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[German version] Sacred site in the countryside, seat of a numinous power, to which entry was totally forbidden, in order to protect this power from contamination or to be protected from it oneself. The site is often fenced off from the secular world by a wall, and is not available for any human use. A particular form of the abaton is a site that had been struck by lightning (ἠλύσιον, ἐνηλύσιον cf.  bidental), at which an altar to Zeus  Kataibates has been consecrated [1], e.g. in Athens (Aesch. PV. 358-9; IG II2 4964-4965), Olympia (Paus. 5,14,10), Paros (IG XII 5,233), Melos (IG XII…

[German version] A. Definition Invocation (ἐπίκλησις < ἐπικαλέω; epíklēsis < epikaleō, cf. advocatio, invocatio), and in a narrower sense supplication, of one or more gods and demons constituted, along with the narrative section and the articulation of the wish, a standard feature of prayer [1]. In an extended sense epiclesis is the epithet (cf. Eponymia, Epitheton), by which the god was addressed in cult. Chaniotis, Angelos (Heidelberg) [German version] B.1 Invocation Epiclesis originally had the function of appealing for help or inviting the deity to the sacrific…

[German version] (ἐξηγηταί/ exēgētaí, from the Greek ἐξηγέομαι/ exēgéomai, ‘interpret, expound’). In general terms, the advisors, interpreters, and leaders; specifically the expounders of the originally oral tradition of sacred law in Athens. There were three categories of exegetai who enjoyed lifelong office: the Eumolpidṓn, appointed from among the Eumolpidae; the Pythóchrēstoi, appointed by the Delphic oracle, and the Eupatridṓn selected by the demos (people) from the  Eupatridae. [1. 24-40; 2. 34-52]. The exegetai Eumolpidṓn were responsible for the correct obs…

[German version] Sayings and parables attributed to the historical Jesus, which are not handed down in the four canonical gospels. The most important sources are the NT (Acts 20,35), some MSS of the gospels, fragments of apocrypha (POxy. 840; 1224; P. Egerton 2), Christian authors of the 2nd cent. up to the Middle Ages, the Coptic Gospel of Thomas, Manichaean ( Manichaeans ) and Mandaean ( Mandaeans) texts, the Talmud, the Koran and Muslim authors. To a great extent the agrapha prove to be secondary modifications of other NT texts or to be late fabrications; also the…

[German version] (ἱερὸν ἄσυλον; hieròn ásylon). An inviolate sacred area (ἀ and συλᾶν, ‘remove’, ‘practise self-help’), from which it was not permitted to forcibly remove either objects or people seeking asylum. This institution which is well attested in Greece since the early period has its roots in the widespread idea (Ancient Near East, Egypt, Israel) [1] that persons at a sacred site are safe from their persecutors. Their forced removal, which was in effect robbery of a part of a sacred site, was regarded as a sacrilege a…

[German version] I. Ancient Orient In the Ancient Orient, the custom of naming or numbering years after the annually changing occupants ─ high-ranking dignitaries of the royal administration ─ of an eponymous office (lı̄mum/ limmum) is only confirmed for Assyria from c. 1900 to 612 BC, i.e. to the end of the Neo-Assyrian empire. For the 1st millennium BC, the following order generally applied:‘ king, commander-in-chief, chief cup-bearer, palace herald, chamberlain, provincial governor’. Under Salmanassar III (858-824 BC), after 30 year…

(Ἀνδανία; Andanía). [German version] A. Locality Town in north-eastern  Messenia on the upper reaches of the Pamisus, close to the border with  Arcadia (Pol. 5,92,6; Str. 8,4,5; Paus. 4,1; Steph. Byz. s. v. A.). It was famous for the  mysteries performed at its sanctuary, ranked by Pausanias (4,33,5) second only to   Eleusis, from where A. derived its cult. This cult supposedly lay dormant during Sparta's rule, and was revived with the liberation of Messenia (Paus. 4,1,5-9; 2,6; 3,10; 26,6-8). In the…