Journal | Axon
Journal issue | 7 | 1 | 2023
Research Article | Legge sacra da Smirne dal santuario di un’ignota divinità femminile
Legge sacra da Smirne dal santuario di un’ignota divinità femminile
Abstract
The stele (2nd-1st century BCE), found in Smyrna, presents a sacred law concerning the cult of an unknown goddess. The first section prohibits a hurting of the sacred fishes and the sanctuary goods, and it is followed by a course against those who disobey. The mention of the sacred fishes may suggest that the Goddess associated with these animals may be the Syrian goddess Atargatis. It is possible that, in the late Hellenistic period, a community of Syrians settled in Smyrna, founding the sanctuary of its local deity and promoting her cult, as happened in Delos and other Greek ports.
Submitted: Jan. 17, 2023 | Accepted: April 6, 2023 | Published Aug. 3, 2023 | Language: it
Keywords Sanctuary • Ichthyotrophion • Claudius Aelianus • Delos • Atargatis • Ancient Smyrna • Lucian of Samosata • Sacred fishes • Negotiatores
Copyright © 2023 Francesco Sorbello. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
Permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/Axon/2532-6848/2023/01/006
