incubation oracles

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qLeslieD. Johnstons a graduatef Indiana niversity(A.B.,A.M.) andof the University f Illinois Ph.D. nClassicsand Ancient History).In the courseof hisgraduate orkhe taughtat both heseuniversities ndsubsequentlyt EarlhamCollege.FromJuly I9;I toDecember945 he served n the U. S. ArmyAir Corpsas Lieutenant olonel,with two anda halfyearsoverseas-most of which imewas spent n Syria aboutZmiles romBaalbek),n Libya at Benghaxi,ot too farfromCyrene,LeptisMagna, abratha,ndother pots),and in Italy, stationedaboutten milesfromVenosa(ancientVenusia).He is now with the Veterans'Administration,ctingas VocationalAdviseron the IndianaUniversity ampus.

To unloct 1asuture-Sleep n the skinof a freshlylainsheepby a water allAnd thespiritsof the deadwill come.Incubation O r a c l e s

LeslieD. JohnstonSTUDY oBTHE LIFEandcustoms f classical antiquity an be interestingn manyways. If, moreover, arallels r similaritiescan be found between the customsof theGreeks ndRomans ndotherpeoples t different ges, he conclusions,r presumptions,whichseempossible, refascinating.In the ensuing rticle havecollected ndcomparedhe data about ncubationracles,and havemade uchconclusions s have appeared bvious. n ancient imes,as well asmodern,ncubationracleswerepopular ndwidespread. he superstitions,he rites andpractices, ere very muchalike.Muchhasbeensaid,1o be sure,about ncubation racles,but the three most prominent characteristics,he use of the freshfleece, he association ith the spiritsof thedead,and the locationnear a waterfall, rstream,have not been sufficiently emonstrated.The use of the fresh leece ppearsobe commono all. It was the custom or theconsultant o sleep on, or wrapped n, thefreshskin of an animal, sheep n ancienttimes,which had been slain ust before hedevotee ay down to sleep.Thegenerally c

ceptedview seems o be thatthisconstitutedsome sort of purification, r exerted somesanctifying nd protectingnfluenceverthepersonparticipatingn the oracle,but an esamination f the evidence ndicatesratherthat the fresh kinpossessed magical owerand was unmistakeablyonnectedwith thespiritsof the underworld, r at least withspiritsbeyond he realm f thenatural. hereis a somewhat inister feelingbehind theincubationooracle,ecause necalledup thedead. It is true, however, hat cures werethought o havebeeneffected t the varioussanctuaries,nda benevolence as attributedto the oracle, ut this doesnot appearo havebeen he characterf the originalites.The oracle onsultantwho sleptupon heraw skin gainedcontact therebywith thespirits f the deadwhichwereenticed o himby the bloody kin.The best iterary ccountof the powerof blood o draw he spiritsofthe dead s that of the OdysseyI. 23 ., thedescription f Odysseus' onsultationwiththe dead eer,Tiresias.This wasunquestionablya bit of magic. t wasan oldbeliefamongthe ancientshatthe dead evealedhe truth,or future f the word is betterchosen, ndreams ndvisions.2 histhenwasthe reasonfor sleepingupon the freshfleece.The skinwasanassurancef the trueness fthe vision.It is clear romPausanias'ccountof theoracle o AmphiarausearOropusn Atticathatthe skin n questionwasnot apartof thepurification,or he says (Loebtranslation,I.34.5): "Orle who has come to consultArnphiarauss wont firstto purifyhimself.The modeof purifications to sacrificeo thegod, and they sacrifice ot only to him butalso o all thosewhosenames reon the altar.And when all these things havebeen first349


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INCUBATIONORACLESfirst allsto Faunus, nd the other o gentleSleep.The fleece f cach s spread nthe hardground.... He (Numa), lothed n a roughgarment,laces isbodyupon he fresh nova)fleecesand praysto the god with suitablewords.In the meantime,Night, her calmbrow girt with poppies,comesand bringsdarkdreams ithher.Faunuss present, nd,settinghis hardfoot uponthe skins,proclaims rom he rightside of the bed such

,,worc : . . . .Although t is idle to speculate ponthequestion s to whoof thetwopoetshasgivenus the trueror moreoriginal ccount,13 .WardeFowlerregardsOvid'sdescriptionsthe moregenuineand Vergil'sas havingsomethingmoreof foreignadornment, utSirJamesG. Frazer,n his commentaryn theFasti,suggests hat Ovid'saccounts basedon Vergil's.Eitherof theseworthyscholarsmayberight,but f theoracle ctuallyxisted,andthereseems o be little reason o doubtthat t did,morehanprobablyothaccountsare genuineand equallyso. The only artificial lementswouldbe, in Vergil he referencesdealingwithLatinus, nd n Ovid hosedealingwith Numa,and Somnus, nd possibly the specificdetailsdescribedn lines6SS-8although see no realreasono doubtthe authenticityf these.Thegeneralutlineof the oracles thesame:primaevalorest acredto Faunus; esponses t nightthroughdreams;roximityf runningwater Vergil'ssacroonte ndOvid's ontana . . unda); ndsleeping n freshskins,an actthat summonsthe god.That the skin s regardeds important by Ovid would seemevidentby hisstatementhatFaunuset his"hardoot"onthe fleeces.Ovid,however,doesnot mentionanyassociationith thedead, r underworld,unless heyarealludedo in thesomnia igraof line 66z. The avoidance f ringson thefingers,abstinencefrom meat and lovemaking,s indicationhatmagics involved,however.Yet, if furtherspeculations inorder, ecause fthis omissionf referenceotheunderworld,ndbecause f the details nOvid'saccount,n my opinion,Vergil'sdescription n lines 8SwI is of the originaloracle.

3SISummoningheDeadTHEBELIE?hat the deadcould be summonedby freshbloodand thattrueprophe

siescould hen be obtainedrom hemseemsto be as old as the OdysseyII. 23-37), f wecan believe that such stories as that ofOdysseusummoningiresiasby lettingthebloodof a slainsheepdrain nto a pit revealanything f earlier r contemporaryustom.Two most nteresting asepaintings,n thisconnection, re describedby Highbarger.l4OneshowsOdysseus bout o conversewithElpenor.Odysseuss seatedon a rockwithsword n hand.With the swordhe has slainthe sheep, he bloodof whichdrainsnto thepit, and with the swordhe will fend ofElpenor nd the otherghostsuntilTiresiasarrives.The othervasepainting howsthemeetingwith Tiresias.Odysseus, eatedoverthepit, holdsasword o keepaway heothersouls. This followsclosely the account nOdysseyI. 23 S. Spiritsof Erebus atheredabout heblood,butOdysseus eptthemallawayuntilTiresias rewnearandsaid(Loebtranslations4): "Nay, drawback rom hepit, holdoff yoursharp wordso that I maydrinkof the bloodand speakto you truewords V71,UEpTEa).Just as relevantis a vasepaintingdescribedby Frazern his note to PausaniasI.34.S, reproducedn Monumentinediti4,pl. xix (not availableo me).The scene,according o Frazer, hows Odysseussittingwith hisfeet on the skinof a sacrificedam,and thereforeunquestionably freshskin,evokinghe shadeof Tiresias.

It is clear hatthe function f therawskinwas to entice the spiritsof the deadto theconsultant.t is trueofall incubationracles,whetherspecificherodeities,spiritsof thedead n general, r Faunusby virtueof hischthonic spects,are nvolved.Among heCelts

ITISPOSSIBLE,owever, hatsimilaruperstitionsamongother peoplesmay lend credence o the existence f suchdream raclesamong he Romans. n the firstplaceI referto the Gaelicor Celtic aghairm. This most


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LESLIED. JOHNSTONSzinteresting ustom s describedby variousfolklorists,l5ut mostvividly by the poetnovellst,SirWalterScott, n hisTheLadyofTheLake,anto4, stanzas. Thepassagesworthquotingat some ength(4, , t4-z6):"Where leeps heChief?"hehenchmanried."Apart,nyondermistyglade;To his lonecouch 'llbeyourguide."4, 4, Ii.:"'Tiswelladvised, theChieftain's lanBespeakshefather f his clan.ButwhereforeleepsSirRoderickDhuApart rom llhisfollowersrue?""Itis becauseasteveningideBrian16naugury ath riedOf thatdreadkindwhichmustnotbeUnless ndread xtremity,Thetaghairmalled;by which,afar,Oursires oresawheeventsof war.Duncraggan'silkwhitebullthey slew."

4) S, I.:"Thatbullwasslain;hisreeking ideTheystretchedhecataract eside,Whosewaters heirwildtumult ossAdowntheblack ndcraggy ossOfthathugecliSwhoseample ergeTradition allstheHero'sTarge.Couched na shelfbeneathts brink,l7Closewhere he thunderingorrents ink,Rocking eneathheirheadlongwayAnd dritaled y theceaselesspray.'Midstgroan ndrockandroarof stream,Thewitardwaitsprophetic ream."The descriptions complete ndneedsnocomment. ne might feel, however,thatthere adbeensomeborrowingromVergJ1himself,ut evengrantinghat, it is an accurate escription f the taghairm, s revealedromothersources.I8Brian's eport s equallystriking,f alsoequallyeminiscent f the experiences fVergil'sacerdos. f. 4, 6, 3ff.:

"Roderick!t is a fearful trife,Forman ndowedwithmortalife,Whoseshroud f sentientclaycanstillFeelfeverishpangandfainting hill,Whoseeyecanstare n stonytrance,Whosehaircanrouse ikewarrior'sance,'Tishard orsuch o view,unfurled,

Thecurtain f thefutureworld.Yet,witnesseveryquakingimb,My sunken ulse,mineeyeballs im,My soulwithharrowingnguishorn,Thisformy(:hieftain aveI borne!Theshapes hatsoughtmyfearful ouch,A humanonguemayne'eravouch."Another,much imilar,method fconsulting the taghairm as fora company f persons o retire o some emote pot,wraponeoftheirnumberna fresh owhide,withonlyhis head eft sticking ut, andso leavehim,aloneduringthe night. He thus receivedanswersto their questionsand impartedthemto his fellowsnextmorning.19ny re

mote and desertedspot was suitable,alKthoughhelocation nder waterfallwasthebest.TheGermanic arallel

THEGERMANICiodorsaza20lsohascharacteristicsimilaro thesocalledFaunus racle,and o the taghairm. he earliest ccount fthisseems o bethatof BurcharddiedIo4S)ofWorms,n hisDecreta9, S,21nwhichheinveighsagainstvariousNew Year'spractices ordeterminingheeventsofthecomingyear:vel in bivio(crossroads)edisti uprataurinamutem, tibi uturasibiintelligeres?Ifanyonehas donesuch,he says,penancemust edone.Undoubtedly,lthough urchard oesnotsayso,thecowhidewas resh,orthemidwinterseasonwasa popularime orslaughteringattle.In the samepassagehespeaksf persons ittingon the roofof thehouse,irtwith a sword, n order o foreseethe oming ventsofthenewyear.ThiscallstomindOdysseus ittingat the pit waitingforTiresias.nthiscase,however,heswordwasprobablyor protection gainsthostile

.splrlts.It is possible,as some think,22hat anearliereferenceo the liodorsaxas to befoundn the worksof the Abbot Pirmin(middlef the eighthcentury)n hisDicta:23Rulius hristianuseque decclesiam,equein omibus, equen trivio,necin nullo ocoballationes,antationes,altationes,ocosetlusaiaboZicaacerenonpresumat. here snothingery specific,however, n Pirmin's


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INCUBATIONORACLES 3S3prohibitions. ne canonly guessat what activity preciselyook place n domibus r intrivio,whichPirmin egardeds devilish.Closelysimilar o the liodorsaza as theNorwegiantisetawhichhas been reatedndetailby RudolfMeissnern his articleentitled "Gangail frettar."24n this,also,theconsultantat at the cross oadsupona freshskin.Meissnerp. 04) citesas a referenceonArnason25ho has described customofdivinationn Icelandvery much ike thoseunderdiscussion.The time is New Year'sEve,or SaintJohn'sEve,andthe siteis thatwhere four roads meet, roads which leadstraightofourcemeteries. his showsan unmistakeableonnection ith the dead, orthedeadknowall,andbymeans f the procedurewill becompelledo tellyouwhat heyknovr.The consultanties wrappedn a cowhide sin the taghairm,r in a walrus kin,andholdsan axe n his hand.The axe s to protect hediviner, ndcalls to mind,again,Odysseus'use of thesword o keepof the spirits f thedead.Suchpractices s these appearo havepersistedtill the nineteenthcentury, ateast.26It is possible,also, that this practiceofsittingbythecross oads, rwayside,n orderto foreseehe future,maybe alluded o in theEdda: ptbQlvisaronuritzabrauta aerpaerer deyfa verSok efa.27

'I@hengloSaxonParallelINORDEROROUNDut ourdiscussionnlya referenceo someAngloSaxonpracticesneeded,and that is suppliedby Ecbert'sPoenitential, I9:28 Si quis sortilegiael divinationesxesceat, elvigilias uasadfontemaliquem his waeccanaet aenigumwylle29haebbe).. habeat.... This divinationbesidea spring, r well (see he originalmeaningof well), must surelybe a custommuch hesameas the liodorsazar taghairm.n turn,all of thesehave characteristicsery muchlike the so calledFaunus racleas describedby VergilandOvid.With such remarkablyimilarexamplesfrom he ancientGreekand Romanwriters,

fromearlyGermanicincludingNorwegianandIcelandic)nd AngloSaxon olklore, nd

fromwhat seems o be a survivalof an oldCelticcustom,oneis tempted o assert hatthesamepracticewas commono all, namelythe consultationf the dead o learn he future.One maycall t incubationracle. n almostall, the samedetailsappear:leeping, rin a trance, n fresh kins,besidea stream, rspring,preferablyeara cataract,n order oobtain rom hespiritsof thedeada truepredictionof the future.The vision obviouslycomes rom he spiritsof the dead,or fromdeitieswith chthonic ttributes,nd he truenessof the predictions to beemphasited.In view of the comparisonsust drawn, tmightbe concluded, lausibly nough, hattheincubation racledescribed y VergilandOvid portray rue old Romancustom,butthat t is possiblehatFaunuss an nterloper,associatedwith the oracleby reasonof hiswild, mysterious, nd chthoniccharacter.30Even o, thatassociation usthavebeenveryearly.As for theGreeks, offerhe presumpztioussuggestionhat originally nly the unnameddeadgavesuchoracles, ut later,dueto the prominencef suchhero eersas Amphiaraus, alchas,ndPodaleirius,he oracleswereassigned o them.An excellentndicationf thestrongholdthatsuch practices aveuponpeoples s themodernmanner f sleeping n sanctuariesfthe Saints, r nchurches,n order o be curedofa disease r an affliction,r to see a vision.3RearRunningWater

ITREMAINSoemphasiteneother nterestingcommon haracteristicf the oraclesdiscussedabove,andthat is the location earastream f water,andprobablyeara cascadeorwaterfall. raterhas pointedout that thetempleof Amphiaraust Oropus n Atticawassituated mong prings ndbrookswithtreesall around.32he oracleof CalchasatDrium lsoseems o havebeen ocated earastream,33nd, as was mentioned bove, acScording to Porphyry'sVita Pyt1zagorae,Pythagoraslepton a black am's kinbesidea stream.Althoughhere s somedoubtabouttheFaunus racle,cholarsregenerallyf theopinionhat it was locatednearTibur n thegroveof Albunea,probably y the waterfall


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LESLIE . JOHNSTONS4of Tibur.34This is undoubtedly orrect.Further,we haveseenthat the Celtictagzhairmwas mostsuitablyobservedbeneaththe archof a waterfall, nd Ecbert'sPooniStentialspeaks f the AngloSaxonwatchbesidea "well" theLatins ontem). Undoubtoedlythelocation esideherunning rfallingwaterwasimportant,or t lentmystery ndaneerie eelingn theremotewoodland,mostconduciveo thetrance, rsleep, ntowhichtheconsultantmust all norderobehold isvision.The liodorsazandvtiseta appearohavebeenobserved ustomarilyt a crossroads.In conclusion, maintain hat the skinsuponwhich heconsultantay,or nwhichhewaswrapped, she consultedheoracle, xSercised o purifying r sanctifyingnfluence,butrather ummonedp the wild spiritsofthedead,possiblyhe devilandhisminionsin ater imes,andsecuredrom hema truerevelationfthefuture.36ut o say heleast,the onsultationftheoraclewasahatardousundertakingfonecanbelieve urgreatpoets,Vergil ndScott.

NOTES1MaryHamilton,ncubationrtheCureofDiseasesinPagan Remplesnd ChristianChurches, ondon,I906, 84-8y;LudwigDeubner,De incubationeapitaquattuor,eipaig,900, t4. JaneHarrison, rolegomenatoheStudy fGreetReligion,d.ed.,Cambridge,922,z7, fterdiscussinghe"Dianleece,"peaksf magicalfleecesndassertshat heskinofthevictim asamagical fEcacy s medicine gainstmpurities, ut whilethismaybe trueof the "Dianleece,"t certainly oesnotit the caseof the incubationracle.Seefurther,L.R. Farnell,T@heultsof theGreekStates,Oxford,I907,ol. III, z4o; M. P. Nilsson,Griechischeeste,Leipaig,906, s-6; J. G. Fraxer,T@heoldenBough,3d.d.,London,9I4,vol.3,3Izandnote3,andvol.7,38,nd n his commentaryn Pausanias.34.y. nthelatter,razer sserts hat the skin was believedtoexercisesanctifyingndprotectivenfluencever hepersonho lay wrappedn it. But WilhelmKroll,"AlteTaufgebrauche,"rchivfur Religionswissenschaft(I90S)27-S3, 37, does not agreewith thisgeneraliew, andbelieves hat its influences rathermagicalndsoit is. Inthecaseof theMysti,however,heuggests39) hat hesittingontheskinsormsomesortf a bondwiththegod.Thisis trueof manyusesofkins n ancient ites,but not so of theincubationzoracle..R. Halliday,GreetDivination, study fitsmethodsndprinciples,ondon,9I3, I3I-I3z,remarkingpon hepracticesf theCeltic aghairmdiscussedbelow)aysthattheactof sleeping pon heskin s a

formof unionwith magicpower.RudolfMeissner,"Gangail frettar,"Zeitschriftes Vereinsur Volkskunde 27 (I9I7-I8) 96-I0S, I03, assertshat hequeranttransfershe magicalpowerof the hide to himself.Kroll,Halliday, nd Meissnerarecloseto the rightanswero thequestion,or t is in therawandbloodyskin hat hemagical oweries.What hatpowerwasthoughto do,willbeseenbelow.2 SeeE. L. Highbarger,heGatesof Dreams,T@heJohnsHopkinstudiesnArchaeology,o.30, Baltimore,I940, 37-38-3 The significancef the locationby a riveror astream f runningwaterwillbe discussedelow.4 SeealsoKroll, .c., 9. Eustathius,owever,nspeakSingof DodonaadIliadumXVI, 233ff.) saysthatsuchprophesiesameromZeus o thosewhoslept n skins.ButZeus s seldom godof prophesy,ndhasnopartwiththeincubationracle.5 Migne,Patrologiaeatinae 4, p. 657A.6 G. Wissowa,Religionund Kultusder Romer,Munchen,90Z, I74, doesnot seempositive.RichardHeinae,Vergils pische@echnik,d.ed.,Leipaig,928,

I76, n. , doubtst. Fraxeroesnotseem o questiont,Folkloren theOldT@estament,bridgeddition,NewYork, 923, 228, but in his commentaryn Ovid'sFasti .649, he remarkshatthe modeof consultationwasGreek atherhanRoman, ut againhe raisesnoquestionn commentingn Pausanias.34.5. W. W.Fowler,RomanFestivals, ondon,908, 262-263, reSgardsOvid'saccount sthemoregenuinendVergil'sas havingsomething f foreignadornment. tto, inPaulyWissowa, .v.Faunus, ol. zo70,maintainshatthe udgementnthedetails f theTraumorakelf Faunusmustbe withheld.Butseebelow orfurther rgument.7 Thepassageunsasfollows,Aeneid, .8I-95:At rexsolltcitus onstrisracula auniFatidicienztoris,dit, ucosqueubaltaconsulitAlbunea, emorumuaemaximaacrofonte onat aevamquexhalatpacamemphitim.85 Hinc talae entes mnisqueenotrtaellusindubiisesponsaetunt.Hucdona acerdoscum ulit, tcaesarumviumubnoctexlentipellibusncubuittratis, omnosqueetisat,multamodis imulacraidet olitantia iris,

go etvarias uditvoces,ruitur eorumconloquio,tquemisAcherontadfaturAvernis.Hicettumpaterpsepetensesponsaatinuscentumanigerasmactabatitebidentes,atque arumffultusergotratisqueacebat95 velleribus;ubita xaltovoxredditaucoest.

8 I should ike to havefontemean,with sonat,acascade.9Fairclough,oehranslation,onceivesfapriestesshere,ut I doubt f anyof the feminineex were nvolvedn sucha nerveracking rdeal.Moreover,twouldeatoughob orawomanoslaughterhesheepbyerself.Unquestionablyaircloughs wrong.SoisEdwardlback,"SacredGrovesof Latium,"CJ 29(I933-34) 66I, whothinksof a "prophetess,"ndso apriestessere.


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INCUBATIONORACLES 3SS10Cyril Bailey, Religion n Vergil,Oxford, I93S,

26, speaks f a templehere, but surely herewas nobuilding f any kind n this grove. t wasa wild forestwith no human ssociations,nd the priestslept subnocte ilenti.11 do not see any contradictionn fruiturdeorumconloquioorsuchgods ouldeasilybe regardeds fromAcheron. n fact, deorum onloquios probably n appositivewith Acherontadfatur. aunus, owever, aneasilybe associated ith Acheron ecause f hischthonic aspects, or which see Otto, I.c., cols. zoS6sos7,zo6s.However,Ulback,.c., thinks he godsof Olympusaremeant,with which dea cannot gree.12 The text of Ovid,Fasti .649-664:Silvavetusnullaque iuviolata ecuri6so stabatMaenalio acra elicta eo:illedabat acitis nimo esponsa uietonoctibus; icgeminas ex:Numamactat ves.

Prima aditFauno, enicaditalteraSomno;sterniturn durovellusutrumqueolo;6SS biscaput ntonsumontana pargiturnda,bissua agina emporarondeegit;unusabestVeneris, ec as animaliamensisponere, ecdigstis nulus llus nest;veste udi ectus upranova elleraorpus660 ponit dorato ersuaverba eo.Interea lacidamedimita apavererontemNox venit t secum omnia igra rahit;Faunus destoviumqueremens edevellera uroedidit dextroaliaverbaoro.

13 Seeabove,note6.14 Op. cit.,p. 8, n. zI-15 Halliday, p. cit., I3I, quoting romDalyell, I4heDarterSuperstitionsf Scotland, 9S; Frazer n Pausanias, .34.S,and references;cott'sown note on thecustom;and J. Grimm,DeutscheMythologie, th ed.,B>rlin,876, by E. H. Meyer,vol. I, 934.16 Brian, he seer,"fiend egottenmonk," as a fearsome reature imself. eecanto3, S-7-17The customary lace or such oracleswas underthe arch ormedby a waterfall. ee Halliday, p. cit.,3I.18 See the referencesited n note IS19Halliday, p. cit., I3I.20 Liodorsaza, .H.G.hleodarsaza, eans"sitting o

receivean oracle.9' @aghairm,ccordingo Meissner,I.c., o3,means echo" Widerhall),ut he quotesT. G.Campbell, uperstitionsf heHighlandsnd IslandsofScotland,3 , as translatingwith "spiritScall,"thecalling f the spiritsback rom he vastydeep."21 Migne, Patrologiae atinae 40, 960D. See alsoVita S. Eligii I6 (Grimm, p. cit., 402): praeterea

quotiesaliqua nfrmitassupervenerit,on quaeranturpraecantatores,on divini,non sortilegi, oncaragi,necper fontes,aut arbores el biviosdiabolica hylacteriaexerceantur.22E. H. Meyer, Mythologie er Germanen, trassburg, 903, 308.23DictaAbbatisPirminide sigulis libriscannonicisscarapsusz (Migne, Patrologiae atinae 9, I04I D;C. P. Caspari,Kirchenhistorischenecdota, hristiania,I883, vol. , I76).

24 Cited in note I. See also Boehm, .v. Anhang nHandworterbuches deutschenAberglaubens,ol. I,4It; Meyer,op.cit., 08. Suchpractices eremost omSmonduringChristmastide.

52 Jon Arnason, elandicPopular egendsndS^ales,Leipaig,862-64, z vols., vol. I, 436 (in Icelandic).26 See also Meyer,op. cit., 308, of Iceland nd GerSmany.Fraxer n Ovid,Fasti .649, of southerntaly.27 Karl Hildebrand,Die Liederder alteres Edda,(Saemunderdda),Paderborn,876, Sigrdrifumal,7.Alsoquoted y Grimm, p.cit., 34. "Oftevil women itby the wayside,who deaden words ndvalor."2&Citedandquotedby Meissner.29 A "well"here s surelya spring.30 Faunus' ature s well suited o suchan oracle.Helived in the wild forests,woodedcliSs, and neartherippling pringwaters.Mysterious ounds ssuing romthesewereattributedo him;he was the spiritof theseplaces,wild,fearsome,ometimes ood, ometimes ad.Moreover,Vergil, n the lines describinghe visionofthe priest, aysnothing f Faunus. he spirits revagueand ndefinite,ike hoseof the Celtic aghairm,he Norwegian,or Icelandic,Vtiseta,and possiblythose ofPythagoras'reams eside he river.31 MaryHamilton, p.cit.;E. Rohde,Psyche, eipaig,

I 894, 74, n* 4*32 Folkloren theOldT@estament,zS-33 JacquesPerret, "Calchas t les Bergers hez les'Metinates x Gargano'," ev.Archaeol.0 (I937) 8I-I98, summarizedy Hulley,C. W., 3z (I937-38)83;Strabo .z84, ranslated bove.34 Frazer,Folkloren the Old T@estament,z8; J. A.Hild, DahrembergSaglio,.v. Faunus, ol. Io23; Wissowa, PauleyWissowa, .v. Albunea, ol. I337, and nRoscher's exicon.v. Faunus, ol. I4S6;Otto, I.c.;and

L. Preller,RomischeMythologie,d. ed. by H. Jordan,Berlin, 88 , vol. I, 383.35 To be sure, herea1epracticesnvolvinghe use ofskins n the religious ustomsand superstitionsf theGreeks ndRomanswhichdo appearo havesome ortof sanctifyingndprotective ssociations,ut thesehaveno part n the incubationracle.

ATLARTIC STATESTShepringmeeting f theClassicalAssociationf theAtlanticStateswill be held

at the Universityf Pittsburghn April23 and 4, I948 (Friday-Saturday).eadquarters illbeat theHotelSchenley.

incubation oracles

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