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  • 7/26/2019 Som eThoughts about gold tablet of Pherai

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    Some Thoughts about the 'New' Gold Tablet from Pherai

    Author(s): Alberto BernabReviewed work(s):Source: Zeitschrift fr Papyrologie und Epigraphik, Bd. 166 (2008), pp. 53-58Published by: Dr. Rudolf Habelt GmbH, Bonn (Germany)Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20476511.Accessed: 15/06/2012 15:52

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  • 7/26/2019 Som eThoughts about gold tablet of Pherai

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    53

    SOME THOUGHTS

    ABOUT THE

    'NEW'

    GOLD TABLET

    FROM

    PHERAI

    1.

    The 'new' gold tablet

    Robert Parker nd

    Maria

    Stamatopoulou

    have

    recently

    dited

    a

    gold

    tablet

    iscovered

    n

    1904

    in a

    field

    near

    the

    hill

    Magoula Mati, close

    to

    Pherai.I

    Itwas

    found

    yArvanitopoulos,

    ho

    presented

    n

    excava

    tion eport

    n

    1906.2

    The

    tablet, orgotten

    or lmost

    century

    n

    the

    ational

    Archaeological

    Museum in

    Athens,

    was

    rediscovered

    n

    2000, together ith

    Arvanitopoulos' xcavationdaybooks.

    According

    tothe

    daybooks,

    the ablet

    as

    found

    n n

    osteotheke

    repository)

    hich

    contained heremains f a

    cremation,

    but

    because the

    repository

    as

    used

    by

    the wner

    of

    the

    lot

    as

    building

    material,

    it

    was

    very

    difficult o

    recover he

    ontext f thefind.

    The gold

    tablet s

    7 cm

    long

    nd

    8

    mm

    wide and

    contains

    two

    ncomplete

    exameters

    theright

    art

    of the ablet eing lost). reases on its urface uggest hat twas originally olded.

    According

    toP.

    J.

    arsons,3

    the and of

    the ext's

    nscriber

    elongs

    to

    the

    epigraphic'

    eriod,

    that

    s,

    the ate th

    century

    C and the

    eginning

    f the rd

    century

    C.

    The gold tablet as

    been

    published gain

    by

    Fritz

    Graf and

    Sarah

    I.

    Johnston,

    y

    Franco Ferrari nd

    Lucia

    Prauscello, and

    bymyself

    in

    the

    ppendix

    f

    my edition f the

    rphic

    testimonia

    nd

    fragments.4

    2. Text

    The

    gold tablet's

    ext

    OF

    495a)

    is

    as

    follows:

    n1?1GP?PEJtQOC~flICTO)X0lQCOVCEXwOQYLC[

    brfl]TQOCX0OVLaCThXCLgl%TQOCOQEL[

    In

    a

    first

    eading

    here

    re a

    fewdoubts:

    rr

    TE

    PE

    3TQOC

    gVCT6OV

    0l&COVc

    OQwl6Yc

    [-

    x

    AT`LV1-TQoC

    X0OVlWC

    T?Xri xual

    MrlTQ9OC Q?l[cC.

    Two textual

    roblems emain: he

    first,

    hat

    Q?kr

    u -) occupies

    a

    sedes

    metrica that

    equires he

    equence

    uu

    -;

    the

    econd,

    how

    to

    complete

    thefirst

    exameter.

    For

    the

    first

    roblem, he asiest

    solution

    s to

    suppose

    a

    fault

    y haplography,nd

    toreconstruct

    Ta>

    tkXr.

    n

    this ase,

    T?

    coordinates

    9QyLa

    nd

    TO?kf,

    oth

    being dependent n

    FXw.XCL

    on the ther

    hand

    coordinates

    Af'[tqTQOC

    OovcLac

    nd

    MfTQolc

    OQ?l[c.

    Ferrari-Prauscello ropose

    tEkXcaL.

    or

    semantic

    reasons,

    his smore

    difficult o

    ccept,

    because,

    according

    o the

    translation

    f these

    uthors,

    he

    mystes

    states:

    I

    am

    able to

    perform

    he

    rites',

    whereas

    we

    expect

    a

    statement

    bout the

    ctual

    celebration f the

    rites, ather han he apacity f the

    mystes

    tocelebrate hem.

    We

    find

    ?X(l

    and

    ooQyLc

    together

    in

    Aeschylus

    fr. 57.1 Radt

    ceFvdc

    KoTvtofc

    oQyL'

    exovT-c.5

    The

    verb

    9XeL

    has

    a

    double

    sense. It

    means 'to have'

    because the

    mystes

    'knows'

    09QYl,

    that

    is,

    he

    has

    seen

    and

    experienced

    hem.

    ut

    frequently

    his

    possession'

    f rite

    ecomesmore

    tangible

    ecause the

    mystes

    The

    Spanish

    Ministry

    of Education and Science has

    given

    financial

    support

    for the research

    of this

    paper

    (Consolider

    C

    Project

    HUM2006-09403).

    I

    am

    very

    grateful

    to

    Ana

    Isabel

    Jim?nez San

    Crist?bal,

    Marco

    Santamar?a,

    Helena

    Bernab?,

    and

    Sarah

    Watson for their

    interesting

    suggestions regarding

    a

    former draft

    of the

    text.

    1

    Parker-Stamatopoulou

    2004

    (actual

    date

    of

    publication

    2007).

    2

    Arvanitopoulos

    1907.

    3

    Parsons

    ap.

    Parker-Stamatopoulou

    2004,

    5.

    4

    Graf-Johnston 2007, 38-39; Ferrari-Prauscello 2007; Bernab? 2007, 456 (fr. 495a), henceforth I will quote the frag

    ments

    of this

    dition

    s

    OF followed

    by

    a

    number. he tablet

    s included lso in

    Bernab?-Jim?nez

    San

    Crist?bal 2008:158-160

    and 266.

    5

    Ferrari-Prauscello 2007

    try

    to

    eliminate

    this clear

    parallel

    on

    the basis

    that it is

    a

    conjecture by

    Nauck.

    It

    is,

    however,

    an

    excellent

    conjecture

    and

    was

    accepted by

    Radt.

    Nauck's

    judgment

    is

    now

    confirmed

    by

    the

    text

    of this

    tablet.

  • 7/26/2019 Som eThoughts about gold tablet of Pherai

    3/7

    54 A.

    Bernabe'

    receives some objects, also called

    OQ9LU,

    hich he

    keeps as a reminder f therites. arallel

    examples

    can

    be adduced:

    Theocr. Idyll.26.13

    ci,v

    6'

    ?Ta6QUcF

    oc'Lv

    lcv60oc

    OQy1L

    6xXw96

    Catull.

    64.259

    obscura

    cavis

    ...

    orgia cistis,

    eneca

    Herc.

    Oet. 594f.

    orgia ferre/

    ...

    condita cistis;Propert. .1.4

    orgia

    ferre; lem.

    Al. Protr.

    2.22.4

    (OF

    590)OlCl

    o

    &

    a

    cL

    l

    LCTcL

    VcCTWXcL;l

    LAQ

    'JTO7V 1VWCCl

    CL

    ylc

    acLiT(V

    Xzi

    T'

    &9ArQQqTo

    EUTav.

    OVi

    CflCcAcli TtcdTa

    XUL

    JTVQUJJI&c

    ...

    XuA

    6QUXwV,

    OQYlOv

    Awovucov

    B

    acc('Qov ;7

    On

    the

    ther

    hand,TO?kr

    s a

    synonym

    f

    UkXETcl,

    s

    attested

    n

    numerous

    assages.8

    It

    is

    probable

    that

    PXk

    as been

    preferred

    ormetrical reasons.

    Lastly

    09Qlc

    and

    ktcTai

    re

    frequently

    oordinated.9

    o there s no

    need to correct

    FXri

    n order

    to

    'avoid the

    pleonastic (if

    not

    tautological) uxtaposition f

    0Qy7L/TFXn'.10

    t

    seems clear that

    Qyla

    and

    kXUTaf,

    synonym

    f

    Te`k,

    constitute common

    sequence.

    In

    this old tablet othwords are

    direct

    objects of

    9Xw,

    in

    an

    fU97

    XOlVOVO

    onstruction.11

    The

    secondproblem

    s the acuna

    fter

    QyLC.

    arker-Stamatopoulou

    onsider dxXov as a possible

    reading,12

    ut

    reject

    t.

    errari-Prauscello

    onsider thisreading highly

    nlikely n both linguistic nd

    syntacticalrounds'13. hey arguethat he tatement: Ipossess/bear he acred rites/tokensfBacchus'

    would

    in

    fact etterfit priest than

    n

    initiate. his argument an be

    applied to their roposed

    eXw

    ...

    tCUccLC,

    ecause if

    anyone

    is in a

    position

    to

    say

    'I am

    able to

    perform he

    rites', this ught to be

    a

    priest.

    On

    the

    ther

    and,

    Ferrari-Prauscello

    onvincingly

    rgue

    to

    demonstrate

    rphic

    nfluence n the

    ults

    of

    Demeter

    Chthonia both

    in

    Callatis and

    Hermione,14

    nd it annot

    be

    a

    coincidence that

    n

    Hermione

    there

    as a

    cultof

    Dionysus

    Melanaigis,

    related o the

    fterlife,15

    nd that n

    Callatis there

    as an

    active

    Dionysiac thiasos.16

    I am

    scarcely

    convinced

    by

    the

    reading

    i6ofica

    proposed by

    Bouraselis,17

    because

    a

    'transitive,

    resultative

    erfect'

    sneverdocumented

    n

    gold

    tablets or in

    rchaic

    epic.

    6

    Cf. Henrichs 1969.

    7

    Turcan

    1992,

    220: 'le

    mot

    ?Qyia

    a

    pris

    ...

    ?

    l'?poque

    hell?nistique,

    le

    sens

    concret

    qu'on

    retrouve

    plus

    tard chez

    les

    po?tes

    latins,

    dans

    l'?pigraphie

    et

    dans la litt?rature

    gr?co-romaine

    imp?riales',

    cf.

    also

    Motte-Pirenne-Delforge

    1992.

    8

    In

    addition

    to

    the

    passages

    quoted by Parker-Stamatopoulou

    2004,

    13,

    mention

    can

    also be made of

    Poll.

    1.35

    x? ??

    |xucTf)Qia

    xai x?

    ?Qyia

    xeXexai xai

    T?Xr\

    mjcxix? xai

    xe^ecioufjyiai,

    Max.

    Conf.

    In Dion.

    Areop.

    ep.

    8.6

    x?

    |xucxf)Qia

    ...

    x?Xr|

    xai xeXex?c ?n?Xovv.

    I

    cannot

    accept,

    however,

    the

    parallel

    of

    the Pelinna

    gold

    tablet OF 485.7 which

    they

    adduce,

    because

    I think that this

    verse

    must

    be read

    xeX?cac

    cuteQ,

    for the

    reasons

    furnished

    in

    the critical

    apparatus

    of

    OF,

    and

    in

    Bernab?-Jim?nez San Crist?bal 2008, 90-91.

    9

    For

    example

    D. H. 1.61.4

    ?v?a

    \ir\iQi

    Oecov

    leQ?v

    lOQUc?|U?voc ?Qyia

    xai xeXex?c

    xaxecxfjcaxo,

    Clem. Al.

    Protr.

    2.13.3 x?

    CauoOQatxcov

    ?Qyia

    xai

    xeXex?c,

    Themist. Or. 349b 6

    ?Q(()ea)c

    xeXex?c

    xe

    xai

    opyia,

    Theodoret. 7.11 ai

    xeXexai xai x?

    ?Qyia,

    IG II2 3639

    c.

    170

    AD

    (Anth.

    Gr.

    App.

    318)

    1-3

    Mvf|jia

    xo?'

    uipuj)av?c

    An,[oD]c

    [?]a[xooJoio

    ???oQxac

    /

    UAJQLOV

    v

    co(j)LT|L

    xD?oc

    ?veyxauivoD,

    /

    ?c xeXex?c

    ?v?^>r\ve

    xai

    o?ytcx

    Jt?vvuxot

    ?alJcxaLc

    Ei)u?}jtou,

    Eus.

    PE

    7.2.4

    x?

    ?QYLOt

    xai x?c

    ?c?jivouc

    xeXex?c,

    Proel.

    Hymn.

    4.15

    ?Qyia

    xai

    xeXex?c.

    10

    Ferrari-Prauscello

    2007,

    194.

    11

    Parker-Stamatopoulou

    2004,

    10

    point

    out

    that

    in

    this

    case

    one

    would

    expect,

    rather,

    c()?rjco.

    But it is

    probable

    that the

    poet

    has

    preferred

    ?x

    simply

    because it is

    an

    cut?

    xoivo?

    construction.

    12

    Parker-Stamatopoulou

    2004,

    10.

    13

    Ferrari-Prauscello

    2007, 194;

    cf. also Ferrari 2007.1 find this

    statement

    a

    bit

    curious,

    since

    I

    have

    always

    considered

    syntax

    a

    part

    of

    linguistics.

    14

    Ferrari-Prauscello

    2007,

    197f.

    15

    Cf. Jim?nez an Crist?bal

    forthcoming.

    16

    Cf.

    Avram

    2002.

    17

    Ap. Parker-Stamatopoulou

    2004,

    11.

  • 7/26/2019 Som eThoughts about gold tablet of Pherai

    4/7

    Some

    Thoughts

    bout the

    New'Gold

    Tabletfrom

    herai 55

    I

    prefer

    6xXov,

    a) because there re

    many

    documented nstances f

    69yLoc

    axxov,

    some in the

    same

    sedes

    metrica,18

    nd b) because there

    re

    many

    connections

    etween

    Dionysus

    and

    Demeter

    and

    Persephone oth

    in

    Hermione and

    in

    Callatis.

    Therefore, considerthat

    hemost

    plausible

    text

    s

    that

    ublished

    n the

    dition

    f

    Graf-Johnstonnd

    followed ymyself:

    7tEPF,

    J

    QOC

    iVCTyOV

    OL6'COVC'

    ECxw

    QylA

    [BCxCoU

    Af'L`lzQoC

    X)OVLAC

    Ti'Xr Xcl

    MrTQO6C 6Q9i[C.

    Send

    me to

    thethiasoi

    f

    the

    nitiates;

    have19

    the acred

    symbola

    and therites

    f

    Demeter

    Chthonia

    and

    the

    ountain

    Mother.

    3. The Pherai gold tablet nd

    'O9QLx

    Various differentriteria uggest hat he old tablet rom herai should

    be

    placed

    in n

    Orphic

    context.

    3.1. The

    first

    sgeographical:there s another old

    tablet

    rom

    herai,

    onsidered

    learly rphic (OF

    493), andothers ave been found n hessalian area:Pharsalos (OF 477) and Pelinna (OF 485-486); the

    leafkept

    in

    Malibu (OF 484) also comes from hessaly,

    and

    others

    ere

    found

    n

    Macedonia.

    It

    is prob

    able that ocuments f the

    ame

    kind cf. ? 3.2),

    in

    the ame

    context,

    n

    the

    ame area

    and

    in

    the

    ame

    time

    periodbelong

    to

    the

    ame

    religious

    ontext.

    3.2. The gold tablets

    e

    know, found

    n

    tombs

    nd

    written

    n

    hexameters

    sometimes ingled

    with

    short rose statements)

    re

    orphic.20

    heir function

    as

    to aid the

    deceased

    to

    remember

    text

    that

    supposedly

    an

    influence

    he ods of

    the

    nderworld

    o receive

    nitiates

    n

    special place

    in

    Hades. This

    tablet as the

    ame

    function.

    3.3. As

    regards

    he

    peaker

    nd the ddresseeof the

    text,

    arker-Stamatopoulou

    ave

    convincingly

    argued

    that he

    peaker

    s

    the eceased and

    the

    ddressee

    ersephone,

    hich

    makes the herai tablet imi

    lar tomany other rphic gold tablets.21

    3.4. Parker nd

    Stamatopoulou

    tate:22

    OLucoL,

    ow attested orthefirst ime n

    a

    gold leaf,makes

    more

    explicit

    than

    o

    the

    ther xpressions

    uoted23

    hat

    he

    lessed future

    nvisaged

    by the oul is

    as a

    member of

    a

    group.

    It

    also

    strongly suggests

    that the dead

    person may

    have

    been

    a

    member of

    a

    olACOC

    ...

    and that his

    membership

    s

    part f

    his

    or

    her

    qualification or blessed lot

    n

    the fterlife."

    Nevertheless,

    fter

    xamining

    vidence about

    [VOCTCR

    nd,

    despite

    the

    fact that his

    term

    s docu

    mented

    in

    Orphic gold tablets Pherai, F 493; Pella, OF 493b; Aigai,

    OF

    496c-e andHipponion,OF

    474.16

    -

    in

    this

    atter,

    ear

    1cxXoL),

    and despite

    the clear

    relationship etweenOrphic and Bacchic

    rites24,

    he

    uthors each hypercritical

    onclusion:25

    The onlycertain tatementhat

    an

    bemade is that

    the

    oul's

    claim

    tobe

    sent

    to oin the band f initiates' ust be based on

    an

    initiation hich ithas itself

    undergone;

    s

    for

    the haracter f that nitiation, hedivine

    names

    which follow showwhat iswas not

    (Eleusinian nitiation),otwhat itwas."

    18

    For

    example

    (*

    indicates

    the

    same

    sedes

    m?trica):

    Theoc.

    26.13*

    ?Qyia

    B?x%oo,

    Macedonius

    AP 11.63.1*

    ?Qyia

    B?xxou,

    Nonn.

    D.

    44.219*, 45.25*, 46.81*,

    46.107*

    ?Qyia

    B?xxou,

    cf. also other

    similar

    sequences

    like E.

    Ba. 998

    ?an%i

    ?Qyia,

    Thdt.HE 317

    xai ol

    xoi)

    Aiovucou

    x?

    ?Qyia

    xexeXecu?voi.

    19

    In the

    double

    sense

    T

    know/I

    possess'.

    Cf. the

    statements

    about

    ?Qyia

    supra

    and

    nn.

    7

    and

    9.

    20

    Cf.

    Bernab?-Jim?nez San

    Crist?bal

    2008,

    179-205.

    21

    Parker-Stamatopoulou

    2004,

    6-7.

    22

    Parker-Stamatopoulou

    2004,

    8.

    23

    Se.

    Hipponion

    OF

    414,

    15-16

    'you

    too

    will

    go

    along

    the

    sacred

    way

    by

    which the

    other

    mystai

    and bacchoi

    advance,

    glorious',

    Thurii OF 488.9

    'you

    will be

    a

    god

    from mortal

    you

    were',

    Petelia

    OF 476.11

    'you

    will

    reign

    with the other

    heroes',

    Pelinna OF

    485.7 'and

    you

    will

    go under the earth,

    once

    you have accomplished the

    same

    rites

    as

    the other happy ones', Thurii

    OF

    488-489.7

    T

    come as

    a

    suppliant

    before

    chaste

    Persephone,

    to

    see

    if,

    benevolent,

    she

    may

    send

    me

    to

    the

    dwelling

    of

    the

    limpid

    ones'.

    24

    OF

    497-505.

    25

    Parker-Stamatopoulou

    2004,

    10.

  • 7/26/2019 Som eThoughts about gold tablet of Pherai

    5/7

    56

    A. Bernabe'

    OcLacoc,

    owever, oes

    seem tobe documented

    n

    nother

    rphic gold tablet.

    antamaria

    lvarez has

    proposed a new reading or

    difficultassage

    in a leaf from

    hurii OF

    487.2):26

    68ELOV?

    *

    0

    laC

    6FlelVCCLEE+V

    a.VOV?V'

    RCCkU7tVTC

    In

    this eries

    f letters he

    first

    ord

    (&6lOv)

    and thefinal

    nes

    (m4

    Xkacy

    vov

    Fa

    Xcka

    aWva)

    were

    clear,but forthe

    rest

    ome

    unconvincing eadings

    ere

    proposed

    and sometimes he assage

    was left

    s

    a locusdesperatus.27

    antamariaAlvarez proposes:

    6?LOV

    EC

    OL'C

    ?i C'

    LVUL,

    +VXay

    'vov

    ?V

    [taXca

    rAVTc

    You must go to

    theright hiasos, earing nmind

    everythingery

    well.

    The verse

    is notmetrical,

    ut

    two

    dactylic

    equencesbadlyassembled are

    visible.Metrical

    irregularitys

    frequent

    n the

    old

    tablets.

    The

    OLicoc

    is

    the

    groupof

    the nitiatesn theNetherworld nd

    for themystes

    thegold tablet

    s 'a

    claim of

    membership'28 hich enables

    him

    to

    be admitted

    n

    the ocus amoenus

    reserved

    nHades for

    this roup.

    n

    the herai tablet,

    oo, themystes

    rgues that

    e is

    an

    initiate

    n somemysteries

    related o n

    Orphic

    ambience.

    3.5. Dionysus is clearlymentionedin two hessalian gold tablets rom elinna (OF 485-486.2):

    dlU;lV

    ('FEQC+06vuL

    C'

    OTL

    BaXtocLC

    &UTOC

    ?VC?.

    Furthermore,

    heownerof

    a

    gold

    tabletfrom mphipolis

    (OF 496n),

    a

    woman, defines

    herself s

    ?VOIU

    A ovcov Buxxiov; in the ther

    eaf from herai

    (OF 493)

    thenomen acrum

    AV69LX?

    3r;Cl6O0VQCoV,

    ndoubtedly

    eferring

    o

    ionysos,

    is

    repeated,

    nd

    in that

    rom ipponion (OF 474.16)

    gVCTuL

    nd

    P3/xxoL

    ppear together.29

    3.6.

    Parker-Stamatopoulou

    xhaustively ather uotations

    f

    ANrWTfQ

    OOVcl.One

    is a

    passage

    from ausanias, according

    towhich the akonians

    claim that

    hey

    were

    taught

    o

    worship

    Chthonian

    Demeter

    byOrpheus.30

    urthermore,

    he

    pithet

    OoviLU

    ppears

    in an

    Orphic

    hymn

    to

    emeter

    (40.12)

    and,

    several enturies

    efore,

    n a

    gold

    tablet rom

    hurii,31

    s

    applied

    toKore.

    3.7. The presence in thisgold tablet fDemeter andM4TflQ oQiLa surprised hefirstditors nd

    fostered

    he

    traditional

    endency

    mongst

    ritish

    philologists

    todoubt

    the

    rphic

    character f

    the

    gold

    tablets.32ut,

    as

    Graf-Johnston

    ointout,33

    rpheus

    was

    associated

    with thefoundationf

    manymyster

    ies (in fact, ith thefoundation

    f all

    kXETci).34

    nd on p.

    155 they dd that

    he roup recalls

    the urob

    pantheon;

    f.

    P.

    Gurob (OF 578):

    BQLWbo

    ..

    AuTjrflQ

    ...

    P?0C

    .

    IQLXEJtayl7/ALOVVcoC.

    MiTiQ

    O'QcLC

    ppears

    in

    several

    places35,

    but

    from

    the

    perspective

    of

    Orphica

    some

    are

    espe

    cially

    significant:

    ur. Cret. fr. 72.13

    Kannicht

    (=

    OF

    567.13)

    MTQ

    T

    O'Q?cLOl,

    n

    a

    passage

    whose

    Orphic

    character

    eems

    evident36

    r the

    quivalent

    expressions

    Kov0fQrlv)

    MrtQoc

    6OQ?LoiVoiiC,

    26

    Santamar?a

    Alvarez,

    M.

    A.,

    verbal communication.

    This

    proposal

    is

    accepted by

    Bernab?

    2007,

    455

    (addenda

    et

    corri

    genda)

    and

    by

    Bernab?-Jim?nez

    San

    Crist?bal

    2008,

    96,

    258.

    27

    Cf.

    more

    details

    in

    Bernab?-Jim?nez

    San Crist?bal

    2008,

    96

    and

    258.

    28

    Graf-Johnston

    2007,

    95.

    29

    Cf.

    Bernab?-Jim?nez

    San Crist?bal

    2008,154-155

    y

    2-53.

    30

    Paus.

    3.14.5

    (OF 533)

    AfjprjTQa

    ??

    XOovtav

    Aaxe?aipovioi p?v ce?eiv

    cj)aci

    Jtaoa?ovxoc

    ccjnciv

    Qc))?a)c.

    31

    Orph.

    H.

    40.12

    ci)

    xOovia,

    OF 492.8

    ArjpfrteQ

    ...

    Koqt]

    X9ovta

    (Burkert

    :

    xaQrjx^ovia

    gold

    tablet).

    32

    West

    1983,

    for

    example, completely

    ignores

    the

    gold

    tablets.

    It

    is

    very

    significant

    also

    that the first information

    offered

    by

    R. Parker

    (British

    Epigraphy

    Society,

    Newsletter

    N.S.

    no

    9

    spring

    2003

    (http://www.csad.ox.ac.uk/BES/newsletters/besnews9.

    pdf)

    was

    entitled

    "A

    new

    unorphic

    gold

    tablet"

    and the

    report's

    end

    was:

    'There

    is

    nothing Orphic

    here

    ...

    by

    the second

    half

    of

    the third

    century

    B.C.

    (the

    provisional

    date for

    the

    tablet)

    the

    possible

    routes

    to

    salvation

    had

    apparently multiplied.'

    33

    Graf-Johnston

    2007,

    121.

    34

    Cf.

    Bernab?

    forthcoming

    b,

    with

    bibliography.

    The initiate

    mentioned

    them,

    probably

    convinced

    that

    all

    of

    them

    were

    related

    to

    Orpheus.

    35 Cf.

    Parker-Stamatopoulou

    2004,

    14-15: E. Hel. 1301ss.

    OQeta

    ...

    \xaxx\Q

    (referring

    to

    Demeter),

    Hipp.

    144

    (presented

    as a

    goddess

    who

    can

    provoke

    madness,

    like

    Pan,

    Hecate

    and

    the

    Corybants),

    Ar. Av. 746

    (invoked

    by

    the birds'

    chorus),

    Hymn

    Id. Dact. 8

    and

    23,

    Telest. fr. 6.2

    Page,

    Poll. 5.13.

    36

    Cf.

    bibliography uoted

    in

    OF

    567. It is curious

    enough

    that

    arker-Stamatopoulou

    2004,

    8

    quote

    the

    line 10

    of

    the

    same

    fragment,

    about

    Ai?c

    l?aiou

    p?cxrjc,

    but

    they

    do

    not

    highlight

    that in the

    same

    passage

    Mf]tr|Q

    o?eia

    ismentioned.

  • 7/26/2019 Som eThoughts about gold tablet of Pherai

    6/7

    Some

    Thoughts

    bout

    the New'

    Gold

    Tabletfrom

    herai 57

    0QyLo0kQvtuCL

    n

    Orph.H.

    31.537

    or

    0Q9CCL6Qgo0V

    E

    kUTQFcLV

    MrTQO6C

    n

    thereference

    o

    Orpheus'

    works in

    rph.

    A. 21s., or

    aThuriigold tablet OF 492. 1) inwhich

    KvPEXEFIcL

    OQQcC

    ..

    AihrITQoc

    are

    mentioned.38

    3.8.

    Parker-Stamatopoulou

    nd

    especially

    Ferrari-Prauscello

    ffer

    nterestinguggestions

    oncern

    ing the ult towhich this old tablet houldbe adscribed; errari-Prauscello lso pointoutmany orphic

    connections, ut

    I

    do not refer

    ere

    to

    their

    onclusions,

    because

    I

    think hat

    table

    cults

    have

    a

    minor

    importance n the tudy f thegold tablets. hey do not seem tobe related

    o stable cults; they

    re

    not

    found n sanctuaries, ut in

    tombs;they o

    not

    refer

    o

    public cults,

    but

    are

    found

    n

    the

    rivate

    phere,

    and

    orpheotelestai ractise

    n

    itinerant

    raft39.

    3.9. The clearest rgument

    n

    favour f

    the

    rphic

    character

    f

    the herai

    gold

    tablet

    s

    its

    total

    oin

    cidencewith the

    erformative

    chema f

    many

    other

    ablets, ccording

    owhich

    the nitiate

    or somebody

    on

    his/her

    ehalf)

    declares

    something

    or he ake

    of

    claiming privileged

    ituation n the

    nderworld,

    s

    a

    memberof a chosengroup

    to

    which he/she elonged

    while

    he/she

    as

    alive.The elements f this

    attern

    can

    be

    seen

    in the

    following able:

    Gold

    tablet Initiate's

    declaration

    Place that

    s

    claimed forhim

    or declarationmade on

    his

    behalf

    Hipponion

    I

    am

    the

    on

    of

    Earth and

    starry

    eaven

    the

    acred

    way

    of other

    'CTCcL

    ui

    ui

    PdxXo

    Petelia

    I

    am

    the

    on

    of

    Earth and

    starry

    eaven

    reign

    with

    the

    therheroes

    Pelinna you have

    accomplished

    the

    rites

    go under the arthwith

    the

    ther

    happy

    ones

    liberation

    nd

    rebirth

    Thurii

    488

    I

    come

    from mong

    the

    ure, pure conversion into

    god, reborn

    I

    belong toyour

    blessed

    race in the ap

    of the oddess

    Thurii 489-90

    I

    come from mong thepure,pure tobe accepted inthe

    welling

    on the

    impid

    I

    belong

    to

    your

    blessed race ones

    Ihave paid the

    unishment

    Pherai 493 password /

    the nitiate

    s free

    from toenter

    n

    the acredmeadow

    punishment

    Thurii

    487

    keeping everything ery

    well

    togo to the

    right

    hiasos /

    onversion nto

    god

    in the

    meadows of

    Persephone

    Pherai

    493a

    I

    have celebrated therites / possess to

    be

    accepted

    in

    the

    thiasos

    f

    initiates

    OQyLa

    There are also close ties etween his ablet nd those fPelinna.

    n

    ll of

    them akchos appears s guarantor

    of

    the oul's

    liberation

    nd

    Persephone

    s

    the

    oddesswho

    can

    carry

    t ut.

    Both

    in

    this ablet nd

    in

    one

    from elinna rites

    rementioned PelinnaOF 485

    TEX?cCc

    neQ,

    herai

    t?Xiq).

    4.

    Conclusion

    The tablet rom herai showsthe amefeatures hich arecharacteristicf the rphic ambience:vocabu

    lary, eographic

    rigin,

    ime, rchaeological ontext, aterial,

    divinities,

    unction, etricalpatterns nd

    performativecheme.

    Moreover nothing

    n

    it

    contradicts

    n

    Orphic context.

    he

    conclusion, therefore

    cannot e

    otherthan

    o

    ccept

    its

    rphic provenance.

    Bibliography

    Arvanitopoulos,

    A.

    1907.

    Xoovix?,

    PAAH:

    160.

    Avram,

    A.

    2002.

    Der

    dionysische

    Thiasos

    in

    Kallatis:

    Organisation,

    Repr?sentation,

    Funktion,

    in

    U.

    Egelhaaf

    37

    Ricciardelli

    2000,

    357,

    ad loc.

    38

    There

    is

    an

    interesting

    far antecedent of the

    relationship

    between

    K?re,

    Demeter and theMountain

    Mother in

    several

    Mycenaean tablets from Thebes: TH Fq (1) 126.1-2; (1) 130.1-2, etc., where ma-ka (i. e.M?i Tai), o-po-re-i (i. e. ?JtOQ?hi,

    a

    compound by

    ?Jti,

    Mycenaean

    variant

    of

    ?m,

    and

    ?qoc),

    that s the

    god

    or

    goddess

    (the

    gender

    in

    this

    type

    f

    adjectives

    is

    ambiguous)

    who is

    over

    the

    mountain,

    and ko-wa

    (i.e.

    xOQf?i)

    are

    mentioned.

    Cf.

    Bernab?,

    forthcoming

    a,

    contra

    Duhoux

    2006.

    39

    Cf. OF

    653-655,

    Jim?nez an

    Crist?bal

    2008.

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    58

    A. Bernabe

    Gaiser

    -

    A.

    Sch?fer

    (eds.),

    Religi?se

    Vereine

    in der

    r?mischen

    Antike.

    Untersuchung

    zu

    Organisation,

    Ritual

    und

    Raumordnung,

    T?bingen,

    69-80.

    Bernab?,

    A.

    2007.

    Poetae

    Epici

    Graeci

    testimonia

    et

    fragmenta

    II fase.

    3,

    Musaeus

    Linus

    Epimenides

    Papyrus

    Derveni

    Indices,

    Berlin-New

    York.

    Bernab?, A. forthcominga. Las posibles menciones religiosas de Tebas, Simposio Internacional 55 a?os deMice

    nolog?a

    (1952-2007),

    Bellaterra,

    12-13

    abril,

    2007.

    Bernab?,

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    forthcoming

    b.

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    -

    Casades?s,

    F.

    (eds.)

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    Orfeo

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    la tradici?n

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    -

    Jim?nez

    San

    Crist?bal,

    A. I. 2008. Instructions

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    Y.

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    Adieu

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    ses

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    lin?aire

    B de

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    45,

    1-19.

    Ferrari,

    F. 2007. Review ofGraf-Johnston

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    Prauscello,

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    Johnston,

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    Die Maenaden

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    l'?poque hell?nistique

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    M. L.

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    Universidad

    Complutense

    Alberto

    Bernabe

    Prof.Alberto

    Bernabe

    UniversidadComplutense

    deMadrid

    Ciudad

    Universitaria

    28040

    Madrid

    Espafia

    [email protected]