State Pilgrims and Sacred Observers in Ancient Greece

For at least a thousand years Greek cities took part in religious activities outside their territory by sending sacred delegates to represent them. The delegates are usually called theōroi, literally 'observers', and a delegation made up of theōroi, or the action of taking part in one, is called theōriā. This is the first comprehensive study of theōroi and theōriā. It examines a number of key functions of theōroi and explains who served in this role and what their activities are likely to have been, both on the journey and at the sanctuary. Other chapters discuss the diplomatic functions of theōroi, and what their activities tell us about the origins of the notion of Greek identity and about religious networks. Chapters are also devoted to the reception of the notion of theōriā in Greek philosophy and literature. The book will be essential for all scholars and advanced students of ancient religion.

The first ever comprehensive study of theōroi and theōriā in Greek religion
Provides an overview of the evolution of religious networks throughout Greco-Roman antiquity
A major contribution to the study of 'pilgrimage' in the pre-Christian Mediterranean

Product details

Published: January 2019
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9781108729956
Length: 562 pages
Dimensions: 245 × 170 × 30 mm
Weight: 0.9kg
Contains: 4 b/w illus. 19 maps 12 tables
Availability: Available

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Contents

1. Approaches to theōriā: preliminary definitions and issues
2. Evidence
3. An historical overview
4. Festival theōriā
5. Festival announcement and truce
6. Oracles
7. Conveying offerings
8. Theōroi as magistrates
9. Theōriā and viewing
10. Participants
11. The journey
12. Performances at the sanctuary
13. Civic theōriā: two case studies
14. The theoric chorus
15. Politics and diplomacy
16. Hellenism, panhellenism and common sanctuaries
17. Theoric networks over space and time
18. The case of Athens
19. Philosophy and theōriā
20. Theōriā in Greek imagination
21. Epilogue. The end of theōriā.

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Author

Ian Rutherford , University of Reading
Ian Rutherford is Professor in the Classics Department, University of Reading. He works mostly on Greek poetry, Greek religion and relations between Greece and other cultures: chiefly the Hittites and Egypt. For fifteen years he has published a great deal on 'pilgrimage' in the ancient world (e.g. Pilgrimage in Graeco-Roman and Early Christian Antiquity: Seeing the Gods, co-edited with Jas Elsner, 2005) with a related interest in travelling poets (Wandering Poets in Ancient Greek Culture, co-edited with Richard Hunter, 2009). He has also published a full commentary on Pindar's Paeans (2001) and has another volume forthcoming on Hittite and Greek religion.

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