Corkyra whip

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The so-called Korkyräische whip , also called Dodonean ore vessel , Dodonean gong , Dodonean sound or Dodonean cauldron , is a consecration gift that has not survived but is known from literary tradition and is said to have been in the ancient sanctuary of Dodona .

Reconstruction of the “Dodonean ore vessel” by Cook, 1902

Information on the Dodonian ore vessel is mainly found in the dictionary of the Byzantine scholar Stephanos of Byzantium . Based on ancient authors, he describes two different traditions about this vessel, which was famous for its long-lasting sound. According to the Attic annalist Demon , bronze tripods with accompanying kettles were kept in Dodona, which were arranged in a tight circle. If you hit them, there was a long-lasting echo that should have been heard throughout the Temnos Mountains. The kettles are said to have continued to sound until their vibration was stopped by hand. According to another version of Polemon von Ilion handed down by Stephanos , which was expanded by Strabo, the sound came from a consecration gift from the city of Korkyra . Accordingly, the city donated two pillars. On one was a bronze figure of a boy with a whip in his hand. On the whip chain there were astragals , which when the wind hit a kettle on the second pillar. The ore sound of the kettle is said to have lasted so long that one could count up to 400 during this time. This "Corkyran whip" was proverbial - quoted as a proverb in the Suda , for example - and is passed down for example in Aristophanes ' The Birds . The first version of the story is historically untenable; research considers the second story to be likely. Since the consecration gift was quite complicated, it was speculated that it could hardly go back to before 500 BC. To be dated. This means that it was dated between the 5th and 3rd centuries BC. Near. At the same time, a development in the 6th century BC is also possible. BC conceivable. The literary tradition alone gives too little evidence here. The proverbial mention of the "Corkyra whip" by Aristophanes in 414 BC. Chr. Suggests that the consecration gift in the 5th century BC. Was known.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Strabo 7,7,11.