Inconsistencies in Greek and Roman Religion 2: Transition and Reversal in Myth and Ritual

371 Pages·1992·8.068 MB·English

by  H.S. Versnel

INCONSISTENCIES IN
GREEK AND ROMAN RELIGION II
STUDIES
IN GREEK AND ROMAN
RELIGION
EDITED BY H.S. VERSNEL
IN CO-OPERATION WITH F.T. VANSTRATEN
VOLUME 6, II
INCONSISTENCIES IN GREEK AND ROMAN RELIGION II
TRANSITION AND REVERSAL
IN
MYTH AND RITUAL
BY
H.S. VERSNEL
E.J.
BRILL
LEIDEN • NEW YORK • KOLN
1993
The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Com
mittee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library
Resources.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
(Revised for vol. 2)
Versnel, H. S.
Inconsistencies in Greek and Roman religion.
(Studies in Greek and Roman religion, 0169-9512;
V. 6)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Contents: 1. Ter Unus. Isis, Dionysos, Hermes
- 2. Transition and reversal in myth and ritual.
I. Title.
BL722.V47 1990 292 90-2301
ISBN 90-04-09266-8 (pbk.: v. 1)
ISBN 90-04-09267-6 (cloth: v. 2)
ISBN 90-04-09268-4 (set)
ISSN 0169-9512
ISBN 90 04 09267 6 (vol. 6, II)
ISBN 90 04 09266 8 (vol. 6, I)
ISBN 90 04 09268 4 (set)
© Copyright1 993 by E. j. Brill, Leiden, The Nt!iherlands
All rights reserved.N o part of this publication may be reproducedt,r anslated,s tored in
a retrievals ystem, or transmittedi n arryf orm by any means, electronic,
mechanical,p hotocopying,r ecordingo r otherwise, without prior written
permission of the publisher.
Authorization to photocopyi temsf or internal or personal
use is granted by E. J. Brill provided that
the appropriatefe es are paid directlyt o Copyright
ClearanceC enter, 27 CongressS treet, SALEM MA
01970, USA. Fees are subject to change.
PRINTED IN THE NETHERLANDS
FOR HADEWYCH
the second
Toch hou ik er niet van, Marij"ke.Z eljs als
't iets zij"nz ou waar het echten iettemin
als je het schrijft met een volmaaktet egenzin
stralendu it oplicht-wie wordt er gelukkig van?
Anton Korteweg, Stand van zaken, Amsterdam 1991
(met een kleine aanpassing)
CONTENTS
PREFACE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . XI
ABBREVIATIONS XIII
INTRODUCTION 1
Chapter I
WHAT IS SAUCE FOR THE GOOSE IS SAUCE FOR THE
GANDER: MYTH AND RITUAL, OLD AND NEW
1. QUESTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
2. 20
THE RISE AND GROWTH OF MYTH AND RITUAL THEORY . . . .
1. Jane Ellen Harrison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
2. Myth arisesf rom rite: the Cambridges chool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
3. Myth as a scenariofo r dramatic ritual: the 'Myth and Ritual
School' proper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
3. THE FUSES BLOW: OUT AND OUT MYTH AND RITUAL THEORISTS 37
4. CRITICISM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
5. INITIATION, A MODERN COMPLEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
1. From Harrison to Burkert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
2. Marginality: profits and pitfalls of a concept . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
6. EPPURE SI MUOVE ... : MYTH AND RITUAL PARI PASSU . . . . 74
7. PROSPECTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Chapter II
KRONOS AND THE KRONIA
1. MYTH 90
2. RITUAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
3. CONTRADICTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
VIII CONTENTS
4. THE FESTIVAL OF REVERSAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
5. THE AMBIGUITY OF THE KRONIA AND RELATED FESTIVALS ... 122
1. The paradox of the impossibleh armony . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
2. The paradox of thef estive conflict . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
6. THE KING OF A PRIMEVAL REVERSED WORLD ............ 129
7. CONCLUSIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Chapter III
SATURNUS AND THE SATURNALIA
1. THE EVIDENCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
1. Saturn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
2. Saturnalia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
2. SATURNIAN MYTH AND RITUAL: THE CARNIVALESQUE SIGNS OF
THE REVERSED ORDER ............................. 150
1. The eccentricg od . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
2. The cult ........................................ 153
3. Licence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
3. LOOKING BACK: ORIGINS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
1. The implicationso f the calendricapl osition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
2. The implicationso f the topographicapl osition . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 1
3. The contributionso f myth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
4. An interim balances heet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
5. A new interpretationo f Lua . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
6. The origino f theS aturnaliani magery:t he relationshipo f myth and
ritual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
4. LOOKING FORWARD: THE CONTINUING STORY OF MYTH AND
RITUAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
1. The ambivalencoe f theS aturnaliank ing: Mythical topicalities. . . 191
a. Redeunt Saturnia Regna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
b. Non semperS aturnalia erunt ....................... 205
2. The king must die. Ritual re-enactments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
CONTENTS IX
Chapter IV
THE ROMAN FESTIVAL FOR BONA DEA AND THE
GREEK THESMOPHORIA
1. THE FESTIVAL OF BONA DEA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
1. Traditional interpretations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
2. THE THESMOPHORIA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
1. The evidencea nd the traditionali nterpretation. . . . . . . . . . . . 235
2. New directionsi n interpretingt he Thesmophoria. ......... 240
3. Numphai sleepingo n lugos:t hep aradoxo f the Thesmophoria. . . 245
4. The contributiono f myth ............................ 250
3. BACK TO BONA DEA ................................ 261
1. Wine in, myrtle out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
2. The presenceo f wine ............................... 264
3. Ambiguous virgins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269
4. The contributiono f myth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 2
4. Two FESTIVALS, ONE PARADOX ....................... 274
5. GUNE-PARTHENOS: ON THE FATAL AMBIGUITY OF THE FEMALE
RACE ........................................... 276
6. CONCLUSION ...................................... 284
Chapter V
APOLLO AND MARS ONE HUNDRED YEARS AFTER
ROSCHER
1. COMPARING TWO GODS: RosCHER AND AFTER 290
2. COMPARING TWO GODS: A STRUCTURALIST VIEW 296
3. THE SOCIAL ROOTS OF A STRUCTURAL ANALOGY 313
1. Apollo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313
2. Mars .......................................... 319
5. KINDRED FUNCTIONS, DIFFERENT IMAGES ............... 328
BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................... 335
INDEXES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345