Greek Religion scholars Flashcards
(19 cards)
Scholars for divine anthropomorphism
(+ Dates and ideas)
Garland
1994
Gods are literally human in form
Zaidman & Pantel
1989
Gods are not literally human in form, only presented that way to assist with human understanding of them
Scholars for Reciprocal relationships between gods and mortals
(+ Dates and ideas)
Hitch
2009
For men: sacrifice is a means of communication
For gods: sacrifice is a means of rewarding pleasing behaviour
Reciprocity is the heart of ancient greek cult mentality
Scholars for the problem of divine epithets
(+ Dates and ideas)
Sourvinou-Inwood
1997
Epithets refer to different aspects of the same god
Purpose of epithets is worship and prayer
Mikalson
1983
Different epithets represent different gods
Versnel
2011
Meaning of epithets varied according to circumstances - cultic worship encouraged Greeks to think separatively
Believes Greeks would have accepted that Zeus with one epithet I’d the same as Zeus with another epithet
Scholars for hero cults
(+ Dates and ideas)
Rohde
1898
Hero cults evolved out of ancestor cults and the rise of the Polis
Farnell
1921
Hero cults arose due to a sharp cultural shift caused by the spread of Homeric poetry
Scholars for Worship
(+ Dates and ideas)
Richardson
2008
The gods were understood to enjoy the oplympic games in the same way human beings do, creating a clear link between games and religion
Scholars for levels of religious participation
(+ Dates and ideas)
Mikalson
2010
Polis worship was a community-forging role
Polis worship formed a large oikos (family)
Scholars for religious authority and ideas about impiety
(+ Dates and ideas)
Kahrstedt
1936
Priests did not have the power to make sacrifices on behalf of the polis alone because state officials had to be there
Parker
2006
Priests didn’t have exclusive authority to sacrifice for the Polis as magistrates could also do it
Trampedach & Eidenow
2001 & 2010
Asebeia trials defined the boundaries of acceptable behaviour to maintain social order
Bowden
2015
Asebeia was a tool for ‘purifying’ the community
Asebeia was used to describe threats to the community
Scholars for Politics and religion
(+ Dates and ideas)
Sourvinou-Inwood
1980s
concept of ‘embeddedness’ - religion was indistinguishable from daily and political life
Scholars for The Panathenaia
(+ Dates and ideas)
Mitropoulos et al
2017
The Panathenaia unified the polis community
Scullion
2010
Greek festivals were for fun and were excuses for partying
Richardson
2008
Gods like the things we like so having fun was part of a festival’s religious meaning
Parker
2005
Order of Panathenaia: 1, Competitions; 2, The pannychis; 3, The procession; 4, Presentation of peplos; 5, Sacrifices
The Panathenaia reinforced social difference
Scholars for priests and priestesses
(+ Dates and ideas)
Kahrstedt
1936
Priests alone didn’t have singular power to make polis sacrifices as state officials had to be present
Parker
2005
Priests and magistrates had authority for polis sacrifices but priests didn’t have exclusive authority to sacrifice for the polis
Chanoitis
2008
Priests didn’t need to know much as intelligence and education had little to do with how they were chosen
Scholars for process, purpose, and significance of blood sacrifices
(+ Dates and ideas)
Kirk
1990
Homer tried to ‘decarnalise’ the gods as he is uncomfortable with anthropomorphism
Naiden
2015
Honour was given through a sacrifice being either as beautiful or as traditional as possible
Bukert
1983
Sacrifice was a ritualisation of killing animals to remove guilt that communities felt over the act
Vernant and Detienne
1989
The focus of sacrifice was distribution of meat, rather than the kill, to define group identities and reinforce social hierarchies
Bremmer
2010
Bukert, Vernant and Detienne’s views are too anthropocentric and reductionist
Bremmer and Naiden
2015
Religious belief was the main focus of sacrifice
Scholars for the role of libration in state and private contexts
(+ Dates and ideas)
Zaidman and Pantel
1989
Interpreted that a pious person will offer libations daily and with care to secure the blessing of the gods - interpreted from Hesiod’s Works and Days (724-6)
Scholars for the role of votive offerings in state and private contexts
(+ Dates and ideas)
Theodoraki et al
2020
Tyche had 6 toes, the damage is on purpose to show surgery to amputate one of them
Scholars for the Eleusinian Mysteries
(+ Dates and ideas)
Clinton
2010
A drama involving blindfolding occured at the mysteries
Demeter and Kore’s reunion was shown as a symbol of death and rebirth into a glorious afterlife
2005
The bottom row of the Ninnion Tablet shows arrival at eleusis (Demeter seated). The top row shows demeter again, now reunited with Kore
Parker, Clinton et al
2005
The child born in the potential birth re-enactment is Ploutos (wealth)
Tiverios
2008
Sees the entirety of the Ninnion tablet as an arrival scene only
Simon
1983
Ninnion tablet completely unrelated to Mysteries, about Haloa festival
Mitropoulos et al
2017
Ninnion tablet shows revelation of the secret at the mysteries itself
Scholars for the healing cult of asclepius
(+ Dates and ideas)
Von Wilamowitz-Moellenforf
1930s
The Greeks distinguished clearly between medicine and miracle-cures
E. and L. Edelstein
1945
Ancient Greeks saw miracles and mdeicine as complementary
Graf
2015
Asclepius is presented not as a god unconnected with human medicine, but as a ‘super doctor’
Theodoraki et al
2020
Tyche had 6 toes, damage is on purpose to show surgery to amputate one of them
Scholars for the oracle of dodona
(+ Dates and ideas)
Nicol
1958
Signs were communicated by phenomena other than the oak tree at the oracle of dodona
The sound of bones striking the cauldrons at Dodona may have been considered ‘sign-bearing’
The experience at the oracle of dodona was not very personal
Scholars for the rise of philosophical thinking
(+ Dates and ideas)
Adamson
2014
What distinguished the early philosophers was their willingness to found their views on arguements
Holmes
1990s
First philosophers were all from Miletus because of the cosmopolitan port city where there would have been influence from Eastern and Egyption traditions, stimulating thought
Philosophical ideas about ethics and justice may have been stimulated more from within greek culture than by external factors
Scholars for the critique of the gods of homer and their anthropomorphism
(+ Dates and ideas)
Garland
1994
There was an anti-traditionalist movement that was shared with pre-socratics as far back as socrates
Benitez and Tarrant
2015
Pre-sophist philosophers corrected the parts of traditional religion that did not align with reason
Pre-socratics were misrepresented by Aristotle who imposed his own views on them
Muir
1985
The philosophers of the 6th century’s views were limited due to the nature of oral communication, on which they relied
Scholars for socrates and accusations of impiety
(+ Dates and ideas)
McPherran
2010
Socrates believed in traditional religion but modified it where he believed it conflicted with reason
Socrates could be more superstitious than most where his reason made no objection
Socrates’ idea that goodness and wisdon are the same made socrates a ‘moral revolutionary’.
Adamson
2014
Politics were involved in Socrates’ trial
