Download What was a Greek sanctuary?

Greek Culture and Society
Term II, Lecture 7
Greek Religion
Religion and worship
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Athens, theatre of Dionysus, seat of the priest of Dionysus
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What was a Greek sanctuary?
Sanctuary of Poseidon, Cape Sunion, Attica
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Main features of a Greek sanctuary
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Location
Altar
Temenos
Priest
Calendar
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Altar of the Temple of Apollo, Gortyn, Crete
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Temenos of the sanctuary of Zeus, Dodona
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Everyday Rituals
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Home hearth is sacred to Hestia
Everything hunted is sacred to Artemis
Everything farmed is sacred to Demeter
All sea-going activities are sacred to Poseidon
All weather phenomena are sacred to Zeus
Travelling and trading is sacred to Hermes
Metal-working is sacred to Hephaistos
Wool-working and household work are sacred to
Athena
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Hestia, the most gentle and
charitable of divinities,
guardian of the oikos
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Ephaistos, the god
blacksmith
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Thundering Zeus
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Greek Calendars
• Each polis had its own calendar
• The calendar was a calendar of festivals
and sacrifices
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Sacred Calendar from Kos
Month A: Batromeios
• ?: An ox from the Chiliastes
to Hestia Hetaireia
• ?: Annual Festival to Zeus
Polieus. Sacrifice of ox.
• 10th: A pig and a kid to
Dionysos Scyllites
• 20th: An ox to Zeus Polieus
• 20th: A pregnant sheep to
Athena Polias
• 21st: A pig and a kid to
Dionysos Scyllites
• 23rd: A sheep and a pregnant
ewe to Demeter
• 24th: A pig and a kid to
Dionysos Scyllites
Month B: Karneios
• ?: A pregnant ewe to Rhea
• 10th: A heifer to Argive Royal
Hera of the Marshes
• 11th: A pig to Zeus
Machaneus
• 12th: 3 sheep, an ox, ½
medimnos of barley and
wine to Zeus Machaneus
• 12th: Heifer/sheep to Athena
Machanis
Month C: Pedageitnion
• 21st: 3 sheep to the Heroes
• 28th: A lamb to Herakles
• 28th: An ox to Herakles
Month D: Unknown
• 17th: A sheep to Delian Apollo
• 17th: An ewe to Leto
• 19th: A goat to the Graces
• 20th: A sheep and an ewe to
Apollo Karneios and Artemis
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The Panathenaic Procession
• It is generally accepted that the Parthenon
Frieze portrays the Processions at the festival of
the Great Panathenaia that was celebrated every
four years in Athens
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Athens, the Parthenon
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Panathenaic Procession
a proposed order
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Four little girls carrying a peplos for the life-size statue of Athena
Polias
Priestesses of Athena and Athenian women carrying gifts
Sacrificial animals (cows and sheep)
Metics (resident aliens), wearing purple robes and carrying on trays
cakes and honeycombs for offerings
Musicians playing the aulos and the kithara.
A colossal peplos (for Athena Parthenos) hung on the mast of a ship
on wheels
Old men carrying olive branches
Four-horse chariots with a charioteer and fully armed man
(apobatês)
Craftswomen (ergastinai - weavers of peplos)
Infantry and cavalry
Victors in the games
Ordinary Athenians arranged by deme
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Arrephoroi
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Sacrificial animals
(cows and sheep)
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Musicians playing the aulos and the kithara
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Old men carrying olive branches
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Metics (resident aliens), wearing purple robes and
carrying on trays cakes and honeycombs for offerings
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Craftswomen (ergastinai - weavers of peplos)
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Infantry and cavalry (who is missing?)
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The Acropolis seen from the Panathenaic stadium
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Eleusis
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Demeter and Triptolemus
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415: The Hermae affair
Herma: Square or rectangular pillar of stone, terracotta, or
bronze; a bust of Hermes' head, usually with a beard, sat on the
top of the pillar, and male genitals adorned the base.
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The Sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi
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The Pythia
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Athenian Thesauron
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• The cult of excellence:
music competition
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Theatre of Apollo, Delphi
Hymn to Apollo
Flute and kithara
Acting and drama
Painting
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• Held in August, every four
years
• Lasted 6-8 days
• 1. “Holy games”: showcase of
Apollo’s victory over Python
• 2. Procession and sacrifice
• 3. Musical competition
• 4. Sport competition
Stadium, Delphi
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The archaic aristocracies of
Attica
Necropolises of Menidhi/Acharnae and Thoricus
The Mycenaean tombs of Thorikos
The Mycenaean tombs of Thorikos
The Mycenaean tombs of Thorikos
The cup of Nestor
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Athens, monument of the eponymous heroes
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