Rituals and Priests

Question 1

Precision of rituals

Answer 1

followed very precise procedure

any deviation from procedure could invoke anger of the gods

priests and priestesses consequently had to be practised in their servicees

Question 2

How were preists trained?

Answer 2

although they had important role of invoking goodwill of the gods on behalf of entire community there was no school for them

Question 3

Who could become a priest?

Answer 3

anyone

sometimes had to be seers, dream-interpreters, doctors, butchers, accountants etc
-> all depended on the deity in question and local peculiarities of cult
(did have to have specifc skills)

Question 4

Main task of priests and priestesses

Answer 4

performance of ritual sacrafice and other religious services

Question 5

Magistrates and priests

Answer 5

civic priest always stood under responsibility of local authorities

politicians did not need priests to perform religious activities but priests were often dependent on civic representative to perfrom a public sacrafice

Question 6

Modern scholarship on magistrates and priests

Answer 6

Chaniotis

‘magistrates sometimes conducted religious activities without the assistance of priests’

• religious authority lay in the hands of the state and the state alone

Question 7

Who employed priests?

Answer 7

city - performed rituals at specific civic occasions and assisted the magistrate

special oracular priests - interpret diety’s oracle when city sought god’s advice but did not have actual direct pol sig

in Athens, archon basileus in charge of religious matters but individuals priests and priestesses were employed for each diety

Question 8

Who became a priest?

Answer 8

not a way of life

• unpaid or part-time
• could not feed a family from the salary

rich people become priests

Question 9

Privileges of becoming a priest

Answer 9

front row seats in theatre of Dionysus at slope of Acropolis reserved for part. priesthoods

best cuts of sacraficial meat kept by priests

generally well regarded in society - becoming priest = goal to aspire to as it brought prestige

Question 10

Three basic ways to become a priest

Answer 10

1) through inheritance
2) by lot
3) through purchase

Question 11

Hereditary priesthoods

Answer 11

mostly lifelong and particually prominent in important civic cults (e.g cult of Athena Polias in Athens and priests of Demeter and Kore at Elusis)

Question 12

Most famous hereditary priesthoods

Answer 12

held by two families which provided priests for mysteries of Eleusis

Eumolpidae provided priests called hierophants for mysteries
- traced roots back to mythical times and mythical king Eumolpos - introduced to mysteries by godess herself

Kerykes traced family roots back to Keryx - first priest of Demeter at Eleusis
- provided second most important priest next to hierophant - the dadouchos (torchbearer) on Ninnon tablet
- distinguished by purple headband with myrtle wreath and robe dyed purple
- main duty = provide light which played imprtant role in nocturnal part of ceremony
- great honour

Question 13

Priests by election

Answer 13

annual basis

Question 14

Priests by purchase

Answer 14

female priesthoods cost less than male priesthoods

Question 15

Priestess of Athena Polias

Answer 15

Athena of the city

most important female priesthood in ancient Greece

priestesses provided by noble family of the Eteoboutadae who traced roots back yo mythical age

not directly involved in politics but appeared side by side with political officals - important in society
(worked with archon basileus on Ionic frieze of Parthenon where he hands peplos to Athena)
-> important bc women normally excluded from male sphere of politics (public priesthoods exception to rule)

Question 16

Religion and women

Answer 16

religion = only area of ancient Greek society where women were clearly visible and had actual influence in society

as priests - took part in administration of sacred, led processions and organised and held own festivals (Thesmophoria) - great importance to city, well-being and good fortune of rel and soc

generally, women = female dieties but exceptions e.g Pythia for Apollo or men for female dieties

Question 17

Women in relgion Greece v Rome

Answer 17

Rome = women rarely and exceptionally held priestly offices such as Vestal Virgins

differ to Greece

Question 18

Priestly tasks

Answer 18

• sacrafices could be perfromed by anyone who had means (even housewives and slaves - learn through imitation or involvement in hosuehold) but some skills were needed in butchery for blood sacrafice (usually done by prof assistant rathet than priest)
• being a priest = unforseeable (elected) -> had to be possible for everyone to perform rituals

Question 19

Why was the role of a priest special?

Answer 19

mediators between humans and the divine

Question 20

Priests and finanaces

Answer 20

p&p responsible for physical care of the sanctuary
- buildings, votive offerings, finances

most sanctuaries served as banks primarily for state in times of crisis but also for individuals taking out loans foe private matters

had to collect funds for religious activities and prepare sacraficial animals that worshippers brought the shrine

Question 21

What was the standard type of ancient Greek sacrifice?

Answer 21

blood sacrifice

vegetable products like grain and flowers along with sacrificial cakes were also offered

Question 22

What were the main species slaughtered for sacrifice?

Answer 22

sheep
goats
pig
cattle

rarely - fish, wild animals, dogs, horses or fowls

Question 23

What did the choice of animal depend on?

Answer 23

depended on type of festival, scale and budget available

Question 24

Sacrifices at Thesmophoria and EM

Answer 24

participants brought piglets to be sacrificed

Question 25

What was the hetacomb?

Answer 25

most famous of all blood sacrifices

included slaughtering and consumption of originally one hundred oxen

(rare)

scale diminished overtime and eventually hetacomb could be held with dozen oxen instead of one hundred oxen

Question 26

Famous hetacomb in ancient Greece

Answer 26

hetacomb at end Olympic Games on great altar of Zeus

individual worshippers tended to bring smaller and cheaper animals and leave cattle for civic festivals

Question 27

What do we know about the act of sacrifice?

Answer 27

very little

even though it was so central to Greek religion

depictions on reliefs and vases show leading of the animal to the allocation of the sacrificial meat

know it was held on altar outside temple or shrine and people gathered to watch procedure

Question 28

Where does most information on actual sacrifice come from?

Answer 28

Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey

Euripides and Aristophanes

point to three stages of sacrificial procedure

Question 29

Reconstructing the sacrifice

Answer 29

1) The preparation

2) Act of killing

3) Handling of the meat

Question 30

Preparation

Answer 30

animal led to altar in procession

each participant cleaned their hands and took handful of barley grain from basket

victims head sprinkled with water to force a nod of agreement

strand of victim from main sacrificer

hair put on altar and fire lit, prayer said in which desired outcome formulated (e.g health and victory)

throw barely forward

Question 31

Act of killing

Answer 31

sacrificer cut animals throat with a knife

larger victims stunned by a blow with axe before

women chanted ritual cry ololyge and altar bloodied either by holding animal directly over altar or catching larger animal’s blood in bowl and then pouring over altar

Question 32

Handling of the meat

Answer 32

a) deity’s portions taken away (thigh bones) and small portions from limbs burned on altar while win poured over

b) entrails taken out and roasted and shared among worshippers

c) remaining meat cooked and distributed among participants (occasionally some taken home but communal meal on spot = norm for which many sanctuaries offered dining rooms)

omens taken from both burning of gods portion and condition of entrails (read according to manual)

Question 33

Depiction of preparation of bulls for sacrifice by Nausicaa Painter

Answer 33

c.450 BC

vase shows adornment of sacrificial animals, crucial part during prep stage of a sacrifice

texts as early as Homer mention adornment of sacrament victims before slaughter- usually consisted of garlands, woollen fillets and ribbons around head and belly

behind each bull in image = tripod, typical prizes for winners of theatrical or musical competitions in honour of Dionysus

women likely to be personifications of victorious tribe (phyle) or victory goddess Nike rather than usual maidens

Question 34

Purpose of blood sacrafice

Answer 34

scholars debating origin and purpose of blood sacrafice of them

some suggested it’s nothing but ritual slaughter

others suggest its main purpose was killing for eating so people could have meat (not usually in diet) - Vernant

some suggest it formed a community and ‘civilisation’ - Burkert

Nasiden said it served to maintain rel between humans and gods

Question 35

Function of blood sacrafice

Answer 35

unite community

feed people

display strength - relationship between animals and humans and within community (hierarchy played an important role)

religious dimension of sacrafice at its heart - first and foremost was the need to appease the gods and request their goodwill, then to celebrate them but equally human achievements
-> celebrating victory or end of OG honoured equally the gods and victors

Athenians used blood sacrafices to honour Athena and themselves during the Great Panathenaia

Question 36

What was the second most common form of sacraficial ritual?

Answer 36

libation of liquids

Question 37

How did libations work?

Answer 37

poured water, wine, milk or honey to honour gods, heroes or even dead

Question 38

When were libations poured?

Answer 38

in public and private contexts

often mark begining and end of day, banquet or sacrafice itself

travel - occassion of safe arrival on land (e.g Argonauts poured libations of honey and wine to Earth - Gaia- the gods of land and the souls of dead heroes at arrival in Colchis)

Question 39

Dionysus and libations

Answer 39

Dionysus himslef believed to be poured in the form of wine to gain divine favour (Euripides Bacchae)

Question 40

What were libations poured from?

Answer 40

wine-jug into a libation bowl and from there onto an altar or the ground

special libations of a larger scale were poured for dead and chthonic (Underworld) /nature dieties often directly into grave vessels or the earth

Question 41

What was ritual burying?

Answer 41

In Thesmophoria, women ritually buried the sacraficial piglets in order to excavate the remains the next year to be used as fertilising agent

ritual burying of sacraficial meat or objects were common in both public and private settings

thrown into megaron (underground chamber for ritual offerings)

Question 42

Ritual burying at sanctuaries

Answer 42

sanctuaries were crowded with everything a worshipper could dedicate to a diety - parasols to jewellery, statues, inscriptions (any object dear to a worshipper)

annual or biannual clearance of sanctuaries where objects were either stored in seperate treasury or buried ritually depending on value and size

Question 43

Votive offerings

Answer 43

result from a vow by an individual or community to one or more gods

not prescribed by ritual (e.g during festival)

Question 44

What do votive offerings show?

Answer 44

The reciprocal relationship between mortals and gods

offerings made either as thanks, after a diety showed good will, helpful intervention (e.g lucky escape from pirates or storm at sea, birth of a child or loss of illness) or as a guarantee for future goodwill of the gods, sometimes with special instruction

Question 45

How could votive offerings also be made?

Answer 45

to punctuate a person’s life stages and they therefore give us insight into individual’s life

adolescents - children offered toys or locks of hair from first haircut
craftsmen - offered tools at retirement
prize winners / successful warriors - offered prizes or weapons that helped achieve victory

Question 46

Where were votive offerings left?

Answer 46

in the sanctuary

more expensive ones were recorded in an inventory list (some have survived)

Question 47

Large scale votive offerings

Answer 47

large scale = offer a temple
-> e.g Thermistocles after victory over Persians

many bore an inscription with dedicator’s name on

only possible for wealthy people

serve as a means to display position and wealth to society - perhaps superficial reason for setting up

Question 48

What do votive offerings give an insight into?

Answer 48

Lives, fates and habits of individuals that we would otherwise know nothing about (e.g offering to Asclepius)