As Zeus Meilichius or Meilichios, the Olympian of

Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities ...

subsumed as an attributive epithet to an earlier chthonic ''

daimon Daimon or Daemon ( Ancient Greek: , "god", "godlike", "power", "fate") originally referred to a lesser deity or guiding spirit such as the daimons of ancient Greek religion and mythology and of later Hellenistic religion and philosophy. The wor ...

''; Meilichios, who was propitiated in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

by archaic rituals, as

Jane Ellen Harrison Jane Ellen Harrison (9 September 1850 – 15 April 1928) was a British classical scholar and linguist. Harrison is one of the founders, with Karl Kerenyi and Walter Burkert, of modern studies in Ancient Greek religion and mythology. She ...

demonstrated in detail in ''Prolegomena to the Study of Greek Religion'' (1903). In the course of examining the archaic aspects of the Diasia festival, the greatest Athenian festival accorded

Zeus Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label= genitive Boeotian Aeolic and Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label= genitive el, Δίας, ''Días'' () is the sky and thunder god in ancient Greek reli ...

, she showed that it had been superimposed upon an earlier propitiatory ceremony. "Meilichios", the "Easy-to-be-entreated", the gracious, accessible one, was the Euphemism aspect of "''Maimaktes'', he who rages eager, panting and thirsting for blood." (Harrison
p. 17
. Explicitly inscribed votive reliefs show that Meilichios was figured in the form of a

serpent Serpent or The Serpent may refer to: * Snake, a carnivorous reptile of the suborder Serpentes Mythology and religion * Sea serpent, a monstrous ocean creature * Serpent (symbolism), the snake in religious rites and mythological contexts * Serp ...

, who might be invoked as a kind of

Ploutos In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Plutus (; grc-gre, Πλοῦτος, Ploûtos, wealth) is the god and the personification of wealth, and the son of the goddess of agriculture Demeter and the mortal Iasion. Family Plutus is most commonl ...

, bringer of wealth. He had some of the avenging and fearful character of an Erynis, for

Pausanias Pausanias ( el, Παυσανίας) may refer to: *Pausanias of Athens, lover of the poet Agathon and a character in Plato's ''Symposium'' *Pausanias the Regent, Spartan general and regent of the 5th century BC * Pausanias of Sicily, physician of t ...

saw near the River Cephissus "an ancient altar of Zeus Meilichios; on it

Theseus Theseus (, ; grc-gre, Θησεύς ) was the mythical king and founder-hero of Athens. The myths surrounding Theseus his journeys, exploits, and friends have provided material for fiction throughout the ages. Theseus is sometimes describ ...

received purification from the descendants of Phytalos after he had slain among other robbers Sinis, who was related to himself". Meilichios' sacrifice was a

holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...

, which was wholly consumed in fire and not shared by the votaries, "a dread renunciation to a dreadful power" (Harrison
p. 16
, in nocturnal rites performed in an atmosphere of "chilly gloom" (Harrison), that was rendered in Greek as '' stygiotes''. While bearing the name 'Zeus', Zeus Olympios, the great king of the gods, noticeably differs from the Zeus Meilichios, a decidedly Chthonian character, often portrayed as a snake, and as seen beforehand, they cannot be different manifestations of the same god, in fact whenever 'another Zeus' is mentioned, this always refers to Hades. Zeus Meilichios and Zeus Eubouleus are often referred to being alternate names for Hades.

Notes

References

* Harrison, Jane Ellen, (1903) 1991. ''Prolegomena to the Study of Greek Religion'' (Princeton: Princeton University Press)
pp. 12–28
*Schlesier, Renate (2012). ''A Different God?: Dionysos and Ancient Polytheism''. Berlin, Germany.: Freie University. pp. 27, 28. . *Hornblower, Spawforth, Eidinow, Simon, Antony, Esther (2014). ''The Oxford Companion to Classical Civilization''. Oxford: OUP Oxford. p. 354. . {{Authority control Religion in ancient Athens Epithets of Zeus Greek gods Archaic Athens Daimons Chthonic beings