Some Olympian deities, such as Hermes and Zeus, also received chthonic sacrifices and tithes in certain locations. The categories Olympian and chthonic weren't, however, hard and fast. The absorption of some earlier cults into the newer pantheon versus those that resisted being absorbed is suggested as providing the later myths that seem confusing however. Thus Demeter and Persephone both watched over aspects of the fertility of land, yet Demeter had a typically Olympian cult while Persephone had a chthonic one.Įven more confusingly, Demeter was worshipped alongside Persephone with identical rites, and yet occasionally was classified as an "Olympian" in late poetry and myth. While chthonic deities had a general association with fertility, they didn't have a monopoly on it, nor were the later Olympian deities wholly unconcerned for the earth's prosperity. Not all Chthonic cults were Greek, nor did all cults practice ritual sacrifice, some performed sacrifices in effigy or burnt vegetable offerings. Offerings usually were burned whole or buried rather than being cooked and shared among the worshippers. In some Greek chthonic cults, the animal was sacrificed on a raised bomos ("altar"). When the sacrifice was a living creature, the animal was placed in a bothros ("pit") or megaron ("sunken chamber"). Some chthonic cults practised ritual sacrifice, which often happened at nighttime. While terms such as "Earth deity" have rather sweeping implications in English, the words, khthonie and khthonios, had a more precise and technical meaning in Greek, referring primarily to the manner of offering sacrifices to the deity in question. Note that the modern pronunciation of the Greek word "χθόνιος" is, although the Classical Greek pronunciation would have been something similar to. However, most other dictionaries, such as the OED, state that the first two letters should be pronounced as. Its pronunciation is somewhat awkward for English speakers-for this reason, many American dictionaries recommend that the initial "ch" should be silent. It evokes at once abundance and the grave. Greek khthon is one of several words for "earth" it typically refers to the interior of the soil, rather than the living surface of the land (as Gaia or Ge does) or the land as territory (as khora (χώρα) does). Chthonic (from Greek χθόνιος- khthonios, of the earth, from khthōn, earth pertaining to the Earth earthy) designates, or pertains to, deities or spirits of the underworld, especially in relation to Greek religion.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |