Talk:Kabeiroi

References I've seen consider the Kabeiroi as mythical beings on a par with Cyclopes and Telchines---non-human beings. The Kabeiroi were described by Hesychius as being Karkinoi: Crab-like beings. I'm going to fix the article accordingly, & provide references. Walter Burkert for example does not mention the theory (that was in earlier versions of this Wiki article) that the Kabeiroi represent a pre-IE human population. On the other hand, Burkert describes the Kabeiroi as "mysterious blacksmith gods" and groups them with Telchines, Cyclopes, Daktyloi, et cetera. Alexander 007 15:11, 29 May 2005 (UTC)


 * Any changes Decius makes will be for the better and there's plenty of room for improvement here. I may have seemed to conflate Kabeiroi with their adepts: I've tweaked that. How integral was the Samothrace mystery, anyway? The metal-working connection: does it point to the introduction of iron and Indo-European, then, rather than to the introduction of copper/bronze and pre-Indo-European, as I'd understood? My reading is not deep, as one can see. --Wetman 15:46, 29 May 2005 (UTC)

My take on the worship of the Kabeiroi: the cult probably goes back to the pre-Indo-Europeans, so it would predate the introduction of iron. The Pelasgians/Tysenoi probably passed the cult onto the Greeks and Thracians, but there is nothing that indicates that the Kabeiroi themselves were Pelasgians or Tyrsenoi (and I haven't yet seen this theory discussed in a reference). The Kabeiroi were probably worshipped by Pelasgians/Tyrsenoi, being themselves mythical beings (compare to the Cyclopes, who were also said to be metallurgists, and who are often also described as autochthonic, pre-dating Greek settlement). Alexander 007 16:02, 29 May 2005 (UTC)

Update
I still haven't found a reference that considers it likely that the Kabeiroi were based on an actual pre-IE human population, though that may be an element (worshippers confused with their gods in some sources, perhaps). The Kabeiroi are described as elder inhabitants of various regions, but so are the Cyclops and Telchines. All the supernatural powers attributed to the Kabeiroi ("their wrath if offended no man can placate"---Pausanias; "Macedonians being struck by lightning for disrespecting and entering their sanctuary"---Pausanias) points towards Kabeiroi being similar in essence to Telchines and Cyclops, as Burkert indicates ("Societies of gods"). Alexander 007 22:42, 15 July 2005 (UTC)

Article merge -> Cabeiri
I agree that this article should be merged with the Cabeiri one, as the tag at the tope of the page suggests. Since Wikipedia uses primarily Latin spellings for god-names, the "Cabeiri" spelling should take precedence. I personally prefer the Greek, but its probably best to keep it consistent with the other Wikipedia articles. Theranos 12:17, 17 September 2006 (UTC)