Galactophages

The Galaktophages ( ancient Greek Γαλακτοφάγοι Galaktophágoi , German 'milk eater' ) were a legendary ancient people.

In the Iliad they are portrayed as the most just people alongside the Abioi and Hippemolgen . Homer mentions nomads of southern Russia and describes their way of life in a few words, without naming a specific popular name. The characterization as a “milk eater” caused unnecessary ( Max Kiessling ) discussions when the Alexandrian geographers examined Homer's geography . Eratosthenes and Apollodor declared them to be pure creations of poetic fantasy, the Stoics saw a reference to real nomads. According to Strabo, it could either be a mythical people settled on the edge of the inhabited earth or a Scythian nomadic people. The third view says that the galactophages are a real Scythian tribe ( Ptolemy ). Strabo reports that the galactophages lived on horse cheese, milk and quark.

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• Homer , Iliad 13.5 f.
• Strabon , Geographika 7,3,7-9; 12.3.27
• Claudius Ptolemy , Geographike Hyphegesis 6,14,12

Web links

• Galactophages at Zeno.org. In: Zeno.org . 

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Max Kiessling : Galaktophagoi. In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume VII, 1, Stuttgart 1910, Col. 514 f.
2. ↑ Claudia Ungefehr-Kortus: Galaktophagoi. In: The New Pauly (DNP). Volume 4, Metzler, Stuttgart 1998, ISBN 3-476-01474-6 , Sp. 740. ( doi : 10.1163 / 1574-9347_dnp_e417740 .)
3. ^ Wilhelm Kroll : cheese. In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume X, 2, Stuttgart 1919, Sp. 1489-1496 (here: Sp. 1490).