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The Greeks and Their Demons

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The Greeks and Their Demons Introducing Greek Mythology Archaic Greece Period known as the Archaic lasting from the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity (around 600 AD) The Archaic period gives way to the Classical period around 500 BC, in turn succeeded by the Hellenistic period at the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC. This period was marked by the rise of the polis (city-states) and the founding of colonies, as well as the first inklings of classical philosophy, theatre in the form of tragedies, and written poetry, which appeared with the reintroduction of the written language, lost during the Greek Dark Ages. The sharp rise in population at the start of the Archaic period brought with it the settlement of new towns and the expansion of the older population centres. The Archaic period is also characterized by the spread of colonization along the Mediterranean and Black Sea coasts that began about 800 B.C. Greek Mythology Ancient Greek theology was based on polytheism There was a hierarchy of deities, with Zeus, the king of the gods, having a level of control over all the others, although he was not omnipotent. Some deities had dominion over certain aspects of nature. For instance, Zeus was the sky-god, sending thunder and lightning, Poseidon ruled over the sea and earthquakes, Hades projected his remarkable power throughout the realms of death and the Underworld, and Helios controlled the sun. Other deities ruled over an abstract concept; for instance Aphrodite controlled love while Athena was in charge of wisdom Greek Creation Myths Greek religion had an extensive mythology. It consisted largely of stories of the gods and of how they affected humans on Earth. Myths often revolved around heroes and their actions Many different species existed in Greek mythology. Chief among these were the gods and humans, though the Titans also frequently appeared in Greek myths. They predated the Olympian gods, and were hated by them. Many of the myths revolved around the Trojan War between Greece and Troy. For instance, the epic poem, the Iliad, by Homer, is based on the war. There was no one set Greek cosmogony, or creation myth. Different religious groups believed that the world had been created in different ways. One Greek creation myth was told in Hesiod's Theogony. It stated that at first there was only a primordial deity called Chaos, who gave birth to various other primordial gods, such as Gaia, Tartarus and Eros, who then gave birth to more gods, the Titans, who then gave birth to the first Olympians. The mythology largely survived and was added to in order to form the later Roman mythology. Ancient Greek Demonology: Orphism Orphism is the name given to a set of religious beliefs and practices originating in the ancient Greek and persisting in the Hellenistic world It is associated with literature ascribed to the mythical poet Orpheus, who descended into Hades and returned Orphics also revered Persephone (who annually descended into Hades for a season and then returned) and Dionysus or Bacchus (who also descended into Hades and returned) Orpheus was said to have invented the Mysteries of Dionysus. Poetry containing distinctly Orphic beliefs has been traced back to the 6th century BCE, or at least 5th century BCE, and graffiti of the 5th century BCE apparently refers to "Orphics". Orphic Mythology The Orphic theogonies are genealogical works They are possibly influenced by Near Eastern models. The main story is this: Dionysus (in his incarnation as Zagreus) is the son of Zeus and Persephone; Zeus gives his inheritance of the throne to the child, as Zeus is to leave due to Hera's anger over a child being born of another mother; Titans are enraged over the proclamation of attendance and under Hera's instigation decide to murder the child Dionysus is then tricked with a mirror and children's toys by the Titans who murder and consume him. Athena saves the heart and tells Zeus of the crime who in turn hurls a thunderbolt on the Titans. The resulting soot, from which mankind is born, contain the bodies of the Titans and Dionysus. The soul of man (Dionysus factor) is therefore divine, but the body (Titan factor) holds the soul in bondage. Thus it was declared that the soul returns to a host ten times, bound to the wheel of rebirth. Hades The Story of Persephone Persephone was the goddess queen of the underworld, wife of the god Haides. She was also the goddess of spring growth, who was worshipped alongside her mother Demeter in the Eleusinian Mysteries. This agricultural-based cult promised its initiates passage to a blessed afterlife. Persephone as Queen of the Underworld In other myths, Persephone appears exclusively as the queen of the underworld, receiving the Herakles and Orpheus at her court. Persephone was usually depicted as a young goddess holding sheaves of grain and a flaming torch. Sometimes she was shown in the company of her mother Demeter, and the hero Triptolemos, the teacher of agriculture. At other times she appears enthroned beside Haides. Cult of Hades & Persephone Haides was honoured in Greek funeral services and necromantic rites (the summoning of the ghosts of the dead). Haides was invoked and propitiated in the magic of Nekromankia, the summoning forth of the ghosts of the dead. Haides and Persephone presided over the oracles of the dead (nekromanteia) and the rites of necromancy (nekromankia), the summoning of the ghosts of the dead. Oracles of the Dead Necromancy was prevalent throughout Western antiquity with records of its practice in Babylon, Egypt, Greece, and Rome The oldest literary account of necromancy is found in Homer’s Odyssey. Practices varying from the mundane to the grotesque, were commonly associated with necromancy. Rituals could be quite elaborate, involving magic circles, wands, talismans, and incantations. The necromancer might also surround himself with morbid aspects of death, which often included wearing the deceased's clothing and consuming foods that symbolized lifelessness and decay such as unleavened black bread and unfermented grape juice. Some necromancers even went so far as to take part in the mutilation and consumption of corpses. These ceremonies could carry on for hours, days, or even weeks, leading up the eventual summoning of spirits. Frequently they were performed in places of interment or other melancholy venues that suited specific guidelines of the necromancer. Additionally, necromancers preferred to summon the recently departed based on the premise that their revelations were spoken more clearly. This timeframe was usually limited to the twelve months following the death of the physical body; once this period elapsed, necromancers would evoke the deceased’s ghostly spirit instead. Hades and Tartarus Both of these terms are used to describe both a god and a place simultaneously Hades is both the underworld and the god of the underworld Tartarus is both the god of doom and gloom and a place of torment underneath Hades Tartarus & Punishment Tartarus the Place is much more well- known and is the deepest, darkest chasm or abyss possible. At first, Greek poets and philosophers looked at Tartarus as an enormous pit. Homer’s “The Iliad” states that it is as distant from the Earth as the Earth is from the sky, and extends downward twice as far as the distance seen looking upward to Heaven. According to Hesiod, the Greek poet, in his poem “Theogony,” it would take a bronze anvil nine days to fall from Heaven and land on the Earth, and then another nine days for the anvil to fall to Tartarus. It is the source of all rivers, which flow into and out of it as well. Another way that Tartarus has been described is as a pit that is the opposite to the dome shape of the sky. Reading for Thursday The Odyssey: Book 10 http://classics.mit.edu/Homer/odyssey.10.x.html .
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