How to tackle Greek Religion.

My first thoughts when looking at the topic of gods in the Ancient world is to tackle it through one of the major gods.  This leads me to my first problem, what characteristics makes a major god or goddess? Do we only class the Olympian gods as the important ones in Greek mythology? If so why is Hades not considered to be one of the Olympian gods? Hades is known as the god of the underworld, keeper of souls, yet he seems to take a background seat when it comes to looking and studying the gods of the ancient Greek world. Is this because we relegated to the background seat by our own views on religion? Thus I will be looking at aspects of ways to tackle Greek Religion through the considered "minor" god of Hades. When we look at Greek religion we also have to assess the problems of our own religious influences of our current world. There religions such as Christianity, Hinduism, Judaism and Buddhism to name a few; that deal with different ideals of what a god is to them if that may be a transcendent monotheistic system that we see most of modern religions fall into apart from Hinduism which deals with the same ideas and concepts of the Greek polytheism.  Zaidman comments on religion ‘the necessity of cultural estrangement…mental adjustment’ ( 3) each one of the religious view affects how we tackle aspects of Greek religion, Zaidman makes the comment that we need to separate our own religious view being a devoted Christian or an atheist to be able to tackle these factors we need to put our own views to the side. Considering even if the Ancient Greek people see the Greek gods a term of religion these will all be aspects I will be tackling through my blog posts using the example of the god of Hades.

 

Hades:Clash of the Gods

Bibliography

Zaidman,L B and Pantel, PC.(1989)  Religion in the Ancient Greek City. Translated by Paul Cartledge.  Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Polytheism

 

When we are looking at the concept of polytheism through the god of Hades, there isn't any which way to tackle the aspect of him being a "minor" god so to speak. Polytheism is the worship of many gods, the closest religion we have towards that today is the religion of Hinduism. Which is the only polytheism religion still surviving? We could question that within looking at the aspects of Christianity with the worships of Jesus and the Virgin Mary. Christianity is a monotheistic religion as Christians only worship one god, but yet we constantly see images or statue of Jesus and Virgin Mary. Many Christians worship not only God but Jesus and the Virgin Mary as well. With this said does this mean that the Christian religion just as the ancient Greek religion could be considered as a religion that is a polytheistic. As Rea defends the idea that Christianity has changed more into a Polytheistic religion ‘Christians should learn to be content regarding themselves as in some sense polytheists.’ As Rea remarks that Christians need to view their religions differently from the set belief of their own ideals of a one soul God religion. As the dynamics of their religion has changed over time to a religion that is more based towards polytheism. (http://www3.nd.edu/~mrea/papers/Polytheism.pdf : Last accessed 24/03/2013)

There is worship of other deities in the religion of Christianity even though the religion entail that there is only one God. The Greeks however as we know had multiple gods that they worshiped on a daily basis as which we believe from the temples and the mass sacrificing that we read about in texts and the literature of the time.  As mentioned in my previous post of how to view the issue when dealing with Greek religion Zaidmans reference to “mental adjustment” of our society that we need to take when dealing with the aspects of religion like Christianity. When we look at this model through the eyes of Hades, we start to see a gap in the worship of the lord of the underworld. Hades himself can be seen as a personification, he himself is the underworld and the underworld is him. So does this make him a god that they would technically worship? Would the Ancient Greeks have made sacrifices to him if today we just view him as a personification of the underworld? Burket comments ‘As if a polytheistic religion were the sum of many individual religions; one does in fact speak at times of a Zeus religion, an Apollo religion and a Dionysus religion.’(Burket, 1985:216) Burket here comments on polytheism as a religion as the gods being worshipped as a whole not as individuals. Therefore Hades would in this case in a Greek polytheistic society been worship as a god, which included him into this worshiping ritual, even though he could have been classed as a personification.

Another theory is that Hades is actually Zeus but Zeus himself has been divided so he can rule both the heavens and the underworld. As Burket comments upon this ‘Hades is a personal god, brother of Zeus-hence known also as the other Zeus, the subterranean Zeus.’(Burket, 1958,196)Burket talks about Hades being the same gods as Zeus. The word that Burket uses is “subterranean” describing the underground. That Hades is the underground version of Zeus himself.

We can tell from many texts from the Ancient world that I have mentioned before the means of death and burial are very important in the ways of lifestyle. One would think with having such a meaning towards this that they would have offered sacrifices to Hades himself to makes sure their loved ones passed over the river of Styx into the underworld. I feel the concept of the underworld and Hades as a god has been undermined by our own monotheistic views with the religions of Christianity, Judaism and Islamic. These religions in concept have the image of Hell which is clearly linked with the "devil" so to speak.  This again links back with our concepts and views on religion. The fear that is evoked with the term of death in all religious needs a scapegoat for an image that identifies with the concepts of different religions. For example the aspect of heaven and hell, this is a common saying “if a human leads a good life they will go to heaven if not to hell.” Hades linked with the underworld, which is considered the version of our modern day concepts of “hell”.  When we mention the word devil to many people they come up with words that are associated with Hades and the underworld. This is a problem that we can see when tackling the aspect of the Greek Gods, is that the concept of our own religious beliefs may cloud our judgment when tackling the Gods. We can again see this concept with Hades. Hades in classical imagery is represented by his three headed dog Cerberus, his staff.

Modern art has turned Hades into a CGI version of a mythological monster, this in turn is because of the changing views in our society and concept of worship of dead. 

We see Hades in the Disney version of Hercules with Flame on his head for the aspect of fire again the concept that can be seen with the devil and fire concept of him being on of Disney’s "villains" trying to destroy Hercules and the Gods on Mount Olympus. This therefore brings in aspects of having a harmless Disney film affect a generation of children that are viewing the film.  This in turn takes Hades the Greek God away from how we should view him. He is the God of the underworld this then does not intern make him into a God that in Ancient Greece was considered as an important God to the Ancient Greeks.

Bibliography

Burket W, (1983) Greek Religion. Harvard: Harvard University Press.

Zaidman,L B and Pantel, PC.(1989)  Religion in the Ancient Greek City. Translated by Paul Cartledge.  Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Online Sources:
Brower, J.E and Rea M.C, Understanding the Trinity: http://www3.nd.edu/~mrea/papers/Polytheism.pdf Last accessed on:24/03/2013

Anthropomorphism

Hades and Persephone

 

 

When looking at anthropomorphism in relation to Hades, one struggles to find a symbol or a human attribute that we can atone to this God.  When looking at a god as such a Zeus we can find a clear symbol that is well known to many people as being a lightning bolt.  Hades does not carry this attribute; he is represented with a Cerberus a three headed dog which is said to be the animal that guards the gates of the underworld.  Hades is also pictured with a sceptre, crown and a key.  Just as both his brothers Zeus and Position he has his own chariot. When can recognise Hades by looking at the vase painting of “The Palace of Hades” which is situated in the Antikensammlungen Museum in Munich, Germany; It is a red figure painted vase which is said to be dated late classical to early Hellenistic in the period, it depicts the palace of Hades. This image shows Orpheus journey to the underworld, it shows Hades sitting on his throne holding his sceptre and wearing his crown. These characteristics as mentioned above that are clearly linked with the image of Hades. To the right of Hades, Persephone is also present which is also another indication that it figure on the vase is Hades because of the myth of the rape of Persephone. 

"The palace of Hades"

Another way we can link these attributes just as through images like the vase painting is by looking at the Homeric Hymn to Demeter. ‘There it was that the Lord who receives many guests made his lunge.  He was riding on a chariot drawn by immortal horses. The son of Kronos.The one known by many names.  He seized her against her will, put her on his golden chariot, and drove away as she wept. ‘(Homeric Hymn lines 16-21)

The description that Hymn portrays, is that Hades is being pulled along by the immortal horse. There is also mention of him being the son of Kronos ; these are clearly attributes that we could connect with Hades when it came to the concept of anthropomorphism. The problem that we have in this case, we could see these connections with both Zeus and Poseidon; they are both sons of Kronos as they are all brothers.  As I discussed in my early post about the three gods being as one, but the concept is that Zeus’s chariot, lightning bolt and Poseidon’s attributes to his Trident.  Hades is considering to be recognised simply by refereeing him to the guarding of the underworld, as he is seen as a chthonian god there is again this point of Hades being constantly overlooked.  We as scholars have given these gods attributes that we can relate them too ourselves. 

As it is shown that Hades did not need to take form of another human being, thus one must ask the question of why? Why mythology has seem not to have any reference when it comes to Hades and Anthropomorphism.  When it comes to the role of the Hades we seem to concentrate heavily on the abduction of Persephone, and the concept that he is the keeper of the underworld. It is said that he is the personification of the underworld itself sometimes when refereeing to Hades. An article form the department of classical studies mentions this about Hades; ‘Hades is in fact far more commonly mentioned as the underworld than as a personified god in Greek literature, although we do see him as an actual character in some myths, most famously in the story of the abduction of Persesphone by Hades, a tale told in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter.’(http://www.classics.uwaterloo.ca/labyrinth_old/issue90/DeathLabyrinth.pdf: Last accessed 24/03/2013) In this article it argues that we read more literature where Hades is a character because of the stories of mythology. We rarely read in Mythology about Hades being a personification of the underworld this could be an example of how the Ancient Greek’s viewed Hades as a more humanised character rather than a personification. This would give him more an element of anthropomorphism because of the mythology that we have views him as an individual character rather than a personification.

Bibliography

Online Sources

Figure 1: The Palace of Hades: http://www.theoi.com/Gallery/K14.1.html last accessed: 24/03/13

Homeric Hymn to Demeter, Translated by: Gregory Nancy. http://www.uh.edu/~cldue/texts/demeter.html. Last accessed: 24/03/2013

Online article department of Classical Studies: http://www.classics.uwaterloo.ca/labyrinth_old/issue90/DeathLabyrinth.pdf last accessed: 24/03/2013

Zeus as a Sovereign

 

Zeus is seen as the most powerful God of the Olympians, he overthrew the reign of the Titans and with this took major power over becoming the “all powerful god” so to speak.  Zeus is seen as the sovereign deity. As I have stated before about Hades in relation to Zeus being relation as his brother. Although Zeus may have control of the upper world, Hades had the control of the underworld.  Zeus is often characterized as a god that keeps the peace as so to speak, with in concepts of epic poems such as the Iliad and the Odyssey he is seen as the peace keeper and decision maker in the final aspects of the plot when it concerns the acts of the Gods.  Dowden comments on this concept, ‘His influence is depicted here as based on exceptional brute power of the leading male in the household. But it is not simply that he is hyperman amongst supermen: he is different. We can see this when we look how precisely he controls the outcome of the battle’ (Dowden,1950:87). Dowden here continues the point that he is the lead god that no matter what any of the other gods contribute he has the overriding decision as he is a “hyperman amongst supermen.”

The question is how much of such act as a Sovereign or is he really a tyrant of the skies? Do we choose to view him in such a simplistic view that he embodies all the aspects of the Greek Gods within himself, Zeus could easy be seen as a tyrant that supresses the other Gods in their aspects of duties to keep control.  There is a concept of Zeus being a father figure, as Lloyd Jones comments ‘In Greek religion Zeus may be called “father of gods and men,” but that is because he is their ruler and according to some recreation myths he is responsible for man’s existence. ‘( Lloyd Jones, 1971:32-33) Lloyd Jones makes an interesting argument the myths such as Hesiod tells the story of creation of the world which involved Zeus in some cases. Within the creation of the world there is also a concept of the afterlife that has to be created.  We also see the use of terminology of the father being used in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter.

The Homeric Hymn to Demeter, shows us again the role that Zeus partakes as his role as a sovereign. ‘Hadês! Dark-haired one! King of the dead! Zeus the Father orders that I have splendid Persephone  brought back up to light from Erebos back to him and his company, so that her mother may see her with her own eyes and let go of her wrath and terrible mênis against the immortals.’ (Homeric Hymn Demeter lines 347-351) Here we see Zeus again taking up the role of the father figure. Demeter has asked for his intervention in the matter of returning Persephone from the underworld. Even though Hades is classed as “King of the dead” we still see the concept of “Zeus the father” he is seen as the overriding figure. It seems clear that Zeus seems to have an overriding role when it comes to decisions that impact not only humans but other Gods. The impact this makes does not entirely make him a sovereign at one point to a tyrant to the next.

This is also discussed again in Burkets’ Greek Religion as he states ‘For all that, Zeus is father, father of men and Gods. Even the Gods who are not his natural children address him as father, and all the Gods rise in his presence.’(Burket, 1985:129) Just as Lloyd mentions Burket references to the fact that Zeus is referred to continually as father. This seems to create the ideal of a father figure of God. Burket also mentions that even the gods who are not his natural children also refers to the fact that the other gods both Olympian and Chthonian gods see him that someone they can look up to. This does not necessarily make him a Sovereign though; there is no discussion of the element of fear of Zeus within the mixture of the Gods. The treatment of Zeus as a father figure could easily be to appease him.

Thus the importance of Zeus as a sovereign is visualised every day, without Hades however would he be the Sovereign that he is admired to be.  The concept of the underworld was of great importance into Greek life. As Garland states ‘Notwithstanding the fact that Hades held few attractions, entry to it was critical for the peace of mind and welfare of the deceased. That, in part, was why burial was so important.’(Garland,1985:79)As Garland is stating that Hades being associated with the dead may not have been as worshipped as Zeus as a sovereign.  This does not deem Hades part as his brother and ruler of the underworld any less. The concept was very important to the Ancient Greek as it was a way for their souls to pass into the underworld. ‘People who committed crimes against the state were denied burial not only because such a punishment deprived their relatives of the opportunity to mourn their deaths publicly, but also because it denied the dead access to the underworld.’(Garland,1985,80)  Denial of the dead serious aspect of a Greek culture, which Zeus had no control over when the dead passed through into the underworld, this posing the ending question how far if Zeus is classed as a sovereign did that right switch over to Hades when he the dead were buried. 

Bibliography

Burket W, (1983) Greek Religion. Harvard: Harvard University Press.

Dowden K, (2005) Zeus: Gods and Heroes of the Ancient World. London: Routledge

Garland R, (1985) The Greek way of Death. Cornell University Press

Lloyd Jones H, (2003) Zeus, Prometheus and Greek Ethics.Vol:101, Published by: Department of the Classics, Harvard University.

Online Sources

Homeric Hymn to Demeter, Translated by: Gregory Nancy. http://www.uh.edu/~cldue/texts/demeter.html. Last accessed: 24/03/2013

Greek Gods: Olympian vs Chthonian

When we look at the Greek Gods, we all tend to know who the twelve Olympian gods. This comes to a matter of which gods actually belong in the twelve Olympians as there is always a discrepancy between which gods belong in which category. Hence we have a problem with the issue of Dionysus and weather he is in fact an Olympian god or not is open for a debate. The question is having we as scholars created these terminologies for the sake of our own ideas and concepts of beliefs. How far does the concept of being an Olympian or Chthonian god matter?  Parker states ‘What is at issue is the whole shape of the divine world as seen by the Greeks’(Parker,2011,80) Parker mentions an interesting point when dealing with the aspects of terminology. To the Ancient Greeks was a god Chthonian or Olympian any less or more important than a view of another one of the gods. Was there a difference in the way the Ancient Greeks worshiped Aphrodite to the way they worshiped Demeter?  Chthonian were seen more as earth gods and sacrifices were made more towards the earth and land, unlike the Olympians which dealt with the aspects libations for god instead of the earth to name one of the differences.

When dealing with chthonian gods and Olympic gods in terms of Hades, again we find him a hard god to be placed. He is said to be a chthonian god as he is the master of the underworld. The sacrifices would have been made at night towards Hades and libations being given to the earth. The problem we face with Hades, is the concept of is he even a chthonian god himself. He neither seems to really fit either or. As being the brother to two Olympian gods it hard to understand with a god that had so much responsibility placed upon him that he isn’t considered to be as an important as either Zeus or Poseidon. They were given the term by the Greeks of “TheoiKhthonioi” which is the term that belong to the 45 gods and goddess of the underworld.

When looking at the Volute Krater from Apulia depicting Afterlife scene, which is now kept in the Toledo Museum of Art, here again we see Hades coming into contact with Dionysus in the underworld.

 

Volute Krater

They are shown shaking hands greeting each other in the underworld, Dionysus can be associated with continuation of life and death traveling from both earth to the underworld. When looking at the vase there seems to be a connection that can be made between the Krater is connected with the Orphic-Dionyasic eschatology and by reflecting the texts of Pelinna leaves. (Torjussen,87) Torjussen makes the comment of the writing in the Penlinna leaves keeps the connection between that of the vase and the role of the Dionyasic. Both depicted Hades as a main deity in the role but in the Penlinna leaves Dionysus is not presented unlike the Krater where he is actually seen interacting with Hades.  As Trojussen states ‘The differences between the two sources are just too vast for them to be considered products of the same eschatology.”’(Trojussen,93) Trojussen makes an interesting comment, they may not indeed be depicting the same scene but its putting the two chthonian gods together. It is clear from both sources that there is a connection between them both and the underworld. With this said there is the concept that Dionysus is the connection between the Olympian and the chthonian gods. There is the concept that with Dionysus he is the link between Hades and Zeus or even that they are all one of the same. This then leads back to one of the original posing questions, how do we define what is classed as an Olympian god to what is a Chthonian god? This meaning we would have no term for any of the gods, which in turns we can view Hades on a par to the other gods.

 Hades the true lord of Olympus

Bibliography

Parker R, (2011) On Greek Religion. Cornell University Press, 2011

Online sources

Torjussen,S.S, Dionysos In the Underworld an Interpretation of the Toledo Krater.  http://septentrio.uit.no/index.php/nordlit/article/viewFile/1801/1677 last accessed: 24/03/2013

Gods that don’t fit

Dionysus.

When looking at the gods that don’t fit there a number of gods that we could really look at, one that seems to be majorly covered is Dionysus that does not seem to have a category to fit into. This is maybe because we are undecided if Dionysus is actually the thirteenth Olympian god or not. Gods like Dionysus don’t fit into any bracket whereas the gods are concerned. He is neither an Olympian nor a chthonian god, he is unique. This leads me on to bring Hades into my discussion that he is also just like Dionysus and does not fit his “chthonian” terminology that is given to him.  Just as Dionysus, Hades is an exception to the rule he is both Zeus and Poseidon’s brother who are both Olympian gods. Thus as he never travels up to the mount Olympus he is not classed as Olympian although he possesses the same responsibilities if not more than some of the gods and goddess that have a place within the twelve Olympian gods.

Both Dionysus and Hades are seemed to have a connection within the realms of the underworld.   Seaford summaries the similarities between Dionysus and Hades have together.  “The god who is most associated with exuberant life is also the god who is- apart from Hades himself- associated with death and the underworld, a paradox first noted by Herakleitos.”(Seaford, 2006,86) Dionysus just like Hades travels between the two realms of the worlds. Just as Hades does when he surfaces to take Persephone away, Herakleitos as Seaford mentions references to Dionysus and Hades being one the same person. ‘Hades and Dionysus, for whom they go on a mad range, are one of the same.’(Herakleitos;117.) Here Herakleitos makes an important comment in his view that they are one of the same. This leading back to the concept of Hades being a personification of the underworld means that both Hades and Dionysus are the personification of the underworld and then dead.   The festival of Anthesteria which is a festival associated with Dionysus was an important festival amongst the dead for the Ionians. As Walter comments, ‘It was believed that on these days the dead came to visit the living and remained with them until a ceremonial pronouncements was made significant to them that their time was up, and they had to take their leave’ (Walter,1965.177) As Walter comments that the festival was significant  to the Ionians who believed in the concept of celebrating Dionysus and the link that he held towards the dead and pass over. This in turn reinforces the belief in the idea of Hades and Dionysus being linked to death and the pass over.

Dionysus and Hades seem to have a share in aspects of the death and duties that entail the pass over rituals. With this “gods that don’t fit” image into the concept, we can see that they clearly are not part of either chthonian or Olympian gods. They should not be characterised as either of them for in fact they could fit in either terminology. This does not take away that they are any less important or vital to the worships of the gods.

Bibliography

Herakleitos

Seaford R, (2006) Dionysus: Gods and Heroes of Ancient World. London: Routledge

Walter F, O (1965), Dionysus, Myth and Cult. Translated with an introduction from: Robert B Palamar.  Indaina University Press

Conclusion

Hades is a god that deals with a number of complex questions when tackling Greek religion. He is a god that can categorise as a personification of the underworld, Zeus himself and sometimes considered to take the role within the chthonian gods.  Thus I think that we never truly know where to place Hades, he is a Greek god who has been transformed from the keeper of the souls into what Christians would view as the devil.  Hades is a god that cannot be placed between the Olympian’s and the chthonian’. His relevance to the gods seems to be overlooked in relation to the other gods when he interlinks with majority of the gods themselves.  Our new age religions have changed our views and perceptions of a god who was of importance to the Greeks with their rituals with burials of the dead. Hades may not be Zeus, he may not be an Olympian deity but his importance and relevance throughout Greek religion continues to be of an importance to how we view the religious aspects of death and burial. However this seems to be lost at points when we look at the aspects of tackling the religious aspects of the Ancient Greek world because of our own beliefs to get a true picture of Hades we must put our own views and ideals aside. By doing so, we would see a god who had control of his own realm who is of great relevance to Ancient Greek Religion.

 

Light hearted note from Disney to end on!