#Erithaeios

[verdantlyviolet]

Poorly translated with Google; Κυπρο-Αργολικά

Ἀρταμίτιος  was the month in honor of Artemis, common in many calendars, including neighboring Epidaurus (see Samuel 1972:91· Trump (1997: 141)

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The name of the complete martyr so far in any calendar month  Ἐριθαιέου is of particular interest. Etymologically it must probably be related to the word ὁ ἔριθος, which means “the worker, the day laborer”. In Homer in particular ἔριθοι are the reapers, while as a female, ἡ ἔριθος, means the weaver, probably from a paretymology that associated the word with ἔρια, hair. To the ancient lexicographers, ellexi generally means the workers of the earth.

[…] the fact remains that the original meaning of the word was “the laborer of the land” and later took on the meaning of “wage laborer” in general. .ριθος however, some cult adjectives Artemis and Apollo must also be associated. So, we have a mess of it from Attica 2 Ου  A.D. century (Inscriptiones Graecae  II 2, 5005) with the inscription  Ἀρτέμιδος | Ἐρείθου

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A third, more interesting testimony comes from Ptolemy Hepheastion, the so-called Hennon,  writer from Alexandria, of about 100 AD. According to her, when Adonis died, Aphrodite wandered and looked for him, to finally find him in the city of Argos in Cyprus, in the sanctuary of Apollo  Ἐριθίου : « O “(Excerpt 7 of the summary of the book of Ptolemy” Περὶ τῆς εἰς πολυμαθίαν καινῆς ἱστορίας λόγοι ΣΤ΄ “, Rescued by Photios, Library  , 153α, 15 [Migne, Patrologia Graeca  CIII, column 632]. Cf. Westermann 1843: 198, 11. Cf. also Pauly-Wissowa Realencyclopädie  II, 1 (1895), column 52 s.v.  Apollon (K. Wernicke) and VI, 1 (1907), p. 468, s.v. Erithaseos  (O. Jessen).

It can not be a mere coincidence that a mythical person, symbolizing the annual death and rebirth of nature, is associated with the sanctuary of Apollo  Ἐριθίου.  Why should we probably attribute to this cult name of Apollo, as in the others mentioned above, the concept of protector of agricultural work and the  euphoria of the fruits of the earth. .ριθος ) considers the surname of Apollo  Ἐριθάσεος  ‘Obscure to all égards’. We should not be surprised by such a quality of Apollo, which we emphasize is identified mainly with light, divination and music. Myths and myths echo his other earlier qualities, such as that of shepherd (legal)  Let us remember the herds of oxen eaten by the brains of fellow student Odysseus, as well as the legend of little Hermes, who exchanged the lyre for his  older brother’s herds (Homer, Odyssey  , α 8–9· Ὁμηρικός Ὕμνος εἰς Ἑρμῆν  , 18. For the same quality of Apollo and the adjective  Legal  see for example Callimachus,  Ὕμνος εἰς Ἀπόλλωνα  , 47 ·  Theocritus, Εἰδύλλια  , 25, 21). But it seems that Apollo was also a god-protector of farmers, a remnant of perhaps an old being as a god of the earth and the products of the plant and animal world. This is presumed by various cult names in many parts of the ancient world, which are characteristic. See mainly Pauly-Wissowa Realencyclopädie  II, 1 (1895), s.v.  Apollon (K. Wernicke), p. 9 and 51–52.

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Some of these adjectives are associated with specific festivals in honor of Apollo. The most famous were Thargilia And Pianopsia in Attica, which show exactly the relationship between God and agriculture. Thargilia  were the beginnings of cereals and πύανα  respectively were legumes, especially broad beans. It is also known that the ancient months often took their names from major religious festivals that were celebrated during them. Thus an octopus month Θαργηλιὼν It started around the middle of May, when the alfalfa began to ripen. Respectively o Πυανοψιὼν began after mid-October, after the legume harvest.

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So maybe the month  Ἐριθαίεος of Argos to be the month of a so far celebration of their martyrdom * Ἐριθαιέων,  in honor of Apollo  Ἐριθίου,  most likely related to the harvest. It is therefore logical to assume that it was rather a summer month, corresponding to the Attic one Thargilina.  In Argos it may have occupied the last place in the year, just before the month Panama.

As far as I know, the location of Argos in Cyprus is not known, for which the only evidence is the one we mentioned above. Of course there were several cities with the name Argos and they are not connected exclusively with Argos in the Peloponnese. But finding the martyr month  Ἐριθαιέου in Argos and the cult of Apollo  Ἐριθίου in Argos, Cyprus with such a rare name, probably indicate a relationship between the two regions.

Let us not forget the role of the Peloponnese and the neighboring islands in the colonization of Cyprus, where according to Herodotus (5, 113) and Strabo (Geographically, 14, 6, 3) the Argeians had founded Kourion (cf. the expressions in inscriptions from Kourion: Mitford 1971: 195–198, no. 104 (αἷμα τὸ Περσέως) and 165–166, no. 89 (πόλις Περσῆος). the colonization of Kourion and the relevant traditions, see Gjerstad 1944: 110, 113–114). In both the metropolis and the colony, the cult of Apollo was dominant. (Generally for the worship of Apollo in Cyprus, see Glover 1961 and Cayla 2005).