Nature of the Olympian Gods

• Homer texts

  • The Odyssey
  • The Illiad
• Dates of Homer

  • 8th/7th Century BC
• Texts of Hesiod

  • Works and days - farmers how to worship Gods correctly
  • Theogony - origins of Gods
• Dates of Hesiod

  • 7th Century BC
• What are the homeric hymns

  • a series of 31/33 poems
  • NOT BY HOMER
  • composed in the style of homer
  • focus mainly on the aetiology of the gods (creation)
• Panatheniac Amphora - visual source

  • date - 333-332BC
  • style - black figure
  • Athena Promochos
  • reverse = three athletes running
• Homer and Hesiod

  • how the ancient Greek perceived the gods around 700BC
• Anthropomorphism

  • the attribution of human characteristics and emotions to non-human form (don't behave in the same way and has more power)
• votive offerings

  • a dedication to a god by an individual as part of a contract or vow between mortal and diety
  • has to have sentimental meaning to the individual
  • idea of reciprocal (du et des)
• how to honour and worship a god

  • votive offering
  • blood sacrifice
  • ritual burial
  • libations
  • prayer
• oracle

  • delphi (apollo) and dodona (zeus)
• how to become a hero

  • live and died
  • done something amazing (good or bad) and be admired by the community
• Hero Cults

  • religious worship and rituals were involved
  • involved death rituals
  • located at a tomb
  • death of someone important / attracts community of people
  • hero would have died a long time ago
• Level 1 of hero cults

  • death ritual E.G. for a grandad
• Level 2 of hero cult

  • death ritual performed by a local community at a local tomb
• Level 3 of a hero cult

  • heroes who are important enough to receive cult from the whole polis
• level 4 of a hero cult

  • heroes that transcend an individual polis and are worshipped by many and different regions in Greece
• heroes worshiped on a deme level

  • Erchia
  • Epops
  • Leucaspis
  • Menedius
• Heroes worshiped on a polis level

  • Thesius - in Athens
• heroes worshipped on a panhellenic scale

  • Herakles
  • Aesclepius
  • Achilles
  • Cleomedes
  • Pelops
  • Theogones
• Zeus Epithets

  • Zeus Poleis - Zeus of the city
  • Zeus Ktesios - protector of property and wealth
  • Zeus Herkios - zeus of the fence
  • Zeus Philios - Zeus of love
  • Zeus Phratrios - Zeus of the phatries
  • Zeus Horkaios - Zeus of the oaths
• Athena Epithets

  • Athena Polias - athena of the city
  • athena Parthenos
  • Athena Nike - athena of victory
  • Athena Promochos - Athena of the front line