Levels Of Religious Participation- Polis And Panhellenic Flashcards
polis religion
fertility
covering a range of community religion
, Athens had cult sites to
support agricultural fertility: the sanctuary of
Dionysus (wine) on the south slope of the
Acropolis, and the Eleusinion in honour of De
meter (grain) on the north slope. To support
human fertility, the polis had the sanctuary to
Aphrodite near the marketplace and spon
sored the annual, women-only festival of the
Thesmophoria for Demeter, which included
rituals connected explicitly with human fertility
polis religion overview
Polis religion was focused on ensuring the welfare of the polis as a whole. It was paid for with state funds, organised by state officials and, for the most part, was open to all citizens.
polis religion
good health
polis religion covering a range of community issues
Athenians tended to look to local gods and physician heroes in the demes for healing, and the city had an altar of Athena Hygeia (Of Health) on the Acropo
lis to look after the health of the polis generally. At the time of the plague of 431-423, however, the city found that the existing sanctuaries did not offer enough protection (Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War 2.47.4) and so turned (in 420/19) to Asclepius, importing his cult from Epidauros and
building two splendid new sanctuaries in his honour, one on the south slope of the Acropolis, the other in Piraeus.
polis religion
economic prosperity
polis religion covering a range of community issues
All of the city’s crafts were looked after by
Athena Ergane (‘Workeress’) with Hephaistos,
patron of crafts, who shared a temple called
the Hephaisteion, located on the hill west of
the Agora in the Ceramicus (‘Potters’ Quarter’)
of the city. An annual festival in their honour,
the Chalkeia (‘Festival of Bronze’), was cele
brated especially by smiths. Dozens of inscrip
tions of dedications to Athena offered by arti
sans (potters, a carpenter, a shipbuilder etc. –
even a washerwoman) survive from Athens,
probably as thank-offerings for their profits.
polis religion
protection from danger
polis religion covered a range of community issues
For help in warfare, Athenians had the cult of Athena Polias, the national patroness, who was depicted in iconography as a warrior, with helmet, shield and spear (e.g., the Panathenaic Amphora). Various Athenian victories were attributed to her help. Atheni
ans showed their gratitude with votive offerings and temples. The huge Statue of Athena Promachos on the Acropolis was paid for with spoils from the Battle of Marathon (490); and the Parthenon and Erechtheion were built to commemorate victory over Xerxes in 480-479.
scholarly views
mikalson
Polis-level worship was inclusive of all citizens and their families, and
so served an important community-forging role. Mikalson argues that the special oversight that the polis gods
had over the community turned that community of citizens and their relatives into a kind of large ‘family’.
panhellenic religion
Panhellenic religion was not a part of the day-to-day experience of Ancient Greeks. Polis, deme and oikos religious experiences were probably far more significant in ordinary lives. Participating in Panhellenic religion often involved travel, and so would have been accessible to relatively few for much of the time.
