A Reminiscence of Classical Myth at "II Peter" 2.4 Pearson, Birger A Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies; Spring 1969; 10, 1; ProQuest pg. 71

A Reminiscence of Classical Myth at 
II Peter 2.4 

Birger A. Pearson 

THE PURPOSE of this article is to elucidate the background of the 
reference to the fallen angels in II Peter 2.4. The passage reads as 
follows: 

, , • 8' , "< , "J.. ' , \ \ ' ~ H yap 0 €O~ ayy€I\WV afLapTTJuaVTWV OVK €~HUaTO, a/\I\a UtpOL~ 
r ' J.. ' 1<;;' " I 1 
SO~OV TapTapwua~ 7TapWWK€V €LS- KpLUW TTJPOVfL€VOVS-, .•. 

The parallel passage in the Epistle of jude (v.6) is considerably different: 

'" \, I '( "'" , , '\ '\ \, '\ 
ayy€I\OVS- T€ TOVS fLTJ TTJpTJuaVTas TYJV EaVTWV apXTJv al\/\a a7TO/\L-

, "/~ , I " I, f I ~ __ 
7TOVTas TO LOLOV OLKTJTTJpLOV €LS KpLUW fLEyal\TJS TJfL€pas O€UfLOLS 

ai:OlOLS' tmo ~6cpov T€T~PTJK€V' 

These two passages have in common the words ayy€'\m, ~6cpos-, TTJp€'iu8at 

and the phrase €ls- Kplatv. I am completely in accord with the usual 
view of the relationship between jude and II Peter, viz:. that the author 
of II Peter knew and used the Epistle of jude, 2 but the differences be­
tween II Peter 2.4 and jude 6 require explanation. Especially of interest 
is the use in II Peter 2.4 of the verb TapTapovv, a hapax legomenon in the 
New Testament. 

The myth of the fallen angels and their fate is dealt with at length in 
I Enoch, especially in chapters 6-21, and commentators quite rightly 
refer to I Enoch in illuminating the background of these passages in 

1 I have used the edition of E. Nestle and K. Aland, Novum Testamentum Graece, 25th ed. 
(Stuttgart 1963). 

2 See the standard introduction, Paul Feine, Johannes Behm and Werner G. Kummel 
Introduction to the New Testament, transI. A. J. Mattill Jr of 14th German ed. (Nashville 1966) 
303. See also the more recent commentaries: Karl Hermann Schelkle, Die Petrusbriefe2 

(Herders Theologischer Kommentar zum NT, XIII.Z, Freiburg 1964) 178; Ceslas Spicq, Les 
Epitres de saint Pierre (Sources bibliques, Paris 1966) 228. But for a recent commentary arguing 
against the dependence of II Peter upon jude see Bo Reicke, The Epistles of james, Peter, and 
jude (The Anchor Bible 37, Garden City 1964) 189f; see my review of the latter in Dialog 5 
(1966) 73-74. 

71 



72 A REMINISCENCE OF CLASSICAL MYTH AT II PETER 2.4 

Jude and II Peter.3 At least in the case of Jude there can be no question 
about the influence of that apocalyptic pseudepigraph. I Enoch 1.9 is 
actually quoted inJude 15 with a formula crediting the quotation to 
the prophet Enoch.4 AndJude 6 surely reflects the influence of I Enoch 
in its formulation, especially lOAff, as duly noted in the margin of the 
Nestle text. 

The Old Testament stimulus for the myth in I Enoch is that intrusive 
passage in Genesis 6.1-4 describing the adventures of the C~il"Nil ~l:J with 
the C'Nill1'l:J.5 Nevertheless it is clear that Enoch's enlargement of the 
Genesis myth includes some new elements not dependent upon 
Genesis 6 at all and which can only be accounted for on the basis of 
extra-biblical influences. Specifically, it has been shown by T. F. 
Glasson6 that the myth of the fallen angels in I Enoch has been moulded 
under influences from the theogonic myths of the Greeks, especially 
those stories dealing with the Titanomachia, the war between Zeus and 
the Titans.7 

The doom of the fallen angels is described in the following passages 
in I Enoch:8 

1004-8. And again the Lord said to Raphael: "Bind Azazel 
hand and foot, and cast him into the darkness (Llfjaov TOV 

'AY '\ ' , , , f3 '\ " , , , ) d k f:,aYJI\ 7Toaw Kat XEpatV, Kat al\E aVTOV EtS TO aKOTOS an rna e 
an opening in the desert which is in Dudael, and cast him 

3 See ad loco especially Friedrich Spitta, Der zweite Brief des Petrus und der Brief des Judas 
(Halle 1885); Charles Bigg, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistles of St. Peter and 
St. Jude (The International Critical Commentary 17, New York 1903); Hans Windisch, Die 
katholischen Briefe (Handbuch zum NT 15, Tiibingen 1930); and C. Spicq, op.cit. (supra n.2). 

4 See the introductory formula in v.14: E1TPOcp-t,Tf:V(]£V Si Kat TOm-OIS €{3SofWS a1T6 'ASap. 
'Evwx AI:ywv' 

5 On this passage see now E. A. Speiser, Genesis (The Anchor Bible I, Garden City 1964) 45f. 
6 Greek Influence in Jewish Eschatology (SPCK Biblical Monographs I, London 1961); see 

especially pp.62ff. 
7 The word 'TtTfiv€s is used in the LXX at II Sam. 5.18,22 to translate C~NEl'; see also Judith 

16.6, where the ylYaJIT€s are referred to as vlot TtTclVWV. The 'TtTaV€S in the latter passage are 
probably to be taken as referring to ol vlot TOV O€OV in Gen. 6.2. See Glasson, op.cit. (supra 
n.6) 65. 

8 I quote from the translation of the Ethiopic version by R. H. Charles, The Book of Enoch 
(Oxford 1912). My references to the Greek text are to the version of fragments discovered 
at Akhmim in 1886 (designated Gg by Charles; the Greek fragments preserved by Syncellus 
he designates Gs). The Greek fragments are published by R. H. Charles in his edition, The 
Ethiopic Version of the Book of Enoch (Anecdota Oxoniensia, Oxford 1906), alongSide of the 
Ethiopic text, and as a separate appendix in the work cited above. On the Greek fragments 
and their textual relationship to the Ethiopic version see The Ethiopic Version, pp. xi ff, and 
The Book of Enoch , pp. xvii ff. 



BIRGER PEARSON 

therein. And place upon hiITl rough and jagged rocks and 
cover him with darkness, and let him abide there for ever, 
and cover his face that he may not see light. And on the day of 
the great judgement he shall be cast into the fire (Kal. EV rfj 
~fdpCf riis fLEyaA7]S rijs Kp{aEws &7TaXe~aEra~ Els rov €V7TVPWp,ov). 
And heal the earth which the angels have corrupted, and pro­
claim the healing of the earth, that they may heal the plague, 
and that the children of men may not perish through all the 
secret things that the Watchers have disclosed and have 
taught their sons. And the whole earth has been corrupted 
through the works that were taught by Azazel: to hiITl 
ascribe all sin." 
10.11-14. And the Lord said unto Michael: "Go, bind Sem­
jaza9 and his associates who have united themselves with 
women so as to have defiled themselves with them in all their 
uncleanness. And, when their sons have slain one another, 
and they have seen the destruction of their beloved ones, bind 
them fast for seventy generations in the valleys of the earth 
till the day of their judgement and of their consummation, 
till the judgement that is for ever and ever is consummated. 
In those days they shall be led off to the abyss of fire and to 
the torment and the prison in which they shall be confined 
for ever. And whosoever shall be condemned and destroyed 
will from thenceforth be bound together with them to the 
end of all generations." 

73 

The angels are accused of two crimes. In 10.8 reference is made to 
the disclosures of secrets to men by Azazel; in 8.1ff these secrets con­
sist especially of the arts of civilization and the use of the metals of the 
earth.lO This motif is absent from Genesis 6, and is possibly influenced 

9 These passages dealing with Azazel and Semjaza represent two different sources, 
according to Charles, The Book of Enoch (supra n.S) 13. 

10 Cf the Apocryphon of John, CG II, 77.30ff, also in the context of midrash on Gen. 6.1ff, 
and undoubtedly dependent upon I Enoch at this point. CG= (Codex) Cairensis Gnosticus, 
the designation adopted for the Coptic codices discovered in the 1940's near Nag Hammadi, 
Egypt, on which see now James M. Robinson, "The Coptic Gnostic Library Today," NTStud 
14 (1967/8) 356-401. For the Coptic text and English translation of the Apocryphon of John in 
CG IT see Soren Giversen, ApocryphonJohannis (Acta Theologica Danica 5, Copenhagen 1963). 
Three other CoptiC versions exist: see Martin Krause and Pahor Labib, Die drei Versionen des 
Apokryphon des Johannes im koptischen Museum zu Alt-Kairo (AbhKairo, Kopt. Reihe I, Wies­
baden 1962); and Walter C. Till, Die gnostischen Schriften des koptischen Papyrus &rolinensis 
8502 (Texte und Untersuchungen z:ur Geschichte der altchristlichen Literatur 60.5, Berlin 1955). 



74 A REMINISCENCE OF CLASSICAL MYTH AT II PETER 2.4 

by the myth of the Titan Prometheus.H In 1O.11ff defilement with 
women is the crime, and this is developed out of Genesis 6. At 15.3ff this 
theme is elaborated: the angels have left their proper "dwelling," i.e. 
heaven,12 and have lain with the daughters of men. 

In these passages from I Enoch are to be found the sources of Jude 6: 
the angels have abandoned their proper dwelling place (15.3,7) and 
have been placed in chains (10.4,11; cf also 54.3-5) and darkness (lO.4f) 
until the judgement of the great Day (10.6,12). 

In turn, the myth of the fallen angels in I Enoch shows some remark­
able points of similarity with the Greek myth of the Titanomachia. The 
earliest complete source for the latter is Hesiod's Theogony.13 The 
Titans are the children born to Uranos and Gaia, youngest of whom is 
Kronos (Theogony 132ff).14 The kingship amongst the gods falls to 
Kronos after he has succeeded in castrating his father Uranos (Theo­
gony 176ff).15 Zeus, in turn, conspires against Kronos and the rest of 
the Titans, aided especially by the hundred-handed giants16 Cottus, 
Briareus and Gyes, sons of Uranos who had previously been banished 
to the underworld by their father (Theogony 147ff; 617ff). The battle 
rages furiously, and finally the Titans are vanquished and banished to 
nether Tartarus: 

Theogony 713-35. And amongst the foremost Cottus and 
Briareos and Gyes insatiate for war raised fierce fighting; 
three hundred rocks, one upon another, they launched from 
their strong hands and overshadowed the Titans with their 
missiles, and hurled them beneath the wide-pathed earth, 
and bound them in bitter chains (Kat. oEajLo'ia£v €v apya"Mo£a£v 
e07Jaav) when they had conquered them by their strength for 

11 Glasson, op.cit. (supra n.6) 65. Cf Hes. Theog. 565ff and especially Aesch. PV 445ff. For 
his defiance Prometheus is bound to rocks, &8al-'aV7"lvwv 8€up.Wv £V aprnlKTo,,, 71/8a,,, PV 6. 

12 I Enoch 15.7: €V Tc'ji ovpavc'ji 'r7 KaTolKT]u,,, aVTWV. 
18 But the myth is presupposed already in Homer; see especially Il. 8.479; 14.274-79; 

15.225. 
a It is perhaps only a curious coincidence that the fallen angels in I Enoch are called vlo~ 

ovpavou, e.g. at 6.2; cf 01 vlo~ TOU (lEou in Gen. 6.2 (LXX). 
16 These myths of the succession of kingship amongst the gods are ultimately derived 

from ancient Near-Eastern sources. For a brief discussion see now Albin Lesky, A History of 
Greek Literature, transl. James Willis and Cornelis de Heer (New York 1966) 94ff and lit. 
cited. On the general question of the impact of Semitic culture on Mycenaean and archaic 
Greece see Michael C. Astour, Hellenosemitica (Leiden 1965). 

18 Called ot JKC%-r6yX€'p€" in later literature, e.g. Apollod. Bibl. 1.1.1 and other texts quoted 
infra. 



BIRGER PEARSON 

all their great spirit, as far beneath the earth as heaven is 
above earth; for so far is it from earth to Tartarus .... There 
by the counsel of Zeus who drives the clouds the Titan gods 
are hidden under misty gloom (InTO 'ocPCf! T]~PO~TJTL), in a dank 
place where are the ends of the huge earth. And they may not 
go out; for Poseidon fixed gates of bronze upon it, and a wall 
runs all round it on every side. There Gyes and Cottus and 
great-souled Obriareus live, trusty warders of Zeus, who 
holds the aegisP 

75 

The similarities between the fate of the fallen angels in I Enoch and 
that of the Titans in Hesiod are striking. The angels are bound in 
chains by the archangels of God, just as the Titans are bound in chains 
by the henchmen of Zeus, the JKa'ToYX~Lp~,;. The fallen angels have 
rocks heaped upon them by the archangels of the Lord, just as the 
Titans are overwhelmed with rocks hurled by the EKa'T0YXELpE';. The 
evil angels are consigned to nether darkness in I Enoch, and the Titans 
are consigned to the nether gloom of Tartarus in Hesiod.18 The one 
main feature of the myth in I Enoch absent from the Greek myth is 
that of a future judgement of fire.19 

These similarities are such that one can safely assert that I Enoch has 
been profoundly influenced by Greek mythology. Jude v.6 shows only 
a secondary influence from Greek mythology via the Jewish book of 
Enoch. 

But the case with II Peter 2.4 is different from that of Jude v.6. 
Though II Peter 2.4 is partially indebted to Jude 6 for the theme of the 
doom of the sinful angels, it is my contention that II Peter 2.4 has been 
formulated under direct influence from Greek mythology, with no in­
dependent use of I Enoch at all in evidence. This can be seen especially 
in the phrase atpoi,; tbcPOV 'Tap'TapdJaa,;. 

The verb 'Tap'TapovTJ does not occur in the Greek fragments of 
I Enoch. The noun Tap'Tapo,; occurs but once: 20 in I Enoch 20.2 the arch­
angel Uriel is described as cc one of the holy angels who is over the world 

17 Transl. Hugh Evelyn-White in the Loeb ed. 
18 The word used in the Greek fragment of I Enoch 10.5 is uKchos. The usual word in 

Greek literature which describes the darkness of Tartarus is ~6cpos, as e.g. Hes. Theog. 729. 
But see Aesch. Eum. 7lf, where KaKOS uK6TOS is used in connection with Tartarus. 

19 In addition to the texts quoted above see I Enoch 21.7-10; 54.1-6. 
20 The word TapTapos occurs in LXX atJob 40.20; 41.24; Provo 30.16. 



76 A REMINISCENCE OF CLASSICAL MYTH AT II PETER 2.4 

d T " (~f" ...... (" , 1\ ~,\ ......, ,- . an artarus 0 €L!) TWV ayLwv ayy€I\WV 0 €1TL TOV KOU/LOV Kat TOV TapTa-

pov).21 The question thus arises as to the source of this verb in II Peter 
2.4, its precise meaning, and the contexts in which it is used elsewhere 
in Greek literature. 

In Hesiod and the older classical writers the verb TapTapovv does not 
occur. Instead one finds the noun Tartarus used in a prepositional 
phrase in conjunction with a verb, as e.g. the phrase PL1TTELV (or /3aAAELv) 
€!) TapTapov. By analogy the precise meaning of TapTapovv is eto cast into 
Tartarus'.22 

From the first century B.C. onward the verb TapTapovv does occur, 
sometimes in compound form KaTaTapTapovv. A study of the contexts 
in which the verb is found is instructive; here I present all the occur­
rences I have been able to find. 

The Epicurean philosopher Philodemus uses the verb TapTapovv at 
least once in his treatise II€p~ €VU€/3€La!).23 In the context of a critique of 
the traditional gods24 he uses the verb with reference to the story of 
the banishment of the EKaToYXELp€!) to Tartarus by Uranos, if Philipp­
son's restorations are correct: T[ 011 S' Ovpa ]vov • A[ KO J "!uLAao!) S€LUaJITa 

TOU!) [<EKaT]oVXELpa!), /L~ [1T€PLYEvw]vTat, TapTa[pwUat], Ston TOL[OVTOV!) 
€i]S€.25 

Apollodorus the mythographer uses the verb twice in the Bibliotheca. 
At 1.1.4 he refers to the accession of Kronos as follows: Tfj!) S€ apxfj!) 

21 There is textual corruption in the Ethiopic text.l ~ );" (ra 'tid), a non-word surrounded 

by daggers in Charles' edition, is taken by him as pointing back to "a corrupt transliteration 
of TapTapos." See The Ethiopie Version (supra n.8) 52 n.5. The angel Driel as warder of Tartarus 
performs a function similar to that of the three €Ka'T6yX€tp€S at Hes. Theog. 734ff. Driers 
function is later attributed in apocryphal literature to a separate angel who goes under the 
name TapTapovxos. See e.g. Apoeal. Pauli 18; and The Book of Thomas the Contender (in Coptic, 
unpublished) CG II, 142.41. Cf also Hippolytus' reference to the TapTapOVXOt ayy€AO£, Ref 
10.34.2. 

22 Hom. II. 8.13; Hymn.Hom. Mere. 256,374; Hes. Theog. 868; ef Lycoph. Alex. 1197 EfLf3a.A€'iv 
TapTapqJ. 

23 Preserved only in very fragmentary condition from the famous papyri from Hercu­
laneum. I have used R. Philippson's study of the text published in Hermes 55 (1920) 225ff, 
which supersedes Theodor Gomperz, Phi/odem uher Frommigkeit (Herkulanische Studien 2, 
Leipzig 1866). 

24 According to Philippson, op.cit. (supra n.23) 225, the critique of the traditional gods in 
late antiquity from the second century B.C. onward, including that of the Christian apolo­
gists, is based on Epicurean foundations; and Philodemus is the most important witness to 
this Epicurean topos. 

25 Philippson, op.cit. (supra n.23) 255. Cf also his restorations on p.250: .. TO[V Kp6vov 
8t'] a&rov (i.e. by Zeus) Ta~[TapovG8at]. 



BIRGER PEARSON 77 

€K{3aA6vTEs26 TOUS TE KaTaTapTapwOivTaS eXv7]yayov eXOEAcpovs Kat T~V 

eXPx~v Kp6vcp 7TapEoouav. And at 1.2.3 Apollodorus refers to Menoetius, 
the son of Japetus, as one OV KEpavvwuas EV Tfj TtTaVOJLax{q,ZEvSKaTerap-

I 
TeXpWUEV. 

In the Theologia Graeca of the Stoic philosopher L. Cornums occurs 
the following passage (from ch. 7): TEAwTaLov oJ 6 JLJv Kp6vos lUTopELTat 

...... / "..... I (J ......"....., 0' \, ..... , ...... 
avVEXWS KaTtOVTa E7Tt T4J JLtyvva at TTJ .L TJ TOV vpavov EKTEJLHV Kat 7TaVaat 
~ "R • ~, Z' 'R" " ~ R " ~ 27 TYJS VfJpEWS, 0 UE EVS EKfJa/\WV aVTOV TYJS fJaat/\Etas KaTaTapTapWaat. 

In the Hypotyposes of Sextus Empiricus, in a section wherein he seeks 
to prove that there is no absolute good, he refers to the custom of the 
Scythians of cutting the throats of their fathers when they get above 
the age of sixty, and then remarks (3.210): Kat T{ ()avJLaaT6v, ELYE 6 

\ TT I ~ " "I.' ~ 'c I ~ I. ~, Z' , T7 I JLEV J.}.pOVOS TTJ ap7TTJ Ta awota ESETEJLE TOV 7TaTpos, 0 uE EVS TOV HpOVOV 

KaTETapTapwaEv, ~ oJ 'AOYJva JLETa "Hpas Kat lloaELowvos TOV 7TaTEpa 
~ I , , 

UEaJLEVEW E7TEXELpYJa€v; 

The Christian apologist Athenagoras utilizes the philosophical 
traditions of criticism against the gods of mythology in his defense of 
the Christian faith. In his Supplicatio pro Christianis (ch. 21) he writes, 
ou KaTa~aAAovat TOV 7ToAvv Toil7ov eXa€~fj Afjpov 7T€pt TWV O€WV; Oupavos 

, I ~ ~, ~ T7 I " rp ~ 28 
€KT€JLV€Tat, uHTat Kat KaTaTapTapOVTat I}'POVOS, E7TaVtaTaVTat .L tTaVES . .. 

Athenagoras also uses the verb KaTaTapTapovv in chapter 18 in con­
nection with the hundred-handed giants and the Cyclopes, oDs Kat 
~ I I ('l 0' ')' ~ 0 "., ~ I~ uYJaas KaT€TapTapWa€V SCl. vpavos, €K7T€a€W at aVTOV V7TO TWV 7Tawwv 

TfjS eXpxfjs JLaOwv. 

Origen, at Contra Celsum 8.68, takes note of the charges of Celsus 
that Christians do not honor the emperor. Referring sarcastically to 
Celsus' quotation from Homer, Efs (3aatAEVS, 4J £OWKE Kp6vov 7TaLs 

eXYKvAoJL~T€W (Iliad 2.205), Origen replies, ... Kat OUK 6 TOV KaTaTapTa-
() I • r ~O rE'" I , ' T7 I r , , " ~ ~ pw EVTas, ws Ot JLV at /\/\YJVWlI /\EyoVat, HpOVOV vws a7T€/\aaas TaVTOV TYJS 

, ~ () I (3' ~ '1:"" , \ , ~ , , \ I 
apxYJS Ka LUTY)UL aUL/\E LS, OVO av a/\/\YJyopTJ TtS Ta KaTa Tavs T07TOVS, 
, \ \' r ~ ...... \' O'''''~ ~ , ..... \, I a/\/\ 0 UWLKWV Ta aVJL7TallTa €OS OW€1I 0 TL 7TOT€ 7TOLH KaTa TOll T07TOV 

TfjS TWV (3auLAEWv KaTauTauEws. 

There are still other texts, dating from the sixth century and later. 
In Olympiodorus' commentary on Plato's Phaedo the verb KaTaTap-

26 TLTaV€S is the subject, O?Jpav6s the object. 
S7 Ed. C. Lang (Leipzig 1881). Cornutus goes on to interpret the myth allegorically ac­

cording to Stoic convention. 
28 Cf Ps.-Clem. Hom. 4.16.2: a?J-r6S o~ 6 ZdJS T6v a?JTOV 7TaT'pa o-r}O"as KaB€lp~€V cds 

TafYT"apov I(at TOUS &AAovs I(o'\a~n B€Olls. 



78 A REMINISCENCE OF CLASSICAL MYTH AT II PETER 2.4 

Tapovv is used in the context of a reference to the Orphic tradition of 
four divine kingships, those of Uranos, Kronos, Zeus and Dionysos: 

\ ~ \ \ 17' < Z \ 'R '\ , \ , 29 In f.L€Ta O€ TOV I}.POVOV 0 €VS €/"aUtl\€VU€ KaTaTapTapwuas TOV 7TaT€pa. 

Johannes Lydus' De mensibus 4.158 it is stated that the Saturnalia 
(Kpov{at) in December are celebrated at night on €V UKbT€t €UTtV 

o Kp6vos ens TapTapWO€tS tJ7TO TOV LI L6s. And a scholiast comments 
on Iliad 14.296 as follows: ... AaOpa OVV €f.LLY'J. OT€ 8e €TapTapwO'Y} 

o Kp6vos, WS 7TapOEvos V7TOVOOVf.LEV7J Eg€860'Y} LI tt 7Tapa T'Y}Ovos Kat 

'QK€aVov.30 

Now in all these cases the verb (KaTa- )TapTapovv has been used with 
very narrow reference, vi~. to the theogonic myths of Uranos, 
Kronos and the Titans, and Zeus.31 It seems clear to me that the verb 
as it occurs in II Peter 2.4 cannot be interpreted apart from an under­
standing of its use in these other contexts. In light of the concinnity of 
these contexts, it is evident that the author of II Peter 2.4 framed his 
description of the fate of the fallen angels under direct influence from 
the Greek theogonic myths, unmediated either by his Vorlage (Jude), 
or by I Enoch, with which he shows no familiarity. 

The use of UtpbS in the same context in II Peter requires some 
comment, since it too is a hapax legomenon in the New Testament, and 
at first glance appears to be an unusual word to be used with TapTapovv. 

There is a textual problem, for some manuscripts read U€LpaLS (or 
uLpaLs).32 Since it makes better sense to take U€LpaLS as a corruption of 
ULPOLS (under the influence of 8€Uf.LOLS in Jude 6) than vice versa, atpOLS is 
the preferable reading. I find in the use of the word ULPbS in II Peter 2.4 
another indication that the author's description of the fate of the fallen 
angels is independent of I Enoch and betrays no Jewish influences in its 
reformulation of Jude 6.33 

UtPbS is a word capable of expressing connotations of both <under-
world' and <punishment', and so fits in context with TapTapovv (though 

29 Olymp. in Plat. Phaedon. 61c, apud O. Kern, Orphicorum Fragmenta (Berlin 1922) no.220. 
80 Ed. W. Dindorf, Scholia Graeca in Homeri Iliadem IV (Oxford 1877) 59. 

81 The only exception I have been able to find is in a scholion to Eur. Medea 1296: li", yap 
VLV' li", cx~T1JV 71 KCXTCXTCXp7'CXpw8fjvCXL 71 avCX1TTfjVCXt, ed. E. Schwartz, Scholia in Euripidem II (Berlin 
1891) 210. 

32 This is the reading adopted in the text of the new Bible Societies edition of the NT, ed. 
K. Aland et. al. (New York, etc. 1966); see apparatus ad loco for a large list of witnesses. Note­
worthy support for U"tpcx'is is V7B (PBodmer 8). Among the witnesses for utpois are the impor­
tant uncials R AB. 

33 The word ULPOS does not occur in the Greek fragments of I Enoch and is absent also 
from LXX. 



BIRGER PEARSON 79 

II Peter 2.4 is apparently the only place in Greek literature where these 
two words occur together). The word ULpOS means 'pit' or (its cognate) 
'silo'; in some parts of the Mediterranean world ULpot were used for 
grain storage. Pliny, for example, suggests that the best method of 
storing grain is by keeping it "'in holes, which are called siri, as is done 
in Cappadocia, Thrace, Spain and Africa."34 The use of such ULpot in 
Greece can be documented from the fifth century B.C. An important 
Athenian decree from caA18 eIG f2 76)35 provides for the gathering of 
first-fruits from the Greek cities for the cult of Demeter and Kore at 
Eleusis, and for the building of three ULpot at Eleusis in which to house 
the offerings.36 The storage of first-fruits and seed-grains in such un­
derground silos37 corresponds to the KaTaywy~ of Kore in the Eleu­
sinian cult-legend and her sojourn in Hades for one-third of the year 
(i.e. from June to October).38 a~p6s can, therefore, by association 
with the myth of Kore in the Mysteries,39 connote 'underworld'. 

The word atp6s is occasionally used as a su bstitute for j3apa8pov, 'cleft', 
'pit'. In Athens there was aj3apa8pov,into which criminals were thrown 
for punishment.40 Diodorus Siculus uses the word a~p6s instead of 
j3apa8pov in his description of the death of Eumenes at the hands of 
Antigonus.41 Thus if j3apa8pov can be used by Lucian as a metaphorical 
equivalent of Tartarus,42 it should occasion no surprise to find his 

34 Utilissime tamen servantur in scrobibus, quos siros vocant, ut in Cappadocia ac Threcia et 
Hispania, Africa. NH 18.73.306. 

35 The text, with bibliography and discussion, is published in Marcus N. Tod, A Selection 
of Greek Historical Inscriptions 2 I (Oxford 1946) 179-85; for Tod's discussion of the date 418 
see pp.184f. 

38 Lines 10-13: OlKOoop:Yjua£ ot u£povs Tp«(is 'E).€vuiv£ KaTa Ta 'lTaTp£a /5'ITOV av OOKij£ TOLs 

l€po'ITo£Ois Kat TW' ap[x]m€KTOV' €1T£niOHOV dva£ am) TOU apyvp[ov TOV TOLV B€OLY" TO[V O€ Ka]p'ITOV 

&(}av(}oi €p.flaAAnv ov av 'lTapaM.j3wu, 'lTapa TWV OTJWfp[XWV]. 
37 This must reflect a very early custom; note the significance of the phrase KaTa Ta 

'lTaTp£a. 
38 Martin P. Nilsson, Geschichte der griechischen Religion2 I (Hdb. der Altertumsw. V.2.1, 

Miinchen 1955) 473. 
39 Cf the use of €'lTO'ITT~S in II Pet. 1.16, indicating influence from the terminology of the 

Mysteries. 
40 See e.g. Ar. Nub. 14; PI. Grg. 516n (ref. in LS] erroneous). Demosthenes uses the words 

u'pos and {3apa(}pov together in 8.45 and 10.16. 
u 19.44.1: 'Avrtyovos S~ 1TapaSdtws KVptr;Ouas TOV T' EUfL€VOVS Kal1TaO'TJS TijS avrtTeraYfL€v-yjS 

1)vvafL€WS 'Avny€VT/v fL€V TOV TWV apyvpaO"lTlowv ~yOVfL€VOV uVAAa{3wv Kat KaTaB€fL€VOS Els UE£p6V 

'WVTa KaTEKavu€V. 
42 In Icaromenippus 33 the assembly of the gods tells Zeus what he should do with the 

philosophers: KEpavvwuov, KaTacp).€gov, €'lTlTp,t/JOV, €S TO {3apaBpov, ES TOV TapTapov, WS TOVS 
rlyaVTas. 



80 A REMINISCENCE OF CLASSICAL MYTH AT II PETER 2.4 

contemporary, the author of II Peter, using atp6~ in precisely the same 
way. That the word aLp6~ is used at all in II Peter is in all likelihood an 
indication that the author was fanmiar with an area in the Mediter­
ranean world in which such aLpot were used in the manner described 
by Pliny above.43 

Comparison of these parallel passages inJude and II Peter is illumi­
nating. Whereas the author of Jude derives all of his mythological 
traditions from Jewish sources-mainly from such apocrypha or 
pseudepigrapha as I Enoch-the author of II Peter avoids any reference 
or allusion to these now unacceptable writings.44 Instead, whether 
consciously or unconsciously and despite the disclaimer in 1.16, he is 
influenced directly by pagan mythology.45 

DUKE UNIVERSITY 

January, 1969 

43 This, of course, has bearing on the question of the place of origin of II Peter. Of the 
regions mentioned by Pliny (supra n.34) Cappadocia is the most likely candidate; cf II Pet. 
3.1 with I Pet. 1.1. In general Asia Minor would be more likely than Rome, cf Reicke, op.cit. 
(supra n.2) 145; or Egypt, cf Spicq, op.cit. (supra n.2) 195. 

44 On this tendency see Feine-Behm-Kiimmel, op.cit. (supra n.2) 303. 
45 Cf the Sibylline Oracles where, however, the case is somewhat different in that Jewish 

and pagan traditions are placed side by side. E.g. in Book 3 the Titan myth is found im­
mediately after the Tower of Babel story! This state of affairs is undoubtedly due to the 
fiction of a pagan authoress.