Lugd. Bat. (z), p.1; (s), z9t ; P.~Lugd.
Bat. W, z6fj P. Mag. Land. (1z1), 370 ;
P. Merton (73), 348; P. Michigan (501),
)t4; P.Oslo.(1), 317, <1D9f, 417 ; P. O""f.
(46), 415; (47o), z93 ; (rozs), 468;
(tJ8o)1 4z, 4St 58, z56, 335, 370t 446,
501, SOJ ; {tJS:z), 4SJ l (14)4), )70;
{tG tz), 91; (zoBz), 541; P. Rev., 171;
P. Ross-Georg. (<~t), 9z; PSI (64), 4:t;
{844), zn, 4Z6; (901), s-cB; SB (ts),
z67; (3z96), z61; Gr. P. SU'aSSb. ( ros),
415; P. Tebtunis (1079), 9:1.; Warren
Mag. P., 316f
Papyrus bo:u, Isis in, [18, JSBA], 339f; such
boats not harmed by crocodiles, [t8,
JSBA), 339f
P310ldise, <179
Parker, Richard A., x, xvii, z6s, zBt, 19z,
JO:Z, <1441 4Bt soo, no; on Athyr and
Khoiak, 3 1z, 44Bf; on Egyptian c:~len
dar, 66f., z94f; on month-n:~mes, Z9S
Parkyns, M., J%7
PariOISc:J, Kbus, 61; on Harpocrates and
He101cles, 457f
Parmcntier, Uon, x, 6, 8, 114, 117, 398,
401, 403, 405, 4o6, 5zo; on Ammonius
as a source, 94; on Sa101pis and Ponrus,
396; on 'sounding bronze', 40<1
Parotmiogr., 168, 314
Parthey, Gust:~v, X, 3, 117, et passim
Passion, wrlnen with hean and censer, (1o,
JH A], z88f; 107
POISsion-play, for Osiris, 63, 39t
Pastop,ori, 165
Pastorino, A., 370, 445, 4H
Pataicoi, and Harpoc;r.ttes, 3f4
Pa= (Lych), 77, 441
Paton, W. R., 6, 7, a, 114. 117, 465, 571
Patricide, (Jz, 364 A], 413
Patrilinear suoo:ssion, 338, Jfl
PaU'OCius, 386
Pattern or piety, consecr:~ted by Isis, [~7,
J61 D-E], 31)011'; 73
Paul, St, fJZ
P:~uly, A., x
P:~uly-Wissow.~-Kroii-Miuelhaus, x ~~
passim
Pausanias,z6:t,40l, 40J, 430, 434, f)B, J<12,
f 6o; on Linus, 33z; on tears of Isis, 413
Pauw, 1- C. de, H7
Pa9Jii, month of, [Jo, J61F], <1t:z; 6s, 491
Pe (Buto), 337
Pearson, Lionel, 81
Pease, A. H., 3 3o, 402; H 8
Peek, Wemer, x, 163, 2.65, 170, 309, ) t l!,
f01
Peet, T . Eric, zSB, 303, fZf
Pef-tu-Neith, 363
Pe!s.er, and tomb of Osiris, 341, 363
Peloponnese, 3Bo; Egypti:~n cults in, 4t
Pelops, 3S7
GENERAL INDEX
Pelusians, z8o
Pelusium, founded by Isis, [ 17, )f71!],
JHf; 47, zBo
Pcnelope's suitors, z93
Pcntheus, 386
Pep~ King, 365
Peppm!lller, R. H., 1u
Perdrizet, P., SJS
Perfect, for aorist, 12
Pergamon, 165; altar from, 385
Periph101stic use of mpl, 1 1, 348
Pers:~eus, and Euhemerism, 38o
Persea, sacred to Isis, [68, 37Bc], 536f;
fruit like heart, leaf like tongue, (68,
37Bc], f)6f; persea-tree, 313
PersephasSOI (Persephone), and lsis, (17,
361 E], 392f; 76
Pe10ephone, 434; :~nd spring, [69, 3781!],
539f; 76; and wind through crops,
(66, 3770], 5JZ; and moon, 393, 458;
ne alto PersephasSOI
Perseus, 18o, <133
Pe10i01, and daemons, 15, Z?; religion of,
zB, 31, 47011'; Persian angelology, <176;
exmvag:mce, zS:z; ide:~ of victorious
light, 4Bz; inlluence on Pla1o, 485f
Persian king, [u, 355 c], BJ, 190; (Jt,
363c], 418; 1.54; and Mithras, z9o
Persians, and their gods, (46, 31i9E], 473f;
led in conquest by Cyrus,[:J.4,36oB],JB:zf
Pe10ius, Sat., n1
Pesce, G., 36o
Pet:1Vius, D. P., 1 t7
Petemp:tmcntis (Khent:~menthes), <IZ9
Peterson, Erik, 40t
Petesuchos, temple of, 36z
Petrie, W. M. Flinde:s, 11)0, 300, 314. 341,
363, 417, 444, 458, soG, f%4, 546, H1
Petronius, Sat,. 3JS
PetnJs, Sufl'ridius, 1 11
PettliZZoni, R., x~ 398, 401, 419, 4G7f
Pfeifl'er, R., 379
Ph:leacians, (7, JSJ o]
Phaedrus, Syrian river, dried up by Isis,
(r6, 3570], 3Jij 48
Ph:lethon, relief of, 479
Phagrus fish, Olbstention from at Syene, (7,
Jf)C), 178; comes with rising Nile, (7,
3S3 c), Z78; cts of phallus of Osiris,
(tB, JSBB], 34111'; 548
Plullephoria, [n, 3H E], 199f; cf. [36,
J6sc], 440
Phallic image, with triple male member,
[)6, 365 B}, 439; 1.99; phallicism, [36,
365 a], 439; sz, H. sG, 71, s9, 90, z99,
JOO
Phallus, of Osiris : 3ee Osiris, phallus of
Phallus, compared with rush, (36, J6f B],
439
Phallus, of Ri!', 341
Ph:lmcnoth, month, tst, festival on, [43,
36Bc], 463; 65, 66; 7th, 498
Phanes, bisexual god, and Mithras, 478
Ph:lophi, month, [Jo, JGZF], 4u; 6th,
[6f, 377B}, f)O; 13rd, [S:Z, 3718)1 498f;
<IS, 65, 40S
Ph01101oh, deceased, 3 3; divine origin of,
40; enemies under feet of, 411; living, as
Horus, 349, 546
Pharmuthl, month, 3rd, Bth, zBth, 499
Pharos, now part of Egypt, [40, 3G7B],
454f; and lsis, 43
Pheidias, and statue of Aphrodite, [75,
3Bt11], s6o; and st:ltue of Athena, [?s,
381 E], s6o; 541
Pherecydes, of Syros, 159, 389, 4S7, Ht;
and :~llegory, roo, 4t9
Philae, 57, 67, z6s, 3Z4t )40, J66f, 371, 4ZO,
437, fo:t, 5H, 569; island near, [zo,
JS911 (emended text)), J6sfl'; temple of
Isis in, 39f; 496; Da.s Gehuru"atu Ju
Tempeb Ju l3u, ed. Junker and Winter,
39f, 337, 34z, 366, 447, 466, 497, sz6,
516; Der grosse Pylon Ju Tempelt Jer
/su,ed. Junker,)J6,314t3301 353 1 J66~
J68, 44G, 497, sz6, 517, 567
Philo, of Alexandria, :tffinities of with
Plut:~rch, 49; doctrine of, 48; De Jecal.,
5S4;Fuga, 1SJ
Philo, of By bios, 374
Philoc:dus, calendar of, so, 64, 449, 4P
Philomela, 319
Philosophers, :~nd beards, [3, Jszc],
z68; on words :md objecrs, (71, 379c],
S<~tf
Philosophers, Greek, :~nd Egypt, [1o,
3S4Bf], zSslf; 75
Philosophy, as guide to mysteries, (68,
378A], S33; [78, JBZF];hiddcn in myths,
[9, J54B], and magic, zs7
Philostrarus, V. Apo/1., z71
Philyllios, 568
Phiops, King, J6f
Phocis, 395; Egyptian eults in, 41
 GENERAL INDEX
Osiris, phallus eaten by fish (cont.)
fish, (36, 365 a); and adultery, 317;
phallus preserved, )4) 1 in Mendes, )4);
leg of, at Thebes, )OOj at Edfu, ns;
limbs of, 401 55; Lord of Busiris, 369;
of Dat (underworld), 564; of the Earth,
446; of Eternity, ~96, ~64; of Heaven,
SI?, cf. 5631 564; of Life, 564; of Myrrh,
f68; of Necropolis, s64; of Two Horns,
Sf3; IJI:1ker of corn, 309; and Min
Harsi~is, ))4; and mor.d purity, 73l
and mummification, JH :always mum
miform, )f, ~70, )11 1 391, 49H nfr as
epithet of, 107; and Neper, 411;
Neshmct-bark of, 339; 01nd 'Night of
the Sleep', 64; Nile as effiux of left leg,
437; has no historic:d aspect, s46; :md
nome-sign of Dendcrah, 490; and Nun,
~8f; as Onnophris, 57, 109, 1B7, 196,
311, 364, )6f, 410, f17l Osiris-Onno-
phris ' in midst ofpcrsc:~', H7l as Orlon,
)f), )71 1 37~1 377l and Pamyles, f),
cf. 297f; pan-syncretism gained by,
fOJ; papyrus head of, )10j and phoenix,
37
Osiris, places connected with: bom in
Busiris, [21, )f9C), 369f; bom in
Thebes, [111 )HE), 198, 300; tomb of,
in Abydos, [1o, 359A-B), )GU; 47, )41;
tomb of, in Bigch, [10, 3~9a], 367; 39,
)411 367; tomb of, in Busiris, [11,
3f9B-c], 369f; 471 BJ, 98; tombs of, in
Egypt, many, [rB, J5BA), 34ofl'; [35,
365 A);tomb of, in Taphosiris, [1t 1 )59C),
370; 47; tomb of, in Esna, 45; tomb of,
in P~, 341; tomb of, in Thebes, 39;
tomb of, in This, 361
in Abydos, 36; in Athens, 46; in
Roman Britain, 44; in Busiris, )6, 369,
463; in Byblos, 541 310; in Ddos, 46;
in Edfu, 359; Ptolemaic temple of, in
Kllmak, 38, 3001 359; in Rome and
the West, 44,46
Osiris, plot of Typhon against, [13,
356Bfl'], )1611'; and Pluro, [78, )81E),
563f; S7t questions Ho.rus on animals
in baule, [19, 3588-c), 345fl'; rebirth of,
[JS 364F], 434; recovered by Isis, [40,
J67A)j reigned 1B years, (131 )f6D)1
313; [411 )I>? F); robe of, like light, [77.
)he), 561 ; 167; 57, 73; used only once,
{77, 3Blc), 561; robe of, flame-coloured,
(st, 371 Ff), 49S; sacred doctrine con-
cerning, [7, 3f3 o]; and Sarapis, (18,
J6n), 4oof; (61, )76A], f:U; 95, 399,
SJ7l Search for, (p, )71&-c), 499; 63,
65, 4S9i and Seirios (sun), [sz., 37lD].
57, 371; in sc:xual union with lsis after
death, [19, Jf8D), )S)f; 71; shutting up
of, and disappearance of water, l39,
)66D), 448; son of Helius, [11, JHF};
song ;md poetry used by, [13, JS6B],
309f; soul of, eternal, [H1 373 A], 504;
7~; and the spiritu:dly intelligible, [77.
JB:LD); stories about, (15, J6oE-F],
J8sf; 97, 515; sufl'cring of, [17, 357F];
and sun, (p, 371Ffl'], 495f; [51, )7ZB),
497f; (p, 3710], fOOl 56, 81, 191, 463;
teacher of religion, [1)1 )f6A), 309;
temples of, [10, 3f9A), 361; tomb of,
shaded by m~thir-plant; for tomb, see
also places connec!ed; trains Horus for
battle, [9 3s8a], 344; and trees, [Js,
JGS A], 436; 89, 187, 3681 )70l and most
beautiful triangle, [S6, 37JFf), S09l S7l
and pure truth, [77, JhD-B], f6J
Osiris, in posthumous sexual union, 71,307,
331, )38, 343, )fll pre-cminence of,
1S), 4B7; prescn1ed with Eye of Horus,
soB; and Ptolemy IV, 441; and Re', 498;
revived by Isis and Nephthys, 34; rites
of, 3Bf; roy:d insignia of, 495; s:dvation
through, 56s; on sarcophagus, 311 ; and
Scpa, Sf)l sexu:d attractions of, so1;
slain by Scth, 34; ship of, in Cicellia,
491; on ship, 463; and Memphite god
Sokar, Z97l sought by Isis and Neph
thys, 34; symbolilcd by fish (?), 354,
494; and Tammw:-Adonis, )10; rem-
pies of, se~ places; as 'Tired One'
revived, ]6, JSJ, 45z;and tomb ofDjer,
341; in triad, 74; triumphant over death
and judgement, S64f; and trumpet, 411;
and Truth in t:de, 101
Osiris, undefiled, [78, )81E-F], 71, 73l
comes from underworld, [19, JSBB],
344; 71, 371; union of, with Nephthys,
and Nile symbolism, [38, ]66B]; united
with Isis in womb of Rhea, [11, 3f6-'],
307l h4, 373a-c), sos; vessd of, and
Argo [11, 3S9E], 377f; and warer, [JS,
s1.
36s A), 436; l39, J66F), 45af; 36, s<>,
63, 87, 411, 448; as the well-ordered,
good and useful, (641 376Ff), 52B; S6,
GENERAL INDEX
Osiris, as the well-ordered (cont.)
S? ; and wind, (61, 375 F], f10j worship-
pers of, and trees and wells, [Js, )6f A],
436; helps Zcus, (31, 365 o], f1
and vegetation, 36, 37, 89; viewed as
s;
god of shepherds, 3 as hurtlilll king
deified, Hl as vegetation deity, )Si as
wolf, 344; wounds of, and fish, s48;
wriuen, s~~ Osiris, name of; and
Ztgrcus, 71, 89, 3H
Osiris-Apis, ~. 364, 399
O siris-bcds, 453
Osiris-King, 311; hymn to, 496; mummi-
fied,Js
Osorkho (Osorkon Ill), 4S7
Osoros, 41
Ostanes, Book of, 18, 484
Ostcn, Hans Henning von dcr, 381
Ostia, insaiptions from, 31Bf; Scrapis in,
44
Osymandyas, 347
Other, the, Plato on, [48, 370E], 48sf
Otowak, 382
Ono, Ebcrhard, 173, 174, 2841 332, 364,
)6f, 376, 394, 416, 4:15, 44B, 49S, su,
s1B, 513, J1S, SS3
Ouo, Waiter, x, 681 78, 90, 91, :z6:t, 166,
a67, 17s, 304, 361, 405, 419, 43o, pr,
S49l on burial of Apis, 373f; on Museum
in HcrmopoUs, 16f; on priests and
temples, JO, 373 j on sc:dcrs, 41 sf; on
s1olisu, 167; on Timothcus and Sarapis,
)98
Otto, W. F., s6o
Ouroboros, under Anubis, 466
Ovcnell, R. j., xvi
Overbcck, J. A., J6o
Ovid, and temples of Isis, 161; Am., 161;
Ars Am., 161, ssr; Fasti, 318; 'Ibis',
HB; Met., 309, 317, 3S4, 44J, 4S1, 501,
54S
Oxen, sacrificial, examined, [)1, )6)&),
411fl'; 77
Oxyrhynchitcs, abstain from fish caught
with hook, (7, JSJC], 17B; in feud, [71,
38oa], 548f; t6, 47
Oxyrhynchtu, city of, 348, JSZ.. 407
Oxyrhynchus fish, abhorred, (18, JsBa),
3411; cat of phallus ofOsiris, [18, )~Ba],
341fl'; revc:ed, (7, 353 c), 178; S48; but
not by Cynopolittm, (?z., )BoB], 54Bf;
and wounds of Osiris, 548
Paamyles, phallic god, 197
P01ge, D. L., 3781 473
Pai)eri, :67, p8
Pahlavi, 475, 477
Pakhons, month, rst, 6th, 1oth, 499
P:dacstinus, [19, JS7E (MSS)), 334, 1Bt
Palamcdcs, ~93
P:dermo Stone, 84. 301, 461
Palestine, 381
Palingcnesis, 4o6
Pallas Athcna, 317
Palmer, L R., z.:r., 171
Pamyle, proclaims binh of Osiris and
brings him up, [11, J6f B), 197f
Pamyles, embodies epithet of Osiris, SJ
Pamylia, ph:dlic festiv:d, [u, 3H E], z99f;
[36, 365 a), 439l S3
Pan, and panic terror, 14, JS6o], 313f;
90; Pans and Satyrs, tell of death of
Osiris, [14, 3S6D), 313f; n; P:m and
AmCin-Min, 334; Arcadian Pan, S43l
Pan and Des, )l) j Great Pan, death of,
)l)f; Pan and Min, 334
Pilllchaca, 379
Panchoans, :alleged to be non-existent, (13,
)6oA-B), )79
Pilllchon, gold inscriptiom at, (13, )Go A],
379
Panepi, 'ox of Apls', 394
Panopolis (Akhmim), 313
Pan-syncretism, and Osiris, )B
Pantazld&, I., 117, ~77
Pantheism, of Isis, S1
Papabasiliu, G. A., 140
Pape, W., 310
Paphlagonians, on Cronus and winter,
[69, 37B F), 539f; 48
Paphos, S43
Paprcmis, festiv:d of, 413
Pilpyri, Egyptian: P. Amhcrst, )Jo; P.
Anasnlsi (3, A), 171; (4), 171, 27B, 339;
(s), SS9l (B), 170; P. of Anhai, 2B9;
P.of Ani, 37S, 441, 561; P. Berlin (3008),
38f; B.M.P. 10108 (Nesmin), 453;
B.M.P. IOSIJ9 (Book of Hours), 38;
P. Bremner-Rhind, )8 1 6), 3071 316,331,
334, 40B, 411, 440; P. Cairo 86,6]7:
zee Cairo Calendar; P. Carlsbcrg (1),
191, 301, 461; (7), po; P. Chester
Be:itty (1), 184, 304, 309, ))O, 349, 350,
)SI, )5), )BB, 407, 412, 4171 456, 4BB,
489, 494, soB;()), 4o8; (7), 417; (u),
 GENERAL INDEX
Opposites, Pythilgorean, [48, J70E],
484
Optative, in main dauscs, 11, p1
Orades, JS9
Orchomc:nos, Egyptian cubs al, 94f
Origc:n, p4; Contra c~ls., ::r.ss, 4:14, 44h
S4S
Origin of things, and Osiris, [)6, J6S s;
s6, 374A], S09i [64, )77Aj 77. )be],
s6::r.; 73
Orion, and Argo, [n, lf9E], 377f; name
for soul of Horus, [::r.1, 3S9c-D], 371f;
s6, 6o; sacred 10 Horus, [u, 3S9E]; and
Osiris, 3n, 371, 371, 377
Ornatrix, ::r.67
Orpheus, 419, 434; and wool, :171; Orphic Osiris, coffin of, [39, )66D], 448; 311, 367;
AriJOn., HI; Orp!Uc Fr., 433, 4JS; Orpla.
Hymn., 4JH (47), 3191 463; Orphic
leaching, 16::r., 49 41), 478, S39i
Orphism, Thracian, ::r.7; and Zoro-
astrianism, 484
Orymas, J8::r.
Oryx, and falcon, 490f
Osempis, cull of, 4g, 43o 399
Osir-Apis, 394
Osireion, in Abydos, 161, 34:1
Osirinn rites, and Clea, [3s, 364 E), 431
Osiris, ::r.6, 416, SgJ; adultery of, with
Ncphthys, see Nephthys; ;md animal-
shaped standards, [7::r., 379F}, S46;
anlhropomorphic statue of, (s1, 371 F],
494f; Apis as animate image of, [43,
J68c], 46:~tf; Apis as corporale image of
soul of, (:1t9, )61c-o], 404f; Apis as
image of soul of, [10, JS9B], 363f; 434f;
Apis sacred to, [73 0 )BoE), Hli cf. sG,
S7, 7:1, H4i Osiris, arms not needed by,
[13, JS6B), 309; beauty of, (78, 383A),
S6B 73 j beneficent, (4:1t, )68 A-B}, 46o;
beyond decay and dealh, [78, 38::r.E-F],
sG.f; birthday of, [t::r., JSS E}, :194ff; 6s;
Osiris, body of, said to be buried in
many places, [10, 3f9.1o.], 36::r.; body cut
inlo 14 pans, [181 )Sh), 338f; 4S3i like
14 days of w:~ning af1er full moon, (4:~t,
J68.~o.}, 46o; body frequendy dismem-
bered, (s4, S73 .~o.], S04i body, parts of
sought by Isis, [ 18, JSBA}, 339f;
secredy measured, [tJ, JS6B], 311;
Osiris, as alleged bull from India, (19,
36::r.s], 403; 77; burials of, [4::r., 36BA]
and Adonis, n, 3:~t1, 334; and :~gri-
culture, S19i and Ahura-Mazd:~, 18, 486,
487; and 'Andjety, )S, 369, 49B and
Antony, 430, 441; Osiris-Apis, 89, cf.
364; :IWlll'ded heaven and earth, 34; ha
of, 364, 368, 496, as Anubis, SSJ, as
buck of Mendes, s n, as Orion, 377, as
heron, H3i and buley, 409; and Data,
343; 'he of the beautiful eyes', ::r.88, S64;
bewailed by Hathor, s::r.6; by lsis and
Nephthys, 34, JS, 3u; bewailed in
SOli(, 4SOi bl:~ck, St~ duk-skinned;
blood of, 177; body of, p:lrlS in wooden
ox, 341; md bl01ck bul~ 46o; and bull of
Athribis, H3; 'Bull of the West', s64;
broJUe figures of, 49S
coffin of, found by Typhon, [8, 3f4A},
::r.8t; [180 3S7Ff], 338; 90; common to
all, (18, J6n], 401; 97; common to
heaven md Hades, (61, 37S o], St7; and
corn, (6s, 377B], s19f; 37, S7f, 89, 309;
and crops, [tJ, 3s6.~o.], 309; as gre01t
d01emon, (::r.s, J6oD), )8); ~1 0 S6; dark-
skinned, (::r.::r., 3S91i], 37sf; [33, 364a], S7i
de011h of, on Alhyr, 17 (13, Jf6c-o],
3n.f; (39, )661l}, 448f; (4:it, 367Ejj and
Dionysus, [13, JS6B], 309f; [18, )618],
400f; (34, 3640; 37, J6S E), 170 830 88,
199, 344, 376, 4SS, St7, P9 S4B and
Dionysus, equation of, [J s, 3640], 4::r.9f;
309; and Dionysus Hyis, lord of moist
narure, l34, )640], 419; dismember-
ment of, [Js, JG.fF], 434; S4o 7z; dis-
memberment 14 days after full moon,
[4:1t, 368.~o.], 46o; and earlh, m E:lrtb;
far removed from C01rlh, [78, J8ZE-F],
sG.f; effiux of, in all moisture md in Nile,
(36, )6f B), 436f; (38, 3661.}; efflux of,
secures order in all, [49, 371 A-B}, 487;
e/Huxes of, remain unchanged, ls9o
37S B); elevated from good daemon to
god, (::r.7, 361 E), 391; (Jo, 361E), 407i 13;
Entry of, into Moon, (43, ]6Bc], 463f;
md Epaphus, [37, 36SE-F], 443; S7,
77; and Eros, [s7, 37411-C], fl); S7o S09
Osiris Canopiru, 438; carried by
Selh, 410; 0111d celestial afJerWorld, 37;
chest of, SJ, 89, 311; coffin of, with
tree behind, J:l3; on crocodile's back,
340,367, cf. sn; crook of, JS, 310, 49Si
crown of, 3o, 49S; cult of, 33ff; 0111d
Oat, 461; death of, 6J, 6s, 311; in
GENERAL INDEX
Osiris, death of (cont.)
divine dynasties, 310, 333f; and JjeJ-
pillar, 37, 4S; dominant figure in D/0,
less so in Apuleius, 4sf; dramatic por-
trayal of story of, 363; drowned, 34,
344, Jsr, 388, 431; enables deceased
King to live, JS; in Ennead, Ho 440;
0111d etemiry, 71
Osiris, falls into coffin, as moon is eclipsed,
[44, )68o), 4Gs; and fertility, [6o, J7S A),
4Sli festiVOII of, in Alhyr, l39, 366af],
6s; the First and the Lord, [::r., 3f1A],
71;'0siris has been found I' [)9, 366F],
4SO; 6J, 64, Gs, 4os, 4s::r.; as founder of
civilization, [130 JfGA-a], 309f; as
general, [u, 3S9E], 376; [71, 379F],
S46; given sacrifices on island near
Philae, [::r.o, 3S9B], 367; gn&lu of, [:~t,
Jf::r.A], ::r.6z; a god of the dead, (18,
)bE), S6J ; llo 34o s6, 39Zj great king
and bencfOIClor, [t::r., 3HE]1 ::r.98f; md
Hades, [78, 38:11), S6Jf; S7i hidden in
01rms of sun, {s:~t, )7l.B}, 497f; husband
oflsis, [1::r., )S6A), 307f; coaxed by her,
[ss, 374Ff]; hymns of, [s::r., 371a], 496f;
84, s 10; H ysiris as said by priests, [34,
364o), 42.9; 1S7i iffiilges of, made by
Jsis, {rs, JSBA], 341 ; ithyphallic, [st,
371 F), 494f; sG, 2.99; and ivy, (37,
)6S E), 44of; 680 108
and f:unily loyalty, 344; father of
Anubis, 318, 46s, of Bab:l, 489, of
Haroeris, S9o sos, of Horus, 40, sos,
soG, of Horus-Sopd from lsis-Sothis,
}4, of Sotbis, 441, of Wepw:~wet, )tB;
feud of, with Typhon, 13, 53, s::r.::r.;
figurines of, at Denderah, 411 0 f19i
'first-born of Geb', 307; flail of, JS,
)tg, 49H 'foremost in Syria', 31:1; in
Thebes, 300; 'Foremost One of the
West', s63f; 'Foremost of the Wester-
ners', 311, 517, s63; 41 sanctuaries of,
3)8; as founder of civilization reflects
Dionysus, n, s6, 89; ' gre01t of love',
198; Halrer festival of, 64; and l;l'apy,
4::r.o; head of, in COISket, 4S; head of,
in Serapcum of Memphis, J6S; head of,
in Thinite no me, )41; bead of me Five.'
307; bean of, in Athribis, 341; heir of
Geb, ::r.96; and Hclius, 456, soo, sot;
Hellenized, 31; and Heracles, 4S7i in
Hermetia, S19i and l;leryshnf (Ar-
saphes), 441, H3i Heuruu of, 64. 45~,
cf. 63, 6s; AyJreibs, 438; iconography
of, )S, JIO, 49Si identified with all
deceased, 73, S6s; with deceased King,
)4; md incense, s67; jackal form of,
344; as judge, )6, 7:1, 39:1, SJS, f6J
Osiris, king of dead, [78, 383 .~o.], s63f; 7:1,
rot; lamen~;~tion for, (7o, 379 a], f41;
s~t also LamenlOitions; and l01ws, (r3,
JS6A), 309; leader and king, (78, )83A),
s64f; leader and lord of all the besr
beings, (49, }7U], 487; 73; lived
:~t8 YC:IrS, [13, JS6D}, Jl)j [41, 367F);
lives again wilh sprouting c;om, (6s,
377B], P9f; as Logos, [S4o 373 a], sa,.;
48, sr, S7, 73 0 16o; Lord of All, [::r.,
3SS ], 196f; as lunar world, (41, J67c-
o], 4ssf; made son of Zeus, [36, 36s o],
440; mind and reason in sou~ [49,
371 .~o.], 487; Mnevis-bull, sacred to,
l33, 364s-c], 411; sG; as moist prin-
ciple, (33, 364A], 4:14; s6, 71, ss, s6,
101; md moon, [8, 354 A], ::r.St; (43,
]68c), 463; f6 0 6S, 88, 4SJo 46o; ut
also Osiris, as lunar world; murder of,
[13, 3s6c}, 311; and mystic revelation,
{77, )bt>-E], sGJ; myth of, (rz, JH off],
:19111'; I, ::r.o, 19 nff, sz-s, 98f; believed
to be mosdy true, tor
Osiris, n01me of, l34, 3640; 4:1, )68B], 30,
3So ::r.s7; :1 Greek name, {61, 376A], S11;
from hosios (holy) 0111d !Utros (sacred),
[61, 375 oJ, 517; s64; as 'many-eyed',
[to, JSS .~o.], 188; 1o6; as 'mighty', [37,
J6f E), 44:z; 770 109; written with eye
and sceptre, [re, ]f4Ff),188; 106, 109;
[st, 371E], 493; written with falcon,
[p, 3711!], 494; 109; in c:anoudte, )to;
md Re', 497; n01mes, 38
O siris, and the Nile, b::r., 363 o ; 33, )64A],
4:14; [Js, 366.~o.; 39, 366cff}, 410f; s6,
ss, Ss, :~t74; as Oce:mus, [34, 364o],
4::r.8f; S7i Cliled Omphis, 'bencf01ctor',
[4:ZoJ68B),46of;S7o73 1 77o 108, 109, 2.99,
S17; as origin of things, [36, 36S a; sli,
374A], so9; (77, JS::r.c], s61; cf. [64,
377 .~o.], 73; phallus of, 40, s::r., S6, 344o
488, 49S, S48; with erect phallus, {p,
371 F), 49S ; i~~~:~ge of phallus consecra-
ted by Isis, [ts, 3S88], 341!; (36, 36s a],
440; phallus honoured in festivals, (36,
J6S B); thrown into river 0111d eaten by

618
 GENERAL INDEX GENERAL INDEX

Naville, Ed., :t6o, 161, 165, 176, :t93 318,
409 466, 487, 493 fOB, 511, Bf
Nebed, :md Baba, 4B9; :md SethTyphon,
..6B
Nectanebus I, 366
Nedyet, scene of death of Osiris, 34, Jf,
311, )41, 369, 388
Needier, Winifred, 194
Neferbotep, song of, 336
Nefertari, tomb of, 375
Nefenem, 337; birth of, os, :t9o; son of
Wedjoyet, M7
Negation, Aristotle on, [4B, J?OE], 485
N eit, text of, 300
Neith, 193, <450, <464, 46B, 49:t; at Esna, 4S;
:md lsis or Athena, :tSJ, pt; :md Isis-
Hathor, <450; of Sais, 18), 184; 35
SW:Illow, ):t9
Nekhbet, goddess, HJ
Nekheb (EI-K.ab), SS:t, H3
Nekhen (Hieraconpolis), 553
Nem:mous, queen of Byblos, [15, Jf7B],
):17; 54
NeoPiatonism, 171 <481 74, too, 484, P9
Neopythagorean school, P9
Neper, com.god, 37; and Osiris, <411
Nephthys, )M, 356, 4<10; adultery with
Osiris,[t4, 3f6E], 3t6f; 17, p, 73; (;8,
3668-C; M 1 J6BE; 591 375B]; 35 Aphro
ditc, [11, JfSE], 61, )Of; barren at first,
[38, 366c], 4<17; BJ; bears Anubis
illicitly, [38, 366c], 447; [44, J68E],
465f; p, 316f; below the earth, [44,
36B1']1 466; birthday of, [t1, 3SS F],
304f; Gs; daughter of Cronus, [11,
J5fF}, :t9tf; :md ends of earth and
bordering regions, (38, J66s], M7;
ell.poses her child Anubis, [14, JS6E],
317; fears Typhon after adultery, [14,
Jf6E], 3t6f; and Nik~, [t:t, JH F], JOf;
61; and outlying regions, [)8, J66B];
on sistrUm, (63, 376 D-E), f1B; as
Teleut! (End), [11, JH F], )Of; [J8,
J66B], M?; (59, 375 B), 51 S; 61;
me:ming death, [63, 3761'] 1 51B; union
with Osiris, :md Nile symbolism, [38,
J66B]; wife of Typhon, [l:t, Jf6A],
[38, )668-C}, 447; h9o 375 B), fiH 61,
8)
and Antaeus, )Of; anthropomorphic,
494; in Atl1ens, 46; bewails Osiris, 34,
311; impregnated by l;lemen, 317; and
Kheresket, s1s; mod1er (with lsis) of
Horus, 316; as falcon or kite, )f, )Of,
318; and Hathor at l;lu, 61 ; and land
near sea, 86; as mourner, 368, 431;
name of 'misuess of the house', )OS,
4<17; revives Osiris, 34; seeks Osiris, )4;
sister of Isis, 61
Neptune, :md Serapis,
Nereus, 317
Nergal, and planet Mars, 481
Nero, 196, 361
Nesepteitis, of Astarte, J1f
Neshmetbark, of Osiris, 339, 431
Nesmin, Papyri of, 4S3
Nesteia, 91, n8
Nestle, W., 41B
Neugcbauer, 0., 191, 194, 195, 301,
461
N~user-re', S47
Neustadt, E., B8; on Apion, 94, 419
Newberry, Percy, 315; on scarabs, 189,
)30
Nicander, s-tS
Nicanor, 4<11
Nicholson, J., 463
Nicolaus Myrepsus, f?O
Nicomachus, of Gerasa, 413
Nights, longer, [39, J66o-E], MB; 6s;
Night of the Sleep , 64; Nightfestivals,
Dionysiac, bs. 364F), 434
Nike, :md Nephthys, [u., JSS F], JOB 61
Nile, 11, 101, 366, 417, 436, 4<11, 444, M6,
453,491, p.9; Apis kept from, [5, 3f3A],
173; a common heritage, [66, 377c],
531; :md aocodile, [j 1 3BA]; and
Dionysus, [64, 377 A], p8f; as efHux of
Osiris, [36, 365 a], 436f; [38, J66A];
esteemed by Egypti:ms, [s, 353 A];
174; and Horus, [40, 367B], 410; 6o;
origin of, on left, [31, )6J E], 42.1 ;
receding of, [39, 366o-E], MB; 6s;
saaed lament about, [J:z., 363 o), 411;
water of, fanens, [s, 313 A], 173f
and aypts, 361; Blue:md White, 4<17;
:md Osiris, s~e Osiris, and Nile; source
of, 77; water of, j66
Nile-god, 2.71; as fat old man, 174; Nile
gods, and lsis, 410
Nile-rising, :md crocodile's eggs, [7s,
JSOB], 557; and the moon, [43, )68s],
47; in outlying regions, [)8, 366s];
shown by phagrus fish, [7, 3SJC], 2.78;
Nile rising (cont.)
time of, [38, J66A], M4f; cause of, M7'
high, and prayers, sso; and Lion, 44J;
and Osiris, 414; and Sirius (Sotllis),
372., 444, n6
Nilometers, 461
Nilsson, Martin, x, 29, 31, 1f4, 26o, :z6t,
:z6s, 199, 309, }I), JH, 433, 435, 4<46,
4S6, SJ8, 539, S43t SM, sGo; on bisexual
deity, 464; on DJO, r, 1; on Greek
idea of eternity, 155; on initiation, 390;
on secrecy, 391
Nims, Charles, 49S
Ninurta, and planet Saturn, 481
Nitocris, HJ
Nitriote nome, 547
Noack, D. M., 375
Noblecourt, Ch. Desroches, JS4, 494; on
fish and Osirian mummy, 344
Nock, A. D., x, 43, 44, 68, 2H, 1f7, 169,
JR), 389, 414. 416, <464, 47S, 4h, 487,
498, so:z., so3, S)t, s66; on content of
HermetU:a, St9, s:z.o; on 'lam' formula,
184; on incense, 571; on Magians, 479;
on Mithraism, 478
Nomen numen, 2.59
Norden, Eduard, t6, 48f, 114, 26o, 184,
199, 461; on birth of Osiris, 298
North, as right, [J:Z., )6) E), 411
Norwood, Gilbert, 357
Nous, divine, <19H in Hermerica, f19i and
Knaph, 31 4
Nubia, s:z.o, ss1; :md Scth, 311; Nubian
nome (Bigeh), and leg of Osiris, 341,
341; Nubians, s:~crifice of, 552.
Nubt (Nal!:ada), 17
Numbers r6, 17, 18, Pythagorean doctrine
on, [41, 367E-F], 459; 413; theology of,
<111 )671!-F), 459
Nnn, :md Nile, 4<15; and Osiris, 4 :t8f;
waters of, 414, 418, <139
Nut, <401, 411, 439, <489, 515; and Geb,
hostility between, 191, 301; lifted by
Shu, 19:z.f, by Thoth, 194; and Re',
conflict of,195, 296; and Rhea, JO, 291f;
sun emerges from, H6; sw:.llows stars,
191; violent birth of children, 301
Nyherg, H. S., 473 1 474; on Zoroaster and
haoma, 475
Nymphis, on M:meros, 331
Nymphodorus, 403
Nys:~eans, 402
Oakesmith, J., 17, 14
Oath, greatest, [7s, J81A)
Obscurities, tsf
Oceanus, as Osiris,_ [H, 364o], 418f; S7
Odd numbers, ascribed to Olympi:m gods,
(16, 361 A), )B7
Odrys:~e, <487
Odysseus, companions of, {7, 3130]
Ofl'eringfestivals, gloomy, [69, 378 o]
Offerings, of pulse, (68, 378c], n6; burnt,
179, 414; blood :md bloodless, 414f; and
Eye of Horus, 415; to Ahriman, 474
Ogdoad, 265, 370, 374
Oinouphis, of Hdiopolis, teacher of
Pythagor:IS, [to, Jf4E], 186f; 75, uo
..6o '
Okhus, 'Ass', Persian king, (;t, J6)c],
418; 77; his sacrifice of A pis, [31, 363 c],
418; 77
Okhus, 'Sword', Persian king, slays Apis,
[11, JHC) 1 19o; 83
Oldfather, C. H., 381
Old man, as hieroglyph, [32, 363 F), f11
Olympi:m gods, 387, S6); and Hecate, 467;
and stars, 384
Ombites, crocodil~worsbip of, 416
Ombos (Kom Ombo), 492
Ombos (Nal!:ada), 16f, )DJ, 314 1 407, 490,
SO?, S49
OmOmi, pounded :md mixed with wolf's
blood, (46, J69E], 47S
Omphis, name of Osiris, [41, J68a], <46of;
S7, 73, 77, toB, 109, 199, j 17
'OM!uhuhonqy, Instructions of, 536
One government, of ;Ill men, [47, J7DB]1
479f
One, number, and Apollo, [7s, )81 F), slit
One way of life, in future bliss, [47, )70B],
479f
O'Neil, Edward N., ix, 7S, 113, 4181 470.
483
Onion, abhorred by priests, [8, JSJB],
28of; and drowning of Diays, [8,
)SJE], 18of; flourishes when moon
wanes, [8, 3S3 E], 2.8of
Onnophris, :md Osiris, 57, 109, 187,
196, 311, 364, J6s, 4os, 4:z.o, 46o, 517
Onouphis, nome, 287
Onouphis, sac;:red bull, 41S, 46o
Opening of the Mouth, 35, sn, S1J, 536
Opet, temple of, 3S9i ood Tawert, 347
Opium, and cyphi, 570f

616
 GENERAL INDEX
Michailldes, G., 324, s:zs, s6o; on aspects
oflsis, fOI, fO:Z
Milne, J. G., 43r 44, 4Sr 6o, )01
Min, :z66, 298, 349, Jfl, 499 f14, 546; and
Horos, (56, 374B], su; 6o; name of,
as 'dmt which is seen', (56, 374B], su;
110, :157; anthropomorphic, 494i in
divine dynasties, 334; and 'Driving the
Calves', 6]; and Harpocrates, Hi ithy-
phallic, :199, JIJr 49S, SOS ; and Pamyles,
197; :1nd P:1n, J34i and P:1nopolis, 313
Min-Amim, 524
Min-l:l:ar-Nakht, soG, 507
Min-Harsiasis, ;as Osiris, 334
Min-l:lor, :10d Maneros, 54, 107, 333
Min:ar, E. L, Jr., 114
Mind, :lbode of forms, [58, J74E], 514;
Anax;~goras on, (48, ]701!], 485
Minooo-Myeenae:ln religion, f4J, 544
Minucius Felix, Octav., j:Z8, 356, f41
Mir:adc, offresh water in 5e3, 4B
Mise, daughter of Isis, 463; descent of,
91; Orphic hymn to, 90
Mi1:10ni, King of, 474
Mithr:lism, 474; and Greek thought, 478
Mithras, :zGo; (Mithr~), the Mediator,
(46, J69E], 474; caves of, 361; horse of,
4b; ood Persi:ln king, 190, 468; :10d
Phanes, 478; scrtue of, 474, 486; and
wine, 277
Mithtas (Mithras), the Mediator, (46,
j69E), 474
Mittdhaus, K., x
Mnase;as, (J7, ]641!-F), 44:zf; 77t 84, 99i
On Lihya, 441; scho!ion of, 319
Mnevis, buU god, re:ared in Hdiopo!is, [33,
J64B], 415; 376; father of Apis, [33,
)64B], 415 j5ilcred toOsiris, [Jj, 364 s-e],
415; s6;oodRe', S44i:lnd Re'-Atum, 415
Mnevis-Osiris, 415
Mnevis-Wen-nefer, 415
Mnlt-necklace, 358
Moller, G., 110, :zsG; on Maneros, )}J
Moftah, R. R., 311, 313; on m~tAis-plant,
]68
Mohammedooism, dualistic: clement in, 24
Moisture, aids wind, (36, J6J o], 440;
creates earth, air, fire, (36, 365 c), 439i
and Dlonysus, [34, ]64o], 419; [Js,
365 A], 436; effiux of Osiris, [36, 365 B],
436f; equaled with Osiris, [J;, j64A],
414i 7t, ss, 101
Momcmphis, S47
Monad, :10d Apollo, (to, )f4F], :188; 75,
)81 F), f61; and Hestia, 188; :lnd Jupiter,
4t)
Monism, :14, :15
Monk's rhubarb, in c:yphi, (So, JBJ E), s69
Monotheism, philosophical, [H, 373c-o],
507; (67, 377F], BH 19, n; primitive,
301; Stoic; BJ
Mont, god, 367
Montet, Plene, x, 161, 178, :18o, 334, 3)6,
369; on Egypt :10d Byblos, 319
Month-nounes, 66
Moon (Sclene), Apis engendered by, (43,
J68c], 46:lf; called mother of world,
[43r j68c], 46)f; soo; crescent of, and
homed scrrues of lsis, [s:z, 371 o], soof;
crescent-shaped when near sun, [41,
368A]; in earth's shadow, like Osiris in
coffin, (44, 368 o], 46s; ec:lipse of, [4:z,
368 A]; eclipse of, :10d the myth, [44.
368 o], 46s; soB; Entry of Osiris into,
(43, 368c], 463f; and Eye ofHorus, [51,
37:1B], 49Bf; [H, 37JB], Go, 371; favours
fertility, [41, 367 o], 456f; 14 days of
waning and 14 parts of body of Osiris,
[41, j68A], 46o; half moon, :10d wings
of ibis, [1St JBI o], H9i Hermes goes
round with, [41, 367D}, 458; illumina-
tions of, [11, 3H o], :z93f; and eat's
progeny, (63, 376 E], 518; :10d Nile-
risings, [43, J68s]; in number :zS, like
years of Osiris, [41, j68A}, 46o; and
Isis, [44, j68o], 46fi [p, J7:ZD], soof;
81, 393, 463; aid thus summoned in
love affairs, [s:z, 3710]; male and female,
[43, j6Bc], 463f; moves around in boar,
[34, 364c], 4:16f; 377; new moon, ;as
'Unfinished Blessing', (41, J68A], 6s;
moon, and Osiris, [8, 3S4A], :181; [18,
357Ff; 43, J68c}, 463f; 56, 87, 4S3i
plays draughts with Hermes, [1:z, )SS o],
193f; and 50lc:rifice of pig, [8, 3S4A],
:~81; 6s; and sun, in line, [s:z, J7:ZS], 66;
symbolized by cat, [63,376E], s:~S; and
top of sisttUm, (63, 376o], P1i wanes
when Osiris dies, [4:z, J67E]; waning
caused by Typhon's blow to Eye of
Horus, (H, 373 D-E), sosf; bisexual,
463, soo; c:aescent of, on 'mystic casket',
453; and disk of Anubis, 467; and
Persephone, 393, 4S8; and Sin, 48z
GENERAL INDEX
Moore, C. H., :z6:z
Moorsel, G. van, :~s6, 39:1
Moralia, editions of, :~f
Moren:z, Siegfried, xvii, 69, :zss, 16o, :z64,
:17), :Z76, 18o, 18], 319, 3:11, )16, 3~.
371,414,418, 461, 467, 511; on Anubis
with key, 467, sB; on birth of child
from lotus, 105, :190; on Egypt and cos-
mic egg, 478; on metempsychosis, :186;
on Nefenem, 337; on predestination,
307; on Sesostris, ]81; on use of sea-
ships, 41:1
Moret, A., J6, :~8:z, JIO, }If, 34:z, 349, )6o,
)61, 437. 496, 534. HO
Mortal clement, and divine p:art, [S, HJ A]
Moscow, Congress in, 418
Moser, G. H., 117
Moses, 418; and animal c:ults, 147; and
Horos-child, 447
Moss, Rosalind L B., xi, xvi, JB, 189, 300,
JJS, )61, 493
Mother, first in filiations, :ZS)
Mother anti CAiiJ, 4o6
Mother-incesr, [J:z, 364A], 4:13
Moulton, J. H., :z8, 47:z, 47S
Mountains, and evil, 479
Mouth, goddess, and lsis, (16, 374 s], 5uf;
ss, 110, :157
Mouth, weasel gives birth through, 7-t,
]81 A], HS
Movcmenr, self-derived, (76, JB:zs]
Movers, F. C., 3:16
Moving the immovable, (:13, JS9E-F}, 378
MUller, C., viii, S:l, 397, 434, 441
MUller, Dieter, X, xvi, 43, 57, 69, 73, :lSf,
:z57, :~Go, :16], 164, :167, 173, :174, :l7f,
:178, 179, :z8r, :zb, :183, :184, 190, :191,
291, JOJ, )101 )16, 366, 371, 371, J90r
404, 4o6, 4:11, 4:l:Z, 440, 446, 465, 479.
48o, 491, 501, f01, SOJ 1 p6, SJI, SJ:lj on
Aretalogies of lsis, 4:1; on birth of
Osiris, :199; on hair of Isis, JISf; on
Egyptioo Mysteries, 391 ; on Paradise,
479, 481; on role ofThoth, :194
MUller, H. W., xvii; on lsis-ligure, 501
M!lller, W. Max, :zsG; on Maneros, 33);
on Seth-Typhon ;rs Sa1:10, 389
Mugils, 278
Mugler, Ch., 459
Multinomini.r, f03
Mummification, and Osiris, n
Mummy-wrappings, inscribed, ::z68
Murr, J., 3:13
Murr:ay, Helen, xvi
Murray, Margaret A., 36, 96, :173, 357, 359
Mu5ileus, 141
Muses, and Isis, [J, 3f:lA-s], :~6s; 47, ss
Museum,79
Musi~:, banned, 4S
Mut, vulture-goddess ofThebes, su; and
Am!ln, 308, 4S7i bisexual form of, 464;
temple of, 31 s
Mutton, :lbstention from, by priests, [4,
JS:lC], 17of
Myc:erinus, :~76, 45o; 'concubines' of, s6o
'Myriad-named', of lsis, hJ, J71E], so:~f;
SI
Myrrh, burnt at noon, (79, JBJC], 568;
[So, J8JB-C); codled zal in Egyptbn,
(79, 3B3 o), 568; in c:yphi, (So, ]BJ B],
f69i product of sun, (So, J84B), f71
Mysteries, and Isis, (:17, 361 o-1!], 390ff;
guide into, in philosophy, {68, 378A],
SJJi Egyptian mysteries, 38, 43, 61, 67,
39of; mystery-lore, [:z1, Jf9C], 97
Mystery-religions, :16o
Mystic revelation, :10d Osiris, (77, 3 8:z o-
E], 563; mystic: rites, (.:zs, 36oF], 386
Mysticism, r, :zs
Myth of Horus and Seth, 1; sec also under.
gods' names; of Osiris, su Osiris
Myths, embody plu1osophy, (9, Jf4B);
Greek attitude to, 3 S7; myths :10d
reality, {u, JHB}, 189; [:10, JSBF), 357;
hB, 374E), 513f; nuth of, roof, JS7
Na'aman, 327
N:lber, S. A., 1 17
N:lbu, planet Mc:m1ry, 481
Nachstiidt, W., 7, 114
Nagel, G., 456
N~ada, 17, 303, 314, 409, 490
Names, from Greece, ~r:~nsferred bade,
[ 19r J6:zE], 407
Naples, frescoes in, :169; Museum, fOJ;
sCitue near, 451
Naref, and limbs of Osiris, 341
N:armer Palette, f-46
Natorp, P., 471
Natron, chewed, 567; use of, 173, 41:1
Nauck, A., 3f7
Nauc:ratis, :zss, 403, 410, 454, 548;
Nauc:ratis Stcla, 491
Navigium lsiJU, so, :140, 491f
 GENERAL INDEX
Lyre, used by Pyth;lgorcans before sleep,
[So, 384A]; lyre-strings, sinews of
Typhon :15, ifs, 373c], S07
Lysippus, sculptor, upbraids Apelles, [2.4,
JOOD)
Maass, E., 377
Ma'at, goddess, 2.89; prcsent:~tion of
figure of, S34i and lsis, 2.40; and Thoth,
S34
Macedon, son of Osiris, 430
Macedonia, Egyptian cults in, 41 ; Macedo-
nians, led in conquest by Alex:mder, [2.4,
JOOB], 382.
Macrobius, on animal-cults, 93, 99; Silt.,
2.58, }2.S, 398, 446, 497, S)O, 568
Madvig, J. N., u, llJ, u7, 2.91
Maenads, 430
Mnga, son of Sed1, 490
Magian, [46, 369o), 472.; Magians, and
end of world, [47, 37011], 47911'; SlH
mythology of, [47, 37oc]
Magic, and philosophy, 2.57; and posthu-
mous Osirian judgement, S6S
Magna Gr:Jecia, S39
M:lhaffy, J. P., 79, b
Mahler, E., 343, 5 ll
M:Ura, dog, and Anubis, JIB
Maiuri, Amedeo, 361, 43S
Malc:utdros, [as, 35711 (MSS)], 315f
M3le~thros, king of Byblos, [15, 3S7B
(emended)), psf; f4, :~.81
M3lea, 39S
Malinlne, M., 504
M3lk-Addir, p6
Mammisis, 40,358, 451
Mllll ITT!Jo w.u Tirtd with Lift (L~IHm
mud~), 336
M'llll#~t-boat, 4:1.7
Mandulis, Vision of, 4:1.6, 510, s66
Maneros, c3lled by some Pdusius, {17,
357E), 33,.; cliscovcn:t of music and
poetry, [17, 3S7E], 33:1.; elder son of
king of Byblos, {17, JS7E], 54, 107;
sung of in banquets, [17, J57E); term
used by festive men, [17, 3S7E), 33S i
and Linus, n:~.; and Min-l;lor, 333
Manes, or M:l.snes, Phrygian king and god,
[2.4, 36o8], Jb
Manetho, 66, 76, 7&-B:~., 91, 94, 98, 99, aoo,
10:1., 104, :1.79, )to, 317, 394, 4S7, 489,
HO, Sf1, HH on Amiln, [9, 354c-o),
1Bs; 78, ao6; on Bebon, [49, 371 c),
48711'; 78, 109; on bone of Horus and
Typhon, [61, 376B), 52.:1.11'; 78; on
Pluto'a colossus, [2.8, 36u), 397f; 78;
on s:~crifice of living men, [73, JBoD),
n tfl'; 78; On Ancient Custom tlllti Pitry,
So; On FutivtJls, So; On tilt Prtparlltion
of Cyp!Ji, 8o, s69; Tilt Sacred Boolc
(Hitrtl BiMos), So, 94. 398; on dynasties,
78, 84, 334, 447; and Egyptian religion,
78; and Hecat:leUs of Abdera, b;
History of Egypt by, 79; on Isis as
moon, 46s; name of, 79-Bo, S34i on
offering of swine, 2.81; and Sarapis,
398; and Serapeum of Carthage, 398; on
view of pig as unclean, 78
Manic, from King Manes, [2.4, 3Goa],
Jh
Manichaean du3lism, 486; saying, 47S
Mantle, of Athena-Isis, [9, 354c), :1.84f
Man ton, G, R., u 3
MtJnual of Disdplim, 486
Manuscripts, 5-10
M3nushchihr, 481
Manutius, Aldus, :t, 111
'Many-eyed', meaning of Osiris, [1o,
3H A], 2.88; to6
Marathon, 378
Marduk, and planet Jupiter, 48~
Mareotis, 370
Maresraing, Pierre, S10
Margoliouth, J. P., 570
Marians, S4~
Mariette, A., :~.63, :1.64, 166, :~.81, ;oo, ;~;,
33St 340, JSB, 359, 364, 399, 405, 413,
414, 478, 49o, 494, s~s
Markland, J ., ), 111, 117, ~Go, :t6:t, 2.79,
::189, JJ6, 467, 481, 505, f11, fi:J, S17t
s2.4. 562, 571
Marriage, of brother and sister, 307f; of
parent and child, ;os; s:~cred, 405
Mars, Egyptian, S2.4i Mars, planet of, and
Nerg;d, 48:l; and Typhon, 373
Marsham, J., :1.}40 HI
Manianus Capella, 413, 426, f:l9
Martin, J. H., 2.71
Mary, Virgin, and lsis, 491
Maspero, G., :~.sS, Jll, 313, 3:1.7, 336, 363
Mas53rt, A., 343
Mastich, in eyphi, [So, 383s], s69
Material, not inanimate and idle, h8,
37JE), Sl4
GENERAL INDEX
M:atter, and lsis, [S4, 373 a-c], so4f; [77,
JS::IC], s61; 49, p, ss, so3; as mother,
nurse and Se:lt of creation, [ s6, 373E);
desire of, for God, so3f
Ma1tha, G., 108
M:~u, A., 3Go
Maxwell-Hyslop, A. R., x
Mayer, Maximilian, 413, SJ9
Mayhoff, C., lciv
Maystre, Ch., 161, zn, su
Mead, G. R. S., 96, ~~~
Mbutis, G., on Eudoxus, BJ, 186
Medes, JB, 38:1.
Medinet Habu, 66, 3SJ, 359,370, SJ4
Medinet Mddi, p6
Mehler, E., 176
Meiggs, R., on inscriptions from Ostia, 318f
Meineke, J. A. F. A., 384, 396
Meinis, cursed by Tekhnactis, [8, 35411),
28::1; led Egyptians from simple life, [8,
3S4A], 2.81; su also Menes
Meissner, B., 381
Mdelfth, :J:~.s, 334
Mdilot, betrays adultery of Osiris, [14,
)S6B], 316; [38, J66B)
Memmi:l Eurydice, 17, :1.54
Memnon, 198
Memphis, [66, 377o), u, 37, 43, 75, :~.ss,
173, 186, 363, 364f, 366, 371; Api$
reared and buried in, [10, 35911], 363;
415; bronze g:~tes in, [::r.9, J6:1c], 403f;
47; and buri31 of Apis, [::r.9, J61c], 403f;
47i 'haven of the god', [10, 35911],
3G4f; cf. 107, 109, 4Go; Nile-rising in,
[43, )68a], 46:1.; 47i 'tomb of Osiris',
[10, 35911], 365; foundation of, :1.8:1.;
Serapeum in, 364, 365, 394, 396, 398,
399o4001 40l; Sinopion in,396; 'Temple
of the Ennead ' in, J s
Memphite priests, 373
Mempllitc Tluology, 34,341
Memphitcs, and locks of Isis, 314
Men, Phrygian god, 38:1
Menander, plays of, [70, 379A-B), 540
M~ard, L., 2.54
M= (Menes), 340
Mendes, 41r; buck in, [7}, 38os), sso; 47,
343, 349, 3ft, 364; Nile-rising in, [43,
)6811], 461; 47; as k of Osiris, H3i
goat5 sacred in, S47; ph3llus of Osiris
in, 343, 440; ram of, sso; and Harpo-
c:rates, 44
Menelaus, 377
Menes, King, 2.81, 2.95; (Meinis), [8, 3S4A],
28:1.; (Menas), 34o; (Menis), 93
Mtnologium rwtuum Colorillllum, 451
Mensa lsiaca, 438, 518
Mentu-l;ler-khepeshcf, tomb of, 413, SJ2.
Mercer, S. A. B., 33, :JOt, 345, 383; on
Horus-gods, Joo, 338
Mercury, and languages, 48o; (Nabu),
planet, 482.; planet of, and Seth-Typhon,
373; tomb of, 371
Merikare, 536
Merkdbach, Reinhold, x, 64, 67, 313, 366,
4:1.3, 443, 448, 449, no; on Anubis and
Main, JIB; on birth of Osiris, ::1.98; on
Cicellia, 49:1.; on itnit:~tion of Isis, 390;
on killing of the Apis, 2.90, 468; on
rites in Athyr, 4S3i on YtJS!Jr s, 477
Meroe,:1.61
Meroiric:, 310
Merry, W. W., 4S4
Muktttt-boat, 417
Mesopotlmia, 381
Mesore, month of, [68, 378c), SJG; 6s, 4981
S31
Mesoromasdes, 2.54
Mcssana, 379
Mcssene, 379
Messianic: return, 471
Metals, linked wid1 gods, 51~
Mcllllleira, 54, }:1.0, J:lSo p6, p8
Mctlphor, and hieroglyphic writing,
::187
Metempsychosis, [7.1, 379B), s..sf; 72., 434,
48 t; Herodotus on, ::186
Mttllis-plant, shades tomb of Osiris near
Philae, [1o, 35911], 368
Mcthyer, and Isis, [s6, 3748), 512.; s8, 110,
2.f7
Mctric31 clausube, 14
Mette, H. j ., 356
Metternich S1eb, :~.s6, :1.84, )DJ, 330, 344.
369
Meulenaerc, H. De, :~.66
Meunier, Mario, 96, 112., 187, 331, JH,
370, 413; translation and notes by, 4
Mewolldt, Johannes, S
Meyer, Ed., 2.59; on c3lendar, ~94, 2.96
Meyerhoff, H., 357
Meziriacus, C. B., 13, 117, 4:11, 483, sss
Mic:h:tel, B., 114, 117
Michaelis, A., 398

612. 613
 GENERAL INDEX GENERAL INDEX
Krans, w., :Z.f9. 387, 400, 403. 4:Z.8, 469. 'Latrator Anubis', 317 l eto, 494; nurtures Horus, [38, ]66;.), 37Sc]; and Harpocrates, [68 371B-c]
4 s3, 484, s 4o, s...
f4:Z., s6 Lattirnore, R., :Z.f7 446f; 337
Lctronne, A. J., 361
1
ns; 16o; and Hermes, [S4t J7JB110fi
Krause, Martin, xvii, so4f Lauer, J.-P., 398, 399, 400 16o; md Osiris, h4, 373 B), S04> .CS,
Krieger, P;~ule, f46 l.:lwrence, D. H., so:z. Letters, 1S Egyptian, [fCS, 374A], 509f; 109 p, 73, :z6o; (64, 377A), p8; and J:Siity,
Kroll, w., x, )16 l.:lws, given by Osiris, [13, JS6A], 309
Leb;~non, 315
Leudppus, on pri!Jl:l! atoms, 469
Leucothea, HO
[:zo, H9A], JS7j regulates universe, rn.
Kroytn:~~~n, J., 403 373c-o], SO?; [67, 377F], SJ); and
Kruse, H., s6 Lelwumiitk, 336 Levlte, 473 underst~nding from philosophy, [68,
Ksh;~ua Vairiya, 'desired sovereignty', Lecce, temple at, J6t Levy, G. R., ~3 J78A], ns; Sacred Logos, [1, Jfl F],
476 Leclant, J e;m, x, xvii, 38, 44, JOO, 314, 498, Uvy, lsidore, 39f; on Malctndros, p6; on :t6o; [), Jf1B], :z.GS; (?, JSJD), :Z79i
Kub~n Stda, n6 sa8, n4; on AsO, 31o; on Astlrte on sources, 93f Philonic md Johannine Logos, H7
Kubitschek, J. W., 77 horseback, 3:z6, 347; on Isis as 'mother Lewy, Hans, .pes London, University College Museum, 5:z3
Kuhner, R., 113 of the god', 447; on epithets of Osiris, Lu: taliot!U, 317 Lord of All, ofOsiris, [1:1, JHE], :z96f
Kuhner-Genh, n, 113 18S, s64; on extension of power of Lexa, F., :z9:t, 42.1 Loreru:o, de' Medici, 79
Kush, 447 Osiris, 497; on Osms md perseatn:e, Lib:nions, [6, HJB-<:], :z76; 97; [11, J59c], Loret, Victor, 36, 31:1, 3:z:1, 341, 411, 449,
B7> on pastophoroi, :z.66 370 450, 568; on cyphi, s69, S70, S7'; on
Ubib, P., sos Ld'ebure, E., :z.s9, 31S 1 )46, 370, 49t Liber (Dionysus-Osiris), 379 Khoiak rites, 4J1
l.:lctu, P., :z.78, 46:z., SP Lcfebure, G., 411 Library, in Alexandria, 79 Lotus-Aower, child coming from, [n,
l.:lchares, and Athem, [71, 379c), 54:z. Ld'ebvre, G., :z.S7, SI 1; on lsis 'bl;~c:lt md Libyans, y66 JHB), 190; lOS
l.:lct:ltltiUS, D4 <11'4 Phoenice, 479; Div. ruddy', 4JI Lichthcim, M., 336 Louvre, 399, 401; Stltue (A93), 363
inst., 3S6; Epic., 479 Left, regions of, and South, [):~, 363 E], Liddeii-Scou-Jones, x Love, 4S3; abstinence from pleasures of,
l:lcy, P. H. de, 6, 8, u:z., 476, 481, 481, 4:Zl Light, of day, single and simple, [So, [:~, JftFf], 161; sexual, ;md Demeter,
Lcgge, F., 9S. 1f4 )848] [64, )77A], f18f; 8::z.f; and lsis, (s::z.,
B3 Legitimacy, of Horus, [19, )fBD], 3Jif Lilcni:ls, [)s, J6s ;.], 43 s
Lafaye, G., S9, :1.93, 451 J7:ZD-E), 501f; [64, J77A), S18f; fS, 81;
Lagus, 393 Legtain, G., 19S Liknon, 166, 199 see also Agape; Empedocles on, 483;
Lais, sGo Legumes, :Wstcntion from, SJI Linen clothes of priests, {4, n:zc], 170j in world's last pb:ISe, 479
l.:lmb, sacrificed for Gatekeeper, [35, Lehmann(Haupt), C. F., JSt, 39S linen covers ericttree, [16, 3f7C]; linen, Luctn, BeU. Civ., 170, 461, f1f
J64F), 4J)j lamb who spoke, HO Lcipoldt, J., 69, :z6o, 164 rendering of, [:za, 359c], 370; 97; linen Lucas, Alfred, ix, :z69, :170, :171, 173, )1:1,
l.:lment, sacred, about Nile, [3:~, 363 o), Leipzig Ostr. no. 1671, 364; Leipzig Univ. robes, and Isiac devotees, [J, 3~1c], 339, f1J, y66, 567, S68, 569
411 Egn. Museum, 18S :z6S; p Luci:m, 331; AJv. intit., 314; De Dea
Lamentltions, [17, 3S7D), 331; [:z.6, 361 a), Lcisegang, H., fOf Linforth, I van M., 19f, 97, ::z.s7 Syria, po, J::Z.S, 319; De luctu, J)S;
387; 6:z.f, 89, 90, Jllo 331, 334, f41 Lcmm, von, 457 Linseed oil, :z71 lupp. trag., 18o; Puc., 168
Lamentations of lsu anJ Nephrhys, )Bf, Lcmnians, md crested larks, [74, JBoF], Linus, md Mmeros, 331 Lucretius, S40
181, )If, )16, ))1, 334, 371, 4~ fO:Z., fH;48 Lion (constellation), honoured, [38, J66A], LUbker, F., x, 377, S44
J1S Unides, 430 444f; and time ofNile-rising, []8, 366A], LOddeckcns, E., 1f}; on brother-sister
l.:lmer, H., 193 Leningrad, J8f; stltuette in, 346 444f; lion, helpful to one in need, [19, marriage, 308
Lampri:IS Catalogue, 9, as, u8, 1SJ Lenormant, F., n J~Sc], 347; lions' jaws, on temple doors, Lumbroso, G., 39S
Land, denudation of, [)9, 366o-E], 448 ; Lensch:w, Th., 381 [)8, J56A], 44S; lion in Egyptian an, Luxor, Amiln at, 3o6; and Opet, 349
6s; and Isis, 8 s Lentils, offered to Harpocrates, [6S, 3778], 347 Luxury, rejected by Egyptians, [8, 3f4A-
l.:lng, C., SJ1 n; ns Lippold, G., 544 B], ::z.b
l.:lnge, H. 0 ., 191, JIB, JfO, 361 Lcon, of Pella, anac:lted, [13, 36oA (emen Litigation, of Horus and Typhon, {19, Lycaion, 367
Lange, Kun, 441 ded text)], 37Bf; 99 3S8D], JP Lycophron, 519
l.:lngu;~ge, to be the S3Dle for all, [47, Leonic;ns, N., 117 Liturgy of Funerary Offerings, 33, 41~, Lycopolis (Asyut), )IS, f47
J70B], 479f; s If; languages, arranged by Leontis, md Clea, 95, 1f4 416, S34 Lycopolis (in Deltl), 411
Jsis or Thoth, 163, 48o; in Egyptian LcpidotuS, fish, eat of phallus of Osiris, Livius Andronic;US, 103 Lycopolit~ns, 47, 70; alone eat sheep, [?::z.,
c;nlts, 68; result of discord, 480 (as, 3588), 341fT; S48 Livy, :t6l J8oa], H7f; have wolf as god, [71,
l.:lru:one, R. V., 399, 4Ci4 Lepidus Rufus, 317 l.oadstonc:, bone ofHorus, [6:~, 376s), 5u ]BoB}, H7; do not use trumpets, [Jo,
Laqueur, R., 397, 443, 4So Lepsius, Richard, x, 37, ::z.86, :z.S7, :z96, 300, Loc;nsts, and larks, (74, JBoF], SH J61F}, 410f
l.:lrks, c:n::sted, oand Lemnims, l74, J80F], 371, 444, 4S8, 497, S14, f36, 564; on Logos (speech, reason), and Anubis, [61, Lyc;nrgus, in Egypt, [ao, JS4E], 1Ssf; 7S
M<llletho, 79 37S E], 16o; creation of, lllld weasel, Lyc;nrgu5, Thraci:m, 386
1H
L.trsen, S. Chr., 113 Lesky, A., 38:z [74, J81A], n f; a divine quality, [68, Lydians, 3S1
Lasserre, F., xiv, :z.77 Lcthe, bronze gate of, in Memphis, [19, J78t ); divine Logos needs no voice, Lydus, Johllllnes, De mens., So, 410, SJ9,
l.:ltin inAuence, 11, to:zf 361c}, 403f [7S, 3Bt s), H7; and h:Jppiness, [68, H9

610 6n
 GENERAL INDEX
IthaCU15, [7, )S)D]
!uncus, 16
Iversen, Erik, 1os, 42:1., s 10
Ivy, and cult of Osiris, [37, J6f a), 44of;
68, 99, 1o8; chewed in Bacchi~: festivals,
440
Jablonski, P. E., 117, 310, 39S, J68
Jackson, A. V. Williams, 471, 47:z, 473
Jacobsohn, H., f21 ; on Bata and ArnCan,
Osiris, Auis, 343; on morality of
psychostasia, s6s
]IICOby, F., viii, 37S, 4t7, 434, 44:1., 443; on
Diagoms, SJ3 i on Euhemcrus, 379;
on Hecaracus of Abdcra, 8:!.; on Manetho,
So, Br, 398; on Phrygian writings, 403;
on Theopompus of Chios, SJ9
Jiiger, J., 113
Jneger, W., Z41 471, 484, p2
Jamcs, E. 0., p, 48:z
James, T. G. H., xvii, 40,303
Jannony, J ., on Clca, t7, 113, 2f4
Jansen, H. Ludin, 468
Janssen, Ja~:, xvii
Janssen, JozefM. A., vii
Jeanmalrc, H., 376, 433
Jelinkova-Rcymond, E. J. E., 363; su also
Reymond, E. J . E.
jeuclccns, R., 1f 1 113
Jewish marerial, dngged in, [31, 363 e-o],
4t8f; Jewish festival, 433; High Priest,
:z67; Jewish ide:15, and Pcrsi:~, 476;
saaifi~:CS, 416
Jews, God of, and Dionysus, :z9
J ohnnnine approach, 491 fOf
Johnson, A. C., 67
Jones, H . L, 3S7, JGJ, 364, 367, 4Sf
]ones, H. Stuart, 4S3
]ones, R. Brinley, xviii
]ones, R. M., 27, 49, 48S, fOJ, so9; on Isis
and Chaos, S13i on symbolism of elder
Hotus, soG
Josephus, BJJ. juJ., 1JS, 314; Contra
Apionem, 94, 310, 418
Judaeus, son ofTyphon, [Jr, J6JC), 418f;
94.3}4
Judah, 418
Judge, supreme, with eyes closed, [to,
JSS A], 189; judges, hnndless statues
of, (to, JH A], 189; judges of the dead,
[ro, JHA], 189
judgement after death, and Osiris, 7:1., s6s
6o8
J ulianic dates, 6J ff, no
Junipers, grc:atee and lesser, ln cyphi, [So,
J6JI!), s69; rarefies air when burnt, 79,
J8JC)
Junker, Hermann, ix, 39, :z,Gs, :z76,184, JOJ,
)07, )1ft JIG, )Z4, 318, 330, 3)1 1 3371
JJS, 340, 341, J4:l, Jn, J?:l, 408, 4w,
421, 429, 446, 447, 4P, 466, 487, 496,
497o SD1o s:zG, HI, S64, f67; on burnt
offerings, 179; on m~this-plant, 368; on
morality of Osirian creed, s6s; on
Philae in rext (as emended), JGsf; on
primitive monotheism, 301
]uno, 413; and Hathor, f4S
Jupiter, 413 ; ( - Marduk), planet of, 48:z;
Optimus Maximus, f41i reign of, 480;
and Sar.~pis, 399; and Ser.lpis, 44;
remple of, 3Go, 361
Jupirer Ammon, 172
Justice (Dik!), helpers of, {48, J70D], 483;
incorruptible, shown in statues, [ro,
3H A), 179; and lsis, [J, Jf2A-8), :zG.oj{;
4:Z. ss, 91; and number three, (?s, JBI F};
as blind goddess, 189; and Demetcr,
91
Juvenal, 17:1., 180, 4s:z; on abstention from
sheep, S47i on cannibalism, Sf2i on
lsiacs, :z6t, 269; on Isis and slsuum,
ps; on Ombos and Tenryr.~, 1Gf, S49
Ka, 383, s6?
EI-Klib, 47, 488, ss:z, SS3
f.<;ldesh, 346, 347, 376, s-16
KDhun Papyrus, see Papyri
Kaibel, G., so1, s69
K&tosy, L, xvii; on ~:ro~:odile and Harpo-
crates, SS7i on cult of Thoth, SS9i on
helpfulaocodile, 340
Kalabshll, 3 s 9. 4:l6, s :lO
Kalrwasser, ]. F., 111
Ka-mut-ef, 343, 374, f11; ste also Bull-of-
his-Mother
Kanals, insaiptions from, 34S
Konlphoroi, 2.6,
Karanis, temple of, 362.
Karnak, 84, 2.74. :l8), 196, 300, )If, 3S9i
rites in, 63; temple of Osiris in, 38
J5asr J5urim, 362.
Kaw el-Keblr (Anraeopolis), JOJ, f2.J
Keb~-senewef, bestower of water, 437
Keepers of the Sacred Vestments, see
Hierostolists
GENERAL INDEX
Kees, Hermann, ix, 4, 33, 36, 37, 2f9, 266,
276, 279, 287, 1891 :Z901 3001 JOI, JZ4,
33S. 337. 3)8, 339. )40, )41, 34:Z, 343.
344, 348, JS3. 364, ;Gs, ;~. 370, 371,
372., 373. 374. 37ft 376, )8:1., 388, 389,
401, 414, 41S, 416, 421, 427, 428, 436,
4)7, 439, 440, 441, 448, 4S3o 4J6, 4f8 0
46:1., 488, 4901 496, 498, soB, SI:Z, su,
S47, S48, S49, H:Z. Hlo H4, HG, SS8,
f63; on blaclc wws, 4f I ; on c:rocodile-
worship, H7i on family in Osiris myth,
34S; on gods of epagomenal days, 296,
)Or; on murderofOsiris, )12j on offer-
ings, 171; views Osiris as deified human
king, 49S
Keil, B., 287,391, 462
Keimer, L, 270, 294; on onions, 28o; on
persca, SJG
Kenna, Papyrus of, 488
Ketamopoullos, A. D., 170, 430
Kerfeni, G. B., xvi
Kerma, Nubi:~, SP
Kern, Otto, ix, 32.9, 414, 433, 4JS, S43,
JGo
ei-J$:es, f48
Khabekhent, tomb of, 344
Khaemuas, ro8
Khefren, and sphinx. 2.83
KhemUI, name of Egypt, also of blaclc pan
of eye, b;, ]G4c], 41sf; 47
Khemmis, Pans and Satyrs of, [14, JsGo],
JI)J and birth of Horus, JIJ, 337, 447
Khenephres, King, S47
Khenosiris, ivy, 'plant of Osiris', [37,
J6SE), 440f
Khentamenthes, n god of the dead, JJ,
344. ]G), 429, Jt7, S6); as dog, HB
Khentekhray, ~:rocodile aspect of, H7
Kheops, 2.76
Khepri (Khepera), 371, s64; and Arum,
m Koc:k, T., 297
Kher-'al,ta (Babylon), 3S3
Khcresket, and Teleur~ (End), 61, SIS
Khnum, 464; at Es0:1, 4S; as r.lm-god, S47,
sso
Khoialc, month, festival of, 38f, 4So 63, 64 1
66, )I:Z, 340, 367, 411, 448f, J2.9i (u),
39t 367; (Jo),4So 4SO; (1J- 2S), 4S3i (:zG),
448; (28-19), Cicellia, 491; (Jo), 4SI
Khonouphis, of Memphis, teacher of
Eudoxus, (to, JS41!), 2.86f; 7J, no
Khons, moon-god, 4S3; and Her.~cles, 4S7;
39
'son of the leg' (ofOsiris), 338; temple
of, 196, 4S7
~o~su-Renep, papyrus of, 37 8, 427
Kicrutz, F. K., ix, 2.8:1., 283, 190, 418, 468
King, C. W., 111
King, of Byblos, cuts parr of erica-tree,
[ts, 3S7A], 313; called Malcathros, [IJ,
JS7B}, 32sf; elder son of, called Maneros,
[17, 3S7E], 331ft"; elder son of, falls into
sea and drowns (variant story), (17,
3S7E), 331ft"; elder son of, killed by
anger of Isis, [17, JS7D], 332; son of,
partly burnt by Isis, (r6, 3S7C), 328;
younger son of, dies through wail of
Isis, [r6, 3S7c-D], 330
King, cunningly brings animal-cults, [?:z,
3BOA-a), J47i written with a rush, [36,
J6S a), 438f; roB; kings, and animal
masks, {?1, 38oA], S46; assigned deeds
of gods, [1:1., )J9D]1 37ft chosen from
priests or warriors, [9, JHB), 2.81f;
lists of, [u, JSS c; ;B, 366c], 447; 78,
83; as priests, [6, JSJ a], 27ft and wine,
[6, )JJB}, 27ft 81
King, deceased, lives again like
Osiris, 3S; living, embodies Hotus and
Seth, 349; 'King of Kings', 298; kings,
and calamities, sso
Kinkel, G., n2, f31
Kirk, G. S., 419, 4Z4, 42.7, 42.8, 4~, 470,
483, J61f
Kittel, R., ss
Klasens, A., x, 1J6, 180, 284, 3)0, 337, 344.
3S3, 468; on Khemmis, 304
Klebs, L, s:z6
Klim:~, 0., 472
Kn~h, Theban god, unbegotten and im-
mortal, [:u, JS9D), 374; 71; and AmCan,
374; and Nous, 374
Knox, A. D ., 91
Koets, P. J., 26, IIJ
Kolfhaus, 0., t3, 113
Kom Ombo, 17, 3S9
Kom Ushirn, 361
Kora, 39Ji descent of, [69, 378E), 9t; and
Derneter, (4o, 367c], 4H; 32.o, SJ2.; as
Soteir.~, 390
Kore &smou, 1S6, 263,390, Sl9
KorostovtseV, M., xvii
Koster, W. J. W., 486
Kraemer, H., p.
GDI
 GENERAL INDEX
Isis, confinement of (cont.)
6f; and cow, (39, J66E], 45of; given
cow-headed hdmet by Hermes, [19,
Jf8D), JfO{j :md creation, (6), J76E),
p.S; as creative principle has union with
Osiris, [43, J68c], 463f; crown of,
removed by Horus, [r9, nso}, Jsof;
cry of, [r6, 3S7C], J30j as greo~t daemon,
(1S, 36o0)1 383; 11 0 S6; decapitltion of,
by Horus, [10, 358E], Js6, cf. 3so; ss;
daughter of Hermes, [J, Jf1A], 163;
[u, 3SF]1 61, 317; daughter of Pro-
metheus, [3, Jf1A], 163f; [37, J6S F),
443; 771 163f; dries up river Phaedrus,
(161 Jf7D)1 JJI
and Cleopatra VII, 430; :md com, 41,
f71 p8; and crops, 446; cult of, 33ff;
cuts off hands of Horus, 17, Ho 340,
JS1, JSH tl~a multinominis, fOJj dedica-
tion of boys ro, 431; and Demeter, 1,
43, p, s7f, ss, :z64, 309, 446, 4H. so1,
503, S1Bj as dew, 414; and Dionysus,
96; and dreams, 36o
Isis, and earrh, see Earth, and Isis; llhove
the eolrrh, [44. J68E], 466; encourages
men and women in trouble, (17, Jlil E),
39o; elevated from good daemon to god,
(171 )61E)1 391; [30, 3618), 407j lt3j and
essence (owia), (6o, 375 o}, sr6; founder
of Pamylia, [J6, J6sc], :z97; as female
and receptive principle, (SJ, J71E)1 JO:Zj
sB; finds Osiris intimate with her sister,
[t4, 3S6B], 3r6f; fragrance of, in Byblos,
[rs, 357Af], 315; gmnenl3 of, [14.
JS6Dj 77, J81C), 561; 50; on guard
during absence of Osiris, {13, JS6B],
310
Egyptian demenl3 in Hellenistic cult
of, 41; Euploia, 491; as falcon or kire,
35, JOf, J:ZB, J)lti and fate, 41, 73; and
fertility, J7:Zj foster-son of, 47; funerary
role of, 393; girdle of, SJ4i and p&is,
sr.ns
lsis, hair of, cut in mourning, (14, JS6D},
314f; S41 90; homed stltues of, and
crescent moon, [51, 371 o], soof
and Hathor, ss. ss, :z64, 446, soo, so1,
SOJ, su; Isis-Hathor, and Neith, 4SOj
heo~d-dress of, sor; Helleni:zed, 31, 41;
in Hcrm~ria., s19; and l;lesat, cow-
goddess, 4SO; hymn to, from AswAn,
p6; called Hysis, 108
6o6
Isis, impregnated with most pure qualities,
[sa, 375 A; 59, 375 ~~-<:]; journeys to
Buto, [rB, 3S7F}, 337f; and justice, [J,
351A-B), 164f; 41, f8, 91 j as land
fructilied by NUe, [31, 363 o], 411; 571
Bs; as leader of the Muses, [J, 3f1A-8],
165; 47, sa; lenient to Typhon, [19,
3SBD), 349f; [40, 367A), 4J4j Hi longs
for Osiris as highest god, [ss, 374Ff];
makes images of body of Osiris, [rH,
3SBA], J41j m:lkes image of phallus of
Osiris and consecrates ir, [r8, JSBB],
rs...
J4:zfi'; as matter, 3738-c), S04f; [77,
381c), 561; 48, sr, ss, SIJ; melancholy
through Typhon's actions, [s9, J7S A);
and Methyer, [S6, 3748], St1; sB; u
moon, obscures Typhon as sun, [44,
J6Bo], 4GB [s1, 3710), soof; as moon,
aid summoned in love affairs, [S1, 3710),
5oof; motherofHarpocrates, [191 Jf8D),
353f; mother of Horus, [38, J66c}, 40,
:zBo, 499, sos, saG; as mourner, [14,
Js6o], 314; [17, 3s7o; 39, J66E; S9.
J7S A], 891 901 311, pB, JGB, 431; and
Mouth, [56, 3748), 5 uf; sS; Myriad-
named, {SJ, 371B], so:zf; and Mysteries,
[17, 361 D-B), 3901
imitltion of, 390; incense offered to,
s67; increo~Sing importance of, 41, f6J;
and Io, JSJ, 443; Isis-knot, HH and
langtmges, 163, n:z; law-giving, 309;
less important than Osiris in D/0, 4S;
and Ma'at, :z64; as mater JD/orrna, 501,
so:z; and medicine, s66; in Meroitic, JIOj
Mise as daughter of, 463; 'mistn:ss
of every land', 53 r; mistress of heaven,
46s; and moon, Br, 383, 463, 465, 497,
p8; as mother of all, so1; mother of
Anubis, J181 465; 'mother of the god',
447, cf. sot; mother of Min-l;lor, 333;
mother of Pharaoh, 40; myth of, nff
lsis, name of, said robe Greek, [1, 351 F),
2.57ff; from 'to hasten' with 'under-
stlnding' and 'ro move', [Go, 375 c],
sI sf; Nurse and All-receiving, 501j
nurses child of queen in Byblos, [15,
3S7B), J1S; nurses Horus, [4o, 367 A);
nursling of (Dicrys), drowned, [8,
3SJE), 2.8of; opens chest with Osiris,
[17, 3570); in papyrus boat, [18, nBA],
3:J9f; pattern of piety, [171 361 o-E],
390ff; 73; perseo~ sacred to, [68, J78c),
GENERAL INDEX
Isis, persea sacred to (cont.)
SJ6f; and Persephasaa (Persephone),
(:17, 361 E), 39:zf; 76
name of, as 'ancient', :z:sB; and nature,
184; and navigation, see NaYigium
lsiJis; and Nc:Jth, 2.83, pt ; Isis and
Nephthys, and coffin of Osiris, 3:z3,
318, 367; dual mother-figure, 316;
Lam~ntarions of, see Lam~ntations; as
mourners, 44Bf, fOI; and Osiris cano-
pitu, <fJ8; they seek and find Osiris,
451; on ship, 463; Sonas of, see Song$
oflsis andNeplr.tlays; Isis, and Nile-gods,
.p.c; not a virgin mother, :z84; Isis
Panthea, fOJ; cf. s1 ; lsis Pdagia, 43,
S91 179, 304, 491; lsis Pharia, 43, 59,
73. 179.491
lsis, places connected with: Buto, [18,
JS7F], 3:J7f; 54, 304; Byblos, (151
3S7Aff), 319ff; 90; Coptos, (14, Jf6o],
314f; n; Pdusium, [16, H7], 334f;
Sais, [9, JS4C), 183ff; 317
Alexandria, 43, 49, 361; AswAn, s:z6; lsis, tearful near fountain in Byhlos, [1s,
Athens, 41; B~et d-l;lagar, 4S;
Roman Britain, 44; Byblos, 44; Cen-
c:hn:ae, 46, SO. 159, 437f, nB; Chaeronea,
94f; Ddos, 41, 46, 361; Denderah, 304,
491; Esna, 4S; Gau~ :z:67; Gortyna, 361;
Greece, 431; Hermopolis, 47; Italy,
36o; Khemmis, 304; Lecce, 361; Orcho
menos, 94f; Philae, 39f, 3661; Phoeni-
cia, JU; Pompeii, see s.v.; Rome, JIB,
pB; Sabratha, 36o, 361; Sebennytos,
3G9; Tanagra, 431; Taposiris, 370
Isis, pregnancy of, [Gs, 3771], no; pursues
the Good, [SJ, 3711!), so3; pursues
inc:lfable beauty, [78, 38) A], sGs; as
receptive element, [SJ, 3711], f01j (16,
374A], S09i [64, J77Ai 77, 3B1c);
recovers Osiris, (40, 367 A; f4, 373 A];
robes of, variegated in colour, [77
38:zc], 561; 167; robes of, used many
times. [77, JJ1D); saUs with coffin from
Byblos, [t6, :H7D); sean:hes for parts
of body of Osiris, [8, JSRA], 339; h41
37)A], 504; (59, 37SA], 451; 34i sepa-
rates legs of Zeus (Amiln), [61, 376c],
514i SJi and sexual love, (s1, J71D-B),
SOifj (~, )77A}, pBf; S81 7J1 S:z; in
sexual union with dead Osiris, [19,
nBo], 3Hf; 71; shrine of, see lseion; lsrrus, 164
:;hunseviJ, (SJ1 37:z:E), S03j On sistrum, It~ly, 36o; South and West, f39
[GJ, 376D-E), pB; and Sothis (Sirius),
(11,Jf9CJ, 371f; cf. (11, JS9EjJ81 36S Ff;
6r, 376A) 1 f11j fB, 303, )77, 444; as
soulful and intelligent movement, [6o,
37fCJ, rrsf; StOps Typhon's mad
frenzy, (:z:7, J6r o), 390; as swallow in
Byblos, [a6, JS7C], 31Bf
pn:cedence of, :zn; as printev;l) being,
::r.84; protects Osiris and Horus, 3 ro;
queen-mother, 41; rain-maker, 303f;
and Re', story or, 7o, S14i and Re'-
Atum, 3 s1; relative importlnce of, 1f 3 ;
revives Osiris, 34; and Sarapis, 4of;
and Selene (Moon), 465, 501; and
Seshat, 337; 'she of the many names',
41; as Shenrayet, 'the widow', 450;
and sistrum, piS; presented with sistrum,
s:z:6; and Sophia, 49, 354, 504; as
Soreira (Saviour), 3:17, 390; lsis-Sothis,
mother of Horus Sopd, 34, 41, 43, 353,
371; lsis-Sothis, on dog, 372.; swallow
as ba of, 32.9
3S7A], 314f; temple of, in Byblos, [16,
3S7C), 319; as Tethys, (34, 364D], 4:z9;
f7i and triangle, [56, 37JFf], SD9i S7,
6o, 74; united with Osiris In womb of
Rhea, [11, 3S6A), 307; b4,J7.)B-c], fOH
uses finger for bre:sst, [r6, 3S7C]1 32.7;
wail of, kills child, [t6, 357c-D}, 330;
wanderings of, [14, )f6B}, Jlfj (17,
361 Dj S4, 373 A], S4i and the well-
ordered, good, and useful, [64o 377A],
518; wife of Dionysus, [37, 365 F),
443; 77; wife and brother of Osiris,
[u, 3f6Aj, 307f; and wisdom, [1,
JS r E-F], 2.f6f; sr, 6o; and sacred Word,
(11 3f1F), 2.6o
teo~rs of, fall in water, 304; tears of,
and inundation, 413; temples of, and
charge of immorality, :z6a; as tlr.~tolcw,
464; and Thermuthis, cam-goddess,
446, fOJj and throne, ::159; tomb or, at
Bigeh, 367, 371; in triad, 74; lsis-Tyche,
7), cf. 41; universal, :z:z, 4::r., s1; and
Venus, so:z; violated by Horus, ss, JSO,
3Sf; and water, JOJ, 304; and Wed-
joyet, ssG; and women, 73; and
writing, 16J
lsocrates, 76, H 1
 GENERAL INDEX
Horus (colll.)
;68D], o~64; and triangle, {s6, 374A],
J09i 6o, 74; Typhon runsaway from, [so,
371 D), 493; trained for battle by Osiris,
{19, ;JBB], 344; victory over Typhon,
{19, ;sBD), 349; {4o, ;67B}, "Hi {S4,
373 B), sos; J4, SH 015 perceptible world,
h4, 37JA], f04i {H, 373c); {f7, 3740],
SIJj 48, 6o, f09
Horus, in Athens, 46, 6o; att:ilcked homo-
scxu.Uiy by Scth, JH, J88; of BcQdet,
JJS, 349, 491, 493; birth of, JoG, Jl:lj
bitten, no; dppi of, 346, J48, 4f7, 490,
491, no; 015 crocodile, 340; Horus
Daty, ;s6; in divine dyn:tSties, JIO, 333;
Eye of, in lll:lthcmatics, 198; Eye of, as
moon, 487, 498; Eye of, and offerings,
41 s, soB, f34 i Eye of, presented to
Osiris, soB; Eyes of, as Sun-god's
boats, 498; Horus as falcon, 301, S44,
J46; festival of, 499; forms of, f9; four
sons of, 3S ;ss; hands of, cut ofT by
lsis, 27, n. ;ss, 340, J4:Z, 3s1; and
Helius, 4S<I; and Heracles, 4S7i in
Hermttica, s9; on horseback, )<16; and
ina:nse, s67; and lea, f67; and living
king, soo, s46; name of, 'the one on
high', JOt; 'pillar of his mother', HH
and Re', po; and St George, 346;
'saviour of his father', J4f, 499; and
sky, 371; son of Hathor, 337, 4so, sa:z;
01nd Sucl1os, 340; temple of, ilt Edfu,
38; in tri01d, 74; violateS Isis, H, JfO,
JH, cf. 413; Wedjoyet nurses, 446f
Horus-Anubis, 466, p8
Horus, Elder, and Apollo, [a:z, JHE],
JOI j [I:Z, JSISA), J07j [S4, J7J B-C], fOSf;
no; bom maimed in darkness, [S4,
373c], sosf; picrure of world to come,
[S4t 373C], sosf; 6o; Elder or Great,
;or; see abo Huoeris and Aroueris
Horus-lods, JOO, 338
Horus-Seth myth, 1, 33, 71, 71; see (J/.so
Horus, feud with Typhon
Horus Sopd, son of Osiris and Isis-Sothis,
34, ;n, 371
Hour-Watchu, 38f; see also StunJenwachen
How, W. W., 333
l;lu (Diospolis Parvi~), 61, )Of
Hubaux, J., 179
Hubert, c., 113, ;s6
Hllckel, R., 3S4
Hulll:lO sacrifices, (73, )SoD], naif
Huncfer, papyrus of, 37G, s62
Hungary, Osiris in, 44
Hunt, A. S., 1931 317, 335, 3<11f, S48
Hurst, H. E., 174
Huttcn, J. G., 3, 111
Hydreion, so, 166; alWOiysleads procession,
(36, J<IS a], 437f
Hyis, epithet ofDionysus, [34, 364o], 419
Hygienic: motive, in religious riacs, 79,
3s3 A-B], S66
Hyginus, As:ro110m., 379; Fa6., 4Bo, Hs,
Sfl
Hyksos, ;re, 418f; and Scth, ;oo, 389
Hymns, to Osiris, (s:z, J71B], 496f; 84
Hysiris, (34, J64D], 419; 71, 8:z, toR, 1S7
Hystaspes, 479
I'ilb, moon god, 181f, 409, 4ss, 464; and
Thoth, 4S8
Ialdab:~oth, 409
larnblicltUs, Mysr.,JJ?,374i V.Pyth.,17S,
J10,J87
Iao, 409
Iberians, SJ9
Ibis, (71, J79E], S4H sto; equilater.d
triangle formed by feet and beiik, [?f,
JBI o], ssSf; generally honoured, (73,
JBos]; teaches use of purges, [?s, JBl c],
sss; wings of, show half-moon, [7s,
JBI D], H9l immormlity of, 93; in Isiac:
ritual at Pompeii, H9i and TI!oth, HS
Ibr:lhim, M., 333
Ichneumon, honoured 3S usefu~ {74,
JSOE], H4f
JdCOgr3ffi51 104,411
I es!.eJ-tree, 499, SJ6f
Ikhcmofret, Stel:~ of, ;6, 6), :zGo, JIB, 311,
J41, 363, 369
Illcgitilll:lc:y, vainly imputed to Horus, [19,
3S8D], Jflf
llll:lge, crcsa:nt-shOlped, ofCOlrth, Wilter and
spices, [39, :J66F], 4J1f; of dead l1l:lD,
in fC:tSt, (171 3S7F], 3JSf
lm:lginative filculty, helped by c:yphi, (So,
:JBJ F f], s?Of
lmbotep, 371, sso
lmiation, of whOlt is, [n, 371F)
lmlll:lOenC:C, divine, 1S4f
lmmormlity, {1, 351 E], 1H; 71, 89; and
Kneph, [:u, 3f9D], 374; 71; :md veget:il-
tion, 63; ste Q/.so Osiris, rebirth of
GENERAL INDEX
Impregn:~tion, through (of weasel),
lros~ bone of Typhon, (6:~, 37GB), s:z:zfT;
COif
[74, JBIA], SHi through mouth, 301
Impure, and pure, (4, Jf1D], 170f
Iscion, shrine of Isis, [1 JS1A] 26
Incense, 99; in c:aescent-shOlpcd illl:lge, l39, 1S8 ' ' 1, 97,
366F], 4pf; offered to sun three times
Ishlilr, 316, 381, SH, S43 ; and planet
a day, (p, 371c], soo; {79, JSJA], s6s; Venus, 481
gives reiC:tSe from evil, s<17; 010d scents lsia, in festival papyrus, 449
of Punt, s67; as swCOit of Amun, s<l?;
inc:cnse-bumcrs, s<l?
lsiad, [J, 3f 1 B-c], 16?; 67, 99i linen robes
of, [J, JS1C],:z~B;sr;shaven,[),JfZc],
India, 376, 379, 380, 381; bulls from, [z9, 168; ft; Colleg~um of, JGo
]61s], 4DJj 77; lndi010 myth, 010d birth lsitlis oppidum, 1G1
ofSeth-Typhon, 301; Indi010 philosophy, lsidorus (Charac:cnus), 393 ,
471 391
ls~dorus Hispalcnsis, s:z6; Et,rmolog.,
lndra, 474 403
Ists, 16, 340, 344, Js<l, ;<11, 401, 440, 4 s6
Infinitive, present and :~orist, 11, 3 to, 331;
tense of, 48 t fOB; Olrnbrosi:~ of skin, [1s, H?B], 311 ;
amulet of, {<Is, 3?7B; 68, 3?8&], SJ4f; 6 s,
lniti01tcs, deceOlsed, adorned with sacred
n o; anger of, [t6, 3S7D]; anger of,
clothes, [;, nu], 167f; knowledge of, kills boy, (17, 3f7D], 331; Anubis as
(18, )<lu], 401 ; 97, sec:rec:y of, {1s,
guardian of, [14. JS6F], 17f; arrival of.
)GoF], )86; 97; md sacred Word, [:z,
from Phoenic:ia, [so, 37' D], 49tf; so:
3ftF], :z6of; abstinence of,16af;sh01vcn,
169 <Is, 331, 340J 015 Athena, (9, Jf4C), 1B]IT;
f1t; 015 Athen:~ - I came from myself'
Initiation, 43, 89, 95, 1S6, :z6o, 390, SJJi (61, 376A], s:a; uo;35 Athyri (Hathor):
Hall of, 36o; and Plutarch, 97, 401; of [s6, 374 B], s u; ss
priests, 391; scope extended, 67
and Ag:~pe, JB; and Aker, earth-god,
Inscriptions, from Boeotia, 46; C/G (t,
446; anthropomorphic, 494; Anubis
17S), )81; (m, 4008), 3h; C/L (IV, 787; protected by, 2Bo; and Aphrodite, 401
1011), 169; (vm, 1007), 398; (x, J8oo), lsis-Aphrodite, nude, f3 s; A pis pro:
so3; (xa, 'S44), 370; (xn, 1919), 317;
rected by, 18o; Apuleius on, 46 Area-
(xn, ;o6r), 167; Dessau, /mer. SJ.
logics of, 4:Z, p, 69, 73; and Astiirte,
1
(4361, 4361), so3; IG {u , 4701), :z64;
J:Z:Z, )16, S01j c:alled Astane-Artemis,
(m, 161), 166; (1x, 486), 16f; /G ROM. ):Z6
(t, 1303), 67; OGJS (16), 39Jf; (83), 91,
164; (97), 41; (tu), 4:19, 430; (69S),
lsis, base of most beautiful triangle, s6, r
373 F fJ, f09; f9i belongs to all men,
so:z; SB(999), J14j (IOIS), f01j {1H4), [66, 377D], f)t; bewuils Osiris, [17,
370; (3481), fiB; (41or), so:z; (4117),
JS7D), )Jlj ]4, 3St JUj birthd01y of,
so:z; (4<1so), so:z; (soso-s), 37Di (S689),
[a:z, JHF), 303f; Gs; black clothes of,
JJH (BJJJi 8)88; 8]89), ;oo; SEG (8, 010d hidden phases of moon, (p,
S48), 316; (8, f74), 190; SIGI (376),
371o], JOI; and black linen on gilded
196; (sBS), 161; (7S4), 16s, 167; SIGI COW, (39, }66 E}, 4J I j brings Up Anubis,
(11)1), 164
(44, J68 E], 46sf; burns p:uu of quecn's
Insight, a divine quality, (1, JP D), 1S4 cllild, [u, JS7c], 318
Intercourse, sexual, Clboo on, :z<lt
and B:~'Ollilt Gebal, )n; and Bastet,
lllltrpretatio Graeca, 48, 6o, cf. 311, f03
f17, p8; bew.Uls Horus, S41; in hi-
Inundation, of Nile, and King, 411; see also
sexual role, 184, JSJ, 46.j; as a bitch,
Nile-rising
40; black mourning dress of, 90, JOI;
lo, and lsis, Jp, 443
blameless, 17; blindness inflicted by,
Ios, Arelillogy from, set Arelillogics
s:zs; 'Blood' of, s34f; 'bringer to 5ilfe
Iranian dualism, 17, 3 1; Iranian influence, 010chor.~ge', 3H
on Plato, 4Bsf; Iranian interpretltions,
lsis, children questioned by, [14, :JS6E),
sa, 481
31 s; cohabits with Dionysus, b7, 36s F),
Iris (IWnbow), mother of Eros, 3S7
443; confinement of, [6J, 377c], no;

GENERAL INDEX
Hathor-Sakhmet, 2.76, 277
Harding, F. J. W., xvi
}:larembab, :1.8~ H9
Harendotes, 345
Harmonia, born of Aphroditc and Ares,
[48, 370C}, 48); harmony, Empedocles
on, [ 48, 37oo-E}, 483f
Haroeris and Apollo, f9 ; birth of, soo;
eyes ~f, 499 i son of Heliu.s, S9 i son of
O siris 59 see also Arouens
Harpo~tes,' ::r.6s, 3 14 , 401; birth of, [19, Heat,
3S8D}, JJ)f; [6s, 37711), nof; 6s ;
finger-to-mouth gesture of, [ 68, 378 ~
c), 5)6; Go, 110, Jnf, 441, ns; lenuls
offered to, [65, 37711}, nt; cf. lsB,
-c}, 5JH ::r. ::r.; posthumous pro-
37811 7
creation of, [19, JS9D}, Jnf; H Go,
343 , JP,, 434 49, s; prematurely born
and weak, [19, H8o), 353f; Sf, Go; {6s,
0 S;
37711 -c], nof; [68, 37811), BH S Hengstenberg, W., HJ
teacher of rational insight, [68, 378 a-c),
ns; 6o; and crocodile, H7i cult of,
43r, 6o; at Delos, 46; and H~cl~, 4~
Go, 4 s 7 ; and Min, 44; and Patawn, 3S4,
:lrld ram of Mendes, 44; and Sebek, ~4
Harris, Eve and John R., on Egrntl:lrl
cults in Britain, 44
Harris John R., ix, xvii, ::r.69, ::r.7o, ::r.71,
::r.7J: P~ 339 s::r.::~, s::r.J, s66, s67. s68,
s69 ; on lcm, 4::1.6
Harris, J. Rendel, ::r.s9
Harsii!sis, 59, 3::1.7, 338
Harsomtus, son of Hathor, s::r.6
Harunan, J. J., 95, 113, 116
Hanwort, in cyphi, [8o, 38J E}, s69
Harvesters' Vase, s::r.s
Hassan, Selim, 36, ::r.98, 441, 442., 496, S64
Hastings, James, ix, 2.4
Hate, denoted by fish, [J:z., 363F], 42.2; JOS
Hathor 3::r.8, 381, S03, s::r.s. s::r.7; and
Ap~ditc, 3os; and Astarte, 32.2., p6;
in Byblos, JUj 'Lady of Byblos', 326;
t;OW of, s 44, ss 1; and Denderah, 304,
35 8; goddess of. music, s::r.6; of sexual
love, fO I j :lrld lSIS, Sf, SB, 2.64, ::r.Bo, 304:
446, soo, sol, so3, p::r.; as June, S4S Helcn,
mistress of sistrum, S::r.6, cf. P 7 P 8 ;
mother of Harsomtus, p6, n6; mother
of Horus, 337, 4SO, fJ::r.; and Nephthys
at }:(u, 61; as Sekh:lt-}:lor, 4so; and
6
Wedjoyet, 337; seven, ::r. S; see also
Athyri
Hathor-pendant, ::r.68
600
Hatshepsut, temple of, ::r.83
Hatzidakis, G. N., n7
Haurvatat, 'health', 47<i
Hawk, god changes into, [7::r., 379E), S4H
generally honoured, [73, 38oB}
Headlam, W ., 9~ 514, SIS
Heart, and fruit of persea, [68, 378c],
n6f; in writing of passion, [10, JSSA},
::r.88f; 107
caused by winds and waters, [p,
)72.A], 496
Heath, T., 41 J, S09
Heath-tree, see Erica-tree
Heaven and Anubis, {61, J7SE), p7f; and
Osiri~. {61, 37SD], Sl7j written with
t;Obra, [to, JH A], ::r.88; 107; and death,
371 ] l;lemen, lmpregn:~tes Nephthys, 317
Hebdomad, and Athens, [10, JS4F
288
Heeataeus, of Abdera, 84, 88, 9~ 98, 99
too, 10~ 378, J80, 497, HH on AmCin
as form of greeting, {9, 3f4D}, 28s; 8J,
8~ Jo6, 43::1.; on kings' wine, [6, 3SJII],
5; 66, 81; and Amenthes, 4o6; and
17
DiodorusSiculus, 81, 43o;and Manetho,
8::r.
Hecataeus, of Miletus, 76, 561
Hecate, and Anubis, [44, J68E], 467; 6.1 ;
and Artemis, [71, 3790], S44; Chthonta,
467; and Selene, 467; Sotcira, 39o;
temple of, 403
Het:tor, ;86
Hedgehogs, and Horoma:z.es, [46, 369E-
F], 476
Heidelberg, 4S8
Hein, A., Jo, 11, 113
Heitsch, E., 2H, 42.6
HelcaMlclate Papers, 303
Hdek, Wolfgang, ix, xvii, 36, 37 ::1.7~ 3 27
334 J41, 36S, s8, S2f, SHi on Bybl?'
episode, H J21; on incense-treeS.~
Egypt, s68; on Manetho, 78; on Osans
as god of shepherds, JS
377 .
Heliodorus, 104, ::r.74, 541; Aetfaiop., 2s 8,
4::1.0, 44S
Heliopolis, 37, 7S. 287, ::r.91, 3S3 S08
Mnevis-buU reared in, [33, 364B], 4 H
376; priests in, and wine, [6, 3S3 A-ll):
::1.74 coun in, J4, ;s:~.; Ennead of, 36,
high' priest of, 499 ; inlluente of, s63
GENERAL INDEX
Helius (Sun), CUrSes Rhea, [1~ nso],
291f; and eye o fHorus, [S::r., 37::r.11], 498;
[ss, 373 E), so9; f:~ther of Apopis, [36,
;6s o], 44o ; father of Aroueris, [~
3HF], 291f; 59; father of Osiris, ( 1 ~
JHF], 291f; S9i moves around in boat,
[34, 364c], 426f; 5:1crifice to, [Jo, 363 A],
4u; son of, in rejected eulogy, [2.4,
36oc]; and Atum, ::r.81; in chariot, 427;
and Osiris, Horus, S:~rapis, 456; and
Scrapis, 44, 401
Hellanicus, of l.esbos, 84, 99, 487; and the
fonn Hysiris, 34, 365 o], 4::1.9; 8~ 108,
:lS7, 517
Hellenization, of Egyptian religion, 3 1
Helmbold, Wi!liam C., ix, xvii, 3, Jo, 13,
7So 113, 114, 117, uo, 2.6o, 404, 418,
470, 483, 571
Henning, W. B., 473, 474, 475
Hephaestus, and fire, [J::r., 363 o], 419; [66,
J77D), S)lf; blood of, s::r.::r.; and Hera,
419, 4::1.0
Heptastadium, 4H
Hen, [::r.6, 361 A), 386; [Jo, ;6; A]; and air,
[J:t, 363 o], 419; and Heph:~estus, 419,
42.0; and Zeus, ;oS
Heracleides Ponticus, [:17, 361 E), 393; 399,
76; On Orac/u by, (27, 361 a), 393
Heraclcion, of temple of Khons, 4S7
Heracleirus, 2.0, :u, 87,427, S41;[::r.s, 361A],
400; on being who guides universe, (76,
38::r.11), 561f; on t;OOt;Ord from opposite
tensions, [45, 36911], 469f; on war, (48,
370D], 483; on fire, ::1.79; on Homer,
483; On Nature, 400
Heracleitus, allegorist, 419; A/legoriae,
419, s6s
Heracleopolis (Magna), 37; :~nd Baba, 448;
and Arslphes, 441; and limbs of Osiris,
)41
Heracles, elewted from good daemon to
god, (::r.7, 361 a], 392.; father of Charop6,
[29, )62.8}, 402; goes round with sun,
{41, 3670), 4S7f; Stoics on, [4o, 367c],
4Hi and Amen-Re'-Harsaphes, 4S8;
and Harpocr.nes, 44, Go, 457; and l:fery-
shaf (Arsaphes), 44::r.; and Horus, 4S7;
1
and Khons, 4S7; and Osiris, 4S7i seed
of, s::r.::r.
Heraiscus, ::r.68
001
Hercules, Egyptian writer, 40::1.
l;leri-J:Ior, 28:1
Herington, C. J., 30::1.
Hermaeus, 64, 84, 99; On Futivab of tlu
syptitmt, 37, 36fE), 442; 64, 77; on
Osiris, liS 'mighty', [37, ;6sz], w;
109, S17; on Osiris liS Omphis, (4~
;6811), 46of; 77. 299
Hermann,A.,;o8, 316, ;)6,462
Hermanobammon, s18
Hermanubis, [c5J, 37S E], s17f; 61, 2.9o; in
Alexandria, fiB
Hermaphrodite, 463
Hermaphroditus, 464
Hermeas, of Hermopolis, 442.
Hermes (often .. Thoth), SJ, 390; Books of,
(61, 37SF), Sl9f; 6~ 69, 84; and Her
metiCG, S::r.Dj deformed in arms, (::r.~
3S9B), 375; 6::r.; dist;Overer of writing,
music and poetry, [J, JS::r.A), ::r.6;; 62;
the Dog, not literally, [u, 3H 11], ::r.89f;
fatherofisis, [J, :JS2A], ::r.6;; [~ JHF],
6:z.; festiwl to, [68, 37811}, f33f; gives
cow head-dress to Isis, [19, 3f8D), 3sof;
H 1 6::r.; goes round with moon, (41,
367o], 458; helps Horus to prove
legitimacy, (19, ;s8o], ;srf; (s4, 373B),
sos; liS Logos (reason), h4, 37311], sos;
loves Rhea, [u, JSS o},::r.91f;moon-god,
(41, 367o), 4S8; pl:~ys draughts with
Moon, [1~ JHD], 293f; 4S7i rips out
sinews ofTyphon, hs, 373c], SO?; s::r.;
witness and advocate for Horus, [s4,
37)11], sos; 6::r.
equation with Thoth JO, s1; and,
Anubis, 290; creatorofepagomenal days,
6:z.; and Hecate, 463; Homeric Hymn to,
507; and ibis, S4Si inventor oflyre, SO?;
seed of, s::r.2; stall' of, 61; steals rows of
Apollo, SO?
Hermes Trismegistus, s9
Hermetic literature, ~~~ :ts6, :a6J, s9;
teaching, 2SS, 464, S44i Corpu.r Hermeti-
cum, 498, so;, 519, s::r.o; and 'Books of
Hermes', p .o
Hermippus, On tA Magialu, 471, 481
Hermodorus, ofSyraeuse, On Mat!.ematiu,
470f, 472
Hermodotus, poet, (2.4, ;6oc], ?S
Hermopolis, )18, 3::1.7, 36o, 371, 44~ H9i
lsis in, [J, JS::r.A f], ;tG4f; 47; image of
Typhon in, as hippopotamus, [so,
 GENERAL INDEX
Ganszyniec, R., 569, 570
Garbini, G., p.6
Gardiner, Sir Alan H., vii, viii, xvi~ 8J,
101, 10)1 104, 266, 28:t, 287, 289, 294,
296, JO:t, 30f1 309t 310, 322t 333> 334
335, 336, 345, 346, 347, 349, 350, 3SJ
3n, 354, 36 5, 36 9, 3,6, 3,,, J88, 389,
4o8, 412, 417, 421, 426, 4)8, 439. 441,
456, 46:t, 468, 48s, soo, soB, 521, ps,
no, 534, n6, sso, ssr, SS?; on Byblos,
319; on calendar, 67, 448; on fear of
onions, 28o; on Khemmis, 313, 337; on
month-names, 295; on Onnophris, 46o,
461; on Osiris :~nd kingship, )41 495;
on writing, 510
G:~rdner, P., 43%
Gargoyles, lionhcaded, 445
Garmen1S, of deceased devotees, and
Logos (lore), [3, JS1B), 268
Garnet, J. S.Unte F:~re, on hymn to
Osiris, 496
G:~rst:mg, John, 329, 330
Gath:JS, 28, 473, 477, 486
G:~ul, Jsis in, 267
Gauthier, H., 266, 304, 334, 36:t, 369, so6,
507, po, S:t4
Gayer, A., 346
Geb, 35, 421, 439, ps; and Cronus, 30,
263; in divine dyn:JStics, JIO; finds Seth
guilty, 34; :JS the God Five, 288; :~nd
Nut, hostility between, 2.9<t, 3o2;
vio!:ltes his mother, 291
G&c:il, 331
Gebel Adda, 359
Geffclten, J., 379, 481
Gehestey, 34, 388
Geltius, Aulus, 28o
Geminus, of Rhodes, on annus vagus, 449
Gener:Jis, become kings, [9, JHB], 282
Generative member, :~nd rush, [36, 365 o),
439
St George, and Horus, 346
Gerclte, A., 541
Gerf Husln, Nubi:l, ;83
Gershevitch, I., 472
Gerth, B., 113
Geryon, cattle of, 4 57
Geyer, F., 397
Giants, deeds of, [<tS, J6oE), 385f; 276
Girga, 361
Gizeh, 171, 183, 347, 363
Glanville, S. R. K., 510, SJ6
GtiOsis, and lsis, 51, ?Of,ns; of Osiris, {:t,
3su.J, 1s6; 262
Gnostic myth of V:llentinus, 48, cf. p,
354. 504
Gnosticism, Go, 71, 99, 354
God, [1, JSJ o], 154; 71; and aocodile,
[75, 38t o), ss6; and evil, (45, 369-'),
469; not without mind or soul, [6?,
377E]; orders everything, [76, J81A);
god of the sacred basket, [Js, 365 -'],
43 s; gods, birth of, on ep:~gomen:ll days,
(l:t, JfSD-E], 294ff; SJ, 6Jj gods, and
blood sacrifices, [6, J53B], 276; bodies
of, venerated, [11, 359c], 370f; change
into anim:lls, [?:t, 379E], HS; deeds of,
:~scribed to kings, [11, 359 o], 375; gods
(theoi), deriV:Jtion of, (Go, 375 c), p6;
Egyptian :~ttirude to, [701 3790]; gods
of Egypt, a common heri~:~ge, [ 66, 377 c),
SJI; Egyptian n:~mes of, {66, 3770);
gods, flight of, before Typhon, [72,
379Ef], S4H Sll gods as givers of aops,
[70, 378Ff]; n:~mes of, used as narur:ll
produc1S, {66, 377], SJif; Olympian
gods, given right side :md odd num
hers, [26, 361 A], 387; gods :10d se:~son:ll
changes, [65, 277o], 519f; [Gc], 378],
nsf; gods (6), created by Horomazes,
(47, 36cJFf], 476; :~nd 14 others, (47,
37oA], 477f; riV:JI gods (6), created by
Areim:JDius, [47, 37oA), 477f; :~nd
:t4 others, [471 J70A], 477f; gods, souls
of, shine as stars, [11, 3~9c], 371;
worship of, ~:~ught by Osiris, [13, JS6A],
309 D.
God, desired by m:~tter, ~04; ymg,
f50j godS, :IS cosmic forces, 454l
dyn:JSties of, 84; garments of, worn by
deceased, 167; linked with me!als, p1;
theriomorphic, 494; threatened, H t
Godel, R., 185
Goediclte, H., 183, 445
Golden casket, [39, J66F], 451f; 63;
golden objectS, prohibited, [30, 363 A],
411; golden r:~ce, 540
GoMnischeff, W., )Of, 416
Gombay, Andre, 109
Gonzenbach, V. von, 431
Good, and evil, causation of, [45, J6?A-
o], 46c]f; (Go, 375 o], 516; how mixed,
[47, 370B], 478; and anim:~ls, 476; fin:ll
triumph of good, 23, PS
GENERAL INDEX
Goodenough, E. R ., ix, 167, 433, f11' on
ph:lllicism, 300, 341, 343, 344 ' Groot, A. W. De, 14, 113
Goodwin, W. W., t:t1 114
Gorryn:~, temple at, 361
Gospel of John, and Logos, sos; Stt also
Bible
Gosptl tJf Truth, 504
Gossen-Steier, 557, 56o
Government, one, of :ill men, 479
Goyon, G., 291
Grant, F. C., u:z, SJI 1 fJJ
Grapow, Hermann, 37, 258, 281, 2911 342t
345, 41:t, 416, ssr, 569; on Egyptians
and hygiene, 566
Gray, G. B., 382
Grdseloff, B., ::t66
Grc!artl, 0 ., 14. 31, 486
Greece, n:~mes from, transferred back, (:z9,
j61E], 407; Greece, and Egypt, 18, 30,
401 531
Greek philosophers, and Egypt, [to, J54E],
28flr; 75, cf. :t, 414; Greek rites, :~nd
Egypti:~n, [69, 378D-Ej, S37l Greek
words, among strangers, (61, 375E)
p8f; Greek astronomy, 482; attirude
to l:~nguages, 103; du:llism of body and
soul, 71; names of gods, 30; Greek
imerpret:Jtions, 48 1 Go, 321, so3; Greek
rc:ligion, 19, see also untler gods; therio.
larry in, 542f; Greek thought, and
Mithraism, 478; Greek women, domes
ticity of, s6o
Greeks, and b:~rbarians, (67, 377], 131;
1:t, 19; Greeks equate Osiris and
Dionysus, (13, JS6Bj, 309f; on Zeus and
H:~des, [48, 370C],48); and du:llism, 28;
and Egypt, 131; in Egypt, 4of; and
sacrifices, 414
Gregorian calend:~r, 66
Greipl, Nelly, 394
Grenfell, B. P., 171, 293, 335, 36d~ 548
Gressmann, Hugo, ix, 316, 318, 316, 339,
432t 435. 4f2, 464, 472t 473. 474. 475.
48:t, SJ?; on festiv:ll in Athyr, 451f; on
helpful crocodile, 340
Griffin, and sphinx, :r.83
Griffith, A. S., 431
Griffith, F. U., ix, 107, to8, no, 163, 170,
275,186,187, JIO, 3141 3171 )68,4-fl, 570
Griffith, G. T ., xi, 199, 131
Griffiths, J. Gwyn, viii, ix, 1 et passim
Griffiths, Rev. W. B., ss
599
Grillius, of Alexandria, 131
Grottos, in Isiac cult, 361
Gruppe, P. A., 330
Gudeman, A., B:z, 434
Guigniaur, ]., 395, 396
Guimet, E., 1or, 266, 2.6, 169 34 8
Gulick, c. B., sGo ' '
Gundel, W., 371, 37J
Gunn, Battiscombe, xv, 1, 89 , 49:t, 111r
Guthrie, W. K. C., 41), 414. 433, 43f, 446,
478, 509. 543
Haarhoff, T . ]., 103
Haas, D. H:ms, vii
Hacking the e:~rth ', fertility rite, 37
H:~des, 402, 403, 46s; and the body, [28,
J62A}, 400; and Dlonysus, equ:~ted,
[18, j6:u), 400; called :1 friendly god
(19, )62.o], 4o6; given dreaded ~
[48, 370C), 483; invoked with omOmi,
[46, J6cJE], 475; and Osiris, [61, 375 o],
517; [78, 381E], 563; 57; to perish,
(47~ 37~B),479f; and ttiangle, (30, 3G3 A);
dc:nvanon of, 4o6; and Sarapis, 483,
517, f6j
Hadrian, 17, rS, 1841 Jlf, 401 1 441
Hadrian's Gatew:~y, Phllae, 39, 367 49 6
H:~em:~tize 'birth~tones', ns I
Haghia Triad:~, vase from, f1f
H.Uk:ll, Fay:;ta, 413
H:Ur, oflsis, cut in mourning, (14, JsGo],
314f; 54, 90; of queen's m;Uds, pwted
by Isis, [rs, 3S7A], 315; of priests, cut
otT, (4, jf::tcJ, :z68f
Halrer Fcstiv:ll, 64
H:llic:am:JSsus, 393
H:ill, H.R., 78
H:illiday, W. R., 367, 430, 432, 434. 481,
507
H:llm, K. F., 116
H:~mmon, see AmQn
Hani, J., 356
Haoma, 475; and cyphi, 571
Happiness, of men, in the end, (47, J70B},
479f; and re:JSOO, (68, 37Bc]
J:l'apy,, god of Nile, 274, 436; and l;lpy
(Apts), 405; sometimes bisexual, 464;
and Osiris, 420
H:Jrdai, 4o, 342t 548
H:Jrder, Richard, ix, 263, p6, 53of; on
tide, 45, 253, 157
 GENERAL INDEX
Eudoxus, of Cnidos (cont.) Edfu, 38; on Ptolemaiewriting, 411; on
gon, [Jo, )6JA], 413f; S3; on Zeus, texts of Ptolemaic temples, 1o6
imbility to Wlllk, (631 376c), ~:14; S3; Fakhry, Ahmcd, 3:14
Description of tire WoriJ, [6, )SJC]1 F.Ucon, denotes power, [so, 371 c), 491;
:1.71; Dialogues of Dog:, S), :1.71; trans- fighting wich snake, [so, 371 c), 491;
lator from Egyptian, 10:1.; on Zoroaster, 109; as hieroglyph, (31, 363 P}, 412; on
471, 473 hippopommus in Hermopolls, [~o, 371 cJ.
Euhemerism, :J.6, 56, 99; [n, 359PE], 37Si 49of; traits of, (SI, 371 Ef), 494i in
415, 443 writing ofOsiris, (51, 371Ef],494; 1o9;
Euhemerus, che Mcssenian, quackeries of, f.Ucon ofHorus, f46, teal.so Horus; on
[:J.J 1 )GoA], 379f; :J.I 1 J79l on Zeus, 379; oryx, 490f
Tire Sacred Record, J?91 )So Famine, seven years of, 450; 'Famine
Eumolpids, 76, 397, 398, 403 Stela', 461f, sso
Eunomia, as Soteira, 390 Fanmstic incidents, rejected, (sB, 374E],
Euripides, on dog of Artemis, (71, 3790], 101
544; on good and evil, [4St )69u], 470; Famell, L R., viii, 430, 431, 43J 467, ns,
7Si Acolus, 470; Alcest., 18; Amiope, soo
J39 i Bacclt., 376,386, 4331 4)6, 441; lA, Farrington, B., xvi
:J.9J, 339; Plroen., 170, 329; Tro., [?S 1 Fasting, [1, JflPE], 261f; (:~6, 361 B), 387;
3SI B), H?i 3)6 so, 91; in Thesmophoria, (69, 378D-E),
Eurydice, Memmia, 17, 1f4 SJ?f
Eurytus, giant, :1.76 Fate, and lsis, 411 73, cf. SJ6
Eusebius, So, JS6; Claron., 334; Praep. Father and mother, honoured by Horus,
Evang., 154, lf6, IfS, 166, 1f3 1 2.f8, [19, Jf8B), 344f
374, 4C17, .po, 41St 426, 4:1.9, 446, 461, Faulkner, R. 0., JBf, ::tGo, 269, :1.81, :~89,
497, fiB, 519 JOO, 3071 316, JJ4, ]36, J46, 371, 376,
Eusmchius, :193 393, J96 408, 434, 440, 4SI, 489, f:lf, SJ6
Eustr.ltius, us, 2.54 Fawn-skins, [JSt 364E], 431f; 89f
Ewns, Sir Arthur, S43 Fayum, 41, 169, 548; crocodile cult in,
Ewns, J. A. S., 266; on revolt of Theban 490,557
priests, 373 Fayilmic, 108
Evil, and one God, [4S 1 369A], 469; origin Feast, with image of dead man, [17, J~?P],
of, [4s, 369A], 469; :u; evil things, and 33Sf
SethTyphon, [so, 371 o], 493 Fecht, Gerhard, 107, 109, uo, 185, 191,
Er.lmination,ofsacrifici.U oxen, [31, 361A- 36~; on l;lr, 301
B]1 415 Fedem, Waiter, 467
Exekias, 293, 433 Female principle, and Isis, [n, 37:J.E], ~o1;
Eye, in writing ofOsiris, [10, 3S4FfJ,298 ; ss
(S 1, J71 E), 493 i 1o6, 109 Ferguson, A. S., :1.63, 498, s2o, 54:1.
Eye, of Horus, ret Horus; of Re', sec Fertility, and Isis, )7:J.i and Osiris, [Go,
Re' 37S A), 4SJ
Ey~wimesses, and festivDls, [37, )Gs F), Festiv.Us, Egyptian, (68, )7BD), SJ)ff;
44Ji 103 641f; Greek, [68, )?BD]
FestugiUe, Andre-Jean, viii, x, 2f7, ::t61,
Fiihse, G., 112, t88, 138, :140 464,498, fO); on content of H~rm~tka,
Fagan, Cyril, 372 p.o; on Egypt and Diony~Z:Igreus,
Falrman, H. W., viii, xv, 1, 37, 39, 63,176, Jff, 434
288, 311, )IJ, ))8, 341, 34S, 348, 349t Fetishism, ff 4
JSI, 367, 37St 408, 409, 411, 414, 413, Figs, eaten in festiv.U, [68, 378 e), S34i
448, 4901 491, 491, 493 499, SSI; on 64
crypts, 3S9l on Hermopolis in eh. so, Fmding, of Osiris, [39, )66F], 452
491; on Khemmis, J37l on Osiris at Finegan, J., ::tB
GENERAL INDEX
Finger, used for breast by lsis, [16, JS?C],
J17; sucking of, in rite of adoption, 317
Finger-tomouth, of Harpocrates, [GB,
J78C), 536
Firchow, 0., 495
Fire, 188; and Hephaestus, [J:J., 363 o),
419; [66, J71D], SJI f; from moisture,
(36, 365 c], 439; rarefies :Ur, [79, )8J C],
J68; :md sea,[?, Jf3E], 2.79; 8~, p8; H
means of immortality, 3:18
Firmicus Maternus, Err. prof. ul., 1f8, 3:14,
339, 370, 405, 445, 4f:J., 4H, 497, 529,
f41; Mat/res., ::t65
First cube, :md Poscidon, (1o, JS4F], ::t88
Fish, denoting hilte, [32.1 J6) F), 4:u; 1os;
eat phDllus of Osiris, [18, )fBB), 34Uf;
as hieroglyph, [J" )6J F), 41::tf; neither
necessity nor luxury, (7, JSJD], "79;
oxyrhynchus, revered, [7, Jnc], 2.78;
s.;B; fish, rejected by priests, [7, JSJ C],
:1.78; (3:~, JGJF], 41:1 ; roast fish, ea1en
before front doors, [?, 353 o], 279; 64;
sea fish, abstention from some, (71
)f3CEJ,::t77f;s48; for Osirian mummy,
344; :md phDllus, 343
Fishing, :178
Five, and facher and mother, (56, 374A],
509; and 'all', [s6, 374A), S09
Flaceli~re, R., u "
Flach, H. L M., 384
Flax, gives food and clothing, [4, JSU],
171; skyhluc in blossom, [4, JS:J.D],
171
Florence, 79
Fontenrose, J., )86, 435
Foods, abstinence from many, [2, )fl FE],
261f; sG6; from fish, by priests, [?,
Jnc], ::t78; from some sea fish, (7,
)SJC], 178; from mutton, (4, 3~1c],
,.,of; from beans, :J.?"i priests from
onions, [8, JSJE], 28of; abstinence and
heaJch, (79, )H)A-B), jG6j food not
needed in final st;lte, [47, J?OB], 4S1
Foreign words, in poetry, [61, 375 Ef], 519
Form, Aristode on, [48, )?OB], 4Bs; forms,
mind as abode of, [ss, 374E], s4
Forster, E. M., 4H
Fortune, and tongue, [68, 37Bc), 536
Foucart, G., 375, 383
Foucan, Paul, 310, 391i on Dionysus and
Osiris, 430
Founmin, wherelsiswept, [15, JS?A], 3:14
S97
Four days, of mouming festiv.U, [39,
J66E), 4JI
Four elements, and rattl~rods of sistrum,
[6), J76D), ~17
Fowler, H. N., 111
Fowls, fiB
Fraenkel, E., J11
Frankcl, M., ::t6S
Fragrance, oflsis, [15, JS7Af], J1S
Fr.mkfort, Henri, 1, 31,:191, :193 302, )J::t,
353, J6J, 371, 4:14, 494. 49H on funerary
use of trees, 32J; on Greek and Egyptian
thought, ::t86; on Osircion, 341
Fr.mkfort, H. A., 4:14
Frankincense (olil>anum), sG6
Fraser, P. M., xvii, 44, Go, 300, JIB, 394,
4c:10; on Mysteries of lsis :md Sarapis,
391f; on Sarapis cull in Alcx:mdria, 396;
on Sarapis and Isis, 41, 43; on spread of
Silr.lpis cult, 401, 431; on triads, 44
Fravashis, guardian angels, 476; extemal
souls, 471
Frazer, Sir James G., viii, 181, JIJ, )::t),
3:14, J::ts, 3:1.9, 3J:J., 333, 367, 370, JBs,
403, 4f3, 456, 457, 46o, 4BJ, 491, 498,
SJB, HS. s6o; on immonality :md lire,
):J.S; on veget:ltion :md religion, 519
Freeman, Kathleen, xv, 4BJf
Frenki:m, A. M., 4:141 4:17, 486
Friedliinder, P., 3S7
Friendship, Empedocles o~ [48, J?OP-E],
4BJf
Fries, Car~ 456, 4Go; on lunar meanings ip
Athyr rites, 4S3
Frisch, Paul, on DIO, Bs- s, IIJ, :1.79
Fritz, Kun von, 533
Frobenius, H.,:~, 111
Fruin, R. J., on M:metho, 79
Funerary Liturgy, 33,415, 416, S34
Furia, Fr. del, 3
Furies, 4BJ
FurtWiingler, A., 543, soo
Gabra, s., 165, JIB, )6o
Gadd, C. J., 316
G:lia, )SS
G:lillanl, C., ,.,s
G.Ue, T., 374
Galen, S?l; De Vtn. rtct., ns
Gamhud, J44
Ganges, 381
Ganschinietz, R., 409
 GENERAL INDEX GENERAL INDEX

Drcxler, w., viii, Z97o 4SI, 46S, 49:Z, so,
SO)
Drioton, E., xvii, :z67f, 2.90, 407; on
cryptic saipt, osf; on an appc:al to
Nut, :z96
Dronkers, A. I., s, 112.
Drought, and animnl-worship, (73, 38oc-
D), SfOf
Drower, Margaret S., x
Drowning, apodteosis by, 2.7); of Apis,
:1.73; of Osiris, stt Osiris, drowned
Drunkenness, and blood of ancenors, [6,
HJB-C], Z77
Dry element, necessity of, (4o, 367 A), 4S4i
opposes wind, [36, 36s o], 440; and
Sedt-Typhon, [33, 364Af], 42.4i 39,
)66c], ss, ss
DuaeJ, n6
Dualism, in cosmic order, [4S 1 369c-o],
469; :zolf, 741 99i Plato on, (48, 370F],
48sf; of body and soul, m Body
Ducas, Demetrius, :z, 1 11
Duchesne-Guillemin, J., 477, 4So, 484
Dudley, D. R., :z68
DUbner, J. F., ), 111, n6, 47S
DQmkhen, J., 17, 2.f80 :z88, 2.97, 316, ))8,
342., 343 1 376,413, 416, 4SI, 491, S69
Dunand, M., on Byblos, )2.Jf, 3:6
Dyad, and Artemis, [10, JHF], 2.88; and
Juno, 413
Ears, missing in statue ofZeus, [7s, JSID],
SGoi weasel prc:gJiant through, (74,
JBI A], SHi ear as 5C:It of memory, sGo
Earth, deathless, [4, JflE]; and Isis, [J:Z,
J6JD], 4Zii (38, )66A), 444f; U9. )668
and F), 4S1f; h7, 3748-C), f!Ji S7o Bs,
86, S09i earth, mixed with water,
spices and incense, in Alhyr festival,
[39, )66F], 4pf; from moisture, (36,
36s c], 439; and Osiris, [78, )S:lE-P]1
s64; 37, 4Bi shadow of, and Typhon,
[44, J69F], 468; [ss, 37JE], S09i and
Sirius or Sothis, (61, J7S F (restored)),
s:zo; to be fiat in final phase, 47. )708],
479; hacking the earth, 37, 40
Earthquakes, and power of Typhon, (H,
J7)D)
E:lst, as face of the world, [31, 363 E]1 4'U i
and left, [31, 363 s], 411
Ebeling, H., 386
Ebers, G., 197, p.1; on cyphi, s69, s7o
Eclipse, of moon, [42., J68A; Ho 37JE],
soBf; and Osiris, [44, )68D], 465
Edel, Elmar, xvii, :z78
EJfou: Lt temple J'EJfou, 17So 2.76, 2.79,
2.80, 2.88 0 2.98, )Of, )077 )IO, )11 0 3301
338 1 )41 0 )4:Z, )48, 349, )SI, 353o 369,
)71, 408, 409. 41), 4l:Z, 446, 489, 49Qf,
49:Z. 493, SO?, S18
Edfu, JS11 493; and leg of Osiris, 338;
1emple of Horus in, J8, f9, 109, 344,
3S9o 367, 374, 37So 408, 411, 466, 489,
499, SP; calendars of, 44S, 463, soo;
laboratory in, S69
Edgar, C. C., 9z, :zs8, )OS
EJitio princeps, :z
Edson, C., :z6s
Edwards, I. E. S., xvii, 330, 333, Jf8, J6s,
499. Sfl
Eggs, of crocodile, [7S, JBI a-c), H7i egg,
pierced by evil gods, (47, 370A-B), 478;
cosmic egg, and Phanes, 478
Egypt, c:alled Khemia (black), 33, 364c],
4:zsf; 47, toR; like a heart, [33,364c],1o8;
a sea formerly, [4o, 367 A], 4S4i shells in,
[401 367 A]1 4S4i and Byblos, S4o 319; and
daemons, 2.7; and Greek cults, 18, 91,
92.1 42.9, 46S; history of, 79; Lower, and
red, 376; Plutarch in, 171 94 1 98, 101,
S40i seasons in, 6s; Upper, and white,
376
Egypt Exploration Society, xv
Egyptian letters (:zs), {s6, 374A], s09f; 109;
use of Egyptian in cults, 6S; words in
D/0, 101-10
Egyptian religion, and Platonic philosophy,
(4S, 371 A], 486; and dualism, :zS;
Hellenization of, 31; Plutarclt's ap
proaclt to, 11 1Bff
Egyptians, c:all wind Zcus, [36, )6S D),
440i esteem Nile, {s, )S)A], 2.74; and
gods, [?o, 3791], S1; and health, (79,
)SJ A-B), S66; Jightbearted, [7:1, )So A);
physic:al appearance of, (s, Jf3A], 274;
rejcc:t luxury, [8, JHA-1]1 :z82.; venerate
animnls themselves, [71, 379D], S44i
cited, 101
Egyptologists, and Plutarclt, 1
Egyptomania, :z.8~
Eileidtyiaspolls, living men sacrificed at,
(73 1 JSoD), HI IF; 47, 78, So, 3S7
Einarson, B., 6, 8, u:z, 476,481, 48:z, S33i
on Boeotian ladies, ~
Eisler, Robert, 162, 332, 4o6, so; on
Dictys, :t8of
Eisteddfod, of Sarapis-worshippers, 431
Eitrem, S., 314, 409, 417, SO?
Elagabalus, 315
Elder Horus, c:alled Aroueris, (:z, JS6A),
3oof; 107; sec also Arouc:ris
Elea, people of, S40
Election, and Isis cult, :z6:z
Elements, four, 4S3
Elephantine, 61, 378, 493, ss, sso; Nilc-
rising at, [43, J68a), 461f; 47
Eleusinian Mysteries, and 'ordeal of fire',
32.8; rites at Alexandria, 91
Eleusis, 76, 311 1 32.4, pG, 397i and agri-
culture, 309; Alexandrian, 91
Elis, st:ltue ofAphrodite in, (75, 381 ), ~6o;
women of, prayers to Dionysus, []S,
364 E-F), 43:zf; 48, 89
Eloquent Peasant, :&7], SJ6
Emery, Waiter, 2.73; on c:ompulsory group
burial, Hli on horse-burial, 346; on
ibis-cemeteries, ss 9
Empedocles, 481 ;on harmony and discord,
[48, J70D-E], 483f; on punishment of
daemons, [:z6, 361 c), 387; on vanity of
ambition, [2.4, )Goc); and daemons, 2.71
3 Ss; and Zoroastrianism, 484
Emperius, A., 116, 337
Emperor-worship, 91
Empiricists, and Aaon, s68
Ends of the earth, called Nephthys, [JS,
J66B), 447
English names, for days of week, 481
Ennead, of Heliopolis, 37; Great Ennead,
44o; of Hathor, :z6s; Temple of, JIH
Enneads, 265
Ennius, Eulatmcrus, 38o
Epagomenal days, and gods' birthdays,
[1:z, JH o-E], 2.94/F; n. 6:z, Gs, 66f, z9:z,
3o6f, soo; third, unlucky, {12., JS6A],
Jo6f
Epaphus, and Dionysus, [)7, J6S E-F], 443;
77; and Osiris, Saropis, (37, 365 -F),
44H 57, 77i and Apis, 77, 414, 41f
Epicureans, :zo, :z:z, :&6
Epicurus, [4So 369 A), 469; JO, S14
Epiphanes, 41
Epiphanius, 66; Ancorat., ]:ZO, JSI 7 f41j
Haer., 2.98; Panarion, 46S
Epiphi (month) (3o), [p, 37n), 49Bf; Gs,
66; Epiphi (u), 536
Epirus, Egyptiilll cults in, 41
Episcopius, Nicolaus, :z, 11 1
Er, mydt of, 486
Eratoslhencs, 77, 443; Erigo~~t, 318
Erbsc:, H., :zsf, l91i on Plutarch and Jsis,
96
Erica-tree (healhtrec:), S9, 368; enfolds
cltest with Osiris, (s, 3S7A], 3:uff;
given by Isis to king and queen of
Byblos, [15, 3~7c], 32.9; pan of, still
venerated in Byblos, [16, JS7C], JZ9i
p3rt of, used as pillar, (15, 3S7 A], Jl3
Erichsen, W., 107, S48
Erinyes, 483
Erman, A., viii, ]6, :zs9, z6J, :&68, 169, 2.71,
2.7:z, :zn, 2.78, :z.Bo, :tB:z, :z8s, 2.91, :z94,
2.95, )O:Z, )O), )IS, 317, 336, 339o 344,
346, ]S), ]6:z, 391, 4}1, 43:Z, 4]7, 446,
off8, 496, 497, fiB, sz6, SJ6, 564; on
Manedto, 79
Eros, Go; and Osiris, h7, 374 o-c), S13; 57,
S09i Plato on creation of, [S7, 374cf],
513; son of Poverty and Wc:alth, [57,
374cf], Sl)j as daemon, )84; son of
Iris, 3S7l and Horus, S09; and sun, 513
Erotes, Egyptian, s 13
Erythia, island, 4J7
Escltatology, Persian, [47, 370&), 479f
Esna, temple of, 4S, p:z.; c:alc:ndar from,
soo
Eternal life, [1, JP E), :&Ss; 71; eternity,
and heaven, (to, JH A], :z88f
Etesian winds, [39, 366c-o], 4nf; Gs
Ethiopia, )SI, 447l queen of, [13, JS6a),
31o; 47, fJ; and breezes from, [)9, 366c],
447f; 86
Etymologicum Magnum, 314, JIS1 )2.01
]S:z
Etymology, and allegoristic, too, 103,419,
fl6
Euelid, Dcf., on perfect number, ~09
Eudemus, of Rhodes, 471
Eudorus, 771 441
Eudoxus, of Cnidos, xiv, 66, 74, B:zf, 84,
98, 99, 100, 102, :z:zo, :z6:z, 3771 486; on
blood of enemies, and wine, [61 JSJ&-c],
2.76f; 83; on Busiris, (2.1, 3S9B-c], 3~f;
47, 83; in Egypt, [1o, 3S4E), :zBsf; 7S 1
SJ, 102.; on lsis and sexual love, h:z,
J72.D], fOtf; (64, J77A), pSf; S:z;
taught by Khonouphis Jhe Memphite,
[1o, ]S4B], z86f; on Typhon 3lld poly-

594 595
 GENERAL INDEX
Demeter (cont.)
309; 'many-named', sozf; and Myste-
ries, 391; name of, 446; and peace, 309;
and Rlwnpsinitus, :1:93; ilS Sotein, 390
Demetria, 9:1:
Demetrius, of Phaleron, 400
Demetrius Poliorcetes, s 4:1:
Democ:ritus, (45, J6?A], 469; 2.0, 403, 448,
485, J14i and daemons, 2.7, 385
Demopholln, 54, 32.0, 32.5, :J:I:S
Demos, R., 2.4
Demosthenes, 11
Demotic, 103f, 510
Dendenh,J'J.4,J2B,JS8,JS9o49Zjcalendar
from, soo; c;rocodile cult in, 490i mam-
misi in, 451; nome-sign in, 490i and
phallus of Osiris, 440; temple of, 38,
63, z6s, 338, 372, 456; rites in, z6t, 281,
312,411,448,449,452, 4S3l texiS from,
}OO, 340, 367, 448, 449, 463; zodiacs of,
372, 373. 377
Dendilr, 359
Dlnkart, 481; on human unity, 479
Denniston, J. D., 366
Dep (Buto), 337
Derchain, Philippe, xvii, 32.4, 4oG, 41o,
419, 456, 487, f2t; on Bebon, 488, 489;
on Egyptian ideas in n~,m~tica, 519f;
on festival of 'filling S:tcred eye', 499;
on Menes, 2.81; on oryx with falcon,
491; on rite of trampling fish, 2.79; on
seal with prisoners, 417
Desroc:hes-Noblecourt,Ch.,steNoblecoun
Desrousseaux, A.-M., 562
DesS:tu, H., so3
Destined time, (47, 370B], 478f
Destiny, and tongue, {68, 378 c), SJ6
Deubner, L, 309,405,433, S37o SJ8
Dev~ria, Tit., Sn, s2.4
Dewiclc, E. C., 31
Dhalla, M. N., 47.2.
Diadoc:hi, 443
Diagor:IS, the Atheist, 403, Hl
Dick, A., 413
Dictys, nursling of Isis, drowned, [8,
} S3 B), .2.8of; 3)1
Didache, 2.6:~:
Dieburg, Mithneum at, 419
Diehl, E., :.83, 43 s
Diels, H., xiv, 194,380,384,387,400,403,
428, 41>9, 470, 483, 484, 540, f4t, 542,
S43
Diepolder, H., Hf
Dierbac:h, J. H., 3:1.3
Dika (Justice), helpers of, [48, 3700), 483
Dinsmoor, W. B., f41
Dio CilSsius, 331, 430; Hist. Rom., S49
Diochites, 362
Dio Chrysostomus (Dion of PruS:t), 75,
2.68, 479
Diodorus Sieulus, 30, 32, 43, 104, 136, 146,
162, 2.63, 164, 2.7:1:1 2.74, Z7So 2.81, 2.84,
Z8f, 2.89, 2.94, 301, 305, JIO, 317, 319,
332, 339. 340, }43. }47, JSJ, )66, 372,
375, 377, JBs, 390, 392, 402, 403, 404,
413, 425, 430, 4}:Z, 433, 439o 440, 441,
no, 457, 465, 466, 468, 477f, 497, 514,
JIB, szB, 529, 540, 541, 546, S49o SPo
H2, 554, sss, J66, s68; on Apis and
Osiris, 364; on Dionysus and Osiris,
429; and Euhemerus, 38o; and Heca-
taeus of Abdera, 81; on Horus being
made immonal, 3SH on name of lsis,
258; on n:tmeofOsiris, :~:88; on onions,
:.So; on origin of animal cults, 547; on
Osiris as c:ivilizer, 309; on Osiris as
wolf, 3441 347; on Osiris in wooden
ox, 341, 370; on pans of Osiris, 338,
342; on Philae, 366, 367; on Semiramis,
J8of; on tomb of Isis, 367, 371
Dionysius (1, ofSyncuse), and Apollo, [71
379c), 543.
Dionysius, took colossus from Sinope,
{:~:8, )61 F), 397i 395
Dionysius, of Hali=sus, Ant. Rom.,
382; D~ Homeri poui, 2.22.
Dionysius, of Miletus, 470
Dionysius, the Periegete, on Sanpis, 396
Dionysus, SJ, 67, 71, 96, 2.81, 401; 'born
of bull', [Js, 364-F), 433; brings two
bulls from India, [29, J6ZB], 403; 77;
bull-shaped images of, [Js, JG4E],
432; called Arsapbes, [37, 363 E], 44rf;
n; called from water with trumpets, [}s,
]641'], 433; cohabiiS with lsis, [37.
365 F], 443; devated from good daemon
to god, [17, 361 a], 392; and Epapbus,[37,
365 E-F], 443; 77; ilS founder of c:ivili%3-
tion, [1), JS6B], 309f; Slo sG, 89; and
Hades, equated, [:zB, 36:u], 4oo; bus-
band of Isis, [}7, J6f F], 443; 77i
Dionysus Hyu, lord of moist n:tture,
and Osiris, [}4, 3640], 429; jealousies of,
[2s, :JGoE], 3ssf; as Likniru, bs. 36s A],
l
GENERAL INDEX
Dionysus (tont.)
43Si lord of all moist nature, [JS, 365 A),
436; lord of wine, [35, 365 A]; and Nile,
(64, J77A], pBf; nocturnal rites of, [Js,
364F], 434; and Osiris, [tJ, JSGB),
309f; [2.8, 3628], 4oof; [34, 364o], 42.9;
[37, 36f E], 57, 83, 88, 299, 344, 376, 4Ht
517, 519, S4H equation of, with Osiris,
bs, 3640], 4:1.9f; Pindar on, [JS, 365 A),
436; remains of, in Delphi, {Js, J6JA],
43Si 36.2.; Dionysiac rites, and burial of
A pis, [Js, 364E], 431f; 401; son of Zeus,
as Osiris, [36, 365 o], 440; 391; son of
Zeus and lsis, (37, 365 a]; Stoics on,
[4o, 367c], 4SH and trees, [Js, 36s A],
436; and triangle, [301 JGJ A]; not simply
wine, {66, J77D), S}tf; SJO
Dionysus, and Antony, 4JOi and Apis, 88,
89; ascent of, from realm of dead, 43 s;
at Athens, 46; and bull, 89; in Egypt,
429; as a general, 376; and giants, 276;
and God of Jews, 29; Homeric Hymn
to, 433; infant, riding Cerberus, 398;
also riding panther, lion, peacock, 4oof,
cf. 43Si and lsis, 96, 443; and ivy, 440,
441; Dionysus Meilichius, and Osiris,
89; Dionysus, and music, 309f; Mys-
teries of, 39:1:; and phallicism, s6, 4JJ,
43 S; pillar of, J29i and S:tr:~pis, 400, 40t;
and vegetiltion, 89; and women of Elis,
48, 89, 432; Dionysus Zagreus, legend
of, 3 SS; origin placed in Egypt, 3S s;
Dionysiac processions, phaUic, 2.99;
Dionysiac elemeniS in D/0, 98, 299,
}1), 441
Dionysus-Pais, 400f
Diogenes Laenius, 76, 81, 8), 102, Z7J 1
275, 177, 2.86, 2.87, 288, 384, 403, 427,
458, <16?, 470, 48o, 497, 514, SJ2, SJJ,
HS, 561, 562, 568
Diomedes, 386
Dion, Plutarch on, 16
Dion of Prusa (Dio Chrysostomus), 75,
268,479
Dioscorides, 6?; De mat. meJ., 570, S71
Diospolis (Tbebes), 42.2.
Diospolis parva (I;Ju), eh
Diotima, 384, s12.
Discord,Empedocleson,[4B,J7DD-B),4BJf
Dismemberment, of Osiris, [r8, 3S8A],
338f; 34of; in S:terifice, [rs, JJBA], J]Bf;
ofSeth-Typbon, 339
593
Dittenberger, W., viii, 91, 264, S39
Divination, through children, [14, 3S6E),
Jrs; S4
Divine child, 401; divine dynasties, 310
Divine part, :md monal element, [s, 3SJA];
divine mirrored in animals, [76, 382.A];
source of animate life, [76, 382. s]
Djeb'awet, Butic, ]68
DjeJ-pillar, Oslrian, 37, 45, 330, 36?;
raising of, 32.4
Djer, King, tomb of, and Osiris, 341, 36:1.
Djoser, King, Sso
DobroviiS, A., on Egyptians and philo-
sophical thought, 4:1:8; on Harpocntes,
354
Dodd, C. H., 2.4
Dodds, E. R., z6z, 433, 436, 441
Dodecagon, and Zeus, [Jo, 363 A]
Dodona, 404
Dogs, aid lsis, [14, JS6F], 317f; 54; dog,
eaten by Oxyrhync:hites, [72, JSoa],
f4Bf; eaiS of Apis bull, (44, ]68F]; god
changes into, [72, 379E), HS; dog, of
Hermes, not literally, [u, JH a], 289f;
honoured for two reasons, {?s, 3h c],
JSB; once muc:h honoured in Egypt,
(44, 36BF); dogs, and Horomazes, [46,
JG?E-F], 476; S:tcred to Anemis, (?a,
3790), H)f; Isis-Sothis on, 371; and
Seth-animal, S49i war through, S49
Dog-days, men burnt alive in, {73, JBoo),
ssafl'
Dog-sw, and Argo, [22, 3S9E], 377f;
Greek name for soul of lsis, [2.1, JS9C],
371f
Dolzani, Claudia, on cult of Sebek, S57
Donadoni, Sergio, on Plutan:h's Egyptian,
loG, 107, 108, S11
Door-boilS, leonine in fonn, 44S
Doric calendar, SJ9
Doris, and Nereus, 32.7
Domseiff, T., z6o
Dove, S:tcred to Aphrodite, (71, 3790],
Sof; 32.9; and Syrian goddess, 3.2.9;
dove-goddess, 543
Dow, Stirling, 41, 46, Go, 264
Dr.u-, M., :.So
Draughts, played by Hermes and the Moon,
(12, JHD], 293f
'Dream-book', 408
Dreams, and cyphi, [So, 383F], S70f
Dn:der, H., n:z.
GDI
 GENERAL INDEX
Coffin, with Osiris, brought in bo:~t from
Byblos, [16, 3570}; Osiris in, meaning
of, [39, J66o), 448; 311
Coffin Texts (ed. A. De Buck), 33, 37,
~Go, ~67, ~6s, a9r, )tf, JtS, 3~6, 340,
351, 4n, 446, 464, 489
Coins, from Arca,.;:s, 3:19;from Pelusium,
3H; Aeterni~:~s on Rom:m coins, an
Coleman-Norton, P. R., 67, 449
CoUi~ H., :ss
Commodus, Emperor, and Anubis, 317
Compound adjectives and :~dverbs, 14
Concord, 4S3; from opposite tensions, [4S,
369a}, 469f
Conwulings of Horus and Set!., 184, 304,
309o no, 349, 350, 3SJ, 35J, )BB, 407,
41:, 417, 4S6, 489, 494, soB
Cook, A. B., 301
Cook, R. M., 4JJ
Cook, S. A., 330
Cooke, H. P., 4S6
Cooney, John D., 171, 346
Copia verhorum, 14
Coptic, emergence of, 104, flO
Coptic an, SH caY:I!ier S:lints in, 346
Coptos, and Isis in mourning, [14 1 .;s6o),
314f; n; people of, throw ass down
precipice, [Jo, 36u], 409; St:ltue of
Horusin, [ss, 37JC], soGf;and Min-I:Jor,
333. foG
Corn, :~nd Demeter, (66, 377o-E], H:li
no; :~nd Osiris, (Gs, 3771], sa9f; 37,
s7f., 309; In funer:uy context, 37; :~nd
lsis, 4:1, S7, s~; :~nd Neper, 37
Cornford, F. M., :14, 48s
Com-Osiris, 37, 40, 63; as egg, 478
Cornutus, :~nd allegory, 1oo, 418f; and
Cleanthes, na; and Stoicism, 99; Tl.eol.
Graec., asG, a99, 419f, fl6, SJ:t, S37
Corpses, unburied, given ennh by falcon,
[p, )71 E), 494
Corssen, P., 88, 99
CosJlliiS, of Jerusalem, 419
Cosmopolis, S)a; and langu;~ge, 480
Cosmopolitanism, %9 na
Cosmos, as Horus, [s.., 373A], so4, sosf,
S09i and the wralc:ys (.;6), [?s, 3S1 F f},
S6J ; in Gnostic: thought, f04
Cow, honoured as useful, [74, JSoE], H4i
as im:~ge oflsis, [39, 366a], 4so; c:f. [19,
JfSD}, ss, 63; and temple of sun, [s:,
l71B-<:], 499; 63; of heaven, pz
Crnmer, Mari:~, 346
Crane, whh two he:lds, 93
Crntinus, Younger, Tlae Giants, :z97
Cre:~tion, without carnal union, 49
Creator-gods, two, aJ
Crescent-sh:Jped chest, in burials of Osiris,
(4:, 368..\], 4Go; crescent-sh:Jped im:~ge,
in Athyr festival, [39, JGGF], 4pf
Ctel:ln kings, 379
Crete, St:ltue of Zeus in, [7s. 3SI o], sGo;
48
Creuzer, G. F., 1 t6
Crocodile, 47, 4u; does not h:Jrm papyrus
skiffs, [18, 3SBA], 340; eaten in Apollo-
nopo!is, [So, 371 o], 49u; 47; eggs of,
:~nd Nlle-rising, [7S, JBl a], H7i eyes of,
covered, [75, 38t a], n6; and falcon,
[SI, 371 F]; :~nd divine Logos (Reason),
l7s. JBta), ss1; :~~~d Nile, [s, JSJA};
Go eggs :~~~d Go years of, [7s, 381 c],
H7> tonguc:less, so likeness of God,
[7S, 381 B], fS6; :~nd Typhon, [so, 371 c,
o], 489f; 493i sz, S91 408, 410, sso;
carries Osiris, 340, 367; cult of, 70, 490;
flogged, HI ;:~~~d Hnrpocrates, Sf7;hdps
lsis, H
Crocodilopolis, 371, f49
Cronus, 407; :~nd Anubis, [44, 3691], 467f;
61, :191, 419, sa&, sss; and Aphrodile,
[69, J78EJ, n9f; entrusts Osiris to
P:unyle, [1:, 3H E); father of Nephthys,
[1:, JH F), 191f; f:~ther ofTyphon, [1:,
JH F), :191f; lawless :lets of, [~s, )GeE),
38sf; secret union of, with Rhca, [ a,
3~S o], z91ff; te:~r of, and sea, [J:,
364A], 413; ss, 411; :IS time, [Jz, 363 o],
419; and winter, {69, J7SE], S39f; 76;
blood of, su; cult of, in Egypt, 468;
for Geb, 30, a63; and phallus of Uranus,
343; :~nd Saturn, SJ9
Crops, bewailed, [71, 379c], s40f; gifts of
gods, [70, 378f], f40i and Osiris, [13,
Jf6A] 1 309; and lsis, 446
Crowfoot, G. M., a70, :171
Crown, of Oslris, )lO, 49S; royal, f46
Crum, W., oG, 107, 1o8, :198, 339, 40f,
4lt6, f68
Cruserius, H., :~, 111
Crypti~ writing, I Off, 4U
Crypts, in temples, [ltO, Jf9A], J8sff; 38;
and W:Jter, 361
Cum:~e, tomb in, 33S
GENERAL INDEX
Cumon., F., vu,
vm,
a7, 44r so, :zn, 330,
492, 498; on Maginns, 470, 471 ,
473
416 , 417, 478, 479r 480, 481, 48:, 484
4Bsf; on section :ISsigned 10 Theo~
pompus, 481
Cuper, G., a:14
Curses, on head of 5:1Qifidal victim (;r
363B}, 416 ' '
Cybde, a61
Cy~e, Aretalogy from, see Aretalogies
Cymes, 168; and cosmopolis, n:z
Cynocephalus, generally honoured [
38ol!} ' 73
Cynopolis, 4, S48; Cynopolitans, in feud
[7:, )8os], f48f; 16, 47 ' Days, epagomenaJ, see Ep:~gomennl d:~ys
Cyperus, round, in cyph4 [So 383 E]
s69 ' '
Cyphi, IoS, sGs; as drink and purge, [So
3~4B}, 571; induces sleep :~nd catefm:
mmd, [So, 383 F], S7Df; offered to sun at
su~s_er, [p, 37ac; So, 3S4c]; and s:acred
wno.ngs, {So, 383 1}, f69f, cf. 69; 16 in-
~lents of, ~So, 383 E), sli?; and h:~oma,
f71' and reumato, f71; and opium, s7of;
:~nd Manetho, So, 99
CyPriM, Carm., 3 17
Cyrene, n 3
Cyrillus Alexandrinus, C. Julian. a88
383 ' '
Cyrus (11, the Gte:~t), led Persi:~ns in con-
quest, [:14, )GoaJ, 381f
D:!Cbritz, R., 393
D:~ernons, in animals worshipped, [7},
38oc-o], ssof; Empedocles on punish-
ment of, [z6, 361 c], 387; noble daemons
;tnd Hesi.od, [:~6, 361 a], 387; Plato o~
mtermed1nry role of, [16, 361 a-c], )87;
d:~emon as <:n::ltor of evil, at ; evil
~:~emons, and Xenocrntes, 4ss; Egyp.
ban daemons, su
Druly Temple Uturgy, 34:. 349 4S7 487
f34 ' ,
Damascius, V. Isitlori, :z68
D:unatrius, Boeotian month ["'- 37BB]
n?; Gs ' ""' ' called Achaca, SJS; :~nd agriculture,
Dan:~e, z8o
Dante, Purg. (J. :tf-3o), 48&
D01remberg, viii, z68, 193, SJl
Do~ G., aB7, 330, 348, 409. 416
mus rhe Great, 3s 1
D:~rius 11, Okhus, a9o, 418
591
, Darkness, :~nd TyPhon, [44, )68v] 46s
S9r 194, 487; lord of Darkness (B:Ib )'
488; Prince of (Ahriman), 47 S Y
Darmesreter, J., 477
D:~t, and Osiris, 4G1, f64
Diitasllin i Deru1c., on ubiquitous light, 48z
DOIUJllOIS, F.,40, 294r 3f8, )64, 390, 467
497; ~n lsas 'black :~nd ruddy', 411 0~
Pl:~ro 1n Egypt, ass '
Davies, Nin:~ M., sGz
Davies, Norm:~n de Garis, %78, 339, 413 '
4 1 4 464, sas, fl7, ss:~
D:~wson, W. R., 307, JIG, 417
Debod, 319
Decan-gods, 418, f7o; decan-stars, in
barks, Jn
Decn:c of Philop:uor, 68
Defrnd:15, J=n, u 1, l}6, 410
Deines, H. von, a81, 416, sG9
Delnon, on s:acrilice of A pis, [J 1, 6 c
41S; 77 3 3 1t
Deir c:I-Abiad, 346
Deir ei-B~:Iri, 2.83
Deir ei-Medineh, 344
Deissffi:lnn, A., :~ 9 6
Dd:~tte, A., 410, 419
Dclcourr, M:lrie, 463 , 464
Deli:~, and Isi:~c rites 26 1
'Deliverance of Mankind , :l76, 277 1lt
4
Delos, Egyptian cults in, 41 46 ~ 270
I. ffi I '
SI:IC o aa s m, zGs; temple in 361 ' ' '
Delphi, [68, 3780], SJ7i 16-JS, .;, 30, 48,
)6:, 4Jo; Clea "~ [Js, J64D-B], 43of;
9f~ anf; Ddpht:~~~s, and rem:~ins of
DJOnysus, [Js, 36s A], 4H
Del~:~, Eastern, 3S, H4i Western, f47
SS4 '
Demet~, SJ, 67, 3SS, f37i [Jo, 363A};
bewails descent of Kor!, [69, 37so-~~:],
SJ8; :~~~d corn, [66, 3no-a], na; 309,
no; and Kor~, Stoics on, [4 o, Jli?cJ,
4H; :~~~d ~love, (64, J77A], saBf;
Su; WMdmngs of, [:zs, :JGcB), 381 r
309; and Ascal:lbus, 90; :~nd ascetic
rules, ~6r; :~nd Byblos episode, 54;
cult of, 10 Egypt, 91, 91; Homeric Hymn
to! S4, 90, 310, Jltl, 3:14, 3 ~s, 3as; and
Iss, a, 43, ~~. S7f, B:tf, 8S, Jti4, 309 , J:tf,
446, 4H, f01, so3, SJ8; and justice, 91,
z64, 309; sct:ks Kore, 3zo; law-giving,

GENERAL INDEX
Buto, ne:u- Tanis, 337
Bunmann, P. K., 194
Byblos, 48, S), 90, 107, :z.81; receives chest
with Osiris, [15, Jf7o\.], 319ff; temple of
lsis in, (16, 357c), 3:z9; and Egypt, H
319; H:uhor-cult in, 3u; Byblos epi-
sode, origin of, Ho 98, 319ff
Bywater, 1., 519
udmus, 392.
CAesar, Julius, 66; Bell. Civ., 4H
CAin, 414
Cairo, 461; CIJiro CrJ/endar, 2.79, 303 1 304,
JoG, ]07t )SOt 463, 499 soo, S34l and
Athyr 17, 312., 449; Cairo Hymn to
Amlln, s68; Cairo Museum seal (JE
68o8o), 417; Cairo Museum, sisaums
in, p.7; Cairo Ostracon (:zs, Blt),
3o6; Cairo Stel;~ (1391), )Ill (:z.:z., 180),
4SO
Cairo, Old, JS) 1 462.
Cakes, s1:1mped, [Jo, 36u], 4uf; [So,
371 o], 492.; 6s
Caiathos, and Demetcr, 92.
Calendar, Alexandrian, 66f, Jl2.l Egyptian,
2.94, JI:U', 44Bf, S)O
Caligula, lsis-temple of, JIB, S17
Callichorus, fountain of, 3:1:4
Callimachus, 364, JBS, 401, 43H on
Euhemerus, 38o; Hymn to Demeter, 91,
309 l%4i /rJmh., 379; 'Ibis', 558
Callisthenes, 383
Callisto, S43
Calverley, A. M., 332., 334 37S
CAlves, driving of, :lS fertility rite, 371 63,
499
Calvus, 309
Cambyses, destroyed A pis bull, [44, 368 F],
468; 2.90; dedicator of Apis sarcophagus,
468
Camel's thom, in cyphi, (So, )8JE], s69
C:uninos, R. A., xvii, 172., 178, 339, 340,
418, s68; on 'Prayer to Osiris', 311
CO!mpbell, A. Y., 16o
Campbell, J., 434
Cannibalism, t6, 343, H9 SP
C:mobus (Canopus), steerSman and star,
[:z.:z., 3S9E}, 376
C:mopus (N.E. of Alexandria), oracle in,
(17, )6IE}, 393; 76; temple of, 377;
Canopic branch, 378, 4S4i Canopic
ums, 32.9
GENERAL INDEX
Chaerone:~, l8, 19. B 1i Egyptian eults at Cicero, In Car., S4z; Div., 479i Nlll. D.,
C:mopus Decree, 68, :z.66, :z.67, 2.94, 364.
94; Plutan:h's library at 99 ' 319f, )So, 402., 469, H8
)77,448 Chaldaea, religion of, :z9 ' Cilento, Vinoenzo S 1 1:1. 116
Cllpelle, c., )86
Chaldaeans, on planets presiding at birth Cilician fir, JU ' ' '
CApitol, burnt, s42. (48, 37oc], 481; pluralism of: 2.1 13 : Circumcision, in full moon 467
upua, soJ ~ stars and judges of, 477f ' ' ' Cirrha, 39S '
Cllpua, Franccsco di, 361
ChampoUion, J. F., 373 Cista mysti~a, see Box, sacred
C;u-acalla, 44 543 Chaos, below the universe, [s?, 3748-c] Cius, soz
Cardamum, in cyphi, [Bo, 383,;}, 569
CrJrpe Jiun, S4> )36
Sll C!v!l w:~r, [71, 379c-D], f42.
Charax, of Pergamon, 419 Ctvtl year, )I), 449
Carpoaates, :z.s7, nof; and sisaum, p.6
ChrJrmotyna, [:z9, J6zo], 40Sf; 64 99 Clans,.an~ animals, (72., 379F]1 546; and
Carter, HoWllfd, 314, 518 107f '
C;u-tlmge, Serapeum in, 398
sacnliaal meal, 339
Charoptl, daughter of Heracles, mother of Clark, R. T. Rundle, viii, xvii, 155, :z6o,
CasMOV3, P., 372., 378 S:~r:~pls, [19, 36:z.o], 401
176, Z84, 371, 4)9, 461, 534, HJ" on
C:lsartelli, L.c., %4 Charops, 'the joyful', 401 Atum's bisexuality, 4 64 '
C:lSket, golden, l39, }66F], 4S 1f
Ch:lSC, A. C., JOJ Claudius, lsiac Hall of, 43 8
C:lSS3tldct, King, 379 Chassinnt, E., viii, 2.7So 2.76, 186, )Of, 307,
Clea,(I,JSJC;), 3S1c),:z.nf.; :z.o,z9,68 99'
conseaatc:d in Osirian rites, h 5 36~ a{
C:lSSirer, Manfrc:d, sGB
)12., 330, 338, )41, )48, 349o JS I, )SJ,
C:lStalius, 430
C.utimonia, :z61
<C09, <Cl), 437, 4fO, 489, 493 1 500 Sll" 4~ I; leader of Thyiadcs at Dd;hi, hs:
C:lStor, of Rhodes, (31, 363o], 417; 77, 84.
on Khoiak festival, 38, 311, 340: 411: 3 40:E), 43~f; r6f, 9S, 2.5), 430, 537l
449, 4Sll on saaed box, 4SI; on temple combt~ed pnesthoods of, 96, :zSJf; and
99, 416; Concerning the NJe, 417
CAt, with hum:ut f:1ce, on sisaum, [ 6J, aypts, 358 I..conns, 95, 154; :lS priestess oflsis 4 s(
Chastity, 161 95, :z.nf
376o], s:z.7; sexu:U fertility of, [63,376a],
s:zS; symbolizes moon, {6J, 376E}; cat Chauvin, R., 53 4 Clcnthes, on Persephone, [66 3770]
killed by Romans, S49
Chemiss, H., 11 u:z., 3 14. 357, 393, 458, SJZj 7S, )SS, 392., 530; On :he Goth:
CAttle, red, sxrificed, (31, 363 ,\.-B], 413f 465, 495, 531 SJ1
C:!uS:Ition, of good and evil, [4S 1 369A-t1],
Chest, wid1 image of dead man, [I? 3 7 F] Clednt, J., 335
3JSf > I > Clei1:1rchus, Alcxander-historian, 4t8
469f Chest, with Osiris, cast up in Bybios ( 1S ~:emen, CAd, ):Z.O, 470, 471, 481, 484
CAvalier S:lints, 346
Cedar, from Byblos, po; Valley of, J:Zl 357A], opened by lsis, [ 16, JS?n];' P~ ement of Alexandri:l, Sl4l Protr., 16o,
pared by Typhon, [1), Jf6o], 311; (14 39Jo 39So 396,400,403, 541; Strom., 104,
3S6 B), aescent-sholpcd chest, in burial~
Celdtial afterworld, 37, 497f, s64
168, 164, zG?, 178, 186, )2.9, 379o 41S,
Celeus, of Eleusis, p6
of Osiris, [4z, J68A] 400 42.2., 4ZJ, 42.6, 437. 466, s:z.o, H9
Celsus, 158, S4S Chevrier, H., 46z ' Cleo_Pa~ VII, as Selene and Isis, 4JOl
Celts, of Gaul, Sl9
Cenchre:1e, rites at, 46, 69, 2.66, 437, 492., Child, as hicroglyp~. (3:z., 363 F), 4 12.; With stsaums, SJ6j as Sotcira 390
children, and dlvtnation, [14, 356E), Clere, J. J., 36 3 '
ns Jlfi S4, 401 Clermont-Ganneau, Ch., )2.6
Ceno1:1phs, nt Abydos, 363
Censer, in writing of p:15sion, [to, JSS o\.], Christ, birth of, 3so; :lS cavalier 346' Clothes, linen, of priests, [4 , )S:ZC] ,.70
C~s~an doctrines, and Osiri~ s6s; sacred, dark and bright, b isu]'
107, 2.88f C~uan poets, and P:~r:~dise, 479l 167f ' '
Cephisus, 430 Christians, and onolatry, 418 Christi-
Cerberus, and S:~r:~pis, (:z.S, 36u], 39Bf; Cobet, C. G., t68, 4n
anity, dualistic element in %4 ' 19 Cobianchi, Maria, s18
59, 468; and Anubis, 468; ridden by
Christophe, L., :z.96 ' ' Cobr:~, and agelessness, {1o, 3 H A], :zBB;
Dionysus, 398 Christos, Ch. A., 431 7-4, J8 l A), Sf6; 70, 71 j image of divine
Cercesis, S49 Chronos, and Cronus, 467; and silver egg power, [74, 38oF). Hff; and Sothis, [74,
Cercsa-G:lStaldo, A., ss
478 ' J8l A), Sf6; wnnng for heaven, {ro,
Cercs-Demeter, 309
Chrysi~pus, and daemons, r:z.s, JOOD-E], 3H A), tO?, z88
Cemy, J., viii, xvi, t, 34. :z.n, 2.63, :z.9B, JOJ,
)B)ff, 1 6, 1 7o 99i Conctrmng Homonoia Coekerels, sacrificed to Anubis, (6t 375 E)
446; on M:!neros, 333; on M:!netho, So;
nz; CtU:trning JITA"r is Possihlt J8S ' fiB ' '
on marri:lge of brother and sister, JOB
Chaba.s, F., 498, 499 soo
C?tho~ic gods, 387, 414, S1 8 ' Cocyrus, bronze gate at Memphis, (19
Chaeremon, Egyptian priest, 78, :z.67, 2.78, Cwnpt, Scbastiano, 111 191 36:z.c], 403 '
Clcdlia, festival of, 491 ' Codices, s- 1o
41 s. s66
 GENERAL INDEX
Berreth, J., z6z, z66, 4Jf 4fZ
Bes, comic god, p6; ilhyphallic, :1.99 ; and
Pans, JI.)j Be9-figure, in sistnlm, 5:1.7
Bevan, Edwyn, vii, 91, 3931 4:1.9, SJJ
Bible: Gen. (4. 5) 414; (u) 48o; Ex. (14. :1.)
:1.6o; Lev. (11, 9-10) :1.78; (16. :1.1) 416;
Num. (u. 5) :1.80; (19. z) 414; IS:!. (40.
4) 479; Ezek. (:1.7. 9) 319; Dan. (u. z)
Zffj Matt. (11. :1.7) z6o; Luke (17. :1.1)
Zf4i Acts (8. :1.7) JIO; {z8. 11) 49:1.;
Ro. (1. 14) 532 ; 1 Cor. (13. 1) 404 ;
(14. 34) s6o; Col. (3. 11) n:~.; Rev. (1. 8)
:1.84; (7 9) 48o
Bidez, J., vii, :1.7, so; on the Magians, 470,
471, 473t 476, 477. 478, 479. 48o, 481,
482, 4B4, 48ff
Bieber, Margnrete, 400
Bigeh, 378, 4:1.0, sz6; tomb of Osiris at,
(zo, 3f9B], 3G7i 39; and left leg of
Osiris, 341; tomb of Isis at, 3G7
Bilabel, F., vii, G4, 67, 3:1.4, 405, 463, 468,
S07i on Alhyr, Jll
Bilingualism, 6B
Biot, Jean Baptiste, 373
EI-Birba, 362
Birch, S., :1.94
Birds, and Horom:w:s, [46, J69E- F), 476
Birlhdays of the gods, [ 12, 3H o If), z94ff;
6s
Binbday-Celebrations of Horus (Book),
(S2, J7ZC), fOO
Bissing, F. W. F. von, :1.78, 488, ns, 547i
on Exodus in Egypt, z86; on paintings
from Pompcii, 43B
Bitter Lakes, and Typhon, z73
Black, of Egypt, lJJ, JG4c), 10B; of Isiac
cow's linen garment, 39, )668), 451; of
Osiris, [:u , J59B], 375f; of cows in
Denderah rite, 451; of dress of Isis, 9o;
in mourning, 90, 45'
Blackman, A. M., viii, xi, xv, )6, )7, 63,
z67, :1.69, :1.7:1., l.BZ, Jlf 1 :J36, 3)8, )41 0
34:1., 34So ) 49o Jfl, 3Bt 3S9o )67, 4o8,
411, 414, 4:1.0, 4:1.7, 49Do 49:1., 493, 496,
499o fl4o flf, SJ6, ffl, f66, s6?; on
Data and Osiris, 343; on Khemmis,
3J7i on Khoiak rites, Jzf, 45zf; on
Osiris and com, 309
Blass, F., IIJ
Bleeker, c. J. :1.64, so6, 5J4 j on initiation,
391
Blegen, C. W., 473
Blemyes, 55:1.
Blessig, J, 7
m~ Blinding of Truth, 101
Blood, of ancestors, and drunkenness, [6,
3538-C], 177; of enemies, and wine, [6,
JSJB-c), z76; B3
Boardman, J., 199
Boats, and lights, in Khoialc: rites, 4B
Dock, Fricdrich, 15, 111
Bockhoris, [8, )f4B], lhj 110, HO, sn
BodhiSilttva, birlh of, 301
Body, and Hades, [zB, J6lA], 400; and
soul, [s, JSJA], :1.74; 7:1., 74i ls4. 3731;
7B, 38:1.F], cf. [79, JB3B], of Osiris, [54,
373..1.), f04
Bocoda, Egyptian cults in, 41, 4G
Boeotian monlh, [69, 378s), 539; Bocodan
ladies, 96
Bocotians, and halls of Achaea, [ 69, 378 o-
s), n8f; 48
Bocssneck, Joachim, on Egyptian dog
and canidcs, Sss
Bl>ttcher, R., 19:1., :1.1:1., :1.16, :&.)8, Sl4t H9 '
Boluiric, 108, no, fiO, 51:1.
Bolkcsu:in, H., 13
Boil, Franz, 37z, .)77
Bona Dea, 58
Bonner, Campbell, 409,410, .cs6, 466, 517
Bonnet, H ., vii, 4~, :1.59, z67, 2.73, 175,
191, )001 301, 311, 31:1., )18, )11, ):&8,
.))4, 337, .)40, .)fl, 367, 371, JBJ, 409,
418, 4:1.0, 411, 4:1.:1., 4Z7t 4-40, 441, 447t
450, 457, 458, 46o, 4G3, 487, 491, 495o
497, soJ, SO?, 511, f:ll, p.z, 5:1.3f., 5:1.7,
534, 554, ssG, 557, fG?; on form of
Nile-god, :1.74; on wine and blood, :1.76;
on Isis and moon, 501 ; on Nephlhys
and H~thor, JOf; on rites in Alhyr, 4fZ,
4f3
Book of Breathings, zG4
Book of the Dead, vii, 33, 488, .c96; and
draughts, 193; on 4:1. judges, 2.89; and
mummy-wrappings, zGB; moral level of,
s6s; on Selh as black pig, 171, 181;
Spells: (17) zb, :1.84, 34Z. soB, su; {18)
.)41, 49Jj (11) f)6; (39) 487; (40) 409;
(GB) p1; (77) s46; {So) soB; (BG) p8;
(88) s46; (95) 546; (99) soB; (uz) z8z,
3fS 1 388, 4Gfj (113) SSo 340, .)4:1., 3SZ.
3H; (t14) z6fi (t1 S) soB; (u6) z6o;
{zs) JG, zG1, 177, 436, 488, 564, S6H
(1J4) 49Ji (141) 37. 41; (144) 41J;
GENERAL INDEX
Book of the Dead (cont.)
(1s.> s64; (156) 534f; (I?S) :1.76; (189)
Jl8
' Book of the Five Epagomenal Days', 304
Book of Gates, 1B1, 404. 488, 497
Book of Hours, Ancient Egyptian, 38,
300, 307, 4Sl
Boolc of Night, 404
'Book of Overlhrowing Apopis ', 440
Book of ritual, 69
Book of the Two Ways, 488
Books ofHermes, (6r, 375 F], ~19ff; 6z, Ci9,
84
Borchardt, L, 1Go, 462
Bormos, and Mancros, 3J:l
Bosse-Grifliths, K:ne, vi, xvii, Jl s, 412;
on Khans and moon, 453
Bo~ro, Jean, 48z
Bouchb-Leclercq, A., 79, 395, 396
Bouhier, J., 14B
Boulenger, G. A., :1.78
Box, sacred, [J, 351 s), z66; [.)9, J66F], 45 1f;
p, GJ, 90
Boy!:m, P., 2.64, Jsz, 375, 458, 463,517, pr,
H9
Brady, T. A., vii, 40, 41, :~osB, 399, 400,
4.)1
Briiuninger, F., 405
Brauron, 543
Breasted, J. H., vii, 37, JJ6, 3-47, 497, 546;
on Bybios episode, S4, JU; on erica-
tree, 3:1.4; on moral level of Osirian
creed, f6f; on Osiris and Nile, 4:1.0, 437
Breccia, E., 370
British Museum: Hieroglyphic Texu from
Egyptian Sulae, 499; Hieratic Papyri,
Fourth Seriu, 333, s 51 ; see aho Papyri
Brommer, Fr., 313
Bronze, clanging of, [:19, JGzc], 40-4;
bronze gates at Memphis, [:1.91 361c],
40Jf; 47
Brother-sister marriage, of Isis and O siris,
of Nephlhys and Typhon, 307f
Brown-Driver-Briggs, :1.97
Brugsch, H., vii, viii, 89, 15G, :&f8, zG4,
:1.65, 2.81, :1.91, )00, 304, 305, .)o6, JIB,
3l4oJ:&7, )18,))8, 34:1., )4)1 361, J6f, 367,
37:1., 373, 374, 376, 377, 395, 408, 413,
4:15, 44Z, 4-45, 457, 46o, 4G3, 499, f36 ;
on Mancros, :n1f; on n;~me of Isis,
159; on name of Osiris, 18B; on Sine-
pion in Memphis, 39G
\
Bru?ner, Hellmut, xvi~ 401 :1.76, 466; on
dtsk of Anubis, 466f; on education in
Egypt, .)lfj on falcon form of King,
f46
Brunner-Traut, E., viii, xvii, 2.94
Brunton, G., Sl4
Bruyere, R., on Isis and Nephthys as
swallows, 319
Bryaxis, 400
Bubastis, in Delta, 516
Bubastis, goddess (Bastet), 5:1.7; as Sotcira,
390
Buck, A. De, viii, 26o, :1.9:1., 30z, )fl, 44G;
eel. Coffin Texts, g.v.
Buddhist parallel, alleged, 348f
Budge, E. A. Wallis, viii, s, 96, 111, 156,
zGo, 168, 2B1, 2B9, 3o6, 315, 318, 34:1.,
351, JSG, 371, 375, 411, 417, 430, 49Z,
SIB, fJS, n6, 5.CS, H1, H4t 56:1., 564;
on buried parts of Osiris, 342.; on erica-
ace, 313; on lunar Osiris, 453, 456
Buhcn, 346
Buhl, M.-L, 267, JGJ
Bulls, brought from India to Egypt, [19,
)GlB], 403; bull-shaped im~ges of
Dionysus, [Js, J64E], 43z; bull of
Athribis, 376; bull forms of Osiris and
Dionysus, 89; Bull-of-his-Molher, JOG,
334, fll; se~ aho Ka-mut-ef
Bundalruhn, 477, 478, 479, 4Bo, 481
Bunsen, C. C. J,, on Manelho, 79
Durel, J., :1.61
Burial, in Abydos, of the wealthy, [:1.0,
3f9A-a), 16u; rirual burial and sowing
seed, (?o, 37BF f), 540; see also A pis and
Osiris
Buries, Lake, 337
Bumet, J., 414, 439, 4Bf
Bursian, C., f4J
Bury, R. G., 384, 510
Buschor, E., 2.93, 433
Busiris, 313, Jl41 341, J66, 411, 568; birth~
place of Osiris, [:1.1, JS9C), 3G9f; and
body of Osiris, [2.1, 3591-c), 369f; 47,
BJ, 98, 4G3; Busirites, do not use
trumpets, (Jo, )6ZFj, 410f
Buslris, early cult-cencrc of Osiris, 361 300,
3G9; name of, 369; nome of, 49S
Busiris, King, 551
Buto, [66, 3770), 1:1., Jl.), 556; home of
Horus, [8, JS7F), 337f; 47, 54; [J8 1
366..1.), 447
 GENERAL INDEX
GENERAL INDEX
Ba'alat Gebal, and Isis, Jl'-t 330 B:~rth, Karl, p
Ad1en~eus, '-74 '-99 33~ 397, 43'-t f42,
Ass (cont.) Baal-~ephon. l.6o Bases, S., u6
6Hnameof0kbus,[3t, ;6;c], :~.90;not Atben:~goras, ff~ f6o, tG<J Baba, Babawy, Baby, Bebon, 487; and Basket, s:acred (of Dionys115), [3 5 36 A]
no; Pro Clarist., 284, J39i
to be fed by worshippers, [;o, 363 A], baboon, 488; Dab~, and Nebed 8 43S ' ' '
Suppl., P9 489; phallus o 488 4 s9,
son 0 fO sms,
41::1; assigned to Typhon, [fa, ;7tC]1 Athenais, Greek name for NellWlous, [1f 1 4 9 Bas~ 4-!Jl 35 Arternis, 54Si and lsis, p8;
489; 4091 4101 SfOj Typhon flees on,
n1s], pGf
Babbi~ Frank Cole, u, 6:~:, I;~ 1~6, et wtth S1Strun1, 526; and cat on sisuum
[)t,;6;c),4t8f ; p, 59,94;throwndown pasnm; translation by, 4 527 ,
Athenodorus, 400
precipice in Coptos, lJo, ;62 E), 409f Athens. 48, 64, ;8'-t 433 n;, s;s; plague Bahel, Tower of, 480 Data, 463; and Osiris, 343; phal1115 of. ;...,.
Assem:m, S., 543 &boon. and Babawy, 488; and Thoth, tale of, p '
in. [79, 383 D), 568; Thesmophori:l in.
Assis, Hyksos king, ;to 2.9Q, -t88 Baudissin, W. W. F. von. ).:1.9
[69, J78o-E], n7f Bauer, Waiter, :~.ss
Assyria, ;Bt, ;82 Babylon, 381 417 4::11!, 484; Babylonia
Assyrians, [l.4, )GoB), ;Bof; and Seth, ;88;
Athens, Ammon in, 41; Horus in, 6o;
Osiris in, 46; shrine of lsis in, 4 t 38~ 48~; and seven-day week, 4 a,.; Baumganel, E., xvii, 554
4h Athribis, black bull of, 376, H;; Kben- Babyloman legend of division of BalCter, William, 1, J, tu, u6, :~.6t, 2.69,
Astarte, queen of Byblos, [15 1 357B], 326; tekb~:~y of, H7i nome of, and he;U"t of tongues, 480 3.:1.6, 454, 4~. 496, sos, s6, 5,..., 54
281 Babylon (Old Cairo), JH 8eans, abstenuon from, .:~-1.:~-; and sexual
Osiris, 34::1. Babys, and SethTyphon, 4a7; and crowns
Astnrte, goddess, 54, 334; and Aphrodite, Athyr, month, season for sowing, [6<), power, SJI
Jl.G; in Egypt, 326; and Hathor, ;:~.~ 376E], S39i Athyr (17), festiv:d of, [13 1 on uees, 314 Bear, name for soul of Typhon, [.:~.~, 359 c-
pG; on horseback, 347; and lsis, p6, ;sGc-D), 31lf; [69, )78B), s;9; 6;, 64, Bac~e, 4)o; B~cehantes, 17, 95i Bacchic n), 373l S9, 456, sso
fO:I.i legend of, :no; mother of Maneros, Gs, 66; then for four conse~:Utive days, fesuv;ds, and 1vy, 440 Beards, and philosophers, [;, 35 ,_c}, ,_68
3Jli mourning, witl1 swallows(?), 329; [39, ;66], 451; Athyr (17), ~th of Bacchic Mysteries, 39'-l and sexual absti- Bearer.a, of the Sacred Vessels, see
and Seth, 291, ;;o, 417, 419; temple of, Osiris on. [t;, ;s6c-o], 3uf; [;9, nence, 261 Hitraplaoroi
in Byblos, P9i as Venus lugtns, )2'-t ;6Gn), 448f; [~ 367a]; Athyr (19), and Bacchic rcvd~, and b~rial of Apis, [n, Bebon, name of Typhon. [49, 371 c], 487f;
3:J.4f., P9 going down to sea, [39, ;66F], 4pf 364E}, 4Jtf; m Phrygtan rite, [69 378) [~'-t 376A-B], sn; means restraint or
539 t t
hm~ranoe, [6~ 376A-a}, S9, 78, 109,
Astarte Aphrodite, f6o Athyri (~thor), and lsis, [56, 374B], su;
As~:~rte Artemis, ;:~.6 Badarian burials, of animals, H 4 1f7 name of companion of Typhon
fB, no, 257 Badawy, A., 346, 357
Astius, D. F., fl3 {49, 371 a], 477ff '
Atlantis, 28 5
Astcl interpre~:~tions, [41, ;67cff], 455fT Badham, C., 170 Bechtel, F., .:1.5 B
Atothis, 9) Biihr, J. c. F., Beer, and Sakhmet, 176
Astrology, 479; Babylonian, influence of, Attic usage, devi:~tions from, toff IIJ

48::1. B~r Yusif, f48 Bebbet el-l;lagar, cult-centre of Jsis, 4

Attic-Ionic c:llen~r, S39
Astronomy, and myth ofOsiris, (41, 367c-
Atticus, and Plato, 485
Baileyt c., 46<J 162 ''
n], 4SS Bailey, P.C., 354 Behisrun, 381
Attis, and Ba~:~, 343
.Asw:ln, ;66, 37:1; temple oflsis in, p6 Atum, 2841 291, (Tern) 371, soB; bisexual Baillet, A., 441 Behnesa, 548
Asyut, 411, 547 qualities of, 464; and Helius, '-9'; and Baiuli, l.GS Bell, Sir H. Idris, vii, xvii, 40, 44, 45, 68,
A~:~r en-Naby, 46:1. Bakir1 A. Mt xvu, .:1.79, 2.84, 304, JfO, 463, 91' .'-<JG, J4 6 34~t J 89o 394, 407t fOJt
Kbepri, SH
Amrgatis, goddess, S4 S 499t fOO~ 534 j on ep:~gomenai days, JOJ j S 9, ~n. bro~er;;ISter marri:~ge, ;oB; on
AudoUent, A., 409
Aten, :~.6;, 464; rays of, ending in hands, Augustine, D~ Civit. Dti, 379, S4Ji De on etemary, 155; on forbidden fish 279 Eleusmaan ntes m Egypt, 91 f
497; and Shu, 291 Baby, H. S., xvii ' Bel~ W. H., lCVii
Cons. Evang., 379
Atheism, opposed, [11, 3H o], 291; 21, 21, Balianah, 36z. Benaky, N. P., 408
Augustus, f71
:J.6; [66, 377E], SJ3i [71, 379E]; spread Auramazda, 473; stt Ahura M:wl~ Ball, J., vii, 16'-t 335, 36'-t 370, 411 Benenet, '-96
by Euhemerus, [13, ;6oA}, 379; )75 Banebdedet, goat-god of Mendes n 1 Beni Has;m, nome of. 49 r
Ausonius, Ep., 354
Athena, 411; born from forehead (ofZeus), Baphao, and Seth-Typhon, 4 a7 ' Beni Sue, 278 '
(75, ;l!t E}, 561 ; 301; and equilateral Aust, E., 54:1. Baptism, abstinence before, .:~.62 Bensder, G. E., ll- IJ, lu, n6 347
Autogenesis, sn
triangle, [75, JBI E], ~61; and hebdomad, Autumn, [35, ;65 A); lacks moisture, [;;, Barb, A. A., 4 10t 417; on amulet of Isis Bent!ey! Richard. ' 3, 11 n6, '-79,
B ' 395, 511
[to, JS4F], :~.88; Athena-lsis, inscription ;64B), autumnal equinolC, [p, 37n), HH on dsta mystka, 452; on gems with envc;nlSte, mile, 47 47 1, 473, 474, 476
of, at S:iis, [9, 354c], 283ff; Athena and Seth and Anubis 467 Bereruce, 361; lock of, )If
lsis, [6:~-, 376 A], 511; ltOj serpent sacred
49a; 6s Barbarians, and G~, [67, 377E] SJ:l" Bergk, T., :J78
Aves~:~, 474, 477, 478, 48l. 2.21 29
to, (71, 3790], S43f; cf. [?s, 381 E], t I
Berlin Museum, relief in, 432 ; No. 9681 ~
Avienus, Arat., 335
f6o; st:ltue by Pheidias, [7S. ;Bt a], Barber, G. L, Bt n, 346; No. 11486: 34o; Pergamon
f6oi temple of, at Sais, [p, 363 F], 4u; Ba, 319, 371, ;a;, Hf sso, f67; of Amen- ~~et, P., 39, 63, 2.97, ;oo, 46'-t sB, sso Museum, ;ss
undressed by L:!chares, (71, 379c], 542 Re', 364; of Osiris, 3681 377 H3l of ~ J?hn W. B., xvif, 3 16, 317 Bernardakis, G. N., n, 1 ~ 111, 116 387
Athena, owl of, 543; Soteira, 39Di and Barricadmg, and day of death of Osiris, 46<), 483; edition by, 4 ' '
Re', 44z
Thoueris, 348; Parthenos, 54li as Trito- Baal, :~nd Seth-Typhon, 419 (4~ J67E} Bcmays, J., 378
geneia, 561
 GENERAL INDEX GENERAL INDEX
Apollo, and De:~th, ::r.8; cows of, S07i Are~:~logies, oflsis (cont.) Aroueris, Elder Horus, birthday of, [s::r.,
Aphrodite Aph:lkiris, 33o; and Astarte,
Smintheus, S43; ood sun, 49S; temple of, from, :lf7, s16; Cius,Anubis-hymnfrom, 3SS2], 3oof; 6s; called Apollo, (s:11
316; and H:~thor, ;os; and lsis, 401;
in Pompeii, ;Go 318, so1; Cyme, Are~:~logy from, :lf6, 3SSE]; [s::r., 3f6A]; called Elder Horus,
St:ltue of, 3t Elis, 48; Urani:~, ~Go
Apollodorus, 176, 18o, 314, ;::r.8, 319, ;ss, :163, :6s; Ios, Aret:llogy from, :tf6, :l6J, [s::r., JSS ]; fruit of pre-0:1t:il union of
Aphrodirus, 464 1Gs, 309; Medinet Madi, Hymn from, Isis and Osiris, [s::r., 3S6A), 307
Apion, 100, 419, 454; and Manetho, 94i 404, 443, 457, 483, S07, S4S Sfl, sGo
35 3 possible source, 88-94; On th~ Apollonius, inscription of, 91
3:l6 Arrian, Ana!J., 171
Apollonius Rhodius, 318, 377; SchoL 403, Argives, and Dionysus, [Js, 364E-F), Arsaphes, and Dionysus, (37, 365 E], 441f;
Magian, 471
Apis, bom of moon-struck cow, [43, 44t, Ht 433 17; meall5 manliness, [37, 365 E], 109;
Argo, and Dog-star, [::r.::r., JS9E], 377f; m also l;lerysh:lf
;68&-c], 461f; 49; :l!lcged bull .from ApoUonopolis, crocodile e:uen in, [so,
371 o], 491f; 47 i111:1ge of vessel of Osiris, [:11, 3S9E], Arsinoe, sister and wife of Ptolemy 11,
Indi:~, [19, J61B], 403; 77; 31Um3te
im:~ge of Osiris, [43, ;68c], 46::r.f; Apopis, 3tt:lcks Zeus, {36, ;6s o], 440; s::r.;
;nf; and Orion, [:1::r., JS9E], 377f jOB
brother of Helius, [;6, ;6s o], 440; s::r.; Argon;~uts, 377 Arsinol! Philopator, 91
buriul of,[Js, ;64E], 431; 89f, J7Jf, 401;
opposed by Seth, ;o6, 389, and ouro- A:gos, 89 Arsinoe-Crocodilopolis, 371
buri:l! of, in Memphis, [19, J61C], 404;
boros, 466; fights Re', 489; Apopisbuch, Aricd:~, relief from, 431 An, Coptie, Ss ; of Gr:~eco-Roman Cf31 ss
coffin of, and 0:1me Sur:~pis, [19, J61c],
Aris~:~goras, on impurity of salt, [s, Jf:lF], Art, works of, and the divine, [76, }bB-C]
403; corpor:~te image of soul of Osiris, )07,440
:l7J Ampa.nus, S-17
[19, ;61c-o], 404f; desaoyed by C:~m Apostolius, 314
Arist:lrchus, I 56 Artaxerxes II, 474
byses, [44, ;68F], 468; :190; gener:l!ly Apotheosis, by drowning, :l7J .
Aristeas, of Proconnesus, S44 Anaxerxes Ill, Okhus, 190, 418
honoured, [7;, ;8oE], image of soul Apuleius, on book of riru:l!, 69; on cuta
mystica, 4flj compared with Plutarch, Aristias, the Chian, 441 Artemidorus, mummy-case of, 61
of Osiris, [::r.o, Jf9B], ;6;f; 434; life of
49fT; concerned most with Isis, 46; and Aristides, Aelius, Apolog. (Syr.), po, p1; Artemidorus, Onirocrit., :171
twenty-five ye:u"S, [56, 374a], ~11; and
moon's ph:lses, [43, JGBc], 463; and J~a multinominis, so3; on mask of In Sarap., 3901 403; Or., 187, 4SJ, 461, Artemis, 443; dog sacred 10, (71, 3790),
Anubis-priest, 466; and navigium lsiJis, s66; Sacr., S~rm., 391 543f; and Dyad, [ro, 3S4F], :188; and
Osiris, [43, ;68-C], 461; [73, 38oE],
491f; on Osiris-mysteries, 391; on regi- Aristippus, the Cyrenaic, nl Hecate, [71, 379 o), 544; ood &stet,
SBi f6, S7, 71, 89, 415, S44i re:~red in
men, 2.61, n8; on robe of lsis, f6:l; on Aristocritus, Th~os., f41 S4H at Brauron 3S she-bear, J4};Soteira,
Memphis, (1o, 3S9B], ;6;; sacrificed by
Okllus 'The Ass', [Js, J6Jc], 418; 77; vessels carried, 437i Apol., J.11; D~ .ko Ariston, Th~ Fordgn Settlunmu of tA~ 390
slain by Okhus'TheSword',[u, JHC], Socrat., 407; D~ Magia, :&f6; Met. (r), Atlamians, []7, }6f E], 441; cf. 77, 84, Artemisi:~, curse of, 394, 399
:179; (11), 49f, 69, :161, 16::r., J.Gf, 169, 109 Article, generic, 412
190; son of Mnevis, [J;, ;64c], 41S;
:184, 317f., 340, 393t 407o 431, 41St 437o Aristoph:lnes, Adaarn. Sdaol., 405; ;., Asc:ll:tbus, and Demeter, 90
wutered from 11 private well,[~, JSJA],
441, 4S 1, 4S1, 466, 487, 491, 497, fOI, 390; Nu., lf9i Ran., :16:1 Ascalon, S4S
2.73. 436 Aristotclianism, s 19 Ascetic rules, [::r., 351 F], :16rf; 68, 89, 98,
Apis, birth of, 405; cult of, 70, 2.73, 2.82.; so::r., ~'' n8, sG:z
Aristode, :11, 7f, 76, ::r.68, 404, 471, 4941 :168; and health, (79, ;B;A-a], s66; u~
and &l&wcn, 331f; de:~th of, bewmled, Arabi:l, 379; Southem, s66f, s68
~o4, f14, Slf, sn also Foods, abstinence from
541; dedication to, 394; and Dionysus, Arabs, campaign against, [8, 3S4 a]
88, 89; drowned in well, :l?J, 431, fl1; Ararus, Pha~n., [38, 366A]; 444
Aristotle, on Form ood Negation, [48, Asc/,pius (Corp. Herm.), :lSJ. 371, 487,
370E], 48S; on health-giving fr:~gr.mce, fiJ, S44, S48
and Epaphus, 77, 443; 1;/py, 4os, 443; Area, coins from, 3:lf, :P9
[79, 383 o], f68; and the Mysteries, Asclepius, p8, f19i and Sarapis, S9i
and lsis, :18o; in Memphis, 47, JGJ, 4:lf; Arcadians, HJ
[77, 38:&o], 563; on Osiris, [Go, 375c], temple of, :16:1
Apis-Osiris, 89, 364, 394; A pis-period, Areas, S4J
s11 ; and Pt3h, ;6;, 544; responses of, Archemachus, of Euboe:~, [17, )611!], SIJ; D~ an., S4; Eth. EuJ~m., 483;
Hist. an., SS7; Metaph., 413, 418, 483,
Asclepius (Imbotep), tomb of, 371
Ascus, giant, :176
JIH st:ltue of, 399; ood sun, 461f 39::r.f; 76, 84; Name-claaf18U by, 393
Ateirn:mius, daemon of d:~tkness, (46, 484, 48S, so4; Mir. ausc., sss; Part. an., Ash:! V:l!tish~:~, 'the best piety', 476
Apis-Atum, 364 SS?, s68; Phys., 48S, so4; Poet., S19, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, xvi, soG,
369E], 473f; (471 J69F], 1s; future des-
Apocryphon ofJohn, 504
truction of, [47, 370a], 479; 471; S40; Pol., 378; Prob., f68; Rhet., S9, f16
Apollo, Go, 69, 3J:l ;61, 443, 4S7, 494 S07 Ash~:~r, 316
gloomy offerings to, (46, 3691!], 474f; s4o; Top., 384
Sl4, no six riwl gods cre~~ted by, [47, 37oA], Aristoxenus, 484; on daemons, 384 Ashtoreth (Ast:lrte), 3:16
Apollo, and Aroueris (Horus the Elder),
476f; war of, against Horom;azes, [47, Arithmetic, theological, (56, 374AJ, 509; Aii, Meroitic for Isis, 310
(11, 3H E), JOI; [11, jf6A], 307; [S4t Asi:~, j80
373 a], soH 59; and Horus, [61, 375 F], 3708], 481; s~~ also Ahrirnan 99, 561
Ares, father of H;umonia, [48, 37oc], 483; Arkell, Dr A. J., 514 Asi:~ Minor, }B::r., 435; Egypti30 cults in, 41
s::r.o; ;o1, sos, S4H and monad, [so,
and triangle, [;o, 363 A] Arms, not needed by Osiris, [r}, 3f6B], As6, queen of Ethiopia, aids Typhon, [ 13,
JS4F], :188; [7~, j8l F), ~61; and Python,
309 3s6a], 310; SJl symbolizes breezes from
[1s, ;GoE], ;8sf; 44o; raven sacred so, Aret:leUS, 3 30
Armstrong, A. H., s Ethiopl:~, (39, 366c], 447f
[71, 3790], 543f; shom by Dionysius, Are~:~logies, oflsis, 41, ~~. S71 69, 73, 310,
446, 46s, 4191, sp; and the Mysteries, Amdr-Gingrich, :lfS Asph:llt, in cyphi, [So, 383 E), S6cJ
[71, 379c], s4::r.; and sun's course, [61,
373 F], po; temple of (in Delphi), [JS, 390; Andros, Hymn from, 43, :1~6, :164, Amim, H. von, ;s~, 4SS 1 469, n::r. Ass, 70; :1 daemonic be:~st, [Jo, J61F], 409f;
170, 391, 446, S3 s; Chalcis, Are~:~logy Amubius, AJv. nat., 379, 398, 541 im:~gestampedoncakes, (3o,}61F],411f;
;6s A], 43S. B7
 GENERAL INDEX
Aion-Cronus, 419,467
Air, dense by night, 79, JB)af, Bo,JB411];
purified by resin, [791 JRJ11f; So, )8411);
and Hera, (J2.1 JGJD), 419; from mois-
ture, [)6, J6S c], 439; r.lrefied by fire
from fragr.mt wood, [79, )RJC)1 S68
Ajax, 193
Akam Mano, 'evil will', 477
Aker, earth-god, and Isis, 446
Akhen;aten, 181, 464; set: also Amenophis
IV
Akhmim (Panopolis), )I)
Akhmimic, roB
Alciati, And rea, 3 S4
Alcidamas, Sl9
AlcinoUs, 386
Alc:yonia, Lake, n=- Lema, 433
Aldred, Cyril, 346
Alexander the Great, led Macedonians in
conquest, [14, )Go B), 381f; pic:tures of,
by Lysippus and Apclles, [14, )GoD);
168, 376, 479, S6); polic:y of, 90; i19
son of Zeus-Ammon, )BJ
Alexander Polyhistor, A~mtiaca, 361
Alexandria, 3Ho 370, )77o 401, 4Ho 491,
sos
Alexandria, and Sarapis, [18, J61A], 399f;
41, 4lo 47, '19t 394o 39So 396, 40 1
Alexandria, Adonis in, 310; and Demeter,
91; and Gnostic: movement, 49, 91;
;md Henn;mubis, JIB; Library at, 79;
Musc:um at, 399; Plutarc:h at, s-1o;
Plutarc:h's reiUm from, 17, roq Sera-
peurn at, 36r, 396, 401; temple at, 361
Alexandrian c:avalier figures, 3<46; dates,
6sf, 44s
A!CX:Irc:hus, letter of, 37, J6S n), 77
Alfoldi, A., on navigium Isiau, so
Allam, Sc:hafig, xvii; on Sesostris, )RJ
Allegorizing, too subdy, [181 361 A), 400
Allegory, in Egyptian literature, 101; ;md
fact, 1891 JS7i Greek use of, 49, 6o, roo,
419f; and hieroglyphs, lOS; physic:al, 71,
419, 487, 519; Plutarch's use of, &oof;
Stoic:s' use of, 1,10
Alien, T. G., 33, 37, 337, 341, 376
Alien, Y. W., S07
Alliot, M., 17S, 176
Alluvium, pushes land forward, [,o,J67B),
4Hf
Alphabetic: system, S ro
Altars, 166
sSo
Ama, 'the swallower', 488
Amasis,J6)
Aml!lineau, E., and tomb of Osiris, 341
Amdung, W., 400, '137
Amene~et, Tomb of, H
Amentterep, statue ;md teXt of, 16o
Amen-mose, Hymn of, 36, 1fl, JIO, Jlf,
JJI, JH 451, 496, '199, Jo1, H3o 564
Amenophis, Manetho on, Sso
Amcnophis IV (Akhenaten), 174o 359, 498;
se~ also Akhenaten
Amen-Re', JS, 364; hymn to, 497
AmenRe'-Harsaphes, 458
Amenthes, 'he who takes ;md gives',
[19, J61D)1 4oG; 108, lS7i where souls
go 3fter death, [19, 361 o), 4oG
Ameretat, 'immortality', 476
Amesha Spenw, 476
Ammianus Marc:ellinus, on Apis, 173, 461
Ammon, disciple, S9
Ammon, c:ult of, at Athens, 41
Ammon, modified form of Amilll, 9,
[3s4c-o), 1Bs; Stoic:s on, [4o, 367c),
4H
Ammonius, teacher of Plutarch, 94
Amomum, 47S
Amosis, Sf1
Amosls, C:ipt., 2.89
Amphimarus, 331
Amphitrite, ;md sea, as third region, [7S,
JBI E}, S6o
Amphora, in Isi:lc: procession, 437
Amshaspands, six, '177
Amulet, of lsis, [Gs, 377a], Gs; [GB, 378 B),
SJ4f
Amun, 4o, 71 1 99, 18], :t.BS, 306, 376, 440,
'IS71 494, 497, SO); as Hammon, 379,
s..s;c:f. Ammon
Amun, as greeting, {9, 3S4D), 1o6; legs of,
sep:u<~ted by lsis, (61, 376c], S14i Hi
M;metho on name of, [9, 354c-D], 185 i
78, toG, S14
Amun, as god of the dead, 391; as Ka-mut-
ef, 343, p1; and Kneph, 374; marries
daughter Mut, ]DB; at Pdusium, 334i as
ram-god, s-47, 548; and sea or Nile, '191i
sweat of, as inc:ense, 5670 temple of, at
Kamak, 3oo; god of wind, 440; and
Zeus, :z.Bs, ]00
Amilli-Min, 334
Amtln-Ritu31, Berlin, sG?
Amyot, Jacques, ut, 404
GENERAL INDEX
An:ihita, 474
'Anat, and Seth, 191, )Jo, 417, 41 B
Anar.1goras, on Mind and the Unlimited,
('!8, J7DB), <~RH 11 1 7S, 419
An:Wm:mder, 14, 414
Anaximenes, 414
'Andjery, and Osirn, H, 369, 495
Androgynous form, of Nile-god, 174
Andros, Hymn to lsis from, ste Aretalogies
Angdology, 476
Angra Mayniu, 'Evil Spirit', 473
Ani, papyrus of, 375, 442., 561
Animal worship, [71, 379011], f<111f; 69,
93. 99i and drought, [7), 38oc-o], ssof;
variety due to polic:y of'divideand rule',
[71, )BoA- B), S47i revival of c:ults,
H4
Animals, :ISSigned to food :md evil powers,
(46, 369 E- FJ, 476; burial of, and agreed
c:ontrihutions, [11, 359 o], 373f; 70;
c:onsec:rntions and burials of, [73, 3Boo);
gods change into, [71, 379 E), S4S: mirror
the divine, (76, JB:u1;- 561; Typhonic
signific:anc:e of, [73, JBoc), 549f; [73,
]80), Hli 70, 2.76, HI
Animal-masks, of ltin~, [71, ]BOA), f-16;
animal-shaped standards of clans, [71,
379F), f46
Animate superior to inanimate, [76, J81A-
B}; derives from thr: divine, (76, J81A- B]
Antaeopolis, 61, )S), flJ
Antar:us, and Nephthys, JOS; and Zeuj
Hrlius Sarapis, 305
Antefo~er, tomb of, soB
Anthes, Rudolf, ros, 190, 534; on Greek
and Egyptian thought, 186; on riiUal
questioning of King, JPi on 1nales
and Egypt, 4:8
Anthesteria, 433
Antlt. Gra., SOJ
Anthropomorphic: statue of Osiris, [p,
3711'), 494f
Anthrol;'omorphism, in Egyptian religion,
49<4; rn Greek c:ults, S4l
Anticleides, {37, )6SF], 443; 77, B4; On
Alezantler, 443
Antigonus, King, 2.99
Antigonus, old man, rejects divinity, (14,
)6oc)
Antioc:h, 383
Antipater, of Mac:edon, 379
Antithesis, 1 f
Antoniadi, E. M., 372.
Antoninus Liberalis, s..s, SH
Antoninus Pius, 17, 154
Antony, M11rk, ~ Dionysus and Osiris,
'1)01 441
Anty, and gold, 411; punishment of, Js6,
'Ill
'Anrywey, and Seth, 61, JOS
Anu6ia&~a, 318
Anubis, 36, st, 89, :t.6s, :~69, 344, nr, J6J,
)77o 1,10, 416, f48
Anubis, belongs to world above and bdow,
[61, 37SE), S?f; born of Nephthys
illicidy, [)8, ]66c), 447; brought up by
Isis, [44, JGB n), 46sf; chthonic: and
Olympian, (44, ]68), 467; and Cronus,
[44. 368n), 46,; 61, 191, 419, pt, JSB;
as dog, (44, ]68), 467; 61, Sf8; [c:f. 14.
)SGF), 317f; as guardian of lsis, (14,
)S6F), 317f; S4l and Hec:ate, [44, J68E),
467; Gr; as Hermanubis, [61, 37S E),
St7f; as horizon, [44, JGBE), 466; Gt;
;md Logos, [Gr, J7S E), :z.6o; son of
Nephthys and Osiris, [r4, JS6Bf], 317f;
[38, 3661H:; 44o 368 n), <16s; s1
Anubis, aroused by sistrum, 52.6; as lxz of
Osiris, SS 3; and Cerberus, 468; at Ddos,
46; as embalmer, JS, 61; guardian of
nec:ropolis, 467; with herald's staff, SJ7i
and Hermes, 190; hymn to, from Cius,
J t8, so:t.; and Isis, :~So; with key, 467,
SIB; and dog M11ira, 318; mask of, 317 ,
466; and moon-disk, Gt, 46Gf; necldac:e
of, Jlfi Olympian aspec:t of, 6t; in
P. Jumilh:~c:, 46ff; ~lwJ/Ompo~, 61;
rolling disk, <166; and Sarapis, '!O; and
sexual power, <167; and Sirius, JIB; son
oflsis, JIB, <16s; son ofOsiris, JIB; son
of Wedjoyet, 4Gr; in Syria, 318; and
Thoth, SIB
Anu!Jofori, 317
Anukis, in bark, 377
Ap:tosha, demon of drought, 477
Apclles, painter, blamed by Lysippus, [14,
)GoD)
Aphrodite, and Cronus, [6?, 378), S39f;
dovesac:red to, (71, 3790), HJf; mother
of lhrmonla, (48, 370C], '!8); and
Nephthys, [11, JH F), )OSJ 61; and
quadrilateral, [Jo, J6)A), 413; and
summer, [6?, J78B), S39f; 76; and
tonoise, [75 1 )81 E), S6o
 APPEND IX
Typhon (cont.)
= Dry, fiery and scorching element (33, 364A f.; 39, 366c).
- Element which makes earthquakes and thunderstorms
373c-o).
- Everything without measure and order (64, 376F f.).
- 56-sided polygon in nature (3o, 363A).
= Great daemon, classified as evil (25, 36oo ff.).
= Harmful element in nature (45, 369A; so, 371 n; 59, 375 B).
...-Hippopotamus in attributed form (so, 371 cf.).
= Passionate element in the soul (49, 371 B).
... sea (32., 3630 ff.; 40, 367A-B; cf. 5, 3PF).
o=Seth (41, 3670; 49, 371 B; 62, 376 A-B).
= Shadow of the earth which causes eclipse of the moon (44,
368F).
= Smu (62, 376A-B).
= Sun (41, 367c; 51, 372A; 52., 37lE).
- Tartarus (57, 374c).
bone of- Iron (62, 376B).
image of- Hippopotamus (so, 371 c).
son of.., Hierosolymus (31, 363 c-D).
son of Iudaeus (ibid.).
soul of= Bear (u, 3590).
spit of- Salt (32, 363 E).
Zeus= Ammon (Amun) (9, 354 c).
=Dodecagon in nature (3o, 363 A).
son of- Osiris (36, 365 o).
(ss, GENERAL INDEX
References are to p:ages, save when the text is referred to, in which case the chapter and
section reference is given inside square brackets. References to the text precede
the others, and the relevant place in the Comment:ary is then noted.
Abaton, of island (Bigeh) near Philae,
[20, 359E], :J6slf, 39, 342., 367; Das
Gotterdelcret a6er Jas Al>aton ed. H.
Junket, 391 J481 3~, 338, 340, 34z, 3G6,
367,368,4201 429,446,496,564
Abaton, of Esna, 4S
Abel,4l4
Abstinence, see Ascelic rules; Foods,
:abstinence from
Abubakr, A. M., H6
Abu Simbd, colossi :at, 381; lion at, 347
Abusir, 370
Abydos, important still, (2o, 359 -'], 363,
98; wealthy Egyptians buried in, [20,
3591.-11}, )62f.
4)t 47t 84, 312., )~, 33Z, 342., J5J1
)56, 359. )6:Z, )63, JG6, 411, .......... 449.
p.1, SJ4l and emb:alming, 35; and
Nedyet, 321 1 341; probable origin of
Osiris cult, 36, 300, 369; and tomb of
Osiris, 341 1 369
Abyssinia, 447; Abyssinians, rite of adop-
rion among, 327
Academy, 28, 74; zeal for Zoroaster, 472;
and Zoroastrian chronology, 471f
A=:ania, :z.65
Accul>itio, 282
Ach;~ea, halls of, [69, J78D-E], SJ8, 48 ;
'sorrowing one', SJ8
Achaea, Plutarch in, t8
Achilles, 293, 328, 386
Achilles Tatius, 274, 552
Acron, doctor at Athens, (79, 383 oJ, s68;
and Empiricists, 568
Acropolis, 542
Ac:taeon, f 44
Ad;~d-nirari Ill, 3 81
Ad:am, J., 357, f09
Admonitions ofan Egyptian Sage, )20
Adonis, ]271 334; corpse of, 32s; in
Alexandria, 320; and Osiris, JS1 334:
and swallow, 329; and Tammuz, 281
579
Adultery, punishment of, Jl7; of Osiris,
see Osiris
Ae:acus, son of Hcrcules, [19, )6211],
402
Aegean islands, 41
Aegipan, S07
Adian, 93, 99, 274, f:t8; NA, 78, 93, n8,
162., 234. 2)6, 27], )14, 31f, 329, 40],
411 1 412, 418, 422., 42S1 4Go, 46z, 492,
494, sot, S07, 546, 548, S49 551, SH,
H8, H9i on Cambyses, 468; on croco-
dile, H7i on crocodile cult, 416; Var.
Iris:., S41
Aeneas of Gaza, Tlreoplrrastus, 481
Aeschylus, on purity and myth, [zo, 3581],
356f
75, 378; Ag., 322; Eum., 483, 514,
561 ; lxion-trilogy, )f6f; Per3., 298, 339;
PV, 136, 443; Supp., 159, 339, 443, s6G
Aescul:~pius, and Sarapis, 399
Aeternit:aS, 2H
Ai!tius, Plac., 384
Mriean anim:al world, 494, H4
Mrican origin, of sistrum, Sl7
Agupe, and Isis, 58
Agathodaemon, sacred serpent, 461
Agathos D:aemon, P9i and Kn~ph, 734
Agdessness, and cobra, see Cobra
Agriculture, beginnings of, [70, 378Ff],
540, 309
Ahriman, 472., 47H offerings to, 474;
Prince of Darkness, 47S, 481; rdation
to Ahura M:azda, 474, 486; and shadows,
48rf; six ministrants of, 476; and
Typhon, 28; 3te also Areimanius
Ahura Mazda, 472., 475, 480; creator of
stars, 477; and Holy Spirit, 496; offer-
ings to, 47S; and Osiris, 28, 486, 487;
rdations to Ahriman, 474, 486; rest of,
481; seated on high, 477; six creations
of, 476; victory of, 479; 'Wise Lord',
473, 486; see also Horomazes
 APPENDIX APPENDIX

Nephthys (cont.) Osiris (cont.)

=Nik~ (Victory) (12, J5SF). ~mage of soul of=Apis (:1o, 359B; 29, 3620; 43, 368s-c).
= Teleute (End) (12, 355F; 38, J66B; ~9, 37~B; 6), 376E). 1mage of vessel of- Argo (22 1 359E)
... What is below the earth and invisible (44, 368 E). name of- Hosios (Ho!y)+Hieros (Sacred) (61, 3750).
Nike (Victory)= Nephthys (12, 355F). many-eyed (o, 35SA).
Nile-=Effiux of Osiris (38, 366A). . =Mighty ( 37, J6S E),
.... Horus (4o, 367B). plant of- chenosiris (37, 365 E)
~osiris (p, 363o; 39, 366c ff.). Persephone (Persephassa) ... Jsis (17, 361 E).
Oceanus= Osiris (34, 3640). = Spring (69, 378E).
Omphis- Benefactor'"""' Osiris ( 42, 368 B). -=Wind rushing through crops (66, 3770).
Orion"" Soul of Horus (21, 359c; cf. 22., J59E). Pluto= Hades (78, J8:1E).
Osiris= Apis (:19, 362.c). = Osiris (78, 38u).
~ Bull from India (29, J61B). ""Sarapis (:17, 361 Ej 281 361 F ff.).
= Dionysus (:18, 362B; 34, 3640 ; 36, 365o; 37, 365). Poseidon= the First cube (ro, JS4F)
= Epaphus (37, 365 E-F). ... spirit which permeates the Sea (4o, 367c).
= Eros (57, 374c). Rhea= QEadrilateral in nature (30, 363 A).
= Founder of civilization (IJ, 356A-B). Sarapis .... coffin of the Apis (29, 362c).
~a General (u, 359E; 7:1, 379F) = Epaphus (37, 365 E-F).
.:oGreat daemon elevated to deity (25, 36oo ff.). = He who orders the universe (29, JG.lB-c).
= Hades (78, 381E). = Joy and gladness (:19, 36:10).
= Hysiris (34, 3640). = Osiris (28, 362.B; cf. 61 1 375 F f.).
= King of the dead (78, 38:1E). = Pluto (271 361 E; :181 361 F ff.).
= Mind and reason in the soul (491 J7IA). = Power in charge of the wind (61 1 375 F).
Moist principle (33, 364A). Seirios= Osiris (p, 3720).
= Moon (41, 367s-o; 42, 367E; 42, 368A; 43, 368c; 44, 368o). Selene (Moon)- Isis (p., 372.0).
= Nile (31, 363o; 39, 366c ff.). - Mother of the world (43, 368c).
- Oceanus (34, 3640). = Osiris (41, J67B- D; 42 1 367; 42.1 368A; 43 1 J68c; 44, J68o).
= Omphis= Benefactor (42, 368B). Seth...-Typhon (41, 367o; 49, .371B; Gz, J76A-B).
- the Origin (56, 374A). Smu= Typhon (Gz, .376A-s).
- Pluto (78, 381 E). Sothis ()Sirius)- Soul oflsis (21, 359B; cf. u, 359E; 38, 36sFf.; 6 1,
= Power in charge of the wind (61, 375 F). 376 A
s:::aReason (Logos) (54, 373B). Tartarus= Typhon (57, 374c).
... sarapis (28, 361B; cf. 61, 375 F f.). T~leut~ (End)= Nephthys (12, JSSF; 38, 366n; 59, 37SB; 6.3, 37GE) .
= Seirios (p, 372.0). Tethys= lsis (34, 3640).
son of Zeus (36, 3650). Tritogeneia= Equilateral triangle (7S, 381 E).
...-Sun (Helius) (51, 371 F ff.; p, 372.0). Typhon= Ass in attributed form (30, 362 ff.; so, 371 c)
= Vertical of the most beautiful triangle (56, 373 F f.). = Bebon (49, .371 u-c; 62., 376A- B).
- the Well-ordered, good and useful ( 64, 376 F f. ; cf. 49, 371 A-B). = Corpor~al .element subject to death and disease (49, 371 s).
Osiris, effiux of= Nile or all moisture (36, J6sn; 38, J66A). = Crocodile m assumed form (so, 371 o; cf. so, 371 c).

37 S77 CPI
 APPENDIX APPENDIX

Haroeris (the elder Horus)= Apollo (u, 355 E; u, 356A; 54, 373 s-e).
= Picture and vision of the world to come (54, 373c).
Harpocrates= Teacher of rational insight (68, 378c).
Helius (the Sun)= Brother of Apopis (36, :;65 o).
= Osiris (p, 371 F ff.; p, J72D).
...Typhon (41, 367c; )I, 372A; p, 372E).
Hephaestus ~Fire (66, 3770; cf. 32, J6JD).
Hera= the Air (32, 3630).
= Q!!adrilateral in nature (30, 363 A).
Heracles= a God who was once a good daemon (27, 361 E).
~spirit which overpowers and divides (4o, 367c).
Hermanubis~Anubis (61, 375 E).
Hermes= Creator of the epagomenal days (12, 355 o).
...-Deformed in his arms (22, 359E).
= Discoverer of writing, music and poetry (3, J52A).
Dog, but not literally (11, 3l5B).
; Father of Isis (3, J)2A; u, 355 F).
= Giver of cow head-dress to Isis (19, 3580).
""'Most discerning of the gods ( 11, 3 H 8).
= Reason (Logos) (54, 373 a).
= Recipient of festival of 19th of 1st month (68, 378s).
.... Tearer of sinews of Typhon (55, 373c).
~Traveller in the moon (41, 3670).
- Witness for Horus in his trial (54, 3738).
Hermes, books of= Record of sacred names (61, 375F).
HestiaoaQEadrilateral in nature (3o, 363 A).
Hierosolymus= Son of.Typhon (31, 363c-o).
Horomazes...: Creator of good (46, 369o-E).
Horus .... Apollo (61, 375 F).
...-Hypotenuse of the most beautiful triangle (56, 374A).
~Maturing and mingling of the surrounding air (38, :;66A).
= Min (56, 374n).
....:the Nile (40, 3678).
~the Perceptible world and image of what is spiritually intelligible
(54, J73A- B).
= Perfected achievement (56, 374A).
= Power in charge of the sun (61, 37) F).
= Terrestrial world (43, :;68o).
Horus, bone of""'Loadstone (62, 3760).
eye of= Moon (p, 37211; 55, 37J E).
= Sun (p, 3728).
soul of- Orlon (21, 359c; cf. 22, 3 59 E).
Hysiris= Osiris (34, 3640).
Isis= Arbiter in matters of sexual love (p, 37l.D-E).
= Athena (9, 354c; 62, 376A)
= Athyri (56, 3748).
= Base of the most beautiful triangle (56, 373 F f.).
= Creation (63, 376E).
= Earth (p, 3630; 39, :;66E; cf. :;8, 366A).
= Female principle in nature (53, 372E).
- First of the Muses in Hermopolis (:;, 3S.2A- 8).
= Great ~aemo_n elevated to deity (25, 36oo ff.).
= Hastemng Wlth understanding (6o, 375 c) .
...,Justice (Dikaiosyne) in Hermopolis (3, JPA- .B).
= Matter (OAT)) (54, J7JB-c).
E: Methyer (56, 3748),
= the Moon, Selene (p, 3720).
= Mouth (56, 3748).
= Myriad-named (53, 372E).
- Persephone (Persephassa) (27, 361 E).
= Receptive principle in procreation (53, 372E; cf. 56, 374A) .
~ Tethys (34, 3640).
. = What is above the earth and manifest (44, 368 E).
Is1~, body of= Earth fructified by the Nile (:;8, :;66A).
1mage of= Cow (39, J66E; cf. 19, 3580).
soulof= Sothisor Sirius (2I,J59 c;cf. 22,3 59 E; :;8, 36 5 F f.; 6r,:;76A).
ludaeus= Son of Typhon (31, :;6,3c- o).
Kore= (with Demeter) Spirit which permeates the earth and crops
(40, 367c).
Matter (vi\Tl)= lsis (54, 37JB-c).
Methyer=-Isis (56, 3748).
Min= Horus (56, 374B).
Mithres (Mithras)...-Mediator (46, 369E).
Mnevis- Father of the Apis (33, 364c).
Mouth= Isis (56, 374B).
Nemanous= Athenais (15, J57B).
Nephthys... Aphrodite (u, 355 F).
= Ends of the earth (38, 3668; cf. 59, 375 B).

S74 S75
 APPENDIX

Athena= Equilateral triangle (75, 381 E).

= the Hebdomad (1o, 3S4F).
APPENDIX - Isis (9, 3 54c; 62, 376A).
Athenais= Nemanous (15, JS7B).
DIVINE EQUATIONS Athyri- Isis (56, 3740).
Bebon= One of the companions of Typhon (49, 371 s-e; 62., 376A-B).
Ammon (Amun) ...Spirit which receives (40, 367c). = Typhon (ibid.).
- 'What is concealed' (9, 354 C). Cronus ... Anubis (44, 368 E).
= Zeus (9, 354C). = Time (32., 3630).
Anubis= Cronus (44, J68E). JE: Winter (69, 378E).
- Dog in form (44, 368E). Cronus, tear of- the Sea (32., J64A).
- Dog in name with the additional meaning of 'conceiving' (44, Daemons, great... Typhon, Osiris, Isis (2.5, 36oo).
368E- F). Demeter- Com (66, J77D-E).
= Guard and attendant of Isis (14, 356F). = Qyadrilateral in nature (3o, 363 A).
- Hecate in significance (44, 368E). - (with Kore) Spirit which permeates the earth and crops (40,
- Hermanubis (61, 375 E). 367c).
= Horizon (44, 368E). Dikaiosyne Qustice)= lsis (3, JS2.A- B).
- Revealer of matters pertaining to the heavens (61, 375 E). Dionysus= Arsaphes (37, 365 E).
Aphrodite= Mother of Harmonia (48, 37oc). = Bringer of two bulls from India (29, 36:z.s).
= Nephthys (n., J55F). - Epaphus (37, 365 E-F).
re Qyadrilateral in nature (3o, 363 A).
- God of the sacred basket, Liknites (35, 365 A).
- summer (69, 378E). = a God who was once a good daemon (27, 361 E).
Apis- Bull from India (2.9, J62.B). '"" Hades (2.8, J6:z.A).
- corporate image of the soul of Osiris (2.0,359 8;2.9, J62.c-o; 43, - Lord and originator of all moist nature (35, 365 A).
3688-c). o:::: Osiris (28, 36:z.s; 34, 364o; 36, 36so; 37, 365E).
- osiris (29, 362c). - Spirit which procreates and nourishes (40, 367c).
- son of Mnevis (33, 364c). = Triangle in nature (3o, 363A).
Apollo= the Elder Horus, Haroeris (u, 355 E; 12., JS6A; 54, 373 8-c). - Wine (35, 365A; 66, 3770).
- Horus (6r, 375 F). Dionysus Hyes= Lord of moist nature (34, 3640).
- the Monad (1o, 354F). Epaphus= Dionysus (37, 365 E-F).
= the Number One (75, 381 F). = Osiris (37, 365 E-F).
Apopis=-Brother of Helius (the Sun) and enemy of Zeus (36, = Sarapis (37, 365 E-F).
365o). Eros= Osiris (57, 374C).
Areimanius= Creator of evil (46, 3690-E). Hades= the Body (:z.8, 36u).
Ares,.,Father of Harmonia (48, 37oc). - Dionysus (2.8, 36:z.A).
= Triangle in nature (3o, 363A). = Osiris (78, 382E).
Argo- Image of the vessel of Osiris (n, 3S9E). - Pluto (78, 382.E).
Arsaphes- Dionysus (37, 365 E). ""'Triangle in nature (30, 363 A).
Artemis= the Dyad (ro, 3)4F). Harmonia- Daughter of Aphrodite and Ares (48, 370c).

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