April Kersten
Oxford Readings in Greek Religion, Chapter
7:
Greek Sanctuaries as Places
of Refuge
By: Ulrich Sinn
I. “The right of sanctuaries
to grant asylum is, indeed, counted as an exemplary feature of the Greek
social order.”
A. This is an area of Greek life not fully explored by scholars due to
the lack of concrete evidence.
B. Private life:
1. Sought by girls trying to avoid a forced marriage
2. Orphans were placed with a guardian due efforts of sanctuaries
C. Public Life:
1. On diplomatic missions, officials placed themselves in sanctuaries
to insure safety and gain a form of leverage.
II. The three types of asylum or asylia.
A. The type of specific protection offered by sanctuaries.
B. The ancient tradition of asylum.
1. Asylia: literally means prohibition against stealing
2. This simply guaranteed safe passage between the boundaries of city-states.
C. A type of asylia also protected sanctuaries.
1. Everything in sacred territories belongs to the gods.
2. This gives every sanctuary the status of asylon hieron (inviolable
precinct).
III. Asylum and the right of Hiketeia
A. A person in trouble could seek protection in a sanctuary, but anonymous
stay was not tolerated.
B. In order to receive the protection of a sanctuary, a person had to
appear openly and explanation his reason for coming.
C. Hiketeia: was the rite by which the person seeking aid
sat down on the altar holding a symbol identifying him as a suppliant
1. A male suppliant is a hiketes
2. A female suppliant is a hiketis
3. “He sat down in a sanctuary.”
IV. The right of Hiketeia and the job
of a priest.
A. The priest was the “legal advisor” of a suppliant.
B. His job was too:
1. Calm emotions
2. Hinder acts of revenge
3. Begin the process of criminal proceedings
C. “Rejecting a person begging for protection counted as a sacrilege.”
D. Sanctuaries could be exposed to danger, especially when accepting
suppliants seeking protection from political opponents.
E. “This burden in the priests was in fact the weak point in the
system of sacred immunity.”
1. At times priests disregarded this law of immunity.
a. There are tales of suppliants being forcibly driven out of sanctuaries,
starved to death, and massacred.
b. Sometimes to get rid of an unwanted suppliant, the sanctuary would
ask an oracle. The answer would always be easily interpreted unfavorably
for the suppliant.
c. In Athens, a police station was placed at the entrance of the Acropolis
to keep out unwanted suppliants.
V. Theories about the practice of asylum.
A. The present consensus is that “the protection afforded by sanctuaries
was effective only in the early period, and that this institution had lost
its effectiveness by the fifth century.”
B. The stories of disregard for the rite of heketeia, “was recorded
with misgivings and at the same time branded with sharp disapproval.”
While stories of successful heketeia are omitted because that was considered
normal.
1. “Stories of the bad treatment of suppliants always have moralistic
undertones.”
2. Legends of gods punishing those who don’t uphold asylum.
a. Kleomenes, the king of Sparta, who went mad supposedly for killing
thousands of suppliants.
b. The town of Kelike was buried by an earthquake due to a crime committed
against suppliants at the sanctuary of Poseidon.
3. These legends reveal that “the institution of hiketeia was deeply
rooted in popular belief.”
4. The public felt so deeply about hiketeia that it was often used to
rally public emotion.
a. It was used to incite the city of Athens into battle against the
evil Spartans who did not respect the rite. And vice versa.
5. Hiketeia is the main theme in many plots in drama, comedy, and erotic
fare.
6. There is even a code of behavior for suppliants to aid in gaining
the favor of uneasy priests.
a. This involved acting humble while giving the impression that one
would commit suicide if aid were not offered.
b. This was very effective because for a suppliant to commit suicide
in such conditions was a great disgrace for a priest.
VI. “How did the sanctuaries prepare
for these continual claims on their hospitality?”
A. The rite of hiketeia was “a matter of practicing a cult.”
B. Suppliants often either took part in cult practices or simply lived
side by side with cult participants.
a. The story of the poet Alcaeus who was able to watch the ritual ring
dances.
b. The boys of a Samian sanctuary who were almost starved that were
simply invited to the cult ceremonial meals.
C. “The rule is laid down that participants in the cult and suppliants
are to be separated for the duration of cult festival.”— and inscription
from a sanctuary to Demeter dating to 92 BC.
VII. “Where exactly inside the
sanctuary were all of these long term guests living?”
A. There seems to be an infrastructure designed to house both suppliants
and the constant influx of pilgrims.
B. Sites such as Olympia reveal guesthouses, bath installations, and
even shops.
C. Even though the areas designed to hold pilgrims and suppliants were
separate from the main altar and sanctuary, these areas were still considered
sacred.
D. Typically Greek sanctuaries were divided into smaller and larger precincts.
1. Divided by a large artificial terrace
2. The use of natural terrain placing the holiest site generally on
the highest point
E. In Suppliants by Aeschylus, suppliants are told to go
to stay in a grove in order to clear the altar.
1. bebelon alsos: profane grove
2. heiron alsos: Holy grove
VIII. Choosing the best sanctuary
A. Zeus Hikesios guaranteed the concept of asylum, but
any sanctuary could offer this protection.
B. It was better for suppliants to try and seek asylum in the main sanctuaries
of towns or districts.
1. It was less likely to be rejected by larger sanctuaries.
2. If one was a political refugee, then the authority of the entire
town or district was behind the priest.
3. The facilities at larger sanctuaries were often more extensive.
C. Main Sanctuaries were often situated far outside towns.
1. These sanctuaries were often located in hard-to-reach locations offering
better protection.
D. Often the location outside of town made these better sanctuaries because
those seeking political asylum ran the risk of being threatened within a
city.
Return to Main Page: CLST 4003H. Spring, 2002.
Greek Religion Honors Colloquium
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