Scholarship Greek Religion Flashcards
Who said religion was intuitive vs reflective cognition?
Larson
Who said Greek religion was far less organised than modern religions?
Seaford
Who said the gods are the main source of comedy in the Iliad?
Redfield
Who said Homer’s epics are full of really impressive gods who deserve the worship they receive?
Griffin
What does Kearns say is the most general and far-reaching distinction between the gods in the Iliad and in worship?
In the Iliad gods are precisely defined individuals, where cult was concerned there were multiple versions of gods
Who says we would be wrong to imagine divinity in Homer as purely fiction and not part of Greek religion?
Gould
Who says that in Homer all sorts of not very heroic qualities are allowed to enter the lives of the gods?
Kirk
Who says it is natural to imagine the gods as men who are more than men- physically more perfect, taller etc?
Gould
Who says heroes and gods were of equal importance?
Ekroth
What does Ekroth say the attraction of hero-cults was?
They were local and more unique than panhellenic gods
Who said the Greeks had a tendency to appeal to a plurality of gods to recruit a team?
Parker
Who says in Greek ritual’s assumptions about the nature of divinity we encounter contradiction and ambiguity?
Gould
Who says the personality of the gods is what allows us to pray to them?
Dowden
Who does Burkert say were the authorities to whom the Greeks appealed?
Hesiod and Homer
Who said the expectations men have of one another, of reciprocity, is carried over into their expectations of divinity?
Gould
Who said Hesiod and Homer provided the visualisation and imagination of how men and gods interacted?
Aston
Who said religion impregnated every civic activity?
Zaidman
What did Haynes say about Euripides?
He has deliberately challenging views so isn’t a reliable representation of views at the time
However the issues raised may reflect prevalent issues in society
Who says libations, prayers, sacrifices and other key institutions of Greek religion were the stuff of polis as well as personal religion?
Kindt
What does Kindt say about personal religion mapping onto other forms of religion?
Personal religion mapped onto the religions of the family and household, which mapped onto the religion of the city
What does Kindt say about mystery cults?
In mystery cults personal religion was an individual engagement with the supernatural that drew on a larger communal context
Who says we have to admit our ignorance about initiation into the Eleusinian mysteries?
Garland
What do Zaidman and Patel say the value of the Eleusinian intitiation process lay in to the Greeks?
The long period of preparation- a process of internal transformation
What does Clinton say the purpose of the secrecy in the Eleusinian mystery cult was?
To help ensure the experience was extraordinary
What do Zaidman and Pantel say made Epidauros important?
It enabled the sick to go on hoping
Who said purification is a social process?
Burkert
Who said purification was atonement?
Burkert
What does Burkert say about funerary customs?
They asserted traditions across generations and strengthened family solidarity.
What does Kindt say about the different levels of religious practice?
There was no single belief or practice which qualified as personal or civic, individual or official
What does Sourvino-Irnwood say about the link between society and religion?
All relationships and bonds including social and political ones, were expressed through cult
Who said personal dedications received a public dimension by being put on display in a sanctuary?
Kindt
Who said religion impregnated each and every civic activity?
Bruit-Zaidman
Who said every group of citizens saw itself as dependent upon and linked to the gods?
Garland
What did Garland say about the involvement of women in religion?
May have offered psychological and social benefits to women.
What did Garland say about miasma?
It was transmitted by contact so unless contained could pollute the entire community. Death was much more polluting than birth.
What did Robertson say about the battles shown on the Parthenon?
They were no doubt meant to recall the defeat of the Persians
What did Garland say about propylaeas?
They marked the division between secular and religious space, enhancing the drama upon entering holy ground
Who said the Parthenon was not much more than a vanity box built to show off the chryselephantine statue of Athena?
Garland
Who says the Parthenon seems to be designed to emphasise Athenian imperialism?
Robertson
What does Dowden say about Delphi?
The oracular function uniquely crosses the divide between man and god, making Apollo very special among gods
What does Garland credit Delphi’s importance to?
Its distance from any major centre until the 360s BC meant it couldn’t be manipulated by a powerful neighbour
Who says the requirement of human intellect to interpret the vague oracle was integral to the experience?
Garland
What does Clinton argue about the Ninnion tablet?
Both goddesses are Demeter
Who said the Parthenon is one of the most important buildings in human history?
Scott
Who suggests Socrates advocates a life of detachment from civic concerns and indifference to civic values?
McKenzie
Who said Pheidias’ two chryselephantine statues were the culmination of all Greek religious art to the Greeks?
Burkert
Who said the caryatids are reminiscent of the Panathenaic procession?
Harris and Zucker
Who argues that religious ritual was a way of negating the constant threat of chaos beyond the worshipper’s control?
Gould
Who says sacrifice means community for men?
Burkert
Who says leaders in rituals often obtained their authority through economic power?
Burkert
Who says religious authority lay in the hands of the state and state alone?
Chanitois
Who argues that the purpose of sacrifice was fundamentally for eating the meat?
Detienne
Who suggests that the Ancient Greeks believed that the gods derived pleasure and sustenance from the smoke of the sacrificial victim that rose up to Olympus?
Garland
Who argues that the importance of the meal in a sacrifice didn’t detract from the religious element?
Garland
Who said women’s religious roles often mirrored their domestic duties?
McClure
Who said the most important part of a sanctuary was the altar not the temple?
Scott
Who argues that it wouldn’t make sense for women to have any more freedoms religiously than otherwise, so we should assume they were generally excluded?
Detienne
Who says the rise in intellectual thinking in the 5th century seems to barely effect religious practice?
Burkert
Who suggests it was possible that Euripides was an atheist due to his consistent negative portrayal of the gods?
Garland
Who thinks it is unlikely Socrates mocked traditional observances like some of the sophists?
Garland
Who suggests that ‘philosophical religion’ is not a separate religion but personal variations of shared religious beliefs?
Kindt
Who suggests that conservative Athenians were looking for someone to blame for new ideas and the loss of the empire so blamed Socrates?
Parker
Who argues that Socrates’ method would have been deeply irritating?
Parker
Who suggests that the whole of Socrates’ trial was a facade to hide political motivations?
Vlastos
Who argues that actions were more important than belief in the ancient world?
Giordano-Zecharya
Who argues that Socrates was seen as a religious deviant?
Taylor
Who said Ancient Greek religious practice was based on time honoured observances?
Hemingway
Who said Socrates’ questioning of common concepts formed part of a wider trend?
Hermann
Who said the Greeks did clearly believe in the gods?
Grigsby
Who said it wasn’t illegal to not believe in the gods- examples of those who didn’t and weren’t punished- all examples of those tried for impiety had political element?
Grigsby
Who said Disrespect of the gods was seen as a threat to maintaining good relations in the polis?
Grigsby
Who said religious trials were always charges made by individuals not the state?
Grigsby
Who says the vast majority of Greeks would not have taken myths literally- they removed practice from myths?
Grigsby
Who said Socrates made enemies and was annoying but not illegal?
Grigsby
