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                <title><idno type="filename">CGRN 241</idno>: Fragment referring to a <rs type="textType" key="sacrificial regulation">sacrificial regulation</rs> from the Asklepieion at Lebena</title>
                <author>Saskia Peels-Matthey</author>
            </titleStmt>
            <publicationStmt>
                <authority>Collection of Greek Ritual Norms, Collège de France - University of Liège.</authority>
                <availability>
    <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/CGRN241</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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                                <support><p>Stone <rs type="objectType">wall block</rs>, broken and worn. On the right-hand side, no letters seem to be missing; on the left, on the basis of plausible restorations for lines 4-5 and 7, only a handful of letters (ca. 4) appear to have broken off. It is uncertain how much is missing above and below.</p>
                                    <p>   <dimensions><height unit="cm">26.5</height>
                                        <width unit="cm">55.5</width>
                                        <depth unit="cm">16</depth>
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                                <layout> The surface is badly worn; letters are difficult to read, especially on the lower half of the stone.
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                            <origin>
                                <p><origDate notBefore="-0100" notAfter="0100">end of the Hellenistic period or early Roman period</origDate></p>
                                <p><desc>Justification: lettering (late Hellenistic - early Roman lettering, e.g. <foreign>alpha</foreign> with a broken middle bar, <foreign>pi</foreign> with a completely descending right vertical; Halbherr thought of the late 2nd century BC, but this could well be too early).</desc></p>
                            </origin>
                            <provenance>
                                <p> Found by Halbherr between 1884 and 1887 in the wall of a private house (belonging to a certain Petrospanaki) at the village of Miamù (upstream from <placeName type="ancientFindspot" key="Lebena" n="Crete"><ref target="http://pleiades.stoa.org/places/589901" type="external">Lebena</ref></placeName>). Almost all of the fragments identified by Halbherr were found in this village, reused as building materials. Halbherr's squeeze is lost, but he published his transcription, and his <ref target="https://www.scuoladiatene.it/images/documents/taccuini-hallber/HALBHERR%20IC%2007.pdf" type="external">handwritten notes</ref> are preserved in the archive of the Scuola di Atene (this inscription on p. 19). For Halbherr's edition, the notes have been supplemented by readings from the squeeze. The stone is now lost.</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>
                <language ident="ita">Italian</language>
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        <revisionDesc>
            <change>Last revised by XX in 20XX.</change>
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            <div type="bibliography">
        <head>Bibliography</head>
                
<p> Edition here based on <bibl type="author_date" n="Halbherr 1888-1890">Halbherr 1888-1890</bibl>: 727-730  no. 179. At the beginning of line 4, we read [κ]α̣τὸς from the drawing; in lines 7-8, we print Λεβέν|[αν] and in the rest of line 8, we also read from the drawing.</p>
                    
<p> Other editions: <bibl type="author_date" n="Guarducci 1932">Guarducci 1932</bibl>: 222-225, on the basis of Halbherr's notes; 
    Guarducci <bibl type="abbr" n="IC I">IC I</bibl> 17.7; 
    <bibl type="author_date" n="Chaniotis 1988">Chaniotis 1988</bibl>: 48-52.</p>
            
<p>Cf. also: 
                    <bibl type="abbr" n="SEG">SEG</bibl> 45, 1312;
                    Blass <bibl type="abbr" n="SGDI">SGDI</bibl> 5086.</p>
                
<p>Further bibliography:     
                    <bibl type="author_date" n="Zingerle 1896">Zingerle 1896</bibl>: 88-91;
                    <bibl type="author_date" n="Savelkoul 1985-1986">Savelkoul 1985-1986</bibl>;
                    <bibl type="author_date" n="Bryce 1986">Bryce 1986</bibl>;
                    <bibl type="author_date" n="Georgoudi 1988a">Georgoudi 1988a</bibl>;
                    <bibl type="author_date" n="Bryce 1990">Bryce 1990</bibl>;
                    <bibl type="author_date" n="Boudon 1994">Boudon 1994</bibl>;
                    <bibl type="author_date" n="Larson 2001">Larson 2001</bibl>;
                    <bibl type="author_date" n="Sineux 2006a">Sineux 2006a</bibl>; 
                    <bibl type="author_date" n="Sineux 2006b">Sineux 2006b</bibl>;
                    <bibl type="author_date" n="Casevitz 2006">Casevitz 2006</bibl>;
                    <bibl type="author_date" n="Georgoudi 2007">Georgoudi 2007</bibl>;
                    <bibl type="author_date" n="Graf 2009">Graf 2009</bibl>;
                    <bibl type="author_date" n="Sluiter 2017">Sluiter 2017</bibl>;
                    <bibl type="author_date" n="Pitz forthc.">Pitz forthc.</bibl>
                
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            <div type="edition">
                <head>Text</head>
                <ab>
                    
<lb/><gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="line"/>   
                    
<lb xml:id="line_1" n="1"/><gap reason="lost" quantity="5" unit="character" precision="low"/><orig><unclear>ιιιολ</unclear></orig><gap reason="lost" quantity="1" unit="character"/><orig><unclear>ιον</unclear></orig><gap reason="lost" quantity="4" unit="character" precision="low"/><orig><unclear>οο</unclear>α<unclear>ι</unclear>α</orig><gap reason="lost" quantity="7" unit="character" precision="low"/>

<lb xml:id="line_2" n="2"/><gap reason="lost" quantity="4" unit="character" precision="low"/><orig>τω</orig> <name type="deity" key="Nymphs"><w lemma="νύμφη">Νυνφᾶν</w></name> καὶ <name type="deity" key="Acheloos"><w lemma="Ἀχελῷος">Ἀχελώιω</w></name> <gap reason="lost" quantity="5" unit="character" precision="low"/>

<lb xml:id="line_3" n="3"/><gap reason="lost" quantity="4" unit="character" precision="low"/> <w lemma="ὅπη">ὁπῆ</w>
οἱ <name type="group"><w lemma="λεβηναῖος">Λεβηναῖοι</w></name> <w lemma="ἔτι">ἔτι</w> καὶ <w lemma="νῦν">νῦν</w> <name type="sacrifice"><w lemma="θύω">θύο

<lb xml:id="line_4" n="4" break="no"/><supplied reason="lost">ντι</supplied></w></name> <w lemma="κατά"><supplied reason="lost">κ</supplied><unclear>α</unclear>τὸς</w> <w lemma="ἀρχαῖος">ἀρχαίος</w> <name type="authority"><w lemma="νόμος">νόμος</w></name> <name type="deity" key="Acheloos"><w lemma="Ἀχελῷος">Ἀχελώιω

<lb xml:id="line_5" n="5" break="no"/><supplied reason="lost">ι</supplied></w></name> <supplied reason="lost">μὲν</supplied> <name type="animal" key="swine"><name type="age"><w lemma="χοῖρος">χοῖρον</w></name></name>, <name type="deity" key="Nymphs"><w lemma="νύμφη">Νύνφαις</w></name> δὲ <name type="animal" key="goat"><name type="age"><w lemma="ἔριφος">ἔριφον</w></name></name> <orig>αν</orig>

 <lb xml:id="line_6" n="6" break="no"/><gap reason="lost" quantity="4" unit="character" precision="low"/><orig>ετ<unclear>α</unclear>ν</orig><gap reason="lost" quantity="4" unit="character" precision="low"/><orig>αν<unclear>ελ</unclear>λλ</orig><gap reason="lost" quantity="4" unit="character" precision="low"/><orig>Ι</orig> <w lemma="ὅτι">ὅτι</w> ὁ <name type="deity" key="Asclepius"><w lemma="Ἀσκληπιός"><unclear>Ἀ</unclear>

<lb xml:id="line_7" n="7" break="no"/><supplied reason="lost">σκλα</supplied><unclear>π</unclear>ιὸς</w></name> <w lemma="ἐκ">ἐξ</w> <placeName key="Epidauros"><w lemma="Ἐπιδαύρος">Ἐπιδαύρ<choice><corr>ω</corr><sic>ο</sic></choice></w></placeName> <w lemma="εἰς">ἐ<unclear>ς</unclear></w> <placeName key="Lebena"><w lemma="Λεβήνα">Λεβήν

<lb xml:id="line_8" n="8" break="no"/><supplied reason="lost">αν</supplied></w></placeName> <gap reason="lost" quantity="2" unit="character" precision="low"/>
<orig>α<unclear>γο</unclear></orig><gap reason="lost" quantity="3" unit="character" precision="low"/><orig><unclear>λ</unclear></orig><gap reason="lost" quantity="3" unit="character" precision="low"/><orig>κε</orig> <unclear>κ</unclear>αὶ (?) <gap reason="lost" quantity="1" unit="character"/><orig><unclear>ει</unclear></orig><gap reason="lost" quantity="3" unit="character" precision="low"/><orig>π<unclear>ε</unclear></orig><gap reason="lost" quantity="3" unit="character" precision="low"/>

<lb xml:id="line_9" n="9"/> <gap reason="lost" quantity="12" unit="character" precision="low"/><orig>θει</orig><gap reason="lost" quantity="6" unit="character" precision="low"/><orig>αι</orig><gap reason="lost" quantity="9" unit="character" precision="low"/>

<lb xml:id="line_10" n="10"/><gap reason="lost" quantity="11" unit="character" precision="low"/><orig>πολυ</orig><gap reason="lost" quantity="3" unit="character" precision="low"/><orig>ι</orig> Λυκιαγι<gap reason="lost" quantity="3" unit="character" precision="low"/>
                    
<lb xml:id="line_11" n="11"/><gap reason="lost" quantity="7" unit="character" precision="low"/><orig>αι</orig> <w lemma="προστάσσω"><unclear>π</unclear>ρο<unclear>σέ</unclear><supplied reason="lost">τ</supplied>αξε</w> ὁ <name type="deity" key="Asclepius"><name type="authority"><w lemma="θεός">θιὸς</w></name></name> <orig>κα</orig><gap reason="lost" quantity="5" unit="character" precision="low"/>

<lb xml:id="line_12" n="12"/> <gap reason="lost" quantity="9" unit="character" precision="low"/><orig>ν</orig><gap reason="lost" quantity="12" unit="character" precision="low"/><orig>θε</orig><gap reason="lost" quantity="2" unit="character" precision="low"/><orig>π</orig><gap reason="lost" quantity="6" unit="character" precision="low"/>

<lb/> <gap reason="lost" extent="unknown" unit="line"/>
                </ab>
            </div>
            
            <div type="translation" xml:lang="eng">
                <head>Translation</head>
                <p>[...] of the Nymphs and Acheloos [...] where the inhabitants of Lebena sacrifice still now in conformity with the ancient customs, to Acheloos, (5) a piglet, to the Nymphs, a kid [...] that/because (?) Asclepius from Epidauros to Lebena [... (10) ...] to the leader of Lycians (?) [...] the god has commanded [...]</p>
            </div>
            
            <div type="translation" xml:lang="fre">
                <head>Traduction</head>
                <p>[...] des Nymphes et d'Acheloos [...] où les gens de Lebena sacrifient jusqu'à ce jour selon les coutumes anciennes, à Acheloos, (5) un porcelet, aux Nymphes, un chevreau [...] (parce ?) qu'Asclépios, depuis Épidaure à Lebena [... (10) ...] au chef des Lyciens (?) [...] le dieu a commandé [...]</p>
                </div>
            
            <div type="commentary">
                <head>Commentary</head>
        
<p>The inscription concerns the cult of Asclepius at Lebena on Crete, installed at the very same place where there was an earlier local cult of the river god Acheloos and the Nymphs. From the archeological evidence, it has been determined that the cult of Asclepius was introduced to Lebena at the end of the 4th century BC (Guarducci 1932: 410-411). Pausanias (2.26.9) tells us that this cult came from Balagrai in the area of Cyrene, which itself derived from Epidauros. This inscription seemingly explains that the cult originated from Epidauros (lines 6-8). A connection with Epidauros is also found in another contemporary inscription from Lebena, in the miraculous healing of a certain Theon (the fragmentary inscription may mention a healing that took place in two steps: the patient sought a cure at Epidauros and was then definitely healed at Lebena; cf. Guarducci <bibl type="abbr" n="IC I">IC I</bibl> 17.8, lines 5-10). In the Hellenistic period, Lebena (a <foreign>polis</foreign> subject to Gortyn) developed into an important healing centre for the Cretans (Savelkoul).</p> 

<p>Chaniotis and Sineux (2006a, 2006b) have underlined the narrative character of the text, which speaks in the third person about the people of Lebena (line 3). Accordingly, it has been suggested that this inscription probably explains the history of the site and tells the story of the introduction of the cult of Asclepius in Lebena (lines 6-7), a story in which current cultic practice is firmly connected to the past (partial parallels might be sought in the dossier of Isyllos from Epidauros, <bibl type="abbr" n="IG IV²">IG IV²</bibl> 128, or in the monument of Telemachos from Athenian Asklepieion, <bibl type="abbr" n="SEG">SEG</bibl> 47, 232; compare here a quite different set of sacrificial regulations relating to the introduction of the cult of Asklepios at Apollonia in Illyria, <ref target="CGRN_40">CGRN 40</ref>; see also, at Erythrai, <ref target="CGRN_76">CGRN 76</ref>). The first interpretable element of the inscription is the mention of a cult-site where the inhabitants of Lebena "still now" sacrifice a kid to the Nymphs and a piglet to Acheloos, "in conformity with the ancient customs" (lines 2-5). The following lines (6-8) explain how Asclepius (the name of the god is partly restored, but seems certain) brought something from Epidauros to Lebena. In the four final, fragmentary lines (lines 8-12) we may perhaps discern a reference to someone "guiding Lycians" and, more clearly, to a command made by "the god" (presumably Asclepius or Apollo; see below, lines 10 and 11), perhaps concerning the organisation of sacrifices or the installation of the sanctuary.</p>

<p>The inscription belongs at least a few centuries later than the original introduction of the cult. The precise political context and the reasons for publication elude us, though some conjectures can be made. Relevant is another inscription originally placed in the <foreign>adyton</foreign> of the Asklepieion at Lebena (Guarducci <bibl type="abbr" n="IC I">IC I</bibl> 17.21), which gives an alternative foundation story of the cult. The inscription explains that Asclepius guided the father of a certain Soarchos, in a dream and then in reality, to a source where the sanctuary was to be founded; it goes on to explain that forty-seven years later, a snake led Soarchos' son there again, so that the source could fill the neglected fountains of his father (κράνας λειπούσας ... τὰς πατέρος) once more. All this may point to a decline of the cult at the end of the 3rd century BC, during a period of political upheaval (the Lyttian war and a situation of civil war in Gortyn, cf. Sineux 2006a: 21). Accordingly, the present inscription may perhaps be interpreted as an attempt to re-assert the importance of the healing sanctuary after that difficult period. Emphasizing the connection with Epidauros (lines 6-8), the site of the most famous cult of Asclepius, may have been an act of political propaganda, aimed at strengthening the foundation of the cult and boasting the prestige of the Asklepieion (Chaniotis, Sineux). It is possible that the writing up of a catalogue of miracle cures at this Asklepieion in the same period (Guarducci <bibl type="abbr" n="IC I">IC I</bibl> 17.8-20) was also part of a set of actions aimed at underlining the importance of the healing sanctuary. From the fragmentary text of the present inscription, it seems moreover that the authorities may have wanted to stress a continuity of worship—again, the cult of Asclepius is founded at the site of an earlier local cult of Acheloos and the Nymphs (cf. Savelkoul, p. 49-51; for a different view, cf. Sineux 2006a: 22-23). The emphasis on this legitimacy may have been a strategy to "(re-)anchor" the cult of Asclepius (on the notion of anchoring innovations, cf. Sluiter).</p>
                
<p> Line 2: The genitives may depend on the mention of a sanctuary, priest(esse)s or altars of the Nymphs and Acheloos, now lost in the preceding lacuna. Plato presented Acheloos as the father of the Nymphs (Pl. <title>Phdr.</title> 263d) and he was often worshipped together with them (for the connections between the Nymphs and Acheloos, see Larson, p. 98-100; cf. here <ref target="CGRN_26">CGRN 26</ref> A, Attica, line 19 and especially <ref target="CGRN_52">CGRN 52</ref>, Erchia, with commentary at lines Α12-16 + Β21-25 + Γ26-30 + Δ24-27 + Ε16-21 [27 Boedromion] and further references). The river god Acheloos was sometimes worshipped in the context of healing cults, for example at the Amphiareion of Oropos (Paus. 1.34.3), and the Nymphs were worshipped at the Asklepieion of Kos (cf. <ref target="CGRN_140">CGRN 140</ref>). The rationale behind the associations of Acheloos and the Nymphs with healing cults seems to be the centrality and essential role of water in these cults; for example, Asklepieia are often situated along river beds or at the sea shore when a source of fresh water is present (Boudon).</p> 
               
<p>Line 4: The restoration [κα]τὸς was proposed by Halbherr on the analogy of a ritual norm of the same period found at the Pythion of Gortyn, in which rules concerning the use of sacred wood are connected to tradition by the use of the phrase κατὸ ἀρχαῖον (<bibl type="abbr" n="IC IV">IC IV</bibl> 186a, line 4). From the transcription, we print [κ]α̣τὸς. The use of ἀρχαῖος to refer to what is "old" strengthens the link between past and present. This term presents previous events and customs as still relevant for the present (cf. Casevitz, and compare <ref target="CGRN_78">CGRN 78</ref>, Attica, lines 20-21). </p>
                
<p>Line 5: The Nymphs received a young goat of indeterminate gender: like most words for animals, ἔριφος is epicene. As a general rule, gods tended to receive male animals and goddesses female ones (see Georgoudi 2007 and especially Pitz forthc.). It could therefore be expected that the Nymphs implicitly received a young female goat. Both Acheloos and the Nymphs receive young sacrificial animals (for these, cf. Georgoudi 1988a and Pitz forthc.). Sineux (2006b) points out that these were possibly preliminary offerings preceding sacrifice to Asclepius.</p>
                
<p>Line 6: The letters -εταν may refer to an agent, such as a benefactor (εὐεργέταν) or more likely the founder (ἀρχαγέταν) of the cult. Chaniotis suggests ἐτᾶν (= ἐτῶν): the reference could then be to sacrifices that are to be performed biennially or over a longer interval of time. A parallel for the genitive form is found in <ref target="CGRN_106">CGRN 106</ref> (Kalaureia), line 9: θύειν δὲ διὰ τριῶν ἐτέων.... "sacrifice every other year...". The mention of the periodicity would be a specification of lines 3-5, θύοντι ... ἔριφον. The conjunction ὅτι introduces an indirect statement ("that..." after a verb of saying or announcing), or a causal clause ("because..."). We should opt for the former, if we consider the text to be a narrative recounting the origin of the cult. The first editor, Halbherr, mentions that the Ε following ΑΝ in the middle of this line could be Θ and that possibly the text should be read -αν θάλασσαν. This might then refer to the arrival of the cult (in the form of a founder, a snake / the god) from overseas. Τhe arrival of a snake is a <foreign>topos</foreign> in foundation stories of Asklepieia: cf. Guarducci <bibl type="abbr" n="IC I">IC I</bibl> 17.10a, lines 1 and 4, a fragmentary inscription mentioning a snake (δράκων) coming overseas on a ship to Lebena.</p>
                
<p>Line 8: Rather than the plural ethnic Λεβηναίους restored by all preceding editors, we consider that, with the preposition ἐς and no article, the reference should be to the toponym, Λεβήν|[αν]. For the remainder, we appear to need a verb denoting what Asclepius did "from Epidauros to Lebena".  Hiller von Gaertringen suggested to Guarducci (in <bibl type="abbr" n="IC I">IC I</bibl>) the restoration ἀπ[έστ]α̣[λ]κε, "he (had) sent", which has been followed by all subsequent editors. However, this restoration fits neither the spacing of the letters in the line nor the traces seen by Halbherr (as was already noted by Guarducci). The traces (. . ΑΓ̣Ο̣) may instead suggest a form of ἄγω, though the precise restoration remains elusive (compare again the monument of Telemachos, <bibl type="abbr" n="SEG">SEG</bibl> 47, 232, lines 14-15: ἤγαγεν δεῦρε ἐφ᾽ ἅ[ρματος]). A verb of "sending" is likely in this context. It has been suggested (e.g. by Sineux 2006a: 15) that the inscription here narrates the story of a snake (ὄφις or δράκων) sent by Asclepius to indicate the spot where the new Asklepieion should be founded, but we do not have any clear element about this here. Still another possibility might be to look for an intransitive verb, comparing other inscriptions in which Asclepius "comes" or "arrives" (e.g. <bibl type="abbr" n="IG IV².1">IG IV².1</bibl> 122, line 16: ἐδόκει οἱ ὁ θεὸς ἵκων ἐξ Ἐπιδαύρου; 128, line 60: τοῖς δ’ Ἀσκληπιὸς ἦ̣λθε βοαθόος ἐξ Ἐπιδαύρου; and another passage of the monument of Telemachos, <bibl type="abbr" n="SEG">SEG</bibl> 47, 232, lines 9-12: [ἀ]νελθὼν̣ Ζ̣εόθ̣[ε|ν Μυστηρί]ο̣ις τοῖς μεγά̣|[λοις κατ]ή̣γετο ἐς τὸ Ἐλ̣|[ευσίνιο]ν).</p>
                   
<p>Line 10: Halbherr transcribes ΠΟΛΥ, which could be interpreted as a form of "many" (πολύ-) or of the verb ἀπολύω; for example, one might think of the participle [ἀ]πολύ[σαντ]ι. The letters λυκιαγ̣ι[- -] could perhaps be interpreted as word referring to a leader or a guide of the Lycians (a *Λυκι-άγιος, restoring the text as Λυκιαγ̣ί[ῳ]). Persons literally called Λυκίων ἀγός appear in the <title>Iliad</title>, notably Glaukos and Sarpedon (e.g. 5.647, 16.540). A <foreign>theoros</foreign> leading a delegation from Lycia might be envisaged. There are clear connections between Lycia and Crete: the Lycians could be viewed as immigrants from Crete, since according to legend, Sarpedon arrived in Lycia after having been expelled from Crete following a dispute of power with his brother Minos (Hdt. 1.173, 7.92, cf. Bryce 1986: 209-210). Another, perhaps likely, option is that Λυκιάγιος (compare Apollo Στρατάγιος on Rhodes, <bibl type="abbr" n="SEG">SEG</bibl> 39, 739) is a new epithet of the god Apollo, with the letters ΠΟΛ forming part of the theonym (however, Halbherr's drawing reads ΠΟΛΥ, which remains problematic). Apollo was believed to originate from Lycia (in Hom. <title>Il.</title> 4.101, Apollo is called Λυκηγενής, though some modern linguists question this ancient understanding of the epithet; compare the epithet Λύκειος for Apollo, the correct interpretation of this epithet is also a matter of debate; for discussion, cf. Graf, p. 12, 47, 122-123; Bryce 1990). Bacchylides and Sophocles refer to Apollo as Λυκ(ε)ίων ἄναξ (B. <title>Ep.</title> 13.114-115 and Soph. <title>OT</title> 203), which seems semantically close to a Λυκιάγιος. For the possible connection of Apollo with the narrative in this inscription, cf. the Commentary at line 11 below.</p>
                   
<p> Line 11: The most likely candidate for the god making this command seems to be Asclepius, though what he would have ordered is lost in the lacunae. We may notably compare contemporary inscriptions where Asclepius orders (προσέταξε) various patients to come to the healing sanctuary of Lebena to receive a cure there. For example, Asclepius ordered Damandros, a citizen of Gortyn who suffered from sciatica, to go to Lebena so that he could cure him (Guarducci <bibl type="abbr" n="IC I">IC I</bibl> 17.9). Another possibility is that the θιός mentioned here is Asclepius' father, Apollo (perhaps mentioned in line 10, see above). Oracular commands of Apollo are frequently mentioned as a source for
ritual norms: <ref target="CGRN_24">CGRN 24</ref> A (Athens), line 10; <ref target="CGRN_31">CGRN 31</ref> (Eleusis), lines 5, 26, 34; <ref target="CGRN_99">CGRN 99</ref> (Cyrene), line 1; <ref target="CGRN_104">CGRN 104</ref> (Halikarnassos), line 5. In connection with the cult of Asclepius, the oracle of Apollo at Delphi was consulted about the arrival of a snake in Halieis; Apollo decreed that a cult of Asclepius should be founded there (<bibl type="abbr" n="IG IV².1">IG IV².1</bibl> 122 no.
33). An oracular consultation of Apollo with an epithet *Λυκιάγιος (at the Lycian oracle of Patara?) could hypothetically have been part of the founding narrative of the sanctuary at Lebena.</p>
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