THE GREAT ANTRUM AT BAIAE

Dr. R. F. Paget discoveredthe Antrumin 1962,and has now publishedit, first

in his In theFootsteps of Orpheus,RobertHale, London (1967) and in PBSR, xxxv
(1967), 102-112: The 'Great Antrum' at Baiae: A Preliminary Report; see also
xiii(1967),42-50 : The GreatAntrumat Baiae.' I mademyfirst'descent'
Vergilius,
withhimintohisUnderworld in September1965,but I had beendiscussing it with
him and workingon it beforethat,and thesediscussionshave continuedsince
withhim and variousscholarsin Oxford,to whomI am muchindebted.1 I am
not an archaeologist nor a specialistin the Greekand Roman mystery religions,
but I hope thatthe suggestions of an amateurof literaryunderworlds, Homeric,
Virgilian,Dantesque,mayhelp towardsthecriticalinterpretation ofthisimportant
discovery, and thatmypreliminary collectionofwhatseemsto me possiblyrelevant
evidencemayhelp othersto testmyhypotheses and improveon them.
There can be littledoubt that the whole complexhad a religiouspurpose.
It is unsuitableto serveas a dwelling,a refugeor a place of storage. It has one
room,whichformerelivingin wouldhave been betternear thesurface;it has no
alternative exitat thebackwestwards to theothersideoftheSella di Baia; thepass-
agesare toonarrowforconvenient porterage, ofthelinearchamber
and therefilling
and of some partsof the passageswithrubblemusthave been veryexpensivein
labour. The numberof lamp-nichesis farin excessof what is needed to make
one's way alongthepassages,and thetwoS-bends,beforethe 'partingoftheways'
and beforethe approachto the water,mustbe designedto conceal the nextlap
untilit was actuallyreached. With the possibleexceptionof 'the Rise' as Dr.
Pagetcallsit,thewholeseemsto belongto one plan and one periodofconstruction.
Furthermore, theorientationofthepassageofapproach,the'270,'exactlyeast-west,
is notat rightanglesto theslopeoftheSella di Baia at thispoint,and mayhave a
religioussignificance.2The 'OriginalEntrance'entersthe hill at rightanglesto
theterraceand paralleltothe'temple,'thenorthfaceofwhichlooksalongtheterrace:
it is precisely240 or 30 southoftheapproachpassage. The longerpassageunder
the temple(the 'grotto'as Dr. Paget calls it), at firstcontinuingthe approach
passageon 270 and laterdivergingsome 10 southto run beyondthe temple,is
undoubtedly laterand itspurposeis obscure. But thelowestpart,now filledwith
water, and the innerchamberaresymmetrically 30northoftheapproachpassage,on
300. As Dr. Pagetcalculates,theoriginalentrancepointstotherisingofthesunat
midsummer at thislatitude(just under41N), whiletheinnerchamberand water
tank point to the settingof the midsummersun. This symmetrical precision
is evidenceofa coherentplan,thoughitspossiblereligioussignificance is uncertain.
The question,forwhat formof religiousritualthe complexwas intended,must
dependon thedate thatwe can ventureto assignto it, as well as on itsplan.
The date and purposeofthepartialblockage,so expensivein labour,is a third
1 1 am indebted to Mr. B. Ward-Perkins,Directorof the BritishSchool at Rome, for
J. introducingme
to Dr. Paget and forsome importantobservations. I would also thankparticularlyMr. MartinFrederikscn,
ProfessorG. M. Robertsonand Dr. StefanWeinstockfortheirhelp.
Heinrich Nissen, Orientation derReligion(1906-7-10), is now out of date.
Studienzur Geschichte
 THE GREAT ANTRUM AT BAIAE 15

of the cult practised

questionwhichdependsto some extenton the identification
theformofreligion
in theAntrum. The questionsare,thedateoftheconstruction,
thedateand purposeoftheblockageand thedateoffinalabandon.
thatitsubserved,
The dateof theAntrum
Dr. Paget set out, like Schliemanna centuryearlier,to findwhat,he felt,the
textof Homer- and of Virgiltoo- guaranteed,the actual place whereOdysseus
experiencedhis 'Nekyia.' I would agree that the starting-point of the Nekyia
in Odyssey, 11,is theoracleofthedead at Ephyrain Thesprotia,nearthewestcoast
ofGreece,wheretheriverAcheronand Cocytusmeet. The sitewas identified and
excavateda fewyearsago byS. Dakaris3: theveryinteresting structure is,however,
a completerebuilding ofthethirdcenturyb.c. But thereis no doubtthatit is the
site of the oracle of the dead whereaccordingto Herodotus,V, 927, Periander,
Tyrantof Corinth,consultedthe spiritof his dead wife,Melissa. To the original
consultation by Odysseusof his motherAntikleia'sspirit,Homer added the quite
different ritualofconsultation oftheTheban prophet,Teiresiasand 'contaminated'
theevocationofthespirits ofthedead fromtheUnderworld(including features ofthe
AthenianAnthesteria) witha descentintotheUnderworld. He thenremovedthe
whole settingto the end of the worldin the west,beyondthe streamof Ocean;
thoughhe kepttheconfluence ofthetworivers,Cocytusand Acheron,whichidentify
thesite. The visitto theoracleofthedead thusbecomesone ofOdysseus'adven-
turesin fairyland. I do not believethattheseadventures shouldbe localised,but
theGreeksbeganto do so in theIonian Sea in theseventhcentury b.c. and in South
Italyin thesixthcentury.4Thereis a convergence ofevidencethatOdysseusand
Aeneas werelocalisedon the Tyrrheniancoast of Italy betweenCapri and Ostia
in thelatterhalfofthesixthcentury.5Lake Avernuswas chosenas thesiteofthe
Nekyia,but accordingto Strabo,225, citingEphorus (fourthcenturyb.c.), the
supposedoracleofthedead was destroyed by a King of Cumae,presumably about
600 b.c. or earlier,and afterwards restoredelsewhere. It is possiblethatEphorus
was showntheAntrumat Baiae as thesuccessoron a newsiteoftheoriginaloracle
of the dead. But the Antrumis prettyclearlynot the place forthe evocationof
ghoststo thesurface(unlesswe are to supposetheTholosto be old,forwhichthere
is no evidence,and to have been used forthispurpose,forwhichagain thereis no
evidence); it is a place forsomekindofdescent. Homer'sNekyiais onlyin a very
3 Firstin Ergon(1958). His fullestaccount is in AntikeKunst,BeiheftI (1963), 33-55 : 'Das Tauben-
orakel von Dodona und das Totenorakel bei Ephyra.'
4 Varied and conflicting localisationswere made by the Greeksand excitedthe dension ofEratosthenes.
Strabo believed passionatelyin the accuracy of Homer's geography,but he drew the line at Avernusand
was delightedto inferfromAgrippa's use of Lake Avernusas a naval base in 37-6 b.c. and what it brought
to light,that the oracle of the dead was mere fable. Modern identifications continue merrilyand diver-
gently,mostlyby yachtsmenand photographers. I cannot take even Victor Brard seriously.
6 The foundationof Girceii as a Roman colony by Tarquinius Superbus (534-510 b.c.) on the pro-
montoryhalf-waybetweenRome and Gumae was presumablyintendedto safeguardtheircommunications,
and testifiesto a shared acceptance of Aeaea in the Odyssey as localised there. The name is eitherpropa-
ganda for the localisation or acceptance of a popular tradition. Cf. Livy, 1, 56, 2 with Ogilvie's note;
Polybius,3, 22, 11 with Walbank's note. Odysseus' cup preservedthereas a relic, Strabo, 232-5, 3, 6.
M. L. West, Hesiod Theogony, Oxford (1966), pp. 435-6, dates lines 1015-8, where Agrius and Latinus,
sons of Odysseus and Circe, rule among the Tyrrhenians,to about 550-510 b.c., afterthe beginningof
hostilitiesbetween Etruscans and Greeks and before the Latins were distinguishablefrom Etruscans,
i.e. beforethe expulsionof the Tarquins and of Lars Porsena (see note 16).
16 THE BRITISH SCHOOL AT ROME

secondaryand partial sense a descent. But Virgil'sbook VI is a descentand

nothingelse,withnothingnecromantic aboutitsritual,evenifAnchisescorresponds
in functionto Antikleiaand Teiresias. Yet Virgil,who knew the Phlegraean
Fields well, localisesAeneas' descentbeside Lake Avernusand not at Baiae.6
If he knewtheAntrum,he showsno signofit : hissourceswereliterary, evenifhe
knewwhat EleusinianDionysiacand Orphic mysteries werelike,as he assuredly
did.
For thesereasonsI set Homer and Virgilwhollyaside. There is also a very
good archaeologicalreasonforexcludingthe Odyssey fromthe discussion,namely
thatin Homer'sfloreat, whichI taketo be 730-700b.c.7a construction on thescale
and with the elaborationof the Antrumis hardlyconceivable. The firstgreat
Greektemple,the Heraeum at Olympia,comesa centurylater. The galleryof
Polycrates' aqueductat Samos,a comparablefeatofaccurateengineering, is another
centuryafterthat. The latterhalfof the sixthcenturysaw Pisistratus'Hall of
Initiationat Eleusis,and near Cumae, thereare the templesof Paestumand the
Tarquins' monumentaltempleon the Capitol at Rome, and at Cumae itselfthe
'Cave ofSibyl,'whichI wouldalso date to c. 500 b.c. For theAntrumitselfthere
is one piece of evidence,the buildingtechniqueof the foundations of the small
square 'temple'on the terrace,just southof the 'OriginalEntrance'and exactly
parallel to it. The remainsare strikingly differentfromwhat surroundsthem.
Large blocksof well-cutashlarin a dark greytufaare set amid Roman concrete
and smallcubesofa muchlightertufaopusreticulatum. The wholeterracewiththe
roomsforms a smallRomanthermae oflateRepublicanorAugustandate. The quite
different structure is likelythennotto be contemporary buttheremainsofan earlier,
probablyalreadyruinous, structure.Dr. Pagetwas led tohisdiscovery bythecusto-
dian's remark(derivedperhapsfromProfessor Maiuri?) thattheseblocksbelonged
to a Samnitetemple{i.e. oftheperiodc. 420-330 b.c.). This,inherently unlikely,
can be disprovedby theformof theironclamps8whichhold the blockstogether.
They are of the double swallowor dove-tailform,whichin Greek buildingis
'archaic,' i.e. sixthcenturyb.c., but occasionallysurvivinginto the fifth. Un-
fortunately theyare also foundin Romanbuilding,in thethirdand secondcenturies
b.c. butchiefly in thefirst centuryb.c.9 Buta Roman buildingoffairlyrecentdate
is unlikelyto have been sweptaway and incorporated in baths,especiallyifit had
been a temple. If thenthetempleis Greek,ofthesixthcentury, it resembles other
small templesof the time; also it is about the same size as the innerchamber.
Thereis nothing in theAntrumitselftoindicateitsdate; itis carefully and accurately
cutthroughout, butthereis no distinctivearchitectural
shape, as there is in theCave
6 Whether there was at
any time at Avernus either an oracle of the dead or the settingfora rite of
descendinginto Hades, is discussed below in an Appendix (p. 32).
7 On this
dating Homer was born about the same time as Cumae was founded (traditionally,754 b.c.)
and began his career when Syracuse was founded (734). He musthave knownof thiscolonisationof the
West, and the Odyssey is a curious tribute to that interestby ignoringit. He turns,not the unknown,
but the known into fairylandand adheres deliberatelyto the traditionalpicture of the Ionian islands
and sea as near the ends of the world.
8 The clamps at Baiae are 22 cm.
long by 7 cm. wide at the ends and 4*5 cm. wide at the centre,where
the blocksofstonemeet. They were 10 cm. deep, reaching5 cm. into each of the upper and lowerblocks.
See W. B. Dinsmoor, TheArchitecture ofAncient London (1950), p. 175, fig.64, and Hugh Plommer,
Greece9,
Ancient and ClassicalArchitecture.
Longmans, London (1956). p. 154.

Giuseppe Lugli, La Tecnicaediliziaromana,Bardi, Rome (1957), p. 235 ff.,imperniamento.
 THE GREAT ANTRUM AT BAIAE 17

of the Sibyl at Cumae, the sectionof whichis like some Etruscantombsof late
sixthcenturydate.10 If it can be associatedwith the templeoutsideit as con-
temporary, or even if the templeis laterthan the Antrum(as Dr. Paget insists),
it can be datedroughly550-475b.c. and thisfitswellwithwhatwe knowofCumae
in thisperiodof its greatestprosperity and withwhat can be con-
and influence,
jecturedabout religiousmovementsin South Italy about this time,i.e. mystery
cultsof 'Orphic' type.

Aristodemus
of Cumae
Cumaetraditionally wasfoundedin 754b.c.,11fromChalcisin Euboea and called
by the name of a small townin Chalcidianterritory on the east coastof Euboea.
Pithecusa(Ischia) had beenoccupiedsometimeearlier. The earliestGreekcolony
was the mostdistant,and its purposewas tradewiththe Etruscans,especiallyin
theironofElba. Nothingis knownofitshistory, exceptthatit had kings(Strabo,
to it
244-5) beginwith; emerges intonotice onlywhen theEtruscanspresseddown
intotheCampaniaas faras Pompeiiin thesecondhalfofthesixthcentury. Cumae
had in theseventhcenturyplanted,or inheritedfromthe Rhodians(Strabo,654 :
before776 b.c.) a smalltrading-post at Parthenope(Pizzofalcone),whichbecame
Palaipoliswhen Neapolis was founded c. 470 afterthe naval battleof Cumae in
474 b.c. This had to be abandoned to the Etruscans but duringthe struggle
withthemthe Cumaeans planteda colonyof exilesfromSamos at Dicaearchia
(Puteoli,Pozzuoli)12at a date variouslygiven as 531, 529 or 525. Pythagoras
is said to have leftSamos in 530 for Crotonin South Italy. The Samians of
Dicaearchiawerecertainly in sympathy withPythagoras'politicalideas, and may
haveknownofhisreligiousideas too. In 524 theCumaeansdefeatedtheEtruscans
just outsidethewallsoftheircity;thevictorywas due to a democrat,Aristodemus,
who, however,seemsnot to have made himselftyrantuntil some twentyyears
later.13He was tyrantforat leastfourteen years,and was stillin powerin 492 b.c.
To make himselftyranthe exploitedhis victoryin alliance with the Latin city
of Aricia over the Etruscansunderthe leadershipof Lars Porsena'sson, Arruns,
who was killed in the battle. His politicalopponentswere the land-owning
10The Tomba Regolini Galassi at Tarquinia, Pinza, Rom. Mitt. (1907), 35 f.; L. Pareti, La Tomba
R-G del Museo Gregoriano Etrusco,Citt del Vaticano (1947); A. Maiuri, CampiFlegrei,Poligraficodello
Stato, Rome, assignsthe Cave of the Sibyl to the fifthcentury. For Kyme, T. J. Dunbabin, The Western
Greeks,Oxford (1948), 2-11.
11Mario Napoli, NapoliGreco-Romana, Naples (1959). Parola delPassato,25-7 (1952) is whollydevoted
to the historyof Naples.
12Dicaearchia- the name is probably a protest aginst Polycrates tyranny. Steph. Byz : Puteoli :
a city of Etruria, founded by the Samians, also called Dikaiarkhaia. The idea that Heracles built the
causeway across the Lucrine lake in order to drive Geryon'scattle over it is not likelyto have arisen until
the foundationof Dicaearchia, when the causeway became usefulas a shorterand easier route between
Dicaearchia and Cumae, and was probably built up as a regular road. Before Geryon's location in
Spain probablyby Stesichorusearlierin the sixthcentury,he had been placed moreplausiblyin Ambracia
by Hecataeus, cf.Jacoby, FGH, 1F26 (= Arrian,Anabasis,II, 16, 5). Dr. Paget is now workingon the
Via Herclea. On Polycrates,cf.John P. Barrow, CQ (1964), 210-29 : 'The Sixth-centuryTyranny at
Samos.'
13For Aristodemusour chiefsource is Dionysiusof Halicarnassus, Ant.Rom.,7, 2-12; cf. Plut, de MuL
virt.,21; Livy, 2, 21; 34 (439 b.c.). Cf Massimo Pallottino, Parola del Passato, 11 (1956), 61-8: 'II
filoetruscismo di Aristodemoe la data della fondazione di Capua'; B. Combet Farnoux, Mi. anarchet
d'hist.,69 (1957), 7^4 : 'Aristodemus: Cumes, L'Etrurie, et Rome la findu VIe sicle etc.'; V. Cozzoli,
MiscellaneaGrecaetRomana,Rome (1965), 5-29: 'AristodemosMalaco.'
18 THE BRITISH SCHOOL AT ROME

oligarchy,some of whomescaped to EtruscanCapua and eventuallyreturnedto

captureand kill Aristodemus, when his aristocratic
mistress,Xenocrite,betrayed
him. She was rewardedwiththe priesthoodof Demeter. Some yearslater the
Etruscansreturned to theattackagainstCumae,butweredefeatedoffCumaein the
naval battlewiththe help of anothergreattyrant,Hiero of Syracuse. Afterthis
Etruscanpowerdeclined,and theEtruscanslostcontrolofRome.14 It seemslikely
thatAristodemus dominatedCumae before510, ifTarquiniusSuperbustookrefuge
withhim. They musthave been allies, and have agreed on the foundationof
Circeii. In additionto the battleofAricia,the oligarchs'positionat Cumae was
probablyweakenedby the destruction of the oligarchyin the mother-city
Chalcis
bytheAthenians in 506 b.c. In pursuing sideofhispolicyAristodemus
thereligious
lookedelsewhere thanto Chalcis,toAthensperhapsand AeolicCymein Asia Minor.
To accountforthe Antrumat Baiae and the Cave of the Sibylat Cumae, great
resourcesare requiredand theirdiversionin a particulardirection, intopopular
cultsin oppositionto the older cultswhichwere the monopolyof the oligarchic
families. The wealthofCumae was at thistimegreat,and itssurpluswas concen-
tratedin thehandsofitstyrant. The coinageofCumae can be assumedto be his
work.15It showsa connectionwithSamos in the typewitha lion'shead between
twoboars'heads. It also testifiesto an interest
in corn-growingand possiblyto the
cultivation in
ofmussels thelagoonsofLake Lucrinus,theMare MortoofMisenum,
and the Palus Acherusia(Lago di Fusaro, where the industrystill continues).
A surplusof corn strengthened Cumae's commercewith the maritimecitiesof
Etruria. The attackson Cumae of 524 and 474 by the Etruscanswereprobably
mountedby the inlandcitiesundera unifiedcommand,like thatof Lars Porsena
when he senthis armyto defeatat Aricia in 504. Rome countedas maritime
(as thetreatyof510 withCarthageshows),and thenaval forcesin 474 musthave
been obtainedfromthe maritimecitiesby theleadersofa coalition,hostileto the
Greeks in alliance with Carthage. Lars Porsena certainlycaptured Rome,16
probablyin orderto expel,not restore,TarquiniusSuperbus,because of his pro-
Greekpolicy. This backgroundof eventsis necessaryin orderto understandthe
introduction at Rome in 496-3 b.c. of a cult of CeresLiber and Libera17almost
certainlyfrom Cumae, perhapsthe verycult practisedin the Antrumat Baiae,
to be distinguished fromthecultofDemeteralone,whosepriesthood thearistocrat
14R. Bloch, The
OriginsofRome,Thames and Hudson, London (1960), 92-100. Criticismof Bloch in
R. M. Ogilvie, A commentary on Livy,1-5, Oxford (1955), 233-4 (no need to postdate the expulsionof the
Tarquins, even if Etruscan influencein Rome lasted until c. 450 b.c.) H. H. Scullard, The Etruscan
Citiesand Rome,London (1967). Andreas Alfldi, Early Romeand theLatins,Ann Arbor (1965), offers
novel ideas : but see on them A. Momigliano. JRS. 57 C1957. 211-6.
"Arthur Sambon, Les Monnaiesantiquesde VItalie, Paris (1903), 139-48, Gumes. Mussels are to be
seen on his nos. 249, 252, 263, 273, 277, 279, 290, 295. 290 shows a three-headedCerberus (an allusion
to a Descent?) on a mussel. Colin M. Kraay, GreekCoins,London (1966), fig. 320R, shows a mussel-
shell and a grain of barley (or a mussel end-on?) on a coin of c. 440-421 b.c. Leon Lacroix, Monnaies
et colonisationdans VOccident,Ace. Roy. Belge. Mm. 58, 2. Brussels (1965); for the shell fish,Horace,
Ebod., 2, 49: Sat., 2, 4, 30-3; Val. Max., IX, i, 1; Pliny, NH, 9, 168.
16Tacitus, Hist. 3, 72;
Pliny, NH, 34, 139; the rescue by the Romans of the defeated and wounded
Etruscansafterthe battle of Aricia iimoliesthe same. Dion. Hal.. A.R.. 5. 36.
17Ceres Liber and Libera at Rome. Dion. Hal., A.R., 6, 17; 94, 3;
Livy, 3, 55, 7; Cic, de Nat Deor,2,
62; Tacitus, Ann.,2, 49. Cf. Adrien Bruhl,LiberPater(Bibliothque des c. fr. Athneset Rome 175),
1953; Henri Le Bonniec, Le Cuitede Crs(des origines la finde la Rpublique), Paris (1958). Alfldi,
op. cit.,p. 92, dates the temple to 399 b.c., not 496.
 THE GREAT ANTRUM AT BAIAE 19

Xenocritewas rewardedwith,presumablythe oldest of the aristocraticcults,

connectedwiththeoriginofthecity.18 The cultofCeresLiberand Liberaat Rome
was verydefinitely
plebeian.

'Orphism9
In thesecond half ofthe sixthcenturyb.c. Greeceunderwent a religiouscrisis.
A new conceptionof the soul was diffused, and therewas a moral and other-
worldlyreactionagainstOlympianand heroicmythology and values,whichalso
tookthe formof reinterpreting the myths. Chthoniccults,preservedamongthe
peoplein thecountryside, wererevivedand givenfreshmeaning. The movement
has a politicalside in that it was usuallypopular (thoughscarcelydemocratic
sincethe leadershipcame fromabove in the formof tyranny)and hostileto the
land-owners
aristocratic amongwhomheroicvaluesweremaintained. It affected
thewholeofGreece. It can be seenin themoralconcernoftheoracleat Delphi,19
and at Athensin Pisistratus'encouragement of the Eleusinianmysteries, and of
Dionysiac cults. It is especiallyassociatedwith South Italy,Magna Graecia,and
with the name of Pythagorasthere. But Pythagoraswas about fiftywhen he
leftSamos, and musthave formedand propagatedhis new ideas therebeforehe
tookthemto the morefertilesoil of Croton. Back in Ionia theywereknownto
Xenophanesand Heraclitus,bothofwhomwerehighlycritical. In Italyand Sicily
there was no Ionian enlightenment to counterthe influenceof Pythagoras.
Pythagoras is himselfa controversial
sufficiently figure,20 with'Orphism'
hisrelations
are obscure,and whether, or how,Orphismexistedis muchdebated.21
Burkerthas arguedthatPythagoraswas a religiousteacher,and cannothave
madethescientific progress thatwas laterattributed to him. The scientificinterests
and discoveriesof the Pythagoreans, Archytas,Philolaus, Timaeus and others,
in Tarentum, whichso influenced Plato,have beenwrongly readbacktoPythagoras.
He cannot,a hundredyearsahead ofhistime,have made discoveries and advanced
theorieswhichhad no influencefora hundredyears. But Philiphas shownthat

18Velleius Paterculus, 1,4, 1.

19H. W. Parke and D. E. W. Wormell, TheDelphicOracle,Oxford (1956), I, ch. 8, 378 f. : 'The Oracle
and moral questions.'
20Pythagorashas been the subject of much critical attentionrecently: J. A. Philip, Pythagoras and
Phoenix, Toronto (1966); G. T. Sakellariou,Pythagoras - DidaskalostonAionion,
Athens
earlyPythagoreanism,
(1963); Ernst Bindel, Pythagoras, Stuttgart(1962); Walter Burkert,Pythagoras, Erlangen (1962); Marcel
Detienne, HomreHsiode et Pythagore, Latomus 57, Brussels (1962); Rev. Hist, religions(1906), 2-32:
Heracles, hros pythagorien'; ibid. (1957), 129-52: 'La legende pythagorienned'Helne?'; G. J. de
Vogel, Pythagoras and Early Pythagoreanism (1966); J. S. Morrison, 'Pythagoras of Samos/ CQ (1956),
135-56.
11O. Kern, Orphicorum Fragmenta,Berlin (1922) provides the essential texts. W. K. C. Guthne,
Orpheus and GreekReligion,London (1935) and M. P. Nilsson,Harv. Theol.Rev.,28 (1935), 181-230 : 'Early
Orphism and kindredreligiousmovements,'give moderate and critical versionsof the traditionalview.
But it was attacked by H. W. Thomas, Epeheina,Munich (1938) and Ivan Linforth,The Artsof Orpheus,
Berkeley(1941). Ziegler in P-W (1942), s.v. 'Orphische Dichtung,' replied. Wilamowitz, Der Glaube
derHellenen(1932), II, 193, had pointed the way to the scepticswithhis famous 'man sprichtso entsetzlich
viel von Orphikern.' Cf. E. R. Dodds, The Greekand theIrrational,Berkeley (1951), 147-8, giving an
amusing list of thingsthat he once knew about Orphism and now no longer knows; P. Boyanc, Le Cuite
des Muses,Paris (1937); Kurt von Fritz,PWRE, 24 (1963) s.v. Pythagoras;H. Dorrie, ibid.,Pythagoreer;
L. Moulinier, OrpheetVorphisime Vepoqueclassique: Paris (1955) ; A. Boulanger,MemorialLagrange(1940),
69-79 : 'Le salut selon Torphisme.'
20 THE BRITISH SCHOOL AT ROME

HeraclitusattacksPythagoras notonlyas a 'shaman'(for'trickery') butas a thinker.

His religionwas an intellectual one, aiming at salvationthroughknowledgeof the
universeas governedby number,and its appeal was to a smallintellectuallite.
Politicallyitsoutcomewas aristocratic,and itspoliticalholdwas at leasttwicebroken
by popularupheavals.22 In this antidemocratic formPythagoras'religionwas of
no use to a tyrantlikeAristodemus.
But Pythagoras'influenceradiatedbeyondthe innercircleand the governing
groupsin the cities,if he and his followers composedpoems23thatembodiedthe
doctrinesofthetransmigration oftheimmortalsoul,itsimprisonment in thebody,
and itspurificationand release. Thesepoemsseemto have passedunderthename
of Orpheus,like thoseof Onomacritusat Athens,24 and theywere mythological.
In the Gorgiasy 493AC, Plato refersto an Underground Journey (perhapsthat of
Cercops) as the work of 'some elegant mythologer, perhaps from Sicilyor Italy.'
Dodds arguesthat 'one of the clevermen',24Socrates'informant about the poem,
is a Pythagoreanallegoriserof the myth.25Detiennearguesthat Pythagoras,as
a pupilofHermodamas,a descendant oftheHomeridCreophylus, and ofPherecydes,
who wroteon theheroinesin theHomericNekyia,musthave been broughtup on
Homer.
ButPythagoras and hisfollowersnotonlywrotepoems,butinstituted and diffused
cultpractices. For Herodotus,2, 49 and 81, Pythagoras is theintroducer to Greece
of EgyptianDionysus- worship ; Pythagoreanand Orphic seem to be equated.
Pythagorasis described,on no verygood authority,26 (unlessSophocles,Electra,
62-4, refersto him,as the scholiastavers),as havingpretendedto be dead and to
have come to lifeagain: thismightbe the 'trickery' of whichHeraclitusaccuses
him. Pythagorasis recordedas a worshipper of Apollo, but his house afterhis
deathis said to have beenconsecrated as a templeofDemeter,27 whichagain points
to a chthonicmystery cult.
The difficultyabout Orphismin SouthItalyin thesixthcenturyand earlyfifth
is thelackofdirectevidence,whichbecomesquitecopiousonlyin thefourth century.
Howeverit is agreedthatthespreadofDionysiacmysteries theregoes back to the

22K. von Fritz, Politicsin Southern

Pythagorean Italy,New York (1940) ; Edwin L. Minar, EarlyPythagorean
Politicsinpracticeand theory,
Baltimore (1942); see also F. W. Walbank, A historical Commentary on Polybius,
Oxford. I (1957). 222-4 on the imoortantoassaee 2. 39. 1.
23Ion of Chios, a
good fifth-century authority(Dodds 149) in two elegiac couplets on Pherecydes
(D-K,6 fr.4), Diog. Laert., 1, 119 (to be emended,with P. H. Sandbach, Proc.Cambr.Philol.Soc, 5 (1958-
9), 36, a referenceto Odysseus, Od., 1, 3) and an answer to Heraclitus' accusation of uselesspolymathy.
Clem. Alex., Strom,1, 21, 131, quotes an Alexandrian Scholar, Epigenes (Dodds, 171) forthe attribution
of four 'Orphic' poems to individual Pythagoreans,including a DescentintoHades and a SacredText of
Gercops,cf.Suda, s.v. Orpheus; Onomacritus,Kinkel, Epicorum Gr.Fr. (1877), 238-41, fr.1; fr.2 (=Paus.
8, 37, 5).
24E. R. Dodds, Plato: Gorgias,Oxford (1959), 297-8.
25For the Greeks the 'discoverer'of
allegorywas Theagenes of Rhegium, c. 525 b.c., see D-K6 Vors.
and F. Wehrli,Zur Geschichte deralleeorischen DeutungHomersin Altertum (1928).
26
Hermippus (third centuryperipatetic,a biographergiven to sensationalism)in Diog. Laert., 8, 41,
who also, 8, 21, says that Pythagorassaw the souls of Hesiod and Homer in Hades, punished for what
theyhad said about the gods. Later writers,Iamblichus, Vit.Pyth.,146, speak of Pythagoras'initiation
in Pieria (Thrace), and Augustine,CD, 735, of his necromancy(i.e. he consultedan oracle of the dead,
like Odysseus). Aristotlespeaks of the Pythagoreans'belief in Tartarus, Anal. Post., II, 94b 27. For
Pythagoras'caves, see n. 36, Iamblichus, VP, 27.
27
Porphyry,Vit.Pyth.,4; Iamblichus, VP, 170,Justin,20, 4.
 THE GREATANTRUMAT BAIAE 21
sixthcentury.28In thefourthcenturythereare themanyfunerary vases,painted
withscenesfromthe Underworld, in whichOrpheusregularlyappears,29and the
famousgold plates,LamellaeAureaeOrphicae.30 The plates show that therewas
some uniformity of practiceextendingnot onlyover South Italy, but beyond,in
Crete and Thessaly. But it is veryuncertainwhat kind of organisation, if any,
thisimplies. The idea ofa unifiedreligiousmovement, a societyor orderor frater-
nity,ifnot an anticipationof a church,witha priesthood, a distinctiveritualand
consistentcreed,based on sacredbooks,a 'bible' oftheogonies and hymns,has not
stoodup to criticism. Livy,39,18on theBacchanaliaof186b.c. refers to a 'carmen
sacrum'fromwhicha priestled theprayersofthefaithful.Ratherwe mustsuppose
thata widespreadmovementtookdifferent forms;in one place a local cult may
be givena newmeaning,in anothera newcultintroduced. Plato (Republic, x, 6oob,
his only mentionof Pythagoras)speaksof a Pythagoreanway or mode of life,
but ofOrphiclivesin theplural(Laws,872d) and ofthe 'hubbub'of Orphicbooks
ii, 364e-365a). Therewas a widevarietyofold mythsand ritualsto be
(Republic,
reinterpreted in the lightof new beliefsabout thesoul. The cultsof SouthItaly
and ofCampaniain particularhavebeenstudied,31 and twomorerecentdiscoveries,
not far fromCumae, illustratethe religiousideas of the late sixthcentury. At
Paestuman underground shrinewithina sacredenclosurewas foundin 1954on the
road fromthe Forum to the Temple of Athena (formerly called the templeof
Demeter). It is a small gabled structure, entirelyenclosinga small chamber;
it resembles thegabledtombsofPaestum,butit is a cenotaph,witha benchin the
centreand theremainsofa bed ofinterlacedironstrips.32This chamberis much
smallerthanthe enclosedvaultoftheoracleofthe dead at Ephyrain Thesprotia.
In thechamberwerefoundtwoamphorasand sixhydriasofbronze,and in a corner
a verylargeAtticblack-figure amphora,datable to 530-510 b.c. On one side it
represents the introduction of Heracles into Olympus(cf. Od., 11, 602-4) with
Athenaas charioteer, Apollo and Hermesnearbyand Artemis in frontof thehorses;
on the otherside Dionysus and Hermes have a long-horned goat between them,

28M. P. Nilsson, The DionysiacMysteries of theHellenisticandRomanAge (1957), 120: 'In SouthernItaly

Dionysus was a god of the dead in the sixth and fifthcenturiesb.c.,' cf. Franz Cumont, Les Religions
Orientalesdans le Paganismeromain*(1929), 303, n. 1 : *je n'ai gure parl de l'orphisme . . . . Or,
l'orphisme est un mouvementmystiquequi s'est propag en Grece au VIe siede avant notre re'. H.
Jeanmaire,Dionysos(1951).
29A. D. Trendall, The Red-figured Vases of Lucania Campaniaand Sicily,Oxford (19b7). I, Fart 4;
447_572: Cumaean Group A, c. 330 b.c. numerous Dionysiac scenes; Campanian, p. 262, no. 237:
Heracles, Pluto and Persephone. HerbertHoffmann,Tarentine Rhyta,von Zabern, Mainz (1966): These
fourthcenturyvesselsseem to have been used only in the cult of the dead, and are to be understood'in
thecontextofDionysiac Orphismand relatedmysterycultssuch as flourishedin South Italy' at thisperiod.
Cf. Holger Thesleff,An IntroductiontothePythagorean writings Period,Acta. Acad. Abo (1961) ;
of theHellenistic
id., Pythagorean Texts of the HellenisticPeriod,Abo (1965); F. Matz, DionysiakeTlete,Archolog.Unter-
suchungenzumDionysoskult u. rmischer
inHellenisiischer Zeit; Mainz (1964). R. Turcan, Latomus,24 (1965),
101-19: 'Du nouveau sur l'initiationdionysiaque,' withnumerous referencesto recent work on the Villa
Item at Pompeii, the Farnesina stuccoes,sarcophagi etc.
30LamellaeAureaeOrphicae,ed. Alexander Olivieri, Bonn (1915), Kleine Texte Series 133. Full dis-
cussionin Guthrie,Orpheus. The plate fromPharsalusin N. Verdelis,Ephem.Arch.1950-1 ; REG, 65 (1952),
152-3, of fourthcenturyb.c.
31R. M. Peterson,The CultsofCampania(Papers and Monographsofthe AmericanAcademy in Rome)
Rome (1919), 45-98 (Gumae, Baiae, Misenum); Giannelli, Culti e mitinella storiadella Magna Grecia,
Florence (1924).
32Paola Zancani Montuoro,Archivio storicoper la Calabriae la Lucania,lo (1954), lb5-85; Van Burn,
AJA, 59 (1955), 305-6; P. C. Sestieri,Archaeology, 9 (1956), 23-33 : 'An undergroundshrineat Paestum.'
22 THE BRITISH SCHOOL AT ROME

whilea satyrand maenad dancingenclosethe scene. Aroundthe cenotaphare

fragments ofpottery, somewithM incisedon them,and one,a smalllocal amphor-
iskos,readsCIam sacredto thenymph.' M appearsalso on a vasefromthetemple
of Hera (formerly called 'Basilica'), and is thoughtto representMeter,mother.
Nymphmay mean 'bride,'and the bed pointsto a sacredmarriage. Hera seems
hereto be thegoddessofthedead and fertility, perhapsidentified withPersephone.
Secondly,at Pyrgi(Santa Severa),theportofCaere-Agylla(Cerveteri), excava-
tions33begun in 1957, in 1964 revealedthreegold plates,one in Punic, two in
Etruscan,datableto about500 b.c. The Punicinscription is a dedicationtoAstarte
(who appearsin the Etruscantabletsas Uni =Juno= Hera) by the King (Malik)
of Chaisrie,and mentions'the day of the deity'sburialin the monthof KRR.'
If shewas buried,she mustalso have risenfromthedead to a newlife.
This sketchof the religiouscontextof theAntrumat Baiae mustsuffice. Can
it help towardsa hypothesis about the Antrum? There is no traceof any older
shrinethenenlarged : it looks like the introduction of a new cult all at once on
a sumptuous scale. It lies about 4 km. south of Cumae, about the same distance
fromMisenum(the best of the harbours),a littlefartherfromDicaearchia,and
seemsdesignedto servethem all. Land-owningconservative oligarchsare not
likelyto introduce a new cult, but cling to their own hereditary priesthoods.A
tyrant is much more likely, and the cult would be for popular consumption by
sailorsand peasants. But therefugees fromPolycratesofSamosmightbe mollified
by a gesturein the directionof theirfamousfellow-exile at Croton,Pythagoras.
The Pythagorean heroes, Heracles and Odysseus, were localised closeby. The road
acrosstheLucrinelake,overwhichtheAntrumlooks,was thatmade by Heracles
to driveGeryon'scattle(and he wenton to foundHerculaneum); and Baiae itself
was namedaftera companionofOdysseus(morelikelyit is an Italicword,meaning
'bay,' and the originof our word). Heraclesis the prototype of the man made
immortal, and the first non-Eleusinian to be initiated at Eleusis, and in the Odyssey
Odysseus followshim, as the lost wanderer, 'the exile from God,' in the wordsthat
Empedocles, an admirer of Pythagoras, if not a Pythagorean, used of himselfbefore
he became 'an immortalgod, no longermortal.' A reinterpreted and allegorised
Odyssey,withtheemphasison theelementofdescentintotheunderworld, could be
helpful. But was the Antrum sacred to Demeter or to Persephone or to Dionysus,
or possiblyto a new combinationof all three? That Dionysuscame into it, is
suggestedby thefactthatc. 450 b.c. therewas certainlyat Cumae a groupofhis
bacchi,34
initiates, as an inscription witha separatecemetery.The mountain
testifies,
ofGaurus(MonteBarbaro),veryprominent eastofCumae,northwest ofDicaearchia,
some 1,200 ft. high,was sacred to Dionysus.35Propertius,III, xviii,5-6, after

38G. Colonna, M. Pallottino,G. Garbini, Archeologia Classica,16 (1964), 49-117 : 'Scavi nel Santuario
etruscodi Pyrgi,Scoperta di tre lamine d'oro'; M. Pallottino,StudiRomani,13 (1965), 1-13; G. Pugliese
Garratelli,StudiEtruschi,33 (1965), 221-35 : 'Intorno alle lamine di Pyrgi; A. J. Pfiffig, Uni Hera Astarte,
Ost. Akad. Wiss. (1964), pp. 53ff.
34Bakkhoi: Sogliano, Not. Scavi (1905) ; L. H. TheLocal ScriptsofArchaicGreece, Oxford(1961) :
Jeffrey,
the westernColonies, no. 12, Plate 48.
35Gaurus, oftenin Statius, Silvae, 3, 1, 147 f.; 3, 5, 99; 4, 3, 24. Its
position,Lucan, 2, 677-8; its
wines, Pliny, NH, 14, 64.
 THE GREAT ANTRUM AT BAIAE 23
mentioning Hercules''structalaborevia' (4), speaksofDionysusat Baiae. Caves,
naturaland artificial,are associatedespeciallywithDionysus.36
On the otherhand,it is temptingto adduce the (later) gold plates; and they
mentionPersephone,who presidesover the Homeric Nekyia,and her consort,
but not her mother,nor Dionysusby name,unlessDionysusis to be seen as the
'kid,'theprototype oftheinitiate,who 'fallsintomilk.'37 It has also beensuggested
thatEubuleusis Dionysusat Eleusis. Here I hazarda guess. In 496 b.c. at Rome
the cult of Ceres Liber and Libera was introducedat the behestof a Sibylline
oracle.38 There can be no doubt of the Cumaean originof the Sibyl at Rome,
paceBloch,39 and, accordingto the tradition, in the reignof TarquiniusSuperbus.
Fromwhereelse thenthanfromCumae would the new cult come? As we have
seen, it was a markedlyplebeian cult, in accordancewith the politicalside of
Aristodemus' religiouspolicy. It has been argued that the cult of threedeities
in one temple40 Etruscan,as is certainlythe case with the
is characteristically
Capitoline triad,and that the triadiccultin Rome is based on a nativeItalic pair,
Liber and Libera. But a fusionand identification of thiskindwithGreekdeities
is hardlynew or surprising, and I suggestthatAristodemus practisedsyncretism
at Cumae, drawingon Eleusisas well as on Magna Graecia. It is disputedwhen
Dionysusmade his way into the Eleusinianmysteries,41 and he may have begun

36Dionysiac Caves. P. Boyanc, Rendic.Pont.Acc.rom. Arch.,33 (1961), 107-27: 'L'Antre dans

les mystresde Dionysos'. Early examples in Horn.Hymn,26, 6; chest of GypselusPaus, 5, 19, 6; G.
Charles-Picard, Karthago,8 (1957) : 'Ci vitas Mactaritana,' in temple of Liber Pater, associated with
Astarte,a (natural) grottoofancientsanctityfilledup and replaced by a new vaulted construction. For a
first-century b.c. 'cave' at Callatis on the west coast of the Black Sea, Pippidi, Bull. Corr.Hell., 88 (1964),
151-8. Natural and Artificialcaves : Porphyry,deAnt.Nymph, 6; Walter Burkert,Weisheit undWissenschaft
(1962), 139 f. : UnterirdischeKultrume; Iamblichus, VP, 27; Proclus, VP, 9; Hippolytus,Refut.omn.
haer.,1,2, 18. The mythofThespesiosin Plutarch,deser.num.vind.,563-8, is ofparticularinterestbecause
it is based on the Campi Phlegraei: the souls are like birds and go round the chasm because theydare not
flyacross it (the word Aornos is not however mentioned). A Sibyl uttersa verse prophecy about the
eruption of Vesuvius and the destructionof Dicaearchia (sic : forPompeii or Herculaneum ?). In Latin,
cf. Pacuvius, Periboea,frags. 310-11 Warmington: Scrupea saxea Bacchi templa prope aggredtur, cf.
Philargyriuson Virgil,2s.3,104 caeli spatium: aliterapud antiquos fuitaltissimusputeusin quo descendebat
ad sacra celebranda. For Livy, 39, 13 : in abditos specus, see later.
37Jane Harrison,Prolegomena totheStudyofGreekReligion,Cambridge (1903), p. 595, quotes Hesychius:
Eriphos (kid) = Dionysus. Steph. Byz. : Dionysus, called Eriphios at Metapontum. Clem. Alex.,
Protrept.,xii, 119. For Dionysus as the initiatedmystes,P. Boyanc,Rend.Pont.Ace. rom.Arch.,33 (1961) :
*I have sunk beneath the bosom of the Mistress,'cf. Dionysus 'at the breast', in Orphic hymns. Heracles
is made immortalby a ritual rebirthfromHera's womb, Diod. Sic, 4, 39, 2.
Cf n. 17.
39 Etruscan origin of Sibylline books: Raymond Bloch, MelangesErnout(1940) : Origines trusques
des livressibyllins,'and NeueBeitrage deraltenWelt;II, Rmisches
zurGeschichte Reich,Berlin (1965) : 'L'origine
des livressibyllins Rome' (Etruscan in origin and attributedto the Sibyl only afterthe Second Punic
War) . But see R. M. Ogilvie, Livy,I-V, Oxford( 1965) , 654-5, on 5. 13.5. On earlyRome, M. Pallottino,
StudiEtruschi, 32 (1965), 3-37 : 'Fatti e leggende (moderne) nella pi antica storia di Roma.'
40Bloch argues that the triad is Etruscan,but cf.Wilamowitz,GlaubederHellenen(1932), II, 333, n. 1 :
Benutzt werden sie (die Sprche der Sibylle) erst fur die Aufnahme der Trias Ceres Liber Libera, die
aus Kyme stammt. (But he argues forthe prior existenceof a typicallyRoman pair, Liber and Libera.)
Henri Le Bonniec, Le Cuitede Ce'rs,Paris (1958), e. 5 : Crs, desse de la plbe; p. 238 : si la Dmter
cumaine a exerc une incontestableinfluencesur Crs, c'est au plus tard de la fin du VIe sicle qu'il
faut la dater; p. 246 : Cumes est la seule ville grecque, qui d'aprs nos sources, a pu exporter Rome
assez tot sa Dmter en mme temps que son ble ; p. 288 : (the triad not Eleusinian) parmi toutes les
solutionsproposes,la seule vraisemblable notre avis si la triade avait t importetoute faite,serait
celle qui lui attribue une origine Campanienne, et, plus prcisment,Cumaine; p. 311 : au IIIe s. le
eulte mvstiaue. et non dIus politique de Crs-Proserpineclipsera celui de Crs Liber et Libera.
41H. Metzger,BCH, 68-9 (1944-5), 296-339 : 'Dionysos Chthonien,'part III : divinitleusinienne;
G. Mylonas, Ephem.Arch(1965), 68-118: 'Eleusis kai Dionysos,' his privilegedposition as worshipped
and not worshipper,at Eleusis only in the fourthcentury.
24 THE BRITISH SCHOOL AT ROME

as an initiatelikeHeraclesand the Dioscuri. It has evenbeen suggestedthatthe

goldplatefoundin Thessalydrawson Eleusis,42 and theothers,evenin SouthItaly,
can scarcelybe dissociated fromit.
If a triadis Etruscan,Rome was an Etruscancityat thetime,and Aristodemus
was hand in glove withthe Etruscans,or withsome Etruscans.43The Sibylline
bookswere not prophetic,but ritualisticand may have influencedthe books of
'Etnisca disciplina.' I hazard a further guess,thatAristodemus builtthe cave of
theSibyl,44 as well as theAntrumat Baiae, and introducedthecultofApolloalso.
The cave oftheSibylwas discovered in 1932,butlittlehas beendoneto interpret
it,
so thata suggestion maybe permitted.
In the earlysixthcenturyHera was a goddessof oracles at Gumae, as the
celebrateddiscshows.45ButsheseemstohavebeendisplacedbyApollo. Signorina
Guarduccinotesthatnearthe 'TempleofApollo' at thesouthend oftheAcropolis
and near the northend of the Sibyl'scave architectural of earlysixth-
terracottas
centurydate were found. They presumablycame fromthe templeof Hera,
destroyed whenin thesecondhalfofthecenturya new temple,Apollo's,was built.
Apollo in associationwiththe Sibylis not Delphic,but Sibylsare knownin Asia
Minor,46 in theTroad and are firstmentionedby Heraclitus. It seemsas ifAristo-
demus- forwho else is likelyto have orderedthis grandiosestructurewith its
Etruscanshape?- lookedto Kymin Aeolis,althoughit was notthemother-city of

42P. Bovanc, REG, 75 (1962), 460-82, reviewingG. Mylonas, Eleusis.

43His nickname Malakos, 'soft' is
very inappropriate,and may be the Punic Malik, king, the word
used of the rulerof Caere. Cf. V. Gozzoli, in MiscellaneaGrecae Romana,Rome (1965), 5-29 : 'Aristodemo
Malaco.'
44A. Maiun, who had begun to excavate at Gumae in 1925 and announced his discoveryof the Gave
of the Sibyl (actually a Roman tunnel), Not. Scavi, 55 (1926), 85, NuovaAntologia,255 (1927), 489-99,
cf. R. Herbig, Gnomon, 2 (1926) 747; and Leopold in Mnemosyne, 55 (1927) 370; Kaschnitz-Weinberg,
Arch.Anz.,42 (1927), 122, later in May-June 1932, foundanother,and much moreplausible,cave whichis
now shown as, and I thinkis, 'the cave of the Sibyl,' see Boll. Assoc.Intern.Studi.Mediterran.,Ill, 3 (1932),
reprintedin Saggi di variaantichit,Venice (1954), 149-59. But thereis no adequate publication with a
plan or section of the Cave. / CampiFlegrei,IstitutoPoligraficodella Stato, in the series 'Itinerari de
musei e monumenti/1stedition (1934), 2nd (1949), 3rd edition (1958), pp. 123-32, has six photographs,
but no plan, and no argumentfor the dating to the fifthcenturyb.c. Maiuri draws attentionto the
'dromos' which is a featureof Mycenaean and Etruscan architecture. But see also M. Napoli, AttiIV
Convegno de Studisulla Magna Grecia(1968). On the other hand, there is a large literatureon Virgil's
treatmentof the Sibyl at Gumae: J. F. Latimer, Vergilius, 5 (1940), 28-35: 'Aeneas and the Gumaean
Sibyl, a studyin topography'; S. Eitrem,SymbolaeOsloenses, 24 (1945), 88, 120: 'La Sibylle de Cumes et
Virgile'; J. H. Waszink, Mnemosyne, 4 (1948), 43-58 : 'Virgil and the Sibyl of Cumae'; AlfonsKurfess,
Religions-
Zeitschriftf. 3 (1951), 253-7 : 'Virgil und die Sibyllen'; J. H. Taylor, Classical
undGeistesgeschichte,
Bulletin,29 (1953), 37-40: 'With Virgil at Cumae'; R. V. Schoder, VirgilSocietyLectureSummary, 40
(1957) ; 'Virgil'suse ofthe Cumae area'; R. Merkelbach,Mus. Hebr.,18 (1961) ; 83-99 : 'Aeneas in Gumae.'
Two textsdescribewhat theycall 'the Gave of the Sibyl' : (i) Anonymi,Cohortatio ad Gentiles(attributedto
Justin Martyr), P.G. vi, c. 37, p. 35A (fourthcenturya.d.). (ii) Agathias, His. Byz-Scrip, III, ed.
Niebuhr, Bonn (1828), I, 10, p. 33, 13 (a.d. 552). Procopius, Historyof the Wars,V (Gothic War I),
XIV, 3 (a.d. 536) : 'the natives point out a cave at Gumae, where they say her oracle was.' He had
probably seen it forhimself.
45A. Maiuri, Ausonia6 (1911), 1 ff.; M. Guarducci, Bull. Comm.Arch.Roma, 72
(1946-8), 129-41;
Archeol.Classica, 16 (1964), 136-8: 'II dischettooracolare di Cuma'; Epigr. Gr., I (1967), no. 8; L. H.
Jeffery, Locai Scripts(1961), WesternColonies, no. 5 (early sixthcentury). The sentenceseems to mean
that she does not allow supplementaryquestions,forwhich see Parke and Wormell,DelphicOracle,I, 169,
381, 397. For Hera as an oracular goddess, T. J. Dunbabin, PBSA, 46 (1951), 61-71 : 'The Oracle of
Hera Akraia at Perachora'; Hera Akraia came fromArgos, and Hera Argeia is found at Paestum. At
Lanuvium (or Lavinium) Hera appears as Iuno Sospita, Propertius4, 8, 6; Aelian NA. 11, 16.
46Accordingto Servius ad Verg., A. 6, 9, therewas a wooden statue of
Apollo in the temple,not less
than fifteen feethigh. Statius,Silvae,3, 5, 79 and 4, 8, 48, attributesthe foundationof Gumae to Apollo's
guidance.
 THE GREAT ANTRUM AT BAIAE 25

Cumae,becauseoligarchicChalciswas ofno use to him,notevenwhendemocratic

(but anti-tyrannical) Athenscrushedit. Alternatively, or in addition,he had in
mind the countryfromwhichAeneas came (Dion. Hal., A.R., I, 55, 4). The
SibyllineBooksrepresent a collectionof cult practices(comparableto Pisistratus's
collectionof Musaeus's 'oracles'), on which Aristodemusmighthave based his
syncretism at Baiae. For the Romanstheywerenot connectedwithApollo,but
were treasuredin the Capitoline temple. A coherentreligiouspolicy begins
dimlyto emerge.
But it may be objectedthatthe worshipof Ceres Liber and Libera at Rome
had nothingmystical47 about it, but was politicaland carriedon at an ordinary
templewithno underground place ofinitiation. But therewas at Rome another
cult,instituted ex librisSibyllinis
also, centering on an underground altardedicated
to Dis Paterand Proserpina, at theTarentumor Terentumin theCampusMartius.
This is the altar at whichthe sacrifices of the ludisaeculares**were made, and its
institution by the consulValerius Publicla is attributedto the year 509 b.c.,49
theyearaftertheexpulsionofTarquinius. Thismaywellbe an invention ofValerius
Antias,the late to his
republicanhistorian, glorify gens. TarquiniusSuperbus,
however, is creditedwithsimilarludito thegodsoftheunderworld,50 likewiseoutside
the city. Wagenvoortargues for a native Italic origin in a cult of Mars as a god
of fertilityand the underworld, who, MamuriusVeturius, god of the year
as the
cycle, dies and is reborn. But even forWagenvoortone featureof the ritualis
based on Greekmyth,his resurrection by immersion in a vesselof hot water(like
thekidfallingintomilk?),and thiswaterhad to be boiledwheresmokerosefrom
the ground. But thereis nothingvolcanicabout the alluvial Campus Martius,
whereasat Cumae hot waterand volcanicvapourwerelaid on in the Antrumat
Baiae (and in many otherplaces in the Campi Phlegraei). Such a cult seems
surprising in Rome,and,ifadmitted, was soon,thoughnotperhapsat first, severely
controlled : the trench(mundus or fiBpos)was coveredup when not in use, and
openedonlyonce in everyone hundredand tenyears! Grimalhas suggestedthat
Aeneas' descentinto the underworldat Avernuswas the pre-figuration and
guarantee of the ludisaecularesand was included in the Aeneid,when Virgil knew
thatAugustusplannedto hold themin 22 b.c. Merkelbachhas further developed
theargument, interestingly ifnotwhollyconvincingly.The praenomenofValerius
in ValeriusMaximus'storyis Manius (fromManes, ghosts)as it is of thefounder
of Diana's groveat Nemi (Festus,128 L). The familyof his colleague,Iunius
Brutus,is said to have originatedin Cumae (Plut.,Caes.,61).

47 Cicero, de Nat. Deor., II, 62 distinguishestwo formsof Liber: 'Liber Semela natus' suggeststhe
Bacchic extravagancesof 186 b.c., while the triad is that of the temple of 496-3 b.c.
48The ludi saeculareshave been amply discussed, but the problems are by no means solved : M. P.
Nilsson in P-W (1920), s.v. Saeculares Ludi, 1696-1720; H. Wagenvoort,Meded.Kon. Ah. Wet.afd. Lett.
(1951) : 'De Oorsprong der Ludi Saeculares'; = Studiesin RomanLiterature, Cultureand Religion,Leiden
(1956), 193-232 : 'The Origin of the Ludi Saeculares'; P. Grimal, REA, 56 (1954), 40-60 : 'Le Livre VI
de l'Enide et son actualit en 23 av. J-C; R. Merkelbach, Mus. Helv., 18 (1961), 83-99: 'Aeneas in
Cumae.' Valerius Publicola's colleague in the firstconsulshipwas JuniusBrutuswhosefamilyis described
as Cumean in origin,Plutarch,Caes.. 61, cf. Sulla fromSibylla, Livy, 25, 12, 3.
49By Valerius Maximus, 2, 4, 5 and Zosimus, 2, 1-3.
50Festus,478L.

c
26 THE BRITISH SCHOOL AT ROME

The cultofDiana Nemorensis at Aricia51(thesceneofAristodemus' victoryover

Arruns)maywellbe derivedalso fromCumae. Alfldi52 drawnatten-
has recently
tionto thecult-statues ofDiana at Ariciaas theyappear on a coinof43 b.c. The
goddessappearsin her threeforms,as Artemis,Hecate and Selene, and the cult
statuesare clearlyof late archaic style,before500 b.c. The extinctcratersof
Lago di Nemi and Lago di Avernoare strikingly alike,thoughLago di Nemi is
deeper,narrower and wilder,thoughperhapslesswild thanAvernobeforeAgrippa
opened it up. VirgilmakesApollo's prophetat Cumae, the Sibyl,also priestess
ofHecate at Avernus(A., 6, 118,247, 564), and ServiusderivestheGoldenBough
fromthecultat Aricia (on A., 6, 136 and cf.139).
Finally,Plutarch'sreport(Numa,8) that the Romans made Pythagorasan
honorary citizenmaybe mentioned becausehe quotedas hisauthority Epicharmus,
the Sicilian,ofearlyfifth centurydate,thefirstwriterofcomedyand a devoteeof
the 'Pythagorean way oflife.' This is almostcontemporary evidence,and belongs
to the period beforethe conservativeland-owningpatriciansof Rome obtained
controlof the city, drove out the Etruscans (weakenedby the defeatof 474 b.c.)
and repressedthe plebeians. Plebeian consulscease about thistime,and Greek
influencediminishes.The story53 of the discoveryin 181 b.c. of Numa's alleged
'Pythagorean' books shows the typicalRoman attitude,especiallyin thatperiod
of reaction againstthe innovations admittedduringthe secondPunicwar. (The
mostnotoriousrepressionof the timewas, of course,the S.C. de Bacchanalibus of
186 b.c. (see later, p. 28)). The books were publiclyburnt,when the praetor
declaredthem'pleraquedissolvendarum religionum esse.'
All thisformsa cloud ofveryindirectwitnesses. A glanceat theAntrumitself
is needed. Does itsplan giveany cluesto thenatureoftheritualpractisedin it?
Some ritualscan be inferred fromthegold plates; how much,is disputed,but it is
inevitableto have recourseto themas our best evidenceof ritualin honourof
Proserpina, foran initiationin theformofa descentintotheUnderworld. In the
firstplace we mustimaginethe Antrumwithoutits fillingof waterin the part
below the centralchamber. The two archedentranceson the southside of the
tunnel,just at thefootofthesteepdrop,now bothsupplyhotwater,but it is con-
ceivablethatoriginally one was hotand theothercold,offering thatchoicebetween
two springs,hot for oblivion,cold for memory,that the Gold Plates mention.
The presentinflowofhotwaterhas an outletwhichkeepsthepresentlevelroughly
constant. Beforethepresentaccumulation ofmudand somedislocation owingto an
explosion, the level was presumablycontrollable,possibly provide a River
to
Styx to be crossed by coracle or punt(as in Virgil,A., VI, 298-304,385-416)or by
swimming beingpulled (as Dante is by Matelda in Purg.,XXXIII, 124-145:
or
he drinksbothLethe and Euno). At presentthe level of watermakespassage
impossibleexceptto a skilleddiverwithmodernequipment.
51Sir James Frazer's GoldenBough made it famous. Franz Altheim, Griechische Goiterim altenRom
(1930) and TerraMater(1930), gave it a new look, but his theorywas rejectedby A. E. Gordon, TAPA, 63
(1932), 177-92, and in The CultsofArida, Berkeley(1934) : e.g. p. 8, J. Heurgon, Capouepr-romaine(1942),
305-7 : Orestes at Nemi by 500 b.c. and buried near the temple of Saturn, beforethe Forum ceased to be
cemetery,cf. also A. Alfldi,AJA, 64 (1960), rejectingAltheim and endorsingGordon.
52Alfldi,Gymnasium, 67 (1960), 163-6.
53Livy, 40, 29; Pliny, NH, 13, 84-6. Cf. K R Prowse, 'Numa and the Pythagoreans: a curious
incident,' GreeceandRome,9 (1964), 36-42.
 THE GREAT ANTRUM AT BAIAE 27

Our literarysources54 Partingsof theWays,but what

speak of 'bifurcations,'
Dr. Pagetcalls by thisnamewas notreallysuchbeforeit was blocked,becausethe
dooron hingesmade 'one simplepath,'whichever way it was inclinedand offered
no choice. Indeed the 'wrongturning'to theleftwouldhave led directto thegoal
oftheinnerchamber,by-passing theordeals,and was doubtlessused by thepriests
to go straightto it,whiletheinitiandhad to takethelongway round,downunder
and up again at the farside. The innerchambercould have been the sceneof
presentation beforePersephoneand 'the otherimmortalgods,' when the initiand
declaredthathe 'comes a pure soul frompure (places or parents?)',was reborn
fromherbreastor womb,and salutedas 'a god insteadofa mortal.' Alternatively
it has been suggestedthatthe innerchamber,directlyabove the inspiringwater,
mighthave servedas a place of incubation. But the long passagesthen seem
unnecessarily elaborateas an approach,unlesstheysymbolisea longjourneyfrom
thissinfulworldto a different goal. Some decisivepiece of evidencemay come
to light,but at presentwe have onlytheenigmaticMAR in ligature,tuckedaway
in the'Traverse'fromthe'South120'to the'North120.' Hiddenawaythoughitis,
I cannotbelievethatit is a casual daub withoutan important meaning.

and theendof theAntrum

The 'dipinto*
The upperline of the inscription remainsas yet beyondeven conjecture,and
offersno clue to its date. But something can be done withthe bold lettering, a
foothigh,of the secondline. It was temptingat firstto thinkof the Ms incised
on someof the late archaicpotteryfromthe underground shrineas Paestum,and
the M on thevase fromtheTemple ofHera. If at PaestumM standsforMeter,
thedipintoat Baiae mightappearonlya littlemoreexplicit,forDoric or west-Greek
Mater, or Latin mater. But in the Ionic Greekof Cumae we shouldhave meter,
as in Here on the oraculardisc. If, however,it is Latin, how earlycould it be ?
Certainlynot in the Samnitecenturyc. 420-330 b.c., but only afterthe Roman
conquest. It could,however,conceivablybe Osean, thelanguageoftheSamnites,
forMaatreis.55But a date notlongbefore180b.c., whenCumae petitioned Rome
(Livy,40, 42), is conceivable.
to be allowedto use Latin officially
Greekis in any case ruledout by theshapeoftheR, withnotonlya tail but a
bar acrossthe end of the tail,and by theligatureof the threelettersintoa single
monogram. The tailedand barredR is listedamongthe threetypesof R found

54Plato, Phaedo, 108a, 5 : many bifurcations,contrastedwith the 'single track' found in Aeschylus'
Telephos. Virgil,A., 6, 540. The similardoor where the South and North 120s meet musthave had the
functionof directingthe currentof air into the North 120 and so into the roofof '270' where the tiles are,
not along the South 120 on a level with the 270. The North 120 is a cul-de-sac except for air. Dr.
Paget's 'Room of Memory,' hollowed out in the tufajust west of the Temple, is due to a confusionwith
the procedure at the oracle of Trophonius at Lebadea in Boeotia. This was not initiatoryat all. The
suppliantwas questioned afterwardsabout his dream-experienceso that an answer to his specificproblem
could be elicited. 'The lake of Memory' in the plate fromPharsalus probably refersto the memory
of divine origin and of previous reincarnationsthat the initiate must claim when questioned by the
guardians in the course of the ritual.
55This is the genitivesingular. R. S. Conway, The Italic Dialects,Cambridge (1897), no. 163; C. D.
Buck, A Grammar of Oseanand Umbrian^ Boston (1902), no. 54; Emil Vetter,HandbuchderitalischenDialekten,
Heidelberg (1953), no. 175.
28 THE BRITISH SCHOOL AT ROME

in the older dipinti at Pompeii,56and litterae ligataeare frequent.57Rome itself

providesan exampleof exactlythisligatureof MAR on Republicansilverdenarii
ofc. 119-91b.c. on whichthe monetalisMarciusput MAR in ligatureor Q.M.58
The readingMarcius,in the second centuryb.c., broughtto mind the Senatus
Consultum deBacchanalibus of 186 b.c., when the consulsQ. MarciusPhilippusand
Sp. PostumiusAlbinusconsultedtheSenateon theNonesofOctoberin thetemple
of Bellona about places of bacchicworshipin Italy.59 The consulsdid not only
circulatetheirdespatch; they investigated personallyon the spot. Postumius
(Livy,39, 23) visitedSipontumon the Adriaticand Buxentum(Pyxus) on the
Tyrrhenian, some100milessouth-east ofCumae. He was absenton theseenquiries
whilehis colleagueremainedin Rome (19, 1), but Marciushad also a regionof
Italyto inspect(butit is unfortunately not specified), whichmighthave beenCam-
pania. So I hazardedthesuggestion thatthedipinto is thesignofMarcius'inspection,
becausetheS.C. seemsto providean explanationoftheverycuriouspartialblockage
oftheAntrum. But subsequently theblockageoftheinnerchamberwas foundto
include tilesidentical chemicalcompositionwiththose in the later entrance
in
(Dr. Paget's 'grotto': platesopp. hispp. 65 and 80), whichseemstobe partofa very
late Republicanor earlyAugustanrebuilding. So thehypothesis had to be aband-
oned, though it could be argued that the consul of 186 b.c. by his monogram
licensedtheAntrum, and that it was only much later blocked up under thetermsof
the S.C, which remained in force.
Livy'saccountoftheaffair oftheBacchanaliadescribes(c. 13) theritualpractices
thatappeared in Rome at the time. Theyhave been discussedby Festugire, and
Tierney has suggested,veryplausibly, that the crimes of which Bacchants were
accusedare misunderstandings, maliciousor genuine,ofrituals. It is easyto mis-
interpret a sacred marriage as a sexualorgy,and theritualofdeathand resurrection
as murder. MostofwhatLivydescribesoccurredout ofdoorsin 'thesacredgrove
ofSemele' (c. 12 : in luco Similae),or outsideit whenthematronsrusheddownto
the Tiber to plungetheirsulphuroustorchesinto the waterand draw themout
stillalight(c. 13). At Baiae theremightwellhave been a groveroundthetemple,
and a springat the footof the hill wherethe Thermaenow are; the sea too was
closeat hand. But Livy'smostinteresting remark(c. 13) is that'menweresaid to
be raptaway by thegods,whentheywereattachedto a machineand whiskedout

56CIL, IV (1871), Zangemeister,pp. 272 f. If this was the joint signatureof the threeGreek
judges
of the Underworld,AfinosAeacus and /?hadamanthys, theywere signingin Latin !
57CIL, IV, 3347- C/L, P, 1656 has MAR in ligature, followed by I separated, short for Marius.
1655 has the threelettersMAE and AED in ligature,and examples of two lettersare frequent.
58I am indebted forthis informationto Mr. AnthonyThompson of the Heberden Coin Room in the
Ashmolean Museum. E. A. Sydenham, The Coinageof theRomanRepublic2(1952) provides the following
examples : Period IV, 155-120 b.c. nos. 395-6 Q. Marcius Libo, with ligatureof M and A but R and C
followseparately. Period V, 119-91 b.c. no. 541 Q,. M R. CF LR is read as Quintus Marcius ? G Fabius
L Roscius ?, but MAR can stand forMarius, as in no. 367 where Q MAR alternateswith Q MARL
69CIL, I, 581 fromthe Ager Teuranus in Bruttium,foundin 1640, now in Vienna. Livy's sensational
account (39, 8-19) emphasisesthe activityof the consul Postumius,perhaps because it was given promi-
nence in the historyof A. PostumiusAlbinus (Peter FHR, 37-9), consul in 151 b.c. The S.C. was famous
in antiquity: Cicero, deLeg., 2, 15; Tertullian,ApoL,6; Augustine
CD, 6, 9; moderndiscussionis formidable,
see A. H. McDonald, JRS, 34 (1944), 11-33 : 'Rome and the Italian Confederation,'p. 26, n. 116; and
add J. J. Tierney, Proc.Roy. IrishAcad., 51 (1947), 89-117; A. P. Festugire,Mi. Ec.fr. de Rome,66
(1954); G. Tarditi, La Parola del Passato, 10 (1954), 265 f.; K. Latte, Rmische
Religionsgeschichte
(1960),
270-2.
 THE GREAT ANTRUM AT BAIAE 29

ofsightintotherecessesofcaves': raptosa dishominesdici,quos machinaeilligatos

ex conspectuin abditosspecus abripiant. This could be a garbled account of
crossingthe cStyx'in the Antrumat Baiae in a boat, or perhapsa coffin. Livy
speaksof the cult as introducedby a Greek(c. 8), presumably fromSouth Italy,
and later(c. 13) mentionsa Paculla AnniafromCampania.
Anotherpossibility may be mentioned. Marcii in highofficeat Rome forthe
nexthundredand fifty yearsare embarrassingly frequent, but in 64 b.c. actionwas
takenby theconsulsL. JuliusCaesar and C. MarciusFigulusagainstCollegiaunder
a senatusconsultum. But it was directedagainsttheirpoliticaluse at elections,and
so was probablyconfinedto thecityofRome.60 By thistime,however,Baiae was
a veryRomanresort, and mighthave beenincluded. The threemiddlesignsofthe
upperlinesofthedipinto provideswhatmightperhapsbe read as IUL(ius), butthen
we shouldexpecttheligatureMAR to be enclosedby signsalso.
Actionat some timelater,but underthe termsof the S.C. of 186 b.c., seems
possible,and wouldexplainwhatwe findin theAntrum: an extravagant wasteof
effort,whichseverelyhampersbut does notwhollyinhibitthe use ofthe complex.
Nothingwouldhavebeeneasierthanto wall up themainpassageneartheentrance.
Instead,thedirectaccess,South120,to theinnerchamberis blocked,and theinner
chamberitselfis turnedintoa passage. Whereone wall wouldhave been enough,
no fewerthansevenwerebuiltbetweenthepillarsand betweenthemand thesides
of the chamber,and the space behindfilledwithrubble,whichmusthave been
broughtlaboriously fromthesurface200 yardsaway.
The passage,however,leads nowhereexceptto thetopofthetunnelor staircase
fromthefarend ofthewaterto thenorthdoorofthechamber. The tunnelitself
is also blockedwitha fillofrubble. Now ifaccessto thechambercouldhave been
blocked easily with one wall, it could also easily be unblockedsurreptitiously.
The fillingof the chamberwithrubblewas a laboriousoperation,and to clear it
would have been equallyor morelaborious,and moreovervisiblewhenthe spoil
was dumpedoutside.
Dr. Pagethas suggestedthattheRise is laterthantherestofthepassagesas it
does not fitneatlyinto the 'South 120/ and is not encrusted. The Rise can be
associatedwiththeblockageofthecentralchamberand at the'PartingoftheWays,'
and withthenew entrance,the 'Grotto'underthe Temple,becausetilesare used
in the construction of the hole in the floorof the Rise (i.e. in the roofof the 290
just beforeit reachesthepresentlevelofwater)and maywellproveto be ofthesame
makeas thosein thechamberand thegrottoand at thePartingoftheWays. I had
at one timeimaginedthatthe spoilfromthe construction of the Rise mighthave
been dumpedin theSouthand North120s,whichwereoutofactiononcetheyhad
been blockedat the Partingof the Ways. But Dr. Paget pointsout thatthe Rise
wouldprovideonlyabout 30 cu. yd.,whereasto filltheNorth120 completely and
to make the three20-ftblockagesin the South 120 at least 100 cu. yd. would be
60As is
argued by Silvio Accame, Bull. Comm.Arch.Gov. Roma., 70 (1942), 13-48; 'La legislazione
romana intornoai Collegi nel I secolo A.C.' Cf. E. S. Shuckburgh,C. SuetoniiTranquilliDivus Augustus,
Cambridge (1896), e. 32, p. 74 : 'But the rule does not seem to have applied to othertownsin Italy or the
provinces,'except when extendedby provincialgovernors,Josephus,Antiq.,14, 108; Tacitus, Ann.,14, 17.
Julius Caesar (Suet., Div. JuL, 42, 3) passed a law regulatingcollegia,making an exception forJewish
Synagogues,and in 22 b.c. Augustuspassed a second lexJulia(Suet., Aug., 32 : Dio Cass., 54, 2).
30 THE BRITISH SCHOOL AT ROME

needed,notto mentionthefillingofthecentralchamberand theback-stairs to the

farend of the presentwater-filled gallery. It is certain,then,that much of the
fillings,ifnot all, musthave been broughtfromthesurfaceoutsidetheAntrumat
greatexpensein labour,perhapsfromtheoriginaldumpofsoilfromtheconstruc-
tionoftheAntrum.
Now the S.C. deBacchanalibus givesa generalrulingthatall places of Bacchic
worshipare to be demolished, butthenadmitsofexceptions, providedthattheyare
sanctionedby thepraetor urbanus.The texthas thevague expression'extradquam
sei quid ibei sacriest,5as thoughevery'Bacchanal'wouldnothave something that
its devoteeswould regardas sacred. Livy,however(39, 18) expandsthe phrase
into'extraquamsi qua ibi vetustaara aut (vetustumunderstood ?) signumconsecratum
esset?' Certainlywhathad existedsinceAristodemus5 timeor at leastfrombefore
Ephorus'timecouldclaimantiquity. Again,thetextallowsfor'thosewhodeclare
thatit is "necessary"forthemto maintaina place ofBacchicworship': 'Sei ques
esentsibei deicerentnecesusese Bacanal habere,'whichLivy again paraphrases
toexplain,thoughstillvaguelyenough,thekindof'necessity' whichcouldbe pleaded:
'si quis tale sacrumsollemneet necessariumdiceret,nee sine religioneet piaculo
se id dimitiereposse.' This pointsto an ancestralcultofthedead membersofthe
family devolvingon theirdescendants, an obligationofparentatio suchas theRomans
alwaysrespected. The initiation
of new members outside the familycould be dis-
allowed, and even of the familya maximum of fiveparticipants, not morethan
two men and threewomen,withoutpriestsor officers of any kind,is ordained,
exceptwiththe special permission fromthepraetor at Rome. The Antrumlooks
as if it had been subjectedto a verysevereand costlyrulingof thiskind; thus
restricted, it mighthave been continuedin use untilthe familydied out or went
elsewhere or soldthesiteto somerichRomanwhenBaiae beganto be favouredas a
resort,perhapsabout 90 b.c. The ancientaltaror statuewould be removed,and
the riteswould cease. The buildingsat the surfacewould be remodelledin opus
reticulatum, and the templepulleddown,leavingonlyitsfoundations.61The place
wouldsinkintotheoblivionthatwe findin Straboand Diodorusc. 20 b.c. Virgil
came to live at the EpicureanSiro'svilla outsideNaples some timeabout 49 b.c.
(or a yearor twolater)62: ifhe knewoftheAntrum,he ignoredit as nothingto his
purpose.
Dr. Paget has suggestedthat the closureof the Antrumwas due to Agrippa,
whenin 37-6 b.c. he made one hugenaval base ofthewholearea betweenNaples,
Cumae and Misenum,and openedLake Avernusfortheentryofshipsby a canal
fromLake Lucrinus. 63 Avernusbecametheinnermost andsafest andtraining-
refuge
place in the war againstSextus Pompeius, and it was connected by one tunnelto
Cumae (the 'grottadi Cocceio') and by another,parallelto thecanal,to theSouth
(theformer'cave of the Sibyl'). An ancientcult place at Baiae seemsirrelevant,
and Agrippaseemsto have avoidedany offenceto religion. When the twolakes
61Dr.
Paget remindsme that the ashlar blocks of the Temple are imprintedin the Roman concrete
of its South Wall, and argues that this looks like an attemptto preservethe temple, perhaps afterthe
explosionhad damaged it, and beforethe finalabandonment of the Antrum,and, withit, of the Temle.
62R. E. H. WestendorpBoerma, VergiliCatalebton(1949), 95-105, (espc. 102 for the date) on Cat. 5.
63The fullestaccount is in Dio Cassius, 48, 50- 1; forother
passages see PW (1896) : Avernus (deus)
(Wissowa) : (lacus) (Hlsen).
 THE GREAT ANTRUM AT BAIAE 31

werejoined, two portentsoccurred,a greatstormand the sweatingof a statueat

Avernus,and were expiated by pontfices.64Virgil speaks of the resentment
of thesea at Agrippa'streatment,
(indignatum) but he countsthe transformation
as
one of the glories of Italy. A., 3, 442 : 'divinosque
lacus et Avernasonantiasilvis' is
explainedby Serviuswithreference
to Augustus5 oftheplace; deiectis
improvement
silvisex pestilentibus loca. Norden speaks of 'the ghosts being fright-
amoenareddidit
ened away,'but Straboinsiststhattherewerenone. TheFerialeCapuanum65 oflate
Imperialdate (a.d. 387) prescribes for27 Julya 'profectio ad inferas
AverniJ butthe
readingis doubtful : for'inferas5
Mommsenprinted'iter,5 and thefestival is probably
a consequenceofVirgil'spoetry,nota cause.
The religioustraditionof the Sibyl at Gumae (admittedlya verydifferent
thingfroma Bacchiccultat Baiae, whichVirgilhad notconsecrated in hispoetry)
was preserved, sincethewestside of thenorthern halfof the 'cave of theSibyl5was
proppedup in the Augustanperiod. But thiswas probablylaterthan 37-6 b.c.
and connectedwiththe colonyofveteranswhichAugustusplantedat Cumae.66
Much workremainsto be done on theAntrum. Since thewritingofhis three
accountsof the AntrumDr. Paget has been studyingespeciallythe complexof
roomsand passagesat theentrancenearthetemple,and hasmademanyobservations.
But I have not attemptedto takeaccountofthem,as no certainor evenprobable
sequenceofbuildingshas yetemerged. The Italian authorities beganin theearly
monthsof 1968to investigate the springbelowthe terracedcityat the 'Temple of
Mercury,5 and itis tobe hopedthattheywillpumpoutthelowestpartoftheAntrum
now filledwithwater,and discoverboththe sourceof the waterand its mode of
escape. A clearanceof the centralchamberabove the watermightrevealsome
evidencein theformofpottery, coinsor evena fragment ofwall-painting.
Dr. Paget's argumentfor a volcanic explosionat some date, whichencrusted
some of the passages and raised the level of water to approximately its present
state,is important.
Meanwhile,to sum up, I suggestverytentatively thattheAntrumis a unique
monumentof an initiatory of
religion Orphictype and datable to about 500 b.c.,
theperiodofCumae'sgreatest prosperity and influenceunder itstyrant Aristodemus.
The Antrumis about contemporary withthe 'Cave of the Sibyl5at Cumae,and if
theyare takentogether, theysuggesta deliberatereligiouspolicyand one thatsuits
a 'tyrant,'and is comparablewiththatof Pisistratus at Athens. The Antrumcan
perhaps be connected with cultsintroduced about this timeat Rome,just as the
Sibylconnects Rome and Cumae.

64Servius 2, 162; Dio Gassius, 48, 50, 4, adds that the statue above the
(auctus) on Virgil, Georgics,
lake was 'either that of Calypso to whom the place is dedicated- for they say that Odysseus too sailed
-
into the lake or of some otherheroine.' Cf. note 6. Nothing,then,about any oracle of the dead, but,
surprisingly,Calypso, usually localised elsewhere,in Cephallenia or Malta, see Lamer in RE (1919),
1772-99, s.v. Kalypso. Latinus is made theson of Calypso (in place of the Hesiodic Circe) byApollodorus,
Epitome,VII, 24.
65CIL, X, 3792.
66Liber Coloniarum, I, Campania, p. 232, 10 (ed. Blume Lachmann Rudorff,Berlin, 1848). Iussu
Claudi Caesaris' cannot be rightand Thomsen, p. 274, reads *C. Iuli Caesaris,' i.e. Augustus,but it may
belong to the plantation of veteransby the triumvirs,Octavian, Antonyand Lepidus, afterthe battle of
di Roma
Philippi (Oct. 42 b.c.) in the year 41. The date is uncertain: see E. Pais, Storiadellacolonizzazione
antica,Rome (1923). It is called 'Colonia Iulia' in the FerialeCumanum, CIL, X, 3682.
32 THE BRITISH SCHOOL AT ROME

Ifthecultin theAntrumwasorbecameDionysiac,itislikelytohavebeenaffected
by the SenatusConsultum whichwas used eitherto prohibitit or at
deBacckanalibus,
and abandonment
leastso toreduceit thatitsextinction becameinevitablenotmuch
later. Such a reconstruction detachesit frombothHomerand Virgil.
ofitshistory
But we mayhave insteadpricelessnew evidencefor early Orphismand for the
religionof the LamellaeAureae.
C. G. Hardie

APPENDIX
It is an interestingquestion whetherthere was at any time either an oracle of the dead or a place
where the rite of descendinginto Hades was practised at Avernus,that is, somewherewithinthe crater
that enclosesthe lake. But the answerto it cannot,in my opinion,affectthe interpretation of the Antrum
at Baiae, which is too far away to be related to or confusedwith anythingat Avernus. Strabo admits a
veryearly oracle of the dead at Avernus,but claims that Agrippa's cuttingdown of the forestaround the
Lake and his constructionof a naval base in 37-6 b.c. showed up the theoriesof an oracle of the dead
or Plutonion (place of descent) as mere fable. On the other hand, Cicero, whose villa, the 'Academia,'
lay just to the east of Lake Avernus,though he mentionsthe evocation of ghostswith contempt,quotes
an old poet forthe traditionallocalisation, Tuse. Disp., I, 16, 37: inde in vicinia nostraAverni lacus,
unde animae excitanturobscura umbra opertae ex ostio,
Altae Acheruntis,salso sanguine,imagines mortuorum.
This need be no more than a referenceto the literarytraditionin which Virgil was later to work,
which localised Odysseus' Nekyia, probably fromthe sixthcenturyonwards,at Avernus.
Livy, XXIV, 12, 4, however,speaks of Hannibal in 214 b.c. leaving Capua on the pretenceof sacri-
ficingat Lake Avernus, really to attempt a surpriseattack on Puteoli : Inde Numidis Hispanisque ad
praesidium simul castrorumsimul Capuae relictiscum cetero exercitu ad lacum Averni per speciem
sacrificandore ipsa ut temptaretPutelos quodque ibi praesidii erat, descendit.
There was, then,some cult place at Avernus,and Livy does not say whose cult it was, stillless that it
was an oracle of the dead or a place of descentinto Hades, but Dio Cassius, 48, 50, 4 speaksof the Lake as
dedicated to 'Calypso or of some other heroine' {cf. also note 64) whose statue sweated when Agrippa
was buildinghis naval base. Virgil himselfmentionsAgrippa's achievementas one of the gloriesof Italy,
Georg.,II, 161-3 (Servius Auctus on G., II, 162 mentionsthe sweatingof the statue,but not whose statue
it was), and the indignationof the sea, but not of any ghostsor gods of the Underworld. In Aeneid,VI,
118, 247, 564 Virgil attributesthe cult at Avernus to Hecate, but it is unlikelythat he found this in the
traditionabout Avernus. He wishedto have the same priestess,the Sibyl,performas Apollo's mouthpiece
at Cumae and as priestessat Avernus. If Avernuswas attributedto Apollo's sisterin her chthonicform,
thiswas more plausible, and Diana had a famous cult at the similar craterof Nemi, fromwhich Servius
says that Virgil took the Golden Bough (Servius on A., VI, 136 and 139). Norden in his commentary
on Aeneid,VI (P. Vergilius Maro Aeneis,Buch VI, Teuber, Leipzig, 1903 and 1927) pp. 117-8 says that the
Greek colonistsof Cumae found on their arrival a prehistoricoracle of the Earth Goddess, and quotes
Ephorus, as reportedby Strabo (V 244) forthis. But Ephorus was lookingfora localization of Odysseus'
Nekyiawhichwould account forhis notionofthe Cimmeriansas livingundergroundand no doubt accepted
the placing of Odysseus' wanderingsin the farwest,includingthe Nekyia at Avernus. Though he found
undergrounddwellings,he was not shown the alleged site of the oracle of the dead, but told the not very
credible storythat it had been destroyedby a king and restoredlater, not at the original site, but trans-
ferredto another. The Antrumat Baiae is indeed more like an undergrounddwellingthan anythingelse
now to be found in the vicinity. It remainsverymysteriouswhy Ephorus should have describedunder-
ground dwellingsby the Latin word 'argillae,' clay-pits. Norden (on A., VI, 236 ff.,p. 195) also speaks
of the preparatoryceremoniesdescribed by Virgil as actually practised at Lake Avernus until Agrippa's
operations 'frightenedthe ghostsaway,' and he quotes Maximus of Tyre 14, 2 as evidence of a rite of
prayersacrificeand libation to summon a ghost fromthe Underworld (forwhich Virgil has substituted
a descent). But Maximus is hardlyevidenceformorethan the traditionofan oracleofthedead at Avernus,
and it may be noted that the real oracle of the dead at Ephyrain Thesprotiawas sometimesattributedto a
Lake Avernus there (Hyginus,fabulae 88 and 125, 11). The Antrumat Baiae anyhow is a place for a
descent,not forthe summoningup of a ghost.
Diodorus, IV, 22, 1-2, like Strabo, probably draws on Ephorus, when he speaks of the fable that once
long ago therehad been an oracle of the dead at the lake (of Avernus), which theysay was suppressed
at a laterperiod,even thoughhe has just quoted Timaeus by name (21, 7) and proceedsto quote him again
in 22, 6: cf. F. Jacoby, FGH, III B, p. 529 (Introductionon Timaeus) and note 40, p. 314. Timaeus
had evidentlyno quarrel with Ephorus' account of the disappearance of the originaloracle. Antigonus,
Hist. Mirab., 152 shows that Timaeus had probably been to Avernus and denied the storyof its alleged
effecton birds. That Ephorus was shown the new site of the oracle (perhaps at the Antrumat Baiae ?)
 THE GREAT ANTRUM AT BAIAE 33
is possible in the light of Scymnus,orb. descr.236 which uses the present tense: 'at Gumae, where an
undergroundoracle is shown,a "Kerberion" (or place of Cerberus,the hound of Hell).'
Diodorus says that the Lake of Avernus is sacred to Persephone, and Lycophron,using Ephorus or
Timaeus or more probably both, says the same, Alex.,698.
There was evidentlyno agreementby which lake the original oracle of the dead had been placed.
Strabo, having called Lago di Fusaro, 'the lagoon between Gumae and Misenum' (not recognisablya
craterlike Avernus and Lucrinus) by the name of the 'Acherusian' mere, 243, goes on to say, 245, that
'some say the Lucrine Lake is the Acherusian mere,' whereas Artemidorus(flor. c. 104-101 b.c.) says
that 'it is Avernusitself.'
All thissuggeststhat at Lake Avernusnothingcould be pointed to as certainlythe site of the original
oracle. That therehad been such an oracle was a bookish notion of mythographers and historianswho
had not been there,and the alleged oracle had got into the literatureon Odysseusin the West, firstto our
knowledgein Hellanicus, FGH, 4F84. Aeschylus,FR fr. 267N, put his chorus of 'Psychagogoi,' who
honoured Hermes as theirancestor, 'round the lake,' possiblyAvernus; and Sophocles, fr. 748 Pearson,
mentionedan oracle of the dead 'on the Tyrrhenianmere,' identifiedas Avernus by our source, whose
language reflectsTimaeus, as quoted by Antigonus. The localisation of Circe at Monte Circeo as early
as c. 535 when Tarquinius Superbus planted a colony there, implied other localisations of Odysseus'
adventures nearby. The Cumaeans seem to have been embarrassed by visitinghistoriansor tourists
expectingto findan oracle ofthe dead, when all thattheycould show at Avernuswas a groveofPersephone
or a sanctuaryof some female deity, Calypso or another. The Italic name Avernus may have had a
chthonic meaning. Ephorus came with his preconceived idea of the Cimmerians,and Hannibal, well
read in Greek,thoughtthat the celebrityof the place made a plausible excuse fora visit.
For discussionof the etymologyof Avernus,see Ribezzo, Riv. Indo-greco-italica, 12 (1928), 3, p. 98;
Pisani, Rendic.Ace.Line.,8 (1932), 337-57, para. 69.