To unloctt1asfuture-

Sleepin theskinof a freshlyslainsheepbya waterfall

And thespiritsof thedeadwill come.

Incubation Oracles
LeslieD. Johnston
STUDY oBTHE LIFE andcustomsof classi ceptedview seemsto be thatthisconstituted
cal antiquitycanbe interestingin many some sort of purification,or exertedsome
ways. If, moreover,parallelsor similarities sanctifyingandprotectinginfluenceoverthe
can be found betweenthe customsof the personparticipating in the oracle,but an es
GreeksandRomansandotherpeoplesat dif aminationof the evidenceindicatesrather
ferentages,the conclusions, or presumptions, thatthe freshskinpossesseda magicalpower
whichseempossible,are fascinating. and was unmistakeably connectedwith the
In the ensuingarticleI havecollectedand spiritsof the underworld,or at least with
compared the dataaboutincubation oracles, spiritsbeyondthe realmof thenatural.There
andhavemadesuchconclusionsas haveap is a somewhatsinisterfeeling behind the
pearedobvious.In ancienttimes,as well as incubationooracle, becauseone calledup the
modern,incubationoracleswerepopularand dead.It is true, however,that cureswere
widespread. The superstitions, the ritesand thoughtto havebeeneffectedat the various
practices,werevery muchalike. sanctuaries, anda benevolence wasattributed
Muchhasbeensaid,1to be sure,aboutin to the oracle,butthisdoesnot appearto have
cubationoracles,but the three most promi beenthe character of the originalrites.
nent characteristics, the use of the fresh The oracleconsultantwho slept uponthe
fleece,the associationwith the spiritsof the raw skin gainedcontacttherebywith the
dead,and the locationnear a waterfall,or spiritsof the deadwhichwereenticedto him
stream,have not been sufficientlydemon by the bloodyskin.The bestliteraryaccount
strated.The use of the freshfleeceappearsto of the powerof bloodto drawthe spiritsof
be commonto all. It was the customfor the the deadis that of the OdysseyII. 23 ., the
consultantto sleep on, or wrappedin, the descriptionof Odysseus'consultationwith
freshskin of an animal,a sheepin ancient the deadseer,Tiresias.This was unquestion
times,whichhad been slainjust beforethe ablya bit of magic.It wasanoldbeliefamong
devoteelay downto sleep.The generallyac the ancientsthatthe deadrevealedthe truth,
or futureif the word is better chosen,in
dreamsandvisions.2 Thisthenwasthe reason
qLeslieD. Johnstonis a graduate of IndianaUniversity
(A.B.,A.M.) andof the Universityof Illinois(Ph.D.in for sleepingupon the freshfleece.The skin
Classicsand Ancient History).In the courseof his wasanassurance of the truenessof the vision.
graduateworkhe taughtat boththeseuniversitiesand It is clearfromPausanias' accountof the
subsequently at EarlhamCollege.FromJuly I9;I to oracleto Amphiaraus nearOropusin Attica
December I945 he servedin the U. S. ArmyAir Corps
as Lieutenant Colonel,with two anda halfyearsover thatthe skinin questionwasnot a partof the
seas-most of whichtimewasspentin Syria(aboutIZ purification,for he says (Loebtranslation,
milesfromBaalbek), in Libya(at Benghaxi,
not too far I.34.5): "Orle who has come to consult
fromCyrene,LeptisMagna,Sabratha, andotherspots), Arnphiaraus is wont firstto purifyhimself.
and in Italy, stationedaboutten milesfromVenosa The modeof purification is to sacrificeto the
(ancientVenusia).He is now with the Veterans'Ad
ministration, actingas VocationalAdviseron the In god, and they sacrifice not only to him but
dianaUniversitycampus. alsoto all thosewhosenamesareon the altar.
And when all these things have been first

349
3S° LESLIED. JOHXSTOa
done,they sacrifice a ram,and,spreading the (col. I4S6s.v. Faunus)whenhe remarks that
skin underthem,go to sleep and awaiten one has by no meansthe rightto reject the
lightenmentin a dream."Porphyry,Vita Dreamoracleof Faunusas only a Graecized
Pythagorae I7, points to the same feeling. composition of our poets (Vergiland Ovid).
Pythagoras, afterhavingbeenpurifiedby the I proposeto translatethe passagein Vergil
IdaeanDactyli,sleptduringthe nightbesidea as follows:7"Butthe king(i.e. Latinus),dis
river3uponthe fleeceof a blackram.Herealso turbedby prodigies,approaches the oracleof
the purificationhas been performedfirsic. Faunus,his fatepronouncing father,andcon
Moreover,the blackramis a sureindication sultsthe grovesbeneathloftyAlbuneawhose
of connectionwith the dead,or underworld. great woods resoundwith the noise of a
Thatappearsclear,too,in Pausanias' account, sacredspring(fonte)8andwhosedarkdepths
sinceAmphiaraus is a spirit,or at leasta seer breathefortha deadlyvapor.Fromthis place
who was deifiedafter death. Undoubtedly the Italianclansand all Oenotrianlandseek
Pythagorasexpecteda vision, althoughwe answersto theirperplexingquestions.When
arenot specifically told that he did. the priest9has broughthithergifts and has
reclinedbeneaththe silentnight10uponthe
AssociationwiththeDead outspreadskinsof the slaughtered sheep,and
THEASSOCIATION with the deadis evident has sought sleep, he sees many shapesof
in allthe incubation oracles.4 Strabois specific wonderouskinds flitting about, he hears
(Loebtranslation, 6, p. 284):;;InDaunia,on a soundsof differentvoices,he enjoysconversa
hillby thenameof Drium,areto be seentwo tion with the gods,and speaksto Acheronin
herotemples:one to Calchas,on the very the depthsof Avernus."
summitwherethosewho consultthe oracle The passagegoeson to revealthatLatinus,
sacrificeto his shadea blackramandsleepin on his part,sacrificed onehundredsheep(the
the hide, andthe otherto Podaleirius, down numberis not significant exceptto enlphasite
nearthe base of the hill...; and fromit the importance of the king),andafterspread
flowsa streamwhichis a cureall for diseases ing out the fresh skins,lay upon them.A
of animals."Lycophron, AlexandriaIO47S., voicewas then heard,comingfromthe deep
describesthe oracle to Podaleirius,;;near woods.Butwe aremoreconcernedwith the
Calchas'tomb,"and remarksthat ;;to those iRrstpart.The priestsleepsuponfreshskins
sleepinguponhis tombin sheepskinsthe seer and sees marvellousphantoms,unquestionz
trulyprophesies by meansof a dream."Here ably ghosts in any language,and we are
one mightbelievethat the truenessof the specifically toldthathe speakswith Acheron,
dreamhasbeenemphasized. Tzetzes,in com the infernalregions.llIt is thispartof the ac
mentingon the passage,merelysaysthatthe countwhichrevealsthe originaloracle.
Daunians,or Calabrians, were accustomed to
sleep in sheepskinson the tomb of Poda
leiriusandto receiveprophesiesfromhimin Numa arldFaurlus
theirsleep. OVIDREFERS to the sameoracleof Faunus
Jerome,In Isaiam,Lib. XVIIICap.LXV,5 in his Fasti 4. 64944, in a muchsimilarsitua
alsorefersto thiscustomof sleepingon skins, tion. Both poets indirectlyemphasizethe
still done apparentlyin his time (hodie)in antiquityof the oracleby theirchoiceof con
the shrineof Aesculapius. sultants,i.e., LatinusandNuma.The passage
Of all the incubation oracles,the mostin in Ovid may be translatedas follows:12
terestingis the one describedby Vergil, "There stood an ageold forest, one un
Aeneid 7. 8ISS, the so called oracle of touchedby the axe throughoutthe many
Faunus.Thereis somedisputeamongscholars years,sacredto the Menaliangod (Faunus)y
as to whetheran incubation oracleto Faunus and so let alone.He was accustomed to give
couldbe old Romancustom,6but Wissowa answersto mindsquiet in the silent night.
hasstatedthecasenicelyin Roscher'sLexicon Here KingNumasacrificestwin ewes. The
 INCUBATIONORACLES
3SI
firstfallsto Faunus,andthe otherto gentle Summoning theDead
Sleep.The fleeceof cachis spreadon the hard THEBELIE? that the deadcould be sum
ground.... He (Numa),clothedin a rough monedby freshbloodandthat true prophe
garment, placeshisbodyuponthefresh(nova) siescouldthenbe obtainedfromthemseems
fleecesand prays to the god with suitable to be as old as the Odyssey (II. 23-37),if we
words. In the meantime,Night, her calm can believe that such stories as that of
brow girt with poppies,comesand brings Odysseussummoning Tiresiasby lettingthe
darkdreamswith her.Faunusis present,and, bloodof a slainsheepdraininto a pit reveal
setting his hard foot upon the skins, pro anythingof earlieror contemporary custom.
claimsfromthe right side of the bed such Two mostinterestingvasepaintings,in this
worcs: . . . .
,,

connection,are describedby Highbarger.l4

Althoughit is idle to speculateuponthe OneshowsOdysseusaboutto conversewith
questionasto whoof the two poetshasgiven Elpenor.Odysseusis seatedon a rockwith
us the trueror moreoriginalaccount,13 W.
WardeFowlerregardsOvid'sdescription as swordin hand.With the swordhe has slain
the sheep,the bloodof whichdrainsintothe
the more genuineand Vergil's as having pit, and with the sword he will fend of
somethingmoreof foreignadornment,but Tiresias
SirJamesG. Frazer,in hiscommentary on the Elpenorand the other ghostsuntil
arrives. The other vase painting shows the
Fasti,suggeststhat Ovid'saccountis based meetingwith Tiresias.Odysseus,seatedover
on Vergil's.Eitherof theseworthyscholars other
mayberight,butif theoracleactuallyexisted, the pit, holdsa swordto keepawaythe
souls. This follows closely the account in
and thereseemsto be little reasonto doubt
thatit did,morethanprobablybothaccounts Odyssey II. 23 S. Spirits of Erebus gathered
the blood,but Odysseuskeptthemall
are genuineand equallyso. The only arti about
away until Tiresiasdrewnearandsaid(Loeb
ficialelementswouldbe, in Vergilthe refer
encesdealingwith Latinus,andin Ovidthose translation gs4): "Nay,drawbackfromthe
pit, hold off yoursharpswordso that I may
dealingwith Numa,and Somnus,and pos
sibly the specificdetails describedin lines drink of the blood and speakto you true
words (V71,UEpTEa).
6SS-8 althoughI see no realreasonto doubt
the authenticityof these.The generaloutline Just as relevant is a vasepaintingde
of the oracleis the same:primaevalforestsa scribed by Frazerin his note to Pausanias
I.34.S, reproduced in MonumentiInediti4,
cred to Faunus;responsesat night through to me). The scene,ac
pl. xix (not available
dreams;proximityof runningwater(Vergil's
sacrofonteandOvid'sfontana. . . unda);and cording to Frazer, shows Odysseussitting
with his feet on the skin of a sacrificedram,
sleepingon freshskins,an act that summons a fresh skin,
and therefore unquestionably
the god.That the skinis regardedas impor
evokingthe shadeof Tiresias.
tant by Ovid would seem evident by his It is clearthatthe functionof the rawskin
statementthatFaunusset his "hardfoot"on was to enticethe spiritsof the deadto the
the fleeces.Ovid,however,doesnot mention
consultant.It is trueof all incubationoracles,
with the dead,orunderworld, whether
anyassociation specificherodeities, spiritsof the
unlesstheyarealludedto in the somnianigra deadin general,or Faunusby virtue of his
of line 66z. The avoidanceof ringson the chthonicaspects,areinvolved.
fingers, abstinencefrom meat and love
making,is indicationthat magicis involved,
however.Yet, if furtherspeculationis in Amongthe Celts
order,becauseof this omissionof referenceto ITISPOSSIBLE, however,that similarsuper
the underworld, andbecauseof the detailsin stitionsamongother peoplesmay lend cre
Ovid'saccount,in my opinion,Vergil'sde denceto the existenceof suchdreamoracles
scriptionin lines 8SwI is of the original amongthe Romans.In the firstplaceI refer
oracle. to the Gaelicor Celtic taghairm. This most
 3Sz
LESLIED. JOHNSTON
interestingcustomis describedby various The curtainof the futureworld.
folklorists,l5
but most vividly by the poet Yet, witnesseveryquakinglimb,
novellst,SirWalterScott,in his TheLadyof My sunkenpulse,mineeyeballsdim,
TheLake,canto4, stanzast. The passageis My soulwith harrowinganguishtorn,
worthquotingat somelength(4, , t4-z6): This for my (:hieftainhaveI borne!
The shapesthat soughtmy fearfulcouch,
"Wheresleepsthe Chief?"the henchman cried. A humantonguemayne'eravouch."
"Apart,in yondermistyglade;
To his lonecouchI'll be yourguide." Another,muchsimilar,methodof consult
ing the taghairmwas for a companyof per
4, 4, Ii.: sonsto retireto someremotespot,wrapone
"'Tiswell advised, the Chieftain'splan of theirnumberin a freshcowhide,withonly
Bespeaksthe fatherof his clan. his headleft stickingout, and so leavehim,
ButwhereforesleepsSirRoderickDhu alone duringthe night. He thus received
Apartfromallhisfollowerstrue?"
answers to their questionsand imparted
"It is becauselasteveningtide themto his fellowsnext morning.19 Any re
Brian16 anauguryhathtried mote and desertedspot was suitable,alK
Of that dreadkindwhichmustnot be thoughthe locationundera waterfallwasthe
Unlessin dreadextremity, best.
The taghairmcalled;by which,afar,
Oursiresforesawthe eventsof war. The GermanicParallel
Duncraggan's milkwhite bull they slew."
THEGERMANIC liodorsaza20alsohascharac
4) S, I.: teristicssimilarto the so calledFaunusoracle,
"Thatbullwas slain;his reekinghide andto the taghairm.The earliestaccountof
They stretchedthe cataractbeside, thisseemsto be thatof Burchard (diedIo4S)
Whosewaterstheirwild tumulttoss ofWorms,in his DecretaI9, S,21in whichhe
Adownthe blackandcraggyboss inveighsagainstvariousNew Year'sprac
Of thathugecliSwhoseampleverge ticesfordetermining the eventsof thecoming
Traditioncallsthe Hero'sTarge. year:vel in bivio(crossroads)sedistisupra
Couchedon a shelfbeneathits brink,l7 taurinam cutem,ut ibifuturastibiintelligeres?
Close wherethe thunderingtorrentssink, If anyonehas done such, he says, penance
Rockingbeneaththeirheadlongsway mustbe done.Undoubtedly,althoughBurch
And dritaledby the ceaselessspray.
'Midstgroanandrockandroarof stream, arddoesnot sayso,thecowhidewasfresh,for
The witardwaits propheticdream." themidwinterseasonwas a populartimefor
slaughtering cattle. In the samepassagehe
The descriptionis completeandneedsno speaksof personssittingon the roofof the
comment.One might feel, however, that house,girt with a sword,in orderto foresee
therehadbeensomeborrowingfromVergJ1 thecomingeventsof the new year.Thiscalls
himself, but even grantingthat, it is an ac tomindOdysseussittingat the pit waiting
curatedescriptionof the taghairm,as re forTiresias.In thiscase,however,the sword
vealed fromothersources.I8 wasprobablyfor protectionagainsthostile
Brian'sreportis equallystriking,if also splrlts.
. .

equallyreminiscentof the experiencesof It is possible,as some think,22that an

Vergil'ssacerdos. Cf. 4, 6, 3ff.:
"Roderick! It is a fearfulstrife,
Formanendowedwith mortallife,
Whoseshroudof sentientclaycanstill
Feelfeverishpangandfaintingchill,
Whoseeye canstarein stonytrance,
Whosehaircan rouselikewarrior'slance,
'Tis hardforsuchto view, unfurled,
earlierreferenceto the liodorsaxa is to be
found in the works of the Abbot Pirmin
(middle of the eighthcentury)in his Dicta:23
RuliusChristianus nequead ecclesiam, neque
indomibus,nequein trivio,nec in nulloloco
ballationes,cantationes,saltationes,iocoset
lusadiaboZica facerenon presumat.Thereis
nothing very specific,however,in Pirmin's
 INCUBATIONORACLES 3S3

prohibitions. One canonly guessat what ac fromwhat seemsto be a survivalof an old

tivity preciselytook placein domibusor in Celticcustom,one is temptedto assertthat
trivio,whichPirminregardedas devilish. the samepracticewas commonto all, namely
Closelysimilarto the liodorsaza was the the consultationof the deadto learnthe fu
Norwegianvtisetawhichhasbeentreatedin ture.Onemaycallit incubationoracle.In al
detailby RudolfMeissnerin his articleen mostall, the samedetailsappear:sleeping,or
titled "Gangatil frettar."24 In this, also,the in a trance,on freshskins,besidea stream,or
consultantsat at the crossroadsupona fresh spring,preferably neara cataract,in orderto
skin.Meissner(p. I04) citesasa reference Jon obtainfromthe spiritsof the deada truepre
Arnason25 who has describeda customof dictionof the future.The vision obviously
divinationin Icelandvery muchlike those comesfromthe spiritsof the dead,or from
underdiscussion.The time is New Year's deitieswith chthonicattributes,andthe true
Eve,or SaintJohn'sEve,andthe site is that nessof the predictionis to be emphasited.
where four roads meet, roads which lead In view of the comparisons just drawn,it
straightto fourcemeteries. Thisshowsanun mightbe concluded,plausiblyenough,that
mistakeable connectionwith the dead,forthe the incubationoracledescribedby Vergiland
deadknowall,andby meansof the procedure Ovid portraytrue old Romancustom,but
will becompelled to tell youwhattheyknovr. thatit is possiblethatFaunusis aninterloper,
The consultantlies wrappedin a cowhideas associatedwith the oracleby reasonof his
in the taghairm, orin a walrusskin,andholds wild, mysterious,and chthoniccharacter.30
an axein his hand.The axeis to protectthe Evenso, thatassociation musthavebeenvery
diviner,and calls to mind,again,Odysseus' early.As forthe Greeks,I offerthe presumpz
useof the swordto keepof the spiritsof the tious suggestionthat originallyonly the un
dead.Suchpracticesas theseappearto have nameddeadgavesuchoracles,but later,due
persistedtill the nineteenth century, at to the prominence of suchheroseersas Am
east.26 phiaraus, Calchas,andPodaleirius, the oracles
It is possible,also, that this practiceof wereassignedto them.
sittingby thecrossroads,orwayside,in order An excellentindicationof the stronghold
to foreseethe future,maybe alludedto in the that suchpracticeshaveuponpeoplesis the
Edda:optbQlvisar konursitzabrautanaerpaer modernmannerof sleepingin sanctuaries of
er deyfasverSoksefa.27 the Saints,orin churches,in orderto be cured
orto seea vision.3
of a diseaseoran affliction,
AngloSaxonParallel
'I@he
INORDER TOROUND outourdiscussion only RearRunningWater
a referenceto someAngloSaxonpracticeis ITREMAINS to emphasiteoneotherinterest
needed, and that is suppliedby Ecbert's ing commoncharacteristic of the oraclesdis
Poenitential 4, I9:28 Si quis sortilegiavel di cussedabove,andthat is the locationneara
vinationes exesceat,velvigiliassuasadfontem streamof water,andprobablyneara cascade
aliquem(his waeccanaet aenigumwylle29 or waterfall.Fraterhaspointedout that the
haebbe) ... habeat.... This divinationbe templeof Amphiaraus at Oropusin Attica
sidea spring,orwell (seethe originalmeaning was situatedamongspringsandbrookswith
of well), mustsurelybe a custommuchthe trees all around.32 The oracleof Calchasat
sameas the liodorsaza or taghairm.In turn, Driumalsoseemsto havebeenlocatedneara
all of these have characteristics very much stream,33 and, as was mentionedabove,acS
like the so calledFaunusoracleas described cording to Porphyry's Vita Pyt1zagorae,
by VergilandOvid. Pythagorasslepton a blackram'sskinbeside
With such remarkablysimilarexamples a stream.Althoughthereis somedoubtabout
fromthe ancientGreekand Romanwriters, theFaunusoracle,scholars aregenerallyof the
fromearly Germanic(includingNorwegian opinionthat it was locatednearTiburin the
andIcelandic)andAngloSaxonfolklore,and groveof Albunea,probablyby the waterfall
3S4
LESLIED. JOHNSTON
of Tibur.34This is undoubtedlycorrect. form of union with magicpower.Rudolf
Meissner,
Further,we have seen that the Celtic tagz "Gangatil frettar,"Zeitschrift des Vereinsfur Volks
hairmwas most suitablyobservedbeneath kunde 27 (I9I7-I8) 96-I0S, I03, assertsthatthe querant
the archof a waterfall,and Ecbert'sPooniS transfersthe magicalpower of the hide to himself.
Kroll,
tentialspeaksof the AngloSaxonwatchbe answerHalliday, and Meissnerare close to the right
to the question,forit is in the rawandbloody
sidea "well"(theLatinis fontem). Undoubto skinthatthe magicalpowerlies.What that powerwas
edlythe locationbesidethe runningorfalling thoughtto do, will be seenbelow.
waterwasimportant, 2 See E. L. Highbarger, The Gatesof Dreams,T@he
forit lent mysteryand Johns
an eeriefeelingin theremotewoodland, Hopkins Studiesin Archaeology, no. 30, Baltimore,
most I940, 37-38-
conduciveto the trance,or sleep,into which 3 The significance of the locationby a river or a
the consultantmustfallin orderto beholdhis streamof runningwaterwill be discussedbelow.
vision.The liodorsaza 4 SeealsoKroll, I.c.,39. Eustathius,
and vtiseta appearto however,in speakS
have been observedcustomarilyat a cross ing of Dodona(ad IliadumXVI, 233ff.) saysthat such
prophesies camefromZeusto thosewhosleptin skins.
roads. ButZeusis seldoma godof prophesy,andhasno part
In conclusion,I maintainthat the skins with the incubationoracle.
uponwhichthe consultantlay,orin whichhe 5 Migne,Patrologiae [ atinaez4, p. 657A.
waswrapped,as he consultedthe oracle,exS 6 G. Wissowa, Religionund Kultus der Romer,
Munchen,I90Z, I74, doesnot seempositive.Richard
ercisedno purifyingor sanctifyinginfluence, Heinae, VergilsepischeS@echnik, 3d. ed., Leipaig,I928,
butrathersummoned up the wild spiritsof I76, n. , doubtsit. Fraxerdoesnot seemto question it,
thedead,possiblythe deviland his minions Folklorein the Old T@estament, abridgededition,New
inlatertimes,andsecuredfromthema true York, I923, 228, but in his commentary on Ovid's
revelation
of the future.36 Fasti4.649, he remarksthat the modeof consultation
Butto saytheleast, was Greek ratherthan Roman,but againhe raisesno
theconsultation of the oraclewasa hatardous questionin commenting on PausaniasI.34.5. W. W.
undertakingif onecanbelieveourgreatpoets, Fowler,RomanFestivals,London,I908, 262-263, reS
VergilandScott. gardsOvid'saccountas the moregenuineandVergil's
as havingsomethingof foreignadornment.Otto, in
NOTES PaulyWissowa,s.v. Faunus,col. zo70, maintains
1 MaryHamilton,Incubation that
orthe Cureof Diseases thejudgement on the detailsof theTraumorakel of Fau
in PaganlRemplesand ChristianChurches,London, nusmustbe withheld.Butsee belowforfurtherargu
I906, 84-8y; LudwigDeubner,De
incubationecapita ment.
quattuor, Leipaig,I900, t4. JaneHarrison,Prolegomena 7 The passage runsas follows,Aeneid,7.8I-95:
totheStudyofGreetReligion,3d.ed., Cambridge, At rexsolltcitus
monstris
I922,
z7,afterdiscussingthe "Dianfleece,"speaksof magical oraculaFauni
Fatidicigenztoris,adit,lucosque subalta
fleeces
andassertsthatthe skinof the victimhasa magi consulitAlbunea,nemorum
calefEcacyas medicineagainstimpurities,but while quaemaximasacro
fontesonatsaevamque exhalatopacamemphitim.
thismaybe trueof the "Dianfleece,"it certainlydoes HincItalaegentesomnisque
notfit the case of the incubation
85 Oenotrta
tellus
oracle.See further, in dubiisresponsapetunt.Hucdonasacerdos
L.R. Farnell,T@he Cults of the GreekStates,Oxford, cumtulit,et caesarum
I907,vol. III, z4o; M. P. Nilsson, Griechische oviumsubnoctesxlenti
Feste, pellibusincubuitstratis,somnosque petisat,
Leipaig, I906, s-6; J. G. Fraxer,T@he GoldenBough, multamodissimulacra
3d.ed., London,I9I4,vol. 3, 3Iz andnote3,andvol.7, videtvolitantiamiris,
go et variasauditvoces,fruiturdeorum
38,andin his commentary on PausaniasI.34.y.In the conloquio, atqueimis Acheronta
latter,
Frazerassertsthat the skin was believedto adfaturAvernis.
Hicet tumpateripsepetensresponsa Latinus
exercisea sanctifyingandprotectiveinfluenceoverthe centumlanigerasmactabat
person ritebidentes,
who lay wrappedin it. But WilhelmKroll, atqueharumeffultustergostratisque
"AlteTaufgebrauche," iacebat
Archiv fur Religionswissen 95 velleribus; subitaex altovoxredditalucoest.
schaft8 (I90S)27-S3, 37, does not agreewith this 8 I shouldlike to have fonte mean,
generalview, and believesthat its influenceis rather with sonat,a
cascade.
magical andso it is. In the caseof the Mysti,however, 9Fairclough, Loehtranslation,
he
suggests(39)thatthe sittingon the skinsformssome conceivesof a priestess
here, but I doubtif any of the femininesex werein
sort
of a bondwith the god.This is trueof manyuses volved in such a nerverackingordeal.Moreover,it
of
skinsin ancientrites,but not so of the incubationz would be a tough)obfora womanto slaughter
oracle.
W. R. Halliday,GreetDivination, thesheep
A studyof its by herself.Unquestionably Faircloughis wrong.So is
methodsandprinciples, London,I9I3, I3I-I3z, remark Edward Ulback,"SacredGrovesof Latium,"CJ 29
ing
uponthe practicesof the Celtictaghairm (discussed (I933-34) 66I, who thinksof a "prophetess," andso a
below)saysthat the act of sleepinguponthe skinis a priestess here.
 INCUBATIONORACLES 3SS

10Cyril Bailey, Religionin Vergil,Oxford, I93S, quotiesaliquainfrmitassupervenerit, non quaerantur

26, speaksof a templehere,but surelytherewas no praecantatores, nondivini,non sortilegi,noncaragi,nec
buildingof anykindin this grove.It wasa wild forest per fontes,aut arboresvel biviosdiabolicaphylacteria
with no humanassociations, and the priestslept sub exerceantur.
noctesilenti. 22E. H. Meyer, Mythologieder Germanen,Strass
11I do not see anycontradiction in fruiturdeorum burg,I903, 308.
conloquio forsuchgodscouldeasilybe regarded as from 23DictaAbbatisPirminide sigulis libriscannonicis
Acheron.In fact, deorumconloquio is probablyan ap scarapsuszz (Migne,Patrologiae Latinae89, I04I D;
positivewith Acheronta adfatur.Faunus,however,can C. P. Caspari,Kirchenhistorische Anecdota,Christiania,
easilybe associated withAcheronbecauseof hischthon I883, vol. I, I76).
ic aspects,for which see Otto, I.c., cols. zoS6sos7, 24 Cited in note I. See also Boehm,s.v. Anhangin
zo6s.However,Ulback,I.c., thinksthe godsof Olympus Handworterbuch des deutschenAberglaubens, vol. I,
aremeant,withwhichideaI cannotagree. 4It; Meyer,op.cit.,308. SuchpracticesweremostcomS
12 The text of Ovid,Fasti4.649-664: monduringChristmastide.
Silvavetusnullaque diuviolatasecuri 52 Jon Arnason,kelandic PopularLegends andS^ales,
6so stabatMaenaliosacrarelictadeo: Leipaig,I862-64, z vols.,vol. I, 436 (in Icelandic).
illedabattacitisanimoresponsa quieto 26 See also Meyer,op. cit., 308, of Icelandand GerS
noctibus; hicgeminasrex:Numamactatoves. many.Fraxeron Ovid,Fasti4.649, of southernItaly.
PrimacaditFauno,lenicaditalteraSomno; 27 Karl Hildebrand,Die Liederder alteres Edda,
sterniturin durovellusutrumque solo; (Saemunder Edda),Paderborn,I876, Sigrdrifumal, z7.
6SS biscaputintonsum fontanaspargitur unda, Alsoquotedby Grimm,op.cit.,934. "Oftevilwomensit
bissuafaginatempora frondetegit; by the wayside,who deadenswordsandvalor."
unusabestVeneris,necfas animaliamensis 2& Citedandquotedby Meissner.
ponere, necdigstisanulusullusinest; 29 A "well"hereis surelya spring.
vesteruditectussupranovavelleracorpus 30 Faunus' natureis well suitedto suchan oracle.He
660 ponitadoratopersuaverbadeo. lived in the wild forests,woodedcliSs, and nearthe
Intereaplacidam redimitapapavere frontem ripplingspringwaters.Mysterioussoundsissuingfrom
Noxvenitet secumsomnianigratrahit; thesewereattributedto him;he wasthe spiritof these
Faunusadestoviumque premenspedevelleraduro places,wild,fearsome, sometimesgood,sometimesbad.
edidita dextrotaliaverbatoro. Moreover,Vergil,in the linesdescribingthe visionof
13 Seeabove,note 6. the priest,saysnothingof Faunus.The spiritsarevague
14 Op. cit.,p. 8, n. zI- andindefinite, likethoseof the Celtictaghairm, the Nor
15 Halliday, op. cit., I3I, quotingfromDalyell,'I4he wegian,or Icelandic,Vtiseta,and possiblythose of
DarterSuperstitions of Scotland,49S; Frazeron Pau Pythagoras' dreamsbesidethe river.
sanias,I.34.S,and references; Scott'sown note on the 31 MaryHamilton, op.cit.;E. Rohde,Psyche,Leipaig,
custom;andJ. Grimm,DeutscheMythologie,4th ed., I 894, I 74, n* 4*
B>rlin,I876, by E. H. Meyer,vol.II, 934. 32 Folklore in theOldT@estament, zzS-
16 Brian, the seer,"fiendbegottenmonk,"was a fear 33 JacquesPerret,"Calchas et les Bergerschez les
somecreaturehimself.Seecanto3, S-7- 'Metinatesex Gargano'," Rev.Archaeol.I0 (I937)I8I-
17The customaryplacefor such oracleswas under I98, summarized by Hulley,C. W., 3z (I937-38)83;
the archformedby a waterfall.See Halliday,op. cit., Strabo6.z84,translatedabove.
3I. 34 Frazer,Folklore in the Old T@estament, zz8; J. A.
18 Seethe references citedin note IS Hild, DahrembergSaglio, s.v. Faunus,col. Io23; Wis
19Halliday,op.cit., I3I. sowa,PauleyWissowa,s.v. Albunea,col. I337, andin
20 Liodorsaza, O.H.G.hleodarsaza, means"sittingto Roscher's Lexicons.v. Faunus,col. I4S6;Otto, I.c.;and
receivean oracle.9'T@aghairm, accordingto Meissner, L. Preller,RomischeMythologie, 3d. ed. by H. Jordan,
I.c.,Io3,means"echo"(Widerhall), but he quotesT. G. Berlin,I 88I, vol. I, 383.
Campbell, Superstitions oftheHighlandsandIslandsof 35 To be sure,therea1epractices involvingthe use of
Scotland,3I, as translatingwith "spiritScall," "the skinsin the religiouscustomsand superstitionsof the
callingof the spiritsbackfromthe vastydeep." GreeksandRomanswhichdo appearto havesomesort
21 Migne, Patrologiae LatinaeI40, 960D. See also of sanctifying andprotectiveassociations, but thesehave
Vita S. Eligii, I6 (Grimm,op. cit., 402): praeterea no partin the incubationoracle.

ATLARTIC STATES

TShe Springmeetingof theClassicalAssociation

of theAtlanticStateswillbeheld
at the University
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on April23 and24, I948 (Friday-Saturday). Head
quarterswillbeat theHotelSchenley.