Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 7, No. 3, 2008, Page 32
disasters have befallen others through the ambiguity and intricacy of oracles‘ replies‘‖ (quoted in Fox
1986, 169).
13 While we do not know if any such coin ever is minted, coins survive containing the head of Glycon.
Most extraordinary is that a surviving inscription ―seems to be a dedication to the snake, its otherwise
unknown mate, and Alexander himself‖ (Jones 1986, 138.)
14 A somewhat similar sentiment appears earlier in the article on Alexander in The Oxford Classical
Dictionary: ―to what extent, if any, he believed his own doctrine can hardly be determined in the
absence of any description of him other than Lucian‘s, which represents him as a thorough impostor‖
(Ross 1949). In his now-classic study on conversion in the ancient world, A. D. Nock expresses similar
uncertainty about Alexander‘s sincerity: ―If we cannot estimate the exact measure of honesty in the
leaders of certain movements in our own times, how can we judge precisely how far Alexander of
[Abonuteichos] was charlatan and how far by his own lights prophet?‖ (Nock 1933, 240 see Jones
1986, 148 n.61).
15 Soldiers returning from the east in 165 A.D. and 166 A.D. bring back plague with them, and son
afterward the Empire is threatened by Marcomannic (i.e., German) invaders against whom Marcus
Aurelius battles. The Marcomannic Wars take place between 166 A.D. and 172 A.D., and 177 A.D. to
180 A.D. [Schehl 1949, 538 although see Costa 2005, 262 n. 139 for a slightly different date (i.e.,
168-174)]. Alexander takes advantage of these social traumas to expand the reach of his prophecies
(Junes 1986, 142).
16 Marcus Aurelius (121-180 A.D.) is a Stoic philosopher and Roman Emperor (r. 161-180 A.D.) ―The
oracle advised that two lions should be thrown alive in the Danube, with a lot of spies and splendid
offerings‖ (Alex., 48) As far as I can tell, Lucian is the sole contemporary written source for the failed
sacrifice (see Birley 1987, 250), so I was unable to verify his claim independently. On, however, ―the
column of Marcus Aurelius in Rome, one of the scenes depicts two animals swimming across a river,
near a boat. These have been thought to be the lions of the oracle….‖ (Harmon [trans] 1925, 236-237
n.1), although disagreement exists over this interpretation. While I possess no expertise in the subject
of ancient warfare, the figure of twenty thousand dead seems unlikely.
17 Remarkably, an archeological finding seems to substantiate Lucian‘s account. The supporting item is
―an inscription from Caesarea Troketta in northwestern Lydia… It records an oracle of Apollo of Claros
and a statue of Apollo the Savior paid for by his priest, a Paphlagonian names Miletos son of Glycon.
The conjunction of Glycon, Paphiagonia, and Apollo of Claros, whom Alexander assiduously cultivated,
suggests that the man‘s alleged father was not a human one, but the snake-god ofAbonuteichos‖
(Jones 1986, 143).
18 While pederasty does not have the wide acceptance in the Roman Empire that it does in ancient
Greece, ―[b]oys at Tome were still objects of sexual aggression‖ (Hooper 1999, 14). Indeed, ―[a] real
man (vir) in Rome was a full citizen who was free to penetrate anyone of lower social status than
himself, whether woman, a boy, or a slave or either sex‖ (Hooper 1999, 14-15) Still, pederasty is far
from universally accepted, with the Romans passing a little-enforced law some time before 50 B.C.
that ―outlawed…the sexual violation of freeborn boys‖ (Hooper 1999, 14). In the case of Alexander,
Lucian certainly is scornful of his opponent‘s hypocrisy, but he also implied that the sex Alexander was
having with boys was more appropriate for a man‘s relationship with slaves. As Bloch reported about
the Greeks, ―Slave boys, of course, enjoyed no protection at all from their masters, who could use
them or female slaves at wil‖ (Bloch 2001, 186) We simply cannot know whether Alexander stops his
sexual actions with the young men when they reach eighteen because he is an ep0hebophile, or
because the males had reached an age where they were men and no longer social inferiors to him
(see Bloch 2001, 185). For many Greek pederasts, for example, ―The boy himself was thought to be at
the peak of his attractiveness between the ages of 12 and 16, though he might have been used by the
man when he was even younger. The boy remained beautiful as long as his body seemed sexually
immature. Once he passed through puberty and began to grow bodily hair, the man usually would
replace him with a younger child‖ (Bloch 2001, 186).
19 I first became aware of Lucian‘s account about Alexander when reading an article that discusses the
child sexual ause that occurred in another contemporary sect, the Children of God (Freckleton 1998,
3). While the founder of that group, David Berg (d. 1994), certainly demonstrated narcissistic
characteristics, the obvious disorder that like afflicted him was nonexclusive pedophilia complicated by
alcohol abuse (Kent 2006, 347 see Kent 1994).
disasters have befallen others through the ambiguity and intricacy of oracles‘ replies‘‖ (quoted in Fox
1986, 169).
13 While we do not know if any such coin ever is minted, coins survive containing the head of Glycon.
Most extraordinary is that a surviving inscription ―seems to be a dedication to the snake, its otherwise
unknown mate, and Alexander himself‖ (Jones 1986, 138.)
14 A somewhat similar sentiment appears earlier in the article on Alexander in The Oxford Classical
Dictionary: ―to what extent, if any, he believed his own doctrine can hardly be determined in the
absence of any description of him other than Lucian‘s, which represents him as a thorough impostor‖
(Ross 1949). In his now-classic study on conversion in the ancient world, A. D. Nock expresses similar
uncertainty about Alexander‘s sincerity: ―If we cannot estimate the exact measure of honesty in the
leaders of certain movements in our own times, how can we judge precisely how far Alexander of
[Abonuteichos] was charlatan and how far by his own lights prophet?‖ (Nock 1933, 240 see Jones
1986, 148 n.61).
15 Soldiers returning from the east in 165 A.D. and 166 A.D. bring back plague with them, and son
afterward the Empire is threatened by Marcomannic (i.e., German) invaders against whom Marcus
Aurelius battles. The Marcomannic Wars take place between 166 A.D. and 172 A.D., and 177 A.D. to
180 A.D. [Schehl 1949, 538 although see Costa 2005, 262 n. 139 for a slightly different date (i.e.,
168-174)]. Alexander takes advantage of these social traumas to expand the reach of his prophecies
(Junes 1986, 142).
16 Marcus Aurelius (121-180 A.D.) is a Stoic philosopher and Roman Emperor (r. 161-180 A.D.) ―The
oracle advised that two lions should be thrown alive in the Danube, with a lot of spies and splendid
offerings‖ (Alex., 48) As far as I can tell, Lucian is the sole contemporary written source for the failed
sacrifice (see Birley 1987, 250), so I was unable to verify his claim independently. On, however, ―the
column of Marcus Aurelius in Rome, one of the scenes depicts two animals swimming across a river,
near a boat. These have been thought to be the lions of the oracle….‖ (Harmon [trans] 1925, 236-237
n.1), although disagreement exists over this interpretation. While I possess no expertise in the subject
of ancient warfare, the figure of twenty thousand dead seems unlikely.
17 Remarkably, an archeological finding seems to substantiate Lucian‘s account. The supporting item is
―an inscription from Caesarea Troketta in northwestern Lydia… It records an oracle of Apollo of Claros
and a statue of Apollo the Savior paid for by his priest, a Paphlagonian names Miletos son of Glycon.
The conjunction of Glycon, Paphiagonia, and Apollo of Claros, whom Alexander assiduously cultivated,
suggests that the man‘s alleged father was not a human one, but the snake-god ofAbonuteichos‖
(Jones 1986, 143).
18 While pederasty does not have the wide acceptance in the Roman Empire that it does in ancient
Greece, ―[b]oys at Tome were still objects of sexual aggression‖ (Hooper 1999, 14). Indeed, ―[a] real
man (vir) in Rome was a full citizen who was free to penetrate anyone of lower social status than
himself, whether woman, a boy, or a slave or either sex‖ (Hooper 1999, 14-15) Still, pederasty is far
from universally accepted, with the Romans passing a little-enforced law some time before 50 B.C.
that ―outlawed…the sexual violation of freeborn boys‖ (Hooper 1999, 14). In the case of Alexander,
Lucian certainly is scornful of his opponent‘s hypocrisy, but he also implied that the sex Alexander was
having with boys was more appropriate for a man‘s relationship with slaves. As Bloch reported about
the Greeks, ―Slave boys, of course, enjoyed no protection at all from their masters, who could use
them or female slaves at wil‖ (Bloch 2001, 186) We simply cannot know whether Alexander stops his
sexual actions with the young men when they reach eighteen because he is an ep0hebophile, or
because the males had reached an age where they were men and no longer social inferiors to him
(see Bloch 2001, 185). For many Greek pederasts, for example, ―The boy himself was thought to be at
the peak of his attractiveness between the ages of 12 and 16, though he might have been used by the
man when he was even younger. The boy remained beautiful as long as his body seemed sexually
immature. Once he passed through puberty and began to grow bodily hair, the man usually would
replace him with a younger child‖ (Bloch 2001, 186).
19 I first became aware of Lucian‘s account about Alexander when reading an article that discusses the
child sexual ause that occurred in another contemporary sect, the Children of God (Freckleton 1998,
3). While the founder of that group, David Berg (d. 1994), certainly demonstrated narcissistic
characteristics, the obvious disorder that like afflicted him was nonexclusive pedophilia complicated by
alcohol abuse (Kent 2006, 347 see Kent 1994).
