Kobalos
Thekobalos(pl.kobaloi) (Ancient Greek:κόβαλος, plural: κόβαλοι) was aspritefromGreek mythology,a mischievous creature fond of tricking and frightening mortals.[1]The kobaloi were companions ofDionysusand could shapeshift as Dionysus in the guise of Choroimanes-Aiolomorphos.[2]According to one myth, they robbedHerakleswhile he slept. He captured them in revenge but took pity on them when he found them amusing. In one version of the myth, Herakles gave them to the Lydian queenOmphaleas a gift. Thekobaloiwere thought to live inEuboeaor nearThermopylae.[3]Parents used tales of thekobaloito frighten children into behaving.[4]
Definition[edit]
Greek myths depict thekobaloias "impudent, thieving, droll, idle, mischievous,gnome-dwarfs",[3]and as "funny, little tricksyelves"of a phallic nature.[5]The term also means "impudent knave, arrant rogue" in ancient Greek, and such individuals were thought to invokekobaloispirits.[6]Depictions ofkobaloiare common in ancient Greek art.
Modern associations[edit]
Thekobalosis related to two other Greek sprites: thekabeiroi(pygmies with large phalluses) and thekerkopes.[3]Thekobalosandkabeiroicame to be equated.[3]Nineteenth Century classicists proposed that other European sprites may derive from belief inkobaloi.This includes spirits such as the Northern Englishboggart,Scottishbogle,Frenchgoblin,Medieval gobelinus, Germankobold,and EnglishPuck.[7]Likewise, the names of many European spirits may derive from the wordkobalos.The word entered Latin ascobalus,then possibly French asgobelin.From this, the Englishgoblinand Welshcoblynmay derive.[8]
Notes[edit]
References[edit]
- Brown, Robert (2004 [xxxx]).The Greek Dionysiak Myth,Part 2. Kessinger Publishing.ISBN0-7661-8465-X.
- Davis, William Stearns(1914).A Day in Old Athens: A Picture of Athenian Life.Boston, Massachusetts: Allyn and Bacon.
- Franklin, Anna (2002). "Goblin",The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Fairies.London: Paper Tiger.ISBN1-84340-240-8.
- Hardwick, Charles(1980 [1872]).Traditions, Superstitions, and Folk-lore, (Chiefly Lancashire and the North of England:) Their Affinity to Others in Widely-distributed Localities; their Eastern Origins and Mythical Significance.London: Simpkin, Marshall & Co.
- Liddell, Henry George, and Robert Scott (1940).A Greek-English Lexicon,revised and augmented throughout by Sir Henry Stuart Jones with the assistance of Roderick McKenzie. Oxford: Clarendon Press.ISBN0-19-864226-1.Online versionaccessed 25 February 2008.
