Epithets: Zerynthia
Lycophron, Strabo, Nonnus and the Suda each connected the polis of Samothrake, and particularly Zerynthos, with Hekate. There were in that region Mysteries dedicated to Hekate which included sacrificing dogs in a cavern sacred to the Goddess of Liminal Spaces. In that location, we know that Hekate was associated with the Kouretes or the Kabeiroi, and the rites were of a distinctly raucous nature. Simon Hornblower says that some of the references to Zerynthia in Lycophron is actually Aphrodite instead. Aphrodite Zerynthia presides over fertility, and was celebrated with maidens dancing and was hailed as some of the most holy rites.
The masculine form of the epithet, Zerynthius, was given to Apollo in the same region. This aspect of Apollo is associated with wolves, chasing and killing them, as well as becoming one himself. His sanctuary seems to have been near the Maritsa river. Ivan Marazov and Aleksandur Fol gives the epithet the meaning of ‘beastial,’ or ‘rich in game.’ Unfortunately, little is known about what really happened in the rites associated with the Samothrakian Mysteries, only that the initiates gained benefits much like other groups. Initiates were said to gain benefits in the afterlife. But the specifics beyond some vague suggestions of ekstasis and Bakkhic characterizations, we know little enough. And yet, I find myself drawn to this epithet. I am currently working on a project focused on Aphrodite, in addition to my usual worship of Hekate, and I was feeling particularly guilty about not spending all my usual energy on Hekate. Shortly thereafter, a spot of research for Hekate pointed me off to a page where there was a photo of two terracotta figures, the first of Aphrodite and Eros astride a horse, and the other of Hekate with an equine aspect. It felt rather meant to be, almost as an indication that the two were saying, “it’s alright. We work well together.” And I found myself reminded of this epithet, which both share, as well as this fragment of Sappho’s divine words:
[Hekate] the golden-shining attendant of Aphrodite. (– fragment 23)
Sources:
Theoi.com
Bury, John Bagnell, et al. The Cambridge Ancient History, Vol. 8, Cambridge, 1954. Dimitar, Popov. Trakiia, vol. 11, In aedibus Academiae Litterarum Bulgaricae, 1995. Freeman, Edward Augustus. The History of Sicily from the Earliest Times, Vol. 1, Clarendon, 1891. Lehmann, Phyllis Williams, et al. The Temenos: Text, Princeton, 1982. Lycophron. Lykophron – Alexandra: Greek Text, Translation, Commentary, and Introduction, trans. Simon Hornblower, Oxford, 2015. Marazov, Ivan and Aleksandur Fol. Ancient Gold: the Wealth of the Thracians. Abrams, 1998. Smith, William. A New Classical Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography Mythology and Geography, Partly Based upon the Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, Harper, 1878. Theodossiev, Nikola. North-western Thrace from the Fifth to the First Centuries BC, Archaeopress, 2000. Images:
Hollar, Wenceslaus. “Apollo,” from The Greek Gods, 17th c. print, now in the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, 17th c. via wikicommons: Potuit, Felix. “Samothrace, Greece,” photo, 2008. Via wikicommons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Samothrace_C%C3%B4te_Nord.jpg
