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Arch. Uulgarica " 199R 2 52 - 5(, Sofia ZEUS BENNJOS: A FEW MORE NOTES MAYA VASSILEVA Dedications 10 Zeus Bennios. considered as a that is otherwise not attested (Haspcls 1971 , Phrygian deity. have been published and dis No 18; !?ahin 1978,78 1; Drew-Dear/ Naour 1990, cussed since the 1st century (Ramsay 1884.258 1960-1961). hence: {Jevve"'clv. Some authors 259, No II ; Ramsayl887. 5 11 - 512. No 97). His find a similar verb in a New-Ph rygian text: /11:1' cult was spread along the Upper Tembris valley VEl', explaining it as an imperat ive (Haas 1966, in Western Phrygia, and some recent finds tes Nos 83, 125, 150). tify to his presence in Bithynia as well (!?ahin Br.vl'Ioc;IBeVlo c; is a personal name, fou nd in 1978,771-790; :;;a hin 1986. 135. note 37). three epitaphs in Greek. considered as secon Twelve inscriptions read: Ali BC.VI'icp, (Ram dary. derived from the d ivi ne epithet (Calder say 1884, No 11; Ramsay 1887, No 95; Buckler 1956, Nos 2 14, 2733 - from Eastern Phrygia; el at. 1928, No 241; Drew-Bear 1976: No 11; Mitchell 1982. No 293; Zgusta 1964. § 161). It $ahin 1978, 774-778; ~ahin 1986, 135 , note has recentl y becn listed among the fcw certa in 37; Orew-Bcar/Naour 1990, Nos 13- 19; Le nati ve Phrygian names (lnnocen tc 1997.37). vick ct a I. 1988, No 49), while the rest of the Earlier parallels from the Ol d· Phrygian texts (the total number of the inscriptions in material can be suggested 10 111...: above record. po in t being llTOlJlld 20) contain other forms, Zeus' ep ithet has already bee n compared sim ilar 10 the cpil ht! t, which provoked a long phonet ica lly with ·the first pa rt of the 01<1 lived discussion. The inscriptions are dated in Ph ryg ian Bell(l g ol/() .~, thought of as a COIll Roman Imperial time, e.g. from the 1st to the pound personal name (Brixhe/Le.ietllle 1984, 3rt! cent ury AD, 1/(; \11'11(:' ;mel flcI'l'u h;l\'c been G-116; Lejeune 1969, 294; Bri~hl! 1994, 175 : l)l()sl ortcn reviewed: t he la tter was inter baloll/OpeJl 1985. 197 198). preted as the Ph rygian form of the ep ithet of A~ it wa s seen, th e Illcalling oj" /1/:111'0; was Zc u~ in dative. A rccenl work on the divi m( ies compared 10 thai or I)O[J/III~. assl lIlwd \0 he of or Rnman Phrygia (Drcw-Bear/Naour 1990, Asianic/Phrygi an origin du e to ,I fr ,Ig1l1l!1l1 by 1952- 19 92) ha s re -examined the \vho le rc IIlpponax (1l lpponax frg 30 (671).1); M:ISSlll) cord and has systemized the data, offering fur 196 2,124; Clwntra ille I 96l'S, 21) 5, ;l nd must re ther arguments in favour thaI ~ ~ VVt:l is the da cent ly Lu bolsky 1997, 124 - 125, who thinks tive form of B£vvo o:; (Drcw-Bear/Naour 1990, Ihat no s:lIisf:lctory etymology or or igin can 1989 ·- 19 90). /Jil'l'O'; is used in relat ion to a be suggested for the word). The IU!lcr oc toponYll1/deme or 10 another deity (13uckler et curred in Inscriptions from Serdic<lc and No al. 1928, No 241: [JCI!VCt I Or]vwv; Ramsay vae as well (MihaiJov 1966,41, No 1925; Ge 1884. No 10: Ilevllet Ecpeal'(ji; Sahin 1978,780: rov 1989, No 295; Vassilcva 1995. 29- 31). {ItVIIOC; .1cl KU AUYUIJ{cp; Orew-Bear/Naour The word designates a religiOUS association of 1990. No20: Tel {ltvvo,; .1U)C; Bpovrwroc;}. Be fema le followers of the Grca t Goddess. The sides. BevVI:tnu and {lcvvuPXr]C; are also men same meaning, "religious assembly", was pro tioned in some inscriptions, generally consid posed for the Old-Phrygian dllllla - (dumall in ered as t?riests or members of a cult association Acc.) preserved in an inscription from Bithynia (Cook 1925. 883; Sahin 1978, 777; discussion (Brixhc/Lejeune 1984, 8-01; 6,lIoll/0peJl 1988, in : Drew-Bcar/Naour 1990, 1988). The context 187). Some Gordian graffiti offer derivatives of suggests that thc 'mean ing of the word can be duma-; dumas(aeia and dumas(-v- (- an adjecti similar to that of OOVJlOC;. val deri vative?), understood as personal names O ne G reek epitaph from the "Midas City" (I3rixhe/Lejeune 1984, G-131, G-245; Brixhc (Yazlkaya) provided a fo rm which was finally 1994, 175). Dumeyay in dalive mighl be compared interpreted as a verb due to a new ~ord division: to other epithets of the Mother-Goddess found in Pt vv£lIE KII. instead of BEVVCUEK'I - a toponym the Old-Phrygian inscript ions. tJOllllO- in a New 52 Zeus Bennios: ,of Jew more nOles Phrygian in scription is being much discussed. It is worth noting that the name Boorr6gllo<; Although some scholars insist on interpreLing from the above inscription is common in the re~ the New·Phrygian word as a designation of a gion of Byzantium, whence in the metropolis tomb or ofa pari of a grave monumeL (Brixhe and in Mesambria Pontica, as well as in the 1990,93- 94), the context of the whole usage commercially related cities (Levick et al. 1993, record is a stronger argument. If the meaning 71; Masson 1994, 139; Mihailov 1970, Nos 324, "religious assembly/association" for duma 330ter, 284~285; 290-291). This could be an~ /oofjpo~ is further confirmed, then the occur other reference for the Constantinople chora, rence of a divine epithet, re lated to an asso whose ethnocultural context has already been dis ~ ciation, in the Roman times would be a sur cussed (<I>on 1994,70, 101 ,105, 179,208,222). vival of a much earlier praciice. As it has already been shown, the evidence Tbe independent use of pevvo~, as well as on Zeus Bennios and the other inscriptions in it s mentioning together with other divinities point are confined to the territory of Phrygia and with toponyms, pursued the authors of the and to the areas where Phrygian cultural pres above hypothesis to suggest that the verb ence was attested. The cult of Zeus Bron would designate the activities of the associa ton/Brontaios was attested practically in the tion (Drew-13ear/Naour 1990, 1991). At the same area - predominantly in Northwestern present state of the evidence, however, the Phrygia ( Doryleion/Eski~ehir), but in Bithy toponyms would probably point to cuH cen nia and along the southern coast of the PrO tres. Unlike other scholars who previously pontis as well (Drew-BearlNaour 1990, 1992 thought of /JeJlJleirw and {Jel'Jl6.PXIJC; as mem 1995, notes 308- 309. 316). Two dedications bers ofa clllt assoc iation of Zeus Bennios ($a were di scovered at the site identified as Mo hin 1978. 777), the above view derives both dra, mentioned by Strabo in Hellespontine th e activities and the epithet from the word for Phrygia (Strabo 12.3.7). The toponym might association. This means that there would have be discerned in the compound title mo been cult associations ofother deities as well, drovanak found in an Old-Phrygian inscrip as could be perceived by the pcvvor:; of J10r:; tion hewn on a rock-cut throne at the top of /JpovTfiwro; and of JI(')(; Ka},o,Ku.yaOfoc;. the plateau of the "Midas City" - "Vanak of A recently republished and reinterpreted Modra/Modroi" (Brixhe/Lejeune 1984, M-04; inscription renders the form ERMA BENNE! Neumann 1986, 52, against this toponym in (Levick et al. 1993, No 222, 69- 7 I), that pro the compound title: Brixhe 1997,47, note 19). voked n vivid discussion as well. The editors Thracian-Phrygian cultural belonging ha s of MAMA X consider it as an argument against long being ascribed to this cult (Cook 1925, (he meaning of Ptvvo';, as a cult association, 838). A.B. Cook's view about the Orphic na and suggest a cult image in the shape of a ture of the divinity, wh ich he related to Za herm. The Phrygian cult and religious prac greus, is usually neglected by modern schol tice is cOllsisitent with such a hypothesis, as ars. Whatever the discussion, a survival of an the stone/pillar/rock cult setting is well at uranian deity, of the Weather/Storm God-type tested. The reading of the inscription, how~ (popular in Anatolian land) could have ap· ever, poses some difficulties as there is a peared under this Greek epithet. It is instruc sma ll space between EPMA and BENNE! tive to note that two recently published dedi and a word di vision could be assumed here as cations, again from Western Phrygia, attested wel l. It is also very unlikely to offer a dedica .1tl BpovrwVTl Ke Eaovabfw and LJli Eaova tion both to Zeus and a herm. Accepting it as Moo - a variant of Sabazios (Frei 1988, Nos 'Ep/uipt vvf l, CI. Brixhe proposes the founder 9N, ION, 19- 20, 22- 24). E"u",,",. E"ou"(· of the association or of the cult to be seen in 10';, £aoa(OI; seem to be forms reserved for ' EpJIQ. (Brixhc 1995. No 479,513). Whatever the inscriptions from Phrygia, though badly the discussion , the evocation of the name of documented data for Thrace exist as well Hermes might be suggestive. (Eisele 1909, 233, 236; Johnso n 1984, 1585). It 53 Maya /lassileva should al so be reminded that Silenoi were other deities, it s original meaning was related called EalJdbw by the Macedonians (Hesychius to the followers of the Great Mother-Goddess.