volgadon Posted July 27, 2011 Posted July 27, 2011 Doing some research on another project and came across another interesting "monotheistic" declaration, similar to the ones I posted here.Excavations conducted by Crowfoot in Samaria-Sebaste in the 1930s resulted in rich findings, including a temple to Kore, Demeter's daughter (also known as Persephone). She was abducted by Hades, and ruled the underworld with him. Demeter caused the crops to fail until the gods persuaded Hades to release Kore, and mother and daughter were reunited. This myth was at the heart of the Eleusinian Mysteries. The cult of Kore was supreme in Samaria-Sebaste, replacing even Isis and Sarapis. A shattered statue of Kore was discovered with the following inscription. "One god/ of all/ the ruler/ great Kore/ the invincible."This inscription would raise no eyebrows if "Kore" were replaced with "YHWH" or "Jesus." As it is from a cult which worshipped other gods, such as Demeter, this is further indication that "one" refered to supremacy, rather than declaring that there were no other gods in existence.See "The Cults of Isis and Kore at Samaria-Sebaste in the Hellenistic and Roman Periods" by Jodi Magness, The Harvard Theological Review, Vol. 94, No. 2 (Apr., 2001), pp. 157-177, and [in Hebrew] "Eretz Israel from the Destruction of the Second Temple to the Muslim Conquest, vol. 2: Archaeology and Art" by Yoram Tsafrir, p. 194. 2
JeremyOrbe-Smith Posted July 27, 2011 Posted July 27, 2011 Very cool find! Shades of the Descent of Ishtar, as well.
WalkerW Posted July 27, 2011 Posted July 27, 2011 Doing some research on another project and came across another interesting "monotheistic" declaration, similar to the ones I posted here.Excavations conducted by Crowfoot in Samaria-Sebaste in the 1930s resulted in rich findings, including a temple to Kore, Demeter's daughter (also known as Persephone). She was abducted by Hades, and ruled the underworld with him. Demeter caused the crops to fail until the gods persuaded Hades to release Kore, and mother and daughter were reunited. This myth was at the heart of the Eleusinian Mysteries. The cult of Kore was supreme in Samaria-Sebaste, replacing even Isis and Sarapis. A shattered statue of Kore was discovered with the following inscription. "One god/ of all/ the ruler/ great Kore/ the invincible."This inscription would raise no eyebrows if "Kore" were replaced with "YHWH" or "Jesus." As it is from a cult which worshipped other gods, such as Demeter, this is further indication that "one" refered to supremacy, rather than declaring that there were no other gods in existence.See "The Cults of Isis and Kore at Samaria-Sebaste in the Hellenistic and Roman Periods" by Jodi Magness, The Harvard Theological Review, Vol. 94, No. 2 (Apr., 2001), pp. 157-177, and [in Hebrew] "Eretz Israel from the Destruction of the Second Temple to the Muslim Conquest, vol. 2: Archaeology and Art" by Yoram Tsafrir, p. 194.Absolute stud.
maklelan Posted July 27, 2011 Posted July 27, 2011 Doing some research on another project and came across another interesting "monotheistic" declaration, similar to the ones I posted here.Excavations conducted by Crowfoot in Samaria-Sebaste in the 1930s resulted in rich findings, including a temple to Kore, Demeter's daughter (also known as Persephone). She was abducted by Hades, and ruled the underworld with him. Demeter caused the crops to fail until the gods persuaded Hades to release Kore, and mother and daughter were reunited. This myth was at the heart of the Eleusinian Mysteries. The cult of Kore was supreme in Samaria-Sebaste, replacing even Isis and Sarapis. A shattered statue of Kore was discovered with the following inscription. "One god/ of all/ the ruler/ great Kore/ the invincible."This inscription would raise no eyebrows if "Kore" were replaced with "YHWH" or "Jesus." As it is from a cult which worshipped other gods, such as Demeter, this is further indication that "one" refered to supremacy, rather than declaring that there were no other gods in existence.See "The Cults of Isis and Kore at Samaria-Sebaste in the Hellenistic and Roman Periods" by Jodi Magness, The Harvard Theological Review, Vol. 94, No. 2 (Apr., 2001), pp. 157-177, and [in Hebrew] "Eretz Israel from the Destruction of the Second Temple to the Muslim Conquest, vol. 2: Archaeology and Art" by Yoram Tsafrir, p. 194.A couple good publications on this topic are Pagan Monotheism in Late Antiquity (1999) and One God: Pagan Monotheism in the Roman Empire (2010).
wenglund Posted July 28, 2011 Posted July 28, 2011 "One god/ of all/ the ruler/ great Kore/ the invincible."This inscription would raise no eyebrows if "Kore" were replaced with "YHWH" or "Jesus." As it is from a cult which worshipped other gods, such as Demeter, this is further indication that "one" referred to supremacy, rather than declaring that there were no other gods in existence.Hence, the notion of El Elyon (God most high), which supposedly dates to pre-Mosaic times. Thanks, -Wade Englund-
volgadon Posted July 28, 2011 Author Posted July 28, 2011 A couple good publications on this topic are Pagan Monotheism in Late Antiquity (1999) and One God: Pagan Monotheism in the Roman Empire (2010).Those look intriguing, thanks!
volgadon Posted July 28, 2011 Author Posted July 28, 2011 Very cool find! Shades of the Descent of Ishtar, as well. Absolute stud.Aww, shucks.
volgadon Posted July 29, 2011 Author Posted July 29, 2011 Mak, those are superb books, thanks for the heads up. I find it interesting that Socrates switches back and forth from the singular to the plural when talking about God.
volgadon Posted July 29, 2011 Author Posted July 29, 2011 "There can be only one" Until the sequel, that is.
volgadon Posted July 29, 2011 Author Posted July 29, 2011 The Greeks were quite capable of combining the Argument from Design with polytheistic language, as we see from two well-known passages in Xenophon’s memorabilia (1. 4; 4. 3). Socrates argues for theism from the usefulness of each part of the human body, the existence of life-preserving instincts, the order of the heavens, and so on, but he says things like ‘the gods have made man, alone of all creatures, to stand upright . . . they have given other creatures legs, but to man they have given arms too . . . they give us light to see by’. He does not stick to the plural consistently but moves easily between οο θεοο and � θεεε, as well as using the less specific term ττ θεεον, which means something like ‘the divine element in the world’ without commitment as between a singularity or plurality of powers. Herodotus too, in different contexts, uses οο θεοο, θεεε, or ττ θεεον, without a significant doctrinal difference.These terms are typical of the fifth century, and can be paralleled in the Hippocratic corpus and in tragedy. Whenever some theological truth is formulated, some statement about the régime under which mankind lives, the writer typically does not name one of the traditional gods but says οο θεοο or � θεεε (in tragedy commonly without the article). The indifference as between singular and plural is possible because when someone says ‘the gods’, the assumption is that these gods act as a unanimous body. Because of the force of tradition there was no hurry to discard polytheistic language, and yet there was a general disposition to see the divine regimen as unified and purposeful. This was a situation in which monotheism could develop without causing upset."Towards Monotheism," M. L. West, in "Pagan Monotheism in Late Antiquity," ed. P. Athanassiadi and M. Frede, pp. 38-39.
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