Zeus hupatos kreionton : a Comparative Study on Divine Sovereignty, between Attica and Syria

In Attica, as is common, Zeus is the richest in onomastic attributes. Among them, some indicate a sovereign function (Hupatos, Basileus . . .), but the corresponding cult seems reasonably modest or scarcely attested. On the other hand, some major city-protecting Zeuses, such as the Polieus, the Olumpios and the Soter, also played their part, but not at the same time and only in specific contexts and configurations. Ultimately, considering that onomastic attributes build networks among gods, Zeus’pre-eminence, if any, may lie in the fact that he is the most connected of the gods. A mirror situation is traceable in terms of the use of Zeus’name in Graeco-Roman Syria starting from the Hellenistic Age, when the idea of“sovereignty” itself was translated by iconographical and onomastic issues. Usually, when Zeus appears in the pantheon of big cities, as well as those of small villages, he is the main deity, able to represent the local god in all his power. However, from a small to a large scale, Zeus penetrates the religious plot of the Ancient Near East, meaning both proximity to Semitic features and distance from them, even though judging their cultural continuity or rupture on time is still a delicate exercise