In Greek mythology, the Cercopes/sərˈkoʊˌpiːz/ (Greek: Κέρκωπες, plural of Κέρκωψ, from κέρκος (n.) kerkos "tail")[1] were mischievous forest creatures who lived in Thermopylae or on Euboea but roamed the world and might turn up anywhere mischief was afoot. They were two brothers, but their names are given variously:
They were proverbial as liars, cheats, and accomplished knaves.[6] They once stole Heracles' weapons, during the time he was the penitent servant of Omphale in Lydia.[7] He seized and bound them at Ephesus[7] and punished them by tying them to a shoulder pole he slung over his shoulder with their faces pointing downwards, the only way they appear on Greek vases. Their mother, Theia, begged Heracles to let her sons go.[8] This particular myth is depicted on a metope at Temple C at Selinus. According to Pherecydes, the Cercopes were turned to stone.[9]
As monkeysedit
In another myth,[10] designed to explain their name ("tail-men" in Greek), Zeus changed the Cercopes into monkeys. This story inspired modern zoologists to name the genus of monkeys depicted in Minoan frescoes as Cercopithecus.
Monkeys figure in four Minoan frescos at Akrotiri, most famously in the crocus-gathering Xeste 3 fresco, where the monkey's ritual aspect, attending an enthroned female, is interpreted by Nanno Marinatos as servants of the divinity, acting as intermediary between humanity and the divine world.[11][12] Green monkeys appear in Crete itself in the "House of the Frescoes" at Knossos,[13] Monkeys are absent from Greek art. In Minoan art, it is assumed that they were exotic pets: "... the monkeys, which were imported to Crete, were pets that would have been placed where they could be seen and used by their owners, rather than simply abandoned in the countryside," concluded Shaw (1993).[14] When Greek mythographers attempted to account for the name Pithecusae (“Ape Islands”) given to Ischia and Procida by the Bay of Naples, where no monkeys had been seen within human memory, they were reduced to alleging that they must have been deceitful men whom Zeus punished by turning them into apes. When scholars attempted to account for this exotic image they have been forced to search farther afield:
The story of Herakles and the Cercopes has been interpreted as a reminiscence of Phoenician traders bringing apes to Greek markets. See O. Keller, Thiere des classischen Alterthums (Innsbruck, 1887), p. 1. The interpretation may perhaps be supported by an Assyrian bas-relief which represents a Herculean male figure carrying an ape on his head and leading another ape by a leash, the animals being apparently brought as tribute to a king. See O. Keller, op. cit., p. 11, fig. 2.[15]
Cline identified the monkey species in 1991[16] as guenons, or blue monkeys, which have bluish fur over their green skins. Scholars generally assume that the appearance of the blue monkey in Aegean iconography was due to the import of the actual animal from north Africa; they were iconic religious animals in Egypt
Proverbedit
Suda writes that Greeks used the proverb Ἀγορὰ Κερκώπων, meaning market of Kerkopes in reference to bad and knavish people, because Herakles bound the Kerkopes at the market of Ephesus.[17]
See alsoedit
Further references to the Cercopes can be found by the following classical authors:
^Sudias. Whitehead, David (ed.). Suda. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
^Frazer, James George (13 February 2016). The Library of Apollodorus. Delphi Classics. Footnote 176. ISBN9781786563712. See Scholiast on Lucian, Alexander 4, ed. H. Rabe.
^Smith, William, Sir, 1813-1893. (2000). A new classical dictionary of Greek and Roman biography, mythology and geography : partly based upon the Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology. Making of America. OCLC 612127868.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^Marinatos, N. (1987). Hägg, R.; Marinatos, N. (eds.). The Function of the Minoan Palaces. Stockholm. pp. 124–130.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^Vanschoonwinkel, J. . Archived from the original on 11 October 2008. gives a summary of the depiction of monkeys in Minoan and Theran art, with bibliographical references.
^Cameron, M.A.S. (1968). "Unpublished paintings from the 'House of Frescoes' at Knossos". BSA. 63. pages 1–31 and figure 13. shows a restored image.[full citation needed]
^Shaw, Maria C. (October 1993). "The Aegean Garden". American Journal of Archaeology. 97 (4): 661–685, esp. 668–670. doi:10.2307/506717. JSTOR 506717.
^Frazer, James George, Sir. Apollodorus, Library and Epitome. ii.6.3, note. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^Cline, E.H. (1991). "Monkey business in the Bronze Age Aegean: the Amenhotep II faience figurines at Mycenae and Tiryns". Annual of the British School at Athens. 86: 29–42. doi:10.1017/S0068245400014878. S2CID 163960806.
Graves, Robert, 1955. The Greek Myths, section 136.c–d and references
January 01, 1970
cercopes, epic, poem, attributed, homer, epic, poem, ancient, city, crete, olous, greek, mythology, greek, Κέρκωπες, plural, Κέρκωψ, from, κέρκος, kerkos, tail, were, mischievous, forest, creatures, lived, thermopylae, euboea, roamed, world, might, turn, anywh. For the epic poem attributed to Homer see Cercopes epic poem For the ancient city in Crete see Olous In Greek mythology the Cercopes s er ˈ k oʊ ˌ p iː z Greek Kerkwpes plural of Kerkwps from kerkos n kerkos tail 1 were mischievous forest creatures who lived in Thermopylae or on Euboea but roamed the world and might turn up anywhere mischief was afoot They were two brothers but their names are given variously Passalus ˈ p ae s e l e s Passalos and Acmon ˈ ae k m e n Ἄkmwn 2 or Aclemon 3 Basalas ˈ b ae s e l e s Basalas and Achemon e ˈ k iː m e n Ἄxhmwn citation needed Olus ˈ oʊ l e s Ὤlos and Eurybatus j e ˈ r ɪ b e t e s Eὐrybatos 4 Candolus ˌ k ae n ˈ d oʊ l e s Kandwlos and Atlantus e t ˈ l ae n t e s Ἄtlantos citation needed Sillus ˈ s ɪ l e s Sillos and Triballus t r ɪ ˈ b ae l e s Triballos 5 Heracles and the Cercopes Metope in Paestum depending on the context but usually known as sons of Theia and Oceanus thus ancient spirits Contents 1 Mythology 2 As monkeys 3 Proverb 4 See also 5 Citations 6 ReferencesMythology editThey were proverbial as liars cheats and accomplished knaves 6 They once stole Heracles weapons during the time he was the penitent servant of Omphale in Lydia 7 He seized and bound them at Ephesus 7 and punished them by tying them to a shoulder pole he slung over his shoulder with their faces pointing downwards the only way they appear on Greek vases Their mother Theia begged Heracles to let her sons go 8 This particular myth is depicted on a metope at Temple C at Selinus According to Pherecydes the Cercopes were turned to stone 9 As monkeys editIn another myth 10 designed to explain their name tail men in Greek Zeus changed the Cercopes into monkeys This story inspired modern zoologists to name the genus of monkeys depicted in Minoan frescoes as Cercopithecus Monkeys figure in four Minoan frescos at Akrotiri most famously in the crocus gathering Xeste 3 fresco where the monkey s ritual aspect attending an enthroned female is interpreted by Nanno Marinatos as servants of the divinity acting as intermediary between humanity and the divine world 11 12 Green monkeys appear in Crete itself in the House of the Frescoes at Knossos 13 Monkeys are absent from Greek art In Minoan art it is assumed that they were exotic pets the monkeys which were imported to Crete were pets that would have been placed where they could be seen and used by their owners rather than simply abandoned in the countryside concluded Shaw 1993 14 When Greek mythographers attempted to account for the name Pithecusae Ape Islands given to Ischia and Procida by the Bay of Naples where no monkeys had been seen within human memory they were reduced to alleging that they must have been deceitful men whom Zeus punished by turning them into apes When scholars attempted to account for this exotic image they have been forced to search farther afield The story of Herakles and the Cercopes has been interpreted as a reminiscence of Phoenician traders bringing apes to Greek markets See O Keller Thiere des classischen Alterthums Innsbruck 1887 p 1 The interpretation may perhaps be supported by an Assyrian bas relief which represents a Herculean male figure carrying an ape on his head and leading another ape by a leash the animals being apparently brought as tribute to a king See O Keller op cit p 11 fig 2 15 Cline identified the monkey species in 1991 16 as guenons or blue monkeys which have bluish fur over their green skins Scholars generally assume that the appearance of the blue monkey in Aegean iconography was due to the import of the actual animal from north Africa they were iconic religious animals in EgyptProverb editSuda writes that Greeks used the proverb Ἀgorὰ Kerkwpwn meaning market of Kerkopes in reference to bad and knavish people because Herakles bound the Kerkopes at the market of Ephesus 17 See also editFurther references to the Cercopes can be found by the following classical authors Diodorus Siculus Bibliotheca Historia 4 31 7 Nonnus Westermann A ed Mythographi Graeci Appendix Narrationum 39 p 375 full citation needed Tzetzes Johannes Chiliades ii 431 vv 73 ff full citation needed Zenobius Cent v 10 Ovidio Metamorphosis book XIV vv 75 100 full citation needed Citations edit Compare Cecrops Homerica The Cercopes from Suidas s v Kerkopes Tzetz Chil v 75 Suid s v Eurubatos Schol ad Lucian Alex Lucian Alexander the false prophet a b Pseudo Apollonius Bibliotheke ii 6 3 Sudias Whitehead David ed Suda Retrieved 9 August 2020 Frazer James George 13 February 2016 The Library of Apollodorus Delphi Classics Footnote 176 ISBN 9781786563712 See Scholiast on Lucian Alexander 4 ed H Rabe Smith William Sir 1813 1893 2000 A new classical dictionary of Greek and Roman biography mythology and geography partly based upon the Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology Making of America OCLC 612127868 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint multiple names authors list link CS1 maint numeric names authors list link Marinatos N 1987 Hagg R Marinatos N eds The Function of the Minoan Palaces Stockholm pp 124 130 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint location missing publisher link Vanschoonwinkel J Animal Representations in Theran and Other Aegean Arts Archived from the original on 11 October 2008 gives a summary of the depiction of monkeys in Minoan and Theran art with bibliographical references Cameron M A S 1968 Unpublished paintings from the House of Frescoes at Knossos BSA 63 pages 1 31 and figure 13 shows a restored image full citation needed Shaw Maria C October 1993 The Aegean Garden American Journal of Archaeology 97 4 661 685 esp 668 670 doi 10 2307 506717 JSTOR 506717 Frazer James George Sir Apollodorus Library and Epitome ii 6 3 note a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a website ignored help CS1 maint multiple names authors list link Cline E H 1991 Monkey business in the Bronze Age Aegean the Amenhotep II faience figurines at Mycenae and Tiryns Annual of the British School at Athens 86 29 42 doi 10 1017 S0068245400014878 S2CID 163960806 Suda alpha 301References editGraves Robert 1955 The Greek Myths section 136 c d and references Probert Encyclopedia article on Cercopes Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Cercopes amp oldid 1171758006, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
