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.'
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)
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
No comments:
Post a Comment