Topic 4 - Religion/Archaeology Flashcards
what must you have for Greek religion and what do you not really need?
You don’t need a temple for Greek religion, but you must have an alter. it can be enormous, a small slab on the ground or a natural stone but it must be marked away from the surroundings making it sacred
what could be offered?
Animals are mainly used as sacrifice but inanimate objects such as cake, textiles, weapons, jewelry etc. are also offered.the act of offering is more important than the offering itself.
why were animals mainly sacrificed?
Animals were sacrificed because they are below men and gods on the social hierarchy and are the tools through which men communicate with the gods.
did the Greeks just like killing animals?
Animals weren’t sacrificed because the Greeks like killing them, many had a vegetarian diet but they used it as the best sacrifice to the gods - when the animals were sacrificed, the meat was cooked and distributed to the crowd.
what was the primary function of the temple?
the primary function of the temple was to house cult statues of whoever they were praying/sacrificing to. statues could be made out of anything from wood to ivory and gold
could you pray in the temple?
the temple is the house of the god but not for praying in
what 2 types of sacrifice can be identified?
in Greek religion there are 2 types of sacrifice identified by modern scholars, Olympian sacrifice to deities on Olympus, and chthonic sacrifice to deities on earth
what happens after the animal is sacrificed?
after sacrifice, the animal is butchered and cooked over the alter and the fat and bones dripping over the alter creating smoke which go to the gods.
what evidence is there of human sacrifice?
in Crete during the Bronze Age, there is evidence of human sacrifice on 2 occasions, child remains appear to have been butchered and a skeleton left on an alter appears to have been sacrificed .
where does everything we know about Greek religion come from?
Everything we know about Greek religion comes from archaeology or written sources such as inscriptions ans is extremely varied from city to city, religion to religion, time to time.
what is the most useful source?
inscription is the most useful source as it is written by real people and is first hand.
what forms of disposals of bodies in the geometric period are there?
there are 2 forms of display of bodies in the government period - burial or cremation (pots). these pots could have images on them such as grief (figures ripping their hair out) but no real detail was put into the drawings, only information was given not realism.
what techniques do votive’s give us an idea of?
Votive’s (gifts for the gods) are most abundant at Olympia and give us an idea of the bronzing/molding techniques, again not naturalistic
what was one of the most famous sanctuaries on the Mediterranean world?
Delphi - the sanctuary of Apollo - was one of the most famous sanctuaries in the Ancient Mediterranean world
what did the Greeks believe about Delphi?
The Ancient Greeks believed that Delphi was at the center of the world and the Ompholos stone was at the center of the universe.
are all sanctuaries the same?
no 2 sanctuaries are the same, but they do share some similarities such as a central sacred area alter etc.
what features do some sanctuaries have?
some sanctuaries have theaters, some have a race track, some have walls around them and some have a temple, not all sanctuaries have these but all have votives
what else can sanctuaries be?
Sanctuaries are primarily religious sites, but some (Delphi, Olympia) can be political or house competition such as the crown games which are housed at 4 sites, Delphi, Olympia, Nemea and Isthmea
what would the winner of the crown games get?
people would come from all over to compete at the crown games, the winner would receive a crown of vegetation, olive leaves, oak leaves, laurel leaves etc.
who was the oracle?
the person who the oracle spoke though was a human woman called a Pythia who spoke the words of Apollo, she was located in the basement under the temple of Apollo and sat atop a bronze tripod spouting her prophecies.
how could you ask her a question? what would happen?
if you wanted to ask her a question, you wrote it down and gave it to a middle man who gave it to the Pythia, you had no direct contact - she would get the question and chew on laurel leaves said to put her into a hallucinogenic state and spout her prophecy.
what actually put her into a hallucinogenic state?
it wasn’t the laurel leaves that put her into a hallucinogenic state, but the vapors that came out of the chasmous earth that she sat atop on her tripod that caused them.
what purpose did a series of buildings have at the sanctuaries?
there was a series of buildings that were treasury buildings whats sole purpose was to serve as bank vaults. They were locked and housed the offerings
why was their location interesting?
their location is interesting as they’re lining the main path which is intentional as they served as a kind of conspicuous consumption showing the wealth of certain poleis, the closer they were to the temple the closer they were to the god Apollo and the wealthier they were. it became a competition to see who could build the best and most ornate building.
