DOCSLIB.ORG

PYTHIA 5.7 and JETSET 7.4 Physics and Manual

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
PYTHIA 5.7 and JETSET 7.4 Physics and Manual LU TP 95{20 August 1995 (revised version of CERN{TH.7112/93) (first issued December 1993) W5035/W5044 PYTHIA 5.7 and JETSET 7.4 Physics and Manual Torbj¨ornSj¨ostrand Department of Theoretical Physics, University of Lund, S¨olvegatan 14A, S-223 62 Lund, Sweden *......* *:::!!:::::::::::* *::::::!!::::::::::::::* *::::::::!!::::::::::::::::* *:::::::::!!:::::::::::::::::* *:::::::::!!:::::::::::::::::* *::::::::!!::::::::::::::::*! *::::::!!::::::::::::::* !! !! *:::!!:::::::::::* !! !! !* -><- * !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! ep !! !! !! !! pp !! !! e+e- !! !! !! !! Important note: this is the long writeup of T. Sj¨ostrand,Computer Physics Commun. 82 (1994) 74. All references should be to the published version. Copyright Notice CERNLIB { CERN Program Library Long writeups c Copyright CERN, Geneva 1993 Copyright and any other appropriate legal protection of these com- puter programs and associated documentation reserved in all coun- tries of the world. These programs or documentation may not be reproduced by any method without prior written consent of the Director-General of CERN or his delegate. Permission for the usage of any programs described herein is granted apriori to those scientific institutes associated with the CERN experimental program or with whom CERN has concluded a scientific collaboration agreement. Requests for information should be addressed to: CERN Program Library Office CERN-CN Division CH-1211 Geneva 23 Switzerland Tel. +41 22 767 4951 Fax. +41 22 767 7155 Bitnet: CERNLIB@CERNVM DECnet: VXCERN::CERNLIB (node 22.190) Internet: [email protected] Trademark notice: All trademarks appearing in this guide are acknowledged as such. Preface The Pythia and Jetset programs are frequently used for event generation in high-energy physics. The emphasis is on multiparticle production in collisions between elementary particles. This in particular means hard interactions in e+e−, pp and ep colliders, although also other applications are envisaged. The programs are intended to generate complete events, in as much detail as experimentally observable ones, within the bounds of our current understanding of the underlying physics. Many of the components of the programs represent original research, in the sense that models have been developed and implemented for a number of aspects not covered by standard theory. Although originally conceived separately, the Pythia and Jetset programs today are so often used together that it makes sense to present them here without too much distinction. Both programs have a long history, and several manuals have come out. The former round of Pythia/Jetset program descriptions appeared in 1987. Meanwhile a large number of additions and changes have been made. Recently a new description therefore appeared in T. Sj¨ostrand,Computer Physics Commun. 82 (1994) 74. This is the one and only correct reference to the current versions of Pythia and Jetset. The long writeup that you now have before you is an (unpublished) appendix to the publication above, and need not be separately cited. Instead remember to cite the original literature on the physics topics of particular relevance for your studies. (There is no reason to omit references to good physics papers simply because some of their contents have also been made available as program code.) Event generators often have a reputation for being `black boxes'; if nothing else, this report should provide you with a glimpse of what goes on inside the programs. Some such understanding may be of special interest for new users, who have no background in the field. An attempt has been made to structure the report sufficiently well that many of the sections can be read independently of each other, so you can pick the sections that interest you. I have tried to keep together the physics and the manual sections on specific topics, where practicable, which represents a change of policy compared with previous manual versions. Any feedback on this and other aspects is welcome. A large number of persons should be thanked for their contributions. Hans-Uno Bengtsson is the originator of the Pythia program, and for many years we worked in parallel on its further development. Mats Bengtsson is the main author of the final-state parton-shower algorithm. Bo Andersson and G¨ostaGustafson are the originators of the Lund model, and strongly influenced the early development of the programs. Further comments on the programs have been obtained from users too numerous to be mentioned here, but who are all gratefully acknowledged. To write programs of this size and com- plexity would be impossible without a strong user feedback. The moral responsibility for any remaining errors clearly rests with me. However, kindly note that this is a `University World' product, distributed `as is', free of charge, without any binding guarantees. And always remember that the programs do not repre- sent a dead collection of established truths, but rather one of many possible approaches to the problem of multiparticle production in high-energy physics, at the frontline of current research. Be critical! Contents 1 Introduction 1 2 Physics Overview 9 2.1 Hard Processes and Parton Distributions . 9 2.2 Initial- and Final-State Radiation . 11 2.3 Beam Remnants . 14 2.4 Fragmentation . 15 2.5 Decays . 18 3 Program Overview 20 3.1 Update History . 21 3.2 Program Installation . 31 3.3 Program Philosophy . 32 3.4 Manual Conventions . 34 3.5 Getting Started with JETSET . 35 3.6 Getting Started with PYTHIA . 38 4 Monte Carlo Techniques 43 4.1 Selection From a Distribution . 43 4.2 The Veto Algorithm . 45 4.3 The Random Number Generator . 47 5 The Event Record 51 5.1 Particle Codes . 51 5.2 The Event Record . 56 5.3 How The Event Record Works . 60 5.4 The HEPEVT Standard . 63 6 Hard Processes in JETSET 67 6.1 Annihilation Events in the Continuum . 67 6.2 Decays of Onia Resonances . 77 6.3 Routines and Common Block Variables . 78 6.4 Examples . 84 7 Process Generation in PYTHIA 86 7.1 Parton Distributions . 86 7.2 Kinematics and Cross section for a 2 ! 2 Process . 90 7.3 Resonance Production . 92 7.4 Cross-section Calculations . 95 7.5 2 ! 3 and 2 ! 4 Processes . 101 7.6 Resonance Decays . 103 7.7 Nonperturbative Processes . 105 8 Physics Processes in PYTHIA 111 8.1 The Process Classification Scheme . 111 8.2 QCD Processes . 116 8.3 Electroweak Gauge Bosons . 120 8.4 Higgs Production . 127 8.5 Non-Standard Physics . 132 8.6 Main Processes by Machine . 135 9 The PYTHIA Program Elements 138 9.1 The Main Subroutines . 138 9.2 Switches for Event Type and Kinematics Selection . 142 9.3 The General Switches and Parameters . 147 9.4 General Event Information . 163 9.5 How to include external processes in PYTHIA . 167 9.6 How to run PYTHIA with varying energies . 172 9.7 Other Routines and Common Blocks . 174 9.8 Examples . 187 10 Initial- and Final-State Radiation 188 10.1 Shower Evolution . 188 10.2 Final-State Showers . 191 10.3 Initial-State Showers . 197 10.4 Routines and Common Block Variables . 204 11 Beam Remnants and Underlying Events 210 11.1 Beam Remnants . 210 11.2 Multiple Interactions . 213 11.3 Pile-up Events . 220 11.4 Common Block Variables . 221 12 Fragmentation 226 12.1 Flavour Selection . 226 12.2 String Fragmentation . 230 12.3 Independent Fragmentation . 238 12.4 Other Fragmentation Aspects . 240 13 Particles and Their Decays 242 13.1 The Particle Content . 242 13.2 Masses, Widths and Lifetimes . 243 13.3 Decays . 245 14 The JETSET Program Elements 251 14.1 Definition of Initial Configuration or Variables . 251 14.2 The JETSET Physics Routines . 253 14.3 Event Study and Data Listing Routines . 256 14.4 The General Switches and Parameters . 261 14.5 Couplings . 271 14.6 Further Parameters and Particle Data . 275 14.7 Miscellaneous Comments . 281 14.8 Examples . 284 15 Event Analysis Routines 288 15.1 Event Shapes . 288 15.2 Cluster Finding . 292 15.3 Event Statistics . 296 15.4 Routines and Common Block Variables . 298 16 Summary and Outlook 309 References 310 Index of Subprograms and Common Block Variables 320 1 Introduction Multiparticle production is the most characteristic feature of current high-energy physics. Today, observed particle multiplicities are typically between ten and a hundred, and with future machines this range will be extended upwards. The bulk of the multiplicity is found in jets, i.e. in bunches of hadrons (or decay products of hadrons) produced by the hadronization of quarks and gluons. The Complexity of High-Energy Processes To first approximation, all processes have a simple structure at the level of interactions between the fundamental objects of nature, i.e. quarks, leptons and gauge bosons. For instance, a lot can be understood about the structure of hadronic events at LEP just from the `skeleton' process e+e− ! Z0 ! qq. Corrections to this picture can be subdivided, arbitrarily but conveniently, into three main classes. Firstly, there are bremsstrahlung-type modifications, i.e. the emission of additional final-state particles by branchings such as e ! eγ or q ! qg. Because of the largeness of the strong coupling constant αs, and because of the presence of the triple gluon ver- tex, QCD emission off quarks and gluons is especially prolific. We therefore speak about `parton showers', wherein a single initial parton may give rise to a whole bunch of par- tons in the final state. Also photon emission may give sizeable effects in e+e− and ep processes. The bulk of the bremsstrahlung corrections are universal, i.e. do not depend on the details of the process studied, but only on one or a few key numbers, such as the momentum transfer scale of the process. Such universal corrections may be included to arbitrarily high orders, using a probabilistic language. Alternatively, exact calculations of bremsstrahlung corrections may be carried out order by order in perturbation the- ory, but rapidly the calculations then become prohibitively complicated and the answers correspondingly lengthy.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Pythias Excerpted from Secret History of the Witches © 2009 Max Dashu
    The Pythias excerpted from Secret History of the Witches © 2009 Max Dashu I count the grains of sand on the beach and measure the sea I understand the speech of the mute and hear the voiceless —Delphic Oracle [Herodotus, I, 47] In the center of the world, a fissure opened from the black depths of Earth, and waters flowed from a spring. The place was called Delphoi (“Womb”). In its cave sanctuary lived a shamanic priestess called the Pythia—Serpent Woman. Her prophetic power came from a she-dragon in the Castalian spring, whose waters had inspirational qualities. She sat on a tripod, breathing vapors that emerged from a deep cleft in the Earth, until she entered trance and prophesied by chanting in verse. The shrine was sacred to the indigenous Aegean earth goddess. The Greeks called her Ge, and later Gaia. Earth was said to have been the first Delphic priestess. [Pindar, fr. 55; Euripides, Iphigenia in Taurus, 1234-83. This idea of Earth as the original oracle and source of prophecy was widespread. The Eumenides play begins with a Pythia intoning, “First in my prayer I call on Earth, primeval prophetess...” [Harrison, 385] Ancient Greek tradition held that there had once been an oracle of Earth at the Gaeion in Olympia, but it had disappeared by the 2nd century. [Pausanias, 10.5.5; Frazer on Apollodorus, note, 10] The oracular cave of Aegira, with its very old wooden image of Broad-bosomed Ge, belonged to Earth too. [Pliny, Natural History 28. 147; Pausanias 7, 25] Entranced priestess dancing with wand, circa 1500 BCE.
    [Show full text]
  • Photoproduction of Diffractive Dijets in PYTHIA 8 DIS 2021
    Photoproduction of diffractive dijets in PYTHIA 8 DIS 2021 Ilkka Helenius April 15th, 2021 In collaboration with Christine O. Rasmussen Motivation: Diffractive dijets at HERA [H1: JHEP 1505 (2015) 056] H1 VFPS data H1 VFPS data H1 VFPS data AFG γ-PDF H1 VFPS data AFG γ-PDF NLO H12006 Fit-B × 0.83 × (1+δ ) NLO H12006 Fit-B × 0.83 × (1+δNLO) H12006 Fit-B × 0.83 × (1+δ ) NLO H12006 Fit-B × 0.83 × (1+δ ) hadr hadr hadr hadr H1 4000 H1 H1 H1 [pb] [pb] 100 [pb] [pb] 60000 IP IP DIS IP 1000 DIS γp IP γp /dz 3000 /dz /dx /dx σ σ σ σ 40000 d d d d 50 2000 500 20000 1000 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1 1 1 1 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 ratio to NLO ratio to NLO ratio to NLO ratio to NLO 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 0.01 0.015 0.020 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 0.01 0.015 0.02 z x zIP xIP IP IP 2 • H1 data andH1 VFPS factorization-based data NLO calculationH1 VFPS data in DISH1 (highVFPS data Q ) inAFG γ agreement-PDF H1 VFPS data AFG γ-PDF NLO H12006 Fit-B × 0.83 × (1+δ ) NLO H12006 Fit-B × 0.83 × (1+δNLO) H12006 Fit-B2 × 0.83 × (1+δ ) NLO H12006 Fit-B × 0.83 × (1+δ ) • NLO calculation overshoothadr the data in photoproductionhadr (low Q ) hadr hadr ] 2 10 1500 2 H1 H1 ) H1 H1 [pb] Factorization broken in hard diffraction at low Q similarly as in pp γ DIS 1500 DIS γp 1 γp /dy [pb] /dy [pb] /dx 100 σ σ 1000 σ d d d [pb/GeV 2 1 1000 /dQ 50 σ 500 d 500 10-1 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1 1 1 1 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 ratio to NLO ratio to NLO ratio to NLO ratio to NLO 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 5 6 10 20 300.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 y x y Q2 [GeV2] γ Figure 6: Diffractive2 dijet ep cross sections in the photoproduction kinematic range differential Figure 4: Diffractive dijet DIS cross sections differentialinzIP , xIP , y and Q .Theinnererror bars represent the statistical errors.
    [Show full text]
  • Epigraphic Bulletin for Greek Religion
    Kernos Revue internationale et pluridisciplinaire de religion grecque antique 8 | 1995 Varia Epigraphic Bulletin for Greek Religion Angelos Chaniotis and Eftychia Stavrianopoulou Electronic version URL: http://journals.openedition.org/kernos/605 DOI: 10.4000/kernos.605 ISSN: 2034-7871 Publisher Centre international d'étude de la religion grecque antique Printed version Date of publication: 1 January 1995 Number of pages: 205-266 ISSN: 0776-3824 Electronic reference Angelos Chaniotis and Eftychia Stavrianopoulou, « Epigraphic Bulletin for Greek Religion », Kernos [Online], 8 | 1995, Online since 11 April 2011, connection on 16 September 2020. URL : http:// journals.openedition.org/kernos/605 Kernos Kernos, 8 (1995), p, 205-266. EpigrapWc Bulletin for Greek Religion 1991 (EBGR) This fifth issue of BEGR presents the publications of 1991 along with several addenda to BEGR 1987-1990. The division of the work between New York and Heidelberg, for the first time this year, caused certain logistical prablems, which can be seen in several gaps; some publications of 1991 could not be considered for this issue and will be included in the next BEGR, together with the publications of 1992. We are optimistic that in the future we will be able to accelerate the presentation of epigraphic publications. The principles explained in Kernos, 4 (991), p. 287-288 and Kernos, 7 (994), p. 287 apply also to this issue, The abbreviations used are those of L'Année Philologique and the Supplementum Bpigraphicum Graecum. We remind our readers that the bulletin is not a general bibliography on Greek religion; works devoted exclusively to religious matters (marked here with an asterisk) are presented very briefly, even if they make extensive use of inscriptions, In exceptional cases (see n° 87) we include in our bulletin studies on the Linear B tablets.
    [Show full text]
  • Apollo and His Cult in the Geometric and Archaic Periods
    Masaryk University Faculty of Arts Department of Archaeology and Museology Classical Archaeology Barbora Chabrečková Apollo and His Cult in the Geometric and Archaic Periods Bachelor's Diploma Thesis Supervisor: PhDr. Marie Pardyová, CSc. 2014 I hereby declare that this thesis is my own work, created with use of primary and secondary sources listed in the bibliography. …………………………… Author’s signature 2 Acknowledgement I would like to thank my supervisor PhDr. Marie Pardyová, CSc., for guidance, constructive criticism and all the valuable advice. And thank my mother, for endless support, encouragement, and patience. 3 Table of contents 1. Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 5 2. Origin of the deity ........................................................................................................................... 7 2.1 Doric origin based on etymology of the name ........................................................................ 7 2.2 Mythological birth at Delos and its later significance ............................................................. 8 2.3 Hypothesis on Asian origin ................................................................................................... 10 2.3.1 Based on epithet Lykeios ............................................................................................... 10 2.3.2 Based on Hittite and Luwian sources ...........................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Witches, Shamans and the Girls at Puberty
    Witches, Shamans and the Girls at Puberty Summary The possible nexus between the girls puberty rites, the origin of Venus figurines, the witch cult in Western Europe and shamanism in Eastern Europe and Asia is discussed. It is a possibility that the Venus figurines can be associated with both the girls puberty rites and the hunting magic. In many recorded accounts from the modern times, the puberty rites are mainly there to exclude girls at puberty due to their evil influence. The mistress of animals who is associated with the witch cult is supposed to help hunter-gatherers with their search for the game. Considering the connections between witch cult, shamanism and the girls at puberty, it is reasoned that the seeming contradiction between the seclusion of girls at puberty and the association of female personage/s with hunting may be dismissible. Introduction The possibility of some association between the Prehistoric Venus Figurines and the seclusion of girls at puberty can be more than mere speculation (Arachige 2009 & 2010…. The scholars such as Frazer (1993…, Benedict (1934… and Richards (1962… extensively studied the rites pertaining to the puberty of girls even though they didnt discuss the reasons for the origin of such rites. In this article what is attempted is to find some parallels between the puberty rites of the girls and two other cultural constructs, namely, shamanism and witch cult, as practiced by European cultures in the recent past and place such rites in the perspective of socio-cultural environment in the pre-historic times. Thus, the main hypothesis posited in this article is that the seclusion of girls at puberty rituals might have preceded the cultural traits such as shamanism and witch cult.
    [Show full text]
  • THE ENDURING GODDESS: Artemis and Mary, Mother of Jesus”
    “THE ENDURING GODDESS: Artemis and Mary, Mother of Jesus” Carla Ionescu A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY GRADUATE PROGRAM IN HUMANITIES YORK UNIVERSITY TORONTO, ONTARIO May 2016 © Carla Ionescu, 2016 ii Abstract: Tradition states that the most popular Olympian deities are Apollo, Athena, Zeus and Dionysius. These divinities played key roles in the communal, political and ritual development of the Greco-Roman world. This work suggests that this deeply entrenched scholarly tradition is fissured with misunderstandings of Greek and Ephesian popular culture, and provides evidence that clearly suggests Artemis is the most prevalent and influential goddess of the Mediterranean, with roots embedded in the community and culture of this area that can be traced further back in time than even the arrival of the Greeks. In fact, Artemis’ reign is so fundamental to the cultural identity of her worshippers that even when facing the onslaught of early Christianity, she could not be deposed. Instead, she survived the conquering of this new religion under the guise of Mary, Mother of Jesus. Using methods of narrative analysis, as well as review of archeological findings, this work demonstrates that the customs devoted to the worship of Artemis were fundamental to the civic identity of her followers, particularly in the city of Ephesus in which Artemis reigned not only as Queen of Heaven, but also as Mother, Healer and Saviour. Reverence for her was as so deeply entrenched in the community of this city, that after her temple was destroyed, and Christian churches were built on top of her sacred places, her citizens brought forward the only female character in the new ruling religion of Christianity, the Virgin Mary, and re-named her Theotokos, Mother of God, within its city walls.
    [Show full text]
  • Melissa D. Thesis
    THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY SCHREYER HONORS COLLEGE DEPARTMENTS OF CLASSICS AND ANCIENT MEDITERRANEAN STUDIES AND ANTHROPOLOGY FINDING THE PYTHIA MELISSA DIJULIO SPRING 2014 A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for baccalaureate degrees in Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies and Anthropology with interdisciplinary honors in Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies and Anthropology Reviewed and approved* by the following: Zoe Stamatopoulou Tombros Early Career Professor of Classical Studies and Assistant Professor of Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies Thesis Supervisor Mary Lou Munn Senior Lecturer in Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies and Director of Undergraduate Studies and Honors Advisor Honors Adviser Timothy Ryan Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Geosciences, and Information Sciences and Technology Honors Advisor * Signatures are on file in the Schreyer Honors College. i ABSTRACT As a historical figure, Pythia, the Delphic oracle, that mysterious mouthpiece of the Greek god Apollo, has largely escaped public attention. Though her words live on in the writings of the ancient authors Aeschylus, Herodotus, and Plutarch, to name of few, the person behind the famous utterances is all but forgotten. In fact, there are only four named Pythias that are known to modern scholars, and beyond their names, not much more can be said of them. However, through the examination of the Delphic oracle as an example or descendant of the earlier practice of spirit possession, I make connections and postulate theories that may further explain the origin, mindset, and influences of these tripod-perched women. In furtherance of this aim, I examine the possible presence of hallucinogens, especially ethylene gas, and the way these substances may have influenced and formed Delphic practices.
    [Show full text]
  • Divine Madness and Conflict at Delphi
    Kernos Revue internationale et pluridisciplinaire de religion grecque antique 5 | 1992 Varia Divine Madness and Conflict at Delphi Bernard C. Dietrich Electronic version URL: http://journals.openedition.org/kernos/1047 DOI: 10.4000/kernos.1047 ISSN: 2034-7871 Publisher Centre international d'étude de la religion grecque antique Printed version Date of publication: 1 January 1992 ISSN: 0776-3824 Electronic reference Bernard C. Dietrich, « Divine Madness and Conflict at Delphi », Kernos [Online], 5 | 1992, Online since 19 April 2011, connection on 01 May 2019. URL : http://journals.openedition.org/kernos/1047 ; DOI : 10.4000/kernos.1047 Kernos Kernos, 5 (1992), p. 41-58. DNINE MADNESS AND CONFLICT AT DELPID Orgiastikos, orgasmos, orgastes were secondary formations from orgia. Orgia originally conveyed a neutral meaning describing the cultic dromena, that is calm, unexcited ritual and sacrifice1. Notions of wild, ecstatic performances orgia acquired later when associated with a particular kind of cult. From the 6th century B.e. the word assumed the status of a technical term to describe the 'private' dromena of Demeter's Eleusinian Mysteries, and in particular the mystic rites of Bacchus which provided the route of the word's semantic development2. The mystery movement in the Greek world was an archaic phenomenon, it was then that the special rites of Dionysus began to spring into prominence reflecting the contemporary urge for spiritual union with the divine. Mystery religions had a common factor with inspirational oracles which also belonged to the archaic age rather than to prehistoric times. Inspiration, even enthusiasmos, but not divine or human frenzy : that came later and not before the end of the 5th century B.e.3 Plato defined oracular together with poetic frenzy as forms of mania : for him mantike and manike were etymologically identical4.
    [Show full text]
  • The Sanctuary at Eleusis Is One of the Most Ancient and Important Sanctuaries of the Ancient Greek World
    Cleansing the road to Eleusis: The use of psychoactive substances and the role of altered states of consciousness within the religious practices of the ancient Greeks. Master Thesis Floris van den Bosch Ancient History 5-7-2013 0 Contents Introduction 02 I: The modern examples 08 The Peyote rituals of Mesoamerica 09 Banisteriopsis use in the Amazonian rainforest 10 Psilocybin mushrooms in the rituals of northern Latin-America 13 The Amanita Muscaria use in the tribal religions of Siberia 13 Kava-rituals on the islands of the Pacific 14 Other ways to an Altered state of Consciousness 15 II: The Psychology of altered states of consciousness 17 Tart’s system’s approach 17 Defining altered states of consciousness and their religious interpretation 19 Tart’s stabilizing factors and inducement procedures 20 Different methods for inducing ASC’s 21 ASC’s and mystical experiences 25 III: Ancient Greek Religion 28 Gods and men 29 Knowing about the gods 31 Voluntary contact with the Gods 32 The Mother Goddess 32 Dionysos 36 Other mysteries 39 In General 40 Spontaneous contact with the Gods 42 IV: Eleusis 46 The Homeric hymn to Demeter 46 Day-to-day description 48 What we know about the ritual 50 The accounts 50 The Building 50 Stages of initiation 51 Theories by modern scholars 53 The ‘Road to Eleusis-theory’ 55 My own considerations 58 Concluding remarks 62 Bibliography 66 1 Introduction The sanctuary at Eleusis was one of the oldest and most important sanctuaries of the ancient Greek world. Cultural activity has been attested at Eleusis during the Bronze age and continuing into the Mycenaean age.
    [Show full text]
  • An Online Textbook for Classical Mythology
    Utah State University DigitalCommons@USU Textbooks Open Texts 2017 Mythology Unbound: An Online Textbook for Classical Mythology Jessica Mellenthin Utah State University Susan O. Shapiro Utah State University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/oer_textbooks Recommended Citation Mellenthin, Jessica and Shapiro, Susan O., "Mythology Unbound: An Online Textbook for Classical Mythology" (2017). Textbooks. 5. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/oer_textbooks/5 This Book is brought to you for free and open access by the Open Texts at DigitalCommons@USU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Textbooks by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@USU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Mythology Unbound: An Online Textbook for Classical Mythology JESSICA MELLENTHIN AND SUSAN O. SHAPIRO Mythology Unbound by Susan Shapiro is licensed under CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 Contents Map vii Aegis 1 Agamemnon and Iphigenia 5 Aphrodite 9 Apollo 15 Ares 25 The Argonauts 31 Artemis 41 Athena 49 Caduceus 61 Centaurs 63 Chthonian Deities 65 The Delphic Oracle 67 Demeter 77 Dionysus/Bacchus 85 Hades 97 Hephaestus 101 Hera 105 Heracles 111 Hermes 121 Hestia 133 Historical Myths 135 The Iliad - An Introduction 137 Jason 151 Miasma 155 The Minotaur 157 The Odyssey - An Introduction 159 The Oresteia - An Introduction 169 Origins 173 Orpheus 183 Persephone 187 Perseus 193 Poseidon 205 Prometheus 213 Psychological Myths 217 Sphinx 219 Story Pattern of the Greek Hero 225 Theseus 227 The Three Types of Myth 239 The Twelve Labors of Heracles 243 What is a myth? 257 Why are there so many versions of Greek 259 myths? Xenia 261 Zeus 263 Image Attributions 275 Map viii MAP Aegis The aegis was a goat skin (the name comes from the word for goat, αἴξ/aix) that was fringed with snakes and often had the head of Medusa fixed to it.
    [Show full text]
  • Greek Mysteries
    GREEK MYSTERIES Mystery cults represent the spiritual attempts of the ancient Greeks to deal with their mortality. As these cults had to do with the individual’s inner self, privacy was paramount and was secured by an initiation ceremony, a personal ritual that estab- lished a close bond between the individual and the gods. Once initiated, the indi- vidual was liberated from the fear of death by sharing the eternal truth, known only to the immortals. Because of the oath of silence taken by the initiates, a thick veil of secrecy covers those cults and archaeology has become our main tool in deciphering their meaning. In a field where archaeological research constantly brings new data to light, this volume provides a close analysis of the most recent discoveries, as well as a critical re-evaluation of the older evidence. The book focuses not only on the major cults of Eleusis and Samothrace, but also on the lesser-known Mysteries in various parts of Greece, over a period of almost two thousand years, from the Late Bronze Age to the Roman Imperial period. In our mechanized and technology-oriented world, a book on Greek spirituality is both timely and appropriate. The authors’ inter-disciplinary approach extends beyond the archaeological evidence to cover the textual and iconographic sources and provides a better understanding of the history and rituals of those cults. Written by an international team of acknowledged experts, Greek Mysteries is an important contribution to our understanding of Greek religion and society. Michael B. Cosmopoulos is the Hellenic Government–Karakas Foundation Profes- sor of Greek Studies and Professor of Greek Archaeology at the University of Missouri-St.
    [Show full text]
  • Seers, Portents and Oracles in Ancient Greece Edited
    Seers, portents and oracles in ancient Greece Trying to predict the future, or at least the will of the gods, was an important part of ancient Greek religions. A “seer” was referred to as a mantis. They would put a question forward to the gods and look for signs, e.g., the movements of birds or weather patterns, to reveal the answer. One of the most important events for the mantis was the sacrifice, where every detail served as a sign. If the sacrificial animal shied away, it was supposed to show that the gods did not want the animal sacrificed. Significant signs, or portents, were also found in the shape and colour of the liver of a sacrificial animal. These could be read to determine the outcome of a proposed event. Warfare was an important time for seers, and an army would not go into battle unless they first had favourable omens. One very special type of seer was an oracle, the most famous of which came from Delphi. Apollo was the god of omens and his temple of Delphi housed the pythia, a woman who served as the oracle for life. People would come from all over to ask the pythia a question. She would cleanse herself in the Castalian spring, which is at Delphi, and then a goat was sacrificed before she would enter the temple. She would breathe in burning barley and laurel leaves and position herself in a sunken part at the back of the temple called the adyton. The pythia would go into a trance over an opening in the ground, where vapours would rise.
    [Show full text]