Men (deity)

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Men on horseback, terracotta statuette, Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Harvard University 2012.1.1, 3rd century AD

Men (Greek Μήν , Latin Mensis ) was an ancient moon deity who was worshiped in Asia Minor especially during the Roman Empire .

The deity may be of Persian origin, as some common elements of the ancient Persian and Men religions suggest. The earliest certain mentions come from the 4th / 3rd centuries. Century BC BC, but the majority of all evidence comes from the Roman Empire. The deity was especially worshiped in Asia Minor, especially in Lydia and Phrygia .

Iconographically it is distinguished by the crescent moon and the Phrygian cap . She wears sleeves and trousers, a chiton and a coat. She appears standing as well as riding, on horse, ram or rooster, occasionally she is flanked by lions.

literature

  • Eugene N. Lane : Corpus Monumentorum Religionis Dei Menis (CMRDM) (= Etudes préliminaires aux religions orientales dans l'Empire romain vol. 19). 4 volumes, Brill, Leiden 1971–1978.
    • Volume 1: The monuments and inscriptions. 1971.
    • Volume 2: The coins and gems. 1975.
    • Volume 3: Interpretations and Testimonia. 1976.
    • Volume 4: Supplementary men-inscriptions from Pisidia. 1978.
  • Eugene N. Lane: Men: A Neglected Cult of Roman Asia Minor. In: Rise and Decline of the Roman World (ANRW), Part II: Principat, Volume 18, 3. De Gruyter, Berlin, New York 1990, pp. 2161-2162.
  • Rainer Vollkommer :  Men . In: Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae (LIMC). Volume VI, Zurich / Munich 1992, pp. 462–473.
  • Georg Petzl : Men. In: The New Pauly (DNP). Volume 7, Metzler, Stuttgart 1999, ISBN 3-476-01477-0 , Sp. 1210-1212.

Web links

Commons : Men  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files