The Arcadian Nymph Anthrakia and the Lignite Deposits of the Megalopolis Basin
This article discusses the Arcadian nymph Anthrakia, whom Pausanias saw sculpted upon a table in the sanctuary of the Great Goddesses in Megalopolis and on the altar of Athena Alea in Tegea. Anthrakia is known only from these two monuments, where she appeared among other nymphs who attended the infa...
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| Argitaratua izan da: | URI:https://journals.openedition.org/kernos, |
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| Egile nagusia: | |
| Formatua: | Article ou chapitre numérique |
| Hizkuntza: | Anglais |
| Argitaratua: |
Kernos
2025
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| Sarrera elektronikoa: | Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM |
| Gaia: | This article discusses the Arcadian nymph Anthrakia, whom Pausanias saw sculpted upon a table in the sanctuary of the Great Goddesses in Megalopolis and on the altar of Athena Alea in Tegea. Anthrakia is known only from these two monuments, where she appeared among other nymphs who attended the infant Zeus after his birth in Arcadia. On the Megalopolitan table, she held a torch, and her name (< ἄνθραξ: “charcoal”) and iconography have prompted several interpretations. For example, her torch has been understood as a reference to the dark cave where Zeus was born, or as indicative of an ancient ritual performed after birth, while her name has suggested a connection with mountain sources of charcoal. I suggest that Anthrakia is in fact the nymph of the lignite (brown coal) deposits in the Megalopolis Basin, which since 1969 have been mined by Greece’s Public Power Company S.A. (Δημόσια Επιχείρηση Ηλεκτρισμού A.E., or ΔΕΗ) for the production of electricity. As such, I posit that she served to represent the neighborhood of the newly founded city of Megalopolis in the Arcadian tradition of Zeus’ nativity. The article concludes by discussing the further potential religious implications of a nymph associated with this geological formation, as well as the possibility of early fossil fuel use in southwestern Arcadia. |
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