The sacrificial rituals of Greek hero cults in the Archaic to the early ...

Eschara and escharon 45
Finally, a non-Greek example may be added. In his description of the
sacrificial procession of Kyros, Xenophon mentions a large eschara, topped
with a fire and carried by several men. 108 Whether this eschara was used as
an altar or simply as a substantial incense-burner is impossible to tell from
the context.
1.2.2. Eschara in the post­300 BC sources
Most of the later sources mention eschara only once (Table 3). The picture
presented is quite disparate as regards the appearance of the escharai, the
rituals performed and the recipients, but most of the characteristics of the
escharai of the earlier sources can also be traced in the later sources. What
should be noted is that in the post-300 BC literary sources can be found the
first direct connections between escharai and heroes, as well as the notion
that escharai and bomoi constituted two di�ferent kinds of altars.
The earliest evidence for an eschara as a particular kind of hero-cult
altar is found in Neanthes of Kyzikos (3rd century BC), who is quoted as
saying “bomoi are for the gods and escharai for the heroes”. 109 Neanthes
is a good example of how complex the source situation occasionally is. His
information is explicit, but highly abbreviated, and is preserved as quotations
in two stages by later sources. 110 It is impossible to tell whether Neanthes
is implying that the distinction in altars also meant a distinction in rituals
between gods and heroes. Still, Neanthes is particularly interesting, since
he is the only literary source before the Roman period making a direct
connection between heroes and escharai.
108 Cyr. 8.3.12.
109 FGrHist 84 F 7: bwmoùv je÷n fhsin, Çsqárav dè röwn. Neanthes is also quoted by
Eustathius, Od. 6.305 (Stallbaum 1825–26, vol. 1, 255, lines 36–37), as saying “bomoi are for the
daimones and escharai for the heroes”.
110 The quotation from Neanthes comes from hisKatàpólinmujiká, an account of the mythical
history of Kyzikos (see Laqueur 1935, 2108–2110). The precise identity of the writings of
Neanthes is unclear and his accuracy is considered as unreliable (see OCD 3 s.v. Neanthes;
commentary to FGrHist 84 F 7 by Jacoby, p. 144–149). This particular quotation is preserved
in thePerìÃmoíwnkaìdiafórwnléxewn (abbreviated Ammon. Di�f.), probably dating to the
1st-2nd centuries AD (see FGrHist 361, commentary p. 83, n. 1). This latter work was originally
written by Herennios Philon and is known in various versions by various authors, for example,
Eranios Philon, Ptolemaios Askalonites and Symeon; see KlPauly 1 (1964), s.v. Ammonios 4;
Neue Pauly 1 (1996), s.v. Ammonios 4; Heylbut 1887, 398, s.v.bwmóv; Tresp 1914, 90–91; Dihle
1959, 1863. The Peri homoion kai diaphoron lexeon was reworked by a certain Ammonios,
probably during the Byzantine period, and this is the version that has been preserved; see
KlPauly 1 (1964), s.v. Ammonios 4; Neue Pauly 1 (1996), s.v. Ammonios 4. For the edition of
this text, see Nickau 1966.