already touched on Fear as a participant in battle, but elsewhere in theIliadhe very
briefly takes on a more substantial character as ‘‘dear son’’ of Ares (13.299), whose
chariot he and Terror yoke at the war-god’s command (15.119–20). The two
brothers become Ares’ actual charioteers in the sixth-century poem theShield of
Heracles(463–5), when the god goes into battle against Heracles to avenge the
death of his son Kyknos. Fear (alone) is identified by an inscription as Ares’ charioteer
in this context on an Attic black-figure oinochoe of 540–530 BC attributed to Lydos
(Berlin F1732), on analogy with which he can be recognized in half a dozen more
versions of the scene from the last third of the sixth century. Fear completely vanishes
from the visual arts after this, but is certainly attested as a figure of cult around 450
BC, when he is one of the gods thanked in an inscription from Selinous (IGxiv 268)
for victory in battle, and sacrifices to Fear on the eve of a battle are mentioned, for
example, by Plutarch (Theseus27;Alexander31). The same author attests a sanctuary
of Fear at Sparta, commenting that the Spartans had established it ‘‘near to the
ephors’ dining room, when they elevated this office nearly as high as a monarchy’’
(Cleomenes9), which helps to date the cult as early as the mid-sixth century (Richer
2005a; cf. 1999a and 1998b).
A sixth-century date could also be suggested for the cult of Youth, though the
evidence is not conclusive. Like Fear, she has Olympian parentage, as daughter of
Zeus and Hera, and she plays a minor part in theIliad, performing such menial tasks
on Olympus as pouring nectar, preparing Hera’s chariot, and bathing the wounded
Ares (Iliad4.2–3, 5.722, 5.905). She acquires a more significant role, however, when
she becomes part of Heracles’ story as the wife with whom ‘‘he lives happily in the
fine seat of snowy Olympus’’ after completing his labors (Homeric Hymn15.7–8).
There is some debate over the earliest literary attestations of the story, but the
marriage is unambiguously depicted in art from ca. 600 BC, with examples from
Paros and Samos, as well as the Peloponnese and Attica, demonstrating the wide
dissemination of the story during the first half of the sixth century. There is later
evidence for Youth’s presence in the cult of Heracles and his family in Attica: she had
an altar in Heracles’ sanctuary at Cynosarges (Pausanias 1.19.3), while the main
sanctuary of the deme of Aixone was dedicated to Youth, with a priest of the Children
of Heracles, a priestess of Youth and Alcmene, and a sacrifice for Youth ‘‘and the
other gods’’ (Jameson 2005:18–19). A good case can also be made for rituals
celebrating Heracles’ and Youth’shieros gamos(‘‘sacred marriage’’) at Thespiae in
Boeotia and on the island of Kos, where the sanctuary they shared with Hera was used
for human wedding celebrations (Stafford 2005a, 2005b). The one area where Youth
appears independently of Heracles in cult is the Argolid. In the Argive Heraion, the
chryselephantine statue of Hera by the fifth-century sculptor Polyclitus was accom-
panied by a statue of Youth by his pupil Naukydes, ‘‘this too of gold and ivory’’
(Pausanias 2.17.5); the costly materials involved suggest that Youth had an important
role in the sanctuary. A cult of Youth alone, which certainly sounds ancient, is also
attested for nearby Phlious. Pausanias (2.13.3–4) describes a grove of cypress trees on
the acropolis, ‘‘and a very holy sanctuary of ancient date’’ belonging to a goddess
whom ‘‘the most ancient people of Phlious’’ used to call Ganymeda but was later
called Youth. The sanctuary functioned as a place of asylum, released prisoners
dedicated their shackles by hanging them from the cypress trees, and there was an
annual festival called ‘‘Ivy-Cutters’’ (Kissotomoi). Unfortunately Pausanias offers no
Ogden / Companion to Greek Religion 1405120541_4_004 Revise Proof page 75 30.10.2006 4:25pmPersonification 75