The Sirius' Cult in Ancient Greece. Aristaios and the Formation of the Attico-Cycladic Mythological Substratum

Abstract

Pivotal figure of Sirius' myth among the inhabitants of Late Bronze Age Greece (ca. 1600-1100 B.C.) is Aristaios (caristos =the most excellent or useful, or astraios=the starry one), protector of shepherds and hunters, teacher of cheese-making and the art of hunting, of oil-making and bee-keeping, honey Sr honey-mead, god of medicinal herbs and the cooling Etesian winds of mid-summer.

The aim of this paper is to detect: a) the inventors of Sirius' astromyth within the boundaries of prehistoric Greek maritime Civilization (the Pelasgian substratum), b) the geographical distribution of this myth via its main divine figure (colonization of Western Mediterranean & the prehistoric trade of silphium with the North African Coast, Kadmos & cultural relationships with Eastern Mediterranean, connection with Thessaly, Northern Greece, Arcadia &r Argos, Attica, Minoan Crete & Cyclades, N.W. Greece) ,c) the elements of Sirius' cult worshipped by the insular population of the Aegean (peak sanctuaries, priesthood of the winds), d) the historical pathway of this astromyth and its survival to the later periods of Cycladic history (Keian coins, Keian traditions, modern Keian names & localities), e) the migration of its symbols(the hunting lion, the motif of the dogs, deities with fertilizing and creative properties) and f) the environmental setting which gave birth to this astromyth (disturbance of wind patterns, teleconnections with Indian monsoons & NAO, climatic oscillations, pestilence in Eastern Mediterranean).