B. Bread as an Element of Sacrifices
The concern of Epiphanius which prompted this treatise was well founded: There was a Christian sect in Arabia which elevated the Virgin Mary to the status of a goddess and worshipped her with regular sacrifices.
Who gave the name “Kollyridians” to this sect is subject to debate.[522] Occasionally the name “Philomarianites,” as opposed to “An tidikom arianites,” is also used to describe them, but it is highly unlikely that these people would have used any other name than “Christian.” They doubtless believed, as members of most sects and heresies did, that theirs was a legitimate form of Christian worship.[523] The name “Kollyridians” comes from the Greek word denoting the bread which the women sacrificed to Mary, “κολλύρις.” This is to be distinguished from κολλύριον, a medical expression referring to various drugs and salves that were often marked with the seal of the physician who made them.[524] κολλύρις usually refers to a small loaf of bread, a cake, or a pancake[525] which, in addition to secular usage, often figures in sacrifices.Bread, or cereal offering, is as old as western civilization. The roots of such offering may go back to the dawn of history when man first discovered the mystery of grain production. This process, which so closely resembles creation as an activity of God, and the result of it, which was so essential for the maintenance of life, was early associated with divine power. The Greeks believed that Demeter discovered grain; accordingly they called it the “καρποί Δημητριακοί.”[526] The solemn and awesome Eleusinian mysteries centered around Demeter and partaking of her food may have been the climax of the ritual, recalling the barley drink that refreshed her during her journey.[527] Μεγαλάρτια, i.e., “feast of the great loaves” was a festival of Delos in honor of Demeter.
In Boeotia an epithet of her was Μεγαλάρτος. Μεγαλάρτιος was the name of the month of Halos in Thessaly and in Athens Haloa was the festival of Demeter during which the first bread made from the new harvest was dedicated to her.[528] The great festival of Thesmophoria, during the month Pyanepsion, was also dedicated to Demeter. This celebration was restricted to women, and here again, cakes were the cultic sacrificial offerings.[529] But it was not only Demeter who appreciated cakes as offerings; so did Artemis and other divinities. Theocritus tells us that even at the Adonis festival the women presented cakes of all kinds.[530]It was no different in Rome. In The Golden Ass, Apuleius describes the interior of a temple of Ceres (Demeter) in which Psyche hoped to find temporary refuge. In the temple she saw “sheaves of corn lying on a heap, blades twisted into garlands, and reeds of barley; moreover she saw hooks, scythes, sickles, and other instruments to reap... ”H —all items essential to the cult of Demeter-Ceres. Cakes were offered on many occasions, such as the Liberalia, on March 17, in honor of Liber Pater. Ovid is our witness that selling such cakes was an opportunity for old women to make some money. Even the words “offering” (libamen) and “cake” (libum) he says, are derived from the name of the god: “Libations derive their names from their author, and so do cakes, because part of them is offered on the hallowed hearths. Cakes are made for the god, because he delights in sweet juices... ”[531] [532] Another festival was Parilia, observed on April 21, in honor of the Pales, the ancient god and goddess who were protectors of stock breeding. Ovid reports that on their festival baskets of millet accompanied cakes of millet, for “the rural goddess particularly delights in that food.”[533] On the Matralia, the annual celebration of the Mater Matuta observed on June 11, Ovid urged the women: “Go, good mothers, (the Matralia is your festival) and offer to the Theban goddess the yellow cakes that are her due...
why she calls for toasted cakes, do thou O Bacchus... explain...”[534] In the festival of the October Horse (Ecus October), the severed head of a horse was decorated with loaves of bread[535] in the hope of securing a good harvest. This festival was observed in honor of Mars, but Minerva was also fond of cakes[536] and so was Juno,[537] who had a sacred cave in Lanuvium in which serpents lived. On an appointed day each year, girls went down the sacred path bearing barley cakes in their hands. When they found the nest of snakes they fed the cakes to them. Popular tradition claimed that if the girls were virgins the snakes accepted the cakes, if not, they were disgraced. If everything went well and the girls returned safely, everyone rejoiced that the year would be a fertile one. Here the cakes, in association with a fertility goddess (Juno), the emphasis on virginity, and the role of the serpent clearly imply a mysterious fertility rite, the exact meaning of which is lost, if indeed such a rite ever was clearly defined and understood.[538]The list of such festivals could go on: the Fornicalia, Lupercalia, Terminalia and several other festivals included the offering of cakes, which must have had a deep mystical meaning for the Romans. Just how deeply these feelings went we can sense from the custom of confarreatio, the most solemn form of marriage ceremony in which panis farreus, a bread made of far or spelt, a coarse wheat, was used. After prayers and sacrifices the bride formally renounced her maiden name and assumed that of her husband, after which they both ate from the bread. The symbolism of eating from the one bread is quite apparent, but the bread had to be of far, the grain sacred to the goddess Demeter-Ceres. That gave to the confarreatio a quasi sacramental character, for by partaking of the bread the bride and groom were united not only with each other, but also with the goddess.[539]
It seems immediately clear that by sacrificing a cake the Kollyridians were following an age-old custom.
If we knew more about their cake, in particular about its shape, we would know more about the object of their faith. Sacrificial cakes, as well as those used at secular occasions, were made in different shapes and forms, sometimes indicating a religious significance. According to Herodotus, cakes in animal forms were substituted for real animals which poor people could not afford to sacrifice.[540] The Egyptians had long followed this practice, which later became common in Greece and Rome. An image made of dough might also substitute if the proper animal was not available. This was the case once in Cyzicus, when “the festival of Persephone was at hand, and the people, lacking a black heifer for the sacrifice, fashioned one of dough and brought it to the altar.”[541] Athenaeus, in his Deipnosophistae, has a considerable section dealing only with cakes, in which he describes their shapes, their names, and, where appropriate, their religious use: “Amphiphon” was a flat cake, dedicated to Artemis, with lighted candles around it. “Elo- phos,” a cake moulded in the image of a deer and made of speltdough, honey, and sesame, was dedicated to Artemis also, on the festival of Elaphebolia.[542]Sometimes the cakes were made in the shape of male and/or female genital organs. In Syracuse, at the end of the Thesmo- phoria, sesame and honey cakes moulded in the shape of female organs were carried about in honor of Demeter; these cakes were called “Mylloi.” The origin of that custom might go back to the myth, related in the Orphic version of the rape of Kore, according to which the grieving Mother Demeter, in search of her lost daughter Persephone, was made to laugh when her host Baubo raised her skirt.[543] Similar cakes, together with phalluses made of cakes, were also exhibited at the Haloa in Eleusis.[544] Clement of Alexandria (died 215 A.D.) said that sexual symbolism was part of the Eleusinian mysteries. Although speaking about these rites was strictly forbidden, Clement scornfully revealed what was in the “mystic chests” of the mysteries: “...
sesame cakes, and pyramidal cakes, and globular and flat cakes, embossed with lumps of salt, and with a serpent, the symbol of Dionysus Bassareus. And besides these, are they not pomegranates, and branches, and rods, and ivy leaves? And besides, round cakes and poppy seeds? And further, there are the unmentionable symbols of Themis: marjoram, a lamp, a sword, a woman’s comb, which is a euphemism and expression for the muliebra.”[545] In Rome such cakes are mentioned especially in connection with Priapus, a god of fertility, who was represented by an oversized phallus.[546] Petronius says that at the banquet of Trimalchio there was a table, in the center of which stood a statuette of Priapus made of pastry. Its erect phallus propped up an apron which was filled with fruits.[547] Martial, in his usual crude style, refers to a Priapus-cake, but the religious connotation is missing.[548] He also mentions wheat cakes in the shape of female genital organs, but no religious significance is mentioned.[549]Epiphanius does not elaborate on the cakes offered by the Kollyridians, but a comparison of their service with that of some Hellenistic women offering sacrifices may shed some light on the subject. This is the subject matter of the fourth Miniambus of Herodas,[550] who describes the visit of two poor women, Kynno and Kokkale, to the temple of Asklepios at Cos.[551] They bring a rooster to the god who, by the “laying on of his gentle hands” (v. 18), wiped away certain sicknesses. After the initial prayer, the women admire the statues in the temple; before they leave, they offer a sacred cake to the snake of Asklepios, which lived in a den.[552] After this, the women place vatcrcd (i.e., “round, cakelike loaves made of pearl barley”)[553] on the altar, but they do not leave the temple until they take a piece of the uyiEta,[554] for to forget these, says Kynno, would be a greater loss than to leave behind a portion of the sacrifice (in this case the fowl).
Then they may go home and eat what they have taken from the altar: the sacrificial meat and the ύγίεια. Ύγίεια is usually associated with Asklepios, although it is also a title of Athena, who eventually became “Health,” personified as the daughter of Asklepios. A piece of the bread sacrificed to Asklepios, placed on his altar and then eaten, was regarded as being charged with the healing energy of the god. Here again we are in the realm of magic, which is based on the universal law of sympathy and antipathy. This universal law of nature guarantees that “lower” material objects will absorb “higher” qualities by virtue of physical contact if all the external conditions are met. The bread which Kynno and Kokkale ate was believed to contain a spark of the “daimon” of Asklepios, and when they ate the bread, it was this they believed they were absorbing.[555]The ancients were familiar with the idea of the divine bread which had healing and restorative powers. The Greek word for such a bread was άμυλος άρτος; and we know that such bread was widely used in medicine.[556] Its basic ingredient was unmilled wheat, a practice which was also adopted by the Romans. Such a bread was believed to be effective against many illnesses and thus to possess both healing and prophylactic powers.[557] We have already noted the association of bread with Demeter. From this association we can form an idea of the feelings and emotions with which the ancients partook in bread which, by virtue of having been placed on the altar of a god, had undergone some mystical transubstantiation.
It is perfectly natural that such beliefs would be continued in Christian communities of Gentile origin. Indeed, as early as the time of Ignatius of Antioch (died ca. 110 A.D.), the Eucharist was regarded as a “medicine of immortality (φάρμακον αθανασίας) and an antidote that wards off death.”[558] In the Eucharist, Ignatius says, the flesh (σαρξ) of the resurrected Jesus is active and works immortality. According to Irenaeus (died ca. 202 A.D.) of Lyon, the divine Logos is present in the eucharistic bread and wine and effects immortality. Later Christian theologians gave more precise definitions of the holy elements. Ambrose (died 397 A.D.), bishop of Milan, lays down in his treatise De Mysteriis [559] the foundations of the doctrine of the Eucharist: it is not corporeal food but spiritual; the nature of the elements in it having been changed,[560] it is no longer an earthly but a divine food.[561] “Whoever receives it (the sacrament) shall not die the death of a sinner, because this bread is the forgiveness of sins.”[562] St. Augustine (died 430 A.D.) completed this process by declaring that the Eucharist is “the daily medicine of the Lord’s body.”[563] These examples demonstrate the continuity between the Greco-Roman and Christian views of the holy bread,[564] but the similarity does not stop here. The early Christians believed the Eucharist to be a powerful prophylactic, the mere presence of which would be noticed by hostile demons. Early Christian literature is full of miracles involving the Eucharist and showing either “sympathetic” (i.e., blessing) or “antipathetic” (cursing) effects of the holy bread?5 In such cases, the Christians used the holy bread almost like an amulet, i.e., an object believed to be charged with divine energy and thus effective in warding off evil and attracting blessing. If indeed the Latin word amuletum comes from the Greek ap/uXog,[565] [566] the medicine against all ills, then there must be a link between these Greco- Roman and Christian religious practices. In Jewish tradition, bread and cereal play an equally important role. Jewish history properly begins with the Exodus, a joyful occasion celebrated with festive baking of breads which the Israelites were commanded to do forever in remembrance of God’s activities.[567] This association of God with bread was intensified when, in the wilderness, manna (i.e., bread from heaven) was given to the Israelites[568] to sustain their lives. Subsequently the offering of the first fruits of cereals became a law.[569] The climax of this development was reached with the ordinance of the “show bread”: Moses was commanded to “take fine flour and bake twelve cakes of it; two tenths of an ephah shall be in each cake. And you shall set them in two rows, six in a row, upon the table of pure gold. And you shall put pure frankincense with each row, that it may go with the bread as a memorial portion to be offered by fire to the Lord.”[570]Those portions which were not burnt were to be eaten by Aaron, the high priest, and his sons, who were to “eat it in a holy place.” Josephus, the first century A.D. Jewish historian, explained that the twelve loaves “denoted the year, as distinguished into so many months.” Then Josephus continues and says that the seven handled lampstand[571] “secretly intimated the Decani, or seventy divisions of the planets; and as to the seven lamps upon the candlesticks, they referred to the course of the planets, of which that is the number.”[572] Thus Josephus accorded to these breads cosmic significance; they represented for him the presence of God.[573] Bread is also prominently mentioned in the curious story of the rape of Tamar by Amnon.[574] Amnon pretended to be ill and Tamar, sent by King David to prepare food for him, “took dough and kneaded it, and made cakes in his sight, and baked the cakes. And she took the pan and emptied it before him, but he refused to eat.” The supposed illness of Amnon suggests a healing quality of the bread. Alfred Jeremias[575] has identified this story as belonging to a group of similar Near-Eastern narratives and the bread as the “mythical bread of Istar.” According to A. Jeremias, bread was an offering to the mother of the gods and its offering was a joyful occasion; when mourning or in grief, eating of bread was forbidden.[576] Thus elements typical of Greco-Roman religions, namely the reverential treatment of bread, its association with the sustenance of life, its place in temple worship, and the healing quality accorded to it, also appear in Jewish tradition. But there is much more. In at least one book of the Old Testament, the offering of cakes to the Near-Eastern fertility goddess appears as a widespread practice among women who refused to stop sacrificing to the mother of the gods even under pressure: The children gather wood, the fathers kindle fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes for the queen of heaven; and they pour out drink offerings to other gods, to provoke me to anger. Jeremiah 7.18)[577] Strong ties bound the women to the queen of heaven, as is clear from Jeremiah 44.15-25: Then all the men who knew that their wives had offered incense to other gods, and all the women who stood by, a great assembly, all the people who dwelt in Pathros in the land of Egypt, answered Jeremiah: ‘As for the word which you have spoken to us in the name of the Lord, we will not listen to you. But we will do everything that we have vowed, burn incense to the queen of heaven and pour out libations to her, as we did, both we and our fathers, our kings and our princes, in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; for then we had plenty of food, and prospered, and saw no evil. But since we left off burning incense to the queen of heaven and pouring out libations to her, we have lacked everything and have been consumed by the sword and by famine.* And the women said, ‘When we burned incense to the queen of heaven and poured out libations to her, was it without our husbands’ approval that we made cakes for her bearing her image and poured out libations to her?’ Then Jeremiah said to all the people, men and women, all the people who had given him this answer: ‘As for the incense that you burned in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, you and your fathers, your kings and your princes, and the people of the land, did not the Lord remember it? Did it not come into his mind? The Lord could no longer bear your evil doings and the abominations which you committed, therefore your land has become a desolation and a waste and a curse, without inhabitant, as it is this day. It is because you burned incense, and because you sinned against the Lord and did not obey the voice of the Lord or walk in his law and in his statutes and in his testimonies, that this evil has befallen you, as at this day.* Jeremiah said to all the people and all the women, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, all you of Judah who are in the land of Egypt, Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: You and your wives have declared with your mouths, and have fulfilled it with your hands, saying, ‘We will surely perform our vows that we have made, to burn incense to the queen of heaven and to pour out libations to her.* Then confirm your vows and perform your vows! The practice of these Jewish women was not restricted to their sojourn in Egypt, i.e., they did not simply assimilate local customs. They worshipped the queen of heaven already “in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem.” Moreover, in their reply to Jeremiah they stressed that this was a time honored custom among them, that the royal house was involved in it, and that they offered their sacrifices with the full approval of their husbands. The cakes that they made have the “image” of Ishtar—but what was the image? Was it the impression of a female head on a flat cake? Was it the “sign of Tanit” as was known in Carthage? Was it a flat cake shaped in the form of a female figure? Or was it perhaps a cake resembling the female muliebrd? If Marvin H. Pope is correct, the present day Jewish custom of baking and eating the “Hamantaschen” at the Purim festival may give some indication of what these cakes looked like. The “Hamantaschen” are triangular pastries filled with ground poppy seeds (sometimes with prunes); the common belief is that their shape resembles the three cornered hat of Haman, villain of the book of Esther, hence the name “Haman’s pockets.” Now, Purim is celebrated in remembrance of the vindication of Esther, and Esther is the Persian version of Ishtar, i.e., the queen of heaven. Very likely, therefore, “Hamantaschen” have nothing to do with Haman; the name may be a corruption of the German “Mohntaschen” (poppy-seed pockets). What these cakes with their triangle-shape and poppy seed filling indicated was the pubic mound of Ishtar.[578] Purim is a joyful festival and as we have seen above, eating “the food of Ishtar” was reserved for happy occasions. Since the baking of cakes was also characteristic of the Ishtar festivals,[579] we may conclude that the Jewish women’s cakes, either by shape or form or impressions, indicated the fertility-character of the festival.[580]