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The worship of Zeus as a god of weather in Thessaly and Macedonia

• Χρυσοστόμου, Παύλος

The name of the supreme god of the Greeks, Zeus, is related etymologically with a god of the heavens, the open-air and daylight, who is connected with weather phenomena. The cult examined here is the worship of Zeus as a weather god in Thessaly and Macedonia, where he was known by the epithets Akraios, Athoos, Keraunios-Kataibates-Kronides, Notios, Olympios, Hypsi- stos-Despotes and Hyperberetas-Perpheretas. Foreign cults, like those of Theos Hypsistos and Jupiter Optimus Maximus (J.O.M.) are distinguished from those of the Greek god. The most important of the Macedonian cults mentioned above, which was also known in Thessaly (at Gonnoi and Pyrasos-Demetrion), is that of Zeus Hypsistos, attested throughout the whole of Macedonia. The monuments dedicated to the god may be divided into: statues of Zeus, which mainly depict him standing next to an eagle, with a sceptre in his left hand and a bowl in his right; relief stelai with scenes of the god next to an eagle; statuettes or reliefs of eagles; and columns that normally supported votive offerings. The main feature of the type of dedication found in the worship of Zeus Hypsistos is that they were private dedications. Groups of worshippers of the god (religious thiasoi or synodoi) consisted of a limited number of members, who were free citizens, freedmen or slaves. The members did not belong to a particular trade guild, as was the case with some other religious associations, but were drawn from different professions. The god’s symbols were the sceptre, the bowl and the thunderbolt, his sacred tree was the oak, and his sacred animals the eagle, the bull and possibly the ram. The known titles of the officials associated with the cult of Zeus Hypsistos are: hiereus archisynagogos, krites, epimeletai, archon, prostates, logistes, grammateus and diakonoi. Monuments dedicated to the god were also dedicated on behalf of the well-being of one of the members of a religious association - an indication that these groups played a social role, attempted to give mutual support within the association when one of the members fell on hard times, and were concerned to honour every member after death. Another basic aim of these religious associations was, through worship of the god. to secure rainfall, which fertilised the earth and made it bear fruit, thus securing the survival of the local human societies. Zeus Hypsistos was for this reason lord of both the animal kingdom and the plant world, protector of vegetation and the fruitfulness of trees and vines. The earliest known examples of dedications associated with the cult of this god are those in Macedonia. Some of the dedications to Zeus Hypsistos are certainly dated to the first half of the 2nd century BC, with reference to other known but later dedications to the god from the Greco-Roman world. It may thus be asserted that the cult of the god originated in the heart of Macedonia, where it was known as early as the time of the last Antigonid kings. It is clear from the large number of dedications and other monuments, and from the sanctuaries dedicated to the god that it was primarily a Macedonian cult.

• History and Archaeology

• Αρχαιολογία
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• Decorative arts

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