Household Religion

Translate “Paterfamilias”.

Head [/father] of the household.

Give some examples of a father’s duties.

• Tend to familial tombs - both in terms of physical maintenance and accompanied rituals (e.g. libations of milk and honey offered annually)

• Apatouris: three-day rite when a son was welcomed into the phratry in honour of Zeus Phratrios

Translate “Oikos”.

The family, the family’s property, and the house.

Explain the role women played in worship.

Women were crucial bystanders; their sacrificial ritual cries forming their contribution.

The exception was when someone dies, women tended to their body and performed the appropriate rites on the corpse e.g. putting it in white robes and adorning it with garlands.

Explain how the role of women in worship differed regarding wider community worship.

1. Women could serve as priestesses for state cults or in communal civic cults.

2. Young girls could also take part in cults, as described for example in Aristophanes’ Lysistrata when a girl lists her different roles: “I was an Arrephoros, then I was a Grinder…one of the Foundress’ Bears”.

   1. Married women could participate in festivals such as the women-only Thesmophoria and the Eleusinian mysteries, both dedicated to Demeter and Persephone.

Who were the main household gods?

• Zeus Herkeios (inside, courtyard)

• Zeus Ktesios (property, wealth)

• Apollo Agyeios (outside)

What were the religious areas of the home?

The hearth and the herm.

Explain the function and worship of Zeus Herkeios.

Protector of the courtyard and inside of the house

Statue stood in the courtyard, around which the house was structured. Often depicted as a snake to ward off evil.

Explain the function and worship of Zeus Ktesios.

Protector of property and wealth

Depictions of him likely kept in the storeroom. Represented by a two-handled vase draped in a white woollen ribbon filled with seeds, water, and olive oil. The father would pray to him for health and good property.

Explain the function and worship of Apollo Agyeios.

Protector of the outside of the house

Represented by a statuette or small pillar People may have statues of Herakles outside for the same function

What was the hearth and how was it used in religious practice?

A fire at the centre of the home

Dedicated to Hestia New family members (e.g. babies, brides, slaves) were welcomed with a ceremony of walking around the fire showered by dried fruits and nuts.

What was a herm and how was it used in religious practice?

A rectangular pillar with a bearded head of Hermes and an erect phallus

Stood as halfway markers on roads and protective symbols outside houses It was considered very bad luck if they were damaged e.g. one was damaged the night before the Athenians departed on their campaign to Sicily.