Greek Religion 1.5

Rituals and Priests

Why did Greek religious festivals follow a very strict procedure?

Any deviance from the procedure could provoke the anger of the gods

What was the role of priests/priestesses in Greek religion?

They fulfilled the important role of invoking the goodwill of the gods on behalf of the entire community

What was the main task of priests/priestesses?

The performance of the ritual sacrifice and other religious services

How did priests and civic authorities overlap?

A civic priest always stood under the responsibility of the local authorities. Politicians did not need priests to perform religious activities but priests were often dependent on a civic representative to perform a public sacrifice.

What does the scholar Chaniotis say about where religious authority lied (with priests or with civic authorities)?

'Magistrates sometimes conducted religious activities without the assistance of priests, it was less common for a public priest to perform rituals without the presence of secular authorities'

Where did religious authority lay?

In the hands of the state. It is nearly impossible to separate religious personnel from political personnel as their jobs often included both political and religious tasks (ie the archon basileus)

Who was in charge of all religious matters in Athens?

The archon basileus

What were some privileges of being a priest?

Front row seats in the theatre of Dionysus were reserved for particular priesthoods, the best cuts of the sacrificial meat were kept by the priests, priests were generally well regarded in society and it brought prestige

What were the three basic ways to obtain priesthood?

-Through inheritance
-By lot
-Through purchase

What were hereditary priesthoods?

They were mostly lifelong and particularly prominent in important civic cults such as the cult of Athena Polias in Athens and the priests of Demeter and Kore at Eleusis

What are two famous examples of hereditary priesthood families?

-The Eumolpidae family (provided the hierophants for the Mysteries, could trace their family roots to the mythical king Eumolpos)
-The Kerykes family (provided the dadouchos - torchbearer - for the Mysteries, could trace their family roots to Keryx, the first priest at Eleusis)

What was the most important female priesthood in ancient Greece?

The priestess of Athena Polias (carried the peplos of Athena in Panathenaic procession)

Which noble family provided the priestess of Athena Polias?

The Eteoboutadae family

How were public priesthoods an exception to the rule of female exclusion from politics?

The priestess of Athena Polias often appeared at the side of important political officials, seen on the Ionic frieze of the Parthenon where the priestess stands together with the archon basileus

What are some examples of how women were included in religion as priests?

They led processions that attracted people from all over the Greek world (eg at the Panathenaia) and organised and held their own festivals, such as the Thesmophoria, a female citizen only festival in honour of Demeter

Who could perform sacrifices?

Sacrifices could be performed by anyone, even housewives and slaves

What sacrifices required specialists?

For blood sacrifices some skills in butchery were needed - but in many cases the butchering was done by a professional assistant rather than a priest. Priests were also necessary for the performance of larger rituals

What else were priests responsible for other than the rituals celebrated in the sanctuary?

The physical care of the sanctuary, including its buildings, votive-gifts, and its finances

What was the financial role of sanctuaries?

Most sanctuaries served as banks primarily for the state in times of crisis but also for individuals taking out loans for private matters

What was the standard type of ancient Greek sacrifice?

Blood sacrifice

What were the main species slaughtered for sacrifice?

Sheep, goats, pig and cattle (rarely fish, wild animals, dogs, horses or fowl)

What did participants bring to sacrifice at the Thesmophoria and Eleusinian Mysteries?

Piglets

What was the hecatomb?

A sacrifice of one hundred oxen - a famous example is the hecatomb at Olympia at the end of the Olympic Games on the great altar of Zeus

Why do we know little about the act of sacrifice despite it being central to Greek religion?

Depictions on reliefs and vases show the leading of the animal to the altar but hardly ever the actual killing or allocation of sacrificial meat

Where is the most information about the actual procedure of sacrifice taken from?

Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, Euripides' Elektra and Aristophanes' Birds

What was the preparation (sacrifice stage 1)?

The animal was led to the altar, usually in a procession like the Panathenaic procession. Each participant cleansed their hands and took a handful of barley grain from a basket. The sacrificial victim's head was sprinkled with water to force a nod of agreement, followed by the cut of a strand of hair of the victim by the main sacrificer. The hair was put on the altar, the fire was lit, a prayer was said in which the desired outcome of the sacrifice was formulated (eg health, victory). The other participants threw their handfuls of barley forward.

What was the act of killing (sacrifice stage 2)?

The main sacrificer cut the animal's throat with a knife, and larger victims were stunned by a blow with an axe beforehand. Women now chanted the ritual cry called 'ololyge' and the altar was bloodied either by holding the animal directly over the altar or catching a larger animal's blood in a bowl and then pouring it over the altar.

What was the handling of the meat (sacrifice stage 3)?

The deity's portions were taken away - typically the thigh bones and small portions of meat from all the limbs were burned on the altar and wine was poured over it. The entrails were taken out and roasted on spits over the fire and shared among the worshippers. The remaining meat was cooked and distributed among the participants.

How was the sacrificial meat eaten?

Occasionally some portions were taken home but a communal meal on the spot was the norm

What were the omens taken from during the sacrifice?

Both from the burning of the god's portion and from the condition of the entrails, which were read according to a manual

Who made a sacrifice in Euripides' 'Elektra' and what omen did it reveal?

Aesgisthus, king of the Mycenae, made a sacrifice to the Nymphs. The sacrifice revealed 'the liver had no lobe, while the portal vein and near-by gall-bladder revealed threatening approaches to the one who was observing it'

What were the prices of typical sacrificial animals?

A piglet cost about 3 drachmas, sheep and goat around 12, a fully grown pig 20 and a cow up to 80 drachmas. Crafts and tradesmen in Athens earned approximately 1 drachma per day, unskilled labourers only 2 obols.

SET SOURCE What is the preparation of bulls for a sacrifice vase by the Nausicaa Painter?

Date: c. 450 BC
Current location: British Museum
Significance: The vase shows the adornment of the sacrificial animals, a crucial part during the preparatory stage of a sacrifice. Texts as early as Homer mentions the adornment of sacrificial victims before the slaughter. Unlike in Homer however, where Nestor has a bull's horns adorned with gold foil in Book 3, adornments usually consisted of garlands, woollen fillets and ribbons around the head and belly.

What were 'stemmata'?

Sacrificial woollen fillets that adorned the victim's head

What are some scholars' ideas on the origin and purpose of blood sacrifice?

-Burket suggested an anthropological approach, in which the shared aggression of the sacrificial killing actually led to the founding of a community and 'civilisation'
-Another interpretation is that the sacrifice is for eating, especially for feeding a city which may otherwise not have much meat in their diet (Detienne and Vernant)
-Fred Naiden argued that sacrifice served to maintain and stabilise the relationship between the mortals and the gods

What role does sacrifice play in Aristophanes' comedy 'Birds'?

The characters contrive to starve the gods by preventing the smoke from the sacrifices going to the heavens

What does 2ndC AD writer Lucian write about sacrifice?

He wrote a speech entitled 'Zeus Rants', where Zeus complains about the meagre sacrifice the gods had been offered, and laments that the gods will be gripped by famine

What are some of the purposes of blood sacrifice?

To unite a community, feed people, display strength, appease the gods and request their goodwill, celebrate the gods, celebrate human achievement

What was the next most common form of sacrificial ritual after blood sacrifice?

The libation of liquids

What liquids did the Greeks pour in a ritual context?

Water, wine, milk or honey

Who did the Greeks pour libations to?

To honour the gods, heroes or even the dead and ask for their favour in return

Where and when were libations poured?

In public and private contexts, often to mark beginnings and endings of a day, a banquet or the sacrifice itself

When were libations poured during travels?

On the occasion of safe arrivals on land. Ie, the Argonauts pour libations of honey and wine to Earth (Gaia), the gods of the land and the souls of dead heroes, at their arrival in Colchis.

What were libations poured out of?

In most cases, libations were poured out of a wine-jug into a libation bowl and from there onto the altar or the ground. Special libations of larger scale were poured for the dead and chthonic or nature deities (nymphs, muses) often directly into grave vessels or the earth

What was ritual burial?

Another form of sacrifice that did not include actual butchering, it involved the burying of the sacrificial victims or objects. For example, at the Thesmophoria, the women ritually buried the sacrificial piglets in order to excavate the remains the following year to be used as a fertilising agent on the Athenian fields.

What objects were ritually buried?

Mostly anything, from parasols to jewellery, statues, inscriptions, or any object dear to the worshipper. Greek sanctuaries were crowded with said objects which led to the annual or biannual clearance where the objects were either stored in separate treasuries or buried ritually.

What was a votive offering?

It results from a vow by an individual or a community to one or more gods and was not prescribed by ritual (ie as during a festival where certain sacrifices were made in a particular manner)

Why were votive offerings important?

They record the reciprocal relationship the ancient Greeks had with their gods

Why were votive offerings made?

As thanks for goodwill or helpful intervention (ie, a lucky escape from a storm at sea, illness, or the birth of a child)

How did some votive offerings work to guarantee future goodwill of the gods?

They sometimes had specific instructions. A vow could be made like: 'if I will achieve xy/recover from illness/become pregnant, I will offer a shrine/statue/tenth of my income to the gods/specific god'

What did children offer as a votive offering upon becoming adolescents?

Toys or locks from the first haircut

What other votive offerings were made to mark stages of a person's life?

Craftsmen offered their tools at retirement and prize winners or successful warriors offered their prizes or the weapons that helped achieve their victory.

What did Themistocles offer as a votive offering after defeating the Persians?

A temple

What other purposes could a large votive offering have other than religious?

To display one's position and wealth in a city