#zeus meilikhios
At the request of a lovely anon, this post is going to be about a very unique and very interesting epithet of Zeus - Meilikhios.
I’ve talked in passing about Zeus Meilikhios in two other posts of mine: Zeus KatharsiosandMisconceptions of Zeus, but I’ve never done a post focusing solely on this epithet, mostly because it can be a bit to talk about. So, let’s get into it today!
Some translations of Meilikhios that I’ve seen include “the merciful”, “the mild”, “the kindly”, “open to propitiation”, etc.
MEILI′CHIUS (Meilichios), i. e. the god that can be propitiated, or the gracious, is used as a surname of several divinities. 1. Of Zeus, as the protector of those who honoured him with propitiatory sacrifices. At Athens cakes were offered to him every year at the festival of the Diasia. (Thuc. i. 126; Xenoph. Anab. vii. 7. § 4.) Altars were erected to Zeus Meilichius on the Cephissus (Paus. i. 37. § 3),at Sicyon (ii.9. § 6), and at Argos (ii. 20. § 1; Plut. De cohib.
Zeus Meilikhios was often depicted as a giant snake - a creature of the earth.
Even if in one perspective Zeus Meilichios was simply one aspect of Zeus, in another he had to be treated as an independent figure. He was often portrayed differently too, as a gigantic snake. (p.91 of On Greek Religion by Robert Parker)
It is a Chthonic epithet of Zeus, one that has to do with the placating of the dead. He is, like Zeus Kathersios, a god of purification; Votive offerings at Argos were dedicated to him in order to be cleansed of the miasma inccured through bloodshed:
Bryas of Argos was put in command [of the Argive Thousand]. He committed a number of violent outrages against common people, and on one occasion he dishonoured a bridal procession by snatching a virgin girl they were leading to the bridegroom. When night fell the young girl watched Bryas going to sleep and then blinded him. But the coming of day betrayed her; she fled to the people as a ritual suppliant. They refused to give her up to the vengeance of the regiment, there was a fight, the people won it, and in their fury they left not one man of the thousand alive. Afterwards, among the ceremonies of their purification from the blood of kindred, they dedicated a statue of Zeus Meilichios. - Pausanias (2.20.1-2)
There was also a festival in his honor at Athens, called the Diasia, which was celebrated on the 23rd of Anthesterion. For those that could afford them, pigs were sacrificed and burnt whole, as no part of the animal was meant to be eaten in a sacrifice to a god of the underworld. For those who couldn’t afford them, cakes baked in animal shapes were sacrificed.
The festival was described in antiquity as ‘performed with a certain loathsomeness’ and accompanied by grim expressions. This was the public side. Domestically, it was a day of family meals, hospitality and of giving children presents. (pg. 66 of Zeus)
So, not only is he a god of purification, but he also has familial connections and even protective ones:
Thucydides tells the story of the sixth-century athlete Cylon, famous as an Olympian, and married to the daughter of the tyrant of Megara, who attempted in 632 BC to seize political power in Athens. The Delphic oracle advised him to attack during the greatest festival of Zeus. Not surprisingly, he construed this to be the Olympic Games, but his attack went disastrously wrong. Had he attacked during the Diasia, Thucydides points out, he would have found the city largely empty as all the citizens left it for the sanctuary of Zeus Meilichios. Whether designedly or inadvertently, the god protects his worshippers from threats to the city, and ensures their safety. (pg. 3 of the role of Zeus Meilikhios in Argos)
So, this chthonic epithet of Zeus is quite complex in and of itself – on one hand, he is a god tasked with purifiying those who have incurred miasma through bloodshed, but also has strong familial and gentle connotations with the Diasia.
Feel free to send in requests for certain epithets!
Sources:Zeus by Ken Dowden, The role of Zeus Meilikhios in Argos by Diana Burton, and On Greek Religion by Robert Parker
