As has been made clear already in the few days of this class, the Greco-Roman concept of the divine world is fluid and complex.  However, Mikalson’s chapter on the categorization of the divine world was very enlightening for understanding how these countless deities could co-exist in the same general culture.  The first two major categories that the Greeks used to categorize the divine were Gods and Heroes.  Gods are generally defined as beings who were born immortal and remain as such. Heroes, on the other hand, are defined as people who lived on the earth as a human and did extraordinarily great or awful deeds. Heroes all die, but alters would be erected in their remembrance because some cultic followers believed the hero still influenced the community in some way.  Gods and heroes are further categorized by whether they are Ouranic (“of the sky”) or Chthonic (“of the earth”). Such a classification determined whether rituals took place during the day or night, and what type of sacrifice would be made.

                Mikalson further notes three categories used to identify each God: the name, the epithet, and the locale.  This three level system is what allows for such a great diversity to exist in the number of Greek deities. Gods with the same name and epithet but a different locale would have dissimilar myths surrounding their origins. The epithet defined the function that the god served.  Poseidon Soter and Poseidon Hippios are both Poseidon, yet they are both very different deities; one tends to sailors at sea, and the other horses on land. The use of epithets demonstrates how the Greeks primarily identified the Gods based on their function. This aspect is seen most clearly in Warrior’s selection from Hesiod’s Theogony.  As each god is born, he or she is described based on the activity or function they excel at.  Artemis is called an archeress, Hephaestus is excellent in the arts, and Athena is known for her battle expertise (Warrior 21).

                 In contrast to gods, whose influence and mythology could spread over large areas, heroes are generally confined to a specific locale. This location was typically based off of their real or imagined tomb, and thus confined the heroes influence to a single state or neighborhood. A good example of this practice is seen in the remarks of the geographer Pausanias.  He observes how the people of Marathon worship the dead from battle at their tombs, and that these dead have come to be known as heroes (Warrior 7).

While the Greek system of categorizing Gods and heroes allowed for an extremely wide diversity of myths and beliefs, there were some generally established basic features.  According to fifth century historian Herodotus, Hesiod and Homer were responsible for creating a “divine genealogy.” They gave the gods their names, epithets, offices, skills, and appearances and solidified it in their literature. They likely received much of their ideas from long standing oral traditions. Mikalson observes that these basic features developed in literature along very different lines from the local cult myths (Mikalson 35).

                Mikalson’s discussion on the myth of Dionysus, Icarus, and Erigone explains why certain sanctuaries and cultic practices were founded in ancient Greece.  The Athenians celebrated a “swinging” ritual known as the Aiora during a Dionysian festival each year, which likely originates from the myth of Erigone hanging herself.  The killing and burial of Icarus in the myth also explain the origins of his cult as the eponymous hero of the deme Icarion (Mikalson 58).

The myth of Dionysus, Icarus, and