Zeus : a study in ancient religion - Warburg Institute

The double axe and Zeus L,abrdy7idos 587
are known to have had priests of Zeus Kretagenes and the Kouretes\
Reverence paid to Cretan powers is at least suggestive of Cretan
affinity.
Another point deserving of consideration is the possibility that
the axe-god of Mylasa was at one time named Labrdyndos, 'He of
Labranda,' without any more exact determination. The Etyviolo-
gicunt Magnum'^ tells how the Kouretes Labrandos, Panamoros,
and Palaxos or Spalaxos came in consequence of an oracle to Karia
and, being overtaken by night, slept on the banks of a river which
they therefore called the Heudonos. As two of these Curetic names
were obviously cult-titles of Zeus, Labrandos being derived from
the Zeus Labrdyndos of Labranda and Panamoros from the Zeus
Pandmaros of Panamara^, O. Hofer in 1894 suspected that the third
name likewise, Palaxos or Spalaxos, might prove to be a '
Zeus-
epitheton^! His suspicion was well founded; for seven years later he
triumphantly quotes^ a dedication to Zeus Spdloxos on a small altar
found by W. Kubitschek and W. Reichel at Mastaura and published
by them in 1894**. The altar in question is decorated with a double
axe also; and this tempts Hofer to hazard the guess that Pdlaxos
may be connected ^N\\h pelekys, 'an axe.' In .view of the various
disguises worn by this much-travelled word'' there is no phonetic
^ Lebas—Waddington Asie Mineure no. 394, 8 f. = Michel Recueil d'' Inscr. gr. no. 472,
8 f. (Mylasa) eweidr] Mo