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.
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| 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
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