Franklin, John Curtis. 2016. Kinyras: The Divine Lyre. Hellenic Studies Series 70. Washington, DC: Center for Hellenic Studies. http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:hul.ebook:CHS_FranklinJ.Kinyras.2016.
21. Syro-Cilician Approaches
One good man, Kinyras—though Kinyras too is Cilician. [15]
These verses, traditionally assigned to Demodokos of Leros (late sixth century BCE), are now considered a post-Archaic, slavish imitation of the poet’s two authentic fragments. [16] Those are very close in structure and thought, but feature Milesians and Lerians instead of Cilicians. [17] This makes it uncertain whether Kinyras appears here for any special legendary associations with the region, or has just been plugged into the formula as a handy PN. The couplet does at least suggest the currency of the PN in Cilicia, and may well relate to the ‘Virtuous Kinyras’ discussed in Chapter 13.
Aoios and Paphos: Two Cilician Crossings
Solar Gods, Sandokos, and the Syrian Descent
The Egyptian Detour
The parallel syntax shows that Philostephanos offered one explanation, Istros another; and that it was Istros who made Kypros the daughter of Byblos and Aphrodite. This too fits the hypothesis, as Kypros is not one of Kinyras’ children in either the scholion or ps.-Apollodoros. If we are on the right track, several further inferences become possible. First, Hyon and his brothers would have come before the account of ‘Kypros’, since at the time of their colonial venture the island was called Kerastis/Kerastia. Whether this was ever more than a nickname or poetic epithet is doubtful; but it invited considerable Hellenistic speculation. [135] That Istros progressed from Kerastis/Kerastia down to ‘Cyprus’ would also explain why Dionysios’ mention of Kýpros triggered the scholiastic notice about Kerastis/Kerastia—although the train of thought is not carried through, at least in the scholion’s present form. We must also assume that Kypros, daughter of Byblos and Aphrodite, somehow came to the island, perhaps through dynastic marriage; in any case, this must be added to the traditions linking Byblos and Cyprus (Chapter 19). This suggests, alongside Kettes/Kition, that Istros presented the island’s Phoenician element as overlaid on an older Egyptian stratum. One should recall that Adonis and Osiris were eventually identified at both Amathous and Byblos, [136] and that one mythographic stream traced Phoenician figures like Agenor back to Egypt. [137] Possibly, Istros was encouraged to develop this angle as a reflection of the Ptolemaic political circumstances under which he wrote. [138]
THEIOS AOIDOS: The Lyre-Player Group of Seals
Type | Motif | Exemplars [182] |
I | Standing Winged Lyrist, Sacred Tree | 2 |
IIa | Standing Lyrist, Sacred Tree, Bird | 3 |
IIb | Standing Lyrist, Bird | 12 |
IIc | Standing Lyrist, Sphinx/Gryphon | 3 |
IId | Standing Lyrist, Bird, Devotee (?) | 1 |
IIIa | Enthroned Lyrist, Sacred Tree | 5 |
IIIb | Enthroned Lyrist, Drinking | 2 |
IIIc | Enthroned Lyrist, Table, Female Drummer | 3 |
IIId | Enthroned Lyrist, Female Drummer | 8 |
IIIe | Enthroned Lyrist, Fish | 1 |
IIIf | Enthroned Lyrist, Devotee (?) | 1 |
IVa | Standing Lyrist, Sacred Tree, Female Drummer | 1 |
IVb | Dancing Lyrist, Female Drummer, Ankh | 1 |
IVc | Standing Lyrist, Piper, Drummer Trio | 5 |
Va | Seated Figure, Standing Lyrist, Two Devotees | 1 |
Vb | Seated Figure, Trio, Devotees | 5 |
Vc | Seated Figure, Lyrist and Piper, Devotees | 1 |
But even this is surely too cautious. Boardman himself went on to compare the Cypriot cult-shrines we examined in Chapter 10, which he had previously connected with the Homeric expression “divine singer” (theîos aoidós). Then too he had puzzled over the identity of this eastern Lyre God, hoping his name might one day be discovered. [200]
Footnotes