Personal religion in the ancient Greek city
‘In ancient Greece.. religion was totally embedded in society- no sphere of life lacked a religious aspect. Birth, maturity and death, war and peace, agriculture, commerce and politics- all these events were accompanied by religious rituals or subject to religious rules. Sanctuaries dominated the skylines, statues of gods stood on the corners of the streets, and the smell of sacrifice was never far away. Indeed, religion was such an integrated part of Greek life that the Greeks lacked a separate word for ‘religion’. (Bremmer, Greek Religion, 1994, p.2).
In 1988 and 1990 Christiane Sourvinou-Inwood published two articles on the concept of ‘polis-religion’. According to Sourvinou-Inwood Greek religion ‘provided the framework and the symbolic focus of the polis. Religion was the very centre of the Greek polis’. One of the scholars who used Sourvinou-Inwood’s ideas was Jan Bremmer. According to Bremmer religion in ancient Greece was totally embedded in the whole society (see quote at the top op this page).
Not every scholar agreed with Sourvinou-Inwood's and Bremmer's ideas. Last year, in 2012, Julia Kindt published her book ‘Rethinking Greek religion’. Kindt did not totally reject the ideas of Sourvinou-Inwood about the polis religion. However, in her book she argued that there is ‘plenty of evidence for religious practices unmediated by and with no obvious link to the polis’. For this kind of evidence, we must think of e.g. magical practices, curses and curse tablets, mystery cults, like the Eleusian mysteries, the mysteries concerning the cult of Demeter and Persophone, and personal visits to oracles, for example visits to the asklepieion (the sanctuary for Asklepios) in Epidaurus.
On this page we will give you some general information about Curses and Curse tablets, the Eleusinian mysteries and the healing cult of Asklepios in Epidaurus.
Curses and curse tablets
Greek religion wasn't quite similar to the world religions we are familiar with nowadays. Ancient Greeks occasionally turned to curses and curse tablets when they wanted to change the outcome of things yet to happen, or when they wanted to change an already existing situation. Modern day readers might think of these tablets as rather dark and magical. The content as well as the place of the exhumation support this idea. The tablets bore messages that would bind down ones' body parts, and sometimes strange languages (voces magicae) were used. Curse tablets were deposited either in graves, or other sites that had a chtonic (underworld) connotation. Yet the number of finds as well as the situations they applied to raise the idea that the usage of curse tablets was quite common. Were these tablets as magical as we would think on first sight? What can we deduce about life in the polis through analyzing these tablets? Answers to these questions can be found here.
The Eleusinian Mysteries
Each year, there were two kinds of festivals held in both Athens and Eleusis, a place about 14 miles away from Athens. It was here, according to the myth of Demeter, that Persephone was saved from Hades, the king of the Underworld. Beside the festivals of Athens and Eleusis, this myth was also remembered through the multiple sanctuaries, which in some cases explicitly can be linked to the myth of Demeter and Persephone. The rescue of Persephone was celebrated and remembered in Small and Great Mysteries, which were held in the months of anthesterion and boedromion (February and September). If you’re interested in the whole myth of Demeter regarding to her search for her daughter Persephone, the Small and Great Mysteries and the different sanctuaries of this place and their mutual similarities and differences, click on this link and have fun!
Healing cult of Asklepios in Epidaurus
When people in ancient Greece were ill, there could go to a healing sanctuary and hoping they would get better. There are different forms of healing cults, connected with different healing gods. One of those cults is the cult of Asklepios. The most famous temple of Asklepios was found in Epidaurus. During the 6th century BC at the latest, the cult of Asklepios became the official cult of the city state of Epidaurus. Its principal monuments, e.g. the temple of Asklepios, date from the 4th century BC. Next to the temple dedicated to Asklepios one could found e.g. other temples, hospital buildings and of course the famous theater of Epidaurus. The whole complex was devoted to three healing gods, Asklepios, Apollo and Hygieia. More detailed information on the healing cult of Asklepios in Epidaurus can be found here.
In 1988 and 1990 Christiane Sourvinou-Inwood published two articles on the concept of ‘polis-religion’. According to Sourvinou-Inwood Greek religion ‘provided the framework and the symbolic focus of the polis. Religion was the very centre of the Greek polis’. One of the scholars who used Sourvinou-Inwood’s ideas was Jan Bremmer. According to Bremmer religion in ancient Greece was totally embedded in the whole society (see quote at the top op this page).
Not every scholar agreed with Sourvinou-Inwood's and Bremmer's ideas. Last year, in 2012, Julia Kindt published her book ‘Rethinking Greek religion’. Kindt did not totally reject the ideas of Sourvinou-Inwood about the polis religion. However, in her book she argued that there is ‘plenty of evidence for religious practices unmediated by and with no obvious link to the polis’. For this kind of evidence, we must think of e.g. magical practices, curses and curse tablets, mystery cults, like the Eleusian mysteries, the mysteries concerning the cult of Demeter and Persophone, and personal visits to oracles, for example visits to the asklepieion (the sanctuary for Asklepios) in Epidaurus.
On this page we will give you some general information about Curses and Curse tablets, the Eleusinian mysteries and the healing cult of Asklepios in Epidaurus.
Curses and curse tablets
Greek religion wasn't quite similar to the world religions we are familiar with nowadays. Ancient Greeks occasionally turned to curses and curse tablets when they wanted to change the outcome of things yet to happen, or when they wanted to change an already existing situation. Modern day readers might think of these tablets as rather dark and magical. The content as well as the place of the exhumation support this idea. The tablets bore messages that would bind down ones' body parts, and sometimes strange languages (voces magicae) were used. Curse tablets were deposited either in graves, or other sites that had a chtonic (underworld) connotation. Yet the number of finds as well as the situations they applied to raise the idea that the usage of curse tablets was quite common. Were these tablets as magical as we would think on first sight? What can we deduce about life in the polis through analyzing these tablets? Answers to these questions can be found here.
The Eleusinian Mysteries
Each year, there were two kinds of festivals held in both Athens and Eleusis, a place about 14 miles away from Athens. It was here, according to the myth of Demeter, that Persephone was saved from Hades, the king of the Underworld. Beside the festivals of Athens and Eleusis, this myth was also remembered through the multiple sanctuaries, which in some cases explicitly can be linked to the myth of Demeter and Persephone. The rescue of Persephone was celebrated and remembered in Small and Great Mysteries, which were held in the months of anthesterion and boedromion (February and September). If you’re interested in the whole myth of Demeter regarding to her search for her daughter Persephone, the Small and Great Mysteries and the different sanctuaries of this place and their mutual similarities and differences, click on this link and have fun!
Healing cult of Asklepios in Epidaurus
When people in ancient Greece were ill, there could go to a healing sanctuary and hoping they would get better. There are different forms of healing cults, connected with different healing gods. One of those cults is the cult of Asklepios. The most famous temple of Asklepios was found in Epidaurus. During the 6th century BC at the latest, the cult of Asklepios became the official cult of the city state of Epidaurus. Its principal monuments, e.g. the temple of Asklepios, date from the 4th century BC. Next to the temple dedicated to Asklepios one could found e.g. other temples, hospital buildings and of course the famous theater of Epidaurus. The whole complex was devoted to three healing gods, Asklepios, Apollo and Hygieia. More detailed information on the healing cult of Asklepios in Epidaurus can be found here.
Painting of John William Waterhouse, A sick child brought into the temple of Aesculapius, source: John William Waterhouse, English Pre-Raphaelite Painter and Draftsman, url:http://hoocher.com/j_w_waterhouse/john_william_waterhouse.htm