women and religion - important concepts Flashcards
the gods, reciprocal relationship, sacrifice, temples, festivals, priesthood, divination, religious pollution
what was the behaviour of the gods of the Greeks and Romans
they were more like people
they loved some humans, but hated others
they had a range of emotions and personalities
what is the reciprocal relationship
Greeks and Romans believed that the gods would show favour to them if they earned it first
–> through giving gifts
if they didn’t offer appropriate gifts and offended the gods, they would be punished
to give and get back
what are the 4 types of sacrifice
votive offering - objects
(temple/bulla)
libations - valuable liquid
(smth expensive if you were rich/work hard to get it if you were poor)
food offering
(left on altar or shrine - if it was decomposed or eaten it was a sign the offering had been accepted)
animal sacrifice
(had to dress it up, mortals get the skin & good meat and gods get the smoke from the burnt bones and fat – Pandora)
what did sacrifice prove you weren’t
hubristic - mortals that try to challenge or overrule the gods (blasphemous pride)
in myths, hubris always met a sticky ending
what did the act of sacrifice reinforce
the hierarchy of gods at the top, mortals at the bottom
gods (esp Zeus) are always concerned the mortals will overthrow them (like they did to the Titans) so the hierarchy needs to be enforced to keep them happy
when and why do you sacrifice
- to thank a god
- to ask a god for a favour
- as part of an established ritual or festival
what were temples
physical place within the city for gods to be present
it was a home for the god and included a cult statue of them
who was allowed inside temples
ordinary people would not be allowed to go inside
only priests (and important visitors when you want to show off the wealth of city/state) are able to clean, keep sanctuary safe etc
what were festivals
a celebration of a god or gods that took place at regular intervals
usually involved sacrifice
festivals acted as the break from work for Greeks and Romans
priests/priestesses roles
would serve the god by
- taking care of the temple and cult statue that they were assigned to (they had a specific god and temple they’d serve forever)
- taking an active role in particular festivals and sacrifices
what is divination
it is the art of deciphering messages sent from the gods to mortals
what can the messages from the gods indicate
- whether they approve or disapprove of an action
- might be giving an instruction
who can engage in divination
anyone but they believed certain people were more able to decipher divine messages
–> these were known as soothsayers, prophets, oracles
greek word for prophets
mantis
roman word for the college of priests responsible for divination
augurs
