human being Periods of Ancient Greek History BRONZE AGE Minoan Civilization Mycenaean Civilization 30001500 18001100 DARK AGE 1100800 12 th 9 th centuries ARCHAIC PERIOD ID: 685303
Download Presentation The PPT/PDF document "HERO divinity hero" is the property of its rightful owner. Permission is granted to download and print the materials on this web site for personal, non-commercial use only, and to display it on your personal computer provided you do not modify the materials and that you retain all copyright notices contained in the materials. By downloading content from our website, you accept the terms of this agreement.
Slide1
HEROSlide2
divinity
hero
human being Slide3
Periods of Ancient Greek History
BRONZE AGE
Minoan Civilization
Mycenaean Civilization
3000-1500
1800-1100
DARK
AGE
1100-800
12
th
-9
th
centuries
ARCHAIC PERIOD
800-480
9
th
-5
th
centuries
CLASSICAL
PERIOD
480-323
5
th
-4
th
centuries
HELLENISTIC PERIOD
323-31
4
th
-1
st
centuriesSlide4
ARCHAIC PERIOD
(800-480 BCE)
• re-development of trade
• economic increase• adoption of alphabet
• codification of oral tradition• mythological/theological speculation• evidence for hero-cults
• rise of
polis
• weakening of aristocratic power
• rise of communal sanctuaries
• colonizationSlide5
ca. 800
Homer
epic poetry
Iliad, Odyssey
ca. 750
Hesiod
mythological poetry
Theogony
, Works & Days
• pantheon
• ritual
• prayer
• divine/human relationship
• afterlife beliefs
• hero-cults
• burial customsSlide6
Greek
Colonization
(8
th-6th centuries BCE)Slide7
Herakles
Worship
• roughly 600 shrines
• no tomb
• double sacrifice (uranian/chthonic)
• priesthood from ephebic order
• women forbidden participation
• large meat sacrificesSlide8
Features of Hero Worship
•Cult local, based on presence of corpse (
sôma
) and objects associated with hero.•Hero’s sôma entombed in
sêma or mnêma
or
taphos
of various shapes:
tholos
, shrine, temple; generic term =
heroön
.•Location of sêma often secret.
•Sacrifice (enagizein) usually chthonic with ram victim, but in most cases shared meal (
theoxenia), with hero given choice portion (geras).
•Blood of victim (also milk, wine, honey) poured onto altar (
eschara
) or into pit (
bothros
).
•Hero considered dead vis-à-vis site of corpse, but immortal and alive in a vaguely-conceived paradise, allowing hero to return (
anabiônai
)
epiphanically
.Slide9
nature
uranian
divinity god
chthonic
hero
human being
mortalSlide10
URANIAN
CHTHONIC
recipient above ground
recipient below ground
daytime sacrifice
nighttime sacrifice
white, unblemished victim
(steer, bull)
dark victim (pig, ram,
rooster)
recipient directly addressed
recipient addressed
via euphemism
officiant’s
eyes raised
officiant’s
eyes averted
sacred silence (
euphemia
)
weeping and lamentation
raised altar (
bomos
)
low altar (
eschara
) or pit (
bothros
)
victim’s throat raised upwards
victim’s throat points downwards
victim consecrated (
hiereuein
)
victim slaughtered (
enagizein
)
flesh fumigated (
thyein
) to rise as smoke
flesh “cut into” the fire (
entemnein
) or pit
victim burned
victim
burned completely (
holocaust
) or abandoned
shared meal
no shared mealSlide11
Sacrificial Acts
thyein
(Vb.) to sacrifice (to
ouranian being)
thysia (N.) (
ouranian
) sacrifice
hiereuein
(Vb.) to sanctify
sphazein
(V.) to cut the
t
hroat (for chthonic being)
sphagia (N.) (chthonic) sacrificeenagizein
(Vb.) to participate in pollution (for chthonic being)
entemnein
(Vb.) to cut (victim) into (fire or pit)
Slide12
Types of Hero Sacrifice
holocaust
Victim completely consumed by fire or abandoned;
no shared meal.
sphagia
Victim’s throat cut, blood poured over altar or into
bothros
; often on eve of war.
theoxenia
“Ordinary” (both vegetarian and cooked
meat) meal offered on table (
trapeza
).
thysia
Sacrifice to hero as to
uranian
god, followed by shared meal.