Ephesian Artemis and Initiation
Date
2023
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Repository Usage Stats
views
downloads
Citation Stats
Attention Stats
Abstract
<jats:p>The claim that the cult of Artemis of Ephesus included a rite of initiation, conducted by the kouretes, should be doubted. Various Ephesian magistrates in Roman Imperial times, but not the annual kouretes, declare that they celebrated “all the sacrifices and mysteries”. This however can be merely the increasingly pretentious terminology of the age, “mysteries” meaning no more than “holy rites”. Ancient authors show no knowledge of initiation to Artemis at Ephesus. In contrast, the inscriptions unambiguously attest initiation to Dionysus and probably to Demeter, as we would expect in a Greek city. And in one dedication to Aphrodite, we do find again “mysteries”, but in this case metaphorical: they refer to marriage.</jats:p>
Type
Department
Description
Provenance
Subjects
Citation
Permalink
Published Version (Please cite this version)
Publication Info
Rigsby, Kent J (2023). Ephesian Artemis and Initiation. Kernos, 36. pp. 145–155. 10.4000/kernos.4568 Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/33203.
This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
Collections
Scholars@Duke
Kent J. Rigsby
Hellenistic world, Roman Empire; religion, historical geography; epigraphy, numismatics
Unless otherwise indicated, scholarly articles published by Duke faculty members are made available here with a CC-BY-NC (Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial) license, as enabled by the Duke Open Access Policy. If you wish to use the materials in ways not already permitted under CC-BY-NC, please consult the copyright owner. Other materials are made available here through the author’s grant of a non-exclusive license to make their work openly accessible.