"To Zeus Helios, great Serapis, and the associated gods. Menandros
asks: is it granted me to marry? Answer me this." - P. Oxy. 1213
“Therefore when on the 4th of Hathyr
I encountered Sisois near the temple of Zeus here …” - P. Tebt. I 39
"May it be well. The
law which those of the association of Zeus the highest made in common, that it
should be authoritative. Acting in accordance with its provisions, they first
chose as their president Petesouchos the son of Teephbennis, a man of parts,
worthy of the place and of the company, for a year from the month and day
aforesaid, that he should make for all the contributors one banquet a month in
the sanctuary of Zeus, at 'which they should in a common room pouring libations,
pray, and perform the other customary rites on behalf of the god and lord, the
king. All are to obey the president and his servant in matters pertaining to
the corporation, and they shall be present at all command occasions to be
prescribed for them and at meetings and assemblies and outings. It shall not be
permissible for any one of them to ... or to make factions or to leave the
brotherhood of the president for another, or for men to enter into one
another's pedigrees at the banquet or to abuse one another at the banquet or to
chatter or to indict or to accuse another or to resign for the course of the
year or again to bring the drinkings to nought or ... to hinder the
(leader?)---contributions and other (?) levies and shall each pay ... If any of
them becomes a father, he shall contribute (?)---" - SB V 7835
"Melanthios dedicated
me, a statue for Theban Zeus." - 6th century bce Greek inscription at a
temple of Amun at Memphis
Oracle of Zeus proclaimed death of Osiris
"But some relate that a certain Pamyles, while he was drawing water in
Thebes, heard a voice issuing from the shrine of Zeus, which bade him
proclaim with a loud voice that a mighty and beneficent king, Osiris,
had been born; and for this Kronos entrusted to him the child Osiris,
which he brought up." - Plutarch, On Isis and Osiris 12
The Ethiopians only worship Zeus and Dionysos
"A great city called Meroe is said to be the capital of all Aithiopia.
The people of the place worship no other gods but Zeus and Dionysos;
these they greatly honor, and they have a place of divination sacred to
Zeus; they send out armies whenever and wherever this god through his
oracle commands them." - Herodotus 2.29
Herakles tries to see Zeus
"The Thebans, and those who by the
Theban example will not touch sheep, give the following reason for
their ordinance: they say that Heracles wanted very much to see Zeus
and that Zeus did not want to be seen by him, but that finally, when
Heracles prayed, Zeus contrived to show himself displaying the head and
wearing the fleece of a ram which he had flayed and beheaded. It is
from this that the Egyptian images of Zeus have a ram's head; and in
this, the Egyptians are imitated by the Ammonians, who are colonists
from Egypt and Ethiopia and speak a language compounded of the tongues
of both countries. It was from this, I think, that the Ammonians got
their name, too; for the Egyptians call Zeus “Amon”. The Thebans, then,
consider rams sacred for this reason, and do not sacrifice them. But
one day a year, at the festival of Zeus, they cut in pieces and flay a
single ram and put the fleece on the image of Zeus, as in the story;
then they bring an image of Heracles near it. Having done this, all
that are at the temple mourn for the ram, and then bury it in a sacred
coffin." - Herodotus 2.42
Oracle of Dodona came from Egypt
"The priests of Zeus of
Thebes told me that two priestesses had been carried away from Thebes
by Phoenicians; one, they said they had heard was taken away and sold
in Libya, the other in Hellas; these women, they said, were the first
founders of places of divination in the aforesaid countries. When I
asked them how it was that they could speak with such certain
knowledge, they said in reply that their people had sought diligently
for these women, and had never been able to find them, but had learned
later the story which they were telling me. That, then, I heard from
the Theban priests; and what follows, the prophetesses of Dodona say:
that two black doves had come flying from Thebes in Egypt, one to Libya
and one to Dodona; the latter settled on an oak tree, and there uttered
human speech, declaring that a place of divination from Zeus must be
made there; the people of Dodona understood that the message was
divine, and therefore established the oracular shrine. The dove which
came to Libya told the Libyans (they say) to make an oracle of Ammon;
this also is sacred to Zeus." - Herodotus 2.54-55
Temple of Zeus at Naukratis
"Amasis became a philhellene
(Greek lover), and besides other services which he did for some of the
Greeks, he gave those who came to Aigyptos the city of Naukratis to
live in; and to those who travelled to the country without wanting to
settle there, he gave lands where they might set up altars and make
holy places for their gods ... The Aiginetans made a precinct of their
own [in Naukratis], sacred to Zeus; and so did the Samians for Hera and
the Milesians for Apollon." -Herodotus 2.178
Oracles of Dodona and Siwah compared
"The oracular responses
were not, as at Delphi and among the Branchidae, given in words, but
mostly by nods and tokens, as in Homer, `Cronion spoke and nodded
assent with his dark brows,' the prophet having assumed the role of
Zeus; however, the fellow expressly told the king that he, Alexander,
was the son of Zeus." -Strabo Bk 7 Frag 1a
Temenos of Zeus in Arsinoe
"A city Arsinoe and the sacred precinct of Zeus. It was founded by Phaleros and Akamas, Athenians." -Strabo 14.6.3
Zeus battle Typhoeus
"Typhoeus, issuing from earth's lowest
depths, struck terror in those heavenly hearts, and they all turned
their backs and fled, until they found refuge in Aegyptus and the
seven-mouthed Nilus ... Typhoeus Terrigena even there pursued them and
the gods concealed themselves in spurious shapes; 'And Juppiter became
a ram ... and so today great Ammon Libys' shown with curling horns." -
Ovid, Metamorphoses 5.319
Dionysos founded oracle of Zeus-Ammon
"When Liber was hunting
for water in India, and hadn't succeeded, ram is said to have sprung
suddenly from the ground, and with this as guide he found water. So he
asked Jove to put the ram among the stars, and to this day it is called
the equinoctial ram. Moreover, in the place where he found water he
established a temple which his called the temple of Jove Ammon." -
Hyginus, Fabulae 133
Zeus king in Egypt
"And besides these there are other gods, they say, who were
terrestrial, having once been mortals, but who, by reason of their
sagacity and the good services which they rendered to all men, attained
immortality, some of them having even been kings in Egypt. Their names,
when translated, are in some cases the same as those of the celestial
gods, while others have a distinct appellation, such as Helius, Cronus,
and Rhea, and also the Zeus who is called Ammon by some, and besides
these Hera and Hephaestus, also Hestia, and, finally, Hermes." -
Diodorus Siculus 1.13
Zeus begat Egyptian gods
"Then Cronus became the ruler, and
upon marrying his sister Rhea he begat Osiris and Isis, according to
some writers of mythology, but, according to the majority, Zeus and
Hera, whose high achievements gave them dominion over the entire
universe. From these last were sprung five gods, one born on each of
the five days which the Egyptians intercalates: the names of these
children were Osiris and Isis, and also Typhon, Apollo, and Aphrodite."
- Diodorus Siculus 1.13
Father of Osiris is Zeus
"Osiris, they add, also built a
temple to his parents, Zeus and Hera, which was famous both for its
size and its costliness in general, and two golden chapels to Zeus, the
larger one to him as god of heaven, the smaller one to him as former
king and father of the Egyptians, in which role he is called by some
Ammon. He also made golden chapels for the rest of the gods mentioned
above, allotting honours to each of them and appointing priests to have
charge over these.- Diodorus Siculus 1.15
Alexander visits oracle of Zeus-Ammon
"When Alexander was
conducted by the priests into the temple and had regarded the god for a
while, the one who held the position of prophet, an elderly man, came
to him and said, "Rejoice, son take this form of address as from the
god also." He replied, "I accept, father; for the future I shall be
called thy son. But tell me if thou givest me the rule of the whole
earth." The priest now entered the sacred enclosure and as the bearers
now lifted the god and were moved according to certain prescribed
sounds of the voice, the prophet cried that of a certainty the god had
granted him his request, and Alexander spoke again: "The last, O
spirit, of my questions now answer; have I punished all those who were
the murderers of my father or have some escaped me?" The prophet
shouted: "Silence! There is no mortal who can plot against the one who
begot him. All the murderers of Philip, however, have been punished.
The proof of his divine birth will reside in the greatness of his
deeds; as formerly he has been undefeated, so now he will be
unconquerable for all time." Alexander was delighted with these
responses. He honoured the god with rich gifts and returned to Egypt."
- Diodorus Siculus 17.51.1-4
Zeus the highest god
"It makes no difference if one invokes
the Highest God or Zeus or Adonai or Sabaoth or Amoun, as the Egyptians
do, or Papaios as the Scythians do." - Celsus in Origen's Contra Celsum 5.41
Osiris and Zeus equated
"Osiris has been given the name Sarapis by some, Dionysos by others,
Pluto by others, Ammon by others, Zeus by some, and many have
considered Pan to be the same God; and some say that Sarapis is the God
whom the Greeks call Pluto." - Diodorus Siculus 1.25
Pindar composed hymn to Zeus-Ammon
"Not far away is a temple
of Zeus-Ammon; the image, a work of Calamis, was dedicated by Pindar,
who also sent to the Ammonians of Libya a hymn to Ammon. This hymn I
found still carved on a triangular slab by the side of the altar
dedicated to Ammon by Ptolemy the son of Lagus." - Pausanias 9.16.1
Ptolemy V equated with Zeus
"To whom the Sun has given victory, the living image of Zeus," - The Rosetta Stone
Serapian syncreticism
"Zeus, Hades, and Helios Sarapis are one." - Emperor Julian Orations 4
Serapian syncreticism
"When you complete the Consecration, say, "The one Zeus is Serapis!" - PGM 4.1715
Zeus and Ptolemy best of kings
"With Zeus begin, sweet
sisters, end with Zeus, when ye would sing the sovereign of the skies:
but first among mankind rank Ptolemy; First, last, and midmost; being
past compare. Was not he born to compass noblest ends, Lagus' own son,
so soon as he matured schemes such as ne'er had dawned on meaner minds?
Zeus doth esteem him as the blessèd gods; in the sire's courts his
golden mansion stands.And near him Alexander sits and smiles, the
turbaned Persian's dread." - Theocritos Idyll 17
Zeus feasts with the Ethiopians
"For Zeus went yesterday to Okeanos, to a feast among the Ethiopians,
and the other gods went with him. He will return to Olympos twelve days
hence" - Homer, Iliad 1.423-24
Osiris adopted by Zeus
"There is another tale current among the Egyptians that Apophis,
brother of Helios, made war upon Zeus, and that because Osiris espoused
Zeus's cause and helped him to overthrow his enemy, Zeus adopted Osiris
as his son and gave him the name of Dionysos." - Plutarch, On Isis and Osiris 36
Zeus feasts with the Ethiopians
"Jupiter frequently leaves heaven and feasts with them [the Ethiopians]
because of their justice and the equity of their customs. For the
Ethiopians are said to be the justest of men and for that reason the
gods leave their abode frequently to visit them". - Stephanus Placidus
Alexander wished to be worshipped alongside Zeus and Dionysos
"Now
Alexander alleged as cause of the war (against the Arabians),
Aristobulos says, that the Arabians were the only people on earth who
did not send ambassadors to him, but in truth he was reaching out to be
lord of all. When he learned that they only worshipped two gods, Zeus
and Dionysos, who supply the most crucial necessities of life, he took
it for granted that they would worship him as a third if he mastered
them and allowed them to keep their ancestral independence.
Accordingly, he adds, Alexander busied himself with the canals, and
also thoroughly inspected the tombs of the kings and potentates, most
of which are situated among the lakes." - Strabo 16.1.11
Herakles and Zeus equated
"Herakles star-adorned, king of
fire, ruler of the universe, thou Sun, who with thy far-flung rays art
the guardian of mortal life, with flashing beam revolving the wide
circuit of thy course... Belus thou art named on the Euphrates, Ammon
in Libya, Apis of the Nile art thou by birth, Arabian Kronos, Assyrian
Zeus... but whether thou art Sarapis, or the cloudless Zeus of Egpyt,
or Kronos, or Phaethon, or many titled Mithras, Sun of Babylon, or in
Greece Apollo of Delphi, or Wedlock, whom Love begat in the shadowy
land of dreams... whether thou art known as Paieon, the healer of pain,
or Aether with its varied garb, or star-bespangled Night - for the
starry robes of night illuminate the heaven - lend a propitious ear to
my prayer." - Nonnos of Panopolis, Dionysiaca 36.345-7
Ammon and Zeus equated
"Moreover, most people believe that Amoun is the name given to Zeus in
the land of the Egyptians, a name which we, with a slight alteration,
pronounce Ammon." - Plutarch, On Isis and Osiris 10
Zeus gives oracle about Hephaistion
"Each of the generals and Friends tried to meet the king's desires and
made likenesses of Hephaestion in ivory and gold and other materials
which men hold in high regard. Alexander collected artisans and an army
of workmen and tore down the city wall to a distance of ten furlongs.
He collected the baked tiles and levelled off the place which was to
receive the pyre, and then constructed this square in shape, each side
being a furlong in length. He divided up the area into thirty
compartments and laying out the roofs upon the trunks of palm trees
wrought the whole structure into a square shape. Then he decorated all
the exterior walls. Upon the foundation course were golden prows of
quinqueremes in close order, two hundred and forty in all. Upon the
catheads each carried two kneeling archers four cubits in height, and
(on the deck) armed male figures five cubits high, while the
intervening spaces were occupied by red banners fashioned out of felt.
Above these, on the second level, stood torches fifteen cubits high
with golden wreaths about their handles. At their flaming ends perched
eagles with outspread wings looking downward, while about their bases
were serpents looking up at the eagles. On the third level were carved
a multitude of wild animals being pursued by hunters. The fourth level
carried a centauromachy rendered in gold, while the fifth showed lions
and bulls alternating, also in gold. The next higher level was covered
with Macedonian and Persian arms, testifying to the prowess of the one
people and to the defeats of the other. On top of all stood Sirens,
hollowed out and able to conceal within them persons who sang a lament
in mourning for the dead. The total height of the pyre was more than
one hundred and thirty cubits. All of the generals and the soldiers and
the envoys and even the natives rivalled one another in contributing to
the magnificence of the funeral, so, it is said, that the total expense
came to over twelve thousand talents. In keeping with this magnificence
and the other special marks of honour at the funeral, Alexander ended
by decreeing that all should sacrifice to Hephaestion as god coadjutor.
As a matter of fact, it happened just at this time that Philip, one of
the Friends, came bearing a response from Ammon that Hephaestion should
be worshipped as a god. Alexander was delighted that the god had
ratified his own opinion, was himself the first to perform the
sacrifice, and entertained everybody handsomely. The sacrifice
consisted of ten thousand victims of all sorts." - Diodorus Siculus
17.115.1-6
Zeus-Ammon begets Alexander
"However, after his vision, as we are told, Philip sent Chaeron of
Megalopolis to Delphi, by whom an oracle was brought him from Apollo,
who bade him sacrifice to Ammon and hold that god in greatest
reverence, but told him he was to lose that one of his eyes which he
had applied to the chink in the door when he espied the god, in the
form of a serpent, sharing the couch of his wife. Moreover, Olympias,
as Eratosthenes says, when she sent Alexander forth upon his great
expedition, told him, and him alone, the secret of his begetting, and
bade him have purposes worthy of his birth. Others, on the contrary,
say that she repudiated the idea, and said: “Alexander must cease
slandering me to Hera." - Plutarch, Life of Alexander 3.1.2
Zeus has many forms
"What is your Jupiter himself? Now he is represented in a statue as
beardless, now he is set up as bearded; and when he is called Hammon,
he has horns; and when Capitolinus, then he wields the thunderbolts;
and when Latiaris, he is sprinkled with gore; and when Feretrius, he is
not approached; and not to mention any further the multitude of
Jupiters, the monstrous appearances of Jupiter are as numerous as his
names." - Minucius Felix, Octavius
A synod for Zeus Hypistos
“May it be well. The law which those of the association of Zeus
Hypsistos (the Highest) made in common, that it should be
authoritative. Acting in accordance with its provisions, they first
chose as their president Petesouchos the son of Teephbennis, a man of
parts, worthy of the place and of the company, for a year from the
month and day aforesaid, that he should make for all the contributors
one banquet a month in the sanctuary of Zeus, at 'which they should in
a common room pouring libations, pray, and perform the other customary
rites on behalf of the god and lord, the king. All are to obey the
president and his servant in matters pertaining to the corporation, and
they shall be present at all command occasions to be prescribed for
them and at meetings and assemblies and outings. It shall not be
permissible for any one of them to ... or to make factions or to leave
the brotherhood of the president for another, or for men to enter into
one another's pedigrees at the banquet or to abuse one another at the
banquet or to chatter or to indict or to accuse another or to resign
for the course of the year or again to bring the drinkings to nought or
... to hinder the (leader?)---contributions and other (?) levies and
shall each pay ... If any of them becomes a father, he shall contribute
(?)---.” - SB 5.7835
Zeus-Ammon worshipped in Elea
"Each month the Eleans sacrifice once on all the altars I have
enumerated. They sacrifice in an ancient manner; for they burn on the
altars incense with wheat which has been kneaded with honey, placing
also on the altars twigs of olive, and using wine for a libation ...
The traditional words spoken by them in the Town Hall at the libations,
and the hymns which they sing, it were not right for me to introduce
into my narrative. They pour libations, not only to the Greek gods, but
also to the god in Libya, to Hera Ammonia and to Parammon, which is a
surname of Hermes." -Pausanias 5.15.11
Cities:
Diospolis
Diospolis Magna (Thebes)
