Week 2 Flashcards
1
Q
Early Iranian worship owes much to _________.
A
India
2
Q
Early Iranian worship can be characterized by its emphasis on __________.
A
Sacrificial worship to the gods (Yasna)
3
Q
What are early Iranian and Zoroastrian priests called?
A
Magi
4
Q
What god was the creator of the universe in Zoroastrianism>
A
Ahura Mazda
5
Q
Who was the first Zoroastrian prophet?
A
Zoroaster
6
Q
Which Persian king first adopted Zoroastrianism?
A
Cyrus the Great
7
Q
In what year did Cyrus adopt Zoroastrianism?
A
535 BC
8
Q
Zoroastrianism is characterized by the struggle between ________ and ________.
A
Ahura Mazda (good)
Ahriman (evil)
9
Q
In the natural world, Ahriman was thought to be the incarnation of __________.
A
Reptiles and Insects
9
Q
Who did the Magi declare war against?
A
All reptiles and insects
10
Q
What king wipes out the Magi?
A
Darius
11
Q
True or False:
Zoroastrianism is technically a monotheistic religion.
A
TRUE
12
Q
Israel was part of the Syro-Canaanite sphere until the ____ millennium BC.
A
2nd Millennium BC
13
Q
What prophet did many early Christians worship along with Moses?
A
Yeshua
14
Q
Which Roman-Jew begins the divergence from Judaism?
A
Paul
15
Q
How did Paul spread the message of early Christianity around the Roman Empire?
A
- He visited cities in person, but sent letters to those he couldn’t attend
16
Q
Who was the first Heretic of Christianity?
A
Marcion of Pontus
17
Q
Why was Marcion of Pontus deemed heretical?
A
- Because he wanted to sever his god to that of the Jews
- To do so he wanted to create an abbreviated Bible ONLY composed of Paul’s letters and some of Luke
18
Q
Etymologically, what does the word heresy mean?
A
Hereisis: A choice (almost a back handed compliment)
19
Q
What were the Apologetics?
A
- Ways of explaining Christianity to other Romans
20
Q
What were the 3 first heretical movements?
A
Montanists, Gnostics, Arians
21
Q
What edict legalized Christianity in the Roman Empire
A
Edict of Milan, 313 AD
22
Q
Which council made official the Nicene Creed?
A
The Ecumenical Council of Nicea 325 BC
23
Q
What was the Nicene Creed?
A
- The first universal statement of Christian doctrine
- Partially aimed at refuting the heresy of Arius, who believed that Jesus was created by God
24
What were the 2 Hittite ethnic groups?
- Hatti (central Anatolia)
- Hurrians
25
There are over _____ deities in the Hittite pantheon.
600 +
26
Why were snakes often seen as immortal?
- Because they shed skin
- They slither low to the ground (and thus, closer than humans to the underworld)
27
What was the role of the Hittite king in terms of religion?
- Hittite king was head priest of all the kingdom's cults
27
What was the Hittite capital city?
Hattusa
28
What occurred when a Hittite king died?
- King would become a god who dwelt in the netherworld through which the sun passed each night on its way to replace the moon
29
Hittite temples were often:
Storehouses for surplus agricultural stock
30
True or False: We have NO deciphered texts from the Minoans.
TRUE
31
True or False: The Mycenaeans had sanctuary bench rooms in their palaces.
TRUE
32
What are some notable Greek gods that the Mycenaeans first worshipped?
- Zeus
- Poseidon
- Dyonisos
33
True or False: Greek religion was never fully homogenized (made uniform).
TRUE
34
True or False: Each Greek city state had their own distinct religious calendars that often varied.
TRUE
35
Which ancient Greek city state has the only evidence for state religion?
Athens
(Mixture of hereditary and elected priesthoods by lot)
36
Were foreign cults welcomed in Greece?
YES. Example: Isis at Eleusis
37
In which ancient civilization was skepticism and doubt on religious matters permitted?
Greece
38
What is the Pax Deorum?
- Roman term defining peace and a good standing relationship with the gods.
39
What were common means of communication with the gods in Rome?
- Divination
- Omens
- Prayer
- Prophecy
- Sacrifice
40
True or False: Good Roman Emperors could be deified.
TRUE
41
Opting out of state religion is only an option in Rome from the ___ century onward.
2nd century AD
42
True or False: Rome permitted no foreign cults.
FALSE
- There were plenty of highly popular foreign cults, such as that of Isis and Mithra.
43
Etruscan religion was seen as a fusion of _______ and _______ religions.
Roman and Greek
44
Which civilization notably considered books to be repositories of divine power and knowledge?
The Etruscans
45
What did Roman writers often say about Etruscans and their religion?
Romans look for results from signs, Etruscans look for signs as precipitators of events.
46
Who is the supreme Etruscan god?
Tinia
47
Who is the Etruscan ferryman of the dead?
Charun (often depicted with rotting flesh and a hammer)
48
What were the 2 main periods of Ancient Egypt?
- Classical (3000-300 BC)
- Late (300 BC-600 AD)
49
Why was Egyptian religion so stable?
Geographic isolation
50
What is Ma'at?
- Truth
- Identifiable by a female deity with a feather on her head
51
What is Isfet?
- Lies
- Darkness and Chaos
- Identifiable by a dog headed man named Seth
52
What was the purpose of ancient Egyptian religion?
- To maintain a connection with non-immanent gods to aid in their struggle alongside Ma'at
53
True or False: Egyptian gods were never considered to be living amongst humans on earth.
TRUE
54
Who was the head Egyptian deity?
Ra
55
Who was the Egyptian creator god?
Ra
56
True or False: Each Egyptian city had its own patron/favourite god, distinct from others.
TRUE
But they all still acknowledged Ra as the creator god.
57
What was the worst act one could commit in Ancient Egypt?
- Harming or killing a cat
- People who hurt cats were put to death
58
What underworld Egyptian god is portrayed with green, rotting flesh?
Osirus
59
Which god did the Pharaoh Akhenaten want to instate monotheism with?
Aten (sun god)
60
Who restored the full Egyptian pantheon after Akhenaten?
Tutankhamen
61
What was the Egyptian concept of Ba?
Ba was the inner soul
62
Why were people mummified in Ancient Egypt?
To keep in their Ba (inner soul)
63
What was the main belief of Hermeticism?
- Gods are not physical beings, but life-forces (think the Force from Star Wars)
64
What did the Romans do to profit from Egyptian religion?
- They harnessed Egyptian sanctuaries to optimize their tax revenues
(ex. fancier tomb decorations, new oracle cults, etc.)
65
Official Roman patronage of Egyptian sanctuaries ended in the _______ century __.
3rd Century AD
66
What is our main written manual source on ancient Egyptian religion?
The Book of the Temple
67
What things did the Book of the Temple discuss?
- Architecture, priesthood, and bodily expectations for priests.
68
What physical attribute characterized Egyptian priests?
A shaved head
69
Who was the highest ranking priest in most Egyptian temples?
Overseer of the Prophets
(assured rituals were conducted properly)
70
What were some of the purity standards expected of Egyptian priests?
- Shaved heads
- Avoiding prohibited foods (i.e. fish)
- Washing
- No circumcision
- White linen clothing
71
In which civilizations were priests held to an expectation of righteous moral behaviour?
- Israel
- Mesopotamia
- Egypt
72
In _____________ and ____________ priests were given a salary.
- Syria-Canaan and Greece
73
Ancient Egyptian and Mesopotamian priests were generally given _________________ in return for their efforts.
Real Estate
74
What were Varro's 3 levels of Religious interaction?
1. Cosmic (presence of the gods in nature)
2. Cultic (activities that the god looks over) (ex. Mars looks after war)
3. Mythic (Stories and myths about the gods)
75
What is Henotheism?
- You consider one god to be your favourite, but still acknowledge a separate supreme god
- Ex. kind of like patron saints in Christianity
76
What is Evolutionary Monotheism?
- A society progressing from polytheism to monotheism
77
What is Revolutionary Monotheism?
- A monotheistic society that does NOT evolve from a polytheism
- Usually from one person of power who imposes monotheism
78
What is the name for the Egyptian notion of Truth, Harmony and Order, often depicted as a female deity with feathers on her head?
Ma'at
