Zeus : a study in ancient religion - Warburg Institute

836 Zeus Brontaios^ Bronton^ Bro7itesios
as ' Great ' and ' Holy^ '
' and Hearer of Prayer,' he is called ' the
Father god^ ' and ' the Victorious Father^,' on the strength of which
appellations he has been identified* with the Phrygian Papas or
Papds^. His art-type was that of a late provincial Zeus—witness a
crude bust from Dorylaeion {Eskishehir) in the British Museum
(fig. 794)". A marble altar from Giiinbet in Phrygia, described by
A. Korte', makes it clear, however, that Zeus Brontdn— like Zeus
Dios of the same region^—had also a Dionysiac aspect. The altar-
front is adorned with a lunar crescent, beneath which is a bearded
bust of Zeus in relief, with an eagle perched on his right shoulder.
The altar-back shows two ox-heads with a plough below them.
The small sides of the monument have vases and a vine-stem.
Other altars dedicated to Zeus Brontdn at or w^^x' Inonii repeat the
elements of this decoration—eagle, plough, vine, etc.^ And it cannot
be a mere coincidence that a whole series of tombstones from Altyntach
represents the deceased surrounded by the same sacred emblems
—eagle, plough, and vine'". Presumably Zeus Brontdn was not only a
celestial but also a terrestrial power. Indeed, his chthonian character
is fairly established by the fact that almost every inscription from
Phrygia in which he is mentioned occurs on a gravestone". Those
who had worshipped him in life would naturally claim his protection
in death..
What forms his worship took we are not expressly told. But
there is good reason to suppose that he was served with mystic
rites in a cave. Inonil, a stronghold of his cult, derives its name
(* Cave-front ') from a great cavern visible in the rock above the
village. The cavern comprises an upper and a lower chamber, con-
1 W. Link De vocis "Sanctus" usti pagano Konigsberg 1910.
* Sir W. M. Ramsay in the /ourn. Hell. Stud. 1882 iii. 123 (Nakoleia) Au BpovTwvTL
Kai Jlarpl deH.
3 Id. ib. 1882 iii. 124 (Nakoleia) NeiKrjTOiip Harrip.
* Id. id. 1882 iii. 124. But see F. Cumont in Pauly—Wissowa Real-Enc. iii. 891.
^ Supra p. 292 n. 4.
^ Brit. Mus. Cat. Sculpture iii. 3 no. 1521 inscribed Ati "BpovrQivTi \
'Ayr]