Polytheism & worshipping 'Demons'

In this week's lecture, we looked at 'Polytheism' and the impact it had on the ancient Greeks. Polytheism simply means the worship of numerous divine beings. As Dicks (1959:296) stated - according the Thales: 'Water is the primary substance of the universe, and that the world rests on water, and that everything is full of Gods', it is fair to say that the ancient Greeks had a wide range of divine beings to worship - and this wasn't limited to the 12 Olympians. The ancient Greeks also worshipped mythological beings such as 'Daimones' (demons) whom apparently did not have the same negative connotations that a modern day demon has. Rather a 'Daimon' roughly translates as a 'lesser god' or 'spirit guide'.

The scholar Robert Newton (1995:44) found some sources from Hesiod which state that 'demons were good, Zeus saw that the world was full of mischief, sorrow, and disease and in his infinite wisdom sent down invisible guardians to watch over us'. This is a stark contrast to what I believe a modern day demon represents - a bringer of evil and sorrow, fallen angels who rebelled against God and were banished into darkness. It would be interesting to speculate as to what point in time the view on demons shifted from good to evil. In my opinion it would have had to have happened when Christianity had a major impact on the west during the time of Jesus Christ, circa 30 AD. According to Holding (2008:281): 'back in the day, pagans and Christians alike believed that the world contained countless spirits floating in the air around them. For Pagans these spirits were 'Daemons', some evil and some good. Daemons were intermediaries between humans on earth and gods in heaven, responsible for many things such as blessing and curses, messages from the gods, and good and bad weather and so on. For Christians, these spirits were generally considered to be evil; i.e. 'demons'. Demons loved to spread malicious gossip and untruths.' It would seem then that the term 'demons' had different connotations depending on the religion, but evidently it was at this time when the term 'demons' had is negative meaning.


St. Anthony plagued by demons - Martin Schongauer c.1480


Another category of divine being is that of heroes and heroines - a topic which I discusses briefly in my previous posting. The worship of characters who performed heroic exploits. The largest and possibly the most notable was that of Herakles and his series of labours. Herakles was hugely popular to the people of ancient Greece, the evidence lies in his portrayal on vase paintings, sculptures, coins and gemstones, not to mention references in poetry and other literature, e.g. Euripides' The madness of Herakles. According to the poet Pindar (complete world of Greek myth), Herakles was seen as a 'straightforward model for athletic prowess'. In other words, Herakles was worshipped by many citizens of ancient Greece as they saw him as a greater man and a symbol of male perfection.

It is well known that each Greek city had its own pantheon with a figurehead deity, such as Athena for Athens or Hera for Argos. However in my opinion citizens were divided in who to worship as a deity. Perhaps not every Athenian agreed that Athena was the true god to worship! Therein lies the problem with a Polytheistic approach - conflicts are going to occur with divided opinion, with neither interpretation being wholly correct. The Homeric Hymns are a good example, as they celebrate each god individually such as hymn 23 To Zeus (see bottom) This would cause problems down the line for a Polytheistic approach, as each hymn would draw favour towards one god or goddess, and not them as a whole.

In the early 20th century, critics of the Paris School took a very controversial stance by stating that Polytheism was overly systematic, believing that it was natural to look at each god individually. They took the story of Hippolytos into consideration, where Hippolytos valued Artemis over Athena, dishonouring her despite claiming to hate women. Aphrodite then punishes Hippolytos for his crimes.

Overall it is down to individual interpretation as to how the ancient Greeks worshipped their deities, in my opinion the controversial view on Polytheism makes me feel that it is a more debatable term than I thought before!

XXIII. To Zeus


Zeus I shall sing: of the gods he is best, he is also the greatest.
Wide in his vision. He governs and brings everything to fulfillment,
Whispering words unto Themis, who sits inclining toward him.
Favor us, scion of Cronus, all-seeing, most honored, and greatest!

Further reading:
R. Newton (1995) Demons, The North American review, vol 280, no 6 pp 44-48
D. R Dicks (1959) Thales, The Classical Quarterly, new series, Vol 9, no 2 pp 294-309
J. P Holding (2008) Shattering the Christ myth. Xulon Press
R. Buxton (2004) Complete world of Greek mythology. Thames & Hudson
D. Hine (2005) Works of Hesiod & the Homeric Hymns. University of Chicago press - page reference 186

Introduction, blog breakdown and what is a god?

Hello there!
This is a blog which I have created in order to keep up to date my studies in Ancient Greek Religion - a popular module at my university!

In my blog I will explore various deities with the help of ancient sources such as the Homeric Hymns and Theogony, and also give my personal opinions on the different aspects of Greek religion as and when I study them in my lectures each week. Not to mention the relevant scholarship which I will call upon to digest and analyse as many aspects of Greek religion that I find fascinating!

The reason why I chose Ancient Greek Religion was because I've always held a fascination with the various Greek gods which stems from my love of the epic poems - Iliad and Odyssey, and also how they were perceived to the people of ancient Greece. I had always wondered whether the citizens of Greece revered the gods to the extent that the characters from the epic poems did. - Ultimately this will lead to my final posting where I explore the origins of the Gods and state how real or mythological they were!
Furthermore I hold a firm interest in mythological heroes such as Theseus, Jason and Meleager, and was fascinated to find out that they were worshiped in a similar pedigree to their immortal gods Zeus, Athena and so on.

This made me think: 'What is a god? Do they need to be immortal and live in the heavens or beneath the sea?' The term 'god' might not be as tangible as many people believe. In my opinion, a god is simply a being, mortal or immortal that is worshiped and revered by the common man to such a degree which makes that common man aspire to be greater as a result. In any case, religion played a monumental role in the lives of the ancient Greeks.


Further reading:
D. Hine - Works of Hesiod and the Homeric Hymns, (chicago 2005)
R. Buxton - Complete world of Greek mythology, (thames & hudson 2004)