Zeus the Mighty King of Heaven

This week's lecture looked at Zeus as a case study of ancient Greek religion. Zeus, being chief god in the Greek pantheon, was a good choice for this. There are two sides to how we can view Zeus, as either a Sovereign or a Tyrant. The picture on the left is from http://www.theoi.com/Gallery/S1.5.html it depicts Zeus/Jupiter standing with a royal staff and bowl, with an eagle at his feet. All three other features on this statue of Zeus symbolise his right to rule. In the lecture we discussed the ideas of Zeus as a supreme being, the lecturer pointed out that he is possibly the most likely of the Greek gods that you could call God (with a capital G), even though Zeus is different to the monotheistic God in many ways.

We were given some issues for consideration in the lecture today. These were:  

• Zeus as supreme being 
• Zeus as god with specialised function in the pantheon  
• How the Greeks represented him in art if his "true" form (see Anthropomorphism post) was the thunderbolt.

Zeus may seem to come across as the supreme being in Greek religion. He certainly has no trouble crushing any potential uprisings against him and repeatedly shows his power in a variety of myths. However there are at least two goddesses that Zeus does not want to insult; Hecate and Nyx. It's told in the Theogony (404 ff) that Zeus gives Hecate a share of the Sky, Sea and Underworld. He does this as he held her in high regard and the Titans that came before him (she was a third generation Titan). Nyx on the other hand is one of the primordial gods; she was one of the first beings to emerge from the Chasm at the start of the universe. In the Iliad, Hypnos explains the following tale: 'but Zeus awakened in anger and beat the gods up and down his house, looking beyond all others for me, and would have sunk me out of sight in the sea from the bright sky had not Nyx (Night) who has power over gods and men rescued me. I reached her in my flight, and Zeus let be, though he was angry, in awe of doing anything to swift Nyx' displeasure. (Iliad 14. 231 ff).

This story shows that although Zeus is seen as the supreme being in many ways, there are still other deities he doesn't want to mess with. So he's powerful, but not all powerful. We can see this trait of power passed down to all of his offspring in some shape or form, as I'm looking at Apollo overall there is a quote in the Homeric Hymn III to Delian Apollo, that goes:

'the other gods tremble at him

when he enters the house of Zeus,

they spring up when he comes near them'.

Here we see that Apollo is seen by the other Olympians as a powerful being, the next section of the hymn states that only Leto and (through inference) Zeus remain seated and the other gods only sit back down when Leto takes her son's bow from him. 

Zeus' specialised function within the pantheon was as the god of justice, order, the sky and the weather. Burkert says that 'Only for Greeks and Romans is the Sky Father the highest god, and he is so primarily as a rain and storm god: Zeus is much more a weather god than the etymology would suggest. (Greek Religion, 1987:126)' Burkert gives this description of Zeus whilst discussing the Indo-European roots of Zeus' name. He states that Zeus is the weather with examples of phrasing, such as ''Zeus is raining' instead of 'it is raining'' (Greek Religion, 1987:126). Another example would be how Zeus sends the thunderbolt and is the thunderbolt. We can link this point to the one about Zeus' power by looking at the Demeter and Persephone story. When Demeter was scouring the earth looking for her daughter, all the crops withered and died as she wasn't looking after her realm. Zeus couldn't do a thing about the death of the crops, but he could only order Demeter back and she had to obey..

In ancient Greek sculpture, Zeus was usually portrayed as enthroned with an eagle next to him or standing holding his royal sceptre or in a fighting pose holding his master bolt. My calling it master bolt is influenced by the Percy Jackson books. In his first Percy Jackson book, Riordan gives it the following description: 

''Zeus's master bolt,' Chiron said, getting worked up now. 'The symbol of his power, from which all other lightning bolts are patterned. The first weapon made by the Cyclopes for the war against the Titans, the bolt that sheared the top of Mount Etna and hurled Kronos from his throne; the master bolt, which packs enough power to make mortal hydrogen bombs look like firecrackers.'' (Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, 2005:135). Burkert also makes a similar point by saying 'The thunderbolt... Is the weapon of Zeus which he alone commands; it is irresistible, even gods tremble before it, and enemies of the gods are utterly destroyed when it strikes; in the face of such a manifestation of divine energy, man stands powerless, terrified and yet marvelling'. (Greek Religion, 1987:126). While Riordan may be slightly exaggerating with its’ level of power compared to a hydrogen bomb, Burkert seems to have captured why Zeus is often displayed with it in art, mortals are marvelled by something of such high power.

Primary Sources: 

The Homeric Hymns, Hymn to Delian Apollo, page 26

Homer, Iliad 14. 231 ff

Secondary Sources:

Burkert, W., Greek Religion, 1987, page 126.

Riordan, R., Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, 2005, Page 135

Image:

Jupiter - http://www.theoi.com/Gallery/S1.5.html

Ancient Greek Anthropomorphism

The idea of anthropomorphism was a big part of how the ancient Greeks viewed their gods. On the left here, we have an image of Apollo from a Kylix represented in human form. We see him as a young, beardless male. We also see a few of his attributes; the lyre for being god of music, a libation bowl (Delphic Oracle related?) and wearing a laurel wreath, an important reminder of his love for Daphne (as told by Ovid in Metamorphoses and other sources). We also see one of his sacred animals, the crow or raven. Anthropomorphic representation allows the artist to add these details to the portrayal of the god to give them personality, making them easier to differentiate from the other deities.

The anthropomorphisation of gods was not a Greek original idea; the Egyptians and Sumerians did it a few hundred years before. In lecture we looked at why cultures (specifically the Greeks) did this. Here are some reasons we came up with for anthropomorphism:

• It makes the gods more relatable.
• It's human nature. 
• It enables immoral representation
• It's convenient
• It lends itself well to royal lineages and genealogies. 

The first and second point listed goes well with the Xenophanes quote: were oxen able to make up gods, these gods would be ox-like: (Anthropomorphism . IV. Greco-Roman Antiquity’ in Encyclopaedia of the Bible and Its Reception (EBR), Walter de Gruyter (2008–2017)). Of course humans would represent their gods as humans, why would we as a species represent them as something that doesn't represent us? I'll return to this point in a few paragraphs, taking it out of context of Greece into the wider world.

The third point is interesting; the gods are shown to commit familial murder, sleep around (cough *Zeus* cough) and do  things that society would condemn if a normal mortal was to do it. Is it the fact that the gods are thanatoi  - 'deathless'. This word comes from the plural of Thanatos, the god of death and the Greek method (which we still use) of adding a letter 'a' to the front of a word to make it mean the opposite. 

An example of the last point would be the two families of the Spartan kings being descended from the sons of Heracles, ergo from Zeus as a reason for their right to lead and fierceness in battle. Some of the Greek leaders at Troy were descended from gods; it's the ancient version of a claim to fame.

Anthropomorphism, while a cross-cultural idea is also not the only way that societies can portray their gods, many choose to portray them in a theriomorphic state, as animals. This is seen in Greece through each god's sacred animal - the snake and raven for Apollo, eagle and bull for Zeus, owl for Athena and the horse for Poseidon. The gods can take the form of their sacred animal; some gods like Nereus and his daughters are known for being shape shifters and could take the form of any animal. This power most likely applies to all the gods as seen through the numerous disguises Zeus takes during his affairs. Turning again to Egypt, their gods were portrayed either as partly anthropomorphic animals; Tawaret as bipedal hippopotamus for example or as human bodied with animal heads; Horus with the head of a falcon, Anubis with a jackal head etc. Each of these could also take the form of the animal they were usually depicted having the head of. North American tribes had their Spirit Animal totems, worshipped eagles, bears, wolves and other native animals. In the East you've got the elephant-headed Ganesh from India and the Monkey King; Sun Wu-Kong in China as well as a whole host of other divine animals from both cultures. Below is a Map of World mythology from Tumblr which looks to be useful for this year. Theriomorphic beings can clearly be seen as the images for many of the geographical groups across the globe.

The removal of viewing deities as having a theriomorphic state seems to be through the popularity of monotheism being introduced and carried around the world, in Genesis mankind is given '"dominion over... every living thing that moves upon the earth."' Genesis 1:28. Since then I would argue that gods have been shown more commonly in an anthropomorphic state.

Another way of portraying gods we discussed in lecture was in their "true" forms. The common  version of this portrayal is in the story of Semele and Zeus, when Semele is tricked into asking Zeus to reveal his true form under the promise that he can't deny her what she asks. He reveals himself to her and she is incinerated. I assume that his "true" form is elemental, as I imagine the inside of a cloud during a thunderstorm to be.

Apollo is never really seen in a "true" form like Zeus is in the myth of Semele. This may be because in many of Apollo's myths he is either courting someone (Daphne, Hyacinthus etc.), taking part in a contest (Marsyas) or taking his wrath out on someone (Greek army at Troy and Niobe's male children). For all of these things he needs to have a human form to be able to do so. This may have something to do with Apollo having a godly connection with young males, as he is always depicted as clean shaven. However there are some tales that have Apollo giving off an elemental-esque light. In Euripides’ Ion (887-96), his hair is singled out as a distinctive quality but his presence is manifested too in the golden light that transforms the surrounding area. (Anthropomorphism . IV. Greco-Roman Antiquity’ in Encyclopaedia of the Bible and Its Reception (EBR), Walter de Gruyter (2008–2017)). This shining light could be to do with the fact that Apollo and Artemis had strong links with the sun and moon respectively. 

Secondary Sources:

Deacy Article -Anthropomorphism . IV. Greco-Roman Antiquity’ in Encyclopaedia of the Bible and Its Reception (EBR), Walter de Gruyter (2008–2017)

Genesis 1:28

Image:

 Apollo image - http://www.theoi.com/Gallery/K5.2.html

Polytheism and Apollo

Ancient Greece Polytheism was one of the larger polytheistic cultures from around the world 371 gods according to God Checker. This is due to the fact that the Greeks ascribed a god to pretty much every aspect of the world they lived in. For instance the 12 Olympians ruled over the Heaven (Zeus), Sea (Poseidon), Wars (Ares), Hunting (Artemis), Farming (Demeter), Marriage (Hera), Forges (Hephaistos), Wine (Dionysos), Love (Aphrodite), Wisdom (Athena), Music (Apollo) and Travellers (Hermes). These 12 gods made up the main pantheon that the Greeks would have prayed to. Zeus was head of the pantheon in general, however certain cities worshipped one of the gods more than the others; Apollo was especially worshipped at Delphi, Hera was popular in Argos and Athena was top deity in Athens, rather unsurprisingly. The geographer Pausanias said in his Guide to Greece: "Both the city [of Athens] and the whole of the land [of Attika] are alike sacred to Athena; for even those who in their parishes have an established worship of other gods nevertheless hold Athena in honor".

As well as this main pantheon the Greeks also had a long list of Nymph varieties, Daimones, Hero and Heroines Cults and Personified abstractions. Nymphs were the, often female, personifications of rivers, trees and other natural phenomenon. Daimones were lower level gods or spirits; Eris and the other children of Nyx (Night) were probably the most famous. After their deaths heroes like Theseus and Perseus and heroines like Atalanta were cult worshipped. Of Personified Abstractions, the most famous were the Primordial Gods and Goddesses, including; Nyx (Night), Gaia (Earth), Ouranos (Sky), Tartarus (Pit under the world). All these deities were the thing that they ruled over.

The image at the top of this blog post is a genealogy of the gods, goddesses and other divine beings mentioned in Hesiod's Theogony. I created it myself during my first year of university. It's one of the things that I'm most proud of. There's only one line that crosses. The genealogy shows the variety of deities that the Greeks had.

As you can see, Apollo is way down the list, a son of Zeus and the second-generation Titaness, Leto. While he is a relative latecomer to the "main family" of deities in the Greek pantheon, his status as a son of Zeus and another deity allows him to be a member of the Olympians.

As discussed in the lecture, not only is the religion as a whole polytheistic, but each deity has a polytheistic nature as well. One way of seeing this is by looking at how many things that Apollo is god of: music, poetry, healing, archery, protection of the young, plague, disease, prophecy and oracles. This is one of the highest counts of the Olympians. Each of the major gods was extendable through their epithets or where they were worshipped. Zaidman discusses the extendibility of the gods on page 177 of Religion In The Ancient Greek City: 'Each divinity had its own name, attributes and adventures, but they all owed their existence solely to the bonds that linked them in a systematic way to the totality of a divine universe. The notion of individualised divinity was not, however, thought incompatible with the existence of divine powers which were collective, indivisible and indissociable... The gods whose identities were most individuated could in their turn assume a whole range of guises specified by their particular cultural epithets, depending on the place where the cult was celebrated and the function that was being fulfilled.' 

The idea of extendable gods through epithets can be seen with Apollo. He has a number of epithets and cult titles, stemming both from places he's worshipped in and his sphere of influence:

• Apollo Thearios (of the Oracle)
• Apollo Hekatos (Shooter from afar)
• Apollo Paian (Healer)
• Apollo Sminthaios (Of the mice)
• Apollo Delphios (of Delphoi)
• Apollo Delios (of Delos)
• Apollo Aigletos (the Shining)

All of these and many more are listed on this Theoi page.

Primary Source: 

Pausanias, Guide to Greece, 1.26., 6 -7 

Secondary Source: 

Zaidman, B. and Pantel, S, P., Religion In The Ancient City. 1992, Page 3

Introduction to Ancient Greek Religion

For the 'Ancient Greek Religion' module I will use the god Apollo as a base around to look at the weekly lecture topics. I chose Apollo as my favourite god a few years ago because I was practising archery at the time I was studying mythology at college. Walter Burkert says 'Apollo has often been described, not without reason, as the 'most Greek of the gods'... That the youth, the kouros, was raised to its ideal, gives Greek culture as a whole its peculiar character, purified and elevated, this ideal is manifest in the divine; the god of this culture is Apollo'. (Greek Religion,1987:143). This apparent importance given to Apollo also helped my decision. 

This week's blog post will be more of a discussion about the ancient Greek religion in broader terms.

Roman copy inspired by Greek ivory and gold statue of Zeus at Olympia by Pheidias

Zaidman says that cultural estrangement is a 'necessity' (Religion in the Ancient Greek City, 1992:3) when discussing Greek religion, and that we need to have a 'mental readjustment’ (1992:3) to be able to have such an estrangement from our own culture. When I think of the ancient Greek religion I tend to look it as the collection of all the mythological gods and heroes with rituals and festivals added. While this may not be the best or correct way of viewing it, it does allow me to view the "religion" of the ancient Greeks with a sense of estrangement from the modern day definitions of religion. This is useful to me considering that the "western world" as it were has been influenced fairly heavily since the change to Christianity by the Roman Emperor Constantine. As Greece became part of the Roman Empire, Constantine's Christianisation affected it as well. The Greeks went from worshipping Zeus (see above image) and the rest of the pantheon, to being Christian, then during the time of the Ottoman Empire; Islamic, and has since reverted back to having Christianity as its primary religion. These religious changes can be seen in the history of the Acropolis and the Parthenon. However this group are attempting to reclaim their country's religious heritage. In the lecture today we discussed if there was such a thing as Greek religion. Religion to the Greeks was not religion as we know it today. The ancient Greeks had something religious intertwined in everything they did, from politics and law to sporting events, examples are the Areopagus in Athens and the Olympic Games site at Olympia respectively. In the world today, aside from some theocracies, most of the world is fairly secular or keeps politics and religion separate. Price says 'there is no religious sphere separate from that of politics and warfare or private life; instead, religion is embedded in all aspects of life, public and private.' (Religions of the Ancient Greeks:1999). This quote accurately contrasts the difference between religion in society today and religion in society over 2000 years ago. Even though we can see that Price's statement is correct about ancient Greek religion, as we see it everywhere, no matter what topic of the ancient Greek world we study, it is not religion as we know it. Garland points out how it was different to religion today: ‘I can see no better way to begin than by providing a kind of negative catechism of everything that mainstream Greek religion wasn’t, in order to demonstrate how it differed from the religious systems with which we are probably most familiar: There was no dogma There was no set of beliefs to which everyone had to subscribe There was no ‘official’ interpretation of religious observance There was nothing resembling a church with a centralised hierarchy There was no concept of conversion There was no absolute distinction between the sacred and profane There was little notion of sin or redemption There was no rule of life There was no denial of worldly pleasures There was little fear of eternal damnation There was no barrier between religion and ordinary life.’ Religion and the Greeks (Bristol Classical Press: 1994) Due to what Garland points out here, we see the need for Zaidman's cultural estrangement. Some of the things in this list, while not surprising, are interesting.  So in our lecture, we came to conclusion that there was such a thing as Greek religion but only if we detached ourselves from the Christianised society we live in today. To tie this in with Apollo, he is occasionally described as giving off a glowing light (see Anthropomorphism post), could this have influenced the way in which Mary and Jesus are portrayed in Christian art? They tend to both have a glowing light coming from around their heads. It's possibly a connection. Secondary Sources: Burkert, W., Greek Religion, 1987, Page 143 Garland, R., Religion and the Greeks, 1994 Price., Religions of the Ancient Greeks, 1999, Page 3. Zaidman, B. Pantel, P. S., Religion in the Ancient Greek City, 1989, Page 3 Image: Jupiter - http://www.theoi.com/Gallery/S1.1.html