The Waters of Daphne or The Drakōn Source Again

Abstract

The drakōn is the Greek reflex of the dragon. This paper revisits the general association of drakontes with water sources, before turning to a particular study of three river-related drakontes found in a group of early Ptolemaic and Seleucid foundation myths. The general cases considered are those of: (1) the Delphic drakōn, in both its male and female aspects; (2) the drakōn of Nemea; (3) the drakōn of Ares; (4) the Hydra; and (5) Lamia-Sybaris. The focal group of Hellenistic foundation myths comprises: (1) that of Alexandria, in connec­tion with the river and drakōn Agathos Daimon; (2) that of the cities of the Syrian Tetrapolis, Antioch in particular, in connection with the serpentine river Orontes, it­self held to have originated in the mighty Typhon; and (3) that of the oracle of Daphne, in connection with an unnamed drakōn, which, it is contended, may be an incarnation of the local river Ladon, father to Daphne, the eponymous nymph.