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130 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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East Pediment of the Parthenon (Zeus and Athena Section) |
Zeus Delivered Athena, first offspring of the Gods Hera attended the event even though she was salty |
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Birth of Athena |
Zeus swallowed Metis Athene exploded from Zeus's head from being cut by Hephaestus' ax |
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Who are the Goddess of Delivery? |
Eileithyai |
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Birth of Dionysus |
Zeus having a relationship with Semele, a princess from Thebe Hera gets pissed and tricked her to ask Zeus to show him her in his full splendor She miscarried from fear, put in Zeus's thigh until right time for birth |
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God's gathering together to see the birth of Dionyses Story of his Birth |
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Difference between births of Athena and Dionyses |
Athena - Daughter of Zeus and Metis, disciplined intellect Dionysus - Daughter of Zeus and Semele, unrestrained emotion |
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Ta Hiera |
Means "The Holy Things" No sacred texts, normal people could preform rituals and sacrifices |
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Characteristics of Greek Gods |
Gods were immortal, but not eternal.
In some myths they have limited knowledge. They live on the Mount Olympus. They could be defeated and injured and suffer pain. |
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Ichor |
Colourless fluid that was the gods "blood" |
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Social/ Political Functions of Myth (give an example) |
Greek myths express crucial political, social, and gender issues of the polis (city-state).
For example, through myth Athenians explained why women were not granted right to vote and why city was named after Athene |
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Athene vs. Poseidon |
Contest between Athena and Poseidon on who would have control over Athens territory Poseidon offers salt water spring Athena offered Olive Tree Athena won by one vote given by a woman Poseidon was so mad he took the vote away from them |
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Birth of Erichthonius |
Hephaestus fell in love with Athena but she is a virgin Goddess He dropped semen on her thigh, she wiped it off using wool onto the ground He was born |
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Athene and Erichthonius |
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Athene receiving Erichthonius from Mother Earth She then gave him to Cecrops who is also present |
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Erechtheum |
Contained ancient cults of Athens Contained: - Sacred Olive Tree - Tomb of Erechteus - Status of Athene Polias (City God) - Salt Spring from Poseidon |
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Panathenaea |
According to the tradition invented byErichthonius or by his son (or grandson)Erechtheus
Major Festival |
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Athena against the Amazons |
Story depicted on shields Athena helped other heroes such as Herakles |
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Athena helping Herakles He has - lion skin and club She has - goat skin, owl, helmet, and spear |
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Anthropomorphism |
Gods represented as humans (sometimes) At will gods can transform themselves in animals or natural elements. They ask for acknowledgment and honor, but not for exclusive worship Dont tell humans how to behave |
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Food and Drink of Gods |
Food - Ambrosia (bread like) Drink - Nectar It is from these foods the Gods get their immortality |
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Hebe |
Cup bearer of the Gods |
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Greek Temples |
Considered to be House of the Gods Contained cult treasure and statue Sacrifices/ rites performed on the altars Priests and priestesses generally drawn from city's leading families |
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Divine Family (First Five) |
Gaea ------ Uranus | Cronus----Rhea | Zeus |
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Zeus as the "Trickster" |
Zeus is constantly taking on different forms (such as a bull) and constantly cheating on Hera (guise of a golden shower) |
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Mythos |
Means literally, utterance or something one says Originally memorized and transmitted orally This accounts for different versions of the myths |
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Greek Geography |
Geography played a huge role in the development of myth because of distance and dialects Very mountainous and coastal making travelling hard |
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Walter Burket |
Traditional tales that refer to something of collective importance |
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Legend, Saga, Folktale |
Legend denotes a story that has some basis inhistorical events. It is regarded as historical butis unauthenticated.
Saga denotes a long story in which gods andheroes are involved. Folktale denotes a story narrating the activitiesof more humble persons in a vague era. |
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Athens - Myth Festivals |
Panathenaea City Dionisya |
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Panathenaea |
Great Panathenaea, every 4 years from 566 BCE Lesser Panathenawa, every year on July to celebrate Athene's birth |
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Panathenaea Performances |
Rhapsodes recited the Iliad and the Odyssey,panhellenic epic poems
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Great Panathenaea |
At the Great Panathenaea beside recitations there were horse races, athletic games, and musical contests.
Panathenaic amphora, which filled with olive oil constituted the prize to the winner in the Great Panathenaea games. |
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North Side of Parthenon |
Sack of Troy |
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South Side of Parthenon |
War Against the Centaurs Lapith and Centaur Represents battle against civilized world and non-civilized world |
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East side Frieze - Parthenon |
Giving of the robe (peplos) to the Goddess in the Erechtheum Embroidered by young girls of the aristocracy |
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City/ Great Dionysia |
Festival lasted 4 days
Established by Peisistratus during the 6th C. BCE Celebrated by the whole federation of the Attic States Largely devoted to tragedy but from 486 BCE comedies were performed as well Tragedy's themes were mainly from mythology Not necessarily performing same plays over and over there were many different versions and changes made |
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Tragedy Authors |
Most important tragedy writers were Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides
Euripides wrote many changes into his plays All active during the 5th C. BCE |
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Other Literary Sources for Myths |
Hesiod - Theogony Homeric Hymns - Written imitating Homer and praising 12 Olymian Gods, works of different poets Stesichorus - 6th C BCE Pindar - 518-446 BCE Apollonius of Rhodes (295-216 BCE) wrote Argonautica (Voyage of the Argo - Jason and the Golden Fleece) |
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Library |
Was once attributed to Apollodorus of Athens but it is now believed to be the work of an unknown author of the late 1st or early 2nd C. AD
It was compiled in order to serve as a sourcebook for children at school It starts with a creation story and ends with the fall of Troy |
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Guide to Greece |
Pausanias wrote the Guide to Greece 10 Books describing places he traveled to, their history, religious practices and myths |
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Plutarch |
He was a Greek historian and biographer and author of several works He was also a priest of Apollo at Delphi - expert on religious matters
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Humanism |
The cosmos (ordered world) of Greek myths is anthropocentric (human centered)
Gods and humans descend all from Gaea (Mother Earth) There are no accounts about human origin in Hesiod’s Theogony Humans are frail and make errors in judgment. |
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Individualism and Competitiveness |
Greeksociety was highly competitive and this characteristic is present also in myths
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Greek People and Myth |
For the Greeks the ancient mythic past was indistinguishable from the historical past The period between the beginning of the world and aftermath of the Trojan War was seen as a magical era in which Gods interacted freely with humans The heroic era ended after the sons of the heroes who fought at Troy died After that also the relationship between gods and humans changes The Gods started to be silent and sent ambiguous signs |
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Periods of Early Greek History |
Early Minoan - 3000-2280 Middle Minoan - 2280-1700 High Minoan - 1700- 1380 Minos was the first important king, established naval power over the Aegean Sea Mycenaean Dominance - 2100-1190 (take control in 1380) War of Troy happened during this period Dark Ages - 1100- 800 BCE |
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Crete |
Crete was supposedly where Zeus spent his childhood Snake Goddess - probably related to a fertility cult, frescos depicted priestesses The Bull - was also super important as a religious mythological figure |
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Cretan Bull |
The Cretan Bull was sent out of the sea by Poseidon
Heracles defeated the Cretan Bull |
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Birth of the Minotaur |
Daidalos presents to Pasiphae the wooden cow because she was in love with a bull? She gave birth to a Minotaur |
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Excavation of Troy |
Heinrich Schliemann and his wife Sophia conducted this Troy has 9 main levels Troy VI was destroyed around 1270 Troy VII-A was destroyed around 1190 BCE Schliemann believed that Troy VII-A was the Troy described by Homer |
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Mycenaean Civ and Greek Gods |
Mycenaean texts are already mention the names of Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Athene, ect.
No stories of Gods and heroes survive unfortunately so we don’t know what role they played Written in Linear B Scholars believe that these myths evolved little by little |
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Major Periods of Greek History |
Dark Ages - 1100-800 BCE ( Loss of Writing) Archaic Period - 800-480 BCE
Classical Period - 480 - 323 BCE (Death of Alexander the Great) Hellenistic Period - 323-31 BCE |
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Differences Between Roman and Greek Mythology (give two literary examples) |
Romans adapted Greek Myths attributing to them distinctive social, ethical, and political values rooted in Roman society
Metamorphoses by Ovid - deals with stories of creation, gods and heroes but end with the death and deification of Julius Caesar transformed into a star Virgil's Aeneid- work of fiction but it contains also references to historical people and events The first 6 book narrate the wandering of Aeneas after the fall of Troy and the second 6 books concern the bloodshed and battled which Aeneas has to deal with in his quest to found a new city on the coast of Italy
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Xenophanesfrom Kolophon |
He was critical of myths He calls out such inaccuracies such as "man made his gods and furnished them with his own body, voice, and garments" Also says that this is probably in human nature and if animals could draw horses would make horse Gods and so on He also believed that there was one God nothing like humans at all |
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Theagenes from Rhegium |
He saw the Iliad and the Odysseu as allegories Gods fighting are representations of natural phenomena and human qualities What happened in real life through these takes Theagenes affirmed that the Homeric poems showing bad behaviour and their results intended to teach virtue Misinterpretation of translation/ oratory retellings |
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Socrates and Plato on the Gods |
Socratesand Plato both criticised the poor moral of the Olympians and Plato even bannedthe Gods from his ideal city |
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Euhemerus of Messene |
Wrote Sacred Scripture The inhabitants of the island Panchaia in the Indian Ocean have erected a golden column on which are listed prehistoric kings whose name are those of Gods The Homeric gods were originally ancient mortal kings/ leaders who were then made divine |
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Euhemerism |
This was a theory that was used by rulers who lived after Alexander the Great who also tried to claim divinity Divinity does not correspond to immortality though Achievements granted kings divine honours |
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Edict of Milan (313 AD) |
The Christian faith is no more a criminal offense When the faith became more successful they didn’t recognize what was accounted by pagan authors Some tales were condemned and not as teaching the true faith Some were given allegory meanings and moralised interpretation This is true for Ovid's Metamorphasis |
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The Renaissance and Enlightenment |
From the 14th-16th C. there is a re-birth of classical antiquity Ancient myths are reintroduced in art, literature, and scholarship A renewed interest in myths happened during the Enlightenment (18th C.) with emphasis on reason, objectivity, classification, and analysis |
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Modern Study of Myth |
In the last 2 C. scholars have applied techniques from different disciplines such as psychology, sociology, ect to the study of mythology Collection of Greek and Roman myths and methodological analysis of myths (form, purpose, function) |
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Nature Myths |
Zeus god of meteorological forces
Poseidon God of the sea and earthquakes Persephone was the daughter of Demeter (goddess of agriculture) She was abducted by her uncle Hades who was the God of the underworld 6 months on earth, 6 months in the underworld representing the seasons |
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Myth and Ritual |
Myths are stories created to explain ceremonies, whose origins were not remembered anymore For example the Women of Lemnos or the Eleusinian Mysteries |
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Women of Lemnos |
These women forgot to give due honor to Aphrodite and in return she gave all the women an offensive odor
Their husbands took to bed new women and so the women of Lemnos killed their husbands and fathers Here we know at Lemnos there was rite performed every year where a ship would come from the sacred island of Delos which brought a fire which burned for 9 days During the women of Lemnos festival the women eat garlic and keep away from their husbands and sons |
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The Charter Theory |
“Charter” mythssupplying the justification ofsome institutions and practices For example, the story fo Prometheus and Zeus |
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Prometheus and Zeus round one |
Prometheus set out to cut portion of a great ox intending to deceive Zeus he put the flesh and entrails full of fat and covered the bones and gross stuff
He deceived Zeus and from this time forward the burned the white bones as sacrifice and ate the good stuff |
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Myth and Etiology |
Etiology tries to explain the cause or origin of things Explaining of structure and functioning of the world Theology or metaphysical interpretation of the human condition |
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Internalist Theories |
Myths as the expressions of the human mind |
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Freudian Theory |
Dreams resemble myths Dreams may express desires as well as anxieties The dreamer can transfer feelings to unrelated symbols Like dreams in myths it is possible to violate taboos which means if something happens in a dream there is no consequence In a dream everything may happen and is not real |
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Myth of Oedipus |
Killed his father and married his mother without knowing they were his parents
They had children What happens then is Oedipus wants to punish himself and he made himself blind |
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Carl Jung |
He notices that not only basic human emotions but also certain actions in myths all over the world
Archetypes Aphrodite Archetype of erotic desire and sensual pleasure |
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Myth of Icarus |
The myth of Icarus, son of Daedalus, combines Freudian wish fulfillment with Jung's archetypal situation
He told him to be careful when he flew because water and sun bad He fell and died |
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Icarusand Daedalus (clever worker)
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Jung's Archetypal Myths (3 Kinds) |
1. Collective Unconscious 2. Anima and Animus - everyone has a male and female parts If we look at mythic figures we see these characteristics coming through 3. Shadow - unexplainedcharacteristics, acting out of the ordinary |
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Structuralism |
Levi-Strauss Notices that in myth there is a reflection of the mind's binary organization Reconciliation of opposites |
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Vladimir Propp |
7 Spheres of Action 31 Functions All the tales have some reoccurring characteristics In myths does not exist the "happy end" Recounting the death of heroes In rare cases there is deification after death such as Heracles |
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Myth and Feminism |
Extensive goddess worship before the arrival of sky gods |
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Neurological Explorations of Myth |
Andrew Newberf and Eugene D'Aquili Studied nuns and monks while in meditation Scanning their brains they found some of the brain works more or less in meditation Believed humans are wired in a certain way for myth |
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Hesiod's Universe |
Based on Near Eastern Models Believed earth was a globe that orbited the sun |
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East Pediment of the Parthenon (All) |
Starts with the sun of Helios and ends with Selene the moon
The rest of the Gods are in the pediment Dionysus looking at the sun rising in the morning Aphrodite was a daughter of Dione but this is not in all versions of the myth |
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Greek Universe |
Three story universe
In the middle story there was earth Mountains acted as pillars supporting heaven The vault of heaven was the top story This is where the Olympians lived There was a ocean that coiled around the earth like a disk which separated the underworld from earth The realm of Hades bottom story Under the underworld there was the Tartarus where the Titans (sons of Chronos and Rhea) were defeated by Zeus |
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Typhoeus |
Son of Gaea and Tartarus A monster Zeus had to defeat for absolute control/ king of the Gods |
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Hesiod's Theogony |
Contains traditions from Mesopotamia and Egypt
The epic poem is a reflection of the sociopolitical system of Hesiod's time The final part of the poem, now lost, was called Catalogue of Women Recounted the births of heroes from the rulers of his time claimed to be descend Also contains motifs from the Hurrian-Hittite epic poems Kingship in Heaven and Song of Ullikummi In this text the similarities stem from the genitals severed genitals becoming new Gods |
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Enuma Elish |
Means "when on high" Babylonian epic poem myth of creation Helps us understand Hesoid's Theology Similarities, although maybe not same genders but plot lines in general Starts with Potable Water and Salt Water Marduk defeating the goddess Tiamat as a dragon in art Humans are descendants of Kingu's blood |
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Zeus fighting against Typhoeus (Typhon), son of Gaea and Tartarus Typhoeus - Snake person with wings According to one version of the tale Typhoeus removed Zeus's tendons and sort of defeated him Hermes stole the tendons and gave them back to Zeus and was able to defeat Typhoeus According to Aeschylous Zeus buried Typehoeus under Mount Etna in Sicily (very active volcano) Was a way to explain why the volcano was erupting |
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Otus and Ephialtes |
Two giants who tried to reach the heavens (a common theme in mythology) They took mount olympus, mount ossa and mount pelion and stacked them Zeus punished them because nobody can reach the heaven |
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Nine Muses |
Brought Hesiod the content for his Theogony Live on Mount Helikon Daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne (Memory) 1. Calliope epic poetry 2. Clio history 3. Polyhymnia mime 4. Melpomone tragedy 5. Thalia comedy 6. Erato lyric choral poetry 7. Euterpe the flute 8. Terpsichore light verse and dance 9. Urania astronomy |
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Genealogy of Gods |
4 Primal Entities - Chaos, Gaea, Tartarus, and Eros
The first child was Uranus but later Gaea slept with him and had other children They gave birth to Rhea and Kronos Kronos hated his father They had all these kids but Gaea wasn’t allowed to deliver them and had to keep them in her womb Asked for the help of Kronos who emasculates Uranus The blood fell on the earth and generated giants and furies Foam of the sea received Uranus's phallus generating Aphrodite |
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Plato's Symposium |
In this text the comic playwright Aristophanes affirms that there were three sexes: Male Male (sun) Female Female (earth) Male Female (moon) Cut in half and then had to look for your other half |
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Sparagmos |
Ritual tearing apart of sacrificial victim |
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Dues Otiosus |
God at Leisure |
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Meaning of Uranus's Mutilation (3 Theories) |
Feminist Theory - Remnant of ancient matriarchal rites Psychological - Affinity between love and hate, division between masculine and feminine principles in the cosmos, and reason for the remoteness of sky Freudian - Father-son rivalry |
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Birth of Athena |
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Hephaestus - Birth and Features |
Son of Hera alone, smith of the gods Always shown riding a donkey or a mule He was born lame, not a cute baby Has bad feet |
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Hesiod's Works and Days |
Works and Days - Poem on farming and the everyday life of people of his time It described that humanities decline from an original Golden Age The poet belongs to the upper middle class Speaks about himself (maybe a poetic persona) A sermon addressed to his brother Perses |
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Works and Day's Ethics |
Justice is the foundation of good government Reciprocity among citizen
Praise of hard work and its rewards: richness, favour of the gods, and glory among other citizens Narrow perspective (the village) Misogyny - doesn’t like women and this is clear in his work Use of slaves and hired workers |
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Prometheus and Family |
A titan whose name means Fore-Thought His father was Iapetus and his mother was Clymene or Themis His siblings were Atlas, Menoetoius, and Epimetheus Atlas was condemned by Zeus to support the weight of the heavens |
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Prometheus and Fire |
After having being tricked by him at Mekone with the fat, Zeus removed fire from men It was hidden in the tops of the trees and one day there was storm and lightning hit the tree and it started a fire Prometheus wanted to help humans and stole the fire and gave it back to the humans Hid it in a "fennel stalk" called Ferula Communis Zeus was not happy so we wanted to punish Prometheus in a cruel way He was bound in strong chains and he set a wide-winged eagle on him and ate his liver each day and grew again each night Herakles drove off the eagle, freeing him Zeus not mad because it was his famous son Other versions Prometheus has a secret |
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Atlas and Prometheus both in Punishment from Zeus |
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Pandora |
Means giver of all Zeus wants to have the first woman on earth so he told Hephaestus to make a mixture of earth and water and gave her a human voice and the features of an immortal god and a virgin girl Wanted Athene to teach her how to do the craft of woman and Aphrodite to pour golden charm on her head and fierce desire and heavy sorrows and Hermes he ordered to giver her the mind of a bitch and sly ways |
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Epimetheus |
Brother of Prometheus
Prometheus warned him to never accept gifts from the Gods ever, specifically Zeus But he saw the beauty of Pandora and he accepted her as a gift Pandora was also given a big jar which contained all the things that causes sorrow and mischief to men She opened it up and only Elpis (Hope) remained under the rim of the jar This is an example of the story of women causing trouble in the world of men |
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Garden of Hesperides |
This is where the tree of life grows
The tree generates golden apple of immortality and is guarded by a snake This is similar to Adam and Eve story Herakles went there and asked Atlas to help him collect the apples |
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Epic of Gilgamesh |
Enkidu looses his affinity with the natural world after being seduced by a priestess of the goddess Ishtar The priestess is a sacred prostitute of Ishtar which is similar to the cult of Aphrodite |
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Forms of Strife |
There are two forms of strife (Eris) Both are daughters of the night The first one causes aggression and the second inspires healthy competition Greek world was very competitive |
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Five Ages of Humanity |
Age of Gold, Silver, Bronze, Heroes, and Iron Defined by Hesiod in Works and Days This reveals that there was a decline as gold is first |
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Age of Gold |
Corresponds to the period of rule of Chronos Human being are described as autochthonous and living like gods
When they die it is like sleep has just caught them and their holy spirits roam helping the later generations Doesn’t say why it ends |
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Making of Pandora by all the Gods Athena, Ares, Hermes, Zeus, Posideon, Iris |
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Age of Silver |
Olympians create a new generation of humans These reach adulthood when they are 100 years old and then live for a short time because of their lack of wits Since they do not acknowledge the Olympians Zeus ordered their extinction |
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Age of Bronze |
Zeus creates a new race of men from Ash Trees which is also used for the shaft of a spear
They are characterized by Zeus's aggressive strength and spend their time fighting They end to exterminate each other, going down the halls of Hades |
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Age of Heroes |
This age is juster and nobler than preceding and the following The mortals are the heroes who fight at Troy and Thebes A few of them are granted by Zeus a life in a remote paradise in the Isles of the Blest which has the same characteristics of the Golden Age |
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Age of Iron |
Corresponds with Hesiod's time Zeus will destroy this generation also Some signs such as newborns with grey hair make clear that the end is close Natural affection among relatives is gone |
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Aeschylus's Version of the Prometheus Myth |
Playwright for one of the festivals He wrote a trilogy in which Prometheus was a main character In Aeschylus’ version, Prometheus is said to know the name of whom Zeus would beget a son, who was to supersede his father She is the sea nymph Thetis who then becomes the mother of Achilles by Peleus Prometheus refuses to reveal her name for a while, but at the end reveals the secret to Zeus In this version Prometheus refusing to submit to Zeus commits a hamartia and an act of hubris Hubris = an act of violence but too much pride is shown Gods do not like hubris and do not allow it and punish for it That is why he is tied up and attacked by the eagle |
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The Deluge Sent by Zeus |
Promethesus had a son Deukalion Married Pyrrha the daughter of Epimetheus and Pandora Deukalion by the advice of Prometheus constructed a chest and embarked in it with Pyrrha when Zeus tried to destroy the men of the Bronze Age Floated on the sea for nine days and drifted to Parnassos and when he landed he sacrificed to Zeus Phyxios (the god of escape) Started throwing stones which became men and women And Deucalion had children by Pyrrha, first Hellen which turned into Hellenes (Greeks) and Hella (Greece) |
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Ovid's Metamorphoses |
Based off of the Deluge Sent by Zeus Themis told them to cast behind them the bones (stone) of their great mother These are Gaea and this is why they threw rocks |
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Great Goddess or Creator Goddess |
Can conceive by parthenogenesis (asexual reproduction) Is a source of life, of death, and of transfiguration or rebirth Is a deity combining a triple nature (virginal maiden/nurturing mother/wise old woman) and opposites within herself |
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Symbols of the Great Goddess |
Snake Tree Moon Various shapes of vases Birds Sows Cows |
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Snake Goddesses |
Found in Greece, Syria Also Roman goddess Ceres has snakes around her wrists Roman fresco from Pompeii depicts a ceremony in honor of the Lares who were the Gods of the household Each roman house had their own and rituals that were performed in honour of them |
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Cow Goddesses |
Egyptian Goddess Nut as a Cow Egyptian Goddess Hathor as Cow Headed Europa and Zeus turns into a cow to lead her to Crete |
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Gaea as the Great Goddess |
Conceived by herself the first generations of Gods Then she becomes the companion of her son who then gives birth to the Titans |
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Hecate |
Mother is Asteria Loved by Zeus |
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Artemis |
Daughter of Zeus and Leto Virgin Goddess and rites of passage DeShe is an empress and is frequently represented with her bow and quiver |
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Demeter |
A lot of the information we have on her come from the Homeric Hymn to Demeter Goddess of agriculture Daughter is Persephone with Zeus Ploutos son of Demeter and Iasion he was God of wealth This makes sense because a good harvest = wealth |
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Abduction of Persephone by Hades Hecate and Hermes are there too |
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Abduction of Persephone by Hades By eating the Pomegranate seeds she is now linked to Hades |
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Abduction of Persephone by Hades |
She didn’t know where she was because she didn’t know anything about what happened so she stopped eating ambrosia and drinking nectar and roamed She stopped taking care of her body On earth everything stopped to grow By eating the pomegranate seeds she is now linked to Hades 6 months on earth and 6 in the underworld with Hades which represents the cycle of agriculture |
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The Eleusinian Cult |
Lesser Mysteries - Performed at Agrai during Jan-Feb to purify and introduce the Greater Mysteries Great Mysteries - Performed in Eleusis in Aug - Sept after a procession from Athens There were 3 stages The initiates are called mustai.The initiates of the last stage were called epoptai. |
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Great Mysteries |
Open to men, women, youths and evenslaves Foreigners participated too Only Greek speakers were allowed Some messengers went to the Greek cities toannounce the incoming ritual and ask for atruce of 55 days |
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Boedremion 14.15.16. 19/20 |
Boedremion 14 the sacred objects were moved to Athens, in the Athenian Eleusinion. The ephebes (youths 18 or 19 years old) escorted the sacred objects (hiera) Boedremion 15 people met in the agora of Athens and were invited to take part to the mysteries, except those who couldn’t speak Greek, or were homicides and impure Boedromion 16 Initiates to the sea People went to Phaleron (Athens’ harbour), washed themselves in the sea, and sacrificed a piglet Boedremion 19 or 20 after other rituals, the procession moved to Eleusis, bringing back the sacred objects. People brought myrtle branches (bakkhoi), a walking stick and a sack. |
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Great Mysteries Rituals |
On the following days they performed purification rituals sacrifices and fasting Initiates could see the sacred objects and could drink a sacred drink of barley and water Had no windows so nobody else could look and see the sacred objects Building was called the Telesterion This ceremony was very important Other gods were said to have been initiated such as Herakles Demeter was main God but also Ploutos, Persephone, Dionysos, Aphrodite |
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Demophon |
Demeter tries to make him immortal by holding him in the fire
Demophon's mother Metanira scared interrupts her At this point Demeter has to reveal herself and asks for a cult in her honour Communion with Demeter which substitutes the literal immortality |
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The Thesmophoria |
Sowing ritual in honour of Demeter open only to female initiates Celebrated in many parts of the Greek world Piglet were placed into gullies filled with snakes, pinecones, and phallic shaped cakes After 3 days purified women re-enacted the descent of Persephone into Hades |
