Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 15, 1904.djvu/326

302 all, as is fitting, crowned with fillets and green garlands. Whensoever with them, both men and women, I come to a flourishing town, there am I worshipped. They follow along with me in countless throngs, fain to enquire what is the path to prosperity: some ask for oracles; others in all manner of diseases hear and hearken to my healing voice, albeit long pierced with sore pains." Since the historicity of Lycurgus the Spartan law-giver is still a moot point, I will not appeal to the fact that in later days he was worshipped as a god . But after the battle of Aegospotami in 405 another Spartan, Lysander, was certainly recognised as a god: altars were erected to him, offerings brought, and paeans sung, while the Samians actually changed the name of their immemorial festival, the Heræa, to Lysandrea in his honour. At Athens Cratinus more than once spoke of Pericles as Zeus, and a well-known passage in the Acharnians of Aristophanes says:

These phrases of the comedians voiced a belief that had been latent among the Athenians for centuries. The popular champion was the embodiment of Zeus. Hence, when Demetrius Poliorcetes entered Athens in 302 {sc|b.c.}}, "the people received him not only with frankincense and garlands and libations of wine, but also with processions