Ancient Greek Religion and Culture

The End of the Dark Age

• Panhellenic (all-Greek) worship and festivals become established.
• Delphi, centered around an oracular shrine to Apollo, emerges as a prominent panhellenic cult-center.
• The first recorded Olympic Games take place in 776 BCE near the temple of Zeus at Olympia.
• The Pythian Games, held at Delphi, are the second most important games in the Greek world.
• This period witnesses a rising sense of cultural national identity.
• There is renewed interest in Mycenaean tombs, leading to the rise of ancestor and hero cults.
• Greeks engage in ancestor worship, showing reverence to their deceased forebears through grave offerings and rituals.
• Death is feared due to the anxiety of being forgotten and the idea of forgetting oneself.
• The dead are believed to possess some power, similar to the gods.
• Hero cult emerges with shared features of ancestor cult, where the dead are seen as earth-powers.
• "Hero" in this context refers to an important dead man worshipped at his grave signifying a transition from an honorific term to a religious one.
• People worship at the graves of important figures, even if they are not relatives, including those identified as Homeric heroes.
• Hero cults represent ancestor worship sites for those with no familial connections but perceived community connections.
• The rise of the polis as a political structure leads to a shift away from clan ties and towards broader community ties.

The Archaic Period

• Flourishing trade both within Greek communities and with the outside world.
• Increased colonization and proliferation of city-states around the North Mediterranean.
• Panhellenic festivals increase in importance and number, including the emergence of the Panathenaea in Athens under Peisistratus.
• The emergence of new literary forms, particularly Greek lyric poetry, likely marking a period of preservation rather than innovation.
• Development of philosophy, foreshadowing the later works of Plato and Aristotle.
• Rise of the city-state (polis), leading to increased wars and civil unrest due to competition over territory and trade routes.
• Stratification of society with an aristocratic elite and a subordinate poor, creating challenges for managing social tensions within the polis.

Rise of the Poleis

• "Polis" translates to "city" or "city-state," encompassing both the physical site and the broader political body and cultural identity.
• Synoecism, or "living together," refers to political unification.
• Early Greek society is characterized by a ruling basileus (chieftain), a council of elders, an assembly of men of fighting age, and the demos (people).
• Clan ties bind communities within cities and surrounding regions, requiring individuals to navigate loyalties to their clans.
• The realization that clan ties eventually undermine the functioning of larger communities leads to a move away from this model.
• Forms of government varied widely among poleis, with a tendency to eliminate or reduce the role of the basileus, transferring power to the council of elders.
• Poleis begin codifying laws and constitutions.

Archaic Greek Lyric Poetry

• The Archaic Period is sometimes referred to as the "Lyric Age," though this is somewhat misleading, as it signifies a transition from a more "primitive" culture to a later, more familiar one.
• Lyric poetry may have originated earlier, but the 7th and 6th centuries mark the period when these songs began being recorded.
• Only fragmented material, quotations, and papyri fragments survive from this period.
• Later Greeks found the language of Archaic Lyric difficult, using marginal notes to decipher its complexity.
• The poems were recorded in various dialects, and their content is deeply rooted in the contexts of their performance.
• "Lyric" originally refers to poetry sung to the accompaniment of a lyre.
• An aulos (double-reeded wind instrument) was also used to accompany some kinds of poetry.
• The Greeks often used the term "melos" (song) to refer to this type of poetry.
• The symposium, a social event for elite men, was a common context for song, where they would discuss politics, drink, and sometimes sing.
• While less well attested, there is some evidence suggesting women also played roles as singers and performers.

Characteristics of Early Greek Poetry

• Differs from modern notions of personal poetry, as it was intended to be sung and performed in public and intimate settings.
• Occasions for song include religious festivals, weddings, funerals, victory celebrations, and symposia.
• Though traditional songs were sung, big-name poets also contributed new material to these events.
• Sappho was famous for her wedding poetry, which contained a fertility element and was sometimes quite raunchy.
• Victory celebrations involved elaborate gatherings and the commissioning of poets like Pindar to commemorate victories.
• These songs required skilled singers owing to complicated meters and difficult language.
• Pindar is considered one of the most difficult Ancient Greek writers, pushing the limits of the language.
• Poets often used dialects (Doric and Ionic) they did not speak themselves, creating an artificiality in the poetic tradition.

The Major Figures

• Archilochus, an Iambic poet, was regarded by the Greeks as second only to Homer.
• Known for his invective, criticizing others in his poetry, such as a cycle of poems criticizing his near father-in-law, leading to the suicide of the man's entire family according to tradition.
• Archilochus' target had violated an oath, highlighting the importance of oaths in a world without contracts.
• Elegy is closely related to Epic poetry and was used for a wide range of poetic types.
• Tyrtaeus was an elegist known for his war poetry.
• Solon was an elegist who used his poetry to outline his political ideas.
• Choral poets dealt with myth, showcasing its application in social contexts.
• Bacchylides and Pindar provide glimpses into this genre with Pindar leaving behind some of the greatest works of Greek literature.
• Monody ("solo song") was another form of poetry.
• Alcaeus and Sappho both hailed from the island of Lesbos.
• Alcaeus was a particularly political poet.
• Sappho was considered a special poet, known for her erotic songs focused on young women, which have been controversial.
• Archaic Greek poetry originated from various parts of the Greek world, ranging from Sicily to the Ionian coast.

Explore the evolution of Greek worship and festivals during the end of the Dark Age. This quiz covers the rise of panhellenic cults, the significance of the Olympic and Pythian Games, and the emergence of ancestor and hero worship. Uncover how cultural identity shaped religious practices in ancient Greece.