Jenay Clark
Athenian Religion: A History
By: Robert Parker
Chapter 12-Beyond the Death of Alexander
1) Who is Alexander and why is he so important?
2) Why was his death significant?
Newly created tribes sprang up
Cults appeared
Statues were dedicated to “everyone”
“Heroes” were given religious honors
Leaders were given cults
People beginning to disassociate themselves from the gods, but associate
themselves with real “heroes”
Went from democracy to oligarchy
Honors were given to Alexander’s dead servant Hephaistion
Alexander’s people were allowed to build temples, desecrate sacred buildings,
have cults, and join the Eleusinian Mysteries.
Harpalus
Demetrius of Poliorcetes
Antigonos Monophthalmus
Alexanders heirs were granted honors like sainthood or were likened to
the gods
They had no regards for sacred honor or religion. They did not have
any order.
Cults
Cults were revived under the new rulers
Ruler Cults
Personality Cults
Tribes and Demes
Tribes and Demes began to have more and more prominence with the new
leaders
They managed to survive without the guidance of Alexander, but they did
however, take on new meanings.
Disappearance
In the later part of the second century tribes, shrines, cults, etc.
began to lose their prominence
“Tribal decrees became rare after about 250, and one may wonder
whether sacrifices that bought together all the members to feast in honour
of the eponymous hero still occured” (265)
“Demes and Phratries and tribes vanish as active entities from
the epigraphic record, so other bodies rise into prominence.” (265)
Private Associations
Non-Citizen associations became more common. Underwent a boom in enrollment.
(Most worshipped foreign gods)
Orgeones
Society of citizen orgeones was founded
Hellenistic Athens still remained a city of festivals
Organization of these festivals however, did affect the relationship
between the rich cults and those of the city cults.
Priesthoods
Mostly wealthy and prominent figures were granted the title of priesthood
Priests were required to help pay for tribal expenses
Supervised the mysteries
Cult of Demos and the Graces
Vanishing Symbols
Private sculpted dedications on the acropolis disappeared in the third
century
Elaborate grave-monuments in Attica disappeared
Marble votives disappear
New cults arise and others disappear further
The new gods that began to appear in Athenian religion were now confined
to non-Greek societies of worship.
Festivals such as Delian Apollo and Amphiaraus of Oropus now were outside
of Athens control
Surviving festivals became more elaborate
Ptolemaea
Panatheanaea
Dionysia
Eleusinia
Hero-Cults
Eptitaphia
Theseia
Aianteia
These cults continued to survive
Hostilities between the Athenians and the philosophers of the regions
were still contested
Aristotle
Stilpon the Megarian
After the death of the great Athenian ruler Athens as a great region
began a rapid period of decline and resurrection. The times after Alexander
were sometimes harsh if not cruel to people as suggested by the rule of
Demetrius. Many ideas or themes that were popular during Alexander’s reign
were beginning to die out. Although some ideas and themes were “resurrected”
they still didn’t have the prominence that they had when Alexander was the
ruler. The period after Alexander’s death is essentially the decline of
the gods and Athenian religion altogether.
RETURN TO MAIN PAGE: CLST 4003H. Spring, 2002.
Greek Religion
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