Sappho and mysteries of Artemis in ancient Mytilene

This article brings new arguments to consider the songs of Sappho as an important historical source of archaic religions of ancient Lesbos. Thanks to the texts published in 2014, we see that Sappho’s lyrics were often executable by girlish chorus. This choir sang at religious festivals and weddings (Sapph. Fr. 17, Fr. 94, Fr. 44, Fr. 104-114). We argue that modern classical scholars mistook when they think that the verb form qru>lhsqa in sapphic «Song of brothers» is a verb form of the present tense. In fact, it is a form of imperfect without argument. This form of imperfect at Sappho can be formed from both verbs which begin with a vowel (ajmeibo>man, Sapph. Fr. 94, 6), and from verbs that begin with a consonant (ke>let(o) jouj gaThis article brings new arguments to consider the songs of Sappho as an important historical source of archaic religions of ancient Lesbos. Thanks to the texts published in 2014, we see that Sappho’s lyrics were often executable by girlish chorus. This choir sang at religious festivals and weddings (Sapph. Fr. 17, Fr. 94, Fr. 44, Fr. 104-114). We argue that modern classical scholars mistook when they think that the verb form qru>lhsqa in sapphic «Song of brothers» is a verb form of the present tense. In fact, it is a form of imperfect without argument. This form of imperfect at Sappho can be formed from both verbs which begin with a vowel (ajmeibo>man, Sapph. Fr. 94, 6), and from verbs that begin with a consonant (ke>let(o) jouj gakolpov is attested on Attic altar (IV BC) too, which was erected by the priestess of Artemis Agrotera in gratitude for successful delivery ([IG II (2nd ed.), № 4573], cf. Sapph. Fr. 30, 2-5; Fr. 21, 13). The presence of sapphic epithet in the inscription on the altar of the goddess of childbirth means that Artemis was worshiped as the goddess of fertility in Mytilene as well. Now it is concluded that some fragments of Sappho (Sapph. Fr. 44a, Sapph. Fr. 99 a-b) refer to the archaic ritual of erotic mysteries of Artemis. We conclude that Artemis was worshiped as the goddess of women’s health and fertility in Mytilene. Erotic ritual, in which a priestess of Artemis uses an artificial phallus, is considered to be a pre-wedding sacrifice that a bride makes for Artemis. This sacrifice was apparently considered to be necessary in the archaic time to the bride gave birth successfully (similar ritual is attested in ancient Sparta and in the inscriptions of ancient Cyrene too). During the mysteries of Artemis, this goddess was revered as a goddess of childbirth in Mytilene. That is why the mystery of Artemis at Mytilene was also called Mysteries of the Suffocating Goddess [IG XII, pars II, № 484, 11-12]. function show_eabstract() { $('#eabstract1').hide(); $('#eabstract2').show(); $('#eabstract_expand').hide(); } ▼Показать полностью