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Who Are the Deities Concealed behind the Rabbinic Expression "A Nursing Female Image"? Author(s): Emmanuel Friedheim Source: The Harvard Theological Review, Vol. 96, No. 2 (Apr., 2003), pp. 239-250 Published by: Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Harvard Divinity School Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4151860 . Accessed: 16/07/2013 13:23
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Who Are the Deities Concealed Behind the Rabbinic Expression "A Nursing Female Image"?
EmmanuelFriedheim
Bar Ilan University,Israel

Introduction

The Tosefta reads: "If a person found a ring on which was the image of the sun, the image of the moon, the image of a dragon (snake), he should bring it to the Dead Sea. And also a i and Sarapis."' Each component of this intriguing nursing female image ([np'%1] 7p' mn-) in the Tosefta deserves close the current article will reexamine the examination; passage phrase a "nursing female image," and attempt to identify the two pagan characters represented by this cryptic wording. Saul Lieberman, one of the leading scholars who attempted to answer this question, was of the opinion that this phrase refers to Isis nursing her son Horus ("Harpocrates" in Greek).2 Because the pair Isis-Sarapis was extremely common during the time of the Roman empire and especially in the second century C.E.,the listing of Sarapis after the "nursing female image" probably led Lieberman to conclude that this

'tos. 'Abod. Zar. 5(6):1 (ed. Moshe Shemouel Zuckermandel, 468). The term 1p'3 follows MS Erfurt, while the version in MS Vienna is np'%(. The latter is preferable. This passage in the Tosefta almost certainly belongs to the second century C.E.Although this dictum is unattributedin the Tosefta, b. 'Abod. Zar. states that R. Judah taught the baraita concerning the nursing female image or Sarapis (see b. 'Abod. Zar. 43a, and Shraga Abramson, Tractate 'Abodah Zarah of the Babylonian Talmud [New York: Jewish Theological Seminary of America] 77). "R. Judah"is R. Judahbar Ilai, a fourth-generationTanna, who was active in the Land of Israel in the Usha generation (second century C.E.). 2Saul Lieberman, Hellenism in Jewish Palestine (New York: Jewish Theological Seminary of America, 1962) 136. Actually, he was not the first to note the connection between the nursing female image and Isis. See Isidore L6vy, "N6bo, Hadaranet S6rapis dans l'apologie du Pseudo-Meliton," RHR 20 (1899) 373 n. 6; Marcus Jastrow, A Dictionary of the Targumim,the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi,and the Midrashic Literature (London: Luzac, 1903; repr., Jerusalem: Horev, 1985) 103, s.v. "o,', ' -o,"; Heinrich Blaufuss, Gitter, Bilder und Symbole nach den Traktakeniiber fremden Dienst (Nuremberg: Buchdruckerei von J. L. Stich, 1910) 19; Jacob Levy, Worterbuch iiber die Talmudimund Midraschim (vol. 3; Berlin: Harz, 1924) col. 107a.

HTR 96:2 (2003) 239-50

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character can be none other than Isis.3 Furthermore, Isis nursing Horus (Isis Lactans) is a quite well-known motif in Hellenistic-Roman sculpture.4 Lieberman concluded from this that Isis, like Sarapis, is "specifically mentioned" in Rabbinic literature.5 Although this assertion would be correct regarding Sarapis, who is mentioned by name both in the Tosefta and in the Babylonian Talmud,6 the name "Isis" and similar theophoric names, such as' Ioiag and 'IYicopog, are absent from Rabbinic literature. Other scholars who have discussed this issue have followed Lieberman in arguing that the phrase "nursing female image" refers to Isis.7 The question that must be asked is whether this conclusion can withstand geographical-historical scrutiny. When the Rabbis of the Land of Israel mention the "nursing female image," they are voicing their opposition to a religious-ritual phenomenon apparently prevalent among the pagans there. This posed a religious threat to Jews and thus merited the attention of the halakhah. This attests to the

3Plutarch,De Isi. et Osi. 28.361 and many more. For the affinity between Isis and Sarapis, already in the Hellenistic period, see Robert Turcan, Les cultes orientaux dans le monde romain (2d rev. ed.; Paris: Les belles lettres, 1992) 78-79. 4RogerPackman Hinks, "Isis Suckling Horus," The British Museum Quarterly 12 (1937-1938) 74-75; John Ducey Cooney, "Harpocrates,the Dutiful Son," Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art (1972) 284-90; Vincent Tran Tam Tinh, Isis Lactans-Corpus des monuments greco-romains d'Isis allaitant Harpocrate (EPRO 37; Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1973); idem, "De nouveau Isis Lactans," in Hommages a' M. J. Vermaseren(EPRO 68; Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1978) 3:1231-68, pls. 226-49, figs. 1-56. The expression, the "nursingfemale image," usually refers to Isis nursing her son Horus; however, on occasion we see Isis nursing the bull Apis. See G. J. F. Kater-Sibbes and Marteen J. Vermaseren,Apis I (EPRO 48; Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1975) no. 106; no. 141, pl. 81. According to the BT interpretationof the baraita, it is proven that the nursing female image to which R. Judah bar Ilai referred is that of a woman nursing her son. See 'Abod. Zar. 43a; Rashi ad loc., s.v. meniqah: "A woman nursing a son." It may also be noted that in the first century C.E.,men commonly wore rings bearing depictions of Harpocratesand Egyptian gods. See Shua Amorai-Stark,"Isis in the Art of Gems of the Hellenistic-Roman Period," Ph.D. diss. (Hebrew), Hebrew University, Jerusalem, 1988, 13 (primary sources). 5Lieberman,Hellenism, 136. 6b. 'Abod.Zar. 43a. In this source, the tradition regardingthe nursing female image and Sarapis is transmittedby R. Judah bar Ilai (see above, n. 1). The fact that R. Judah taught this exegesis is apparently a further proof that the tradition of the nursing female image originated in the Egyptian cults, since R. Judah bar Ilai was known to be a sage who possessed a number of traditions pertaining to Egypt and its religions. See Gen. Rab. 87 (ed. Judah Theodor and Chanoch Albeck, 1071-72); Cant. Rab. 1:1 (ed. Shimshon Dunsky, 1). For a theoretical and historical interpretation of this tradition, see Samuel Tobias Lachs, "An Egyptian Festival in Canticles Rabba," JQR 46 (1960) 47-54. For other traditionsrelating to Egypt that were transmittedby R. Judah,see tos. Kippurim 2:5 (ed. Lieberman, 231-32); y. Yoma6:6, 43(d); tos. Sukkah4:6 (ed. Lieberman, 273-74). It is our opinion that R. Judah's frame of reference for the nursing female image is not Egypt, but rather the Land of Israel. R. Judah's halakhic stance on this issue almost certainly derives from the fact that the nursing female image comprised a quite common and widespread religious-ritual phenomenon in the second century C.E.Gentile community in the Land of Israel, as reflected in Rabbinic literature.We will show (below) that the cult of Isis Lactans did not exist in the Land of Israel in the Roman period. 7Thus,for instance, Zeev Wolff Rabinowitz, Sha 'are TorathBabel: Notes and Commentson the Babylonian Talmud(ed. Ezra Zion Melamed; Jerusalem:Jewish Theological Seminary of America, 1961) 182 (Hebrew); Martin Hengel, Judaism and Hellenism: Studies in Their Encounter in Palestine during the Early Hellenistic Period (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1973) 1:158; David Flusser, "Paganism in Palestine," in Compendia Rerum Iudaicarum ad Novum Testamentum(ed. Shemuel Safrai et al.; Amsterdam:Van Gorcum, 1976) 2:1085; GerardMussies, "The InterpretatioJudaica of Sarapis,"in Studies in Hellenistic Religions (ed. MarteenJ. Vermaseren;EPRO 78; Leiden: Brill,

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importance and extent of the phenomenon of the "nursing female image" among the diverse peoples found in urban centers. If we were to accept the conclusion drawn by Lieberman and like-minded scholars that this "nursing female figure" should be identified with Isis, we would expect to find that the cult of Isis was common in the Land of Israel during the time of the Mishnah and Talmud, at least as widespread as the cult of Sarapis there in the Roman period. Important archaeological finds attest to the broad geographical scope of the Sarapis cult in the Hellenistic-Roman period.8 Quite surprisingly, however, finds from this period attesting to the cult of Isis in the Land of Israel are extremely rare,9 even though it is considered to be one of the most widespread pagan cults in the Mediterranean basin during the Roman period.10Furthermore, the rare finds of the Isis cult that originate from the Land of Israel do not provide evidence of the existence of an Isis Lactans (nursing Isis) cult.

0 The Isis Lactans Cult in the Land of Israel and Surroundings in the Roman Period
Ashkelon provides some of the few Roman period testimonies to the presence of the cult of Isis-Harpocrates in the region." These finds included seven figurines of Harpocrates and

1977) 191-92; Mireille Hadas-Lebel, "Le Paganisme a travers les sources rabbiniques des IIe et IIIe si&cles --Contribution g l'6tude du syncr6tisme dans l'empire romain," in ANRWII, 19.2 (ed. Wolfgang Haase and Hildegard Temporini;New York: de Gruyter, 1979) 406; Jacob Neusner, The Tosefta,IV:Neziqin (New York:Ktav, 1981) 329; MargaretteSchltiter, "Deraqon" und Gitzendienst; Studien zur antikenjiidischen Religionsgeschichte, ausgehend von einem griechischen Lehnwortin MAZIII, 3, Judentum und Umwelt (Frankfurta.M.: P. Lang, 1982) 4:128-29; Joshua Efron, "The Deed of Simon Son of Shatah in Ascalon," in A. Kasher, Canaan, Philistia, Greece and Israel: Relations of the Jews in Eretz-Israel with the Hellenistic Cities (332 BCE-70CE)(Jerusalem:Yad Itzhak Ben Zvi Press, 1988) 315 (Hebrew); Gideon Bohak, "Rabbinic Perspectives on Egyptian Religion," ARG2 (2000) 228; CorinneBehar, "Les t6moignages du culte de S6rapis dans la palestine et le traitdAboda Zara," REJ 161 (2002) 568. 'See Emmanuel Friedheim, "Pagan Cults in Roman Palestine," M.A. thesis, Ramat-Gan(1995) 199-201 (Hebrew). For a general survey of the deployment of the Sarapis worship in Syria and Lebanon, see idem, 201-3. 9See Friedheim, "Pagan Cults," 10-18. 1'For general surveys of the spread of the Egyptian cult throughout the Roman empire, see Turcan,Les cultes orientaux, 83-104; FranqoiseDunand, Le culte d'Isis dans le bassin oriental de la Miditerannde (EPRO 26; 3 vols.; Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1973); Michel Malaise, "La diffusion des cultes 6gyptiens dans les provinces europ6ennes de l'empire romain," in ANRW II, 17.3 (ed. W. Haase and H. Temporini;New York: de Gruyter, 1984) 1615-92. "Isis appears on coins of Roman Ashkelon, standing on three lions, or lion's heads, holding a scepter and whip. See Yaakov Meshorer, City-Coins of Eretz-Israel and the Decapolis in the Roman Period (Jerusalem:The Israel Museum, 1985) 28, no. 52 (Marcus Aurelius period 161-180 C.E.); Mayer Rosenberger, City-Coins of Palestine (vol. 2; Jerusalem:Mayer Rosenberger, 1975) 66, no. 232 (230-231 C.E.).Seyrig, however, maintains that these depictions are of Osiris, and not of Isis; see Henri Seyrig, "Heliopolitana,"Bulletin du Musde de Beyrouth 1 (1937) 90 n. 2. A column was discovered in Ashkelon depicting the mythological scene of Isis searching for her brother-husband Osiris, with the emperor Caracalla (211-217 C.E.)appearing as Harpocratesbehind her. See Henri Seyrig, "La qu&ted'Osiris," Syria 32 (1955) 46 n. 2. The excavations in Ashkelon also yielded a Roman statue of Isis, with her son Harpocrates standing next to her; see Raphael Savignac, in Ascalon," RB 14 (1905) 426-28; John Garstang, "Askalon II. Roman "D6couverte d'une statue Period," PEFQS (1924) 28. Isis in Ashkelon is also mentioned in a second century C.E.papyrus

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two of Isis nursingher son'2thataredatedto the fourthcenturyB.C.E.13 Withthe exception of these two statuettesfromthe Persian-Hellenistic period,we possess no proof of the existence of the Isis Lactans cult in Roman-periodAshkelon. An inscribedgem fromthe firstcenturyC.E. thatdepicts Isis nursingher son Harpocrates was discovered in Roman Gadarain Transjordan.14To the present,this gem constitutes the sole proof for the existence of Isis Lactans worship in the Land of Israel in this period. This find closely correspondsto the passage in the Tosefta, since this gem was probablyan integralpartof a ring from the firstcenturyC.E., quite close to the period in which R. Judah bar Ilai was active. It shouldnot be concluded, however, on the basis of this one find that an official rite of Isis Lactansexisted in Roman Gadara.In contrastwith numismaticfinds, the presence of a gem is no proof of the existence of the cult at thatlocation; it was quite likely broughttherefrom anotherlocation where the Isis cult was practiced.Gems can attestto the presence of cult practicesif the same paganmotif appearson a numberof gems at the site, or if otherevidence confirmsthe gemological finds.No othercorroboratory evidence - literary, numismatic,or archaeologicalfinds- of the Isis Lactans cult exists in Roman Gadara.The lone figure of Harpocratesappearson two additionalgems,'5 and a statue of this mythical figure from the Roman period was unearthedin the city.16 However, the evidence is slim to supportthe existence of an Isis Lactans cult in Roman Gadara. Other finds there include a torso from the late Hellenistic or Early Roman period uncovered in Berytus (the present-dayBeirut) depicts a goddess holding an infant in her left hand,while expressingmilk fromherbreastwith herrighthand.This scene is reminiscentof Isis nursingher son Horus-Harpocrates. However, S6bastienRonzevalle maintainsthat we cannot confidentlyidentify this as Isis since the find is incomplete and since the goddess is not actuallynursingher child, who seems to be asleep.17 Dura-Europos, on the easternbank of the Euphrates,yielded a depiction of Isis nursingHorus,18 and a Roman period statuette of Isis nursingHorus was unearthedin Tafas in northernSyria.19 To the present, these are the only Roman period finds from the religious expanse of Syria, Phoenicia, and the Land of Israel thatpresent Isis nursingher son Harpocrates. In a studyof considerableimportance,FranqoiseDunandcollected all the findsindicative of the existence of a cult of Isis throughoutthe easternMediterranean basin. She concludes
from Oxyrhyncus; see BernardP. Grenfell and Arthur S. Hunt, "Graeco-EgyptianLiterary Papyri 1380-Invocation of Isis," in The Oxyrhyncus Papyri (London: Egypt Exploration Fund, 1915) 11:190. None of these sources, however, shows Isis nursing Harpocrates. 12John Henry Iliffe, "A Hoardof Bronzes from Askalon c. FourthCentury B.C.," QDAP 5 (1936) 64 and pl. XXXI, nos. 4-5. 13Iliffe, "A Hoard of Bronzes from Askalon," 61: "It seems clear that the bronzes are of the same approximatedate as the pottery, i.e., about the fourth century B.C." 14Martin Henig and Mary Whiting, Engraved Gems from Gadara in Jordan: The Sa'd Collection of Intaglios and Cameos (Oxford: Oxford University Committee for Archaeology, 1984) 24,

no. 219.

'5Ibid.,24, nos. 217-18. '6ThomasWeber, "Gadaraof the Decapolis: Preliminary Report of the 1990 Season at Umm Qeis," ADAJ 35 (1991) 231, pl. 111:2. '7S6bastienRonzevalle, "D6esses syriennes: 2. D6esse-Mere de Beyrouth," MUSJ 12 (1927) 161-62. J. F. Kater-Sibbes, Preliminary Catalogue of Sarapis Monuments(EPRO 36; Leiden: Brill, 18G. 1973) 80, no. 456. Tam Tinh, Isis Lactans, 77, no. A-29. 19Tran

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thatthe evidence for Isis worshipduringthe Romanperiodin the Landof Israelis extremely sparse.20 RobertA. Wild has comprehensivelyresearchedall of the known temples of Isis and Sarapisthat were active throughoutthe Roman empire, but found no Isaeum or Serapeum in the Landof Israel.21VincentTranTamTinhexamined all the known Greco-Roman depictionsof Isis nursingher son Harpocrates, assemblingan extensive corpusof finds from Englandto Mesopotamia,includingAfrica,Anatolia,andotherregions. In the Landof Israel he found no traceof Isis nursingHarpocrates,except for the fourth-centuryB.C.E. example from Ashkelon previously discussed.22 The sole finds from the time of the Roman empire in the area that depicts Isis nursing Harpocratesare, as was noted, the gem from Gadara and the two statuettes--one from Tafas and the other from Dura-Europos,both in Syria. It would thereforeappearthat R. Judahbar Ilai did not refer to Isis nursing Horus when he spoke of the "nursingfemale image," since the type of Isis Lactans is extremely rarein the Syrian-Phoenician expanse duringthe time of Romanrule in general and is entirely absent from the periodunderdiscussion.The questionthen arises:who arethe divinities cryptically referredto by this puzzling expression? 0

Nysa Nursing Dionysus in Baalbek and Beth Shean in the Roman Era

The nursingfemale and infant image were most likely to be located within the cult of Dionysus-Bacchus,the Greco-Romangod of wine, whose worship was quite widespreadin the Landof Israelandits surroundings in the Romanperiod.Numerous archaeologicalremains relatedto this cult have been uncoveredat many Romansites.23 The city of Scythopolis/Beth Shean was unquestionablythe most importanturban center practicing this cult,24 while
Le culte d'Isis, III, 132. 20Dunand,

Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land (ed. Ephraim Stern; Jerusalem:Is-

A. Wild,"TheKnown Sanctuaries fromtheRoman ANRW 21Robert Period," II, 17.4 Isis-Sarapis New York: de Gruyter, (ed.W.HaaseandH. Temporini; 1984)1754. 22Tran TamTinh,Isis Lactans,8-9 n. 9. The few findsthat emphasizethis scene belong to the pre-Roman see Nachman TheNew period;for the findsin Mechmesh, Avigad,"Mechmesh," raelExploration in Tel Megadim: Society,1992)3:944(Hebrew); MagenBroshi,"TelMegadim," 89 (1987)61 (Hebrew); in Atlit:CedricNorman Johns,"Excavations Newsletter) (Archaeological at Atlit (1930-1931)," Lohamei QDAP22 (1933)62, no. 312, fig. 18, pl. 17;in Kibbutz Hagetaot: Baruch "APhoenician Scarab fromLohamei Brandl, Atiqot22 (1991) 153-55.In sum, Hagetaot," the decisivemajority of archaeological findsfromtheLandof Israelrelating to thecult specifically of Isis Lactans belongto periodsmuchearlierthanthe Roman period. remainsattesting to the cult of Dionysusin the Landof Israelin the Roman 23Archaeological have been foundin Caesarea Maritima, Ashkelon,Raphia,SheikhZuperiodandin Transjordan Aelia Erez,Diospolis-Lydda, (in Samaria), wayd,Sepphoris, ha-Ayin, Turmus-'Aya Antipatris/Rosh andPetra. Gadara, Reisha,Kanatha, Gerasa, Esbus/Heshbon, Madaba, Capitolina, Capitolias/Bet See Friedheim, 62-74. Cults," "Pagan Nat. Hist. 5.74; Dionysusappears on the city coins. See GeorgeFrancisHill, "Some 24pliny,
Palestinian Cults in the Graeco-Roman Age," Proceedings of the British Academy 5 (1911-1912) 4-5; Meshorer,City-Coins of Eretz-Israel, 40, no. 105 (period of Antoninus Pius, 138-161 c.E.), 41 The New Encyclopedia, 1100; in Tel Marissa: Amos Kloner, "Marissa,"Hadashot Arkheologiyot

Haases and H. Temporini;New York: de Gruyter, 1977) 275; idem, "Notes d'6pigraphie grecque III: Autel de Dionysos au th6atre de Skythopolis (Beisan) en Palestine," ZPE 6 (1970) 62, pl. Va.

no. 107 (timeof Commodus, 180-192 c.E.),42, no. 109 (207 c.E.),42 no. 110 (241 c.E.),42 nos. "Greek in the Hellenistic Cultsin Beth-Shean/Scythopolis 110a, 112 (241 c.E.); AsherOvadiah, andRoman Erlsr 12 (1975) 122-23 (Hebrew); Baruch Periods," L'histoire, Lifshitz,"Scythopolis: les institutions et les cultesde la ville B l'6poquehell6nistique et imperiale," ANRW II,8 (ed. W.

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in Syria and Lebanon, it was Heliopolis-Baalbek and surroundings.25 In fact, Mercurius Heliopolitanus,the second male memberof the Heliopolitantriadthatwas dominantin the pantheonof this Lebanesecity, was identifiedwith Dionysus, as RonzevalleandHenriSeyrig A temple dedicatedto Mercury-Dionysuswas discovered and excavated in demonstrated.26 Baalbek, close to the centraltemple of JupiterHeliopolitanus.27 It is noteworthythat nursing occupied a prominentplace in the urbanreligious life of the cities in the region in which the worship of Dionysus was dominant.The iconography of nursingpossessed considerableimportanceboth in Heliopolis-Baalbek,where Mercuryand in Scythopolis/BethShean, where the Dionysus formed partof the Heliopolitantriad28 Two large reliefs were uncovered worship of Dionysus comprisedthe central urbancult.29 thatflankedthe staircaseleading to the cella of the temple of Mercury-Dionysusat Heliopolis-Baalbek. In the relief to the right, we see Maenadnursing the infant Dionysus with her legs entwinedin a grapevine,30 and in the left relief, the birthof Dionysus from the thigh of

l'6poque romaine,"Syria 39 (1962) 209-10 [= Antiquitis syriennes, 6 (Paris: Paul Geuthner, 1966) 116-17]. For the sculpting, see HadashotArkheologiyot (Archaeological Newsletter) 1 (1961) 12-13 (Hebrew); Lifshitz, "Scythopolis: L'histoire," 275; Gideon Foerster and Yoram Tsafrir,"A Statue of Dionysos as a Youth Recently Discovered at Beth-Shean," Qad 89-90 (1990) 52-54 (Hebrew). For a general survey of the cult of Dionysus in Beth Shean, see also Yehudit Tornheim and Asher Ovadiah, "Dionysus in Beth-Shean," Cathedra Quarterly 71 (1994) 21-34 (Hebrew). 25Thus,in Hierapolis-Bambyce, Berytus, Damascus, 'Ain-El-Goug (near Baalbek), Hermel, Beshouat, Niha, and Ra'hle (on Mt. Hermon). For bibliographical references, see Friedheim, "Pagan Cults," 73-74. Ronzevalle, "Notes d'arch6ologie orientale,"MUSJ 10 (1925) 215-17; idem, MUSJ 26S6bastien 15 (1930-1931) 158-61; Ronzevalle, MUSJ 21 (1937) 130; Henri Seyrig, "Latriadehdliopolitaine et les temples de Baalbek,"Syria 10 (1929) 348-53 [= idem, in Scripta Varia:Milanges d'archdologie et d'histoire (ed. E. Will; Paris: P. Geuthner, 1985) 42-47]. 27Ronzevalle,"Notes d'archdologie orientale"; Seyrig, "La triade h61iopolitaineet les temples de Baalbek";Youssef Hajjar,La triade d'Hiliopolis-Baalbek, 3 (Montreal, 1985) 339-41. 28Thegeographical distribution of the Heliopolitan triad throughout the Roman empire was extremely broad; see Turcan,Les cultes orientaux, 153-56; Hajjar,La triade d'Hiliopolis-Baalbek, 1, 348-78; idem, La triade d'Hdliopolis-Baalbek (vol. 2; Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1977) 523-58; idem, "Baalbek: Grand centre religieux sous l'empire," ANRWII, 18.4 (ed. W. Haase and H. Temporini; New York:de Gruyter, 1990) 2501-08. 291t is noteworthy that the cult of Dionysus was perceived as the most importanturbancult in the childhood. We do not see, however, Tyche, the city-goddess, nursing the infant Dionysus; at most, we can discern Tyche holding the infant Dionysus in her arms, without suckling him. See Ya'akov Meshorer,"Monnaiesde Raphia,"Revue numismatique18, 6eme sdrie (1976) 60, 63, no. 2 (178-179 C.E.)no. 7 (same year), no. 10 (180-181 C.E.);66, no. 43; Meshorer, City-Coins of Eretz-Israel, 32. Some of the city coins depict Dionysus being born from the thigh of Zeus; see Meshorer,"Monnaies de Raphia."For Raphia as the birthplace of Dionysus, see Seyrig, "La triade h61iopolitaine,"321. To the present, there is no evidence that the depiction of Dionysus being nursed was prevalent in Raphia during the Roman period. However, the religious importance that this city ascribed to the childhood of this god enables us to assume that the myth of Nysa nursing the infant Dionysus was most likely known here as well. Furthermore,numerous mosaic pavements that were unearthedin the excavations of Antioch in Syria contain scenes from the life of Dionysus, including Hermes entrusting the baby Dionysus to the care of the nymphs of Mount Nysa; see Glanville Downey, Ancient Antioch (Princeton:Princeton University Press, 1963) 206. 30Seyrig,"La triade hdliopolitaine,"319, fig. 1.

see See also Ovadiah, GreekCults, 122; for an additional inscription relatingto Zeus-Bacchus, idem, 123; and for an opposingview, see HenriSeyrig,"Notessur les cultes de Scythopolisa

Roman in Raphia as well.Thecity coinsalsodepicta number of scenesrelated to Dionysus's period

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his fatherZeus might be reconstructed.31 Visible in the ceiling of the temple are two figures of Tyche, the Greek goddess of luck, nursinginfants.32 It is highly probablethat the babies in tableaux these appearing representDionysus. Supportfor this conclusion comes from the fact thatthe many scenes in the temple of Dionysus in Baalbek that depict the mythological life of this god mainly emphasize Dionysus's childhood.33 Similarly, nursing was afforded an importantplace in the cult of Dionysus in Beth Shean as well. Pliny the Elder (firstcenturyC.E.) notes that Scythopolis had formerlybeen called Nysa, afterDionysus's wet nurse, who was buriedthere next to him.34 Nysa appears a numberof times on the city's coins from the thirdcentury C.E.as the goddess of the city who is identifiedwith the Greek Tyche, depicted as nursing the infant Dionysus.35Nysa's connection with Beth Shean is, therefore, not only mythological, but also cultic. Yoram TsafrirandGideon Foerstermaintainthatthe temple thatwas uncoveredin the excavations of Roman Beth Shean was also dedicated to Nysa and not exclusively to Dionysus.36As these numismaticfinds demonstrate,Tyche-Nysa was perceived in Roman Scythopolis, as in Baalbek, as a full-fledged centralcultic figure from the first to the thirdcenturies C.E. Seyrigmentionsthatnursinghadvenerablecultic significancein the worshipof Dionysus andlaterin the performanceof his mysteries.37 In the archaicperiod, none of the Greekgods seemed so close to the fertile, flourishing,andwild world of natureas Dionysus.38 The act of
the nymphs nursing Dionysus was initially intended to accelerate and advance the fertility of

the earth,which the infant Dionysus represented.39 In the Roman period, the religious role 31Ibid.
32Ibid.,352; Hajjar,La triade d'Hdliopolis-Baalbek, 1, 331; Nina Jidejian, Baalbek-Heliopolis- "Cityof the Sun" (Beirut: Dar el-Machreq Publishers, 1975) 284. For the terra-cottastatuette discovered in Baalbek that depicts a goddess nursing an infant, see ibid., 285. For a monumental relief in Baalbek which depicts Tyche/Atargatisnursing Dionysus as seen until the end of the eighteenth century, see Louis-Franqois Cassas, Voyagepittoresque de la Syrie, de la Phdnicie et de la Basse-Egypte, Paris 2:1797-1801, pl. no. 34. 33Seyrig,"La triade hdliopolitaine," 321. Nat. Hist. 5.74. Avi-Yonah asserts that the name "Nysa" refers to the niece of Antiochus 34pliny, IV; see Michael Avi-Yonah, "Scythopolis,"in The Beth-Shean Valley(Jerusalem:Israel Exploration Society, 1962) 54 (Hebrew). It should be recalled, however, that Pliny's book was published in 77 C.E.,and he, too, undoubtedly based this passage on ancient traditions concerning the founding of Beth Shean. It would seem, therefore, that the connection between the geographical name Nysa and the woman by this name nursing Dionysus is quite early, and was already known in the time of Pliny. It should be noted in this context that the Beth Shean excavations yielded an altar dated to 141-142 C.E.dedicated to "the god Dionysus, the founder."See YoramTsafrirand Gideon Foerster, "TheHebrewUniversity Excavations at Beth-Shean 1980-1994," Qad 107-108 (1995) 99 (Hebrew). According to Di Segni, Dionysus was perceived as the city's founder only beginning in the second century C.E.See Leah Di Segni, "A Dated Inscription from Beth-Shean and the Cult of Dionysus Ktistes in Roman Scythopolis," Scripta Classica Israelica 16 (1997) 144-46. It is significant that in the Tannaiticperiod the city of Beth Shean considered Dionysus its founder, and therefore the name "Nysa" almost certainly refers to Dionysus's legendary nurse. City-Coins of Eretz-lsrael, 42, nos. 110-110a (241 C.E.);see ChristianAugd, "Di35Meshorer, vinit6s et mythologies sur les monnaies de la Ddcapole," MdB 22 (1982) 44. and Foerster, The Hebrew University, 102-3. 36Tsafrir 37Seyrig,"La triade hdliopolitaine," 322-23. Jean Festugiere, "Les mysteres de Dionysos," RB 44 (1935) 193-94. 38Andr6 39Seyrig,"La triade hdliopolitaine," 322. See also Theodora Hadzisteliou Price, Kourotrophos: Cults and Representations of Greek Nursing Deities (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1978) 19, 200-3; Sylvie Vilatte, "La nourrice grecque: Une question d'histoire sociale et religieuse," L'antiquitdclassique 60 (1991) 27.

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of nursing was apparently not limited to this purpose, but also contained important elements of the mysteries of the god, which assured the believer of material happiness in this world and eternal life after death. Seyrig was of the opinion that the infant Dionysus accordingly represented those goals as a young god who had undergone two births, both a natural and a divine one.40 Seyrig lists many examples from throughout the Roman empire that accentuate the importance of nursing among the various aspects of the mysteries that honored this god.41 He searched for a common denominator between the appearance of Tyche-Nysa and Dionysus in Beth Shean and the Tyche in Baalbek (who, in his opinion, is also Nysa) who nurses Dionysus.42 In another article, Seyrig argues that the extensive spread of the cult of the Heliopolitan triad43in the Land of Israel during the Roman period also found expression in Beth Shean, thus the two city deities of Baalbek and Beth Shean who nurse Dionysus.44 In his view, these two city goddesses are merely a later, Greco-Roman manifestation of the Dea Syria, that is the Syrian Atargatis ('Atar'ata) (= the Phoenician Astarte), the female 40Seyrig,"Latriadehdliopolitaine,"323; Hadzisteliou Price, Kourotrophos;Vilatte, "La nourrice grecque." According to the mythological story, Dionysus was born twice. First, he was conceived by his human mother Semele who died before she gave birth. As she was dying, Zeus delivered Dionysus, and sewed him into his thigh so that the pregnancy would proceed normally. When his father Zeus gave birthto him, Dionysus was already immortal and the master of the gods. See Pierre Grimal, Dictionnaire de la mythologie grecque et romaine (11th ed.; Paris: Presses Universitaires de France, 1991) 126-27. The two dimensions, the human (happiness in this world) and the divine (eternal life after death) are therefore inherent and intertwined in the character of Dionysus from the time of his birth. For the manner of attaining eternal life in the cult of Dionysus, see Franz Cumont, After Life in Roman Paganism (New York: New Dover, 1959) 35. The various episodes connected with the childhood of Dionysus constitute a guide for those interested in attaining eternal life when they become "Bacchus," hence the importance of the motif of the nursing of Dionysus by the nymphs on many Roman-period sarcophagi; see Robert Turcan,Les sarcophages romains a reprdsentationsdionysiaques: Essai de chronologie et d'histoire religieuse (Paris: E. de Boccard, 1966) 430-31. 41Seyrig, "La triade hdliopolitaine," 323. Thus the mystery villa in Pompei clearly portrays a woman who is worshiping Dionysus and nursing a deer. See MargareteBieber, "The Mystery Frescoes in the Mystery Villa of Pompei," RR 2 (1937) 7, and many more. It is also noteworthy that in a few finds related to the cult of the Phrygian god Sabazius, who is identified with Dionysus, we discern a woman lying in a cave and nursing an infant. See ibid., 324. For the cultic significance of the nursing of Dionysus by the nymphs, and for the extent of the phenomenon throughout the Mediterraneanbasin in the Roman period, see ibid., 322 n. 3. 42Ibid.,352-53. 43Thecult of Jupiter Heliopolitanus was practiced in many places in the Land of Israel in the Hellenistic-Roman period. For Ptolemais/Akko, see EmmanuelFriedheim, "The Syrian Pagan Cults of Ptolemais-Akko during the Hellenistic and Roman Period" in Jerusalem and Eretz Israel-Arie Kindler Volume(ed. Joshua Schwartz, Zohar Amar, and Irit Ziffer; Ramat Gan: Ingeborg Rennert Center for Jerusalem Studies, Bar Ilan University and Eretz Israel Museum, Tel Aviv, 2000) 90-92 (Hebrew); for Caesarea: Lewis M. Hopfe, "Caesarea as a Religious Center,"ANRWII, 18.4 (New York: de Gruyter, 1990) 2388; for Neapolis-Shechem: Hajjar, Baalbek-Grand centre religieux, 2502; for Diospolis-Lydda: ibid.; Meshorer, City-Coins of Eretz-Israel, 55, no. 154 (time of Geta, for Nicopolis-Emmaus:see the extensive discussion: EmmanuelFriedheim,"Quelques 209-211 C.E.); ' remarques sur l'introduction du culte de Jupiter H6liopolitain Emmatis-Nicopolis h l'apoque roRB for Guvrin: 109 (2002) 101-8; maine," Meshorer, City-Coins of Eretz-Israel Eleutheropolis-Bet 64 no. 181 (208 C.E.)116; for Philippopolis-Shohba: Sebastien Ronzevalle, "JupiterHdliopolitain: Nova et Vetera,"MUSJ 21 (1937-1939) 25 and n. 2; for additional locations in which this cult was practiced in the Land of Israel and its environs in the Roman period, see Friedheim, "Pagan Cults," 136, 140-42, 144-49. 44Seyrig,"Notes sur les cultes de Scythopolis," 211.

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component of the Heliopolitan triad, who in Syria and in Phoenicia frequentlyrepresents the original essence of the city goddesses that are known by the name of Tyche in their Greek manifestation.45
0 RabbinicViews on Pagan Beth Shean, Baalbek, and the Worshipof Dionysus

The Rabbis were aware of the special religious importanceof Heliopolis-Baalbek, in that its temples were active the entire year, without respite.46 Adolphe Neubauerthinks that the If Neubaueris correct Rabbisalso mentionthe wine of Baalbek,which probablywas unique.47 in his assessment,48 this would explain the significanceof the cult of Dionysus-Bacchus, the Greco-Romangod of wine, in Baalbek and surroundings,and would show that the Rabbis were aware not only of the temples in Baalbek, but also of the importanceattributed to the cultivation of grapes in the region. The TannaimandAmoraimof the Landof Israel also knew thatBeth Shean was a pagan center.49 There is no proof that they were cognizant of the city's Greek name, Scythopolis,
45Seyrig,"La triade h61iopolitaine,"352-53. 46b. 'Abod.Zar. 11b:"R. HannabarR. Hisda said in the name of R. Hisda (and some say, R. Hanan bar Rabba said in the name of Rav): There are five appointed temples of idolatry, and they are [ ...] When R. Dimi came, he said that the marketplacein 'En-Beki was added to them" (according to the Spanish manuscript);the name "'En-Beki" undoubtedlyrefers to Baalbek. See the extensive discussion: Isidore L6vy, "Culteset rites syriens dans le Talmud,"REJ 43 (1901) 192-95; Saul Lieberman, "Palestine in the Third and Fourth Century,"JQR 37 (1946) 43; idem, Hellenism, 138 n. 96. This place was already known in the time of the Mishnah, by the name "Baal Bekhi"; see m. Maaserot 5:8; tos. Maaserot 3:15 (ed. Lieberman, 241); see also Saul Lieberman, Tosefta ki-Fshuta, Zeraim (2d ed.; Jerusalem: Jewish Theological Seminary of America and the Maxwell Abbell Publication Fund, 1992) 707. These sources do not relate to Baalbek as a religious center. Notwithstanding this, it should be noted that the religious center in Baalbek was very greatly enhanced, especially during the reigns of the emperorsAntoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius (138-180 C.E.),who supported in all possible ways the existence of the religious center there; see Turcan,Les cultes orientaux, 151; Hajjar,La triade d'Hiliopolis-Baalbek, 3, 325-26. In other words, in the Usha period (the time of those emperors) in which R. Judah bar Ilai was mainly active, the temples of Heliopolis-Baalbek comprised an extremely importantreligious center in Syria and the surroundingarea. Neubauer,La gdographiedu Talmud (Paris:Michel L6vy frbres,1868; repr.Hildesheim: 47Adolphe G. Holms, 1967) 298 and n. 1. 48Neubauer'sreasoning is based on the tradition brought by Eccl. Rab. 9:13 (1): "'This thing too I observed under the sun about wisdom'-R. Samuel bar Imi said: This is the thought of deceivers in their deception, such as: the one who adulterates water with wine, Balbeki with oil"; Sifra, De-Boreh de-Hovah 12: 22 (ed. Louis Finkelstein, 213); YalkutShim'oni, Lev. 479 (ed. Dov Hyman, 1, 191). Neubauer maintains that this is to be read as "Yayin Balbeki [Baalbek wine]." However, in all these versions, water is connected with wine, and Balbeki is connected with oil. Therefore, Neubauer's reading seems quite forced. For the importance of wine in Za'hle (in the vicinity of Ba'albek) until the twentieth century, see Michel Alouf, Histoire de Baalbek (5th ed.; Beirut: Al-Igtihad, 1928) 26. During the course of ritual meals that were conducted in Baalbek, it was customary to drink wine, which constituted an importantcomponent of the banquet ceremony; see Hajjar,La triade d'Hfliopolis-Baalbek, 3, 273, 279. Neubauer's proposal to read "YayinBalbeki [Baalbek wine]" is historically plausible, since the production of wine in Baalbek and its environs corresponds remarkablywell with the practice of the cult of Dionysus in the region. On the other hand, it would be difficult to find supportfor this proposal in the different versions in the midrashic sources, and it therefore should be regarded with care. 49m. 'Abod. Zar. 1:4. From the Palestinian Talmud we also learn of the observance of the Saturnalia festival in Beth Shean in the late third century C.E.;see y. 'Abod. Zar. 1:2, 39(c).

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familiarwith the city's otherGreekname, Nysa.5o but they were apparently Thus, the Rabbis of the Mishnah and Talmudmay also have been aware of the cult of Dionysus. Although this worship was widespreadin the Land of Israel and the surroundingregion in the Roman period--including cities such as Caesarea,Lydda, and Sepphoris--with large Jewish populations, there is no explicit mention of the names "Dionysus" or "Bacchus" in the Talmudicliterature.However, tracesof the cult of Dionysus can be found in the Mishnah.51 Pine cones were particularly associatedwith the cult of Dionysus,52 andarecentralobjects in his iconographicrepresentation. WilliamAlexanderLeslie Elmslie rightly linked the mishnaic wording "white figs" primarilywith the cult of Dionysus.53 Additionally,the Mishnah forbids the deriving of benefitfrom "hidespierced at the heart."Liebermanconcludes from this that the Rabbis "had in mind rites of the Mysteries of Demeter, Attis and Cybele."54 Mireille Hadas-Lebel and Liliane Vana attributedthis term to the worship of Dionysus.55 If this wording does indeed refer to the cult of Dionysus, then this constitutes additional evidence. These, in our opinion, demonstratethat the Rabbis were cognizant of the ritual ceremonies of the cult of Dionysus. 0 Conclusion R. Judahbar Ilai's ban of the "nursingfemale image" most probablydid not refer to Isis and Harpocrates, since the cult of the Egyptiangoddess hardlyexisted in the Land of Israel in the Roman period. In contrast,we have arguedthat the expression the "nursingfemale image" refers to Nysa nursingthe infant Dionysus. This mythological narrativewas firmly anchored in the religious-cultic consciousness of the inhabitantsof the Heliopolitan city of Baalbek and Nysa-Scythopolis (Beth Shean) in the Roman period.According to Seyrig, the phenomenon of nursing is one of the central features of the mysteries of Dionysus in Syria and the Land of Israel in Roman times. He argues that the beliefs common to these two centersundoubtedlycreatedan extremely close bond that allowed for the transference of the theology of the cults of Heliopolis-Baalbek from Lebanon to the Land of Israel in

50ob. 'Erub. 83a:"When R. Dimi came,he said thatBonios [Rashi: the person'sname]sent to Rabbia modius[a measure of volume]of artichokes thatcamefrom[theplace]Nausa." Rabbeinu Hananel reads: on BTEruvin83a,n.3. Scholarly research "from Soferim Nysa";see also Dikdukei in BTEruvinwith the city of Nausain Mesopotamia, identifies "Nausa" but the intent commonly in the Days mightpossiblybe to Nysa-BethShean,as is maintained by Zeev Safrai,"Shechem in ShimonDarandZeev Safrai,Shomron of MishnaandTalmud 63 B.C.E.-637 Studies(Tel C.E.," Aviv:Hakibbutz Hameuchad, 1986)84 n. 9; 117 (Hebrew). 'Abod. Zar.1:5 (MS Kaufmann) 51m. Alexander Leslie Elmslie,The Mishnahon Idolatry:'Aboda Zara, (ed. JosephA. 52William Text and Studies:Contributions to Biblicaland Patristic Robinson; Literature, 8, 2; Cambridge: Press,1911)9 n. b; MarcelLe Glay,La religionromaine (Paris,1991)228 University Cambridge n. 164;Hadas-Lebel, "LePaganisme," 448. TheMishnah on Idolatry, Su'ah." 53Elmslie, 9, s.v. "Benot 54Lieberman, Hellenism,119. "Le Paganisme," 445. LilianeVanasuggeststhat the termdoes not indicate 55Hadas-Lebel, thatthe animal's heartis removed whilethe animalis still alive, but she, too, drawsa connection betweenthis wordingandthe cult of Dionysus;in her opinion,the Rabbisreferred to a garment in madefromthe hide of the animalthatthe "Myste" wouldwearwhileconducting the mysteries honorof Dionysus.See LilianeVana, "LespeauxLebubine les ou la robedu Mystedans myst-res REJ156 (1997) 266-71. dionysiaques,"

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the Roman period.56 The image of Tyche-Nysa that appears in Beth Shean and in Baalbek is merely a Hellenized manifestation of the Syrian goddess 'Atar'ata-Atargatis, and the nursing Dionysus is none other than the Greek parallel of Mercurius Heliopolitanus (the Syrian Malakhbel) of Baalbek.57 In other words, Nysa (Atargatis) and Dionysus (Mercurius Heliopolitanus) represent two gods who are components of the Syrian-Lebanese triad of Heliopolis-Baalbek headed by Jupiter Heliopolitanus (the Syrian Hadad).58 It seems that the

56Seyrig,"Notes sur les cultes de Scythopolis," 211. 57Inthe Roman period, several cities in Syria and Phoenicia observed the cult of the ancient pagan triad composed in accordance with the following model. A supreme deity headed the triad, and was identified with the ancient thunder-god,the Syrian Hadad or the Phoenician Baal-shamin, who became the Roman Zeus-Jupiter,the Graeco-Roman thunder-god in the Hellenistic-Roman period. The second component was a goddess identified with the ancient goddess of fertility, the Syrian Atargatis or the Phoenician Astarte, who in the Hellenistic-Roman period became Aphrodite or Tyche, the city goddess (who at times bears various names, such as Asteria or Astronoe in Tyre, Asteria in Rabbath-Ammon, Baalath in Byblos, Venus Heliopolitana in Baalbek, and the like). The third element is that of a secondary god, representing a child or a child-god, known by the ancient name of Eshmun in Sidon, Adonis in Byblos, Mercury (possibly the original Malakhbel) in Baalbek, and Melqart in Tyre, who were all identified in the Roman period with Dionysus. See Henri Seyrig, "Les dieux de Hierapolis," Syria 37 (1960) 248-50 (= Antiquit6ssyriennes, 6 [Paris: P. Geuthner, 1966] 94-96). In Roman Beth Shean, the pagan triad was composed of the supreme god, Zeus (Hadad); the feminine element, Nysa-Tyche (Atargatis); and the child-god, the infant Dionysus (Mercury). In Beth Shean and in Baalbek, the female figure is nursing the secondary element. Interestingly, nursing scenes also appearin portrayalsof the triad of Tyre. A relief uncovered in the city depicts a woman giving birth and an infant nursing from a doe. The woman is AstronoeAsteria, and the infant is Heracles-Melqart.On the back of the doe is a vulture that almost certainly i grecque et romaine," Syria represents Zeus. See Henri Seyrig, "Les grands dieux de Tyr l'apoque 40 (1963) 23-24 (= Antiquites syriennes, 6 [Paris: P. Geuthner, 1966] 125-26). The Tyrian pagan triad was therefore composed of a supreme god bearing the name Zeus (Baal-shamin), his female partnernamedAsteria-Astronoe(the Hellenized Astarte), and a god-child namedHeracles (Melqart). This triad is known to us from literary sources; see Eudox. Cnid. ad. Athen. 9:47, 392d; Cicero, De nat. deor. 3:16:42. Like Dionysus, Heracles-Melqart was perceived as the god responsible for the fertility of the earth, and this perception is at the basis of the nursing scene depicted on this relief. It should also be mentioned that a doe nursing a baby appears on Roman period city coins of Damascus. See Felicien de Saulcy, Numismatique de la terre sainte, (Paris: Rotschild, 1874) 47 no. 7, 51 no. 7 (the period of Trebonianus Gallus, 251-253 C.E.)and passim. The nursing infant and the goddess representedby the doe have not been identified; this divinity may represent a local type of the Syrian goddess, and the nursing infant, Heracles or Dionysus, who, incidentally, appear on the city coins of Damascus. It should also be recalled that the cult of Dionysus was of considerable importance in Damascus; see Turcan,Les cultes orientaux, 290. At any rate, it seems that two elements of a local pagan triad also make their appearancein Damascus. It seems that R. Judahbar Ilai did refer to these two elements when he spoke of the "nursingfemale image." Since, however, the outstanding example in the Land of Israel of such an image refers to Nysa and Dionysus, it may reasonably be assumed that R. Judah bar Ilai related more to those cults that existed in the locations of pagan activity that were known to the Rabbis of the Mishnah than to some other cult of a goddess and a child-god, such as Asteria and Heracles, whose cult, as a triad, was not, to the best of our knowledge, observed in the Land of Israel. 58Itshould be mentioned at this point that the Rabbis were quite knowledgeable regarding Merqulis, i.e., Mercury;see m. 'Abod.Zar.4:1-2; tos. 'Abod.Zar. 6:13-18 (ed. Zuckermandel,470-71); y. 'Abod. Zar. 4:1, 43(c-d); y. Sanh. 5:1, 22(d); b. Ber. 57b; 'Abod. Zar. 42a, 50a, 51a, 64a, and many more sources. According to Lieberman, the Mercury described in the Rabbinic literature is Mercurius Heliopolitanus; see Lieberman, "Palestine in the Third and Fourth Century,"43. Since MercuriusHeliopolitanus is identified with the Greek Dionysus, it may be surmised that the Rabbis knew of Dionysus from the cult of Mercury as well.

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Rabbis used the phrase"nursingfemale image" to refer to Nysa-Atargatis,Dionysus, and, indirectly,to the cult of JupiterHeliopolitanus. In light of the fact that nursing constituted an importantpart of the mysteries in the cult of Dionysus, since the nursing of Dionysus representedthe renewal of nature, the fertility of the earth, and rebirth after death, this identificationis well suited to the religious-cultic reality of Gentiles in the Land of Israel at the time of the Mishnah and Talmud.59

andLydda in theLandof Israelsuchas Caesarea thatJewishcenters it should be added 59Finally, remains fromthe Romanperiodthatattestto the existenceof the archeological yieldedintriguing
cults of JupiterHeliopolitanus, Atargatis and Astarte, Dionysus and Sarapis; see Friedheim, "Pagan in the Roman period; see Adrien Brtihl, Liber Pater: Origine et expansion du culte dionysiaque ai combination of "the nursing female image and Sarapis?"

was well known combination Cults,"31-2, 35, 62-74, 136, 142, 199-201. The Dionysus-Sarapis

this explainsthe Romeet dansle monderomain (Paris: E. de Boccard1953) 16, 250-52. Perhaps

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