Mythology, Greek
Mr Ruskin on the absence of fear in the Greek genius, Religion, to writers of the fifth century B.C., mainly a matter of festivals. In the _Euthyphron_ religion is ‘doing business with the gods,’ a form of ‘tendance’ (θεραπεία). Contrast of δεισιδαιμονία, ‘fear of spirits.’ Pl...
Mr Ruskin on the absence of fear in the Greek genius, Religion, to writers of the fifth century B.C., mainly a matter of festivals. In the _Euthyphron_ religion is ‘doing busine...
2. CHAPTER II.The Anthesteria, ostensibly dedicated to Dionysos, a spring festival of the revocation and aversion of ghosts. Examination of the rites of the three days. Meaning of the Chytroi...
3. CHAPTER III.The Thargelia an early summer festival of first-fruits. The Eiresione. Object of the offering of first-fruits a release from taboo. The Australian Intichiuma. Removal of taboo d...
4. CHAPTER IV.Importance of these festivals as containing the germ of ‘Mysteries.’ Detailed examination of the ritual of the Thesmophoria. The Kathodos and Anodos, the Nesteia, the Kalligenei...
5. CHAPTER V.Primitive demonology constantly in flux. Various connotations of the word Ker. The Ker as evil sprite, the Ker as bacillus of disease. The Keres of Old Age and Death. The Ker as...
6. CHAPTER VI.Anthropomorphism. Gradual elimination of animal forms. The gods begin to mirror human relations and at first those of ‘matriarchal’ type. The Mother and the Maid, two forms of o...
7. CHAPTER VII.The passage from ghost to god more plainly seen in the cult of heroes than in that of heroines. Instances from heroine-worship. Helen and Hebe. The hero as snake. Origin of the...
8. CHAPTER VIII.Mystical character of the religion of Dionysos. Dionysos an immigrant Thracian. The legend of Lycurgus. Historical testimony. In Euripides Dionysos an oriental. Explanation of a...
9. CHAPTER IX.Problem of relation between Orpheus and Dionysos. Analogy and contrast between the two. Orpheus a Thracian; a magical musician. Possible Cretan origin of Orpheus. The island rou...
10. CHAPTER X.Our chief source a fragment of the _Cretans_ of Euripides. The Idaean Zeus the same as Zagreus. The _Omophagia_ or feast of raw flesh. The bull-victim. Bull-worship in Crete. Th...
11. CHAPTER XI.The tablets our chief source for Orphic doctrines. Their _provenance_ and general character. The Petelia tablet of the British Museum. Analogous tablets from Crete. The Well of...
12. CHAPTER XII.Orphic theology as seen in the Hymns. The World-Egg. Use of eggs in Orphic ritual of purification. Birth of Eros from World-Egg. Complex origin of Orphic Eros. Eros as Herm. Ero...
13. CHAPTER I.In characterizing the genius of the Greeks Mr Ruskin says: ‘_there is no dread in their hearts; pensiveness, amazement, often deepest grief and desolation, but terror never. Eve...
14. CHAPTER II.Our examination of the unpromising Diasia has so far led us to the following significant, if somewhat vague, results. The festival in all probability did not originally belong t...
15. CHAPTER III.Spring-time, it has been seen in the last chapter, is the season for _purification_ by means of the _placation of ghosts_. But spring-time is not the only anxious time for primi...
16. CHAPTER IV.With the autumn festival of the Thesmophoria[304] we come to a class of rites of capital interest. They were practised by women only and were of immemorial antiquity. Although,...
17. CHAPTER V.In the preceding chapters the nature of Greek ritual has been discussed. The main conclusion that has emerged is that this ritual in its earlier phases was mainly characterized...
18. CHAPTER VI.In the last chapter we have traced the development from Keres to Erinyes, and have seen that, on the whole, this development was a downward course. The Erinyes are in a sense mo...
19. CHAPTER VII.Frequently, in his wanderings through Greece, Pausanias came upon the sanctuaries of local heroines, and these sanctuaries are almost uniformly tombs at which went on the cultus...
20. CHAPTER VIII.So far the formula for Greek theology has been, ‘Man makes the gods in his own image.’ Mythological development has proceeded on lines perfectly normal, natural, intelligible. I...
21. CHAPTER IX.By the time of Herodotus[1146] the followers of Orpheus and of Bacchus are regarded as substantially identical. In commenting on the taboo among the Egyptians against being buri...
22. CHAPTER X.The most important literary document extant on Orphic ceremonial is a fragment of the _Cretans_ of Euripides, preserved for us by Porphyry in his treatise on ‘Abstinence from An...
23. CHAPTER XI.The monuments in question are a series of eight inscribed tablets all of very thin gold, which have come to light in tombs. Six out of the eight were found in Lower Italy, in th...
24. CHAPTER XII.If, in attempting to understand Orphic Theogony, we turn to the collection of hymns known as ‘Orphic,’ hymns dating for the most part about the 4th century A.D., we find ourselv...