A local history of Greek polytheism: of gods and man in ancient Aigina: 800-400 bc

719 Pages·10.05 MB·English

by  Polinskaya, Irene

A Local History of Greek Polytheism
Religions in the
Graeco-Roman World
Series Editors
David Frankfurter, Boston University
Johannes Hahn, Universität Münster
Frits Naerebout, University of Leiden
VOLUME 178
The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/rgrw
A Local History of Greek Polytheism
Gods, People, and the Land of Aigina, 800–400 bce
By
Irene Polinskaya
LEIDEN • bOstON
2013
Cover illustration: the temple and altar of the goddess Aphaia on the Greek island of Aigina.
View from the East. to the left of the temple, in the distance, the characteristic triangular peak
of the Oros looms over horizon.
Intervisibility between the Oros, where Zeus Hellanios had a sanctuary, and the site of Aphaia is of
note.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Polinskaya, I.
 A Local History of Greek Polytheism.
Gods, People, and the Land of Aigina, 800–400 bce / by Irene Polinskaya.
  pages cm. — (Religions in the Graeco-Roman world ; volume 178)
 Includes bibliographical references and index.
 IsbN 978-90-04-23404-8 (hardback : alk. paper) — IsbN 978-90-04-26208-9 (e-book) 1. Aigina
(Greece)—Religion. I. title.
 bL793.A44P65 2014
 292.00938’5—dc23
2013034676
this publication has been typeset in the multilingual “brill” typeface. With over 5,100 characters
covering Latin, IPA, Greek, and Cyrillic, this typeface is especially suitable for use in the
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IssN 0927-7633
IsbN 978-90-04-23404-8 (hardback)
IsbN 978-90-04-26208-9 (e-book)
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to Michael H. Jameson, most generous mentor and friend,
—a posthumous tribute—
and
to my family, for their unflagging support in all my academic pursuits,
this book is dedicated, with love.

CONtENts
Preface: A Personal Note  .............................................................................. xv
Acknowledgements  ........................................................................................ xix
List of Illustrations and Maps  ..................................................................... xxv
PARt ONE
INtRODUCtION: GREEK POLYtHEIsM
1. Raising Questions ...................................................................................... 3
1.1 ‘Greek Religion’—An Academic Construct?  .......................... 3
1.2 Religion between History and Anthropology, sociology
and Psychology  ................................................................................ 6
1.3 A Greek Puzzle: One Religion and Many Pantheons  .......... 9
1.4 Local Deities and Panhellenic Identities  ................................. 15
1.5 Models of Greek Religion  ............................................................. 23
2. Definitions and Approaches  .................................................................. 27
2.1 Preamble: ‘Where I Come From’  ............................................... 27
2.2 theoretical Premises: A system  ................................................. 28
2.3 Ancient Greek Realia: A Mesocosm  ......................................... 32
2.4 Locality: ‘Definite Places’ and Local Religious systems  ...... 36
3. Categories, Data, Paradigms  .................................................................. 45
3.1 Categories  ......................................................................................... 45
3.1.1 Participants: Deities  .......................................................... 45
3.1.2 Participants: Worshippers  ............................................... 46
3.1.3 time setting: Festivals  ..................................................... 47
3.1.4 space setting: sacred sites and sanctuaries. sacred
topography  .......................................................................... 47
3.1.5 Means of Communication: Myths and Rituals,
Myths versus Rituals  ......................................................... 49
3.1.6 Means of Communication: Gifts for the Gods  .......... 51
3.1.7 Interrelating Categories  ................................................... 51
3.2 Data  ..................................................................................................... 52
3.2.1 Material Evidence  .............................................................. 52
viii contents
3.2.2 textual Evidence  ............................................................... 54
3.2.3 Myths as Historical Evidence  ........................................ 55
3.3 Paradigms of Interpretation  ........................................................ 59
3.3.1 the Roles and Power of Paradigms  ............................. 59
3.3.2 Evolutionary Paradigm  .................................................... 61
3.3.3 Initiation Paradigm  ........................................................... 62
3.3.4 Olympian-Chthonian Paradigm  .................................... 63
3.3.5 City-Countryside Paradigm  ............................................ 64
3.3.6 structuralist Paradigm  ..................................................... 66
3.3.7 biological Ethology and Psychoanalysis  .................... 68
3.3.8 Conclusions  ......................................................................... 69
4. Conception of the Divine in Greek Polytheism  .............................. 71
4.1 the subject Matter of this book: Focus on Deities  ............. 71
4.2 Conception of the Divine in Greek Polytheism  .................... 71
4.3 Indigenous Classes of supernatural beings in Greek
Polytheism  ......................................................................................... 75
4.3.1 Gods, daimones, Heroes, and the Dead  ...................... 75
4.3.2 Olympians and Chthonians  ........................................... 78
4.3.3 Deities, Inc[orporated]  .................................................... 80
4.3.4 Abstractions Personified  ................................................. 81
4.3.5 Classes of Meaningful Forms  ......................................... 82
4.3.6 Anthropomorphism and Personhood:
Moral and Immoral  .......................................................... 83
5. Pantheons and Meaningful God sets .................................................. 87
5.1 Polytheistic Plurality  ...................................................................... 87
5.2 Numerical Parameters of Polytheism  ....................................... 89
5.3 Pantheon: Chaos or system?  ....................................................... 93
5.4 structures of Pantheons: How to Find? Panhellenic
templates  .......................................................................................... 94
5.5 structures of Pantheons and Cultic systems:
Where to Look?  ............................................................................... 99
6. social Roles of Deities in Local Cults  ................................................. 101
6.1 ‘Cults’ versus ‘Pantheon’  ............................................................... 101
6.2 social Roles of Deities  ................................................................... 103
6.3 Determining social Roles of a Local Deity  .............................. 104
6.3.1 Name  ..................................................................................... 105
6.3.2 Epithet  .................................................................................. 106
contents ix
6.3.3 Visual Representations  ................................................... 108
6.3.4 topography of sanctuary ............................................... 108
6.3.5 Attributes of sanctuary  .................................................. 110
6.3.6 Votives  ................................................................................. 111
6.3.7 Rituals  .................................................................................. 112
6.3.8 Worshipping Groups  ....................................................... 113
6.3.9 Conclusions  ........................................................................ 113
PARt tWO
tHE AIGINEtAN sYstEM OF CULts
7. Aiginetan Deities and Cults: synchronic Analysis of social
Roles  .............................................................................................................. 119
7.1 the subject and Presentation  ..................................................... 119
7.1.1 Aiginetan Deities: Order and Number  ...................... 119
7.1.2 Aiginetan Deities? Errata and Dubitanda  ................ 120
7.2 Aiakos and the Aiakids  ................................................................. 126
7.2.1 Aiakos and the Aiakids: together and Apart  .......... 126
7.2.2 A sanctuary or sanctuaries?  ......................................... 129
7.2.3 Cult Images  ........................................................................ 134
7.2.4 social Roles: Military Allies  ........................................... 136
7.2.5 social Roles: Markers of Aiginetan Identity  ............ 140
7.2.6 Rituals and Festivals  ....................................................... 142
7.2.7 Processional songs for Aiakos  ...................................... 147
7.2.8 Aiakos’ Mythical Personae: Justice and Piety  .......... 151
7.2.9 Aiakos’ Mythical Personae: Effective Petitioner or
savior from Famine?  ....................................................... 157
7.2.10 Aiakos’ Mythical Personae: Judge of the Dead  ....... 159
7.2.11 the Athenian Precinct for Aiakos  .............................. 161
7.2.12 Conclusions  ........................................................................ 163
7.3 Nymph Aigina  .................................................................................. 163
7.3.1 Overview  ............................................................................. 163
7.3.2 Asopis Krênê on Aigina  ................................................. 164
7.3.3 Maiden Choruses for Aigina  ......................................... 171
7.3.4 Conclusions  ........................................................................ 176
7.4 Aphaia  ................................................................................................ 177
7.4.1 Overview  ............................................................................. 177
7.4.2 Mythical Persona and social Roles  ............................. 178
7.4.3 Cultic setting: the sanctuary  ....................................... 179