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ANCIENT GREEK CUL TS Incorporating recent archaeological discoveries and scholarly perspectives, Jennifer Larson explores the variety of cults celebrated by the Greeks, how these cults differed geographically, and how each deity was conceptualized in local cult titles and rituals. This volume will ...

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ANCIENT GREEK CUL TS

Incorporating recent archaeological discoveries and scholarly perspectives, Jennifer Larson explores the variety of cults celebrated by the Greeks, how these cults differed geographically, and how each deity was conceptualized in local cult titles and rituals. This volume will serve as a companion to the many introductions to Greek mythology, showing a side of the Greek gods to which most students are rarely exposed. For example, the worship of Zeus Meilichios in the form of a snake strongly contrasts with the Homeric image of the Olympian god. Similarly, some literary portraits of Aphrodite indicate that she was sometimes worshiped as an armed (or even a bearded) goddess. Surveying ancient Greek religion through the cults of its gods and goddesses, heroes and heroines, Ancient Greek Cults: A Guide is detailed enough to be used as a quick reference tool or text, yet provides a readable account focusing on the oldest, most widespread, and most interesting religious practices of the ancient Greek world in the Archaic and Classical periods. Including an introductory chapter on sources and methods, and suggestions for further reading, this book will allow readers to gain a fresh perspective on Greek religion. Jennifer Larson is Professor of Classics at Kent State University. Her research lies in the fields of Greek poetry, mythology, and religion, and she is the author of Greek Heroine Cults (1995) and Greek Nymphs: Myth, Cult, Lore (2001).

ANCIENT G R E E K C UL T S A guide

Jennifer Larson

First published 2007 by Routledge 270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016 Simultaneously published in the UK by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2007. “To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.” © 2007 Jennifer Larson All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Larson, Jennifer (Jennifer Lynn) Ancient Greek cults: a guide/Jennifer Larson. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Mythology, Greek. 2. Greece–Religion. I. Title. BL783.L37 2007 292.08–dc22 2006030370 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN 0-203-35698-5 Master e-book ISBN

ISBN10: 0–415–32448–3 (hbk) ISBN10: 0–203–98684–9 (ebk) ISBN13: 978–0–415–32448–9 (hbk) ISBN13: 978–0–203–98684–4 (ebk)

F O R M Y M O T HER , J A N E A N L E N N I E ST ALLMAN

CONTENTS

List of illustrations Preface and acknowledgments Frontispiece maps 1 Methods, sources, and concepts for the study of ancient Greek cults

ix xi xii

1

2 Progenitor and king: Zeus

15

3 Lady of grand temples: Hera

29

4 Mistress of citadels: Athena

41

5 Ruler of elemental powers: Poseidon

57

6 Mistresses of grain and souls: Demeter and Kore/Persephone

69

7 Guarding and guiding the city: Apollo

86

8 The tender and the savage: Artemis

101

9 The persuasive goddess: Aphrodite

114

10 Epiphany and transformation: Dionysos

126

11 Dear to the people: Hermes, Pan, and nature deities

144

12 Divine specialists: other Panhellenic deities

156

vii

CONTENTS

13 Strangers and indigenes: latecomer and regional deities

170

14 Anomalous immortals: hero-gods and heroine-goddesses

183

15 The powerful dead: heroes and heroines

196

Notes Bibliography Index of primary sources Index of divine, heroic, and mythic figures General index

viii

208 222 265 276 283

I L L U S T R A T I ON S

Frontispiece maps 1 2 3

Greece The Aegean area South Italy and Sicily

xii xiii xiv

Figures 1.1

1.2 2.1

2.2 3.1 3.2 4.1 4.2 5.1 5.2 6.1 6.2

A sacrificial bull is led to the priest at the altar, overseen by the cult statue of a goddess. Attic red-figured pelike¯, fifth century A priest examines a ram’s entrails to determine the will of the gods. Attic red-figured skuphos, 490–80 Votive bronze from Mt. Lykaion, Arkadia. Enthroned Zeus holds the thunderbolt (left hand) and an unidentified attribute (right hand). Sixth century Zeus Meilichios as serpent, votive relief from the Peiraieus, c. 400 Terracotta house or temple model from Perachora. End of the ninth century Metope from Hera sanctuary at Foce del Sele: Centaur, 570–60 Athena Parthenos. Roman marble copy of the cult statue in the Parthenon at Athens, 447–39 Bronze votive statue of Athena in battle from the Athenian Akropolis, c. 480 Potter and kiln. Votive pinax from Poseidon sanctuary at Penteskouphia, early sixth century Bronze Poseidon from Livadhostro Bay (Boiotia), c. 470. Inscribed to the god Demeter and Kore or Hekate. Relief sculpture, fifth century Persephone opens a box containing an infant. Terracotta pinax from Lokroi Epizephyrioi, 470–50 ix

6 13

17 23 32 38 43 44 61 65 77 84

IL L US T RATIONS

7.1 Youthful Apollo in bronze. Possibly produced as a cult statue, originally with a bow in the left hand and an offering bowl in the right, c. 520 7.2 Bronze cult statues from Dreros, Krete: Apollo, Artemis, and Leto, eighth century 7.3 Painted metopes and roof ornaments from the temple of Apollo at Thermon, Aitolia, c. 625 8.1 Artemis from the east frieze of the Parthenon 8.2 Artemis Ephesia. Roman alabaster and bronze copy of cult statue, original, c. 500 9.1 Aphrodite with dove, votive bronze from Dodona (?), c. 450 9.2 The birth of Aphrodite on the Ludovisi “Throne,” probably from the sanctuary of Aphrodite at Lokroi Epizephyrioi, 460–50 10.1 Head of Dionysos cult statue from Ikarion, Attica, c. 520 10.2 “Lenaia” vase: women ladle wine before an image of Dionysos (a masked and draped pole). Attic stamnos exported to Italy, fifth century 11.1 Skuphos with an early depiction of Pan, from the Theban Kabirion, fifth century 11.2 Cave shrine of the nymphs with three nymphs led by Hermes. Pan is present in the upper right. Hellenistic 12.1 Temple of Hephaistos in the Athenian agora 13.1 Skuphos from the Theban Kabirion showing initiates, fifth century 13.2 Bendis and Deloptes, terracotta votive relief, c. 400 14.1 Marble votive relief to Asklepios and Hygieia. A family brings a bovine to the altar for sacrifice. Late fourth century 15.1 Marble votive relief dedicated to the healing hero Amphiaraos. Background: incubation. The foreground shows the sleeper’s dream: the hero treats his shoulder ailment, fourth century

x

87 89 90 103 110 118

122 134

136 150 154 160 173 176 193

205

P R E FA C E A ND A C K N O WL E DGM E N T S

Limitations of space have made it necessary to resist the urge to document every fact; instead, I have cited primary sources only where they are directly quoted or otherwise indispensable. Secondary sources in the notes are also kept to a minimum, with emphasis on more recent scholarship, and citations of standard handbooks and reference works are generally avoided; a full list of works consulted can be found in the bibliography. I chose the further reading at the end of each chapter for its accessibility to undergraduate students, and it is therefore limited to items in English. Students who desire full coverage of a given subject will need to venture into other languages. All dates in this book are BCE unless otherwise specified. For Greek authors and the most familiar Greek names (Oedipus, Achilles) I use the conventional English spellings; other Greek words are transliterated. For the purposes of this book, I treat as singular the names of certain Greek festivals that are plural in form (Thesmophoria, Panathenaia). Abbreviations of journals are those used in L’Année philologique. Abbreviations of ancient authors and other primary sources conform to the usage of the Oxford Classical Dictionary (Third edition). In order to write this guide, I synthesized a massive amount of existing scholarship, so I must thank the colleagues, too many to name, whose specialized work in philology, epigraphy, archaeology, and other fields has made this book possible. Most are cited in the notes and/or bibliography; for any inadvertent omissions, I apologize. Thanks are owed to Christina Clark and Daniel Ogden for reading sections and offering useful comments, and to the anonymous referees for Routledge. Art Resource, Bildarchiv Foto Marburg, and the Heraklion Museum assisted with the illustrations, and Mark Rubin helped me with foreign currencies. The work was carried out with the support of the Kent State University Research Council. As always, thanks to my dear husband Bob. Jennifer Larson Kent State University June 2006 xi

Map 1 Greece (reproduced from Cary 1949 by permission of Oxford University Press).

Map 2 The Aegean area (reproduced from Cary 1949 by permission of Oxford University Press).

Map 3 South Italy and Sicily (reproduced from Cary 1949 by permission of Oxford University Press).

1 METHODS, SOURCES, AND CONCEPTS FOR THE STUDY OF ANCIENT GREEK CULTS

This book focuses on the ancient Greeks’ relationship with the many supernatural beings of their pantheon(s). These gods, goddesses, heroes, heroines, and assorted daimones (a neutral word for deity that does not carry the negative connotations of English “demon”) were acknowledged and honored by the Greeks in myriad ways. “Cult” comes from the same Latin root as “cultivate,” which is fitting because ancient worship was predicated less on faith or belief (which was normally taken for granted) than on concrete actions such as sacrifice, votive offerings, and festivals, repeated as one might repeatedly water a garden in order to encourage its growth. Some gods were favorably disposed toward mortals; others were neutral or even hostile. All had to be cultivated according to age-old customs. I have not provided a complete account of Greek religion, for not every activity that we think of as “religious” was primarily directed toward supernatural beings. Complex systems of traditional belief and custom addressed individual rites of passage (birth, adulthood, and death), relations with other people (family obligations, interpersonal ethics), ritual acts such as supplication and purification, and so on. These acts, beliefs, and stories were sometimes combined with worship of the gods, but recognizing a specific deity was not always their primary purpose. The amphidromia, a ritual by which a newborn infant was carried around the hearth in order to indicate its acceptance into the family, is an example. While Hestia was the goddess of the hearth, there is no indication that the ritual was directed to her as a personal deity. Furthermore, the communal nature of much Greek worship, and the fact that it was so often sponsored by the state, means that there is much more material in this book about civic worship than about the experience of small groups or individuals. Funerary ritual and beliefs about the afterlife, surely an important part of most religions, are for the most part unexplored here. Curses and sorcery too, which I would assign to “religion” rather than the methodologically suspect category of “magic,” are only lightly touched upon.1 Finally, cult is only one facet of a god’s character. Greek cults do not always reveal a fully rounded picture of a god, just as 1

ME T HODS , S OURCE S , A ND C O N C E P T S

poetic descriptions leave out much that is necessary toward the full understanding of a deity. Even within these limits, I make no claim to comprehensive coverage, for the sheer number and variety of attested cults would defeat any scholar who attempted to fully document them. Lewis Richard Farnell’s magisterial The cults of the Greek states (1896–), which was the inspiration for my efforts, fell far short of this goal even though it comprised five hefty tomes on the Greek gods, followed by a separate title on heroic cults in 1921. Therefore, the present work is selective, and the principles of selection were as follows: I have limited the discussion to cults attested for the Archaic and Classical periods, or those that I believe existed before c. 340. Within this group, I have selected the oldest and most widespread cults, those with special aspects of anthropological interest (such as human sacrifice or “sacred prostitution”), and those most familiar from canonical literary sources. I have also included cults that illustrate specific aspects of Greek religion, such as the import and adoption of foreign deities, and the distinctive habit of hero and heroine worship. Throughout, I incorporate new archaeological discoveries, and I try to present a more geographically balanced picture than Farnell did by including as much evidence as possible from the Greek colonies. The goal is not to replace Farnell’s work, which is still widely used, but to provide a more easily consulted and updated alternative. Although I devote a chapter to each of the major gods, my intention is not to create the impression of a fully integrated, consistent personality for each deity. The Greek gods were perceived in different ways depending on the time, the place, and the individual worshiper, and it is important to let these contradictions stand. At the same time, as a result of Panhellenism, the major gods gained some degree of consistency in personality and function by the Archaic period.

The concept of the pantheon Greek cults can be viewed from the perspective of cultural evolution: the details of each cult are determined not only by the specific god to whom the cult is addressed, but by a plethora of local conditions that change over time. These include the roles of other deities and heroic figures in local and external pantheons, manipulation of cults for the political and social benefit of individuals and groups, and the power of historical events (such as a battle near a sanctuary or a widely reported vision) to capture the popular imagination. In spite of the ancient Greek tendency toward religious conservatism, cults can be said to develop, flower, reach maturity, and wither in a competitive process, for people had only limited resources to devote to worship, and their preferences demonstrably changed over the centuries. Lack of evidence makes it difficult to track short-term changes in most parts of the Greek world (with the possible exception of Athens), but any account of Greek religion should acknowledge that gods and rituals were far from static and 2

METHODS , S OURCES , AND C O N C E P T S

unchanging. As in biology, the proper application of the term “evolution” to this process implies no directional development from a “primitive” to an “advanced” state, nor a specific end goal. Jean-Pierre Vernant, followed by many others, has argued that individual Greek gods have no identity outside the framework of the pantheon and that it is only by virtue of their associations with and oppositions to other gods that they achieve a personality and a functional range.2 Yet there is no such thing as “the” pantheon at the level of individual religious experience as opposed to the artificial synthesis of Panhellenism: pantheons vary by place and time. Therefore, we should speak of a Theban pantheon in the Archaic period, or the Athenian pantheon of the fifth century. Even this formulation is too broad, for within the polis or other political unit, each individual was familiar with a pantheon determined by place of birth, family ancestry, neighborhood of residence, and ethnicity. Using his recommended method to define Hermes in opposition to Hestia, Vernant achieved a fresh perspective on these deities and the way they concretize Greek habits of thought about space and movement.3 Such structuralist approaches tend to be synchronic and to focus on the relationships to be detected in a set of facts, gathered from different centuries, about a given cult or cultic milieu. The underlying assumption is that cultic systems are predicated on the binary oppositions that are basic to human culture: life/ death, male/female, hot/cold, sterile/fertile, and so on. This method can yield valuable insights, but it may neglect the historical development and local idiosyncrasies of a given cult or deity, and it does not always acknowledge that some aspects of a cult, even quite important ones, may be due more to historical contingencies than to the inner logic of a pantheon. Order and symmetry are not always apparent in systems that have grown and evolved blindly over long periods of time, though we surely have to do with complex systems and not random accretions. Still, it is certain that the most methodologically sound format for the study of Greek cults is the detailed account of a particular city or region (e.g. Jost 1985, Parker 2005), which permits examination of the interrelationships between the deities and festivals, yet also allows diachronic analysis. One drawback of the organizational format I have chosen (cults grouped by deity) is that it does not place in the foreground the interconnectedness of cults in the same sanctuary, polis pantheon, or region. Mindful of the dangers of studying any god in isolation, I have tried to address this issue by pointing out the special affinities between certain members of the pantheon, for example Poseidon’s regular relations with Demeter, Apollo’s with Artemis, and Zeus’ with Athena. Also, each chapter on the major deities includes discussion of selected minor figures whose cults are closely associated. Throughout the book, I stress geographic and ethnic distinctiveness. The importance of ethnicity, already noted by Farnell as a crucial variable in Greek religious practice, has recently received new emphasis as scholars 3

ME T HODS , S OURCE S , A ND C O N C E P T S

investigate the “cultures within Greek culture.” In particular, the work of Irad Malkin and Jonathan M. Hall has demonstrated how different Greek populations defined themselves against others and how the cults of various deities (Poseidon Helikonios, Apollo Karneios, etc.) contributed to this activity.4

Sources Readers should be aware that the sources for Greek cults are lacunose and of widely varying date and reliability; they include the testimony of ancient poets, historians, and scholars; inscriptions; reports of excavated sanctuaries and their contents; and other bits of evidence. Scholars typically reconstruct rituals and festivals by judiciously weighing and combining information from these sources, and this practice has its pitfalls. For example, all scholars of ancient Greek religion are dependent to some degree on the testimony of the antiquary Pausanias, who lived in the second century CE and wrote a voluminous travelogue listing sights...