Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Ephorus on the founding of Delphi's Oracle Avagianou, Aphrodite Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies; Summer 1998; 39, 2; ProQuest pg. 121 Ephorus on the Founding of Delphi's Oracle Aphrodite Avagianou T HE SCHEME of the thirty books of the Histories of Ephorus was an account of the world as a Greek of the fourth century knew it: it included the rise of the Greek states, their activities in the Mediterranean, and their relations with the neighbouring kingdoms. Ephorus laid down the principle that the myths of a remote past were outside his province, because their truth was not ascertainable. However, he chose to begin his work with what we call the Dorian Invasion, which was known to him by legend under the title "Return of the Heracleidae."l He recounts the mythical foundation of Delphi's oracle in the fourth book of his Histories (F 31). Strabo, introducing this pas­ sage of Ephorus, criticises the rationalized view employed by the historian in the myth of the founding of Delphi and attacks the half-hearted rationalization as merely a confusion of history with myth.2 The approach of Ephorus is considered rationalistic or euhemeristic.3 For Jacoby (ad F 31) Ephorus treats two traditions as interwined: on the one hand he puts Themis and Apollo to­ gether, and on the other through the rationalization of Python includes the struggle for the site of Delphi. IFGrHist 70 TT 8,10 (Diad. 4.1.2, 16.76.5). 2Strab. 9.3.11-12; see also Ephorus' interest in the oracle of Delphi, FF 96, 150. 30n Euhemerus of Messene at the beginning of the Hellenistic age (FGrHist 63), associated with the historicizing interpretation of myth, see J. Fontenrose, Python (Berkeley /Los Angeles 1959) 19ff; F. Graf, Greek Mythology. An Intro­ duction, transl. Th. Marier (Baltimore 1996) 191-192. Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies 39 (1998) 121-136 © 2000 GRBS 121 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 122 EPHORUS ON THE FOUNDING OF DELPHI'S ORACLE The goal of this study is not to elaborate the principle of rationalism applied by Ephorus to his mythical accounts (i.e. how his version is the product of an implicit, rationalizing, euhemeristic reading of myth), but to show that it is structured by the political and social realities of the society for which Ephorus was writing. Myth criticism, as practiced in histori­ ography, does not, however, necessarily entail a definite break with traditional religiosity. My purpose is, then, to show into what kind of traditional streams Ephorus' version flows and what influences are mirrored in his account. The analysis will focus on how this mythical treatment can be interpreted as history assimilated to myth and not as myth interpreted historically.4 The prevailing element is the "historicization" of the version. First, I will present Ephorus' version in relation to the others, so as to show the earlier II original" elements retained in it as well as the particular alterations that the myth has been sub­ jected to in connection with political realities. In the second part I turn to Aeschylus' account of the founding of Delphi at the beginning of his tragedy Eumenides; comparison with Ephorus' version will support the argument that Ephorus followed Aeschylus in assimilating history to myth, while he strongly coloured the mythical content with morality and politicization under the influence of Isocrates' thought. Thus the character of the Ephoran Apollo as a founder of the oracle of Delphi-a portrayal of the ideals of the Athenian polis-was in the service of internal and external Athenian policy.5 4 According to P. Veyne's proposal on the problem of the relationship between myth and history, Les Crecs ont-i/s cru a leur mythes? (Paris 1983). See C. Brillante, "History and the Historical Interpretation of Myth," in L. Edmunds, ed., Approaches to Creek Myth (Baltimore 1990) 93-138, and Graf (supra n.3) 121-141 ("Myth as History"). 5 A comprehensive and illustrative study with extensive bibliography about the gods of Delphi and the history of the sanctuary from its origins down to the fourth century B.C. is E. Suarez de la Torre, "Les dieux de Delphes et l'histoire du sanctuaire," Kernos Supp!. 8 (1998) 61-87. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. APHRODITE A V AGIANOU 123 1. The myth-making of Delphi's oracle According to Ephorus, Apollo founded Delphi's oracle in co­ operation with Themis in order to benefit the human race. Apollo, on his way from Athens to Delphi, came to Panopeus, where he killed the brigand Tityos. The Parnassians then came to him and told him of another brigand in the land, a man called Python or Drakon. Apollo killed him too, while the Parnassians cheered him with cries of Hie Paian and burned Python's tent-a deed that was commemorated in later Delphic rites. Ephorus' account consists of the following main elements: (1) Foundation of Delphi's oracle by Apollo along with Themis; (2) Reason for the oracle's founding, Apollo's function as a founder; (3) Route of Apollo from Athens to Delphi; (4) Python's killing by Apollo and rites connected with this myth (paian, burning of Python's tent); (5) Tityos' killing by Apollo. (1) All versions include Gaia or Themis, or both, as previous owners of the Delphic oracle,6 but it is that of Apollodorus 7 which explicitly regards Themis as a predecessor of Apollo at Delphi: 'A1tOAAWV 8£ 1~V f..laVnKllv f..la8wv napa navos 10D Ll10s Kat "YBp£ws ~K£V £is Ll£All't£u(cr)ov'w OiKllV Kat 8£/llV 'tOte; "'EJ.!"'llcrlV ... 6 Of ['A1tOA­ AO)v] £1Oe; OAOv 1tapa 101e; £K£l S£/llcr't£ucrae; aVSpO)1tOle;. (3) As to the route of Apollo to Delphi there are two ver­ sions: (a) by sea with Cretans who introduce the paian; Europe is connected with Crete, which is considered to be the origin of the paian;10 (b) by way of the Hyperboreans.11 (4) We have five versions of Apollo's combat with a drakon. 12 The motif of killing the baneful drakon in Apollo's foundation of the oracle reflects the perception that Apollo's oracle has tamed the darker side of the cosmos.13 Ephorus' version is consistent with the other four in the claim that Apollo's visit to Delphi was the first. Python in the other IOHymn.Hom.Ap. 388ft. A strong relation between Crete and Delphi has been noted by M. Leone, "Divinitit preapollinee a Delfi," Mythos 5 (1993) 57-78, esp. 60ff. lISo Alcaeus; see K. Kerenyi, Die Mythologie der Criechen (Zurich 1951) 135 and plates 31, 32; V. Lambrinudakis, "Apollon," LIMC II (1984) 304 (§§1003-1007), pI. 1005; L. Lacroix, "Pays legendaires et transferts miracu­ leux dans les traditions de la Grece ancienne," BAB 69 (1983) 93. 12(1) Hymn.Hom.Ap. 300ff.; (2) Simon. 68 (PMC); Apollod. 1.4.1; Aei. VH 3.1; Ov. Met. 1.321; (3) Eur. IT 1244-1248; Clearchus fr.64 Wehrli; (4) Lucian D.Mar. 315.2; Hyg. Fab. 140; Luc. BC 5.79-81; (5) Ephorus F 31a; Paus. 10.6.5- 6. On Apollo-Python see Lambrinudakis (supra n.ll) 300-302 (§§986-1002) and pll. 995, 997, 1000, 1001. 13W. Burkert, Homo Necans: The Anthropology of Ancient Creek Sacrificial Ritual and Myth, transl. P. Bing (Berkeley 1983) 121; W. G. Thalmann, Conventions of Form and Thought in Early Creek Epic Poetry (Baltimore/ London 1984) 72; Fontenrose (supra n.3) 13-22, 77-93. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. APHRODITE A V AGIANOU 125 versions is named as a drakon, a snake. 14 Pausanias' version is close to that of Ephorus, although his source is not Ephorus. Ephorus' version is reckoned euhemeristic because Python is a man. But among the existing differences between Ephorus and Pausanias is that Pausanias mentions an unnamed brigand. In Ephorus, too, the Parnassians met Apollo after he killed Tityos at Panopeus and told him about Python; according to Pau­ sanias, Apollo was at his shrine at Delphi when the Delphians appealed to him, for it was the Pythia who answered them. When Apollo, in Ephorus, killed Python, the Delphians burned his tent, which represented Python's cave situated at Delphi. Krios' son, in Pausanias, did not live at Delphi, but probably in Euboea; he had once plundered Delphi and was on his way to do so again. The myth of Apollo versus Python served as aition for the Septerion and Pythian festivals. Plutarch (Mor. 293c, 417F-418B) in describing the Septerion recounts a version which scholars have considered rationalistic and close to Ephorus' version. But Plutarch's version does not show clearly whether Python was a brigand in human form. Plutarch agrees with Ephorus on the point of the burning of the tent, while the link of his Aix to Krios would establish a connection with Pausanias' account. Halliday believes that the myth and the Septerion rituals were not associated until the fourth century, Ephorus' time, "when the rationalistic was applied for the purposes of ex­ planation."1S But Ephorus' version, whether "rationalistic II or 14The motif "god/hero kills a chthonic monster" is connected with founda­ tion also in other myths: J. Triimpf, "Stadtgriindung und Drachenkampf," Hermes 86 (1958) 129-157; F. Vian, Les Origines de Thebes. Cadmos et les Spartes (Paris 1963) 94-113. It represents the establishment of order and the elimination of disorder and danger to humanity symbolized by a chthonic monster. Thus Apollo founded it in order to guide mankind, to give laws, and to establish order. This is the significance of the drakon-killing by Apollo in the Homeric Hymn. 15W. R. Halliday, The Greek Questions of Plutarch (Oxford 1928) 66-71. The beginning of Septerion festival is unknown; its earliest literary attestation is in the fourth century, Theopompos FGrHist 115 F 80 (Ael. VH 3.1). But an inscription from Phalanna (IG IX.2 1234) shows that the festival was already Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 126 EPHORUS ON THE FOUNDING OF DELPHI'S ORACLE not, was not the official Delphian version of the myth. The burning of Python's tent by the Delphians is mentioned only by Ephorus, who sees it as the mythical precedent for the rite. The burning of the hut, however, follows upon Apollo's combat and victory, which have no counterpart in the ritual. Apollo's Ku8apO'u; after Python'S killing is mentioned by Plutarch and Aelian. 16 Paian in Ephorus is associated with the combat of Apollo against Python. Sakadas' Pythios Nomos also testified to the creation of the legend of Apollo's fight against PythonY (5) A similarity or relationship between Python and Tityos has been briefly noted by W. Roscher and Th. Schreiber.l8 2. Ephorus' version and Aeschylus Eumenides 1-14 (a) Aeschylus Eum. 2-4: EK DE 't1l~ E>EJ.1lV, 111 DT] 'to J.11l'tpo~ D£1HEpa 'tOD' £SE'tO I J.1av'tElov, ffi~ AOYO~ 'Tt~. Ephorus F 31b: KamO'EuuO'at 'to J.1aV'tEtOV 'A1tOAAWVa J.1E'ta E>EJ.1lDO~. Our first evidence for Themis as an ancient oracular goddess dates to 458 B.C., Aeschylus' Eumenides 1-8. According to Aeschylus, Gaia gave the Delphic oracle to Themis, succeeded with her consent by Phoebe, not by force, who gave it to her grandson Apollo on his birth. The order Gaia-Themis-Apollo is first mentioned by Aristonoos of Corinth in his Paean to in existence in the fifth century. See B. Heliy, "Le 'Dotion Pedion', Lakereia et les origines de Larisa," JSav 1987, 139-142. l6The Hom. Hymn to Apollo does not refer to Apolio's Ku9apcru; at Tempe. Pluto Mor. 293c follows this version, and Ael. VH 3.1. The significance of the element of Ku9apcrt<; in the Delphic religion has been emphasized by K. Latte, "Orake!," RE 18 (1939) 842-844. l7Paus. 10.7.4; Strab. 9.3.10; Poll. 4.84. Cf Pind. Paean 8, fr.52i; B. Snell, "Pindars 8. Paian: uber die Tempel von Delphi," Hermes 90 (1962) 1-6. On the function of the rhythm of the paian in provoking a state of ecstatic enthusiasm see J. Defradas, Les themes de la propagande delphique (Paris 1954) 81, cf B. L. Rainer, Philodamus' Paean to Dionysus. A Literary Expression of Delphic Propaganda (diss. U. Illinois 1975). l8W. Roscher, Apollon und Mars (Leipzig 1873) 41; Th. Schreiber, Apollon Pythoktonos: Ein Beitrag zur griechischen Religions und Kunstgeschichte (Leip­ zig 1879) 56. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. APHRODITE A V AGIANOU 127 Apollo.19 This order was an artificial and not a historical element in the mythological structure of the oracle's founding. 20 Its invention in the fifth century was intended to replace Apollo's fight against Python: Aeschylus' version marks a re­ versal of the dominant tradition according to which Apollo took possession of Delphi by force from a chthonic deity. Its creation was possible at this time because the Hesiodic function of Gaia as prophetess had been taken over by Themis, as in Pindar:21 the d)~oUAoC; Themis, she who gives good advice,22 announces the 1t€1tPCOIlEYOY, 'rex 8E0£ 1tpOe; Biav nvoe;. The friendly transfer of the oracle from Themis to Apollo was rendered easier via Phoebe, who was sister of Themis and grandmother of Apollo.26 According to Sourvinou-Inwood, the schema of the friendly-transfer variant contrasted with that of the violent transfer of a primordial deity by a younger god as in the Theogony's succession myth: hence this version, so well adapted to Eumenides, was probably created by Aeschylus in the context of the reconciliation be­ tween the chthonic and Olympian powers. The Aeschylean myth is a "civilizing" version of the violent variants, ascribing a higher ethical tone to the oracle and its god. The replacement, by force, of a chthonic and negative deity by Apollo at Delphi27 belongs to the mythological schema "divine succession," which is shaped by and articulates social, religious, and intellectual realities and collective representations. 28 Despite Aeschylus' friendly version, I think that he remained hesitant on this point, adopting a medium and not a radical version, in which there is 24 See Sourvinou-Inwood (supra n.6). 25See K. Latte, "Themis," RE 5 (1934) 1628. 26D. S. Robertson, "The Delphian Succession in the Opening of the Eu­ menides," CR 55 (1941) 69-70, suggests that Aeschylus introduced Themis into the Delphic succession "to equate the assumption of office by the first three holders of the Pythian oracle with these three great allotments" (of yepa and "ttllUt among the gods). Disputed by F. Solmsen, Hesiod and Aeschylus (Ithaca 1949) 126 n.10: since Themis and Phoebe belong to the same generation of gods, Robertson's "equation" could scarcely be obvious to Aeschylus' audience. Wilamowitz identified Gaia with Themis: Glaube der Hellenen I (Berlin 1931) 203, cf. Griechische Tragodien II (Berlin 1929) 212-213. See also Defradas (supra n.17) 88 n.3 and Amandry (supra n.20) 201 n.2. 27 Hymn.Hom.Ap. 300-374: a serpent; Pind. fr.55: Gaia; Eur. IT 1242-1282: Gaia, Themis. 28See J.-P. Vernant, Religion grecque, religions antiques (Paris 1976) 23. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. APHRODITE A V AGIANOU 129 the same basic structure as in the other versions, i.e. "suc­ cession," but coloured with the new accent on friendly transfer. Furthermore, H. VOS29 argues that Eum. 4 w~ A6yo~ 'tt~ indicates that Aeschylus' version about Themis as a second possessor of Delphi is not an old tradition or the tragedian's invention, but rather belongs to an emerging teaching among the Greeks that sprang from Delphi, namely Orphism.3o One of the Orphic Hymns is addressed To Themis (79), as a daughter of Ouranos and Gaia; she delivered oracles to gods and men and taught Phoibos the art of prophecy. This aspect is an expansion of the Pindaric and Delphic Themis. She reveals the 'tEAE'tex~ ayi).1EVllV are connected. Plato stresses the significant role of the Delphic oracle in stabilizing his moral and religious laws: Resp. 427B: KUt EYW d1toV ott 'H).1lV ).1£v OUOEV, 'tw ).1EV'tOl 'A1tOA.AO>Vl 'tw EV i'1EAv.' Ta 1tOlU; ~ 0' 0<;. 'IEpwv 'tE iopuaEl<; KUt 9ualat KUt aAAat 9EWV 'tE KUt Oat).1ovo>v KUt TJPwo>v 9EPU1tElUl ... 'ta yap o~ 'tol(Xum ou't' E1tla'ta).1E9a TJ).1El<; OlKlSOV'tE<;. See W. Schadewaldt, Der Gott von Delphi und die Humanitiitsidee (Frankfurt 1975). 33However, Apollo at Eum. 185-195 will claim to be the champion of civilization against the barbaric Erinyes: see R. Lattimore, Aeschylus I (Chicago 1953) 30: "Apollo stands for everything which the Furies are not: Hellenism, civilization, intellect, and enlightenment." Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. APHRODITE A V AGIANOU 131 and 8EJ.W; are close to each other, for they are polarities.34 The poetic 8E/-W; means "order, law." Alcaeus also attributed this special aspect to Apollo's oracle at Delphi.35 By its etymology (*8T]-, *8£-, 'ti81lJ.ll),36 it means "what is set and it is solid, firm, the firm order, right, the law."37 eEJ.lt~ is a personification of this. So the connotation of 8EJ.lt~ is not primarily oracle but right, law, norm. 8EJ.lt~ and i)tKll coincide in the Iliad: 8EJ.lt~ means the fundamental right on the basis of which the community's life becomes possible, and 8tKll constitutes the opposite of ~ta. To live according to 8EJ.lt~ is the natural way of life. The "right" (8EJ.lt~) had obtained an extensive and ontic reality in early Greece; therefore 8EJ.lt~ and i)tKll designated not only the order of right, but also the social order as well as the order of nature, i.e. the entire order of life. The oracle communicates justice and right. The verb 8£J.lHH£\')(1) designates the typical character of Apollo in the archaic period: he gives rules, law, order, right.38 (c) Aesch. Eumenides 9-13: (Apollo) Al1tWV 8£ AtJ.lVllV ~llAtav 't£ XOlpai)a, I KEAcra~ En' (h'ta~ vaun6pou~ 'ta~ naAAai)o~, I E~ 'tYtv8£ ya'iav ~A8£ napvllcrou 8' 34Hymn.Hom.Ap. 541: i.\~Pts 8', ~ 8EI-Us fCnt Kata8vTrcrov av8po)1twv. 35Himerius' prose paraphrase of Alcaeus' Hymn to Apollo, Or. 14.10: Ei~ ~eAq>ous ltEllltEt (sc. Zeus-Apollo) Kat KaO'taAla~ vallcna, €Ket8EV ltpO­ q>111:EtJovta OlKT\V Kat 8EIltv 1:Ots "EAA11O't. D. Page, Sappho and Alcaeus (Oxford 1955) 244-247, thinks also that 8elltcr1:EUEtV means "delivering the law." 36 E. Fraenkel, "Graeca-Latina: 1) Grammatische und syntaktische Bemer­ kungen zu griech. 8£llts," Glotta 4 (1912) 22-31; H. Frisk, "Die Stammbildung von GEMIL," Eranos 48 (1950) 1-13. A variant proposed by Wilamowitz, Glaube (supra n.26) is GEllts (*8EIl- [8£IlE8AOV, 8EIlElAtov] + lO''tTlllt > 8ElltO'1:-) as a personification of "Grundlegung," the "Grundlegerin." In Hes. Theog. 135 the logic of the word GEllts is 8E- < 1:iElT]Ilt. See D. H. Roberts, Apollo and his Oracle in the Oresteia (Hypornnemata 78 [Gottingen 1984]) 22. 37Fraenkel (supra n.36): 8£llt<; as neuter = 8EIlt'tOV, ltpEltOV. 38 Hymn.Hom.Ap. 252-253 = 292-293 'tOtO'tV O£ 1:' EYw vT]IlEp1:£a ~ouA~v I ltam 8elltO'1:EUOtllt XP£wv EVtltlOVt VT]0: the verb 8ElltO'1:E1JW does not mean "deliver an oracle." See also 393-395 Kpll1:e<; altO KvwO'ou Mtvw'{ou, o'{ pa 1:' UVaK1:t I tEpa 1:E pE/;OUO't Kat aYY£AAouO't 8£lltO'tas (= law, rules) I