THE CULT OF GLYCON: CORRECTING SOME FALSE ASSUMPTIONS

The cult of Glycon has only marginally occupied the attention of Europeans seeking to understand the worldview and Paganism of their ancestors. The first reason for this is that Glycon is attested only in a handful of sources and, secondly, that the information about Glycon is distorted and the cult itself being the target of jocular and downgrading remarks. But, we still can glean some useful things and try to put this forgotten element of Hellenic Paganism in context.

Fig.1) Statuette of Glycon, from the second century CE

Although the most well-known reference to Glycon is that in Lucian, there are previous attestations of the cult, including a passage in Horace. Horace calls Glycon “invincible” and seems to associate him with Macedon. Fair enough, serpent symbolism was indeed very strong in Macedon. As already known, the serpent represents the ancestral DNA, and also the umbilical cord, with its decapitation symbolising the cutting of the cord and the final act of the rebirth. So, Glycon can as well fit into this symbolism.

First and foremost, the name “Glycon” translates as “much sweet”. This is similar to the etymology of Polydeuces, meaning that the symbolism behind them is the same. And, indeed, Polydeuces is the carrier of blood, of nourishment to Castor, who represents the fetus. So, Glycon has the same role. To this should be added the fact that, in all surviving depictions of Glycon, the snake has a human head. This is because the placenta transmits the ancestral genes to the fetus. The anthropomorphic face alludes to the ancestor’s likeness, the spirit of the ancestor that is being reincarnated.

Fig.2) Coin depicting Glycon, with a beard

he beard that accompanies, occasionally, the iconography of Glycon is also suggestive of the symbolism. Bearded figures represent the ancestors.

This should bring us to the tale Lucian relates on the Glycon cult. Disregarding the plenty of evidence that the cult was already existing before the era of Augustus, Lucian assigns the beginning of the cult to a seer named Alexander, from Abonoteichos in Asia Minor. According to the tale, Alexander declared that a new incarnation of Asclepius would emerge from the egg of a goose. Indeed, nine days after his proclamation, the egg cracked and a snake emerged from the egg. On top of that, after a week had passed, the snake grew a human face, complete with flowing locks of blonde hair.

On to the interpretation, we should state that Asclepius (“within the sack made out of rabbit-skin”) represents the fetus, but also the ancestor about to be reborn. The rabbit is always associated with fertility and with the deity denoting the egg, the female reproductive cell (like Aphrodite). So, the sack out of rabbit-skin is the womb. Yet, the burial mound is also a womb, the womb of Mother Earth. Especially in Asia Minor, Asclepius has some attributes of Hermes, the analogous of Odinn, the sum total of the ancestors (for example, Asclepius carries the caduceus in some depictions found in Asia Minor). In Galatia, Asclepius was also called Telesphorus (meaning “carrier and bringer”) symbolising the placenta, which carries the ancestral genes and brings them to the fetus.

Fig.3) Medallion depicting Telesphorus/Asclepius, from Dacia

So, the next incarnation of Asclepius that Alexander mentioned is, in fact, the return of the immortal spirit within a new mortal body, the rebirth of the ancestor.

The goose egg is also interesting. Like the swan (which is also the etymology of Penelope, the wife of Odysseus), the goose is the female reproductive system. The fact that the egg cracks open after nine days refers to the nine months of the pregnancy. Finally, the acquisition of the human face after seven days refers to the reincarnation ritual, whereby the seven-year-old child descends into the passage grave and reincarnates the ancestor.

So, in the cult of Glycon, the mythical narratives are somewhat merged, in the sense that we do not have the decapitation of the serpent. A parallel can be, once again, drawn to the Dioscuri, Castor and Polydeuces. They both emerge from the Orphic egg, which Leda (“rocky Earth”) produces after being impregnated by Zeus (“life-force”). Castor is the fetus, Polydeuces provides the blood, the nourishment (which is done by the placenta). In a similar vein, we have in the Glycon cult the snake (a chthonic symbol, representing the ancestral genes) emerging from the egg, but after seven days, the anthropomorphic face prevails, meaning that the reincarnation has occurred, the likeness of the ancestor revived being exhibited.

As another interesting parallel, a golden snake statuette with a human face is referenced in the accounts of the Lombard Pagan rituals in the Benevento court, as late as 663 CE. This should indicate that the cult of Glycon has parallels all over Europe and that its symbolism is decoded by methodical examination of the information we have.

As a final word, I should say that we have evidence of Glycon invoked vis-a-vis childbirth in inscriptions from Caria until the late fourth century CE. This should give us a clue that, contrary to Lucian’s narrative, the cult did not diminish after the death of its supposed founder, while it is surely older than the period when he supposedly lived.

Dixi.