Lucian of Samosata, De Syria dea, Austin Morris Harmon (Translator), 31

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[31] And with inne, the temple is not oon, but in it is mad an other chambre, to the which is an other weye up, that is but schort. That chambre is not dight with dores but liggeth alle open ayens thee. In to the grete temple comen alle men, but in to the litylle chambre the prestes only, and not alle the prestes, but only thei that ben most nyghe to the Goddes and han in governaunce alle the servys of the temple. And in that chambre arn throned the ydoles, that oon Iuno and that other that is Tove, algates thei clepen him be another name.¹ And both ben of gold, and both sytten, but lyouns beren Iuno, and that other sytt on boles.²

And certeynely the symulacre of Iove ressembleth Iove in alle pointes, as heed and garnements and throne; and thou mightest not lyknen him unto no thing elles, and thou wolde.

De Syria dea. Lucian of Samosata. Austin Morris Harmon (Translator). United States. Perseus 5.0.

Funding provided by National Endowment for the Humanities.

Current edition Perseus

The Goddesse of Surrye (English) (Lucian, Vol. 4. Harmon, Austin Morris, editor. London: William Heinemann, Ltd.; Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1925 (printing).)

Editions (1)

Περὶ τῆς Συρίης Θεοῦ Perseus (Lucian, Vol. 4. Harmon, Austin Morris, editor. London: William Heinemann, Ltd.; Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1925 (printing).) — 31 focus

[31] ἔνδοθεν δὲ ὁ νηὸς οὐκ ἁπλόος ἐστίν, ἀλλὰ ἐν αὐτῷ θάλαμος ἄλλος πεποίηται. ἄνοδος καὶ ἐς τοῦτον ὀλίγη· θύρῃσι δὲ οὐκ ἤσκηται, ἀλλὰ ἐς ἀντίον ἅπας ἀναπέπταται. ἐς μὲν ὦν τὸν μέγαν νηὸν πάντες ἐσέρχονται, ἐς δὲ τὸν θάλαμον οἱ ἱρέες μοῦνον, οὐ μέντοι πάντες οἱ ἱρέες, ἀλλὰ οἳ μάλιστα ἀγχίθεοί τέ εἰσιν καὶ οἷσι πᾶσα ἐς τὸ ἱρὸν μέλεται θεραπηίη. ἐν δὲ τῷδε εἵαται τὰ ἕδεα, ἥ τε Ἥρη καὶ τὸν αὐτοὶ Δία ἐόντα ἑτέρῳ οὐνόματι κληίζουσιν. ἄμφω δὲ χρύσεοί τέ εἰσιν καὶ ἄμφω ἕζονται· ἀλλὰ τὴν μὲν Ἥρην λέοντες φέρουσιν, ὁ δὲ ταύροισιν ἐφέζεται.

Καὶ δῆτα τὸ μὲν τοῦ Διὸς ἄγαλμα ἐς Δία πάντα ὁρῇ καὶ κεφαλὴν καὶ εἵματα καὶ ἕδρην, καί μιν οὐδὲ ἐθέλων ἄλλως εἰκάσεις.

Notes on the current edition

The Goddesse of Surrye

The other name, the right one, is Hadad, or Ramman, god of the lightning and of the waters (rains and floods), known from very early times to the Semites, to the Mitani folk under the name of Teshub, and to the Hittites, upon whose monuments he is conspicuous, with the axe and the thunderbolt for attributes. He underlies not only Jupiter Heliopolitanus but Jupiter Dolichenus. Consequently his identification here also with Jupiter was inevitable, and it is chiefly in virtue of this that his spouse was identified with Juno (cf. Dussaud, Pauly-Wissowa, s.v., and Schrader- Zimmern, p. 447).

Lucian’s statement is borne out by the coins; see Head, Hist. Numm., 2nd ed., p. 777. Atargatis is seen sometimes riding on a lion, sometimes enthroned between two of them; Hadad (not Baal Kevan) is seated between two oxen. ‘On an inscription from North Syria (eighth century) Hadad has horns, and with this agrees the association of the bull with the god . . . we may conjecture that the small heads of bulls unearthed by the excavations are connected with his worship” (Cook, 90; cf. Schrader-Zimmern, p. 778). Compare Tobit, 1, 5. The lion appears also in connection with Ata, with “Kadesh,” who stands upon a lion in an Egyptian representation of her, and with several Babylonian deities, as well as with Cybele.

Lucian of Samosata De Syria dea 31

Austin Morris Harmon (Translator)

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