| i. | Geographical area | Black Sea Region |
| ii. | Region | North coast of the Black Sea |
| iii. | Site | Olbia |
Stable URL: http://ancientassociations.ku.dk/assoc/1328Download as
Last Updated on 15 Mar 2017
CAPInv. 1328: Orphikoi
I. LOCATION
II. NAME
| i. | Full name (original language) | Ὀρφικοί (IGDOP 94a, l. 4) |
| ii. | Full name (transliterated) | Orphikoi |
III. DATE
| i. | Date(s) | vi BC |
IV. NAME AND TERMINOLOGY
| ii. | Name elements |
|
V. SOURCES
| i. | Source(s) |
IGDOP 94a (vi BC) IGDOP 94b (vi BC) IGDOP 94c (vi BC) |
| Note | See also: Harland 2004: 11-12 | |
| Online Resources |
IGDOP 94a IGDOP 94b IGDOP 94c |
|
| i.a. | Source type(s) | Epigraphic source(s) |
| i.b. | Document(s) typology & language/script | Greek Orphic inscription. On the last line: Ὀρφικοί, Orphikoi. |
| i.c. | Physical format(s) | Bone tablet |
VI. BUILT AND VISUAL SPACE
| i. | Archaeological remains | The bone tablet itself and the other ones belonging to the same series (IGDOP 94b-c, with Orphic inscriptions but without the explicit mention of the Ὀρφικοί, Orphikoi). Possibly also the bronze mirror IGDOP 92 with Dionysiac inscription. |
IX. MEMBERSHIP
| ii. | Gender | Men |
| Note | Possibly only men | |
| iii. | Age | Adults |
| Note | Possibly only adults |
X. ACTIVITIES
| iii. | Worship | Reference to Dionysos suggests worship by the group: IGDOP 94a, l. 3: Διό(νυσος), Dio(nysos); cf. IGDOP 94c, l. 1: Διόν(υσος), Dion(ysos). |
| Deities worshipped | Dionysos |
XII. NOTES
| i. | Comments | The Orphic nature of the three inscriptions on bone tablets IGDOP 94a-c is obvious. Less clear is the relationship between Orphics and Dionysos. The Olbian Βορεικοὶ θιασῖται, Boreikoi thiasitai (to be connected with Apollo's cult: see CAPInv. 1258), also sign an Orphic inscription (IGDOP 95). Nevertheless, the name of Dionysos is explicitly mentioned on both IGDOP 94a and 94c, which allows to attribute the tablets without any doubt to an Orphic-Dionysiac association. Thus, one can connect this Orphic society with Hdt. 4.78-80 about the Scythian king Skyles, who attempted to be initiated into the mysteries of Dionysos Bakcheios in Olbia and was killed by his subjects for this reason. |
| iii. | Bibliography |
Bernabé, A. (2004), Poetae epici Graeci. Testimonia et fragmenta. Pars II, fasc. 1. Munich: 388-92, nos. 463-5. Bravo, B. (2007), ‘Testi iniziatici da Olbia Pontica (VI e V sec. a.C.) e osservazioni su orfismo e religione civica’, Palamedes 2: 55-92. Graf, F., and Iles Johnston, S. (2007), Ritual Texts for the Afterlife. Orpheus and the Bacchic Gold Tablets. London: 185-8. Harland, P.A. (2014), Greco-Roman Associations: Text, Translations, and Commentaries, II. North Coast of the Black Sea, Asia Minor. Berlin, New York: 11-2. Hinge, G. (2008), ‘Dionysos and Herakles in Scythia - The Eschatological String of Herodotus' Book 4’, in P. Guldager Bilde and J.H. Petersen (eds.), Meetings of Cultures in the Black Sea Region: Between Conflict and Coexistence. Aarhus: 369-97. Rusjaeva, A.S. (2010), Graffiti Ol'vii Ponticheskoj [Graffiti from Olbia Pontica]. Simferopol: 33-5, nos. 29-31. West, M.L. (1982), ‘The Orphics in Olbia’, ZPE 45: 17-29. |
XIII. EVALUATION
| i. | Private association | Probable |
| Note | See XII.i. |
