RLST 101 Unit 1 Exam

Classical Cosmology

• The Earth was a flat disk that rests on water

• Under the disk was the underworld

• Over the disk was the heavens

• Formed by observation

• Geocentric Cosmos = Earth is the center of the universe

• The deities resided in the center of the Earth where the heavens and the Earth meet

• Offered sacrifices to the deities to respect them and so they can give them good lives

Ptolemaic Cosmology

• Challenged Classical Cosmology

• Backed by science and mathematics

• The Earth is a sphere that is surrounded by 7 other concentric plantary spheres

• Ordered Cosmos = Everything happens for a reason

• Deities reside in the stars

  • People felt that the gods don’t love or miss them, feeling isolated; long distance relationship

  • Deities didn’t meddle in human affairs

Savior

Extraordinary personalities who were active in world affairs and who are considered to have transformed a situation for the better

• Heros must find their way home - successful homecoming is the final heroic task

Fortuna/Tyche

• The goddess of fate chance, and luck

• Powerful, unpredictable force that strips humans of control and drive sudden, radical change

Animal Sacrifice

The slaughter and consumption of a domestic animal for a deity

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Blood Sacrifice

Sacrificial rituals in which the shedding of blood appears to be carried out for its own sake and not as the prelude to a meal

• Before battle

• At the burial of the dead and purifications

First-fruit Offerings

The surrender of firstlings of food whether won by hunting, fishinf, gathering, or agriculture

Votive Offerings

The gift made to the god in consequence of a vow

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Temenos

The places of worship/sacturaries that are often preserved and tended through catastrophies, revolution, and changes in population

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Pompe

The procession that serves as a foundational component of ancient Greek festivals

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Agon

A struggle/competition/contests

• Essential ritual mechanism that channeled violent and destructive impulses into socially cohesive, life-affirming outlets

Divination

A variety of religious practices by which the future is told

Oracles

Spoken form of divination that usually occurs at a temenos where a deity speaks through a seer at the site

• Knowing the future can change one’s fate and make them feel less isolated and alone from the distance or separation from the Gods

Omens

A sudden occurence that cannot be manipulated that predits the future

• Lightning bolt

• Eclipse

• Shooting star

• Sneeze

Dreams

Augury

A popular form of divination of interpreting the flight or sound of birds

Asklepios

Demeter

Mystery

Greater Mysteries

Kykeon

Dionysus

Mithras