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<title><idno type="filename">CGRN 239</idno>: <rs type="textType" key="dossier of regulations">Dossier of regulations</rs> or oracle (?) concerning Heracles at Miletos </title>
<author>Jan-Mathieu Carbon</author>
<author>Manfred Lesgourgues</author>
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<authority>Collection of Greek Ritual Norms, Collège de France - University of Liège.</authority>
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<p>Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike International License <ref target="http://creativecommons.org/" type="external">4.0</ref>.</p><p>All citation, reuse or distribution of this work must contain somewhere a link back to the DOI (<idno type="DOI">https://doi.org/10.54510/CGRN239</idno>), 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).</p></availability>
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<p>Fragment of an opisthographic white marble stele (both sides or faces are inscribed). The top and one of the sides are preserved. On Face B, the preserved upper and lateral margins of the stele are also inscribed with fragmentary texts (see here "Upper Margin" and "Lateral Margin").</p>
<p><dimensions>
<height unit="cm">22</height>
<width unit="cm">30</width>
<depth unit="cm">unknown</depth>
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<layout>
<p>Boustrophedon. On Face A, the letters are carved between parallel guidelines separated by 3.3 cm. On Face B, the two first lines run from left to right, then the text is boustrophedon; there are no guidelines.</p>
<p>Letters: <height unit="cm">2.3</height></p>
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<history>
<origin>
<p><origDate notBefore="-0550" notAfter="-0475">ca. 500 BC</origDate>
</p>
<p><desc>Justification: lettering and layout (Rehm).</desc></p>
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<provenance>
<p>Fragment found in the Delphinion, the sanctuary of Apollo at <placeName type="ancientFindspot" key="Miletos" n="Asia_Minor_and_Anatolia"><ref target="http:/pleiades.stoa.org/places/599799" type="external">Miletos</ref>.</placeName>
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<p>Encoded for EpiDoc schema 8.17 on 31-10-2020 by Manfred Lesgourgues.</p>
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<language ident="eng">English</language>
<language ident="grc">Ancient Greek</language>
<language ident="lat">Latin</language>
<language ident="fre">French</language>
<language ident="ger">German</language>
<language ident="gre">Modern Greek</language>
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<div type="bibliography">
<head>Bibliography</head>
<p>Edition here based on Rehm <bibl type="abbr" n="Milet I.3">Milet I.3</bibl> 132 a-b-c-d, p. 276-277, with photographs. For additional traces given in the text here, see the apparatus criticus of Rehm's edition. We add the article [ὁ] in line A2. In lines A3-4, [σπ]λαχάνων is adopted from the suggestion of Sokolowski (not in his text, but cf. the commentary). In line A7, we print a more cautious text, but cf. the commentary. In line B9, the reading καίεσθ̣[αι] is suggested by Carbon (καὶ ἐσω̣ Rehm; only the top portion of the final circular letter appears visible).</p>
<p>Cf. also: <bibl type="abbr" n="SEG">SEG</bibl> 2, 570;
<bibl type="author_date" n="Picard 1923">Picard 1923</bibl>: 246-247;
<bibl type="author_date" n="Seyrig 1927">Seyrig 1927</bibl>: 458;
Sokolowski <bibl type="abbr" n="LSAM">LSAM</bibl> 42;
<bibl type="abbr" n="SEG">SEG</bibl> 15, 674;
<bibl type="author_date" n="Fontenrose 1988">Fontenrose 1988</bibl>: 180-181.
</p>
<p>Further bibliography: Jeffery <bibl type="abbr" n="LSAG">LSAG</bibl>, p. 334-336;
<bibl type="author_date" n="Verbanck-Piérard 1989">Verbanck-Piérard 1989</bibl>;
<bibl type="author_date" n="Jourdain-Annequin 1992">Jourdain-Annequin 1992</bibl>;
<bibl type="author_date" n="Herda 2006">Herda 2006</bibl>: 397;
<bibl type="author_date" n="Pirenne-Delforge 2008a">Pirenne-Delforge 2008a</bibl>;
<bibl type="author_date" n="Parker 2018b">Parker 2018b</bibl>;
<bibl type="author_date" n="Pirenne-Delforge forthc.">Pirenne-Delforge forthc.</bibl>
</p>
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<div type="edition">
<head>Text</head>
<ab subtype="face" n="A">Face A
<lb xml:id="line_A1" n="A1" rend="left-to-right"/><w lemma="περί"><supplied reason="lost">περ</supplied><unclear>ὶ</unclear></w>
<name type="deity" key="Heracles"><w lemma="Ἡρακλέης">τὠρακλέ<supplied reason="lost">ος</supplied></w></name> <gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character"/>
<lb xml:id="line_A2" n="A2" rend="right-to-left"/><gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character"/> <supplied reason="lost">ὁ</supplied> <name type="deity" key="Apollo"><w lemma="θεός">θεὸς</w></name> <name type="oracle"><w lemma="λέγω">πεν</w></name>· <w lemma="γυνή">γυν
<lb xml:id="line_A3" n="A3" rend="left-to-right" break="no"/><supplied reason="lost">α</supplied>ῖκα<unclear>ς</unclear></w> <w lemma="εἰς">ἐς</w> <name type="deity" key="Heracles"><w lemma="Ἡρακλέης">τὠρακ<supplied reason="lost">λέος</supplied></w></name> <gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character"/>
<lb xml:id="line_A4" n="A4" rend="right-to-left"/><gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character"/> <name type="portion"><w lemma="σπλάγχνον"><supplied reason="lost">σπ</supplied><unclear>λ</unclear>αχάνων</w></name> <pc>:</pc>
<w lemma="οὐ"><supplied reason="lost">ο</supplied>ὐ</w> <name type="meal"><w lemma="βρῶσις"><supplied reason="lost">β</supplied>
<lb xml:id="line_A5" n="A5" rend="left-to-right" break="no"/><supplied reason="lost">ρ</supplied>ῶσις</w></name> <pc>:</pc> <w lemma="γυνή">γυναι<unclear>ξ</unclear><supplied reason="lost">ί</supplied></w> <gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character"/>
<lb xml:id="line_A6" n="A6" rend="right-to-left"/><gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character"/><orig><unclear>Ω</unclear>Ν</orig> <pc>:</pc> <orig>ΕΣΙΝ<unclear>ΑΙ</unclear></orig><gap reason="lost" quantity="2" unit="character"/>
<lb xml:id="line_A7" n="A7" rend="left-to-right"/><gap reason="lost" quantity="1" unit="character"/><orig>ΥΝ<unclear>Η</unclear></orig><gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character"/>
<lb/><gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="line"/>
</ab>
<ab subtype="face" n="B">Face B
<lb xml:id="line_B1" n="B1" rend="left-to-right"/><gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character"/><orig><unclear>Ε</unclear>Σ</orig> <pc>:</pc> <w lemma="εἰς"><unclear>ἐ</unclear>ς</w> <w lemma="μέλας">με<unclear>λα</unclear></w><gap reason="lost" quantity="4" unit="character" precision="low"/>
<lb xml:id="line_B2" n="B2" rend="left-to-right"/><gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character"/> <name type="portion"><w lemma="μηρός">μηροὶ</w></name>
<w lemma="καίω">καίωνται</w>, <w lemma="παρά"><unclear>π</unclear><supplied reason="lost">α</supplied>
<lb xml:id="line_B3" n="B3" rend="right-to-left" break="no"/><supplied reason="lost">ρ</supplied>ὰ</w> τοῖσι <name type="portion"><w lemma="μηρός">μηρίοισ<supplied reason="lost">ι</supplied></w></name> <gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character"/>
<lb xml:id="line_B4" n="B4" rend="left-to-right"/><gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character"/> <name type="genericOffering"><w lemma="παρατίθημι"><supplied reason="lost">πα</supplied>ρατιθέναι</w></name>· <name type="sacrifice"><w lemma="ἔρδω"><unclear>ἔρ</unclear>δεν</w></name>
<name type="animal" key="sheep"><w lemma="ὄϊς">ο
<lb xml:id="line_B5" n="B5" rend="right-to-left" break="no"/><supplied reason="lost">ἶ</supplied><unclear>μ</unclear></w></name> <name type="colour1"><name type="gender"><w lemma="μέλας">μέλαιναν</w></name></name> <orig>ο<unclear>λ</unclear></orig>
<lb xml:id="line_B6" n="B6" rend="left-to-right"/><gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character"/> <w lemma="παρά"><unclear>π</unclear>ὰρ</w> τὸμ <name type="animal" key="ox"><w lemma="βοῦς">βν</w></name> <name type="bakery"><w lemma="ἐπιπέσσω"><unclear>ἐ</unclear><supplied reason="lost">π</supplied>
<lb xml:id="line_B7" n="B7" rend="right-to-left" break="no"/><supplied reason="lost">ι</supplied><unclear>π</unclear>έσσεν</w></name> <pc>∶</pc> <orig>ηδ<supplied reason="lost">ε</supplied></orig>
<lb xml:id="line_B9" n="B9" rend="left-to-right"/><gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character"/><orig>ο</orig>
<pc>∶</pc> <w lemma="καίω">καίεσ<unclear>θ</unclear><supplied reason="lost">αι</supplied></w>
<lb/><gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="line"/>
</ab>
<ab subtype="margin" n="upper">Upper Margin
<lb xml:id="line_U1" n="U1" rend="left-to-right"/><gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character"/><orig>μα</orig>· <w lemma="ἐάν">ἢν</w> <w>δ<unclear>ὲ</unclear></w> <gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character"/>
<lb xml:id="line_U2" n="U2" rend="right-to-left"/><gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character"/> <name type="locality"><w lemma="ἄλσος"><unclear>ἄ</unclear>λσ<unclear>εο</unclear>ς</w></name> <gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character"/>
</ab>
<ab subtype="margin" n="left">Left Margin
<lb xml:id="line_L1" n="L1" rend="right-to-left"/><gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character"/> <w lemma="ἀναγραφή"><supplied reason="lost">ἀν</supplied>α<unclear>γρ</unclear>αφῆς</w> <gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character"/>
<lb xml:id="line_L2" n="L2" rend="left-to-right"/><gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character"/> <w lemma="θάλασσα"><supplied reason="lost">θ</supplied><unclear>ά</unclear>λα<unclear>σσ</unclear>αν</w> <orig>η</orig><gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="character"/>
</ab>
</div>
<div type="translation" xml:lang="eng">
<head>Translation</head>
<p>Face A</p>
<p>[Concerning] the (sanctuary) of Heracles [… the] god said: women […] in the (sanctuary) of Heracles […] no (5) consumption of viscera for women […]</p>
<p>Face B</p>
<p>[…] (when) the femurs are burning, next to the femurs […] deposit. Sacrifice (5) a black female sheep […] in addition to the “ox”, bake […]. Burn [...]</p>
<p>Upper Margin</p>
<p>[…] And if […] of the grove […]</p>
<p>Left Margin</p>
<p>[…] of the inscribing […] sea […]</p>
</div>
<div type="translation" xml:lang="fre">
<head>Traduction</head>
<p>Face A</p>
<p>[Concernant] le (sanctuaire) d’Héraclès […] le dieu a dit : les femmes […] dans le (sanctuaire) d’Héraclès […] pas (5) de consommation de viscères pour les femmes […]</p>
<p>Face B</p>
<p>[…] (alors) que les fémurs brûlent, à côté de ces fémurs […] déposer. Sacrifier (5) une brebis noire […] en addition du « boeuf », faire cuire […]. Brûler [...]</p>
<p>Marge supérieure</p>
<p>[…] Et si […] du bosquet […]</p>
<p>Marge gauche</p>
<p>[…] De l’inscription […] mer […]</p>
</div>
<div type="commentary">
<head>Commentary</head>
<p>Even though the texts on this fragment are only very partially preserved, many interpretations of the lacunae have been proposed and the texts have frequently been used as evidence in studies about the cults of Heracles (Picard, Verbanck-Piérard). Found in the <foreign>temenos</foreign> of Apollo Delphinios in Miletos, it is uncertain whether the stele is an errant stone coming from an as yet not localised sanctuary of Heracles in Miletos (a possibility considered by Rehm) or whether it was found in situ in the Delphinion. In favour of the latter view, and thus considering the son of Zeus as ἐντεμένιος in Apollo's sanctuary, is Herda (for the gods associated to Apollo in the Delphinion, cf. also <ref target="CGRN_100">CGRN 100</ref>; <ref target="CGRN_201">CGRN 201</ref>, lines 23-31; additionally, this second regulation mentions the Onitadai, a group related to Heracles, cf. lines 31-42). At any rate, the twice repeated expression τὠρακλέος (lines A1-3) suggests a reference to a distinct space sacred to Heracles, whether connected to the Delphinion or elsewhere in Miletos.</p>
<p>Another question concerns the unity of the texts on the fragmentary stele (or lack thereof). The phrase [ὁ] θεὸς ἐ͂πεν led to the identification of the text on Face A as an Archaic oracle of Apollo Didymeus (a more usual formula for the oracular response is ὁ θεὸς ἔχρησε(ν) or ἀνεῖλε(ν)). Two other inscriptions of a similar character are known from Miletos and Didyma respectively (<bibl type="abbr" n="Milet I.3">Milet I.3</bibl> 178 and <bibl type="abbr" n="I.Didyma">I.Didyma</bibl> 11). It is also possible that the text on Face A is not an oracle per se, but simply contains a reference to an oracle and its authority (e.g. in the form [ὡς ὁ] θεὸς ἐ͂πεν vel sim.). In any case, it is unclear whether the other parts of the text are to be understood as also uttered by the god. It is uncertain how the very fragmentary inscriptions written on the top and the side of the stele may relate to the document or documents as a whole. Most particularly, the fact that there are no guidelines on Face B and that two lines run in the same direction at the beginning of this face may advocate for viewing it as containing a distinct text. Another possibility, therefore, is that we may be dealing with multiple texts inscribed on a single stele, a dossier of regulations. Accordingly, it also remains difficult to know whether the oracle or regulations concerned only the cult of Heracles or potentially the wider group of gods within the Delphinion.</p>
<p>Finally, the dating of the inscription shortly before the end of the 6th century BC does not allow us to decide definitively whether it was made before the Persian destruction of the temples of Miletos in 494 BC (cf. also <ref target="CGRN_6">CGRN 6</ref>) or during their refoundation shortly after the Persian Wars (a possibility raised by Jeffery). Admittedly, the oracle of Didyma seems to have been abandoned in the 5th century BC, which could support the first solution. However, it is not impossible that the consultation took place in another oracular sanctuary and was precisely aimed at reconstructing the relevant religious norms.</p>
<p>Face A</p>
<p>Lines 1-3: Since the side and the top of the stone are preserved, this could mark the beginning of the text. The preposition [περ]ί̣ has been accepted since Rehm's edition, though he himself noted that the two traces before the presumed iota "do not correspond to the restoration". In line 3, the phrasing ἐς τὠρακ[λέος] after the mention of the god’s oracle leaves no doubt that this part of the inscription was meant to regulate access to Heracles’ sacred space. Picard suggested to restore [μὴ προσάγεν] in order to insert this text in a possible series of interdictions for women to enter the sanctuaries of the god. This interpretation also relies on his reading of line 6, discussed below. Nevertheless, since no negation is preserved and since the following lines apparently mention a dietary restriction for women, we could also consider that this religious norm listed conditions for women to enter the sanctuary: far from being prohibited, their access would have been limited and conditional (cf. also here <ref target="CGRN_27">CGRN 27</ref>, which prohibits women from sacrificing to Heracles on Thasos, but seemingly not from entering his sanctuary).</p>
<p>Lines 4-5: The fragmentary nature of this passage has led us to favour the reading that seems the most coherent. The punctuation marks might be read as syntactically isolating the ban against food, [ο]ὐ [βρ]ῶσις, yet this phrase calls for a complement. In this case, the role of the punctuation marks is to highlight the interdiction. While the beginning of line 4 could, without any correction, be read as λαχάνων, "of vegetables" (Rehm), such an interdiction remains unparalleled in the cult of Heracles (and in many other Greek cults). The indirect discourse in which the sentence probably fits and the need for βρῶσις to be followed by a complement also argue against reading λαχάνων as a variant form of λαγχάνων, a masculine present participle in the nominative meaning "receiving as part (of the sacrifice)". The most satisfactory solution therefore remains the one proposed by Sokolowski: to restore [σπ]λαχάνων, a dialectal form of σπλάγχνων, “of viscera”, which indeed has a Milesian parallel: cf. <ref target="CGRN_39">CGRN 39</ref>, lines 4-5. We therefore witness here the exclusion of women from one of the core components of the sacrificial ritual, the immediate consumption of roasted viscera from the sacrificial animal by the participants in the sacrifice (for the importance of this part of the sacrificial ritual, cf. Parker; Pirenne-Delforge forthc.). It remains unclear if women were allowed to participate in other aspects of the sacrificial process or in feasting in the cult of Heracles at Miletos (for rules explicitly granting women participation in the consumption of parts from a sacrificial animal, cf. here <ref target="CGRN_18">CGRN 18</ref>, Thasos, and <ref target="CGRN_38">CGRN 38</ref>, Chios).</p>
<p>Lines 6-7: The letters and traces preserved in lines 6 and 7 have been the subject of several attempts at restoration. Picard proposed to see in the letters ΕΣΙΝΑ̣Ι̣, a variant or mistake for ἔσι<supplied reason="omitted">ε</supplied>ναι, "enter", which would once again address the access of women to the shrine. However, this could also be read ἐ͂σιν α̣ἱ̣, “the [feminine noun] are/go”. Rehm read [γ]υνή̣ in line 7, but noted that the final eta is "very uncertain" (indeed, [γ]υν[αῖκα] or [γ]υν[αῖκας] would be necessary in an accusative-infinitive construction; [γ]υν[αῖκες] following the article α̣ἱ̣).</p>
<p>Face B</p>
<p>Lines 2-4: It remains uncertain if the sacrificial norms prescribed on this face also concern the cult of Heracles, though this is probable. Although rarely mentioned in ritual norms, the burning on the altar of the femurs (μηροί) of the sacrificial animal, and not of its thighs (also known by the same word), corresponds to the expected course of Greek sacrifice (θυσία); on this point, cf. here <ref target="CGRN_103">CGRN 103</ref> (Phrearrhioi), line 16. It is therefore difficult to draw conclusions about the ontological status of the recipient of the offering (Heracles?) from this point (Verbanck-Piérard). Furthermore, the verb [πα]ρατιθέναι in line 4 implies that the femurs were not the only part of the animal or thing that was incinerated on the altar. Other offerings must have joined them; for instance, in the local ritual at Sicyon, while the femurs were offered as in divine θυσία, additional parts of meat were burned for Heracles "as a hero" (Paus. 2.10.1; Pirenne-Delforge 2008a: 187-201).</p>
<p>Lines 6-7: The meaning of the term βν in line 6 is controversial. Herda suggests that we are not dealing with an actual bovine but rather with a cake called βοῦς. His view relies on two main parallels: first, Attic inscriptions such as <ref target="CGRN_72">CGRN 72</ref>, where the term βοῦς refers to a type of “cake”; second, the regulation of the Molpoi, <ref target="CGRN_201">CGRN 201</ref>, (Miletos), where the phrase ἐπιπέσσεν τὰ ἔλατρα (line 36), employs the same uncommon verb, meaning “to bake cakes”. Since this type of offering is mainly found in cults of Apollo, it could advocate for considering the whole regulation as connected with the Delphinion. However, cakes are otherwise attested as offerings for Heracles: cf. e.g. <ref target="CGRN_134">CGRN 134</ref> (Athens; in this case, μονόμφαλα). In a different way, the use of the singular could point toward an actual ox, an animal particularly associated with Heracles, as Jourdain-Annequin has emphasised. This ox would presumably have been sacrificed before the cakes were to be baked. For oxen sacrificed to Heracles, cf. here <ref target="CGRN_83">CGRN 83</ref> (Miletupolis), line 8; <ref target="CGRN_84">CGRN 84</ref> (Athens), line 86; <ref target="CGRN_86">CGRN 86</ref> B (Kos), lines 9-10.</p>
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