T h e m a s c u l i
n e c o m p a n i o n s
o f A t h e
n a
The scenes of the attacks on Agraulus
and Alcippe lay outside the fortress, one on the north slope, the other
on the south slope; meanwhile the serpent had its home and Cecrops his
grave on the Acropolis, in the sacred location which was named after Erechtheus.
The Erechtheum [Text and Views: The
Erechtheum] included other manifestations of the masculine as well.
In front of the entrance stood an altar to Zeus Hypatus. In the west wall
of the building, which differed from the standard type of Greek temple,
was an altar to Poseidon, on which were offered sacrifices to Erechtheus
as well. Further in, there was an altar to the hero Butes, and finally
a third altar, to Hephaestus. One of the chambers contained a wooden Hermes
(i.e., a wooden phallus) which was concealed among myrtle branches and
considered to be a votive offering of Cecrops. This would have been a middle
area of the temple, since Herse, the beloved of Hermes, according to the
story of their hieros gamos, [sacred marriage] lived in the middle
room. Except for the oldest fixed cultic image of the Goddess, everything
in the contained temple -- beginning with the three depressions in the
north hall which were supposedly traces of Poseidon's trident -- was meant
to remind one of the power and presence of masculine Deities. A salty spring
(the "sea water") in the Erechtheum did not count as a feminine element
like the earth, but as the "sea of Erechtheus" also signified a masculine
presence. This name identifies Erechtheus with the sea God Poseidon: indeed,
he possessed a common cult with Poseidon and was associated with him as
well through the double name Poseidon Erechtheus. On the other hand, his
being earth-born and the foster-child of Athena associates him with Erichthonius.
Judged by its ending, the name Erechtheus is older than the combination
Eri-chthonius, this latter name being a playful interpretation of the first.
Concealment seems to be the main intention here, and this signified a secret:
namely that the husband and the son of the motherly Goddess were identical,
a theme that fits in with the mother-son mythologem.
On the basis of what has been presented
it is possible to establish a relative chronology among the recounted forms
of the masculine. Cecrops and the serpent -- basically the same divine
Person -- and Erechtheus-Erichthonius (the son-husband) belong to the oldest
level; Poseidon belongs to the most recent. In no sense at all did Ares
intrude into the series of the fortress's masculine Deities: the cult outside
the fortress's sanctuaries was suited to his nature, though he was in the
vicinity of the fortress before Poseidon was. The close connection inherent
in the name "Poseidon Erechtheus" associates an earlier spouse with the
latest intruder. Over against this final result of a long development there
are three manifestations of the masculine which remained independent, all
of which are more archaic than Poseidon: Butes, whose name implies the
period of the bull; Hephaestus, a pre-Greek God; and "Hermes," an archaic
cultic token. The epithet Zeus Hypatus may also indicate that he belonged
to the most recent level, although he could also have been already present
alongside the dark serpent, bull, and stallion husbands as the bright aspect
of father. A bull spouse is presupposed by the hero Butes, not in the person
of a "cattle-herd" -- which is what his name means -- but as an actual
bull.
Excepts from
Athena, Virgin and Mother in Greek Religion (1952)
Karl Kerenyi
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Copyright
©1999 Roy George
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