The Anatolian Cult of Sabazios
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In 1989 I published an article on examples of Attic vase painting which illustrate non-Greek divinities and cult rituals. Among the pieces I discussed was an Attic red figured krater from Spina, now in Ferrara, with a scene of two seated divinities, one male and one female, both making offerings from a phiale. The female divinity can be identified with some certainty as the Mother of the Gods, the Greek Kybele, but the male figure presents more of a puzzle. Following a suggestion of Erika Simon). I offered an identification as Sabazios. Shortly after this article appeared in print, I received a letter from Eugene Lane telling me that I was mistaken; whoever this divinity was, it was not Sabazios. As was so often the case in matters dealing with eastern divinities in Greek and Roman cult, he was right and I was wrong. This was my first contact with Professor Lane, but it proved to be the start of a rewarding association from which I have benefitted enormously. With this in mind, I would like to offer the following comments on Sabazios, with the hope that the scholar who has contributed so much to our understanding of this divinity in ancient Mediterranean cult may find a few original points in it to stimulate his interest.