On the cult of Eros in the North Pontic Region
EDN: LAUOWD
Abstract
This paper deals with the publication of a fragmentary inscription discovered during the 1990 excavations by I. A. Antonova of the 19th curtain wall of Tauric Chersonese. According to the proposed reconstruction, the monument is a dedication to Eros and represents the first indisputable written evidence of the cult of Eros in the North Pontic (North Black Sea) region. The text reads as follows: “[So-and-so, son of so-and-so,] fulfilling the duties of a king, being a priest, [for the salvation of the city?] dedicated to Eros Hetaireios”. The dedication was made by a citizen who held the eponymous office of basileus and was also a priest of Parthenos, the supreme goddess of Tauric Chersonese. The rare cult epiclesis Ἑταιρεῖος (“Hetaireios” or “Friendly”) mentioned in the inscription was not previously attested in connection with Eros in the ancient tradition. The functions of Eros Hetaireios as a deity-guarantor of civic solidarity were in demand during the political crisis of the late 4th and early 3rd centuries BC, which was reflected in the civic oath of the Chersonesites (IOSPE I2 401). One of the main motives of this document is the need to maintain ὁμόνοια (“unanimity”), that is, civic solidarity and internal unity of the polis.
Keywords
ancient Greek religion,
North Pontic Region,
Tauric Chersonese,
Greek epigraphy,
cult of Eros,
cult of Zeus,
epiclesis
Supporting agencies: The research was supported by RSCF grant no. 24-18-01- 037, “Problems of Commenting on Classical Ancient Greek Texts” (2024–2026).
About the Author
I. A. Makarov
Institute of World History of the Russian Academy of Sciences ; A. M. Gorky Institute of World Literature, Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Igor Anatol’evich Makarov, Cand. Sci. (History) Senior Researcher, Department of Comparative Studies of Ancient Civilizations; Senior Researcher, Department of Classical Literature
119334, Moscow, Leninsky Prospekt, 32a
121069, Moscow, Povarskaya Str., 25a, Bld. 1
References
1. Makarov, I. A. (2001). Iz epigrafiki Severnogo Prichernomor’ia [Notes on two North Black Sea Coast inscriptions]. Vestnik drevnei istorii, 2001(1, no. 236), 175–178. (In Russian).
2. Makarov, I. A. (2014). Towards an interpretation of the civic oath of the Chersonesites (IOSPE I2 401). Ancient Civilizations from Scythia to Siberia, 20, 1–38.
3. Parker, R. (1996). Athenian religion: A history. Clarendon Press.
4. Pichikian, I. V. (1976). Antichnaia ordernaia arkhitektura Severnogo Prichernomoria pervykh vekov nashei ery [Ancient order architecture in the North Black Sea region in the first centuries CE]. Vestnik drevnei istorii, 1976(4, no. 138), 88–108. (In Russian).
5. Pichikian, I. V. (1984). Malaia Aziia — Severnoe Prichernomor’e: Antichnye traditsii i vliianiia. [Asia Minor — the North Black Sea Region: Ancient traditions and influences]. Nauka. (In Russian).
6. Saprykin, S. Y. (2001). Aphrodite with two Erotes from Tauric Chersonese. Ancient Civilizations from Scythia to Siberia, 7(1–2), 99–122.
7. Schachter, А. (1981). Cults of Boiotia, [Vol.] 1: Acheloos to Hera. Univ. of London; Institute of Classical Studies.
8. Skrjinskaya, M. V. (2007): Obraz Erota v predstavlenii grecheskogo naseleniia Bospora, Khersonesa i Ol’vii [The god Eros as viewed by the Greek population of the Bosporos, Chersonesos and Olbia]. Rossiiskaia arkheologiia, 2007(2), 16–24. (In Russian).
9. Stolba, V. F. (2005). Hellenistic Chersonesos: Towards establishing a local chronology. In V. F. Stolba, & L. Hannestad (Eds.). Chronologies of the Black Sea area in the period c. 400–100 B. C. (pp. 153–177). Aarhus Univ. Press.
10. Thériault, G. (1996). Le culte d’Homonoia dans les cités grecques. Maison de l’Orient méditerranéen; Québec: Les Éditions du Sphinx.
Review
For citations:
Makarov I.A. On the cult of Eros in the North Pontic Region. Shagi / Steps. 2026;12(1):162-172. (In Russ.) EDN: LAUOWD
Views:
68
JATS XML
Email this article 