Greek Religion and the Individual Flashcards
Dionysos
Male generative power
Wild nature, wild vegetation, ivy, vine
Gift: wine, to make life happy and easier
Temporary freedom from rules
Missionary god
Initiation and mysteries
Benefits in this life and in the afterlife
Son of Zeus
Demeter
Female generative power
Agriculture, civilized nature, cultivated vegetation
Gift: grain, basic food for living
Thesmoi, sacred and basic laws
Missionary goddess (Triptolemos)
Initiation and mysteries
Benefits in this life and the afterlife
Women have very important role in the cult
Daughter was Kore, taken by Hades
Images of the god
Dionysus:
-Human-like: mature and bearded, or young and bear-less, with ivy crown or branch, vine branch, staff crowned with an inflorescence, panther-skin or fawn-skin, Thracian leather boots, long dress
- Partial representation: mask, phallus (god in charge of regeneration)
- Animal: lion, bull, panther, goat, snake
COMPLEX: irregular birth, visited the afterlife, opposed social order, pushed boundaries
Contradictory god
Dionysus
**Idea that order is good but disorder is also good. Balances out society – tensions, problems, energy released in a controlled manner.
Thesmophoria
Festival of Demeter
Women only festival
Day 1: the ascent (women walked to Demeter’s sanctuaries)
Day 2: Fasting day, mimicking grief, sacrifices
Day 3: Women had meals
Eleusinian Cult
Eleusis was the place where Demeter had rested
Great mysteries: open to all, preformed in Eleusis after a procession from Athens
Step 1: Objects were taken to the agora in Athens
Step 2: After the procession they arrived in Eleusis
Step 3: Fasting, rituals, sacrifices
Mysteries of Eleusinian cult
- The initiates are not supposed to learn anything, it’s an experience
- “To experience”, “to suffer”
- The initiates are not supposed to learn anything, it’s an experience
- “To experience”, “to suffer”
