Background to Heraclitus Greek Mythworld Ritualworship Godsheroes Mythic
Background to Heraclitus: Greek Mythworld: • Ritual/worship • Gods/heroes • Mythic truth
Chronology • 1184 BC supposed fall of Troy • ~1100 Dorian invaders bring “sky gods” who wed “earth gods” incl. “Magna Mater” (Demeter) • ~800 – Homer composes Iliad, Odyssey • 700 -600 s – Hesiod composes Theogony – Beginning construction of great temples – constitutions of Sparta, Athens, many poleis • 600 Thales begins philosophy
“In time of peace, as in war time, religion intervened in all acts. It was everywhere present, it enveloped man. The soul, the body, private life, public life, meals, festivals, assemblies, tribunals, battles, all were under the empire of this city religion. ” -Fustel de Coulanges, The Ancient City
Mytho-religious experience Believer enters the temple, participates in the procession Believer adores the god = symbol of natural or cultural order, value
Analogy: aesthetic experience Viewer enters theater Viewer identifies in fantasy with the actor/actress/story = symbol of cultural value
Celebrities and fans
Who worships the nobler Gods? Gods of grace and order Gods of sex and slick
Homes of the Gods/Goddesses • Temples e. g. the Acropolis • Mount Olympus • The “regions” of the universe belonging to the god – Zeus the sky – Poseidon the sea – Hades the undergloom
Greek Gods Family Tree Uranus (Heaven) + Gaia (Earth) | Chronos (Time) + Rhea (Motion) Coeus + Phoebe Oceanus + Tethys | | | ___________ Leto + Zeus Iapetus | | | | Hestia | Poseidon | Demeter + Zeus | _________ Hades Zeus + Hera | | | | Persephone | | Prometheus | Athena | Apollo—Artemis | | Ares—Hebes—Hephaestus Atlas Epimetheus | | Zeus + Maia Zeus + Dione 12 Olympian Gods | Hermes | Aphrodite
Gods of Nature and Culture Natural Powers • • • Zeus Poseidon Demeter Iris Aphrodite Dionysus Cultural Values • Zeus • Hera • Apollo • Athena • Hephaestos
World of Greek Mythology Religious-Poetic Truth • Mythos = divine story = ‘revelation’ (not myth vs. fact) = frame of meaning • Origin in prehistoric past • “Homer and Hesiod created the Pantheon of the Greek Gods. ” - Herodotus
Poet with Harp (Cycladic Islands)
The Greek Bible • Iliad and Odyssey = – Achilles and the tragedy of warriorculture, human love and mortality – Odysseus and the ‘comedy’ of practical reason, adventure and homecoming • Theogony = – Coming-into-being of gods/the universe – Origin of Earth, Eros, Sky out of Chaos – Cosmic wars • Chronos/Titans vs. Uranus • Zeus/Prometheus vs. Titans
Hesiod’s Theogony In the beginning was Chaos, the Abyss Then Gaia, Earth came forth, ground of all… Tartaros, and Eros… Earth’s first child was Ouranos, Starry Heaven, a perfect fit for her on all sides… Later she bore with Ouranos Kronos… Later still came forth Zeus, and the Olympian gods…
Mythological Frame of Meaning • Earth and Sky Gods = define ‘reality framework’ of natural and cultural powers • Divine beings, esp. Heroes and Heroines = define ‘normative framework’ of human values and society
From mytho-religious culture to modern rational society 1. Common ritual = emotional basis for moral life 2. Ethics link to social role, station 3. Gods = life-framing objects of natural, cultural power and value 4. Truth = unquestioned divine-poetic revelation of myth (mythos) 1. Personal morality = reflective basis for moral life 2. Ethics = universal laws for persons 3. Ideas = life-framing objects of natural power and cultural value 4. Truth = criticized, evidence-based theory and argument (logos)
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