1 / 10

Religions 2: What is Greek Religion ?

Religions 2: What is Greek Religion ?. Recap of last class (questions) Compare Greek religion with Christianity in the modern West (say, Canada); what are the differences? Are these differences found in other religions today? Theory Chapter 1 + Oriental influences.

noble-levine
Download Presentation

Religions 2: What is Greek Religion ?

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Religions 2: What is GreekReligion? Recap of last class (questions) Compare Greek religion with Christianity in the modern West (say, Canada); what are the differences? Are these differences found in other religions today? Theory Chapter 1 + Oriental influences

  2. Characteristics Greek religion Not monolithic > dynamic, i.e. changes in place and time • Embeddedness in society • Polytheism • Gods interconnected • Here and now • Oral • Patriarchal • No important religious class

  3. Ad 1: embeddeness - Returned in all segments of society - No division between Church and state - No division between ‘sacred’ and ‘profane’ • Both private and public (most of it communal) ERGO > no word for ‘religion’! No word for ‘atheist’ (someone who does not believe in god): gods are everywhere, so irrelevant 5th century BCE: atheos= ‘one who does not respect the gods/who does not revere the gods in the proper way’

  4. Words that cover the ‘sacred’ • Hieros: everything that has to do with god and sanctuaries; e.g. hieron= temple; hiereus= priest • Hagnos: gods: awesomeness; men: ritual purity • Hosios: ‘permitted or pleasing to the gods’, could also have moral meaning: ‘morally permitted’ • Hagios: not delimitating (like hieros): used for temples, rites and mysteries E.g. hierakaihosia‘correct ritual behaviour and (moral) treatment of other people’

  5. Ad 2: polytheism • Religious system in which each deity had its role: all gods needed to be revered • No worship of one god: e.g. Hippolytos • No conversion • Greek term for piety = eusebeia, ‘revere in a good way’; asebeia: breaking ancestral rites, e.g. temple robbery; killing; holding improper ideas (e.g. Socrates); closer to ‘impiety’ • Ancient religions inclusive, but were not necessarily more tolerant than monotheistic ones!

  6. Ad 3: interconnected • Gods always close by, so if you overstep boundaries you will be punished (e.g. Aktaion) • Overstepping of boundaries = pollution; e.g. incest (e.g. Oedipus), cannibalism; needs purification • Systematic thinking about life after death becomes only central among Christian theologians

  7. Ad 4: here and now • ‘underworld’ (Tartaros, Elysian Fields) existed from early on and philosophers speculated about death • Long development > II-III p. mystery cults promise ‘salvation’

  8. Ad 5: oral • No sacred book, no credo, commandments etc. • Traditions transmitted orally • Explains centrality of religious practices, ‘rituals’, which are accompanied from words

  9. Ad 6: patriarchal • Male dominated • Males had dominant position in religious realm (unless female priest); participation in festivals only under guidance of male

  10. Ad 7: no religious class • No institution ‘Greek priesthood’ (only perhaps priests at major sanctuaries); priests attached to individual cults • Cf. imams, rabbis, Christian priests; no caste (Hinduism/Buddhism) • Religious specialists: priests, seers (divination), poets (divine inspiration)

More Related