Group Essay - Before

 

 

During the Classical period religion was of utmost importance to the Ancient Greeks and in order to fully understand the Ancient Greek mindset, one must experience first hand the Ancient sites of religious significance. Greek religion cannot just be pinned down to one city state so we are visiting a number of different sites to further our own knowledge of this aspect of Classical Greek history. Five different students will be studying five different facets of Ancient Greek religion so that as a group we can fully appreciate the importance of religion during the Classical Greek period.

 

The first site that we will examine will be the site of Ancient Corinth, in order to study mainly the temple of Apollo and its significance in that city state, as well as the Archaeological Museum of Corinth. As the museum contains a number of finds from the excavation of Corinth including a number of terracotta votive offerings found at the Asklepieion, these dedications to Asklepios will be helpful for those who wish to study cults in Ancient Greece. In Ancient Corinth we will also visit the Temple of Aphrodite, which in ancient times employed more than a 1000 prostitutes to raise money towards worshipping the god to who the temple was built for (Dillon 2003: 201). Visiting this site will aid our group in our study on women in religion. Corinth will also offer an interesting view into why a city state has a particular patron god. It houses temples to Poseidon, the patron god of the city, as well as temples dedicated to Apollo and Aphrodite. Looking as the ruins of these sites as well the archaeological evidence in the Archaeological Museum should show a form of precedence to one god as opposed to other as well as a possible reason why Poseidon was preferred. A visit to the site of the Asklepieion will offer a good comparison the Asklepieion at Epidavros and will grant an insight to how a patron god is treated in its own polis.

 

After studying the site of Corinth we will take a bus to the site of the Ancient town of Epidavros where we will focus our study on the cult of Asklepios. Epidavros features one of the best preserved and most impressive theatres in Ancient Greece, and it will be interesting to examine why a cult of the god of healing was found at the same site as one of the largest theatres in ancient Greece. This is especially notable given the fact that Epidavros was not one of the more distinguished poleis particularly compared to the larger city states of Athens or Thebes. There are also a number of smaller sites of interest at Epidavros including a ruined temple of Dionysus as well as the Archaeological Museum of Epidavros. The Museum features some of the most important monuments of the Asklepieion as well as a number of building inscriptions of the miraculous cures of Asklepios. Epidavros has one of the most obvious patron gods in all of Greece in Asklepios and Hellenes would travel from across Greece to witness the miraculous cures. Looking at the Asklepieion would not only offer a direct comparison to similar sites in other poleis but would also show how a lesser god like Asklepios was treated compared a more major one like Zeus or Athena. Epidavros while is not one of the most essential sites for our group to visit it is certainly one of the most interesting sites on our tour and will offer a good comparison to the other sites we will visit.

 

After spending the night in Nafplion we will travel to Olympia which is one of the most important sites that we shall visit due to firstly its cultural significance in Ancient Greece as well as the fact that it is applicable to a number of our areas of study. This appeal to our separate aspects of expertise will allow us to gain a more thorough understanding of Ancient Greek religion as a whole. As a Pan-Hellenic institution the Olympic Games were one of the most important events of the Greek calendar. It gave the Hellenes a sense of identity and Greeks from as far afield as Trebizond and Massilla came to take part in the Games, this means that the Olympic site should display a sense of cultural diversity that is different from the other sites that we will visit. The temple of Zeus at Olympia was impressive enough to be named as one of the seven wonders of the Ancient world and to be given the opportunity to study the site and to the east and west pediments of the temple will enlighten us as to what religion and mythology meant to the Ancient Greeks. Olympia will also give us an insight into the lives of women in Classical Greece. The traditional view of the Olympic Games in popular culture is one of an event that is restricted only to men but a study of the temple of Hera at Olympia should yield depictions of the Heraia. The Heraia was the female equivalent of the Olympic Games and was held at the Olympic site. The winners of the games would receive an olive crown which shows an element of equality with the men at the Olympic Games. In terms of our study of the patron gods the Olympic site will be very interesting because Zeus is the most important god in the Ancient Greek pantheon and is also the patron god of Olympia. The museum at Olympia also features the Altar of Zeus which should show specifically how Zeus was worshipped as a patron god; a comparison will also be able to be drawn between the worship of Hera and Zeus.

 

After staying the night at Olympia we will then take the bus to Delphi where we will be mainly studying the oracle of Delphi and its influence on the Classical Greek way of life. The opinion of the oracle was taken very seriously by all of the Ancient Greek city states and it had a massive influence of foreign and domestic policy. The role of women in Delphi will also be very interesting to observe as the most important figure at Delphi was the oracle and as she was a women it will be intriguing to see if the role of women generally in Delphi is an anomaly compared to Classical Greece generally. The patron god at Delphi was Apollo and this was where his oracle, the Pythia, was located. A lot of tribute and sacrifices were made to Apollo at Delphi by all Greeks not just by citizens of Delphi due to the influence and power of the oracle. The offerings paid to Apollo are evident in the temple of Apollo as well as in a number of other buildings. The findings from the temple and the sites can be found in the Archaeological museum and this should help us gain a deeper understanding of how people in Delphi worshipped the god. A study of the sanctuary of Athena Pronaia should offer a good comparison to the cult of Apollo and it will be helpful to see if this comparison between firstly the worship of the two deities as well how this comparison compares to the difference in other poleis.  Delphi also contains a number of treasuries which were built to resemble miniature temples and were decorated with carvings and inscriptions.  This should give us an idea as to what the Greeks chose to decorate their architecture whether it is mythology, women or another subject.

 

After we have visited Delphi we will take the bus to Athens and then on to the island of Delos which boasts the temple of Apollo which was the site of the treasury of the Delian league and features a number of other important sites such as the House of Dionysos and the sacred lake. In terms of Pan-Hellenism the location of the treasury of the Delian league is very notable because it demonstrates the trust of separate city states in the sanctity of the temple of the Apollo, and shows that religion has the power to bring poleis together. Delos was not a city state with a regular population but more of a sacred site dedicated specifically to Apollo. However it also has sanctuaries to Artemis and Dionysos as well as a temple dedicated to Hera and visiting these will give a point of view on patronage of Gods that poleis cannot provide.

 

After we come back from Delos we will travel to Athens which is by far the most important site that we will visit as it has the best preserved sites and the best museums in the whole of Greece. In terms of relevance to Pan-Hellenism the Great Dionysia was one of the most important events of the Classical Greek calendar. This celebration of comedy and tragedy dedicated to Dionysus represented one of the largest peacetime gatherings of Hellenes outside the Olympic Games. Visiting the theatre of Dionysus should offer a sense of the grandeur of the event and its significance in terms of bringing the Hellenes together. Athens and specifically the festival of the Panatheneia, which is on the frieze of the Parthenon, give an opportunity to examine the role that religion and religious festivals had on the rights and the lives of women in Classical Greece. During said festival unmarried women were permitted to mix freely with the noblemen of Athens, a very atypical phenomenon, and this demonstrates just how influential religion was on the lives of women. As the main polis in Classical Greece Athens contained sanctuaries to almost every member of the Ancient Greek pantheon and contains the best preserved example of a temple dedicated to the cities patron god in the Parthenon on the Acropolis.  This is also a very good temple to study for its carvings as it contains both mythological stories and non mythological events.  The significant amount of other temples that are preserved as well as sites like the theatre of Dionysos will offer a very good comparison in terms of grandeur to the Parthenon. The most crucial sites we will visit to observe this comparison are the temple of the Olympian Zeus, Poseidon’s temple, the Olympieion as well as the ancient agora. Evidence from these sites will be found at the museums in Athens, most notably at the National Archaeological Museum.

 

To truly understand the Ancient Greek civilisation and way of life, you have to know what was most important to them and how they lived their lives. Religion to the Ancient Greeks was more than just worship it was about their own understanding of their world around them and their own self-awareness. To truly appreciate this you have to visit the ancient sites to get a sense of the value that the Ancient Greeks placed on religion and religious ceremony. To have the ability to look at sites like the temple of Zeus at Olympia or the temple of Apollo at Delos will enable us to understand better Classical Greek religion generally as well as the more specific aspects that we are studying.

 

 

 

 

 Dillon, M. 2002 Girls and women in classical Greek religion. London