GR - T1: Hero Cults

• A hero is a mythical person known from myths (eg Achilles) or a local person who was then deified once dead
• Heroes were considered as more than human but less than a god. They were died and buried but worshipped
• Heroes performed extraordinary great or awful deeds (like the gods). For example Heracles saved communities from various threats. On the other hand, Cleomedes killed his opponent in the pankration at the Olympic Games and was disqualified. This enraged him so much that he ripped down a school roof leaving 60 children dead and vanishing from the earth.
• There is no church which can define supernatural being's nature or their relative importance. Therefore, it is not easy to find consistency in ancient Greek religious practice and belief
• A hero cult is located at a tomb
• In ancient Greek societies, funerals were much more important culturally, socially and politically than funerals are now for us. Ancient Greek funerals were more elaborate and dramatic events (Lamentations, offerings, procession to the tomb)
• After the funeral itself, rites continued to be performed. Relatives had a duty to give offerings after the funerals, after 3 days, 9 days, a month, a year, etc. The death ritual went on long after death
• Funerals bring people together - people feel a solidarity they may not feel in any other context, experiencing the same kind of emotion
• If somebody important dies (important politically or because they died bravely in battle or benefitted the community), the funeral might attract not just the family but a whole locality or city-state
• The tomb may gradually become a centre, focus or landmark. The feelings of solidarity are extended to a wider group. A hero cult then appears. Hero cult will then be extended in time because it has a social/political significance
• A hero cult is a form of death ritual
• Normally, hero cults were awarded to people who were considered to have died a very long time ago
• Hero cult is a social transformation of ordinary death ritual to draw in the whole of a community, local or larger
• Hero cult could start at a tomb, whose occupant was unknown - locals imagined it was a mythical hero. Hero cult was a good thing if you wanted to create a community
• Most heroes are only worshipped on a local level, like Pelops in Olympia. Because the focal point of a hero's cult was his tomb, hero worship was therefore bound to one locality - this was a difference to divine worship
• The worship of a hero was more personal than the worship of a god due to the tie to a tomb, a precise place and community, and the direct connection in the worship
• Parker stated that "Gods had to be shared with the world, but a village or kinship group could have exclusive rights to a hero"
• Why hero cults?

  The body of the dead hero was considered to be a talisman of fertility and prosperity to the community - it brought them good luck. Heroes are not completely dead - they are still potent and can still affect the community. The cult is there to make sure the heroes are favourable to the communities. Having a hero cult benefits the community as it helps give a sense of common identity (the hero is often considered as the common ancestor, or founder of the city, or special benefactor). It also adds to the prestige of the locality (can draw tourists)
• Heroes and Gods were worshipped in very similar ways - through sacrifices and libations (which could be made from water, wine, oil, milk, honey, the actual blood of the sacrificial victim)
• When worshippers sacrificed to a hero, the perspective was directed towards the earth; when worshippers sacrificed to a god, the perspective was directed towards the sky (except for chthonic gods)
• The pouring of blood into the earth in order to make physical contact with the corpse of the hero below was thought to activate the consciousness of the hero
• Rite of pharmakos


  scapegoat - the scapegoat unites the community through its common hatred. The scapegoat takes the pollution away and bestows benefit the community
• Heroes were normally worshipped locally, however Hercales was worshipped on a panhellenic level and he was worshipped as both a god and hero
• Heracles' strength and ability to achieve near impossible feats gave him tremendous appeal as a protector in many states
• Heracles was worshipped everywhere (particularly at Olympia). He was worshipped as a household god, and his statue stood outside many homes to ward off evil. Therefore, both heroes and gods could be worshipped on different levels - personal, local and panhellenic
• What hero doctor was worshipped throughout the Greek world?

  Asclepius