lshe "Horned Hunter" on a

Lost Gnostic Gem

Roy Kotansky
Santa Monica, California
and
Jeffrey Spier
UniversityCollege, LJondon

The notedProvensalantiquarianNicolas-ClaudeFabride Peiresc(1580-

1 1637), perhapsthe most dedicatedof an intexuationalcircle of acquain-
tances studyingand collecting classical antiquitiesin the early seventeenth
century,ltook an especially keen interestin ancientgems. Withhis friend,
the painterPeter Paul Rubens(1577-1640), he plannedan extensive pub-
lication on the subjectthat unfortunatelynever saw completion.2Although
Peiresc focused most of his attentionon collecting Romangems portraying
classical iconography,he was also intriguedby the enigmatic series of
magical gems as were many others in the Renaissance,who considered
the gems to be the productsof early Gnostic heretics.3A correspondence

lDavidJaffe, "TheBarberiniCircle:Some ExchangesbetweenPeiresc,Rubensandtheir

Contemporaries," Journalof the Historyof Collections 1 (1989) 119-47.
2Hermance M. van derMeulen-Schregardus, PetrusPaulusRubensAntiquarius:Collector
and Copyistof AntiqueGems(Alphenaan den Rijn:Vis-Druk,1975); Oleg Neverov,"Gems
in the Collectionof Rubens,"TheBurlingtonMagazine 121 (1979) 424-32.
3Note,forexample,thewritingscitedby JeanChifletin his introduction
to JoannesMacarius
(JeanL'Heureux),Abraxasseu Apistopistus(Antwerp:BalthasarisMoreti,1657) 6-8 (includ-
ing a referenceto Peiresc). Althoughthe use of the term "Gnostic"as a designationfor the
magic gems has fallen into considerabledisfavortoday,thereis enoughoverlapbetweenthe

HTR 88:3 (1995) 315-37

316 HARVARD THEOLOGICAL REVIEW

betweenPeirescand Rubensin 1623, frequentlycited in the modernlitera-

ture, discusses the putativemeaning of an amulet in Rubens'scollection
depicting a bell-shapedobject thought to representthe "divine womb."4
The gem is a Renaissanceforgerybased on genuine ancientexamples;the
concurrent and correct identificationof this puzzling type as a uterus,
however,contrastsmarkedlywith the fanciful interpretations later fashion-
able in the nineteenthcentury.5
Peiresc also recordedmagical gems in other collections and carefully
copied the Greekinscriptionsfoundon them.6By 1633, his own collection
of such gems amountedto about two hundredspecimens7;althoughfew
gems are mentionedin his survivingletters or manuscripts,his correspon-
dence with Claude Menestrier(d. 1639), librarianto CardinalFrancesco
Barberiniand Peiresc's agent in Rome, records Menestrier'spurchaseof
severalmagic gems for his client fromthe collection of NatalitioBenedetti.
In a series of letters to Menestrierin 1629, Peiresc describesthe gems in
some detail; like his contemporaries,however, he understoodlittle of the
Greekinscriptionshe read, otherthanto transcribethe occasionallyrecog-
nizable angel-names.8

"magic" and "Gnostic" systems to argue for a serious reappraisal of their affiliation. We take
this up, to some degree, below.
4H. Koehler, "Erlauterungeines von Peter Paul Rubens an Nicolas Claude Fabri de Peiresc
gerichteten Dankschreibens," Me'moiresde l'Acade'mieimpe'rialedes Sciences de Saint-
Petersbourg6.3 (1836) 1-34, esp. 11-13; 23-24; Peter Paul Rubens, Correspondencede
Rubens(vol. 3; eds. Max Rooses and Charles Ruelens; Anvers: Veuve de Backer, 1900) 203-
39; Campbell Bonner, Studies in Magical Amulets,Chiefly Graeco-Egyptian(Ann Arbor:
University of Michigan Press,1950) 80-83; Alphons A. Barb, "Diva Matrix: A Faked Gnostic
Intaglio in the Possession of P. Rubens and the Iconology of a Symbol," JWCI16 (1953) 193-
98; Meulen-Schregardus, PetrusPaulus Rubens,35 and 91.
sSee Bonner, Studiesin MagicalAmulets,80-83, citing the implausible theories of Jacques
Matter (Histoirecritiquedu Gnosticisme[3 vols.; Paris: Bertrand, 1828] 3. 51-53), Koehler
("Erlauterung"),and Charles William King (The Gnosticsand TheirRemains,Ancientand
Mediaeval[2d ed.; London: Nutt, 1887] 110-11, 300).
6See, for example, MS 9530, Fonds Fransaise, Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris, 234-35; MS
1809, Bibliotheque Inguimbertine, Carpentras, 400.
7Peiresc to Claude Saumaise,14 November 1633, Nicolas-ClaudeFabride Peiresc.Lettres
a ClaudeSaumaiseet a son entourage(1620-1637) (ed. Agnes Bresson; Le Corrispondenze
letterarie, scientifiche ed erudite dal Rinascimento all' eta moderna 3; Florence: Olschki,
1992) 33.
8Peiresc to Pierre Dupuy, Lettresde Peiresc (7 vols.; ed., Philippe Tamizey de Larroque;
Paris: Imprimerie nationale, 1894) 5. 559-61, 563-65, 572, 575. Peiresc usually refers to the
inscriptions merely as "Greek letters" and once refers to a gem "with various angel names on
the reverse" (Lettres,560). Peiresc's most ambitious commentary, including a nearly correct
reading of a seven-line inscription, is on a gem he owned, now in the Cabinet des Medailles,
Paris (= Armand Delatte and Philippe Derchain, Les intailles magiquesgre'co-egyptiennes
[Paris: Bibliotheque Nationale,1964] 188-89, no.250); see Bresson, Nicolas-Claudede Peiresc,
33-34.
 , , . , ,, ,, Cs \ , , ,

ROY KOTANSKY and JEFFREY SPIER 317

Among Peiresc'spapersnow in Parisis an illustration,apparentlyin his

own hand, of a magic gem showing an ouroboros9 enclosing a twelve-line
inscription.l°In the margin, Peiresc identifies the gem as a "prase"(in
Gemma prasio)and states that it was receivedfrom Menestrieron October
23, 1630 [plate 1]. The term "prase"(from the Greek spacylos, "light
green"; spacylaS, "emerald[?]") usually matches green chalcedony in
moderngemologicalnomenclature,and chalcedonyis a semipreciousstone
often used for magic gems. Unfortunately,there is no furthermentionof
the piece amongPeiresc'sdocuments,and we have not been able to locate
the gem in any extantcollection;nevertheless,in orderto makeit available
to a wider readership,we publish Peiresc'stranscriptof the gem for the
first time, with our own interpretationof the inscription.
OIOAHOTATH
OBAKA^ IXTXO K
EPATArPACOTTOC
4 ECTINOIlPWTOIlAT
WPOTOICWMATOCM
ONOCWNAIAIlANT
WNIlOPETMENOCCO
8 AOMWNTOCIC¢PArI
C *ZZZ[fig.]OAPA
KWNECTW
AEONTOKEO
12 AXOC.
O 'Ioanovavn, / o BaKatl%v%, o K/£pataypaS, ovto5 / £CTT1VO
spcl)osa/cl)p, o tov. csc atoS 11/OVOi Cl)V,ola sav/cl)v ZOp£V<O>R£VOi.
£°/X°s)VtOS {t}cspayl/5 Zzz [fig-] o apa/KCi)V £CTTCt)/ £0VTOK£+/-
aBoS. [plate 1]
Translation:Ioaeouaue-Bakaxichych-Keratagras. This one is the First-
Father, the one being single of substance,passing throughall (things).
"Solomon'sSeal:" [magic signs]. Make the serpentwith a lion's head.
9The"snakeeatingits tail,"or ouroboros(fromthe Greekovpn,Bopo/ovpo,Bopos, "de-
vouringits tail"), is a magic figure widely studiedas an Egyptiansymbolof perpetuity;see
Laszlo Kakosy,"Ouroboros," Lexikonder Agyptologie6 (1986) 886-93; WaldemarDeonna,
"Ouroboros," ArtibusAsiae 15 (1952) 163-70; KarlPreisendanz,"Einaltes Ewigkeitssymbol
als SignetundDruckmarke," Gutenburg-Jahrbuch (1935) 143-49; idem,"AusderGeschichte
des Uroboros,"in FerdinandHerrmannand WolfgangTreutlein,eds., Brauchund Sinnbild:
EugenFehrle zum60. Geburtstaggewidmetvon seinen Schulernund Freunden(Karlsruhe:
Kommissionsverlag,1940) 195-209.
t°See plate 1; MS 9530, Fonds Fransaise, BibliothequeNationale, Paris, 222. We are
gratefulto DavidJaffe for informationon Peirescandfor suggestingthatthe drawingpictured
here is by his own hand.
318 HARVARD THEOLOGICAL REVIEW

g Commentary
Before discussing the individualelements of this inscription,we first
observe that the magic names of the first three lines apparentlyachieved
somethingof canonical status in magical circles judging from the fact
that the formulaappearselsewherein the context of a slightly longer, but
similar,inscriptionon a beige onyx. Publishedin 1930 and recentlyresur-
facing on the antiquitiesmarket,the stone carriesthe following inscription
along the edge of its surface: Nvx£va,130k,13ax o 'loa7wl0vevEaovanl
Bar[aelxv]x KEpazadyas / 'Iax / savTcov 6£cssBS / 'Ia.ll The itali-
cized portionsindicatethe wordingparallelwith thatof Peiresc'sgem; they
are discussed more specifically in the commentarybelow.
(1) o 'Iobllovavll (read'Ioallovavll): The close readingo loalllov£v£
aovalll in the parallelgem cited above suggests that the delta of our text
should be read as alpha.
At first sight, the name seems little more than a permutationof vow-
els.l2 But the reading of Mouterde'sgem, IOVEVE, can be readily inter-
preted as a phonetic renderingfor the Hebrew Tetragrammaton, ;ll;r, a
divine nameof unknownvocalizationbut often articulatedilln",(yah(u)wah;
"Jehovah").Although most scholars believe "Jehovah"to be a late (ca.
1 100 CE) hybridform derived by combiningthe Latin letters JHVHwith
the vowels of Adonai(the traditionallypronouncedversionof ;1l;1b),13many
magicaltexts in Semitic and Greekestablishan early pronunciationof the
divine name as both Yehovahand Yahweh.l4

l l"Nycheuabolbach, o loaeioueue aouaei Bak[axichy]ch Keratagas, Iao Master of the

Universe, Iao." This restored reading is based on the parallel in the Peiresc gem. The beige
onyx is engraved on one surface only and measures 3.3 x 2.9 cm. It was first published in Rene
Mouterde, "Le Glaive de Dardanos: Objets et inscriptions magiques de Syrie," Me'langes de
l'Universite' Saint-Joseph 15 (1930) 72-74, no. 7, plate 2, 3 and figure 7. The piece suppos-
edly comes from Beirut and pictures a lion-headed ouroboros encircling the words, "Iao
Master of the Universe" (see Job 5:8; Wis 6:7; 8:3), along with several ring-like characters and
a small human bust. We were able to examine this piece at a Munich antiquities dealer in May,
1990. It has subsequently appeared at auction; see Frank Sternberg, AG, Zurich, Auction 24
(19-20 November, 1990) lot 463.
See the second half of n. 33.
See Henry O. Thompson, "Yahweh," Anchor Bible Dictionary 6 (1992) 101 la.
14See, for example, Roy Kotansky, "Two Inscribed Jewish Aramaic Amulets from Syria,"
IEJ 41 (1991) 267-81, with commentary on B 7 (p. 279): 17Rml;l; on "Yahobel" (Yahoba + el-
terminative) in reference to the Slavonic Ladder of Jacob 2:18 Yoava, see James H. Charlesworth,
ed., The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha (2 vols.; Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1983-85) 2.
408; Roy Kotansky, Joseph Naveh, and Shaul Shaked, "A Greek-Aramaic Silver Amulet from
Egypt in the Ashmolean Museum," Mus 105 (1992) 5-24, line 4: lOO£ ( = U1U'). Forms like
nnn and nnnl;nS,discussed by Joseph Naveh and Shaul Shaked (Amulets and Magic Bowls
[Jerusalem: Magnes and Leiden: Brill, 1985] 165-66), also seem to give inescapable ex-
amples, although the editors themselves sound a cautionary note by interpreting such ex-
 ROY KOTANSKY and JEFFREY SPIER 319

(2) o BaKatlxu%:Bakaxichychhas been explainedas Egyptianfor "Ba

('Soul')of Darkness,Son of Darkness.''l5A still unpublishedlead tabletin
the GettyMuseuminvokesBakaxichychas "Princeof Demons"(o mpavvoS
tcov bal,uovcov). The name also occurs commonly in the so-called
%V%,3a%v% l0gOs 16
(2-3) o K/epaxaypaS(Mouterde has The nameis not the usual
-ayaS):

vox magica. We suspect an addendumlexicis, as the Greekformationsug-

gests something to do with horns (Greek Kepai/Kepa-) and the chase
(aypa).l7 The name means either "hunterof horn,"or "hornedhunter."If
the name means "hunterof horn,"then it implies one who hunts with the
bow (traditionallymadeof horn)or one who huntsafterhorned(or hooved)
prey(deer,antelope,bulls, andthe like). If the namemeans"hornedhunter,"
it is a deity who actuallywears horns.l8A discussionof the possible iden-
tity of this figure is taken up in the excursusbelow.

as Yah-in-Yah.NumerousGreekexamplesof such renderingswithout-n

amples as ;l9m;ll,9
("in")for the Tetragrammaton can be adducedfrom the papyriand the churchfathers(for
example,'Iapveor 'Iaoze). The Semiticexampleswith -n, therefore,can hardlybe explained
as the preposition"in"(which makeslittle onomasticsense here), but mustrepresenttradi-
tional pronunciationsof the Divine Name.Even our gem'srlozaDrl (if articulatedil oio aDrl
=/Fll/,thatis, (y)e^houwe^h)closely approximatesYehovah.Wolf WilhelmGrafenBaudissin
(Studienzur semitischenReligionsgeschichte,vol.1: Der Ursprungdes Gottesnamens'Iax
[Leipzig:Grunow,1876] 204, no. 20) cites a gem with the letters Iaxtle (Yakweh);see also
the GnosticAp. John 24.18-19: Eloim and Yave(NHC 3.1).
isSee the widely circulated(butunpublished)index to PGM,RegisterVI, s.v.; RobertW.
DanielandFrancoMaltomini,Supplementum MagicumI (Papyrologica Coloniensia16;Opladen:
Westdeutscher Verlag,1990)no. 44,15, andcommentaryon 161,whichcites TheodorHopfner,
"DerreligionsgeschichtlicheGehaltdes groSendemotischenZauberpapyrus," ArOr7 (1935)
114-15; andRobertRitner,in HansDieterBetz, ed., TheGreekMagicalPapyriin Translation
(2d ed.; Chicago:Universityof ChicagoPress, 1992) 202 n. 76.
For example,PGM5.11, 362, 366-67 (tatx ozx pzavaE,%U%) and elsewhere.
17Althoughno Greek nouns in -aypaSare attestedthus far, in Oppian,the uncommon
adjectives, 6UsaypilS, eS ("unluckilycaught");tioaypilS, eS ("luckyin the chase");and
sokDaypili, -eS ("catchingmuchgame"),providea good morphologicalconnectionto the
nominaltype 1cepaxaypai, oD, o ("hunterof horn").The compoundwouldbe equivalentto
suchformationsin -oil pas forwhichsimplexmasculineformsarenotknown:eXeXavxo0 paS,
oD, o ("elephant-hunter"); opvtOo0ilpaS,oD, o ("bird-
i%ozo0ilpai, oD, o ("fish-hunter");
catcher")(see opvtOaypezili, oio, o ["birdcatcher"]in Scholia to Aristoph.Nu. 731); see
also CarlDarlingBuck andWalterPetersen,A ReverseIndexof GreekNounsandAdjectives
(Midwayreprint;Chicago:Universityof ChicagoPress, 1975) 697, 2.
i8Thetwo need not be mutuallyexclusive; the epithet may actuallydescribean age-old
theriomorphicdeity whose devotees would have enactedthe huntingritualclad in masksof
hornedprey;see our excursusbelow; Vassos Karageorghis,"Noteson some CypriotePriests
WearingBull-Masks," HTR64 (1971)261-70;ErikSjoqvist,"DieKultgeschichte einescyprischen
Temenos,"ARW30(1933) 308-59, esp. 344-47; WalterBurkert(GreekReligion[Cambridge,
MA: HarvardUniversityPress, 1985] 65) mentionsthe Cypriotpriestsequatedwith mytho-
logical HornedOnes, the Kerastai(see p. 372 n. 94, citing Ovid Met. 10.223-37).
320 HARVARD THEOLOGICAL REVIEW

(4-5) o sposa/p:Althoughother compoundsin -1latcopare fre-

quent, the noun is otherwisefound only in Eustathius.l9Peculiar-satcop
compounds are also particularlycommon in Gnosticism, for example,
savTosap in the Coptic untitledtext in the Bruce Codex.20
(5-7) o tou scoRatoS /ovo5 cov, bla liav/Txv ZOp£D<0>R£VOi: This
peculiar Greek expression is prone to several widely diverse interpreta-
tions. First,the Greeksyntaxof o. . . cov,enclosing Rovo5 plus a genitive,
suggests that Rovo5 modifies tou scoRatoS and means "bereftof; with-
out.''21In the strict sense, this interpretationyields the most grammatical
meaning. The "bodiless primordial"or "first-father"expressed by these
words remindsone of the HermeticCorpus'sdoctrineof a succession of
threeheavenlybeings.The firstgod, the creator,is the eternalandunbegotten
demiurge;the second god, the Cosmos, is a deity that is created;and the
third is Man himself: 1xpeotosyap savTXv, ovTXs wai ai bt°S wai

a7£VVTOi Kai 6qRIOUp7Oi T@V O@V 0£0G- 6£DT£pOi 6£ O KaT £iKova

aijToi) ijz' aijToi) 7£VO£VOi. tpitov 4xov, o avOpsoS, waT'

. . To 6£
£iKoVa T0D KOOU 7£VO£VOi ("For the First God of all is truly the
eternal and unbegottenDemiurgeof the Universe;but the Second is the
one begottenin his image by him. . . and the thirdcreatureis Man, begot-
ten in the image of the Cosmos)."22Of these, the second god (Cosmos) is
thoughtof as corporeal,whereasthe first is bodiless: tou £V yap aio-
oav£Tal Cos scoRaToS, ToU 6£ £vVolav XaplDav£l C0i ascoRaToU.23 This
incorporealityof the first god is also expressed,for example,in Porphyry:
O £V ZP@Toi 0£0i a@aT°i T£ XV wai aviVoS wai a£plotoS,
wk. (assignedto oi flkatcovlKoi).24On our gem, the notion of an incor-
poreal god simply signifies a belief in a formless deity who pervadesall
things. Such a religious outlook belongedto the commonpropertyof late
antiquemetaphysicalthinkingand in most cases need not imply any direct
borrowingfromGnostic,Hermetic,Stoic, or Neoplatonicschoolsof thought.

t9Buck and Petersen, Reverse Index, 307.

20CarlSchmidt, ed., and Violet MacDermot, trans., The Books of Jeu and the Untitled Text
in the Bruce Codex (NHS 13; Leiden: Brill, 1978), "Index of Greek Words," p. 331 (Untitled
228, 234, p. 219, with notes citing Iren. Adv. haer. 1.1, 12.3; Eugnostos 74; Soph. Jes. Chr.
90; Pistis Soph. 19); other examples from Schmidt and MacDermot include: aioxosap,
"self-engendered father" (p.329: Untitled 228,234,248, etc.; Epiph. Pan. 26.10.4; Eugnostos
75; Soph. Jes. Chr. 95); a7rao3p, "fatherless" (p. 328: Jeu 104, 121); spoasao3p, "the fore-
fatherless one" (p. 331: Jeu 121); and sposao3p, "forefather" (p. 331: Untitled 228, 230,
248, 252, etc.).
2lLSJ, s.v. Rovos, 1.2.
22Corp. Herm. 8.2, 5; for the identity of the second being as the Cosmos, see Ibid., 8.1.
23"Thesecond god is perceived as corporeal but conceives of the first as bodiless." Ibid.,
8.5.
24"Thefirst god is bodiless, immovable and indivisible...." Porphyry De Abstinentia 2.37.
 ROY KOTANSKY and JEFFREY SPI ER 321

That our text may in fact, however, show some kinshipwith real Gnostic
doctrineis discussed furtherbelow.
If mere incorporealitywere intended,however, why did the writernot
simply transcribeo asco,uatoi cov, "theone who is incorporeal,"as in the
several referencesgiven above? Further,the presence of the article sug-
gests specificity;xou sco,uatoi mustreferto one who is bereftof the body
or bereft of his body (with tou being the weak possessive), as if actual
possession of the body were a bona fide option. But this would give a
questionablereading of the Greek. In what sense would the First-Father
have been at one time embodiedand then deprivedof embodiment,as if he
once had a body and then lost it?
Clearly,the stressis being laid on the fact thatthe First-Fatheris ,uovot
in his sco,ua; but the sense is not "bereftof body,"ratherit is "single of
substance"or"monadic in his corporealsubstance."The phrasedescribes
the substanceof the cosmos.25In short,the doctrinerepresentsa Gnostic-
like descriptionof the unity of the First-Principle:the First-Fatherin his
corporealunity is one. Among the Nag Hammadicodices, one sees the
connectionin the Tripartite Tractate's descriptionof the First-Father:
The Fatheris a Single One, like a number,for he is the First One and
the one who is only himself. Yet he is not like a solitaryindividual.
Otherwise,how could he be a father?For wheneverthereis a "father,"
the name "son"follows. But the Single One, who alone is the Father,
is like a root with tree, branches,andfruit.26
Our gem seems to express much the same idea when it claims that the
First-Fatheris ,uovot in his corporeity he is single in his wholeness.The
use of o@,ua,however,is dot to imputeto the Fathera necessarycorporeity,
ratherit betokensthe unity or whole of a thing:o tou sco,uatoS,uovos xv
is one who is in essence a monadicbeing.27Note the Tripartite Tractate
which elsewhere reads: "Rather,he possesses this constitution,without
having a face or a form, things which are understoodthroughperception,
whence also comes (the epithet) 'the incomprehensible."'28
Althoughthey may be accidental,furtherconnectionswith the Tripartite
Tractate also occur in the doctrineof the Trinity,for here as well our gem
lays stresson the tripartitenamesof the Protopator:Ioaeouaue, Bakaxichych,

25oo3Fa here is akin to Plato's description of the whole of the cosmos in Tim. 28B: yeyovev
opaxoSya p a7tT0S TE ETT Wai o@a t%@v,"The Cosmos has come into existence, because
it is visible, tangible, and has substance" (see further, Tim. 31B-32C). Plato's Timaeus was a
favorite of Gnostic and Neoplatonist cosmographers.
26Tri.Trac. 51.6-19; Harold W. Attridge and Dieter Mueller, trans., in James M. Robinson,
ed., The Nag Hammadi Library in English (3d ed.; San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1988) 60.
27See LSJ, s.v. o@a, IV.
28Tri. Trac. 54.28-32 (ET: Attridge and Mueller, Nag Hammadi, 62).
322 HARVARD THEOLOGICAL REVIEW

and Keratagras.29In this case, the tripartitionrepresentsa means of de-

scribingandnamingwhatin fact is ineffableandunnameable.Similarly,in
the TrimorphicProtennoia, Barbelo the first hypostasis of the Perfect
Entirety in the book's opening hymn is describedwith three names:
It is [I] who am first thought, [the] thinking that exists in [. . .].
It is [I] who am the movementthat exists in the [entirety],
In [whom] the entirety stands at rest,
[The first]-produced among those that have [come into existence],
[Who] existed before the entirety, [who] am called by three names,
and who alone exist [perfect]....
I am incomprehensible, existing within the incomprehensible and mov-
ing withineverycreature....
Who exist among those who have come into existence;
Whomoveamongall, and who am strong among all;
Whotraveluprightly....30
Here again we encounterlanguagethat stresses Barbelo'sprimacy,per-
fect existence, and flawless motionthroughoutthe universe muchlike the
languageof the Peiresc gem, althoughstrictlyspeaking,Barbelo,the Sec-
The
ond Principle,is here called "FirstThought"and ''First-Produced.''3l

29Unlikethe readingof the Mouterdegem, the Peiresc text seems to divide the magic
namesinto anunequivocaltriadin its use of the articleo beforeeachnameof the triadicunity.
30Trim.Prot. 35.1-6; 10-11; 19-21; BentleyLayton,The Gnostic Scriptures (GardenCity,
NY: Doubleday,1987)89. Of course,the notionof an all-pervadinggod in all thesetextsowes
muchto Stoicism, whetherthe god is describedas a ssa, sveioFa, or U%n. See Proclus
In Platonis Timaeum (citing Chrysippus),p. 297 Schneider(= von Arnim,SVF II §1042 [p.
308, 3-4]): o yap azxos 0e°S Tcap'aio(Jp spo3xo5o3v6til1cet6ta xoio 1COoROz vai 6ta
a1Sxa1S Kat V%a1 tfst vai sPssts a%poxoST@v6t0t1cOzZeVo3V, "Forthis same god
(accordingto Chrysippus),being primary,pervadesthe cosmos andmatter,andis a soul and
principalnot separatefromits inhabitants"(see von Arnim,SVFII §1027 [p. 306, 22]). If the
Peirescgem, too, seems indebtedto Stoic ideas of god, it sharesthis with Gnosticismas the
commonpropertyof late antiquethought.But the vocabularyof the Peirescgem is not espe-
cially Stoic, eschewing,for example,the widespreadterminus technicus 6tattv in favorof
the commonTcopeiooRat, a verb indicatingreal motion,as in the Gnostictexts cited above.
3lAmongthe variousGnostic documents,some confusionof epithets and attributesare
boundto exist when describingsuch primalentities as the Parentof the Entirety(the First
Principle)and Barbelo(the Second Principle),who is often explainedas an hypostasisor
forethoughtof the Entirety.Before this "hypostasization,"of course, there was no "First
Principle"at all, as "first"alreadyimplies the existence of what is "second."In a sense,
therefore,the inexplicableemanationof anotherprinciplefrom what is wholly perfectin its
abstractentiretycreatesa sortof cosmic dualitythatneverbeforeexisted.Thefirstemanation
fromthe Entirety,then, is in itself a "First"of sorts;it only becomesthe "Second"Principle
when defined over-and-againstthe Entirety.This is why the languageof primacycan be
readilyappliedto a SecondPrinciple.Note, for example,Steles Seth 120.26:"Youarea parent
(produced)by a parent"(Layton,Gnostic Scriptures, 154, with n. j: "TheBarbelois 'parent'
of its constituents,even while being a productof the invisibleparentor One");further,Steles
 ROY KOTANSKY and JEFFREY SPIER 323

furtherclaim that Barbelois the "movementthat exists in the [entirety]"

(2), is "moving within every creature"(11), and "who move among all"
(19) comes remarkablyclose to our gem's Protopatordescribedas the one
who "travelsthroughall things."32Both Barbeloand our First-Fatheralso
seem to enjoy a certainprivilege as a triadicbeing. This tripartitestatus
seems to be a special doctrinein Barbelo-Gnostictexts.33That a monadic
principlelike Barbelocan also be tripartiteposes no apparentobstacle in
these texts.34
(7-8) So/ko,uxvxo5 {t}aXpayt/5 *iZZ (the prothetict in front of the
cluster -ozpp-is a common reflection of phonetic vernacular)."Seal of
Solomon"preserves a sort of label or subtitle copied from the writerss
formulary.The label was only supposedto identify the mystic signs that
immediatelyfollowed.35The phenomenonof carelessly transcribingsnip-
pets and instructionsfromhandbookrubricsalong with the intendedtextual
materialis surprisinglywidespreadin magic. A stone originallypublished
Seth 121.30: "O you who are nonexistent" (with n. f: "The Barbelo aeon is here addressed by
an epithet of its parent" [p. 154]). For an excellent overview of the Gnostic cosmic drama, see
Layton, GnosticScriptures,14- 15.
32See the description of Barbelo in Steles Seth 120.32-33: "You have come into existence
from the One by the One / You have traveled:you have entered the One" (Layton, Gnostic
Scriptures,154, with n. m, which equates "traveled" with becoming immanent).
33The tripartite name alluded to in Trim.Prot. 35.5 is later specified as "Father, Mother,
Son" in 37.20 (Layton, GnosticScriptures,91; see 233, n. a). Elsewhere in Trimorphic Protennoia
we find triadic names (formed from the luminaries), such as Phainion-Ainion-Oroiael (38.35);
Mellephanea-Loion-Daueithai (39.1); and Mousanion-Amethen-Eleleth (39.3-4). For other
references to such triadic forms in the so-called Sethian or Barbeloite Gnostic texts, note
Apocryphonof John (NHC 2.1; 3.1; 4.1; BG, 2); Gospel of the Egyptians(NHC 3.2; 4.2);
Steles Seth (NHC 7.5); Zostrianus(NHC 8.1); Allogenes (NHC 11.3). Although there is no
precise parallel to our Ioaeouaue-Bakaxichych-Keratagras in Gnostic texts, the rare examples
given above show that virtually any triadic name could be made up. Quite close, perhaps, to
our Ioaeouaue, is the name given to the parent Barbelo in Gos. Eg. 54.1-7: Ieoueao and in
78.17: Ieeouoa (see Layton, GnosticScriptures,107 n. d, and 118). For the frequent occur-
rence of magic names in the Barbelo (Sethian) systems, note Howard M. Jackson, "The Origin
in Ancient Incantatory VocesMagicaeof Some Names in the Sethian Gnostic System," VC 43
(1989) 69-79.
34Note, for example, StelesSeth 122.1, 8-11: "You are a superior unit! [= Monad] /. . . And
you have been a cause of multiplicity: / And you have found and remained One, while yet
being a / cause of multiplicity in order to become divided. / You are a threefold replication:
truly you are thrice replicated. You are One belonging to the One...." (Layton, Gnostic
Scriptures,155 with notes).
35Rudolf Egger ("Inschriften," Der romischeLimesin Osterreich16 [1926] 135-56, lines
8-9), publishes a similar miscopied designation onto a lead curse-tablet, but this time with a
bit more of the instructions: 0x0U<o3>vo5 oXpatiS, Xoptxat ev o3pa, xoio o3.... ("Seal
of Solomon is to be worn in the hour of the. . . )." Note also the inscription on the carnelian
in Hanna Philipp, Mira et Magica: GemmenimAgyptischenMuseumder staatlichenMuseen
(Mainz: von Zabern, 1986) 119-20, no. 196, 11-13: aio il oXpay<g> aio XttS} i
oXpaytiS ilv ypaXoevn ("This is the seal itself, the seal that was inscribed").
324 HARVARD THEOLOG ICAL REVIEW

as Gnostic by Blanchet,but reinterpretedby Bonnerand Youtie, provides

a particularlyimpressive example of this practice: £z1 T@, £aX T0
6X6£Ka¢UBBov ovoRa <Kal £x1> Tn Z£plO%Q 'Iax ("Engraveon the middle
of the stonethe twelve-leaf nameandon the circumferencethe nameIao").36
Why was there such careless copying of materialnever meantfor tran-
scription?At least in the case of the gemstones,we hypothesizethatglyptic
artistswere regularlyemployedto write charmsonto stone. These artisans
were trainedin executinga repertoryof prescribedfiguresand stereotypical
names and would not have been hired for their literacybut for their accu-
racy in engraving.Outsideof Egyptwheretrainedscribesand papyrusmay
not have been readily available,gem cuttersmay have been employedto
copy charms onto the medium with which they would have been most
familiar.This would explain the often neat transcriptionof waywardand
malapropossections from formularies;they are productsof a sort of prac-
ticed semiliteracy.37
The four charactersthat follow the label, "Seal of Solomon,"are in-
tended to representthe hoary seal itself; they mirrora traditionthat the
archetypalseal enclosed the four letters of the Tetragrammaton. This tra-
ditionis expressed,for example,in a relevantmedievalmanuscript:OpKI4@
ORai. . . £ii T° baKTUXI6lOV O £600 TX aA1X£1 zOXO@VTI, O £1%£
y£ypaR£vov to ovoRa tou £yaXoU @£0D ("I adjureyou [demons].. .
by the ring that was given to King Solomonthathad on it the name of the
great God engraved. . . ).D38The Z-like symbols drawn by Peiresc are

36AdrienBlanchet, "Une pierre gnostique apparenteepeut-etre a la 'Pistis Sophia,"' Melanges

Maspero, vol. 2: Orientgrec, romainet byzantin(Cairo: L'Institut franc,ais d'archeologie
orientale, 1934-37) 283-87; Delatte and Derchain, Intailles magiques, 317, no. 462; and
Campbell Bonner and Herbert C. Youtie, "A Magical Inscription on a Chalcedony," TAPA84
(1953) 60-66, reprinted in Herbert C. Youtie, ScriptiunculaePosteriores (2 vols.; Bonn:
Habelt, 1981-82) 2. 676-82.
37Itis also possible that scribes copied texts in languages with which they were not famil-
iar. They would transcribe the letters beautifully but be completely unaware of what they were
copying. A good example of such a misread text was a curse tablet originally published as
nonsense by Mouterde ("Glaive de Dardanos," 106-7), but brilliantly restored to its putative,
original model by David R. Jordan ("New Defixiones from Carthage," in John H. Humphrey,
ed., The Circusand a ByzantineCemeteryat Carthage[Ann Arbor: University of Michigan
Press, 1988] 1. 126-27). The tablet's provenance, Berytus, suggests that the scribe was a
semitic-speaking Jew who did not know Greek.
38ArmandDelatte, AnecdotaAtheniensia,vol. 1: Texterelatifs d l'histoire des religions
(Bibliotheque de la faculte de l'Universite de Liege 36; Liege: Vaillant-Carmanne,1927) 245,
34sqq.; compare also 122, 19-22; 127, 1-2; 263, 7-9; see further on this tradition, Kotansky,
Naveh, and Shaked, "Silver Amulet," lines 16, 27, with commentary, 19. The most pertinent
reference to Solomon's seal in the magical papyri occurs in PGM 4.3040: Otl (y£
opiciCco
vaTa n5 of paylboS, 5 £0£TO EOxO@V £X1 TnV ykavav Toz Inp£iot, val £an£V
("because I adjure you by the seal which Solomon placed on Jeremiah's tongue, and he spoke");
> , ,, , , , , , \ , , ,,

ROY KOTANSKY and JEFFREY SPIER 325

frequenton magicalgems and derive from a palaeo-Hebrewversion of the

ineffable name (with the three Z-like symbols equalling888,a commonci-
pher for God'sname). The symbols are similarto, but not to be confused
with, the three-barredS's often found on Chnoubisgems.
(8-10) 0 apa/K@V £CTTX/ £0VTOK£¢/aXOi: These wordspreservemore
instructionscopied from the handbookand presumablydetail how the head
of the ouroboros is to be engraved. The serpents in both Peiresc's and
Mouterde'sdrawingsare clearlylion-headed.39 This specific iconographyis
also common on the so-called Chnoubis amulets; on our gem, a tiny
Chnoubis was engraved between the magic symbols and the words o
bpa/Kxv. This is discussed furtherbelow.
A particularlygood parallelto our text is found in the Leiden magical
papyrus:ilkloS yBu¢£al £x1 100D IOTpOX10D TOVTpOZOV TOUTOV-
DpAK@V £aT) £VKU@V, oT£¢avoU oupav £V TX otoRan £%@V.
o%nRan

£CTTX6£ £VT05 T0D apaKOVT05 KaV0apO5 aKAV@X05 i£poi. T0 6£ ovoRa

£K T@V 0z1a0£ £p@V T0D 100D 7XU£15 i£pO7<>D¢IK@5, @5 ZpO¢qTal
£70DA1V, Kal T£XtAai XOp£1 Kaoap£lXs is to be engravedon
("Helios

a heliotropestone in the following manner:let the serpentbe fat [literally

"pregnant"],shapedlike a [laurelwreath] crown,havingits tail in its mouth.
And let therebe withinthe serpenta radiantsacredscarabaeus.And on the
back of the stone you shall engrave the name in hieroglyphics,as the
prophetssay, and after consecratingit, wear it in purity."40This compares
well with anothermagical text: £CTTIV 6£ O 7XU¢OR£V05 £iG TOVXl00V
HXlxpos avbp[laS]B£0VTOXPOCT@ZOS, T1]F£VaPICTT£Pa %£1PI KPaT@V
ZOXOV Kal RaTlYa, KDK@ 6£ autou OUPO5OPOV, DX0 6£
apaKovTa

xo £6aXoi 0u BlOouto ovoRa touto (KpO5£)- 'a%a a%a%a %a% %ap%apa

%a%' ("And this is what is engravedon the stone: Helioros, a lion-faced

humanfigure who holds in his left hand a globe and flail, and encircling
him is an ouroborosserpent.Underneathin the exergueof the stone is this
name [keep it secret]:Acha achachachach charcharachach'').4lIn each of

see Daniel Sperber, "Some Rabbinic Themes in Magical Papyri," JSJ 16 (1985) 93-103, esp.
95-99. Further, Dennis C. Duling ("The Eleazar Miracle and Solomon's Magical Wisdom in
Flavius Josephus's Antiquitates Judaicae 8.42-49," HTR 78 [1985] 1-25, esp. 15-17) gives
references to Solomon's seal ring and amulets in rabbinic and Jewish sources; see also idem,
"Solomon, Exorcism, and the Son of David," HTR 68 (1975) esp. 246-47. The Nag Hammadi
tractate On the Origin of the World (NHC 2.5 and 13.2) also mentions a Book of Solomon as
if it is widely known (107.14); and Apoc. Adam 79.3-18 (NHC 5.5) refers to the proverbial
demons under Solomon's control. Duling ("Eleazar Miracle," 17) mentions Solomon only in
2 Treat. Seth 63.11 (NHC 7.2) and in Testim. Truth 70 and 6.27 (NHC 9.3).
39See PGM 2 pl 1.4 (on PGM 7.17).
40PGM 12.274-77.
41PGM 1.143-47-
326 HARVARD THEOLOGICAL REVIEW

these referencesthe leonine and serpentinefeaturesdescribesolar iconog-

raphy.

g Discussion
The instructionscopied at the end of the Peiresc inscriptiontell us that
the serpent(ouroboros)is to be B£ovtoK£¢aBos("witha lion's face," or
"lion-headed").The parallel referencesgiven directly above indicate the
degree to which lion-headeddeities were importantto magic. Is there any
possible connection,then, between this lion-headeddeity and those found
in certainsystems of Gnosticism?We have also taken pains to introduce
relevant Gnostic parallels throughoutthe discussion of this gem. What
connection,if any, has the text of this gem with Gnosticism?
To answerthese questionswe must returnto the issue first raisedat the
openingof this study.Whatis the relationshipbetween"Gnostic"gems and
Gnosticism?In his seminal studies on the gems, CampbellBonner ad-
dressed this problem in somewhat equivocal terms. First, in an article
publishedin this journalnearlyfifty years ago, and later in his magisterial
Studies in Magical Amulets,Bonner said that "[the] term [Gnostic] has
been so widely acceptedthat thereis somethingto be said for retainingit"
(when appliedto the gems) and proceededin his observationthat "it was
naturalthat Gnostic elements should make their appearancein magical
texts."42In the ensuing paragraph,however, Bonner'sjudgmentwas less
. .

promlslng:

The writersmay or may not have belongedto a Gnostic sect; but the
documentsthemselves,whetherwrittenon papyrusor carved on gem
stones, can seldombe regardedas monumentsof Gnosticreligion....
In brief, Gnosticismis merely one of severalreligious influencesthat
have left their mark on these amulets. As a group they cannot be
labelledas Gnostic;individualpieces thatcan be so describedare rare,
and still rarerare those that can be assigned to a particularGnostic
sect.43
Bonner'sassessmentis largely correct;most magic gems that carryany
readableinscriptionspreserverathersimple, guileless prayersfor health.
Despite his carefulwords, however,Bonnerlater spotlights"a remarkable
gem" as "one of the few relics of Gnosticism"amongthe corpusof magic
gems.44Becauseof the importanceof thatgem and its possible relationship
to the Peiresc gem, it deserves some mentionhere.

42Campbell Bonner, "Magical Amulets," HTR 39 (1946) 25-53, esp. 25-26; and idem,
Studies in Magical Amulets, 1-2.
43Bonner, Studies in Magical Amulets, 1.
44Ibid.,135.
 ROY KOTANSKY and JEFFREY SPIER 327

The obverse of the green-redjasper (D. 188) picturesa standinglion-

headeddeity clothed in the "Egyptianapron"with a staff and situla.45The
inscnption,runningfromthe frontto the backof the stonereads,IakbapaX
Aaplllk / Ia Iax E;agia A6@val EXxal Qpeo5 A<sta¢cos ( = 'Qpalos,
'Astaalo5). To all familiar with Gnostic mythology, Ialdabaothis the
infamous creator-demiurgewho fashions the material universe after the
ideal of the perfect spiritualrealm. This is surprising,since Ialdabaothis
usually not found among the voces of the papyriand gems. To-
magicae

gether with the names on the gem's reverse,Ialdabaoth(with Ia equalling

IaRbaaco0) formsa groupof seven archonsthat appearsin canonicallists
of "demonicrulers"(ap%ov£S bat,uov£g).This list appearsto be impor-
tant to the mythology of the so-called Ophite Gnostics. The seven-
Ialdabaoth,Iao, Sabaoth,Adonai,Eloai, Horaios,andAstaphaios are more
or less listed in this form in at least four other Gnostic records.46
With regardto Peiresc'sgem, we allow for the possibility that B£0Vto-
K£¢aBoSdescribesonly the tiny silhouetteof the Chnoubisfigurein Peiresc's
drawing,as suggestedabove. In this case all of the materialtakenfrom the
"handbook"should be removed from any direct Gnostic context; the in-
structionsdescribe the making of a common Chnoubisgem, which are
usually made of green prase,just as ours was. Nevertheless,the Gnostic
setting of the lion-headedfigure of BonnerJsgem correspondsprecisely to
Origen'sdescriptionof Ialdabaothas AzovTo£t6ns ("lion-faced").Curiously,
this figure on gems is the same as the lion-headedgod named Helioros
(Helios-Horus)describedabove in the commentaryon lines 8-10.47 This
spell is no ordinarymagic formularybut one full of Gnostictheology and
vocabulary.48

45Ibid.,135-36; originallypublishedin idem, "An Amulet of the OphiteGnostics,"in

Commemorative Studies in Honor of TheodoreLeslie Shear (HesperiaSuppl. 8; 1949; re-
printedAmsterdam:Swets & Zeitlinger, 1975) 4346.
46Bonner(Studiesin MagicalAmulets,136)cites IrenaeusAdv.haer. 1.28.1-8; andOrigen
Cels. 6.32.15-26, 6.30-31 (see also 6.30-31). Fullerdiscussionand sourcesare availablein
R. vandenBroek,"TheCreationof Adam'sPsychicBody in theApocryphonof John,"in idem
and MartenVermaseren,eds., Studiesin Gnosticismand HellenisticReligions Presentedto
Gilles Quispelon the Occasionof his 65th Birthday(EPRO91; Leiden:Brill, 1981) 38-57;
HowardM. Jackson(TheLion BecomesMan: The GnosticLeontomorphicCreatorand the
Platonic Tradition[SBLDS 81; Atlanta:ScholarsPress, 1985] 21-26) gives the best up-to-
date treatmentof the gem.
47PGM1.143-46.
48Thereis muchthatis Gnosticin this shortermagicalhandbook,P. Berol. 5025 (PGM1),
especially the unusualinvocationof the sposap in lines 195-222. The spell, called a
"prayerof deliverance"(pzoxtlc), containslittle of the ordinarykind of languagefoundin
the longer magical formulariesand is rich in Gnostic slogans (spo¢zns ["firstborn"];
Xp@TOt£Vni 0e°i ["first-engendered god"];sposa@p ["firstfather"];avasaD£ooal ["to

repose"];aieSv-compounds;pi403Ra ["root"];b£lcavo; ["decans"];soia ["wisdom"];

t , t , , ,\ Cb \ , ,

328 HARVARD THEOLOG ICAL REVIEW

The angelic nameAriel on Bonner'sgem has been ingeniouslyexplained

as an etymologicalBeiname for Ialdabaoth;Ariel means';lionof God."On
this stone, GerschomScholem may well be correctin stating that C;Ariel
seems to have been, therefore,an older nameof Ialdabaoth,and the sectar-
ian who designed this amulet was still aware of the original context and
meaningof Ariel."49
Among the namedGnostic groups,the so-called Ophitesect, namedfor
their arcanevenerationof the snake, oXls, providesa possible context for
Bonner'sgem. As for the Peiresc gem, several factors point to a similar
overlap between magic and a specific Gnostic group. First, the unusual
term o sposap must be grantedpreferentialweight in seeing any-
thing Gnostic in our gem's inscription.It is too specializedto representa
casualmagictermandis doubtlesslypartof the repositoryof ancientGnostic
jargon. Second, the emphasison the deity'smonadicform fits comfortably
into a Gnosticsystem that assigns perfectunity to the FirstParent.Finallys
althoughnot in itself specificallyGnosticsthe stone'sleonine serpentscom-
binedwith otherfactorsspointsto a specificallyGnosticenvironment.After
all, the lion is equatedwith Iaidabaoth.For our writersthis lion-headed
serpentof the magicianswill serve a befittingpurpose.
Ourgem writercopied his text from a magicalformularysas the hapless
carry-overof portions of the recipe indicates. Clearly much of the text
owes its allegianceto traditionalmagic. The specific sayingsouto5 £CTT1V
o sposap o Tou cnaTos Rovos xv ola savv ZOp£D0R£VOis
howeversreadslike a Gnosticquotation,its ultimatesourcecannotbe iden-
tifiedsbut its priorcontextin a magicalhandbooksuggestsit was originally
literarysprobablya hymnic verse replicatedfrom a lost Gnostic book. Of
course there is an inherentdangerin attemptingto specify any particular

avayncn [i'fate"]; £iR0tpREVn l"destiny"]; 0kl esOal of the vz%il [;'tribulation (of the
soul)"]; 6Al@V a£plog ["aerial demon"]; WaTaXa:av£aoal ["to be constrained"], etc.).
Although pointing out the particularly Adamic and Jewish character of this spell, Erik Peterson
("Die Befreiung Adams aus der 'Avay " in Fruhkirche, Judentum, und Gnosis: Studien und
Untersuchungen [Freiburg: Herder, 1959] 107-28) was not-before the advent ofthe Nag
Hammadi library in a position to recognize its Gnostic features; see further, Roy Kotansky,
"Incantationsand Prayers for Salvation on Inscribed Greek Amulets," in Christopher A. Faraone
and Dirk Obbink, eds., Magika Hiera: Ancient Greek Magic and Religion (New York/Oxford:
Oxford University Press, 1991) 107-37, esp. n. 110; Jarl Fossum and Brian Glazer, ';Seth in
the Magic Texts," ZPE 100 (1994) 86-92, esp. 87 and n. 6.
49GershomG. Scholem, Jewish GnosticismJ Merkabah Mysticism, and Talmudic Tradition
(2d ed.; New York: Jewish Theological Seminary of America, 1965) 72. Jackson (Lion Be-
comes Man, 16-21) treats the subject fully and writes, "Ariel proved to be a fashionable
archontic name for Gnostic mythographers; it emerges in decadent contexts in which its
original leonine associations seem either to have been neglected or forgotten altogether" (p.
21). Bonner's Ialdabaoth gemstone is not one of those "neglected or forgotten' examples;
Jackson has much of importance to say about it (pp. 21-24).
 ROY KOTANSKY and JEFFREY SPIER 329

Gnostic group who might have been responsiblefor such a writtenfrag-

ment. Based on the discussion found in much of the commentaryabove,
however,some formof BarbeloiteGnosticism whetherit be called Sethian,
Ophite, or the like seems the most likely group to which our putative
fragmentcan be assigned. This is true, especially in view of the gem's
emphasison what are perceivedas elementsof the more classic expose of
the Gnostic creationmyth: the primacyof the parent,the stress on triadic
names, and the immanenceof the Barbelo aeon.
In conclusion,we must returnan affirmativeanswerto the questionof
whethermagic gems can in certaincases be termedGnostic.The names
(and rubrics)on our gem come from the vast depositoryof magicallitera-
ture; but the specific theodiceanreference to an all-pervading,monadic
First-Fatherseems distinctivelyGnostic. PerhapsGnostic, too, is the lion-
like qualityassignedthe Ophiteserpentthat encircles the whole gem, as if
to representthe all-encompassingFatheras he travelsthroughthe universe.
Muchunappreciatedmaterialthatcan contributedirectlyto our understand-
ing of Gnostic,Hermetic,or Neoplatonicphilosophyremainsto be uncov-
ered in the magic literature.Insofaras the two belief systems,"Gnosticism"
and "Magic,"often shareda commoncosmologicalworld view, they both
enticed the workadayperson with a means of escaping a creationfraught
with uncertaintyand anxiety, a world that in the end could not itself pro-
vide a promise of health in its present society nor safety in the life to
come. Magic and Gnosticismclaimed they could do both.

g Excursus:The"Horned Keraiatas,
God,"Apollo-ReDep,
Karneios,andKeratagras
Who is our gem's "HornedHunter"?In the Greek magicalpapyriearly
referencesto huntingare largelyunknown,and any carry-oversfrom Greek
myth would usually cede this position to Artemis,the great huntress,who
does appearcommonlyin magic. She could also be picturedadornedwith
huntinghorns (or with the horns of the crescentmoon, in her capacityas
lunardeity). Hintsof her role as the neolithic"Mistressof Beasts"(zotvla
Ollpxv) are still presentin the Greek magical papyri.50
But our deity is clearly male and probablysolar. To find a male equiva-
lent of Artemis,of course, one would have to look to her famous brother
50See,for example,PGM4.2708-84; ArtemisAgrotera(andAgraia),the "Artemisof the
Hunt,"mentionedfirst in 11.21.470 (withzoxvta 0npxv), regularlyreceivedsacrificebefore
battle;see MichaelH. Jameson,"SacrificebeforeBattle,"in VictorD. Hanson,ed., Hoplites:
TheClassical GreekBattle Experience(London/NewYork:Routledge,1991) 197-227, esp.
209-11. ForArtemisin magic,see TheodorHopfner,"Hekate-Selene-Artemis undVerwandte
in den griechischenZauberpapyriund auf den Fluchtafeln,"in TheodorKlauserand Adolf
Rucker,eds., Pisciculi: StudienzurReligionundKulturdes Altertums(Munster:Aschendorff,
1939) 125-45; on Artemisin general,see Burkert,GreekReligion, 149-52.
330 HARVARD THEOLOGICAL REVIEW

Apollo, who may have behavedas a hornedhunterby a more direct,cultic

associationwith Artemis.51At Delos, whereboth Artemisand Apollo com-
mandedwidespreadcultic worship,a massive Horn Altar of Artemis,ac-
claimedas an ancientwonder,was erectedto the goddess.S2Elsewhere,as
WalterBurkertobserves,depositsof sacrificialgoat hornspervadesanctu-
aries whereArtemisand Apollo were venerated.S3 Apollo was also honored
at the festival called Karneia,whose name can be invariablyexplainedas
either ram and/or horn.S4

5lApolloas a hunteris well-established;as Apollo Agraiosat Megara(Paus. 1.41.6), he is

the equivalentof his sister Artemisthe huntress.Burkert(GreekReligion, 145, see also 405
n. 22) also proposessome intriguingcomparisonsbetweenApollo andSemiticRestep(andthe
Hittiteguardiangod) who areassociatedwith the horned,stag- andbull-gods,as well as with
bow and arrow.ChristopherA. Faraone(Talismansand TrojanAIorses:GuardianStatuesin
AncientGreekMythand Ritual[New York/Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress, 1992] 125-27;
appendix1: "Reshep,Irra,and the 'Oriental'Apollo")comparesthe "pestilential"Apollo to
the Hittitegod Irra;see furtheridem,"Bow-BearingPlagueGods:Heracles,Apollo,Artemis,"
in Faraone,Talismansand TrojanAIorses,57-61. Of course,as god of the bow (madeof horn),
Apollo is a god who exerts his influencebeyondthe sportof chase and hunt;he is slayer of
the giant Tityos and the serpentPython.
52SeeBurkert,GreekReligion, 65, 92, 144, and 372 n. 93.
s3AtDreros,Psychro,and Kato Syme;Burkert,GreekReligion, 372 n. 93.
54SeeLSJ, s.vv. Kapvov, Kapvos. Michael Pettersson(Cults of Apollo at Sparta: The
AIyakinthia, the Gymnopaidiaiand the Karneia[Stockholm:SvenskaInstituteti Athen,1992]
57-72) gives the most recent assessmentof the festival. See also Burkert,GreekReligion,
234-36, esp. 236, on the divine epithet Karneios(of Zeus as well as Apollo). Amongother
things,the Karneiainvolves a mockfoot racein whicha disadvantagedrunneris chaseddown
as in a hunt(see discussionbelow andn. 67). The beastof sacrificeis a ram,andram'shorns
are linked with the festival'straditions.See Pettersson,Cultsof Apollo, 58-59 and Burkert,
GreekReligion,235,440 n.19, on anearlyvotive inscriptionpicturingram'shorns;for a ram-
horned Apollo Karneioson coins, see FriedrichImhoof-Blumer,"Apollon Karneios auf
kyrenaischenund anderengriechischenMunzen,"RevueSuisse de Numismatique21 (1917)
5-1 1;Pettersson,CultsofApollo,61-62 andfig. 11.Greekxo Kapvovs "Gallichorn,"(Hesychius);
o Kapvos, "ram,"K£p£lVOs, "horned"(Aquila,Symmachus,etc.); Kapv£tos, KapTvos (see
nn.64-65, below) mustall be relatedto Semitic*QRN[horn]:Hebrewqeren;Aramaicqarnd';
Ugariticqrn, all "horn"(of ram,goat, etc.). See JohnPairmanBrown,"TheSacrificialCult
and its Critiquein Greekand Hebrew(I)," JSS 24 (1979) 159-73, esp. 169-71; and most
recentlySaul Levin, "TheDilemmaof Quantityor Qualityin Inter-PhylumEtymologies,"in
A. D. Volpe,ed., TheSeventeenthLFACUS Forum1990 (Columbia,SC:Hornbeam,1991)408-
17, esp. 411-14; Saul Levin, "Comparative Grammarof Indo-European and Semitic:Is This
the Right Time?"General Linguistics30 (1990) 152-64, esp. 156-57; note also that the
Arabicqarn(un)is translated"partof man'shead wherehornsare in beasts"(see lnP BDB,
901);cf. vpaviov, To, andKapnvov, To, "head"(!); lcapavx, i, "goat"(Cretan),(Hesychius);
Kpava, II. = lceXaRi]"head"(Hesychius);Kpas (<*Kpav5?), "head,"etc. ThatIndo-Euro-
peansharesthe sameetymon(Latincornu,etc.) shouldnotdetractfromthe importanceof this
comparison;note WalterBurkert'sseminalremarksin The OrientalizingRevolution:Near
Eastern Influenceon Greek Culturein the Early Archaic Age (Cambridge,MA: Harvard
UniversityPress, 1992) 33-40.
 ROY KOTANSKY and JEFFREY SPIER 331

A curious find from Bronze Age Cyprus may shed some unexpected
light on our epithet o KepaxaPypai.A significanttemple-complexuncov-
ered at Enkomiin 1948 yielded a statuetteof a standingmale figuredressed
in a kilt and wearing a conspicuousconical headdresscompnsed of two
arching steer horns.SsThat this horned figure representedthe sanctuary's
central cultic image is inferrednot only from the remains of sacrificial
offerings and libations discovered in adjacentrooms, but also from the
specific presenceof bovine and hornedcult objects found amongthe scat-
tered debris. The sanctuaryfinds have yielded predominantlybucranial
remains,animalbones (includingstag antlers),a votive bull, and a curious
groupingof miniaturegold foil horns.S6The statuehad been removedfrom
its original setting and reinstalledfollowing a sizable earthquake.S7
Althoughthe deity's exact cultic identity remainsunknown,the statue
has been eponymizedas the HornedGod. Scholars today are inclined to
identify him with Apollo-ReNep,an early mergerof the famous Hellenic
god with his remarkablyclose Syro-Aegean(perhapschthonic)counterpart
first popularat urbancenterslike Ebla and Ugarit.We shall discuss below
the possibility that an original HornedGod was exportedto the west and
later identifiedwith an "Apolloof the Horn"(not vice versa).In any event,
bothReNepandApollo combineaspectsof healing-and-plague metaphorized
in the firebrandsof bow and arrow.S8 In the Syro-Cypriotarena,Apollo and

ssPorphyriosDikaios,"TheBronzeStatueof a HornedGodfromEnkomi,"Archaologischer
Anzeiger(1962) 1-39; idem,Enkomi:Excavations1948-1958,vol.1: TheArchitectural Remains.
TheTombs(Mainz:von Zabern, 1969) 295; KyrianosHadjioannou, "On the Identificationof
theHornedGodof Engomi-Alasia," in ClaudeF.-A. ed.,
Schaeffer, Alasia(Mission archeologique
d'Alasia4; Paris:KlincksieckandLeiden:Brill, 1971) 33-42; EmilyT. Vermeule,Gotterkult
(ArchaeologiaHomerica3; Gottingen:Vandenhoeck& Ruprecht,1974) 158-62 and see ad-
ditionalliteratureat 159 n. 293; further,Burkert,GreekReligion, 47, 65, and 365 n. 3. The
archaeologicalcontextof the statue,whichmeasuresonly approximately55 cm high,datesthe
objectto the early 12thcenturyBCE;thereis clearevidence,however,thatthe objectwas used
in the templefor at least a century.A secondhorneddeity (thebronzeNergal-Resep)surfaced
at Enkomiin 1963; see, for example,ClaudeF.-A. Schaeffer,"Gotterder Nord- und Insel-
volker in Zypern,"AfO 21 (1966) 59-69 (includingdiscussionof the earlierhornedgod).
56Dikaios,"HornedGod from Enkomi,"8-11, and fig. 15.
57Dikaios(EnkomiExcavations,295) says, "Thestatuewas foundin room 10 of the Ashlar
Buildingin AreaI, placedin a pit dug in the debrisfromthe destructionof Level IIIB, namely
the second destructionof thatbuilding."See further,Dikaios, "HornedGod from Enkomi,"
18-24.
58SeeBurkert,GreekReligion, 145 and 405, n. 22, especially on Apollo of Amyklai's
equationwith Resep (A)mukal;further,see WalterBurkert,"Resep-Figuren,Apollon von
Amyklaiund die 'Erfindung'des Opfersauf Cypern.Zur Religionsgeschichteder 'Dunklen
Jahrhunderte,"' GrazerBeitrage 4 (1974) 51-79; EdwardLipidski, "ReshephAmyklos,"in
idem,ed., Phoeniciaand TheEastMediterraneanin theFirstMillenniumBC(StudiaPhoenicia
5; Leuven:Peeters, 1987) 87-99; ManfredK. Schretter,Alter OrientundHellas: Fragender
Beeinfllussung griechischenGedankengutesaus altorientalischenQuellen,dargestelltan den
332 HARVARD THEOLOGICAL REVIEW

ReNepwere often equated;this correlationis reinforcedby attributesof

both as stag-gods.59Even the statue'siconographybetraysa near perfect
blend of Aegean and Syrianelements60
What,if any, of the cult's continuity?As mentionedabove, the Enkomi
statueitself enjoyedsustainedcultic importancefor generations.The Horned
God and the context in which it was found remindsscholarsof an exten-
sive belief in horned deities extending far back into Neolithic (if not
Palaeolithic)times. The strangelymodernisticsanctuariesat Qatal Huyuk
are famousfor theirsteer-altarsand shrinesfull of tauromorphic imagery.6l
More importantly,however,a Hellenisticdedicationfrom Vegla (nearPyla
and 1:)hekelia)equatesthe EnkomiHornedGod with Apollo Keraiates.The
inscription,on a large stone pithos, or earthenwarejar, runs as follows:
'AxoRkxvl / Kepalatlll / 'AxoRkxvlos MeveavosaveOllKe("Apollonios,

Gottern Nergal, Rescheph, Apollon (Innsbrucker BeitragezurKulturwissenschaft33;Innsbruck:

Institutfur Sprachwissenschaft,1974)151-56; StephenC. Glover,"TheCultsof Apollo on
Cyprus:A PreliminaryStudy,"in Jane C. Biers and David Soren,eds., Studies in Cypriote
Archaeology (Instituteof ArchaeologyMonograph18; Los Angeles:Universityof California
Press, 1981)145-51;William J. Fulco, The Canaanite God Resep (AOS 8; New Haven:
AmericanOrientalSociety, 1976)38-41,49-s4;Lowell K. Handy,"Resheph,"Anchor Bible
Dictionary 5 ( 1992) 678-79.Thereis also a particularlyCyprianApolloin theApolloAlasiotas,
equatedwithRestepin ancientinscriptions.Hadjioannou("Identificationof the HornedGod")
wishes to equateAlasiotaswith the HornedGod (=Kereatas),whichmay be inevitable;more
evidencefromiconography,however,wouldsupportthis view. ThatAlasiais the BronzeAge
name for Cyprusis all but certain;see, for example, LennartHellbing, Alasia Problems
(Studiesin Mediterranean Archaeology57; Goteborg:PaulAlstromsForlag, 1979)65-78, on
Apollo-Resep,21-28; Schaeffer,Alasia, passim;James D. Muhly, "LeadIsotope Analysis
andthe Kingdomof Alashiya,"Report of the Department of Antiquities Cyprus, 1983 (Nicosia:
Departmentof Antiquities/Zavallis,1983) 210-18.
59TheKaratepeinscription(HerbertDonner and Wolfgang Rollig, Kanaanaische und
aramdische Inschriften [3 vols.; 2d ed.; Wiesbaden:Harrassowitz,1966-69] 1. 5 [text], no.
26 A ii, 10) namesResep withthe epithetsprm, the meaningof which(amongotherpossibili-
ties) is "he-goats"or "stags"(DonnerandRollig, Inschriften, 2. 43). See also FulcotRestep,
5, 7-9, 29-30, 44-46 (ReNepas gazelle-god,sometimeskilted [!]). Further,on Resep-Apollo
on Cyprusas a solar deity, see, for example,DonnerandRollig, Inschriften, 2 42, 3-4; and
D. Conrad,"DerGottReschef,"ZAW 83 (1971) 157-83, esp. 161-63. Otherepithetsof Resep
are summarizedin Faraone,Talismans, 125.
60TheEnkomifigure is specifically styled Mycenaeanand Syrian;see Dikaios ("Horned
God from Enkomi,"29-32), who stresses known contacts between Cyprusand the Syrian
coast;Hadjioannou,"Identification of the HornedGod,"33,35; further,Vermeule,Gotterkult,
159-60. This Syro-Cyprioteinterchangemay be importantfor our gem's Keratagras,whose
provenanceis also probablySyria, as discussedbelow.
6lJamesMellaart,(iatal Huyuk: A Neolithic Town in Anatolia (London:Thames& Hudson,
1967);Burkert,Greek Religion, 37-38; MarySettegast,Plato Prehistorian: I0,000 to 51°°°
B.C. Myth, Religion, Archaeology (Hudson,New York: Lindisfarne,1990) 161-208 (with
illustrations).It is no longerunusualto see directcultic survivalsof BronzeAge religion in
archaicand classical times.
 65Paus. 1.44.2: £CST1 6£ £V TX 7URvasiw ap%aix zksiov zzkxv KaBoz£vxv

ROY KOTANSKY and JEFFREY SPIER 333

son of Menon,dedicatedthis to Apollo Keraiates").62

Aboutthis important
inscription,Dikaios furtherwrites:
PausaniasVIII 34,5 mentionsa templeof Apollo K£p£axas in Arcadia
on the Messenianfrontier.Apollo-Kereatasis consideredthe God of
horned cattle, himself perhapsimagined as horned, a feature which
bringsto mindthe bronzestatuedescribedhere. In view of the connec-
tions, culturaland linguistic, between Arcadiaand Cypruswe would
be justified in consideringApollo Kereatesa candidatename for the
EnkomiGod.63
Of course, this is not to rule out the equationof the HornedGod with
Apollo-ReNep;the Arcado-CypriotKeraiataswill become the later, Helle-
nistic title for this seemingly timeless god. Otherdescriptionsof a therio-
morphicApollo, however, especially in his form as a ram, must also be
affiliated with our horned God/hunterin order to bring him into closer
communicationwith the late antiqueworld. We have alreadyhad occasion
to name the festival of Apollo Karneios,who is mentionedin inscriptions
at least as late as the first centuryscE.64 Pausaniasdescribesyet another
hornedApollo: the Apollo Karinosreveredas a pyramidalstone at Megara
Nisaia.65

62ArthurH. S. Megaw, "Archaeologyin Cyprus, 1951," JHS 72 (1952) 115; Dikaios,

"HornedGodfromEnkomi,"35 (withn.35); Vermeule,Gotterkult, 160 n.295 with additional
references;Glover, "Apolloon Cyprus,"148-49.
63Dikaios,"HornedGod from Enkomi,"35; see also idem, "Evidencefor the Cult of
Apollo Kereatesat Cyprus,"Fasti Archaeologici 6 (1951) 2686. The text of Paus. 8.34.5
reads,toi)Tep£V 6 ai syai ynS £iA1 Tni AiXUTlaoi bX0 T0D AXoxXvoi T0D K£p£aTa
to i£pov ("Thefountainsof this [riverKarnion]in the landof Aipytis arebeneaththe temple
of Apollo Kereatas").Dikaios (pp. 35-36) continueswith the observationthat,throughasso-
ciationswith neighboringexcavationsat VounousandAyia Irini,whichdisclose bull cults in
the context of possible rites of fertility, the Enkomigod was first a god of fertility as the
SyrianResef himself was. Dikaios also assertsthat the HornedGod'sposturewith an out-
stretchedright armsuggests the attitudeof protection.For protectivestatuesin general,see
Faraone,Talismans, esp. 3-35.
64LSJ,s.v. Kapv£loS; see LSJ Supplement,s.v. Kapv£loS (on Koaninscriptions)andn.
66 below. ChristianLeRoy ("Lakonika,II," BCH 89 [1965] 371-76) publishesa pyramidal
block with a ram'shead said to representApollo Karneios.Pettersson(Cults of Apollo, 61-
62) reinterpretsa similarpillar-shapedstone fromGlanitsain Arcadiaas a representationof
Apollo Karneios;HenriMetzger("Lesanctuairede Glanitsa[Gortynie]),"BCH 64-65 [1940-
41] 17-21) had originallytaken it as a depictionof Hermes.

Nl)R¢a6o3v
kioossap£%o£voS xl)paRiboScs%ilRa
oi) £^yaBllS toi)ov 'Axokke3va
OVORa4OUAI KaplVOV, Kai Ei£10D1ZV £aT1V £vTaD0a i£pov ("There is in the old gym-
nasiumnear the gates called Nymphadesa not large pyramidalstone. They call this stone
ApolloKarinon,andthereis also therea templeof the Eileithyiae");see MichaelH. Jameson,
DavidR. Jordan,andRoy D. Kotansky,A Lex Sacrafrom Selinous (GRBM11; Durham,NC:
Duke UniversityPress, 1993) 98-99, for this in the context of aniconic representationsof
334 HARVARD THEOLOGICAL REVIEW

The implicationsof all this for our gem's o K£paxaypas, howeverlate

and seemingly unimportant,now come into somewhatsharperfocus. The
text of our gem leans strongly toward an original Syrian provenance-
judgingfrom the importantparallelin the Mouterdegem. The statueof the
CyprianHornedGod was no locally ensconceddeity of only regionalim-
portance.The continuouslyactive commercialand culturalmovementbe-
tween Cyprus and Syria from Bronze Age times cultivated the ideal
environmentfor a naturalexchange of Greek, Semitic, and Anatolianbe-
liefs. The cult of the HornedGod, Keraiatas,and its likely associationwith
an originally indigenousApollo Alasiotas (ReNep),veneratedon Cyprus
and in Arcadia(as Kereatas),subsequentlyspreadto include (apartfrom
Lakoniaand Messenia) the Dorian populationsof Knidos, Kos, Kyrene,
and MegaraNisaia, Sikyon, Sybaris-Thyrioi,and Thera.66In his embodi-
ment as Karneiosand Karinos,this "Apolloof the Horn"is worshippedas

propitiatorydeities,in general;see further,Faraone,Talismans, 16 n.53, (onkindredbaetyloi).

On Cyprus,too, conicalbaetylsin the templeof Apollo Hylateshavebeen found,see Glover,
"Apolloon Cyprus,"146 (with references).Intriguing,as well, is the Apollo of Kyrenia(a
town locatedon the northshoreof Cyprus);see Glover,"Apolloon Cyprus,"147. Does this
geographicApollo Kerynetesalso reflect a hornedancestor(fromthe root *QRN)? (On the
etymologyof KaplvoS, etc., see above, n. 54).
66Pettersson (Cults of Apollo, 60, with n. 344) gives the ancientreferencesfor the distri-
butionof Karneios,which may also be inferredfrom the monthname Karneionattestedat
Akragas,Kalymna,Kos,Epidaurus,EpidaurosLimera,Gela,Knossos,Nisyros,Rhodes,Sparta,
Syracuse,and Tauromenion.Apollo Karneiosat Knidos is new (see SEG 39 [1989]=1992
1118). On Apollo Karneiosat Kos, note Jameson,et al., Lex Sacra, 115; Rudolf Herzog,
Heilige Gesetze von Kos (Abhandlungender PreussischenAkademieder Wissenschaften6;
Berlin:AkademiederWissenschaften,1928) 35. NeitherPetterssonnor othersseem to men-
tion any possible connectionbetween Doric Karneiosand the Arcado-Cypriotcounterpart,
Apollo Karaiatas,Kereatas,or Karinos.Only Dikaios ("HornedGod from Enkomi")and
Hadjioannou("Identificationof the HornedGod,") haveventuredto equateKereataswiththe
originalEnkomiHornedGod;we endorsethis venture.We mayalso hazarda connectionwith
the SpartanApollo Agraios (nn. 50-51 above), a huntinggod associatedwith battle, and
thereforewith death(like Resep). The rise andspreadof the cult of (Apollo) Karneionis, of
course, obscure.We follow Burkert(Greek Religion, 236) who refersto "a pre-DorianRam
God,"adding,"Hereit is scarcelypossibleto penetratebeyondthe migrationperiod."None-
theless this is a powerfuladmissionof the god's antiquity.See also SamsonEitrem,Beitrage
zur griechischen Religionsgeschichte, vol. 1: Christiana videnskabs-selskabs forhandlinger;
1910, no. 4 (Christiania:Dybwad,1910).We suggestthatan originallyforeignSyro-Cypriote
hornedgod spreadfirst to Lakonia(and Messenia)via Arcadia,probablyas a result of the
ArcadianWars in the 6th centuryBCE.On the possibility of cultic worshipcoming from
Cyprusto Arcadia(andnot vice versa),see MaryE. Voyatzis,"ArcadiaandCyprus:Aspects
of their Interrelationship Betweenthe Twelfthand EighthCenturiessC," Report of the De-
partment of Antiquities Cyprusl 1985 (Nicosia: Departmentof Antiquities/Zavallis,1985)
155-63. Sion M. Honea("StoneAge Survivalsin the Mythof the CalydonianBoar,"JRH 18
[1994] 2-26, esp. 8-12) tracesthe SpartanKarneiato the Stone Age hunt.
 ROY KOTANSKY and JEFFREY SPIER 335

a ram at a festival that includes a sort of hunting race meant to bring

prosperityto the polis.67
A HornedHunter,Keratagras,of late date, especially if associatedwith
Syria, should come as no surprise.Syria was a hotbed of ancient magic
belief (as well as an importantseat of Gnosticism),and there is much in
the aboriginalcharacterof the HornedGod that would have easily lent
itself to adoptioninto a local Gnosticor magic pantheon.68Despite prevail-
ing views that ReNepwas an underworldpestilentialgod,69the representa-
tive Apollo-ReNepfound on Cyprusshows him to be very much solar.70
Burkertalso observeshow the cult of DorianApollo Karneiosembodieda
whole complex of conflicting beliefs that defies easy classification and
points to a very old religion; apotropaic-propitiatory
rites (especially in a
martialcontext), hunting,fertility, prophecy,and war, as well as residual
chthonianaspects, can all be detectedin varyingaspects of the Karneia.71
All of the horned deities named above, including the Keratagrasof our

67Asmentionedabove in n. 54. The race, called staphylodromos,involved a group of

youthswho chase aftera figure deckedout with fillets while he praysfor good omenson the
city'sbehalf.Thecapturingof thehuntedmanthusbestowsfortune(ImmanuelBekker,Anecdota
Graeca [3 vols.; Berolini: Nauckium,1814-21] 1. 305; s.v. cstaQl)BoApoRol;Pettersson,
Cultsof Apollo, 57 and 68); Honea,"StoneAge Survivals,"5-13. Burkert(GreekReligion,
235) rightlysees in the figurean archetypeof the sacrificialvictim:" . . .whatis uniqueabout
the Karneiarace is thatsomeonerunson aheadwho is to be captured.It is a hunt,andyet the
persondestinedas victim is not expectedto let out a cry of despair,but to pronouncea good
wish for the polis: the victim displays willing acquiescence"(our emphasis).On the other
hand,Pettersson(Cultsof Apollo, 58 and68-71) sees in the racethe symbolicchasingof the
festival's eponymousmantic seer (Karnos;see n. 72 below), who had been murderedand
divinizedas a sortof ghostof Apollo (¢assRa 'Ax0xBe3vo5,KononFGr.H26 frag. 1.26; see
Burkert,GreekReligion,236 and441 n. 25). The city's well-being is thus identifiedwith the
blessing that augurybrings. Neither view affects our interpretationof Keratagras,for both
recognizethe huntingcharacterof the race.
680n the numberof magicalobjects from Syria, see, for example,Roy Kotansky,Greek
Magical Amulets:The InscribedGold, Silver, Copper,and BronzeLamellae(Papyrologica
Coloniensia,22.1; Opladen:WestdeutscherVerlag, 1994) part 1, nos. 45-49.
69WilliamF. Albright,Archaeologyand the Religion of Israel (Sth ed.; Baltimore:Johns
HopkinsPress, 1968) 79, 81; see also Handy,"Resheph,"679; Faraone,Talismans,125-27.
70Asgatekeeperfor the sun god, see CharlesVirolleaud,"Lesnouvelles tablettesde Ras
Shamra(1948-1949)," Syria 28 (1951) 22-56; as a solar deity of justice, see Conrad,"Der
GottReschef,"161-63; see also Handy,"Resheph,"679. Dikaios("HornedGodfromEnkomi,"
36) has suggestedthat the deity is protective,althoughits discovery in situ within a trench
tells much aboutits underworldassociations.
79Burkert,GreekReligion,236; Pettersson(Cultsof Apollo,64) writes:"Itis thuspossible
to view the Karneiaas a rite of purification,the purposeof which was to restorea broken
communicationwiththe gods andpurifythe army."He furtherconnectsthe worshipof Apollo
Karneioswith Artemis,a connectionwe have suggestedat the outset of this excursus.The
Apollo-Artemispairingin the Karneia,andthe festival'sassociationswithmartial,apotropaic,
336 HARVARD THEOLOGICAL REVIEW

stone, at the very least seem to pointto a commontraditionin a sort of all-

purposetutelarygod who becamemost easily assimilatedin historicaltimes
to Hellenic Apollo, himself one of the most polygenousof gods.72
The religion of Greek magic combines apotropaic,solar theology with
the stygian world of execrationand curse; intentionoften determinesthe
deities invoked,whetherthey be chthonianor Olympian.The Bakaxichych
of our gem is an underworldprince of devils; Iao is principallya solar
deity. Whatbetterway to representthe fullness of the magicalcosmos than
to have capped the third element of the tripartite god, Ioaeouaue-
Bakaxichyxch-Keratagras, with a namerecognizedto carrybothnetherworld
and solarattributes,not to speakof a host of otheraspectsboth ghostly and
divine?By combiningthe morecanonicalheaven-and-earth deities of magic,
the Ia of the Sky and the Ba of the Earth,with the more circumscribed
theriomorphic,tutelarygod of the hunt,the HornedOne, the writerof this
charmwas able to bringtogethera diversityof religioustraditionsin shap-
ing a new trinity for protectionand security.

thanatological,andhunting-fertilityrites,can also be detectedin the role of ArtemisAgrotera

(Agraia)/ApolloAgraiosdiscussedin nn. 50-51, above.
72Thenameof this originalhornedgod, Karneion(fromthe root *QRN),must surelylie
behindthe seer, Karnos(n. 67 above) whose unpropitiousdeathand its atonementprovides
for the Karneia'saition;the SpartanKriosalso plays a possiblerole (Burkert,GreekReligion,
236, 441 n. 25; Pettersson,Cultsof Apollo,58, 70; andHonea,"StoneAge Survivals,"10-12).
Divinationassociatedwithbattlecouldalsojoin Artemis/ApolloKarneiosto ArtemisAgrotera/
Apollo Agraios(n. 71 above).The deathof Karnosis the deathof a seer;it brings"plagueand
disasteron the army"(Burkert,GreekReligion,236); ArtemisAgroteraroutinelyreceives a
she-goatbefore Spartanbattle in orderto obtaingood divinatorysigns (Jameson,"Sacrifice
beforeBattle,"209). Does Karnos'smurderbringsymbolicdestructionpreciselybecausethe
mantiswas neededto interpretthe favorableprebattlesigns?
 . js r
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ROY KOTANSKY and JEFFREY SPIER 337

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Nationalede France)