CGRN 189

Purity regulation from Lykosoura

Date :

2nd century BC

Justification: lettering (Matthaiou - Pikoulas)

Provenance

Lykosoura . Built into the chapel of Agios Elias, 200 m east of the site.

Support

Fragment (bottom left corner) of a limestone stele.

  • Height: 40 cm
  • Width: 42 cm
  • Depth: 14 cm

Layout

Letters: 1.5 cm high.

Space between lines: 1 cm high.

Bibliography

Edition here based on Lupu NGSL 8.

Other edition: Matthaiou - Pikoulas 1986, with ph., pls. 10 and 12.

Cf. also: SEG 36, 376.

Further bibliography: Loucas - Loucas 1994; Jost 2008.

Text


[..?..]
ο[..?.. Δεσπ]-
οίναι
· ἰδίοι μὲν δέκα μ[έρας ..?.. γυναικὶ]
δὲ λεχοῖ ἄποθι ἔμεν ΑΝ[..?..]
δέκα ἀμέρας· ἀλλοτρίοι δ [..?.. πέν]-
5 τε
ἁμέρας· τὰ δὲ λοιπὰ ΕΥ[..?..]
θύην καθὼς ἂνἱερεὺς [εἴπηι ..?..]
vacat

Translation

[...] for Despoina. For a family member ten days [...] be away from childbirth [...] ten days. For a non-family member [...] five days. For the rest [...] sacrifice as the priests [says] [...].

Traduction

[...] pour Despoina. Pour un familier, dix jours [...] se tenir à l'écart d'un accouchement [...] dix jours. Pour un non-familier [...] cinq jours. Pour le reste [...] sacrifier comme le prêtre [l'indique] [...].

Commentary

This is the second set of ritual norms found in Lykosoura, the other (more elaborate) one being the slightly earlier CGRN 126. Here we clearly have a fragment of cathartic regulations specifying different causes of impurity and the prescribed waiting time for entrance to the sanctuary or perhaps (less likely) initiation. The last line of the document perhaps refers to other cases of impurity that could be resolved by making a sacrifice under the guidance of the priest. Loucas and Loucas found it remarkable that the Lykosourians would publish this ritual norm so soon after the previous one. However, the subject matter of this regulation seems to be quite different from that of CGRN 126, the focus here being on ritual purity rather than on simplicity of attire, initiation into the mysteries, and precise sacrificial rules. Cf. Lupu for details of dialect.

Lines 2-5: At least three causes of impurity with a delay of five or ten days before entering the sanctuary are specified. λέχος 'bed' has been uniformly interpreted as referring to childbirth (Sokolowski; Matthaiou - Pikoulas; Lupu; Loucas - Loucas). Cp. a purity regulation from Kos (IG XII.4 1 349). which named childbirth, miscarriage and sexual intercourse as sources of pollution: ἀπὸ λεχοῦς καὶ ἐγ δια[φθ]ορᾶς ἁμέρας δέκα, ἀπὸ γυναικὸς τρεῖ[ς]. The contrast between ἴδιος and ἄλλοτριος is used in other cathartic regulations to differentiate between the gravity of pollution caused by a) contact with a corpse among one's own family members vs. that of another person (CGRN 181, Eresos, lines 3-5; CGRN 144, Ptolemais, line 3) and b) sexual intercourse with one's own spouse vs. sex with another person (CGRN 212, Pergamon, lines 4-6). ἴδιος and ἄλλοτριος may express similar contrasts (probably explained in the lacunae) here, though we cannot be sure whether there is a reference to death or sex or both.

Line 5: For τὰ δὲ λοιπά, cp. a purity regulation from Miletos (CGRN 214, lines 10-13), which list a number of causes of pollution (funerals, childbirth, dogs giving birth) with a number of days after which one can re-enter the sanctuary, and then states one can enter on the same day ἀπὸ δὲ τῶν λοιπῶν. These other potentially polluting factors (the most obvious ones being sexual intercourse or menstruation) were apparently known to the worshippers.

Line 6: This is the clearest part of the regulation, which instructs the worshipper to 'sacrifice as the priest ...', probably as far as the 'τὰ λοιπά' are concerned. We expect a verb such as λέγω, or more strongly, (προ-)ἀγορεύω, 'proclaim', or ἐξηγέομαι, 'expound'. The requirements would have been part of orally transmitted knowledge of the community (and at least the priest could be expected to be aware of the rules). It is perhaps noteworthy that the regulation here does not refer to the previously published regulation found at Lykosoura (e.g. as "τὰ γεγραμμένα" or "the stele") which contained details of sacrificial rules (viz. CGRN 126).

Publication

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike International License 4.0 .

All citation, reuse or distribution of this work must contain somewhere a link back to the DOI (https://doi.org/10.54510/CGRN189), as well as the year of consultation (see “Home” for details on how to cite or click “Export Citation” to create a reference for this specific file).

Authors

  • Jan-Mathieu Carbon
  • Saskia Peels
  • Vinciane Pirenne-Delforge

How To Cite

Brief citation of the Greek text : CGRN 189, lines x-x.

Reference to the file as a critical study of the inscription : Jan-Mathieu Carbon, Saskia Peels et Vinciane Pirenne-Delforge, "CGRN 189: Purity regulation from Lykosoura", in Collection of Greek Ritual Norms (CGRN), 2017-, consulted on December 12, 2024. URL: http://cgrn.ulg.ac.be/file/189/; DOI: https://doi.org/10.54510/CGRN189.

Full citation of the CGRN in a list of abbreviations or a bibliography is the following : Jan-Mathieu Carbon, Saskia Peels-Matthey, Vinciane Pirenne-Delforge, Collection of Greek Ritual Norms (CGRN), 2017-, consulted on December 12, 2024. URL: http://cgrn.ulg.ac.be; DOI: https://doi.org/10.54510/CGRN0.

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                <p> Edition here based on Lupu <bibl type="abbr" n="NGSL">NGSL</bibl> 8. </p>
                
                <p> Other edition:                                    
                    <bibl type="author_date" n="Matthaiou - Pikoulas 1986">Matthaiou - Pikoulas 1986</bibl>, with ph., pls. 10 and 12.	</p>
                
                <p> Cf. also:               
                    <bibl type="abbr" n="SEG">SEG</bibl> 36, 376.</p>
                
                <p> Further bibliography: 
                    <bibl type="author_date" n="Loucas - Loucas 1994">Loucas - Loucas 1994</bibl>; 
                    <bibl type="author_date" n="Jost 2008">Jost 2008</bibl>. </p>
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<p>[...] for Despoina. For a family member ten days [...] be away from childbirth [...] ten days. For a non-family member [...] five days. For the rest [...] sacrifice as the priests [says] [...].</p>
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<p>[...] pour Despoina. Pour un familier, dix jours [...] se tenir à l'écart d'un accouchement [...] dix jours. Pour un non-familier [...] cinq jours. Pour le reste [...] sacrifier comme le prêtre [l'indique] [...].</p>
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<p>This is the second set of ritual norms found in Lykosoura, the other (more elaborate) one being the slightly earlier <ref target="CGRN_126">CGRN 126</ref>. Here we clearly have a fragment of cathartic regulations specifying different causes of impurity and the prescribed waiting time for entrance to the sanctuary or perhaps (less likely) initiation. The last line of the document perhaps refers to other cases of impurity that could be resolved by making a sacrifice under the guidance of the priest. Loucas and Loucas found it remarkable that the Lykosourians would publish this ritual norm so soon after the previous one. However, the subject matter of this regulation seems to be quite different from that of <ref target="CGRN_126">CGRN 126</ref>, the focus here being on ritual purity rather than on simplicity of attire, initiation into the mysteries, and precise sacrificial rules. Cf. Lupu for details of dialect.</p>
                
<p>Lines 2-5: At least three causes of impurity with a delay of five or ten days before entering the sanctuary are specified. λέχος 'bed' has been uniformly interpreted as referring to childbirth (Sokolowski; Matthaiou - Pikoulas; Lupu; Loucas - Loucas). Cp. a purity regulation from Kos (<bibl type="abbr" n="IG XII.4">IG XII.4</bibl> 1 349). which named childbirth, miscarriage and sexual intercourse as sources of pollution: ἀπὸ λεχοῦς καὶ ἐγ δια[φθ]ορᾶς ἁμέρας δέκα, ἀπὸ γυναικὸς τρεῖ[ς]. The contrast between ἴδιος and ἄλλοτριος is used in other cathartic regulations to differentiate between the gravity of pollution caused by a) contact with a corpse among one's own family members vs. that of another person (<ref target="CGRN_181">CGRN 181</ref>, Eresos, lines 3-5; <ref target="CGRN_144">CGRN 144</ref>, Ptolemais, line 3) and b) sexual intercourse with one's own spouse vs. sex with another person (<ref target="CGRN_212">CGRN 212</ref>, Pergamon, lines 4-6). ἴδιος and ἄλλοτριος may express similar contrasts (probably explained in the lacunae) here, though we cannot be sure whether there is a reference to death or sex or both.</p>
                
<p>Line 5: For τὰ δὲ λοιπά, cp. a purity regulation from Miletos (<ref target="CGRN_214">CGRN 214</ref>, lines 10-13), which list a number of causes of pollution (funerals, childbirth, dogs giving birth) with a number of days after which one can re-enter the sanctuary, and then states one can enter on the same day ἀπὸ δὲ τῶν λοιπῶν. These other potentially polluting factors (the most obvious ones being sexual intercourse or menstruation) were apparently known to the worshippers.</p>
                
<p>Line 6: This is the clearest part of the regulation, which instructs the worshipper to 'sacrifice as the priest ...', probably as far as the 'τὰ λοιπά' are concerned. We expect a verb such as λέγω, or more strongly, (προ-)ἀγορεύω, 'proclaim', or ἐξηγέομαι, 'expound'. The requirements would have been part of orally transmitted knowledge of the community (and at least the priest could be expected to be aware of the rules). It is perhaps noteworthy that the regulation here does not refer to the previously published regulation found at Lykosoura (e.g. as "τὰ γεγραμμένα" or "the stele") which contained details of sacrificial rules (viz. <ref target="CGRN_126">CGRN 126</ref>).</p>
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