Eubuleus

In ancient Greek religion and myth, Eubuleus (Greek Εὐβουλεύς, Eubouleus, "Good Counsel") is a god known primarily from devotional inscriptions for mystery religions. The name appears several times in the corpus of the so-called Orphic gold tablets spelled variously, with forms including Euboulos, Eubouleos and Eubolos. It may be an epithet of the central Orphic god, Dionysus or Zagreus, or of Zeus in an unusual association with the Eleusinian Mysteries. Scholars of the late 20th and early 21st centuries have begun to consider Eubuleus independently as "a major god" of the mysteries, based on his prominence in the inscriptional evidence. His depiction in art as a torchbearer suggests that his role was to lead the way back from the Underworld.

Genealogy and identity

Literary texts provide only scant evidence of the mythology of Eubuleus. He is not mentioned in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter. Differences among genealogies and cross-identifications with other gods raise the question of whether all the sources using a form of the name refer to the same figure.Diodorus Siculus says that he was a son of Demeter and the father of Karme, thus grandfather of Britomartis. One of the Orphic tablets identifies him as the son of Zeus, as does one of the Orphic Hymns.Hesychius identifies him with Plouton, who is also hailed as Euboulos in the Orphic Hymn to Plouton, but other contexts distinguish the two.