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Hiereiai
Hiereiai (singular: ''hiereia'') was the title of the female priesthood or priestesses in ancient Greek religion, being the equivalent of the male title '' Hierei''. Ancient Greece had a number of different offices in charge of worship of gods and goddesses, and both women and men functioned as priests. While there were local variations depending on cult, the Hiereiai had many similarities across ancient Greece. Normally, their office related only to a specific sanctuary or Greek temple. Requirements Local variations of cults made different requirements. The most common rule was that goddesses had priestesses, and male gods had male priests. The virgin goddess Artemis was, for example, served by young virgins, while Hera, goddess of marriage, was served by adult married women. However, it was far from uncommon for there to be a staff of several different "temple servants" in each temple which included both men and women in different positions. Appointment There were mainl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pythia
Pythia (; grc, Πυθία ) was the name of the high priestess of the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo at Delphi. She specifically served as its oracle and was known as the Oracle of Delphi. Her title was also historically glossed in English as the Pythoness. The name ''Pythia'' is derived from ''Pytho'', which in myth was the original name of Delphi. Etymology, Etymologically, the Greeks derived this place name from the verb () "to rot", which refers to the sickly sweet smell from the decomposing body of the monstrous Python (mythology), Python after it was slain by Apollo. The Pythia was established at the latest in the 8th century BC, (though some estimates date the shrine to as early as 1400 BC), and was widely credited for her prophecy, prophecies uttered under divine possession (enthusiasmos) by Apollo. The Pythian priestess emerged pre-eminent by the end of the 7th century BC and continued to be consulted until the late 4th century AD. During this period, th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peleiades
Peleiades (Greek: , "doves") were the sacred women of Zeus and the Mother Goddess, Dione, at the Oracle at Dodona. Pindar made a reference to the Pleiades as the "peleiades" a flock of doves, but the connection seems witty and poetical, rather than mythic. The chariot of Aphrodite was drawn by a flock of doves, however. A mythic element of a black dove that initiated the oracle at Dodona, which Herodotus was told in the 5th century BC may be an attempt to account for a folk etymology applied to the archaic name of the sacred women that no longer made sense (an aitiological myth). Perhaps the ''pel-'' element in their name was originally connected with "black" or "muddy" root elements in names like Peleus or Pelops and peliganes (Epirotian, Macedonian senators), Attic ''polios'', Doric ''peleios'' grey, old, PIE *pel-, "gray". Peleiades are often confused with the nymphs Pleiades.Hutchinsonp. 90 See also * Ancient Epirotes *Pythia *Hiereiai Hiereiai (singular: ''hiereia'') wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gerarai
''Gerarai'' ( grc-gre, Γεραραί), also known by the latinized form ''Gerarae'', were priestesses (Hiereiai) of Dionysus in ancient Greek religion. They presided over sacrifices and participated in the festivals of Theoinia and Iobaccheia that took place during the month of Anthesteria, among other duties. Fourteen in all, they were either sworn in by the Athenian '' basilinna'' or her husband, the ''archon basileus''. One of their primary duties during the Anthesteria was to assist in performing the sacred marriage rites of the queen to Dionysus, and thus held to secrecy. According to a folk etymology, they were called ''Gerarai'', from the Greek word γηράσκω, ''gerasko'', "I grow old". Older women were chosen for the role. See also * Anthesteria (Choes) *Bacchae *Dionysia *Maenad In Greek mythology, maenads (; grc, μαινάδες ) were the female followers of Dionysus and the most significant members of the Thiasus, the god's retinue. Their name lite ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Basilinna
The ''Basilinna'' ( grc-gre, Βασιλίννα) or ''Basilissa'' (), both titles meaning "queen", was a ceremonial position in the religion of ancient Athens, held by the wife of the ''archon basileus''. The role dated to the time when Athens was ruled by kings, and their wives acted as priestesses (Hiereiai). The duties of the basilinna are described in the pseudo-Demosthenic speech ''Against Neaira'', which is the main source of evidence about the position. The laws which set out the qualifications for a basilinna were inscribed on a stele which stood in the sanctuary of Dionysus at Limnai. She was expected to be of Athenian birth and not previously married, though Noel Robertson argues that these requirements may have been ignored as inconvenient. The most important duty of the basilinna appears to have been taking part in a sacred ritual marriage to the god Dionysus as part of the Anthesteria. This ceremony seems to have taken place at the Boukoleion, near the Prytaneion ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oracle Of Delphi, Red-figure Kylix, 440-430 BC, Kodros Painter, Berlin F 2538, 141668
An oracle is a person or agency considered to provide wise and insightful counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. As such, it is a form of divination. Description The word ''oracle'' comes from the Latin verb ''ōrāre'', "to speak" and properly refers to the priest or priestess uttering the prediction. In extended use, ''oracle'' may also refer to the ''site of the oracle'', and to the oracular utterances themselves, called ''khrēsmē'' 'tresme' (χρησμοί) in Greek. Oracles were thought to be portals through which the gods spoke directly to people. In this sense, they were different from seers (''manteis'', μάντεις) who interpreted signs sent by the gods through bird signs, animal entrails, and other various methods.Flower, Michael Attyah. ''The Seer in Ancient Greece.'' Berkeley: University of California Press, 2008. The most important oracles of Greek antiquity were Pythia (priestess to Apoll ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heraion Of Argos
The Heraion of Argos ( el, Ἡραῖον Ἄργους) is an ancient temple in Argos, Greece. It was part of the greatest sanctuary in the Argolid, dedicated to Hera, whose epithet "Argive Hera" (Ἥρη Ἀργείη ''Here Argeie'') appears in Homer's works. Hera herself claims to be the protector of Argos in ''Iliad'' IV, 50–52): "The three towns I love best are Argos, Sparta and Mycenae of the broad streets". The memory was preserved at Argos of an archaic, aniconic pillar representation of the Great Goddess. The site, which might mark the introduction of the cult of Hera in mainland Greece, lies northeast of Argos between the archaeological sites of Mycenae and Midea, two important Mycenaean cities. The traveller Pausanias, visiting the site in the 2nd century CE, referred to the area as Prosymna (Προσύμνη). Location Located within the fertile Argive Plain in the Northeastern part of the Peloponnesian peninsula, the Heraion at Argos stands on the lower hill ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jean Macintosh Turfa
Jean MacIntosh Turfa (born 1947 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American archaeologist and authority on the Etruscan civilization. Jean MacIntosh graduated from Abington High School in Philadelphia and then earned her bachelor's degree at Gwynedd Mercy College. She went on to complete a Ph.D. in Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology at Bryn Mawr College in 1974. Turfa has taught at the University of Liverpool, the University of Illinois at Chicago, the University of Chicago, Loyola University Chicago, Drexel University, Dickinson College, Bryn Mawr College, St. Joseph's University and the University of Pennsylvania. She has participated in archaeological excavation campaigns in the United States, the United Kingdom, in Italy at Poggio Civitate (Murlo), and at Corinth in Greece. She has been engaged in research and museum-based projects at the Manchester Museum, the Liverpool Museum, the British Museum and the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eritha
Eritha (in Linear B script: E-ri-ta, 13th–12th century BC) was a Mycenaean Greek priestess. She was one of the most significant priestesses in the Mycenaean state of Pylos, in southwestern Peloponnese. Eritha was in charge of a sanctuary dedicated to the goddess Potnia. She was also involved in a dispute with the local authorities over the taxable assets of the sanctuary. Position in society In the Mycenaean era, priestesses from Pylos in general controlled land, textiles, as well as male and female personnel. According to the circa 1200 BC records found in the palace of Pylos, Eritha had enough power and appears to have been one of the most significant priestesses in the region. Together with another local priestess, Karpathia, she appears to be of high status in Mycenaean society, probably the same status female clergy enjoyed in Minoan Crete. Eritha controlled a considerable amount of land and was assisted in her service by sacred servants. She was a priestess of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
High Priestess Of Demeter
The Priestess of Demeter and Kore, sometimes referred to as the High Priestess of Demeter, was the High Priestess of the Goddesses Demeter and Persephone (Kore) in the Telesterion in Eleusis in Ancient Athens. It was one of the highest religious offices in Ancient Athens, and its holder enjoyed great prestige. It was likely the oldest priesthood in Athens, and also the most lucrative priesthood in all of Attica.Connelly, Joan Breton, ''Portrait of a priestess: women and ritual in ancient Greece'', Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, 2007 The Priestess officiated during the famous Eleusinian Mysteries. She also officiated during lesser festivals, such as the Thesmophoria and the Haloa. The office could not have survived the ban of all non-Christian priesthoods during the persecution of pagans in the late Roman Empire. See also * High Priestess of Athena Polias * Priestess of Hera at Argos * Sacerdos Cereris Sacerdos Cereris, ''sacerdos Cerealis'' or sacerdos Cereris pub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
High Priestess Of Athena Polias
The High Priestess of Athena Polias held the highest religious office in Ancient Athens. She enjoyed great prestige and played an official role which was otherwise uncommon in Ancient Athens. Several occasions are mentioned when she made her influence known in historical events of importance, and she is known to have influenced offices by recommendation. She supervised the city cult of Athena based in the Parthenon, and was the chief of the lesser officials, such as the plyntrides, arrephoroi and kanephoroi. She was the high priest of one of the three cults of the Acropolis of Athens: the other two were the High Priest of Poseidon-Erechtheus and the Priestess of Athena Nike. The most known individual official of this position was Lysimache I. The office could not have survived the ban of all non-Christian priesthoods during the persecution of pagans in the late Roman Empire. See also * High Priestess of Demeter * Priestess of Hera at Argos The Priestess of Hera at Argos ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Athena
Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded as the patron and protectress of various cities across Greece, particularly the city of Athens, from which she most likely received her name. The Parthenon on the Acropolis of Athens is dedicated to her. Her major symbols include owls, olive trees, snakes, and the Gorgoneion. In art, she is generally depicted wearing a helmet and holding a spear. From her origin as an Aegean palace goddess, Athena was closely associated with the city. She was known as ''Polias'' and ''Poliouchos'' (both derived from ''polis'', meaning "city-state"), and her temples were usually located atop the fortified acropolis in the central part of the city. The Parthenon on the Athenian Acropolis is dedicated to her, along with numerous other temples and monuments. As the patron of craft and weav ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Persecution Of Pagans In The Late Roman Empire
Persecution of pagans in the late Roman Empire began during the reign of Constantine the Great (306–337) in the military colony of Aelia Capitolina (Jerusalem), when he destroyed a pagan temple for the purpose of constructing a Christian church. Christian historians alleged that Hadrian (2nd century) had constructed a temple to Aphrodite on the site of the crucifixion of Jesus on Golgotha hill in order to suppress Jewish Christian veneration there. Constantine used that to justify the temple's destruction, saying he was simply reclaiming the property.MacMullen, R. ''Christianizing The Roman Empire A.D.100-400'', Yale University Press, 1984, From 313, with the exception of the brief reign of Julian, non-Christians were subject to a variety of hostile and discriminatory imperial laws which were theoretically valid across the whole empire, some threatening the death penalty, but not necessarily directly resulting in action. None seem to have been effectively applied empire-wid ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
