Page:History of Greece Vol I.djvu/428

 3G HISTORY OF GREECE. as this." The religious feelings of Herodotus here told him that he was trenching upon the utmost limits of admissible scepti cism. 1 Another striking instance of the disposition of Herodotus to rationalize the miraculous narratives of the current mythes, is to be found in his account of the oracle of Dodona and its alleged Egyptian origin. Here, if in any case, a miracle was not only in full keeping, but apparently indispensable to satisfy the exi- gences of the religious sentiment ; anything less than a miracle would have appeared tame and unimpressive to the visitors of so revered a spot, much more to the residents themselves. Accord- ingly, Herodotus heard, both from the three priestesses and from the Dodonasans generally, that two black doves had started at the same time from Thebes in Egypt : one of them went to Libya, where it directed the Libyans to establish the oracle of Zeus Ammon ; the other came to the grove of Dodona, and perched on one of the venerable oaks, proclaiming with a human voice that an oracle of Zeus must be founded on that very spot. The injunction of the speaking dove was respectfully obeyed. 2 Such was the tale related and believed at Dodona. But He- rodotus had also heard, from the priests at Thebes in Egypt, a different tale, ascribing the origin of all the prophetic establish- ments, in Greece as well as in Libya, to two sacerdotal women, who had been carried away from Thebes by some Phoenician 1 Herod, ii. 45. Atyovot 6e no^il /cat aA/la uvemaKeirTac ol ' tvfjdTis Se avTEuv /cat ode 6 /j.ii'&of ka-i, rbv ?repi TOV 'Hpa/cAeof hiyovai .... .. . "En 6e eva. eovra rbv 'Hpa.K7i.ea, KOI ETI UV&PUKOV (if drj aai, /c w c v ail X e i Tro/lAaf fj.vpta.6af ipovevaai ; Kal mpl HEV TOVTUV roaavra ijp.v ELTTOVCI^ /cat napa TUV tieuv nal Trapa TUV rjpuuv evficvsia elrj. We may also notice the manner in which the historian criticizes the strat agem whereby Peisistratus established himself as despot at Athens by dressing up the stately Athenian woman Phye in the costume of the goddess Athene, and passing off her injunctions as the commands of the goddess : the Athenians accepted her with unsuspecting faith, and received Peisistratus at her command. Herodotus treats the whole affair as a piece of extrava- gant silliness, 7r/)fiy//a ev^tfeorarov //a/cpai (i. 60). 2 Herod, ii. 55. Aadavaiuv 6e al Iprftai ...... eTieyov raiira, avvup.oX6yei Kal ol dTCkoL Audwvatot ol nepi TO ipov. The miracle sometimes takes another form ; the oak at Dodona was itselj once endued with speech (Dionys. Hal. Ars. Rhetoric, i. 6 ; Strabo).