Trophonius
Greek deities series |
---|
Chthonic deities |
Trophonius (
Etymology and parallel cults
The name is derived from τρέφω trepho, "to nourish".
Similar constructions are also found in the Roman world. For example, a shrine at Lavinium in Lazio was dedicated to Aeneas under the title Iuppiter Indiges (Jupiter in-the-earth).
Family
Trophonius was a son of Erginus, king of Minyan Orchomenus and brother of Agamedes. But Apollo is said to be his actual divine father.[1]
Mythology
Temple of Apollo
According to the Homeric Hymn to Apollo, he built Apollo's temple at the oracle at Delphi with Agamedes. Pindar relates how, once finished, the oracle told the brothers to do whatsoever they wished for six days and, on the seventh, they would get their reward. They did and were found dead on the seventh day.[2] Cicero mentions the same story, only shortening the number of days to three.[3] The maxim by Menander, “those whom the gods love die young”, may have come from this story.[4]
Treasury of King Hyrieus
Alternatively, according to Pausanias they built a treasure chamber (with a secret entrance only they knew about) for King Hyrieus of Boeotia. Using the secret entrance, they stole Hyrieus' fortune. The king was aware but did not know who the thief was; he laid a snare. Agamedes was trapped in it; Trophonius cut off his head so that Hyrieus would not know whose body it was. He was then immediately swallowed up by the earth and was turned into an immortal subterranean god.[5]
The cave of Trophonius was not discovered again until the Lebadaeans suffered a plague and consulted the
Other myths
The childless Xuthus in Euripides's Ion consults Trophonius on his way to Delphi.
Plutarch's De Genio Socratis relates an elaborate dream-vision concerning the cosmos and the afterlife that was supposedly received at Trophonius' oracle.
Cult
Afterward, the consultee would be seated upon a chair of Mnemosyne, where the priests of the shrine would record his ravings and compose an oracle out of them.
In the classical tradition
"To descend into the cave of Trophonios" became a proverbial way of saying "to suffer a great fright". This saying is alluded to in Aristophanes' Clouds.
Several ancient philosophers, including
Notes
References
- Pausanias, Graeciae Descriptio. 3 vols. Leipzig, Teubner. 1903. Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.