RELIGION AND SOCIETY Flashcards
1
Q
LEVELS OF RELIGIOUS PARTICIPANTION
A
- OIKOS = household
- DEME = VILLAGE/TOWN
- POLIS = CITY-STATE
- PANHELLIC = ACROSS THE GREEK WORLD
2
Q
OIKOS
A
- Reasonable affluent household of Athenian, built of adore or dried mud brick
- Built around a courtyard
- Situated in POLIS - Greek limos however embraced a lot more than the building
- Any house = 1 or 2 slaves, well-off = dozens, Presence of
- enslaved people = WORTH LOTS OF MONEY, in addition to core family of HUSBAND, WIFE, CHILDREN - Many mouths to feed and care in sickness
- Man of house = farm produce, civic role
- Women = directed slaves and took charge of weaving, all clothes woven at home and sold for extra income
- Mistress of the house = considerable stores of various kinds to manage
- Slaves added to core family –> Household = own little cosmos
3
Q
OIKOS RELIGIOUS RESPONSIBILITIES
A
- NEEDED A DIVINE PROTECTOR
- As well as people, things needed to be protected –> Considerable stores of goods in the house. In the palace of ODYSSEUS = many storerooms
- Each gender and age group = religious responsibilities HAD TO BE FULFILLED: Not a CHOICE:
- DAILY TEND OF HOUSEHOLD SHRINES
- ANNUAL VISITS TO THE GRAVE
- Prayers associated with the meals
- All contributed to SAFETY of OIKOS
- Some might = additional religious actions in response to DESIRE OR NEED
- SOPHOCLES’ OEDIPUS THE KING –> Jocasta visits shrines in face of DANGER
4
Q
OIKOS HOUSEHOLD GODS
A
- Eldest male = ACTED ROLE OF PRIEST AND OVERSAW HOUSEHOLD GODS:
- ZEUS KTESOIS = protector of property and wealth
- ZEUS HERKOIS = snake to word of evil
- APOLLO AGYEIOS = protector from outside
5
Q
HOUSEHOLD PROTECTION
A
- Protected externally by a HERM - at gate, very sacred
- INTERNALLY = hearth, dedicated to Hesteia, goddess of HEARTH
- responsibility of the FATHER who also oversaw the family tombs and honouring of the dead
6
Q
ROLE OF WOMEN IN HOUSEHOLD
A
- Despite key role in management off OIKOS, women = excluded from household cults
- Took on role of priestess in state or civic cults
- Women could take part in festivals in the THESMORPHIA on annual 3 day festival held in honour of DEMETER AND PERSEPHONE celebrated by woman ONLY
7
Q
RELIGIOUS CULTS GIRLS COULD TAKE PART IN
A
- Arrephoros = secret ritual in MAY, 2 maidens chosen every year carried a basket on their heads by Athena, didn’t know what it contained, took basket –> APHRODITE in Gardens and left it there, taking something else back.
- GRINDER = ground meal for cakes offered to Athena in her altar
- Girls dress up like bears at festival of ARTEMIS BRAURONIA = required for all ATHENIAN girls before they married.
8
Q
THESMORPHIA FESTIVAL WOMEN TOOK PART IN
A
- TELEPHUS VASE shows a scene from this festival, its events = secret, adult women responsible for the fertility of city for the year to come, for flocks, crops and birth of citizen babies.
- OBVIOUS why women = connection to FERTILITY but surprising the responsibility = only on them
- MALE CITIZENS responsible for the protection of women but forbidden to SPY on them.
- TROUBLE IN ARTISTOPHANES PLAY: Women at the thesmorphia, EURIPEDES UNCLE INFILTRATES CAMP, women up to no good only drinking and sex. BIASED VIEW OF SERIOUS RITE.
DAY OF FESTIVAL:
- Women obligated to use bad language and rude jokes, on another day behave as MOURNING
- bad language = connected with other rites symbolising fertility
- chance for women to let their hair down for once, was also a chance to contribute to the wellbeing of the city.
9
Q
WOMEN RESPONSIBLE FOR ATTENDING TO THE DEAD
A
- Washed and prepared the corpse for burial
- Poignant moment in THE BACCHAE –> Agave cannot prepare burial for PENTHEUS, dismembered body.
10
Q
Symposium
A
- PRAYERS SAID AND HYMNS SUNG IN THE HOME IN MANY CONTEXTS e.g SYMPOSIUM = all-male drinking party…Prayer said during each course before and before leaving and hymn would be sung
- DIONYSUS = god of wine, honoured this way, Guests = drunk or rowdy was not appropriate, expected to be this way.
11
Q
HOW DOES THE CONCEPT OF THE POLIS DIFFER FROM OUR IDEA OF THE CITY?
A
- The polis embraced all of the city and its surrounding territory
- local government = AUTHORITY. City = STATE
- Citizens had a greater responsibility to understand and take part in democratic processes and take on civic roles
- City itself = organised and funded religious participation at POLIS level some of which echoed the religious practices for OIKOS e.g –> HESTIA AND HEARTH WORSHIP
- Temples, sacrifices, religious festivals..etc OPEN TO ALL CITIZENS and served both a religious and social function
- Most cultural activities took place in RELIGIOUS CONTEXTS even though in modern opinion = SECULAR
- Drama, music, dancing, athletics, all = RELIGOUS
12
Q
PANHELLENIC PARTICIPATION
A
- Polis made up mainland Greece
- Despite GEOGRAPHICAL DISPERSAL, Greeks = strong sense of KINSHIP and UNITY
- a major source of unity = GREEK LANGUAGE –> point of joy and pride.
- RELIGION = another source of unity, same Gods worshipped by the Greeks, despite variations of the practice
- TEMPLES = most prominent type of building, similar throughout the Greek World. The Free=standing type of sculpture also had a recognisably Greek identity.
- Cities = distinctive approaches to POLITICS, often democratic though not always
- VISIBLE FACTORS, Greek city = recognised
13
Q
PANHELLENIC GREEK ATHLETIC FESTIVALS
A
- Panhellenic bonding
- Held in honour of particular gods in a sanctuary of god where an athletic tradition developed… Four Main sanctuaries held sporting festivals known as CROWN GAMES:
- Olympia –> Olympian in honour of ZEUS, crown of WILD OLIVE
- DELPHI - PYTHIAN GAMES - PYTHIAN APOLLO
- NEMEA - NEMEAN GAMES - NEMEAN ZEUS
- ISTHMIA - ISTHMIAN GAMES - ISTHMIAN POSEIDON
- Festivals = held every 4 years staggered so each year = festival at one of these sanctuaries –> Most serious athletes participated in each of the 4 games
- FESTIVALS were open to all, attended enthusiastically by Greeks everywhere
- UNITY – partaking in common event, with common aims, characteristics and ideals.
- Games = HIGHLY COMPETITIVE and PRESTIGIOUS, stakes = high for competitors. They had to put in hours of training.
- HERODOTUS (484-425 BCE) = sample of his book read to crowd at Olympia
- Festivals didn’t just have sports, had sacrifices, rituals, processions, dancing, singing, musical competitions too depending on festival
- SPECTATORS - camp, not hard in Mediterranean weather
- ARISTOCRATIC campers vied with others in splendour of their tents and other equipment –> OPPORTUNITY TO SHINE AS ALL OF GREECE WAS WATCHING
14
Q
RELIGIOUS AUTHORITY
A
- VARIOUS AREAS RATHER THAN SINGLE AUTHORITY
- TRADITION WAS V IMPORTANT
- ELDEST MALE MEMBER OF THE FAMILY OVERSAW RELIGIOUS PARTICIPATION WITHIN OIKOS BUT MATTERS = MORE COMPLICATED AT HIGHER LEVELS
- VARIOUS PRIESTS AND PRIESTESSES = JURISDICTION OVER SPECIFIC CULTS AND SANCTUARIES
- THESE PRIESTS AND PRIESTESSES = INHERITED KNOWLEDGE OF HOW THINGS SHOULD BE DONE IN THEIR OWN TEMPLES. EACH ONE = HAS DIFFERENT REQUIREMENTS
- Euripedes –> ION was set in Delphi: gives us a glimpse into temple life. Ion = not priest more like janitor devoted to God, priestess and temples.
- Civic officials and magistrates = RANGE of religious, civic and political roles with considerable overlap between them
- 3 ATHENIAN MAGISTRATES OR ARCHONS each had own religious role
Archon Eponymous was the chief magistrate, the Polemarch was the head of the armed forces, and the Archon Basileus was responsible for the civic religious arrangements.
- ARCHON BASILEUS = main religious official of Athens = responsibilities for the ELEUSINIAN MYSTERIES amongst other things.
15
Q
IMPIETY
A
- Impiety or pollution or MAISMA in Greek = SERIOUS OFFENCE in Ancient Greek religion and society
- Considered.a DISHONOUR and DISRESPECT to the gods –> individuals and their communities could be punished for it
- Ways one could be considered POLLUTED
- WOMEN AFTER GIVING BIRTH, still-birth, abortion, sometimes menstrutating
- Through being dirty physically
- Through not honouring the gods in the right manner on the right days.
- Disrespecting ancestral rules of burial
- Disrespecting someones right for safe refuge within sanctuary
- Sexual intercourse
- Attending FUNERAL
- MURDER
- ENTERING home of woman who just gave birth
If dirty = SPRINKLE some water on themselves in basin that was normally situated at the entrance of a sanctuary
- If polluted = presence of woman giving brith could not enter sanctuary for a humber of days. Murder = process more complicated had to undergo purification.
- If polluted - could not attend any. sacrifices, contests or enter sanctuaries – EXCLUDED FROM CIVIC WORSHIP
