Greek priests and ‘cult-statues’: how far are they unnecessary? (original) (raw)
Related papers
2002
This study questions the traditional view of sacrifices in hero-cults during the Archaic to the early Hellenistic periods. The analysis of the epigraphical and literary evidence for sacrifices to heroes in these periods shows, contrary to the traditional notion, that the main ritual in hero-cults was a thysia sacrifice at which the worshippers consumed the meat from the animal victim. A particular handling of the animal's blood or a holocaust, rituals previously taken to be typical for heroes, can rarely be documented and must be considered as marginal features in hero-cults. The terms eschara, escharon, bothros, enagizein, enagisma, enagismos and enagisterion, believed to be characteristic for hero-cults, are seldom used in hero-contexts before the Roman period and occur mainly in the Byzantine lexicographers and in the scholia. Since the main kind of sacrifice in hero-cults was a thysia, a ritual intimately connected with the social structure of society, the heroes must have fulfilled the same role as the gods within the Greek religious system. The fact that the heroes were dead seems to have been of little significance for the sacrificial rituals and it is questionable whether the rituals of hero-cults are to be considered as originating in the cult of the dead.
Opuscula 5, 190-192, 2012
This book brings together the papers from a conference which took place at the Centre for the Study of Antiquity and the Department of Classical Archaeology at the University of Aarhus in 2004. The aim of the event was twofold, on the one hand, to establish a network of young scholars working on ancient Greek cult, and on the other, to let them discuss their ideas under the guidance of Richard Hamilton, a seasoned scholar, and subsequently develop them into articles. The scope of the volume is presented by one of the organisers, Jesper Tae Jensen, in a short preface. Then follow eight articles, seven of which were presented at the conference. The book is concluded with an index and a list of the contributors. The articles span a wide field including archaeology, philology, architecture, history, musicology and religion with the particular aim of combining the study of material culture with ancient texts and inscriptions. The first paper, by Lisbeth Bredholt Christensen, explores the definition of the term "cult" within various branches of scholarship, in particular in relation to concepts like "religion" and "ritual", stressing the great distinctions in the uses of the modern terminology. Within the study of religion "cult" has either been of very little interest or considered as "ritual lived" and discussed primarily within particular religions from an emic perspective with no attempt at applying an analytic apparatus, contrary to "ritual" which is treated as a category where different kinds can be discerned, such as transitory rituals, prayer, sacrifice etc, clearly an etic approach. Sociology (at least in the anglophone sphere) instead uses cult for private religions experience often contrasted with how institutionalized and mainstream religion is practiced. In prehistoric archaeology and Classical archaeology and history, on the other hand, cult is a central concept. In the study of prehistory, the preference of the terms cult, rituals and religious practice instead of religion can be explained by the nature of the archaeological evidence, which does not allow for the reconstructions of belief, the core of religion. Among Classicists the situation is partly the inverse, as cult is used as a synonym to religion rather than to ritual, an effect of the prominence of the written evidence which facilitates the interpretation of the archaeological material. This paper cautions for an unreflected use of terms, but there is are certainly further distinctions between the terminologies in different languages which should be addressed as well. Richard Hamilton analyses the relationship between altars, animals and baskets (kistai) on Attic votive reliefs from the Classical period by applying a statistical method, a chi-square test. The evidence consists of 224 reliefs dedicated to Zeus, Apollon, Artemis, Athena, the Nymphs, Asklepios and the banqueting hero, presented in a catalogue in an appendix. Several interesting observations are made. Of particular importance is the relation between altar and kiste, two elements that have to be taken as having different connotations in the reliefs. Altars more frequently occur with animals than with baskets, refuting van Straten's proposal that the kiste holds sacrificial cakes. There is also a variation between the deities and in reliefs for the Nymphs altars may have had a different meaning than to suggest animal sacrifice. A closer investigation of the kistai shows them to be is more strongly associated with children and family groups, in particular women, rather than with sacrifice of animals or vegetarian offerings, a conclusion backed up by a brief detour into Attic vase-painting. Statistics are rarely used in this way on ancient evidence, which makes the paper interesting, in particular, as pointed out by Hamilton, such an approach demands both a precise description of one's thesis and a consideration of the converse of the same thesis. On the other hand, the relationships revealed cannot be explained by this method. Bronwen Wickkiser's contribution examines the relation between the establishment of Asklepios in Athens and the plague, as the introduction of the god is usually taken to be a response to the local healing gods' incapacity to help. The only source informing us about the
PRIESTS AND PRIESTESSES IN MYCENAEAN GREECE
PhD Thesis, 2006
The aim of this thesis is to investigate the evidence concerning the existence of a Mycenaean priesthood. The existence of religious specialists responsible for the performance of ritual acts is universal and can be attributed to their role as intermediaries between humans and the divine. Evidence from the Linear B tablets attest to the existence of priests (i-je-re-u) and priestesses (i-je-re-ja) during the high point of the Mycenaean period, responsible for mediating between the people and the divine in the performance of ritual acts. Textual and iconographic evidence indicate the performance of various cult practices, such as animal sacrifice and the celebration of festivals, complemented by archaeological evidence of cult installations and equipment employed. The fact that the majority of the evidence associates priests with the palatial centres indicates that they were closely connected to them, and that most likely the office of priesthood was restricted to the elite, even though the existence of priests in communities away from the palatial centres is not overlooked. Textual evidence provides information concerning the organisation of the priesthood, indicating that it was associated with a body of cult assistants, while a hierarchy existed among priests, most likely defined by the cult place they operated at and its connection with the palace. Finally, the examination of the association of cult places with economic matters in the Linear B tablets concludes that cult places were not economically independent and that instead part of the economy was set aside for their maintenance and their cult needs.
Man's relationship to the beyond and the supernatural as well as the systematisation of humanity's corresponding pursuit of it in religions and the elaboration of organised rituals for expressing these convictions and worshiping the divine are realities lost in the beginnings of human presence on earth. Indeed, the specialisation of these perceptions and rituals and the concomitant appearance and shaping of the particular order of the priesthood led to a delineation between offi cial and folk worship, the fi rst being studied by the discipline of theology and the second by folklore studies, specifi cally the branch of "religious folklore". For these reasons, the relevant literature is constantly expanding and corresponding folklore studies are presently fl ourishing. Th is will continue as people never stop creating culturally and adopting new viewpoints and holding events where these forms correspond to relevant psychological needs. Because of this, "religious folklore" constitutes a constantly developing branch of folklore studies with great prospects for the future and space for many young academics to carry out research. Some aspects of the main forms of Greek popular religiosity will be examined in this paper.