Ancient Greek Religion Flashcards
To what extent can we speak of ‘one, unified Greek religion‘?
arguments in favour:
- political fragmentation
- every city has its own pantheon
- not entirely different gods -> selected who they worshipped
- emic perspective
arguments against:
- different groups of gods
What are the main characteristics of Greek religion according to Bremmer?
- polytheistic
- served to maintain order and provide meaning: moral/social order
- here and now, not afterlife
- oral traditions
- no religious establishments
- dominated by male citizens
- embeddedness in daily and public life: traditional rites and customs
How did the Greeks envisage their deities?
- Human beings with special powers – extremely anthropomorphic
- not loving
- amoral, obligations to family and friends
- interconnected
- overstepping boundaries leads to pollution
- owed reverence
- gift exchanged with gods
What were the differences between deities, heroes and mortals?
- An intermediate position between god and men
- Fairly ‘fluid’ boundaries with gods
What was the nature of the divine hierarchy?
- polytheism -> system/structure family relations
- bremmer: orderly vs disorderly -> social order of the city states
Jan Bremmer lists as one of the main characteristics of ancient Greek religion its “embeddedness” in Greek public and domestic life. Discuss in detail two ways in which this embeddedness was manifested.
- no strict division between sacred and profane
- polis as cult
- art and architecture in the service of religion
- life has religious component
The sanctuaries Olympia, Delphi and Eleusis are all labelled ‘Panhellenic’ by Zaidman and Schmitt Pantel. Yet they each had their own, distinct religious profiles, as expressed in (1) the main god worshipped, (2) the (religious) services and rites provided, and (3) the ‘clientele’ or social groups participating in the festival activities. Describe the individual religious profiles of Olympia, Delphi and Eleusis addressing these three points.
Describe the three forms of Greek divination which can be distinguished according to Zaidman and Schmitt-Pantel. Which was the most prestigious and where in the Greek world was it practiced?
Mikalson dedicates a section to ‘National Identity and National Needs’ (p. 160ff). Which theoretical approach, as discussed during the first lecture by Ton Derks and described in Introduction to the Study of Religion by Rodrigues and Harding (2009), do you see reflected here? Give one or two concrete examples from Mikalson’s characterisation of state-cult to argue your choice.
In Classical Greece, the religious roles and functions of different members of the household appear to have been strictly defined. Argue which two cults or festivals would have been of particular importance in the life of the adult female members or “mothers” of Greek citizen families. For each cult, include the name of the deity and characterize the cult or festival (for instance, what kinds of benefits did cult participants seek?). Also show in your answer how the cult or festival related to the expected social roles of adult women.
How, according to Versnel, should we explain the multiplicity of epithets for Greek deities: do they distinguish different deities or different manifestations, aspects or functions of the same god, or what?
In what sense, again according to Versnel, was the perception of the god Dionysos by the ancient Greeks different from that of their other deities?
What does Versnel’s interpretation of ancient Greek perceptions of the divine world mean for Jan Bremmer’s reconstruction of the divine hierarchy on the Sophilps dinos? (Lecture 6)
Mikalson distinguishes three/four intertwined levels of religious experience and practice:
- household
- village
- state/civic religion
- panhellenic
What are the shared features of Panhellenic sanctuaries:
- Located outside the city/town boundaries
- Here: priesthood often hereditary, with elaborate staff
- Vast architectural complexes (temples, altars, treasuries, with outside the peribolos wall facilities
such as dormitories, stadiums etc. - Vast numbers of dedications
- Festivals of up to a week, often with contests, races → periods of general truce
