Talk:Cabeiri

Comments

This page has been moved from Kabeiroi without discussion, perhaps without looking at "What links here".--Wetman 05:04, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

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The following text, for which sources were requested by User:Pmanderson, who then immediately deleted it, is pasted below. Are there any legitimate quibbles on the mainstream nature and factual accuracy that can't simply be edited into this material? --Wetman 06:12, 21 May 2007 (UTC)

The Cabeiri were possibly originally Phrygian<:ref>According to scholia on Apollonius' Argonautica I. "The Phrygian origin of the Kabeiric cult asserted by Stesimbrotos of Thasos and recently defended by O. Kern cannot, therefore, be rejected a priori", wrote Giuliano Bonfante, "A Note on the Samothracian Language" Hesperia 24.2 (April 1955, pp. 101-109) p. 108; Bonfante agrees with Jacob Wackernagel that Κάβειροι cannot be Greek; Wackernagel suggested Thracian or Phrygian, two closely related peoples.</ref> deities and protectors of sailors, who were imported into Greek ritual.<:ref>"The secret of the mysteries is rendered more enigmatic by the addition of a non-Greek, pre-Greek element" (Burkert 1985:281). Burkert does not intend to suggest that the pre-Greek component was added.</ref> They were most commonly depicted as two people: an old man, Axiocersus, and his son, Cadmilus. Due to the cult's secrecy, however, their exact nature and relationship with other ancient Greek and Thracian religious figures remained mysterious. As a result, the membership and roles of the Cabiri changed significantly over time, with common variants including a female pair (Axierus and Axiocersa) and twin youths who were frequently confused with Castor and Pollux, who were also worshiped as protectors of sailors. The number of Cabiri also varied, with some accounts citing four (often a pair of males and a pair of females) of them, and some even more, such as a tribe or whole race of Cabiri

Discussion

Bonfante's words on Phrygians are hardly a ringing endorsement; a reference to Burkert, p.282, would have sufficed; therefore the note, while welcome, is redundant. Much more seriously, Burkert distinguishes systematically between the gods of Lemnos, unquestionably Cabeiri, and the cult of Samothrace, who may not be, in the strict sense. Almost all of this is about Samothrace, not Lemnos; and therefore does not belong in the header, where it is misleading.

An indication to that effect could be contrived, but it would be clumsy. Better to have separate sections on Lemnos, Thebes, and Samothrace, and include this under the proper heading.

While I am discussing these matters, I do not see where Burkert quotes Varro as suggesting relations between Casmilus and the Lady of Samothrace. For that matter, I do not see where Varro does. Septentrionalis PMAnderson 13:31, 21 May 2007 (UTC)

• Varro LL 5.58: Terra enim et Caelum, ut Samothracum, initia docent, sunt dei magni, et hi quos dixi multis nominibus, non quas Samothracia ante portas statuit duas virilis species aeneas dei magni, neque ut volgus putat, hi Samothraces dii, qui Castor et Pollux, sed hi mas et femina et hi quos Augurum Libri scriptos habent sic "divi potes," pro illo quod Samothraces Theoi dynatoi
  • This is of course Burkert's source for the columns, which I by no means dispute.
• Ibid. 7.34: Camillam qui glossemata interpretati dixerunt administram; addi oportet, in his quae occultiora: itaque dicitur nuptiis camillus qui cumerum fert, in quo quid sit, in ministerio plerique extrinsecus nesciunt. Hinc Casmilus nominatur Samothreces mysteriis dius quidam amminister diis magnis. Verbum esse Graecum arbitror, quod apud Callimachum in poematibus eius inveni.
• And that would appear to be all. Septentrionalis PMAnderson

Accuracy

The following claims are made in the disputed paragraph. As it stands, all are unsourced. (The comments are all from Burkert.)

• The Cabeiri were described most frequently as an old man and a boy.
  • Half-true of Lemnos; one of several descriptions mentioned. False of Samothrace, where the deities are described either as a triad with an attendant or a single Mistress, Electra or Electryone.
• These are Axiocersus and his son Cadmilus.
  • Unsupported for Lemnos. False for Samothrace; as Varro says above, Cadmilus is an attendant (amminster).
• Changed in the course of time.
  • Unsupported (and since Burkert says the dedications just say 'theoi', it is difficult to imagine what evidence this could have.)
• A female pair Axieros and Axiocersa.
  • Partly true of Samothrace. Burkert cites Mneseas as translating these as Demeter and Persephone, respectively, and says Varro represents them as Juno and Minerva. Pair is misleading, however, two would be better.
• Twin youths.
  • Unsupported. This would appear to be a distortion of Kerenyi's conjecture, which is entirely his own. It should not be given in WP's voice, and it should be accurate. Septentrionalis PMAnderson 23:16, 22 May 2007 (UTC)
• Confused with Castor and Pollux
  • False. What Varro says is that the twin columns were confused with Castor and Pollux.
• Protectors of sailors.
  • Supported, at last, Burkert p.284.
• "Number of Cabeiri...race or tribe. "
  • Partly supported, Burkert p.281, for Lemnos. Must be desperately confusing for the poor reader, who thinks we've been talking about Cabeiri all the time.

I deplore, also, that the footnotes for the etymology section are the disjecta membra of Burkert's footnote 23 (on page 457, to page 282) without mentioning him. One should credit the source one has primarily consulted, especially when reproducing his opinions. Septentrionalis PMAnderson 01:53, 22 May 2007 (UTC)

Strabo

Kerenyi's reference for Cabeiro as the mother of the Cabeiri is Strabo 10.3.21; you might have looked it up. Kerenyi says nothing about their father, but Strabo does: "that three Cabeiri and three nymphs called Cabeirides were the children of Cabeiro, the daughter of Proteus, and Hephaestus". The interpolation of "fatherless" is more OR. Septentrionalis PMAnderson 23:51, 22 May 2007 (UTC)

More Kerenyi

• 61: Cabeiri purified Hecate by the Acherusian Sea in the underworld (sch. Theocritus 2.21)
• 74: K. sees them as dwarfs or great gods, on islands, like Pygmalion on Cyprus ( < pygmaeon) Telchines on Rhodes, and Hephaestus.
• 87 C. Smiths, therefore Hephaistoi
• 88:Telchines and Capheira reared Poseidon (Diodorus 3.55.1, also Callimachius Del. 31) Her name shows Telchines = Cabeiri
• 156: See Talk:Cedalion
• 171: hermae from the C. (Herodotus 2.51; Callimachus Diegmata 8.33)
• 184: conj. identity of Halia, Aphrodite, Amphitrite... Cabeiro, Capheira, as one great goddess.
• 189: Island of Lemnos, with C. and Heph., identified with goddess Lemnos. (Stephanus of Byzantium)
• 192:Helios self-begetting, husband/son of Great Mother, like the Dactyli or Cabeiri.
• 219: "primordial men are Silenoi or Satyres, not Kabeiroi.
• 222 Prometheus had an iron ring (Catullus 64.295, Hyginus, Astr. 2,15) "Possible" he's an iron working C. or Dactyl.
• 265, incidental mention of the Mysteries of S.

Beyond this are his two expositions of the Mother-Goddess, all his own work:

• on page 86-88 his version of Samothrace.
  • He cites Strabo for Mt. Cabeirus in Berecynthia and Cabeiro; Diodorus (5.55.1; 5.64.4) for identification with the Idaean Dactyls and the Great Mother settling the Corybantes, her sons on Samothrace. Also a a story from Clement Protrepticon, 2.19.1 about three Corybantes brothers in Macedonia.
  • He then deduces his version of Samothrace as follows:
    • Varro says that there is a vulgar error that the two columns are Castor and Pollux
    • We accept the error as fact, and "guess" that there is a third, secret brother.
    • His relationship to the Great Mother is secret (apparently ex silentio, since we have no evidence.)
    • Their father is also secret. (Unsourced;
    • There is a genealogy which says the C. descend from Cadmilus.
    • But the C. are the Corybantes, who are sons of the Great Mother.
    • Therefore,[sic] Cadmilus is his own father and that of his brothers.
  • The only sourced statement in all of this is the identification as Castor and Pollux, from a source that denies it.
• 211: The Great Mother always had with her Dactyli, Curetes, Corybantes, or Cabeiri, "whom she had bred from within herself, and with whom she bred further" These may also become primitive peoples like the Telchines. Primordial gods of this kind are at the same time primordial men. Difference doubtless that as primordial men they "ceased to be husbands of the Great Goddess and received other wives." In this connection, he cites Strabo, loc. cit., incompletely, and concludes that the final three pairs are the promordial human couples.

This is intended as notes, for those, like myself, with limited access to Kerenyi's Gods of the Greeks. The only argument here is that Kerenyi's unsourced account of Samothrace is indeed a conjecture. Septentrionalis PMAnderson 20:42, 23 May 2007 (UTC)

Blavatsky's Kabirim

I'm quite familiar with Blavastky's work and with the Semitic Kabirim, "the Great Old Ones" (the Lovecraftian ring of that is no coincidence) etymology of Kabeiroi, however the section of examples in the lead is only for attested examples, so I removed this, along with the note: "Kabirim; ref: This unattested Semitic plural is collated from the writings of H. P. Blavatsky. See The Timeless Kabiri, an article by Theosophians." ---Alex (talk) 09:52, 21 June 2009 (UTC)

Cabeiri and Rome

My main interest is Roman religion. I came to the conclusion that the esoteric aspect of it is the same as the Cabiric mysteries. However this article could be improved greatly with more recent scholarship.Aldrasto11 (talk) 05:15, 16 August 2010 (UTC)

"The same" is not what you mean, surely. Any book/article titles to guide us in improving the article?--Wetman (talk) 13:54, 16 August 2010 (UTC)

Well, at the present stage of my research, I think that it is. See Varro, Macrobius, Servius, Pliny: the Penates publici are the Great gods. See Dion. Hal. I 67, who also describes the sacred mysterious objects as two caducei, one of bronze and one of iron and finds a way of excusing himself for revealing the mystery by attributing the words to Timaeus. I made many remarks on user Haploidavey's talk page. There is a tradition that connects the Pelasgians to Samothrace and the Pelasgians were possibly Etrurians or at least these two communities had lengthy exchanges in Italy. Herodotus says the Pelasgians built the walls of the acropolis of Athens and later migrated to the islands. Dardanus came to Phrigia from Samothrace and his descendents built Troy. Aeneas brought back to Italy the Penates of Troy, i.e. the Great Gods. The Lemnian stele is written in Etrurian.

There are some books partly available on line: Susan G. Cole 1984; M. Cosmopoulos ed. (with essays by K. Clinton, M. Lawall: interesting for it discusses finds of a sanctuary of the Great gods near Ilion). In Italian a book by F. Mora. I shall be more precise later.Aldrasto11 (talk) 04:12, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

I found a site that quotes a books in Italian entitled La diaspora etrusca which is not signed and so cannot be used here. However it is a scholarly work and its chapter I discusses the topic of the Pelasgian-Etruscan connexions of the Gret gods at length. Here is a cursory presentation of the issues touched and the references.

Herodotus apart (I 56-57; Vi 137; II 51-52); Schollium ad Apollonium Argonauticae i 917; F. W.. J. Schelling The gods of Samothrace It tr. Milano p 1980; R. Pettazzoni "Le origini dei Cabiri del Mar Tracio" Mem. dei Lincei 1909; P. Grimall Encyclopedie de la mythologie s. v. Dardanus, Iasius; Diodorus Siculus Bibl. Hist. V 47-49; Servius Danielis Aen. III 167; Dion. Hal. I 61; 68; Virgil Aen. III 167 ff.; VII 205 ff.; 240 ff.; on the Etruscan descent from Dardanus in the cippi of Tunisia: Colozier Les Etrusques et Carthage in Melanges d'Archeologie t d'Histoire 1953 LXV; M. Cristofani SE XXXVIII p.332; O. Carruba Nuova lettura dell'iscrizione etrusca dei cippi di Tunisia in Atheneum LIV 1976 p. 163-173; G. and L. Bonfante Lingua e cultura degli Etruschi Roma 1985 p. 171-2;

On Dardanus as one of the Cabeiri Virgil Aen. VII 210-211; on the sacred objects of Rome as being the same as those of Samothrace: Dion. Hal. I 23; 69; II 22; —Preceding unsigned comment added by Aldrasto11 (talk • contribs) 08:22, 18 August 2010 (UTC) Yesterday's move of the article has disrupted my editing, I apologise to readers.

On the Greek Epeus: founder of Pisa Serv. Dan. Aen. X 179; on his being the builder of the Troy horse and of the statue of Hermes Perphraios Imbrasos at Troy: Callimachus Iambi VII; Diegesis VII 32-34; VIII 1-20.

On the Tyrrhenic charachters of Hermes: J. Bosquet "Callimaque, Herodote et le trone de l'Hermes de samothrace" in Melanges Picard Paris 1949 p.119 n. 1; on his being named Cadmilos among the Etruscans like in the mysteries of Samothrace: Varro Ling. Lat. VII 34; Serv. Dan. Aen. XI 543: "among the Tuscan Mercurius is named Camillus, i. e. attendant of the gods... the Romans named camilli the noble youngsters, attendants of the flamines"; cf. Macrobius Sat. III 8, 6.

On the Etruscans Penates: Aelius Donatus in Serv. Dan. Aen. II 325 "Tuscans call the Penates Ceres, Pales and Fortuna"; Arnobius Adv. Nat. III 40; 43: "Fortuna, Ceres, Genius Iovialis and Pales", "Ceres, Pales, Fortuna, Iovialis or Genius".

On Tages being the son of Genius Iovialis or Genius or Iovialis and thence grandson of Iuppiter: Festus s.v. Tages.

On Pales being the same god as Hermes-Cadmilos and the concordance of their identification with that of the Greeks of Tages with their Hermes Chthonios: Johannes Lydus de Ostenti 2-3.

On the identity of the Penates brought to Italy by Aeneas: Aelius Donatus in Serv. Dan. Aen. II 296: " they were the Great Gods, identified with Iuppiter, Iuno and Minerva by Tarquinius Priscus the son of Demaratus of Corinthus, imbued with the mystic religion of Samothrace, who united their cult in one temple adding Mercurius"; cf. Macrobius Sat. III 4 omits Mercurius.

On the figure of Cadmilos as belonging to the common Mediterranean sostratum as the name Catmite on a mirror from Tarquinia: E. Secci "Tradizioni culturali tirreniche e pelasgiche nei frammenti di Callimaco" SMSR XXX 1 1959 p. 94.

On the name of the Etruscan goddess Acaviser as being correspondent to Axieros: E. Benveniste "Nom et origine de la deesse etrusque Acaviser" SE III 1929 p. 249-258.

On the ship used by Aeneas in flight from Troy as being built by Mercurius: Ennius in Serv. Dan. Aen. II 70.

On the widespread use of Etruscan traditional rites in founding new cities: Plato Leges 138C.

On the symbology of the caduceus: Macrob. Sat. I 19, 16-18.Aldrasto11 (talk) 04:55, 19 August 2010 (UTC)

Online there is available a work by Nora M. Dimitrova: Theoroi and initiates in Samothrace: the epigraphical evidence Princeton 2008. In the introduction she cites a work by Kevin Clinton: The religion of the sanctuary of the Grat Gods in Samothrace 12 which I have been unable to identify. Among the Roman initiates Cicero's uncle L. Cicero. Cicero's testimony in de Nat. Deor. on Hermes's descent and Proserpine's attraction for him must be reliable as he too was initiated.

The name of Hermes is to be found in Etruria: On the roll painted on the sarcophagum of Lar Pulena at Tarquinia;

In the name of Hermius given to the month of August;

with the gentilicians fro Caere Hermunia and Herminia;

with the gentilician of Titus Herminius, defensor of the bridge Sublicius with Horatius Cocles and Sp. Lartius (Liv. II 10) and then consul in 506 B. C. and of Lar Herminius Coritenesanus.

According to Pausanias IV 1, 7-9; 26, 7; 33, 4-6 the mysteries of Andania had been restored by Metaphos, the same person who had introduced to Tebe, Beotia, the cult of the Cabeiroi. Now this Metaphos is possibly the Etruscan king Metabus whose wife and daughter were named Casmilla and Camilla. (Other versions say the mysteric cults were introduced to Tebe by Harmonia sister of Dardanus who had received them from his mother Electra at Samothrace during the wedding of Harmonia and Cadmos.(Diod. Sic. Bibl. Hist. V 49). Other say Harmonia was the daughter of Ares and Aphrodite and she had received the sacred rites from them).Aldrasto11 (talk) 04:47, 21 August 2010 (UTC)

According to Rene' Alleau Aspects de l'alchimie traditonelle Paris 1953, the Cabeiri of Samothrace were metallurgists and alchemists. Their origin would go back to the Eneolithic, more 5000 years ago. They would have no relationship with the Aegyptians mysteries that came to Greece through Creta. Alleau's interpretation of the mysteries is a kind of hermetism based on the conception of the manifest universe as the product of the intersection of the Great Pole (Axieros-Cadmos) or Pole of the Primordial Light = Axis mundi or Cosmic Mountain or Tree (cf. e.g. M. Eliade Traite' d'histoire des religions or Shamanism...) and the Pole or Axis of the heart (Axiokeros=Helios Logos and Axiokersa=Hephaistos Logos) i.e. the Axis of the polarised male and female principles, both of which contains its opposite' s "pure essence". Alleau makes many references to the Chinese and other traditions to clarify this point. The Chinese tradition is the most clear and simple. In the hermetic view man's body would be the Sacred Earth while the corresponding heavenly position would be the Holy Earth. The book is praefaced by Eugene Canseliet.Aldrasto11 (talk) 03:48, 27 August 2010 (UTC)

A possible etymology of Cabeiri (and of mount Cabeiros) is from Caber pole Gael. cabar rafter and Lat. *caprio rafter, i.e. the axis mundi or cosmic mountain. This would tally with Alleau's interpretation.Aldrasto11 (talk) 03:10, 30 August 2010 (UTC)

Toys in Theban Cabeiron

I read this on Colli's book: it proves the presence of the Dionysiac myth in the Cabeirian mysteries.Aldrasto11 (talk) 05:18, 20 September 2010 (UTC)

Schelling

The German philosopher worte an interesting essay on the cults of Samothrace. It was published in Italian in Milano in 1990. There is now a commentary by F. Vigano' available on line pdf.Aldrasto11 (talk) 05:13, 10 October 2010 (UTC)

Disputed?

Can the editor who added the "Disputed" template please say what, in particular, is disputed? Paul August ☎ 17:17, 1 November 2021 (UTC)