Cocks to Asklepios: sacrificial practice and healing cult Emma STAFFORD Raker than looking at a particular clement of sacrificial practice, this roel survey the variety of sacrificial behaviour known to have been seated with a particular cult. Asklepios makes an especially interesting saesudy because of the relative abundance of iconographical evidence ape by votive reliefs," and because of his ambiguous status as a hero tnypromoted to divinity at a relatively late stage in che development of de Geek pantheon. While the main aim of the paper is to see how far saci practice is informative about the nacurc of a particular cult as tle it will also be concerned with the old question of the extent to shih ritual is reRective of the recipient's character. In this respect, the aurent enquiry forms a sequel to an earlier paper, in which I reviewed the ridnce forthe existence of heroic elements in the cult of Herakles, and dulenged the view that such elements were only peripheral in a primarily dhinect? Recent accounts of Asklepios’ cult have tended to be polarised satis isue, either finding evidence of chthonic ritual at every ture OF sering no trace at all of Asklepios’ heroic myth in ritual practice.> Here I dal be proposing something of a middle path, taking into consideration the material context in which the sacrifices were performed as well as the azul form of the rituals. ne wine reliefs survive for Asklepios than for any other deicy: U. Hauseshi Kunst und i : hen sen gabicn A Jogues a total of Hum: Untersuchungen za den igiechichen “Auklepioselifi, Potsdam, 1948, cal opus a 7 of 15%. Loven, Hygieia im Classical Greek Art, Athens, Archaiognalt Suppl. 2, 2003, R178 pls 4% calgues those including Fygiias F.T. van States, Hier hal Inages of an te hat ed daca Gree, iden 1995: BT not R1-35 fig. 62-70, caalogues 1 ial processions. EY Sunono, Se eee 2391-406, JANCK: SL.WRemduien, Asklepios: Heiligtimer und Kulte, Heider 20055, conta 8. Yanna Dia, "es hévosgueiaceurs des dieux comme les ares! V- Puuenne-D maronce et Suite DEA Toane(ed.), Heros et heroines dans les mythes ex cultes grees, “Athens et Liege, 2000, 9. 281-332. Kernos, 18, 2005, 205EMMA STAFFORD Asklepios heros theos First let us briefly review the myth of Asklepios and his iconography. In Homer Asklepios appears only indirectly, as father of the physician heroes Machaon and Podaleitios, referred to in the Iiad’s Catalogue of Ships (iad, 2.729-33) as leaders of the contingent from Trikka, Ithome and Oichalia. Asklepios’ own story seems to have been elaborated a litte later, the main details being attested in various sixth-century works, including the Catalogue of Women (fr. 51 West), a Homeric Hymn (16), and a poem by Stesichoros (194 PMG). The earliest extended account to survive is Pindar'’s third Pythian (474 BC), which tells the tale of Apollo's dalliance with the Thessalian Koronis, daughter of Phlegyas. Angered at her subsequent infide- lity with the mortal Ischys, Apollo kills her, but then repents of his cruelty and snatches the unborn Asklepios from the funeral pyre, and hands him over to the centaur Cheiron, who brings the child up to be a great healer; eventually Asklepios is tempted into bringing a man back from the dead and struck dead by Zeus’ thunderbolt. The whole story was probably also told in the early fifth century by Pherekydes and Akousilaos, and later literary versions add the sub-plot of the raven who was turned from white to black for reporting Koronis’ infidelity, and Apollo's killing of the Cyclopes for having provided the thunderbolt which killed his son. Unusually, images illustrative of this narrative are almost entirely absent from extant Greck art Asklepios’ one appearance in Attic vase-painting is on a late-fifth-century red-figure plate attributed to the Meidias Painter, as a baby held in the arms of a personified Epidauros, accompanied by a Eutychia or Eukleia, and approaching the seated Eudaimonia; a tripod on top of an Tonic column in the background may allude to a victory in a dithyrambic contest, presuma- bly with a poem recounting Asklepios’ birth; further reference to the victory is made by the wreath in Eudaimonia’s hands, and the wreath-like frame of myrtle surrounding the image.® Rather than a straightforward mythological narrative here, we are presented with an allegorical scene, expressing the god's Epidaurian origins through his appearance in Epidauros’ arms, and the implied mother-child relationship; Eudaimonia represents the good fortune both of the dithyrambic victor and perhaps of Athens, where the cult of Asklepios had been introduced in 420/19 BC. Apart from this one 4, Eg. Dioporos 4.71,1-4, Arottopoxos 3.10.3, Ovin Met, 2.542-648. On the heroic myth C. Kenénvi, Asklepios: archetypal image of the physician existence, New York, 1956, p. 70-861 EJ, Epersteiy and L, Epeisreis, Asclepius: collection and interpretation of the testimonies, Batienore 1945, T1-122 and vol. II p. 1-64: J. W. RierHMULLeR (2005), op. cit. p. 32-51. 5. See M. Lan. Cure and Ciule in Ancient Corinth: a guide to the Asklepicin, Princeton, NJ, American School of Classical Seudies at Athens, 1977, p.5, fig. 4, for a terracotta from the Corinthian Asklepieion, which may represent Cheiron holding the baby Asklepios. 6 Leave, Katholieke ote LIMC Asklepios 1*; L Burn, The Meidias Painter, Oxford, 1987, P. 71, no. M 33, pl. 46; H.A. Suarino, Personifcations in Greek Art: the representation of abstract concep 600-400 BC, Zutich, 1993, p. 65-66, no. 20; A. ‘Vennancx:Présann, op ity p. 09508. 2 206COURS [ONAL ETON. MC RIEICEAE PRACT LINDBERG EEL sag hegods arrival in Athens is otherwise marked in vac-painting by seatex appearances of his daughter Hygicia, Health personified, ustrally snagt her ‘feel-good’ personifications in the retinue of Aphrodite; iogpliygia isin every respect a proper goddess in eee" of cult, the se dats a personification allows her to fi into this kid of allegory | saeaiythan could the god himself.” Adipios status remained a matter of philosophical debe throughout sgt. Cicero puts him into the same category as Herakles, Dionysos andthe Dioskouroi, all of whom are ‘gods born of mortal mothers’, and sens to suggest that their widespread popularity is @ critical factor in decining theit divine rather than heroic status: Lucian can even make tof these characters’ status as mortals ‘illegally registered (pareggraptas) snags the gods.* Asklepios’ elevation to divine status s variously dated tymodern scholars, but is unlikely to be much earlier thanc.500 BC when deci dedication to him appears at Epidauros.” Thisisabout a century late than the deification of Herakles, and unlike Herakles Asklepios has apotheosis story to articulate his promotion—we do not see him being | jdup 0 Olympos, or given a divine bride like Hebe. Some mythological Igtiation is offered, however, by his acquisition of divine daughters, all qesonifications of, or slight variations on words for, aspects of healing.° Hiciais First attested around 420 BC, the others appeat lintle later, one oftheir earliest appearances being in the anonymous Erythraean hymn to Akepios of ¢.380-60 BC, which mentions his wife Epione and lists thelr dildsn as Machaon, Podaleirios, 1as6, Aiglé and Panakcia, ‘along with bight Hyg ‘Akepios’ iconography in general says little about his status-he is depicted as a mature bearded man, in the semi-draped style used for Zeus as uelas for portraits of philosophers and orators. His most consiat attribute, however, isthe snake, which has sometimes been interpreted as indicative of ts‘chthonic’ aspect.!2 The snake appears in free-standing statues of the god Fon cae all over che Greek world, and isa conspicuous fearte af the chryselephantine cult statue at Epidauros, tmade by Thrasymedes TE} Staromp, Worshipping Virewes: personification and the divine in anient Greece, London and Swansea, 2000, p. Tartrtcand EJ — eeyuhout you no-one sappy: che cult of Health ———— 120-135, {.Ciceso, On the Nature of the Gods 3.18.45; Lucian, Jupiter Tragoedus 21. SLIGIVE 136, Aslepios is Best unequivocally referred to 35 theos aera the end of the fifth cencurys gion be elemachos Monument. On Asklepios defiation se E] Festus and L. EDELSTERN. ct, 7232-65 and vol. Ik p. 91-1015 J. RIETHMOLLER, CP 51-54, i WE}. Surcouo (2000), op. ee, po 157-158; ef E]. EDrLsrann and EDeAeTEDS: op. cits vol Ts 85-89. WE}. Eoeisreny and L, EDeistenn, op. city T'592 vol. Il, p20. ‘The daughters first appear it coer ae eee eg, Athens NM 1402; LIMC Apis Dase, U. Hausa, tit, 10.75 C. Kunénnn, op. cit. fig, 475 BT. van STRATEN (1995),0p. et, R19 fig: 66 i (pati, ROA ph. 21. 1.Eg.C. Kunésen, op. cits p- 27-32.EMMA STAFFORD of Paros ¢.380 BC. As Pausanias (2.27.2) describes, Asklepios ‘sits on his throne gripping a staff, and he holds his other hand above the head of the snake, and a dog, too, has been made lying beside him’—the staff and snake can clearly be seen in a depiction of the statue on an Epidaurian coin of the second half of the fourth century BC (fig. 1)." In votive reliefs, too, there is often a snake coiled around Asklepios’ staff or under his throne, and in one example from the Piraeus Asklepicion a particularly large snake even usurps the position usually occupied by Hygieia or other family members immedia- tely behind Asklepios, as a mortal family approach the altar bringing a sheep for sacrifice.! Van Straten suggests that the snake's huge size here is reflec- tive of the exaggerated creatures of the worshippers’ imagination, as evoked in the incubation scene of Aristophanes’ Wealth (11.659 ff.), where two huge snakes accompany Asklepios on his rounds. ‘The snake's claim to being the ‘chthonic attribute par excellence’ has a little basis in the tradition of the creature's association with heroes,'® but it is worth noting that the snake Figure 1: Thrasymedes’ cult statue of Asklepios depicted on a coin of Epidauros, €.350-330 BC. Drawing: Sheila Bewley. 13, AR tihemidrachma, LIMC 84"; J.W. RierusU.ter (2005), op. ct, ph 10.3. 14. Athens NM 1407: ThesC-RA Sacrifices 88; ET. van Straten (1995), op. cit. R27 (fig. 6) 15, BT. van Straten (1995), op. cit. p. 64-65. See also Sommerstein 2001, 13 and ad lor. The scene is probably set at the Piraeus sanctuary: $.B. ALES ‘The Athenian Askle the, their 2 S.B. Ausstne, Zhe Ashenian Aiklepicion: the people, thei dedications, and the inventories, Amsterdam, 1989. p. 13: K, CLINTON, op itp. 24, 30 and 4 cf. R. Panxen, Achenian Religion: a History, Oxford, 1996, p. 181-182. 16 AnresupoRos, Oncirobritita 4.70; “snakes signify men being transformed into heroes and wornen 208COCKS TO ASKLEPIOS: SACRIFICHML PRACTICE AND HEALING CULT igo the constant attribute of the divine Hygieia, and the indisputably Oympian Athena.'” The scholia on Wealth 1.733 have no difficulty in conmentng simultaneously on the snake's general association with heroes, andon its special connection with Asklepios due to its ability to slough ofisoldskin and generate a new one, symbolising the ‘casting off of the dixass of the infirm’. More mundanely, real-life snakes were involved in duheding process, as attested by the cures recorded at Epidauros.'® A more promising case can be made concerning the dog which Pausnias mentions as lying beside the Epidaurian cult statue. The animal hassometimes been seen as inherently ‘chthonic’, but more immediately rdeant sits role in what appears to be an Epidaurian variant on Asklepios’ binh story, ist attested in the second-century BC Apollodoros of Athens (FGrH244F138): rather than being rescued by Apollo from his mother’s pyre Asklepios has been born and exposed, but is suckled by a dog and sscutd by hunters. Pausanias (2.26.4) particularly associates the story with Epidas, and has Asklepios suckled by a goat, guarded by the goat-herd’s dog” This myth is clearly depicted on coins from second—and third— entury AD Epidauros which feature a shepherd discovering an infant being suded by a goat, but there may be reference to it already in the presence of hunting dogs on a fourth-cencury votive relief from the sanctuary, sniffing theground at the feet of Asklepios’ sons.2 There might also be a connec- ton with Maleatas, Asklepios’ predecessor at Epidauros, whose shrine was alled Kuon and situated on the hill Kunortion, above the later Asklepicion. ‘Thereal presence of such animals in the sanctuary is attested by one of the fourth-century cures recorded at Epidauros, in which a boy from Aigina is heded ofa growth on his neck after ‘one of the sacred dogs’ licked him.”! Thedog alo appears more than once on the’Telemachos Monument, which rsards the establishment of Asklepios’ sanctuary on the south slope of the Athenian Akropolis.2 On side A of the main relief Asklepios is shown "TL Lewy op. city p. 79: she sees Hygicia, as well as Asklepios, as in some sense chthonic, but this ido justii There i some debate about che assumption that Asklepios travelled co Athens inthe form of a snake: see K, CLinTox, “The Epidauria and the arrival of Asclepius in Athens”, Rica ), Ancient Greek Gule Practice from the Epigraphical Evidence, Stockholm, 1994, p. 2 and contra R. ParxceR (1996), op. cit, p. 178. Eg oneras ale See J Decteratend L- EDELSTEnN op. cts 5-6 for the make assymbel athealng, and mote generally T688-706. PAUSANtAS 2.28.1 comments on a particular kind o iy owoloured” snake being bred at Epkdauros. 'aauar (1996), op. cf, 182. Gane AE Aoi Pa ena Caracalla, LIMC Asklepis 4. Relief Athens NM 1426; HMC Allepios 204°; C. KeRENvt, op. cits fig. 15. : IGM! ose (E), Eouioreww and. Eosusretn, op. ety T423). Thee were likewise doe kyu’ sanctuary on the Tiber island, their presence explicitly linked co the sucing mysh Py Fetus, De Verbrum Signifcatu 110m (E,}, Epeesri and L. Epetsrenss op ais LOO 2.Fagments of relief, side A: Ja (2): Athens NM 2477 and London BI Feu) Asllepos: Padua Mus, Civ, ii) Telemachos (?): Verona, Mus. Maffeiano. Reconsmctin: a “Inounmenta di Telemachos, fondatore dell Asklepicion ateniens”, ASAtene, 42-5, 1 o57- Ost 1969, p. 381-463 and L. Bescu, “Il rilievo di Telemachos ricomplerato’, AAA, 19, 1901 209 .EMMA STAFFORD standing, to the right, with a female companion seated on a table, probz- bly the hiera trapeza, the ‘sacred table’ for bloodless offerings and portions of sacrificial meat, beneath which crouches a dog. Side B of the lower relief scems to depict the actual sanctuary, with the double-doors of the incubation building featuring prominently; to the right there is a stele in the same form as the Monument itself, with a dog and a horse alongside it23 There is further possible evidence from the sanctuary for Athenian interest in the Epidaurian birth story in a fragmentary votive relief of 350 BC which depicts a man and a dog on a mountainside, moving towards the right; a second dog and a snake are also in the picture, while two larger- scale figures in an upper register must be deities, perhaps Artemis and Zeus. Unfortunately the right-hand half of the relief is missing, but it has been plausibly suggested thae ic depicted the infant Asklepios suckled by a goat, with Apollo joining the other gods above.”* Sacrifices made by individuals and families Turning now to the sacrificial ritual practised in Asklepios’ honour, we should first consider the many smaller-scale offerings for which we have evidence, starting with the humblest possible animal offering, The terracotta cock from the Corinthian Asklepieion’ (fig. 2) is likely to be a votive of the kind which takes the place of, or commemorates, a real-life sacrificial offering, like the statuettes of pigs dedicated to Demeter and Persephone at Eleusis and Knidos.2° We have no shortage of testimony to the bird’ particular association with Asklepios. Most famously, Sokrates' last words are reported to have been ‘Krito, we owe a cock to Asklepios; pay the debt and dont overlook it? (Phaedo 118a)-words which have caused much speculation from antiquity onwards. Commentators variously interpret them as refer- ring to some real family business with the god, or as an allusion (either serious or ironic) to death providing a ‘cure’ from the sickness of lif illus- 43. Inscription: 1G IF 4960 fr.a.1-20 (SEG 25.226; Athens EM 8821); see the text proposed by K. Cunron, op. cit. p. 21-25. Recent discussions: A. VERBANCK-P1éRARD, op. cit p. 302-305: 1. Levens, op. cits p. 135, R14 pl. 15; J.W. RiersmO1.eR (2005), op cit p- 241-250. 23. See ET, van Straten (1995), op. cits, p. 92-100 on hero reliefs, several of which feature hors andlor snakes andior dogs, See A. VennaNcx-PrinanD, op. cit p. 304305 for cauonry mos ‘on the banqueting imagery. 24, Athens NM 1351; LIMC Asklepios 5 (= Artemis 1279"); RreruaUuer (2005), o. cits pl 12. 25. C, Roesuex, Corinth XIV: The Asclepicon and Lerna, Princeton, NJ, American School of Clasca Studies at Athens, 1951, p. 138-143 no. 50 (cf. no. 37 for a cock’s head); M. Lang, op title age. See S.B. Atestitne (1989), op. cit, p. 14 and n. 4, for such vorive cocks also at Athens, and ‘cocks appear as akroteria on the roof of the propylon on side B of the Telemachos Monument’ mais = ssasoon the finds from the Corinthian Asklepieon are terracotta horses with ae Cm dogs (C. RoeBuck, op. cit, nos 27-8 and 29- 56; M. LANG, op. cit fig. 30), which might le the Pelican Bish sce Wik ieee et neon 26. H.W. Park, Festivals of che Athenians, Whaca, New York, 1977, fig. 25 (Eleusis Museum); Londoe $1304-6 (Knidos). CE RT van Stata, “Gifts for the gods, HS: Vins ed), Faith Hoe nd Worship, Leiden, 1981, p. 87-86, fig. 24-26. 210RIFICIAL PRACTICE AND HEALING CULT COCKS TO ASKLEPIOS: SAC fig: Acack for Asklepios: terracotta figurine from the Corinthian Asklepicion. Photo: American School of Classical Studies at Athens. tative of the Phaedo’s major theme of the soul's liberation from the bod, Nas ather ingeniously suggests that, whatever Sokrates may actually have sidor meant, Plato is subtly asserting his right to be regarded as Sokrates’ philosophical heir by inserting himself into a scene from which he was in 28 | abarbe argues that Socrates ferabsent because of his own serious illness.” deah must have been just a few days before the Athenian Asklepieia of 8th Phphebolion, and offers the attractive hypothesis that the calendar of the deme of Alopeke, to which Socrates himself, Krito and his son Kritoboulos belonged, might have enjoined upon its members the offering of a cock atthe urban Asklepicion.”” On any of these interpretations, however, the important point is the passage’s presumption that sacrificing a cock was a sandard way of honouring Asklepios. Various contradictory explanations ofthe bird’s relevance have been offered—it alludes to the culr’s heroic and chthonian aspects, or it symbolises the hope brought by the new day*?-but none seems .o be as well supported by the ancient evidence as the more pomic point that a cock would have been cheap enough for most people wwafford, We have an account of such an offering in the third century in Herodas) fourth Mimiamb, a comic dramatisation of two women's visit to the newly- tstablished sanctuary of Asklepios on Kos. Kynno begins with invocations Se eg C. Gu, “The death of Socrates", CQ, 23, 1975: B 25-28. Tanciens Grecs, dernieres parol res paroles d’ 1990, p. 189-222, and G.W. Most; “A Cock for Asclepius”, CQ, Ey Woecatreoe and L Epexsrmm, opel, 1523-21) (Bie SAAR ISS W. Most, op. cit 2W.J-Lasanse, op cit 30 ache I “Veffrande de cogs ou autres voles rappel du cute du dieu,..". C. Kanne (op. cits p. 58-59) convent ‘ola epiphany’, M. LANG, op cif P-28-29) sees the cock as ‘bit cure brought by the new day after a night’ incubation: Earlier theories are reviewed es de Socrate”, BAB, 6 5. 15 43.1, 1993, p- 96-111. See ls aspects héroiques et chthoniens the cock sacrifice with Asklepios ed of morning, symbolising the (Hypomnemata 51), Getingen. 1978, 31,On the Koan cule: SM. Sitznwi-WarTt, Ancient Co p. 334-359; see 349-352 on the Herodas. gitEMMA STAFFORD to the god and various members of his family, asking them to accept her offering of a cock, which she is making in thanks for cure from an illness She more or less apologises for the humbleness of the offering, which is i only for ta epidorpa, ‘second course’ or ‘dessert’, saying it would be ‘an ox or a stuffed pig’ if she were richer (II.11-16); indeed, towards the end of the dialogue (\I:86-8) Kynno promises they will return with husbands and children ‘bringing larger offerings’. As many commentators have noted, this supports the contention that the choice of offering might be dictated as much by the family’s means as any particular predilections of the god.” The two women go on to comment on their surroundings, exclaiming at the lifelikeness of various works of art, while their slave-gitl is sent to fetch the neokoros—the fact that it is this temple-custodian, rather than the priest, who deals with their sacrifice again emphasises its humble nature. We do not see the actual killing, but when the neokoros appears he congratulates the women on a successful outcome, and Kynno’s instructions to her friend give us quite a detailed picture of the final stages of the sacrifice (11.88-93): Kokkale is to cut a ‘little leg’ off the bird to give to the neokoro as his perquisite; the sanctuary snake is to be given a pelanon, a kind of paste made up of honey, oil and flour; Kokkale is to souse the barley-cakes (psaista); and finally the women are to take the remainder of the bird away to eat at home. We will return to the issue of where the sacrificial meats o be consumed, but confirmation of two other elements of this account-the neokoros perquisite and the variety of animals-is offered by a first-century BC inscription from the sanctuary. This concerns the god's priesthood, and details what the priest's share should be of particular animals—the skin and a leg in the case of cattle and sheep, just a leg from other animals-and what supplementary cash fee is payable on each—anything from two drachmas for cattle down to an obol for a bird.?? ‘The humble nature of the cock-sacrifice probably explains its absence from the iconographical record, but fourth-century votive reliefs from Asklepios’ sanctuaries provide numerous images of pigs and sheep being led to sacrifice. In the only extant sacrificial scene from Fpidauros* (fig 3) Asklepios, with a snake coiling up his staff, and Hygieia stand by an altar, approached by a family of mortals, including a man, woman and child. At the rear of the little procession is a slightly smaller female figure, probably a slave, who carries a huge basket (Aisté) on her head, and the figure half- hidden at the front is probably again a slave, his small size indicative of 32. CE S.B. Auxstune, Asklepios at Athens: epignaphie and, bi she Athenian healing Athens: epigraphic and proropographic exays onthe Athenian healing cules, Amsterdam, 1991, p. 74; dedications made by private individuals atthe Athenian Asklepiion ese 1 obol to 500 drachmas, and ‘presumably the economic resources of their dedicants varied over a similarly wide spectr 33. R. Parker and D. Onpivx, “Aus der Arbeit der ‘Inscriptiones Graecae’ VI. Sales of priesthoods ‘on Cos II”, Chiron, 31, 2001, no. 4A, p. 237-243, fig. 4-5, 34, ThesCRA Sacrifices 89; VT. van Straten (1995), op. eft, R33 (Big. 58). 212COOKS TO ASKLEPIOS: SACRIFICIAL PRACTICE AND HEALING ( Figure 3: Family bringing a pig to Asklepios and Hygici Verve relief from Epidauros, fourth century BC (location unknown) Photo: after F'T. van Straten (1995), fig, 58. ile status, leading, the animal, That this pig is about to be sacrificed iamade abundantly clear by the presence of the tricorn kanown just above tala, which would have co eained barley-corns, fillet and knife, all sential equipment for the sacrifice.®? Families bringing a pig to Asklepios aad Hygicia also feature in reliefs from the ‘Athenian Asklepieion, where thekanoun may serve as short-hand when the altar is omitted,°° and the fitlwith the basket is a recurring motif. Apart from pigs, the most frequently-seen animal in the Athenian reliefs isthe sheep. In ig. 438 we again have the seated ‘Asklepios accompanied by Hygicia leaning against a tree, while a procession ‘of mortals approaches the aay with the animal at the front, led by a slave who carries a bowl. The family vhich follows includes a woman, a younger woman and child, while the rear isan brought up by a slave-gitl carrying a large basket on her head. Some commentators identify the victim here as a goat, others as 2 sheep, but there ‘saslight presumption in favour of this being a sheep because elsewhere the goat is the one sacrificial animal which we ever hear of as being proscribed in FOE malice to Erene detailed in Asiswpphanet, Paaee (097-4211 1. 200 Srraren (1995), op. ct, 31-8. %.Eg, Athens NM 1330; ThesCRA Sacrifices 875 LIMC Asklepios 63; E'T: VAN STRATEN (1995), _ pity RG (fig. 62); 1. Leven. oP. ‘it, ROD (p. 45); C. Kerénrt op. fig. 21. 37. Eg. Athens NM 1377; ThesCRA Processions 61; LIMC Asklepios 201°; FT. van Sreaten (1995), op cit, RAB (fig, 67); 1. Levent 0p. cit R37 pl. 27; SiB. AtestiRe (1989), op. cit p: 25-26. 38. Athens NM 1333: ThesCRA Processions 63 and Sacrifices 86; LIMC Asklepios 66° ET. vaAN STRATEN (1995), op. cit, RB (fig, 59)s 1. Leverett op. ot» 70 (ph.70). 213EMMA STAFFORD Figure 4: Family bringing a sheep (or goat?) to Asklepios and Hygicia. Votive relief from the Athenian Asklepieion, fourth century BC, Athens NM 1333. Photo: Hellenic Ministry of Culture, Archaeological Receipts Fund. Asklepios’ cult, Pausanias (10.32.12) alludes to such a prohibition of goats t Tithorea in Phokis, where it was customary for ‘anything else at all to be sac- ficed, and at Epidauros, although he explicitly contrasts this to the Cyrenaeans custom of sacrificing goats, which alerts us to the rule’ lack of universality.” Is it too fanciful to suggest that the prohibition, where it did pertain, reflects the story of the infant Asklepios having been suckled by a goat? A number of sources also attest bloodless offerings being made © Asklepios and his associates. Fig, 5“ is unusual for the absence of an animal, despite its similarity in other respects to sacrifical processions depicted at the Athenian Asklepieion. As before, the god is seated while Hygieia stands, and there is a snake under his throne; the family consists of a man, woman am four children, followed once again by the slave-girl with a large basket on her head. Van Straten explains this covered basket as containing sacrificial cakes, the popana referred to in Wealth (\I.660-1) as preliminary offerings burnt on the altar prior to incubation. Preliminary popana are also specified in a fourth-century sacred law from the Piracus Asklepieion (/G IT 4962), recorded on a stele erected by Euthydemos of Eleusis, himself a priest of Asklepios.*" This lists a number of deities to whom three cakes must be given, including Maleatas, suggesting an association with Epidauros, and 39. ec J. Eperstein and L, Epetstetn, op. cit., 1534 (Sextus Emernicus, Hyponypr taatliche Museen 685; ThesCRA Processions 65; LLMC Asklepios 69; ET. van STETE (1995), op it, RBS (fg. 69) I. Laven, ap. cit, R61 p38. For Tack ofa sacrificial anil 41, RiBgRSNM 1332; ThetGRA Processions 64; LIMC Asklepos 313°. ce A. VERBANCK-PUéRARD, op. cit, p. 314-317. The same priest ruled on the division of meat? festival of Asklepios: (GIP 47; ESCC21 eae. 214a COCKS TO ASKLEPIOS: SACRIFICIAL PRACTICE AND HEALING CULT Figure 5: Asklepios, Hygieia and family with bloodless offering (2). Votive relief from the Athenian Asklepicion, c.325-300 BC, Berlin, Suatliche Museen 685. Photo: © Bildarchiv Preussischer Kulturbesitz, dogs and ‘hunters’, once again recalling the myth of the exposed baby Alepios, again pointing to an Epidaurian connection. It is not quite clear whether these are the offerings made prior to an individual's incubation, ‘sin the Aristophanes scene, ot preliminaries to a more public sacrifice to Aklepios himself, although the latter is perhaps more likely co have been dhesubjece of such a regulation.*? An alternative explanation of the basket ithat it might have contained the blankets and cushions needed to make incubation comfortable.” although it is perhaps unlikely that such practical ‘xcoutrements would be so consistently highlighted. Another relief from the Athenian sanctuary’ (fig. 6) puts bloodless oferings centre-stage, as two men are presenting fruit and cakes to Asklepios and Hygicia; the offerings are being placed not on the altar but on the hiera tupezas One of the men takes something from the tray held out by an attendant, presumably to add to the already large heap on the table. An insciption on the architrave (IG II? 4402) names the two men Nikias of the tribe Oineis and Mnesimachos the Acharnaian. ‘The particularly good quality of the relief, van Straten suggests, demonstrates that bles eferings were not necessarily of low status, and Mnesimachos rust “°° belonged to a wealthy family because he and his father are named as victo- “On cakes ace E. Kean, “Cakes in Greek sacrifice regulations’, F- Hie (ed.), Ancient Greek Cult Prcce fom the Epigraphical Evidence, cockholm, 1994, p-65-70., {3.CE the es cd by Dionysos slave Xanthias in Aristophancs Frogs (firs thank Athanassia Zographou for this suggestion. 7 : ai OVF 4 fn Acar Zoprapo fr Sy Snare (1995), oF te BIO Tay U. Havssstan, op. cit, no. 145; C, Kerenvt 1956, fig 16; E’T. vaN Strat 8, fig. 19; L. Levent, op. cit, RS (pl: 36) st mentioned 1.165). 215EMMA STAFFORD Figure 6: Family bring bloodless offering to Asklepios and Hygicia. Votive relief from the Athenian Asklepieion, fourth century BC, Athens NM 1335. Photo: Hellenic Ministry of Culcure, Archaeological Receipts Fund. rious choregoi around 350 BC.* A rather humbler bloodless offering can be seen on a late fifth-century Boiotian krater:* it is not certain that the reclining male figure feeding a snake is Asklepios-he could equally be Amphiaraos, reflecting the important cult at Oropos-but wreaths hanging in the background link him with the female seated on the other side of the pot, where a mortal woman is carrying a jug for libations and tray of offerings, pethaps cakes. That the setting is a healing shrine is unmistakably indicated by the disembodied leg hanging between the wreaths representing the kind of anatomical votive which was commonly offered at sanctuaries of Asklepios and other healing deities.*” Ar the mote expensive end of the scale, we have already heard mention of cattle in the inscription from the Kos Asklepieion, and a few votive reliefs from the Athens and Piraeus sanctuaries show that an ox-sacrifice might be within the means of a wealthier family. In fig. 78, for example, we have the by-now familiar Athenian scheme of the seated Asklepios and Hygieia leaning to one side of their altar, approached by a family which includes 45. ET. van Straren (1995), op. cif., p. 70; cf. A. VERBANCK-1 wD, op. cit. and S.B. ALESHIRE (1989), op. cit., p. 308. Laci Dheieesaae 46, Athens NM 1393; LIMC Asklepios 41°; J.W. RuzruD1teR (2005), op. cits pl. 14.4; EJ. STAFFORD _, (2000), op. cit p. 163, fig. 20; E,J. StAFFORD (2005b), op. cit, fig. 6.4. 47. M. Lana, op. cit. fig. 14 and 16-27; ET. van Straten (1981), op. cit, p. 100-102, fig 50-64. 48. Patis, Louvre MA. 755; ThesCRA Processions 62 and Sacrifices 85; LIMC Asklepios 64": ET. VAN Straten (1995), op. cit, R23, fig. 63: BT. VAN SrRATEN (1981), op. cit, p. 84-85 fig. 16 1 Levenny, op. cit., R53, pl. 35. 216COCKS TO ASKLEPIOS: SACRIFICIAL PRACTICE AND HEALING CULT venenand achild; the procession is headed, as ever, by a slave leading the vied, on this occasion a bull. The one unexpected element is the nude ‘ohearying some kind of box, which is perhaps the source of whatever rraunin front of him is placing on the altar—possibly barley corns or one ‘fe preliminary cake-offerings. The youth's distinctive nudity might scp indicate that he isthe family-member who was il, and whose cure ishing celebrated by the sacrifice.” Sucifices made by the community “The material we have scen so far has related to the private sacrifices of inlviduals and families, but we also hear of sacrifices involving multiple atimals and made on behalf of the whole community. A particularly inersting ritual is reported by Pausanias (2.11.7-8) at Titane, in the toth-eastern Peloponnese, at what Pausanias takes to be a very ancient socuary of Asklepios and Hygieia. Also worshipped in the sanctuary are tehelinghero Alexanor, to whom ‘they enagizein as a hero after sunset’, and the more obscure Euamerion, to whom ‘they thuein as a god’.”° This opposition between heroic and divine sacrifices might immediately put won the alert for something distinctive in the ritual of the sanctuary’s main deity, and Pausanias does not disappoint. He speaks of a ‘wooden Figure 7: Family bringing a bull to Asklepios. Votive relief from the Athenian Asklepicion, late fourth century BC, Paris, Louvre MA 755. Photo: RMN / © Hervé Lewandowski. Ch acca hoon dhe hcncus enemays wish bos a bul eo ey evens the slave-gitl caagine is Aches NM 149. ET van Staaten (1995) oP city R2B, ig 65, : J ch opp a pe Sacrificial Riruas of GreckHero-Cult, bens and 8, Kernos Suppl. 12, 100, and R. PARKER, “@; ‘ipar evayicew’ R. Hace (ed.), Greek Sccrifical Ritual, Olympian and Chbonian, ‘Stockholm, 2005, p- 37-45- 217PMMA STAFFORD idol’ of Koronis_whose presence must surely call Asklepios’ mortal birth to mind-the ceremonial removal of which is accompanied by the sacrifice of a bull, a lamb and a pig to Asklepios: Ondca 8& tov OvoLEvov KAGayiZovow, Ove dnoxpa adiaw exrtéuvey tod unpove: Yanai 8 Kaiovat Mhiyy Tods dpviBaLg, toOTOUG 3e Emi tod Bapod. “The parts of the sacrificed animals which they consecrare-and itis not sufficient co cut out their thighs-they burn on the ground, except the birds, which they burn on the altar. “The description is not entirely clear on the critical point of what exactly is to be ‘consecrated’ to the god, but Pausanias seems to be at pains to point out that it is more than the usual token portion, and his circumlocution may even suggest that he is uncomfortable with the concept of such a ritual being applied to Asklepios, whom he certainly regarded as a god." Altogether the ritual sounds like a good candidate for the category of ‘moirocaust’, or partial destruction-sactifice, proposed by Scote Scullionand seen for example honouring Herakles at Sikyon and on Thasos—which might have allowed some recognition of the recipient's original mortality while at the same time allowing the consumption ofa good proportion of the meat. The different treatment of the animals might simply be due to the practicalities of burning: the birds would be small enough to be easily burnt on the altar, while the portions of the larger animals would need a more substantial bonfire on the ground. A litele later Pausanias (2.27.1) reports that at both Titane and Epidauros it was the custom to consume the sacrificial meat ‘within the boundaries’ of the sanctuary, which would correlate with the stipulation ou phora, ‘not 10 be taken away’, which is fairly common in sacrificial regulations. A similar restriction may also have been in force at a shrine of Asklepios and Hygicia somewhere in Attika, where a first-century BC or AD inscription inclu- des the phrase 16 8& KpEdY UA / dépeadBat (/G IF? 1364; LS 54). Some have argued that this is a sign of heroic cult, though the restriction might equally function as a way of articulating the worshippers’ connection with the god, or delimiting the group of those entitled to a share.* Whatever 51. Paryavtas 2.26.10, On Py use of terms connected with sacrifice, see G. Exnorn, “Pausani and the sacrificial rituals of Greek cult", R. HaGG (ed.), Ancient Greek Hero Cult, Stockholm 1999, p. 145-58, and V. Pemesie-DELtORGE, "Les rites sacrificiels dans la Péridgese de Pausania. 1. Reoresteieand M, Piénany (ed), Eater. naduire, commenter Pausanias en Tan 2000, Genes uuniversité de Neuchatel. 2001. p, 109-134 (p, 124-125 on this passage). SES. SCCLHON. “Heroic and chthonian sacrifice: new evidence from Selinous", ZPE, 132. 2000. POSIT: see F.J, StattoRd (20052), 9p. cit. on Herakles. For difficulties posed by che ter ilewrstion wcrc of. Sersinto, “Ta shusa et le partage, Remargues sua ‘desrustion pt te feualan Ie sarge gre. S. Civonciovnn R Roc Puerras and E Sevpr (ed) La wie fe: sacrifices en question dans les societés de la Méditerrance ancienne (Bibliotheque de ! Ecole cuse 124), Turnout, 2 217-22 S86 taser 20021699. ps SORA, a See Faron 2002), opt, p 3142S, arguing agains S, ScuntsoN, “Olympian and cho real Annguity, 13, 199A, p. 99-112: R. PaRkER (2005), op. cit. 42, offers cautious les hautes etudes sciences reli 218al COC AS EU ASALEION. SMORTEICEAL RAC ICE AND HPALING CULT serstcion’ force at Epidauros and ‘Titane, however. the rule was not vara, as we have already seen it explicitly contradicted in Herodas snountof the cock-sacrifice on Kos. Our information on sacrificial practice a idaurosis otherwise rather thin, We have already seen the one votive vom the sanctuary which features a family offering a pig, and noted Pasatiag assertion that the Epidaurians did not sacrifice goats, but we we very little information on the larger-scale sacrifices which must have ben performed at the sanctuary’s quadrennial Asklepieia, which included ‘lene, musical and dramatic contests. One late fifth-century inscription ((SCG 60, 18-23) specifies that a bull should be sacrificed to Asklepios, shal to associated gods, and a cow to associated goddesses; these should teactfeed on Asklepios altar along with a cock (recalling the humbler cffrings with which we started), and additional bloodless offerings are to be nade, of barley, wheat and wine; rather than the priest, this time it seems to dare ed eeerearics, singers and guards who are singled out for specific thre in che sacrificial meat.°° Another inscription, of the third century BC, records financial contributions from individuals from all over Greece to aholokautesis for the god’ (IG IV 97, UL.1-2, 22-3 and 26). This is unfor- tunately very fragmentary, giving no details of what was te be burnt whole, and no explicit indication of the intended recipients + Ekroth points out, crenif‘the god’ in question is Asklepios, this nomenclature rather milicates -inst interpreting the holocaust as a sign of his heroic character.* The idea ofa sacrifice to multiple recipients, whose gender is reflected in the gender of the animals concerned, is again seem at the sanctuary on Kos. Here we have a set of financial figures concerning the Asklepieia festival, intituted on a panhellenic and pentereric basis in 242 BC and celebrated inthe local month Alseios, with musical, athletic and equestrian contests.*” A third-century sacred law (LSCG 159, 4-10 and 13-16) specifies that 1500 drachmas from the sanctuary’ funds should be spent on, the sacrifices, hich ic to cover an ox for Asklepios worth at least 500 drachmas, one for Apollo worth at least 400 drachmas, and heifers for Hygieia and Epione worth at least 300 drachmas each. In addition, the priest is to provide a male sheep each for Asklepios and Apollo, worth 2 Jeast 50 drachmas, and afemale sheep cach for Hygicia and Epione, worth at least 25 drachmas. More substantial still are the state-financed sacrifices made to Asklepios at Athens, where he had at least two annual festivals. The Epidauria, held on the 17th Boedromion, ‘commemorated the god's arrival in the city; which was supposed to have taken place on this ‘conveniently empty day in the midst of | hero cule. : $5.6) Eoeusre and .rCS:=———s for Bpidauros colony Astyplaia contributing sacrificial animals in the procession ‘of the Epidaurians 56.G. Exnores (2002), op. cit p. 224-226. 57, SM. Susxwmn-Ware, p. 341 and 357-358. 219PMMA STAFFORD the Eleusinian Mysteries, and included the regular participation of officials from Epidauros.** Six months later, the Asklepicia, was held on the 8th Ela- phebolion, the day of the ‘Preliminary to the Contest’ at the beginning of the City Dionysia. Both are certainly attested in the fourth century in the Dermatikon accounts which record income from the sale of skins of animals sacrificed at various state festivals.® Calculating what the figures imply is fraught with difficulty, but Rosivach’s rough estimate is that the Epidauria involved the slaughter of up t0 100 cattle, the Asklepieia in the region of 30. Even if the numbers are not exactly right, the Epidauria is certainly compa- rable to the City Dionysia, skins from which fetched 808 drachmas in 334/3 BC. Ox-sacrifices at both the Asklepicia and the Epidauria are mentioned again ina second-century BC honorific decree for Leonides, along with a third festival intriguingly called the Heroa (/G IF? 974 (SEG 18.26) fr a-c 8-16): . when Leonides the son of Nikokrates, of Phlya, who was priest of Asklepios in the city in the year of the archonship of Timarchos, performed the initial sacrifices in fair and pious fashion to Asklepios and Hygieia and the other gods to whom it was an ancestral custom, and he sacrificed bulls at the Asklepieia, the Epidauria, and the Heroa, having presented the finest offerings (Koi €BovdU[moev tois ce AoAnmeiors] / Kai Emdaupiors xai ‘Hpavorg xopas[rioas Ovpata dc KdAALoTA]), and celebrated the night-festivals; and, having made sacrifices (@t6ac) on behalf of the Council and the Demos and the children and the women and obtained good omens, he reported in all cases to the Council that the sacrifices had been favourable and assured safety ... Ic is not absolutely certain that the recipient would be Asklepios-we might envisage this Heroa honouring one of Asklepios’ family, just as we saw Alexanor being offered enagismata ‘as a hero’ in the Titane Asklepieion, I think, however, that the way the Heroa is listed alongside the other two festivals creates a presumption in favour of attaching them to Asklepios himself, as does the fact that the same priest is officiating at all three sacti- fices. I would not go as far as those who want to identify special facilities for heroic ritual at Asklepicia-as I have argued elsewhere, Riethmiller’s hypothesis about a heroon at the Athens sanctuary does not work, just as attempts to explain che Tholos at Epidauros as marking Asklepiestomb or providing a site for holocausts and blood rituals, remain highly specula- tive.*! But given the interest in Asklepios’ heroic story hinted at in both sanctuaries’ iconography, I see no reason to be sceptical about the existence 58. Punrosraaros, Life af Apallonins 4.17; Pausanias 2.26.8; H.W. Paws, op. cts p 6365: CLINTON. op. cit 59. AtscHtNes 3.67; [GIL 1496,109-10, 133-5, 150; SEG 38.26.11 (cestored) 60. See by VJ. Rostvacts, The Sytem of Public Sacrifice in Fourth-Century Athens (American Classical Studies 34), Atlanta, Ga. 1994, p. 48-64; also R. Parker (1996), op. cit. p. 227-237. 61. JW. Ruetusttitier, “Borhras and retrastyle: the heroon of Asclepius in Athens", R. Hics (ed.) Ancient Greck Hera Cult, Stockholm, 1999, p. 123-143; cf. 1. Levent, op. cit, p. 78 (on Athens NM 2417, RIB pl. 18): also J.W. Rueranti.ter (2005), op. cit. p. 267-273 and p. 313-324. 220COCKS FO ASAT EPIOS: SAC RIFICLAL PRACHOE AND HEALING CULT Jfarguar commemoration of the gods mortal aspect in a festival called | eHewa, Itis important to note, however, that the inscription’s phraseo- | gould suggest chac the rituals performed at ie were shusia, comparable code uals of the Asklepieia and the Epidauria, rather than involving a diinctve form of sacrifice.” So what can we conclude from all this? Our survey has shown that Adios was in receipt of a fairly unremarkable range of animal offerings, induding birds, sheep, pigs and cattle. A possibly distinctive element is | epoohibition of goats, which might be connected with Asklepios’ heroic yh, although such prohibitions quite often occur in Greek religion sihout any obvious explanation. It seems to me plausible that for the most pur Asklepios received a regular form of thusia blood sacrifice, followed by fesing, on occasions, however, his mortal side might be emphasised by an usual type of sacrifice, such as the partial destruction-sacrifice at Titane, araresttiction on where the meat was to be consumed, as at Epidauros, ovina festival’s name, such as the Heroa at Athens. This pattern would be consistent with the message conveyed by the material setting of his cult: Adlepios sanccuaries are equipped with the temple and cult statue usually asociated with divine status, but there are occasional references to the heroic nithin his iconography. These odd reminders of Asklepios’ original morta lity may have served the same purpose as similar elements in the cult of Heakles, hat is to bring him closer to his worshippers, and it is about them thatthe sacifices have most to say. The most striking point to emerge is the prevalence of small-scale offerings: bloodless offerings, in particular, have a much higher profile in our testimonia than we find in other cults, and the ne incontrovertible feature of that ‘cock for Asklepios is the humble nature of the offering, While Asklepios’ cult certainly does have a public aspect, itis remarkatle in the extent to which it is observed at an individual and family level-and this is exactly what the sacrifices reflect. Conta: EJ, Srareono (20052), op. cits G- ExnovH (2002), op. ci» 226 0.55 and A. VERBANCK- PiésarD, op. cit., p. 329-332. ©2.A. Vernanex-Prémarp, op. cit. p- 312-313. 221Sous la direction de Véronique MEHL et Pierre BRULE A Le sacrifice antique Vestiges, procédures et strategies y Collection « Histoire » PRESSES UNIVERSITAIRES DE RENNES veela= t Remerciements Nous tenons a remercier les laboratoires LAM. = Crescam de luniversiré Rennes 2 et Cerhio ~ Solito de Puniversité de Bretagne Sud, ainsi que ces deux universités pour leurs soutiens financiers. Notre gratitude va tour particuliérement a Anton Powell, initiateur et organisateur de la Celtic Conférence in Classies, pour nous avoir associés depuis 2002 4 cette belle aventure et nous avoir convies en 2006 sur ses terres galloises © Presses UNIversitarres DE RENNES UHB Rennes 2 - Campus de la Harpe 2, rue du doyen Denis-Leroy 35044 Rennes Cedex Mise en page : Lucie Lain pour le compre des PUR, www.pur-editions.fr ISBN 978-2-7535-0668-8 Dépér légal : 2° semestre 2008