Linguists appear to be closer to cracking the code of the Phaistos Disk, a clay disk discovered on Crete over a century ago. The script, known to scholars as Linear A, was used by the Minoan Civilization. Researchers have discovered the word “mother,” leading them to hypothesize that the text could be a prayer to a Mother Goddess figure. Click the image of the disk for more details.
A key feature defining Roman society is their devout practice of religion and it’s pervasive presence in all aspects of Roman life. The Romans in part defined the essence of “Roman-ness” by their religious practice, as Cicero said “We Romans are far superior in religio, by which I mean, the worship of the gods.”(Warrior, 1.1) In addition to helping give definition to what it meant to be roman in general, religion also contributed to the structure societal hierarchies. At the top levels of society generals and leaders of state were devout and would ask for favor before taking actions. This is exemplified in Cicero’s On Behalf of Murena (Warrior, 4.6) where he opens a legal defense with a prayer of petition to the gods on behalf of the man he is defending. There are many examples of generals asking for the blessings of the gods before going into battle or during war such as the prayer Livy attributes to Scipio before he invaded Africa (Warrior, 4.7). This happened often enough to be parodied in literature such as the slave in Plautus’ Persian mocking the prayer of thanksgiving given by the victorious general (Warrior,4.8).
In times of trouble religious ritual was used to promote unity. When the Romans went to war with Aantiochus, Livy records that the senate declared a time of public prayer (supplicatio) for victory. (Warrior, 4.17) This shows that not only the prayers of individuals were needed to gain the favor of the gods but also Rome as a collective, this type of thinking would certainly help unite Rome. Another example of this given by Livy is when a lectisternium (religious festival where statues of gods were place on draped couches outside and worshiped) to beg for pax deorum (peace of the gods) while Rome was stricken with plague. The health and success of the state was directly tied to the religious practice of individuals, households, and groups. Sometimes religious leaders shaped public action, such as the example given by Cicero in On the Nature of the Gods. When a vitium (error) was made in the election of the consuls, some of the most powerful men in Rome, and they were told to step down by the haruspices (diviners or soothsayers) and they did (Warrior, 1.26). The thought of retaining their rank and power despite the religious implications was unthinkable to them.
The defining nature of religion could also be seen in voluntary associations, or collegium. In a letter to Pliny responding to a request to form a group of firefighters the emperor Trajan says “Whatever we name them and for whatever purpose we grant people to come together, in short order they become political and religious brotherhoods.”(Reasoner, pp. 145) Not only did non religious groups take on a religious slant, but there were many groups devoted to Gods or for religious association explicitly. These groups show that people chose to define themselves and their groups religiously.
In chapter 4, Rives discusses how Roman religion fostered a sense of group identity and established social hierarchies through various forms of community life. One of the selections from Warrior that best encapsulates this relationship between religion, identity, and community is an excerpt from the historian Livy. When Rome was afflicted by a major plague, it was the Senate who decided to consult the Sibylline Books and the priestly officials (duumvirs) who instituted the ritual of lectisternium. He notes that the ritual was not only observed by the priests, but additionally that “The ritual was also celebrated in private houses. Throughout the city doors were left open an food of all kind was set out for consumption. Everyone alike, as we are told, both known and unknown, was invited in and hospitably entertained.” (Warrior 8). Here we see a specific ritual designed to unify all the inhabitants of the city. Everyone’s participation had a direct impact on the pax deorum and the health of the state, and thus only a unified effort could possibly hope to make an impact on the gods to win their favor. What’s more, this story demonstrates how the powers of the State and those of higher positions were tied directly to Roman religious practice. This in turn implies the social hierarchy that existed on a state level, where the private masses had to follow the public practices established by officials and elites.
As Rives discusses in his chapter on Religion and Community, an individual’s religious status often largely reflected their status in their society in general. For example, an individual who happened to own a successful shop in town would also likely operate as a key actor in the cities religious affairs. This is likely caused by the fact that, like the Greeks, early Roman religion attributed the success of individuals as well as the empire at large to a correct and pious relationship with the gods. This relationship was viewed by the Romans as a sort of two way street, in that they worshiped correctly and as a result were shown favor by the gods. Which in turn caused them to give proper thanks to the gods, ensuring a continuation of this favor. This relationship is captured well in On the Nature of the Gods, written by Cicero who states, “We give thanks to the gods when we achieve political office or some benefit to our family estate, or if we happen upon some good or avoid some misfortune, and we do not think that our own reputation has been enhanced. Did anyone ever give thanks to the gods because he was a good man? No, he did so because he is rich, honored and secure. Jupiter is called ‘Best and Greatest’ not because he makes men just, moderate and wise, but because he makes them healthy, secure, wealthy and prosperous.” (Warrior, 1.30, pg. 11) In this passage Cicero makes it clear that whether the success is felt by the individual or society at large, it is due to good favor with the gods. As such, it would have seemed silly to have anyone besides the most prosperous members of society be in charge of religious worship. While there were some voluntary associations that were lead by women, slaves, and freedmen, these were largely fringe associations or those that weren’t necessarily of great import. The collegiums that were vital to the success of the entire empire were ran by the socio-economic elite, and as Rives discussed, “Wealth was thus a formal requirement for holding public office, and an important part of serving as a magistrate or public priest was using that wealth on behalf of the populace.”(Rives, pg. 115)
These social hierarchies were echoed in the household, as the father of the household was in charge of caring for the household cult as well as honoring his dead ancestors. These household cults were organized into hierarchical relationships of master and slave, husband and wife, and father and child. Even if a father and husband made a modest living, he still had access to more of his societies resources than his wife, children, or slaves did. Just like it was the job of the top of the socio-economic tree to care for the empire-wide cults, it was the job of the leader of the household to care for the traditional cults of the household.
The cult of Isis has a large complex history spanning thousands of years continuing at least until the early 1st century and maybe after. Isis gained support due to the large trading network created by Alexander and the Roman Empire allowing for Egyptian merchants to spread their beliefs. Isis was a powerful deity and certainty had the resume to back it up. Interestingly though because the gods she is most commonly associated with are not very similar. It seems as if as Isis spread changing names throughout the ancient world her cults and beliefs we’re divided up into many different names like Demeter, Gaia, Hera, or any number. Leading up to the Common Era Isis cults claimed her to be a mother like goddess where she would be the “daughter of Kronos” and “mother of Horus” who is associated with Apollo (Isis Aretalogy). This shows how integratable, flexible, and malleable the Greek religion was and how many of these cultures had very similar religious beliefs. Because not only was Isis worshipped so was many other Asia Minor deities such as Hadad, Ba’al, and even Judaism had places of worship in some places.
Isis is interesting because the two examples of praise for Isis are a little different because one is for a specific reason and the other seems to be a more broad statement as if to say in front of an assembly. The hymn there is a straight forward to provide a sailor or merchant safe passage over waters. It is interesting though because in the praising not only is Isis associated with Greek deities but also Syrian, Lycian, and Assyrian ones. I think that aspect speaks most to the similarity and reaching influence of Greek and Roman identity. The aretalogy is a different story because it is integrated by Greek and Egyptian mythos but speaks to the resume of Isis. One thing that comes through is the powerful identity associated with her and her ever-reaching kingdom even being called the “mightiest” of gods in the hymn. Isis can influence many different things and she is normally given praise in the name of other deities it seems and being called “many named” in the hymn is reasoning to believe this. Isis can be in charge of justice, the moon, sun, underworld, the cosmos, and many more. I’m not sure what it means but it would seem that Isis’ influence must have been very powerful in cultic circles if they truly thought of her as mother of Apollo and things like that.
I can see how Isis was a powerful rival with Jesus just because both have much to offer but it is almost a polytheistic attempt of matching monotheism. Isis could provide all the things Jesus could theoretically but she represented a polytheistic worldview. Jesus really changed the religious system of the Asia Minor and Mediterranean into monotheism creating a negative view of polytheistic rituals. Isis provided a way for polytheism to still preform cultic rituals.
In the temple of Asclepius there is an ivory and gold statue that is half the size of the statue of Zeus in Athens. This statue of Asclepius depicts him sitting on a throne; in one hand he wields a staff, and the other he holds above the head of a serpent. Across from the temple is where the god’s suppliants sleep. Within the Tholos (Round House) there stood several slabs inscribed with the names of people Asclepius had healed and what he had healed them from. After entering the sanctuary, the suppliant would fall asleep and await a vision from the god. The general pattern of the healing was that the god would approach the infirmed in dream and then promise to heal the wound. When day came, the suppliant would awake and find himself healed exactly as it had been seen in the vision. Sometimes snakes would carry out the healings for Asclepius, as seen in the selection from Aristophanes’ Wealth (Warrior 112). Disease and sickness were daily realities for everyone in the Hellenistic era, and even more so for those living in highly populated cities such as Athens and Rome. The Roman historian Livy observes that a plague running through Rome was a serious threat (Warrior 260). To have a god of healing present in the city would be of great benefit.
Aristides seems to have a very personal and direct relationship with Asclepius. He writes as though Asclepius speaks in an audible voice concerning his ailments and healings. In the story of how his tumor on his leg is healed, the doctors and other people have no communication with the god. Aristides is the only one who can hear the god’s divine guidance towards healing. Most often he refers to Asclepius as the God, but other times he uses the term “Savior” (Pg. 224 line 7) or even “Lord” (228 line 24). This highly personal relationship operates very differently from the divine-human relationships of the Classical Age. The first major difference is that in the case of Asclepius it is the god who initiates the interaction. Instead of Aristides going to a temple or festival, he is met by the god in his dreams wherever he may be. Additionally, Aristides is healed before any form of sacrifice is made, if one is even made at all. This contrasts to the Classical Age cults, where an offering had to be made on the human’s side if there was any hope of the gods acting benevolently.
Based on the readings, it seems to me that ancient medicine and religion were at odds with one another and didn’t mix well. This sentiment is best captured when Aristides tumor has been healed, and the doctors insist that the only way for the remaining skin to finish healing was by surgery. Aristides states that the doctors “thought it right that I grant this, for now the God’s part had been done. He did not even allow them this… And he brought everything back together, so that after a few days had passed, no one was able to find on which thigh the tumor had been, but they were both unscarred in every respect” (Aristides 220 line 67-68). While some of his ailments would be cured by use of drugs or remedies, the cure was always attributed to the work of the god and never a result of ancient medicine.
In the reading from Religions of Late Antiquity in Practice Isis is the supreme god in a way. She has control over the cosmos, life and death, and most importantly faith. She was worshipped outside of Egypt long before she became a prominent goddess of the Greeks and Romans. In the reading it says that Isis is Demeter in Greek, and that the mysteries of Demeter were an extension of the mysteries of Isis. Isis has three deities she is commonly associated with, Anubis Horus and Sarapis. She is known as the goddess of a thousand names, each culture has a different name for the goddess, sometimes more than one. We know very little about her mysteries, we do know though that anyone could worship her in daily rituals. They did not have to be initiated into the mysteries.
The writers praise Isis as basically the goddess who has some sort of rule over everything. They praise her as a goddess of all the people and one who hold justice in very high esteem. She is known to calm or agitate the sea, as well as being the rays of the sun. In Egypt, she was responsible for searching for, putting back together, embalming, and reincarnating Osiris, then magically conceiving and giving birth to Horus. Horus would then be reborn and embodied by each new pharaoh.
Isis is worshipped for setting up sanctuaries for the gods and putting an end to tyrants. Her interactions with humanity are that she makes seafaring possible, she watches over people and to her “everything is possible”. I think she was so popular because Isis could claim having a hand in every aspect of someone’s daily life. She was credited for drawing man an women together, making sure children loved their parents, and taught people to honor the gods. So technically she could be praised for all the religious notions that all the Greek people have, and thus should be worshipped. Also since she had control over the seas and safety of seafarers she was the perfect goddess to pray to for safe passage in travels.
In the secondary readings from Gail Corrington Streete, the incredibly popular goddess Isis and her mystery cult were discussed. Obviously, there are several different versions of the story of Isis depending on which surviving materials are examined. Some of the common themes present Isis as the sister and wife of King Osiris, the mother of Horus, and Isis would eventually be considered the ultimate ruler of the cosmos. Most importantly Isis was considered a divine being who conquered death and fate. There are a few elements of the goddess Isis and her cult that are markedly different from that of the Greek religious traditions we have examined thus far. Foremost, the priests and devotees that worshipped her actively sought to proselytize and spread the cult. Secondly, this proselytizing was often aimed at the poor and powerless in societies. Lastly, and most importantly, unlike the many Greek gods with specific tasks and areas of control, Isis was responsible for any and all happenings in the cosmos. Writers in the Isis Aretalogy and the Isis Hymn reflect this notion, giving a long list of responsibilities that otherwise would have been diffused amongst dozens of individual Greek gods. In the Aretalogy, for example, Isis controls warfare (Athena), thunderbolts (Zeus), calming and agitating the sea (Poseidon), and discovered fruit for mortals (Demeter). Isis is also responsible for inventing written language, seafaring, civilization, agriculture, marriage, ending murder, and creating justice systems that oversee human interaction. Unlike the divine-human interactions that have been observed in the Classical Age that are characterized by charis, Isis often gave commandments to her devotees in dreams and promised a better life and afterlife. Mikalson has an insight regarding the popularity of Isis that states, “Unlike a Greek god or goddess, Isis alone now could, for her devotees, fulfill virtually of their religious needs.” (pg. 189) In this way, the all-encompassing cult worship of Isis in the Mediterranean world helped paved the way for the concepts of monotheism that would take shape in the Christian community.
Archaeologists have recently discovered a Macedonian tomb in Amphipolis, a city in northern Greece, dating to the time of Alexander the Great. Inside the tomb is a mosaic of Hermes leading a charioteer into the underworld.
The greeks categorized the divine world by god, epithet and location. By this I mean each individual god had many sides to them which are described by their epithet. The example that Mikalson gives in his book on page 33 is that of Poseidon Soter of Sunium and Poseidon Hippios. The former would deal with matters of the sea while to latter is responsible for horses, “One would pray in vain to Poseidon Soter to save his horse or to Poseidon Hippios to save his life at sea.” (Mikalson 33). The epithet describes something about that particular god’s function and characteristics. The locale of a god is where that god holds influence over. It would be foolish for people in one city or area to pray to the god of a different place as that is not their patron deity.
Homer and Hesiod are given the credit for formalizing the basic features of gods and heroes. Herodotus in his Histories says, “For I believe that Hesiod and Homer, who were 400 years before my time, and no more than that, made for the Greeks the genealogies of the gods, giving them their appropriate titles, assigning them their honors and skills, and describing their appearance.” (Warrior 2.1)
The picture of the Gods that I get from Warrior’s book is that they have a distinctly human element to them. That is not to say that they aren’t supernatural or otherworldly, but rather in Hesiod and Homer they seem to have human concerns. In Hesiod, for example, Rhea has to plot with her parents so she can have her child (Warrior 2.6, 470). In Homer’s The Iliad the gods plot against each other and seemingly admit mistakes, “How naive and senseless we are to set our hearts against Zeus!” (Warrior 2.18, 105) The gods are definitely not man, but they have an element of humanity in their interactions with each other and with humans.
The relationship that these myths have with practiced greek religion is that they myths explain things about the world and explain why certain gods have power over certain places or things. Mikalson says on page 54 that the truth of the myth is not the important part, but rather the message that is contained in the myth. He quotes G.S. Kirk as saying that they are “on the one hand good stories, on the other hand bearers of important messages about life in general and life-within-society in particular.” (Mikalson 54)
The myth that I am explaining is that of Athena, Poseidon, and Athens. In the myth all the gods decide to go down to Earth and claim the cities that they would become the patron god of. Athena and Poseidon get into a race to see who can claim Athens the fastest. Ultimately the story ends with Cecrops, the Athenian king at the time, deciding that Athena was the victor. After the race Athena planted and olive tree and Poseidon hit the Acropolis with his trident. This myth seems to serve several purposes in Greek and Athenian religious practice and thought. First it provides the Athenian citizen with a physical connection to the divine. As Mikalson states on page 56, “The Athenian would have before him a most impressive and beautiful representation of the story he had learned from childhood of how Athena became the eponymous patron of his city.” Secondly I think that it grounds Athens as being a city of great importance. Athens was a powerful and wealthy city but this story seems to show that it also was desirable to the gods themselves. The powerful Athena and Poseidon were involved enough with wanting the city as their own that they would race to claim it. In addition to this the judge of a race between immortals was just a man, the king of the city. The ancient Athenian king in that moment held some sort of power over two of the gods.