Acknowledgments This work has incurred many debts in the past years, which I gratefully and appreciatively acknowledge; for the work’s shortcomings I alone am responsible. First and foremost, I am immensely indebted to the colleagues who forthrightly informed me of their excavations, placed at my disposal all the necessary information of their intriguing findings, made every effort to facilitate my work in the Rethymno and Herakleion Museums, and undertook the… Read more
Preface The Greeks who on the brink of death took with them to the grave a small gold incised lamella died content, feeling assured that special treatment awaited them in the Underworld. Such a statement is, of course, only a hypothesis, as there is no way to ascertain what the deceased themselves thought, or how content they were. This much, however, the texts on the lamellae clearly indicate. The individuals… Read more
1: Edition The Gold Epistomia of Crete Nine Incised Archaeological Context for nos. 1–7 The provenance of the seven published epistomia is unknown. Margarita Guarducci, guided by Federico Halbherr’s notes and drawings (IC II.xii [Eleutherna].31, p. 136) and by Domenico Comparetti’s edition (1910:37–41), included nos. 1–3 and 7 in the epigraphical dossier of Eleutherna. Guarducci, however, published epistomion no. 4 in the Loci Incerti, since we know nothing of its… Read more
2: Commentary on Epistomia nos. 1–12 Topography Lamellae nos. 1–7 were recovered from graves in the extensive cemetery to the north-northwest of Eleutherna, the city’s north entrance, but the exact location of their discovery is unknown. Theodoros Triphyllis, Consul of Austria-Hungary in Rethymno came to acquire nos. 1–3 and 7 and showed them to André Joubin, [1] John L. Myres, [2]… Read more
3: The Cretan Epistomia in Context The Corpus of the Epistomia: Nature and Classification The engraved lamellae are objects sui generis [1] and appear to defy categorization. In order to expedite the study and understanding of these artifacts, Zuntz attempted to set standards for the classification, which have changed as more texts have been published since 1971. [2] More… Read more
4: The Cretan Contexts A Literary Cretan Context The nine incised and three unincised epistomia of Crete, dated between the third century BCE and the first CE, bear witness to a mystery cult(s) and ritual(s) in Eleutherna and Sfakaki, both located in the area to the north of the Idaean Cave. Attempts have been made to place these texts within a Cretan context, but what this context should consist of… Read more
Commentary 10.1ff. The opening lines of this book follow what seems to be a traditional pattern in which a pressing situation causes an inability to sleep, which in turn results in the formulation of a plan of action. We can compare 10.1ff. to the beginnings of Books 2 and 9 for a more complete understanding of the workings and traditional structure of this theme. Iliad 2 begins: ἄλλοι… Read more
Bibliography Note: In the notes and essays of this volume we have used the abbreviation MHV (= The Making of Homeric Verse) for Adam Parry’s 1971 edition of the collected works of Milman Parry. Ahlberg-Cornell, G. 1992. Myth and Epos in Early Greek Art: Representation and Interpretation. Jonsered. Aitken, E. B., and J. K. B. Maclean, eds. 2001. Flavius Philostratus: Heroikos. Read more
Online edition of Hellenic Studies 42, originally published in 2010 by the Trustees for Harvard University. Copyright, Center for Hellenic Studies. Also available for purchase in print via Harvard University Press here. Read more
Acknowledgments This book began as my D.Phil. thesis at Oxford, where I had the rigorous and pleasant experience of being supervised by Professor Martin Goodman and Professor Chris Pelling. They taught me much and continued to be generous with their help even after I took my degree. I especially thank Professor Pelling for reading the entire book manuscript and providing wise advice. Professor Steve Mason of York… Read more
