Ancient Greek and Zulu Sacrificial Ritual a Comparative Analysis

Numen ◽  
1993 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 293-318
Author(s):  
Michael Lambert
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Ancient Greek ◽  
Greek Religion ◽  
Ancestor Cult ◽  
Kinship System ◽  
Thought Patterns ◽  
Sacrificial Ritual ◽  
Similarities And Differences ◽  
Ritual Systems ◽  
And Function

AbstractIn this paper, ancient Greek and Zulu sacrificial ritual are compared in order to test the validity of Burkert's hypothesis about the origins and function of sacrifice. Similarities and differences between the two ritual systems are analysed. The Zulus do not clearly differentiate between Olympian and chthonic deities and sacrifices and seem to sacrifice exclusively to or for the shades or ancestors. The absence of a fully-developed ancestor cult in ancient Greek religion (the cult of heroes and the cult of the dead bear some resemblance to one) seems to reflect the nature of a pólis culture which cuts across the boundaries of tribes and phratries: no such culture is evident amongst the Zulus and ancestor cult thus reflects the lineage and kinship system characterising Zulu life. Burkert believes that sacrifice has its origins in the ritualisation of the palaeolithic hunt. Crucial aspects of the theory do not seem to be validated by Zulu thought-patterns: e.g. there is little or no trace of guilt or anxiety at ritual killings, a guilt which might be expected from a people deeply attached to their animals, often personified in praises addressed to them. Following G.S. Kirk, this paper attempts to illustrate that composite accounts of both ancient Greek and Zulu sacrifice acquire misleading emotional resonances which individual sacrifices might not have. This comparative study does not disprove Burkert's theory, but attempts to demonstrate that explanations offered in terms of origins or formative antecedents are fraught with speculative problems and throw no light on the motivation for sacrifice.

LYKOPHRON AND EPIGRAPHY: THE VALUE AND FUNCTION OF CULT EPITHETS IN THEALEXANDRA

2014 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Hornblower
Keyword(s):  
Present Article ◽  
Literary Text ◽  
Fifth Century ◽  
Ancient Greek ◽  
Greek Religion ◽  
Local Origin ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Many ◽  
And Function

The subject of this paper is a striking and unavoidable feature of theAlexandra: Lykophron's habit of referring to single gods not by their usual names, but by multiple lists of epithets piled up in asyndeton. This phenomenon first occurs early in the 1474-line poem, and this occurrence will serve as an illustration. At 152–3, Demeter has five descriptors in a row: Ἐνναία ποτὲ | Ἕρκυνν' Ἐρινὺς Θουρία Ξιφηφόρος, ‘Ennaian … Herkynna, Erinys, Thouria, Sword-bearing’. In the footnote I give the probable explanations of these epithets. Although in this sample the explanations to most of the epithets are not to be found in inscriptions, my main aim in what follows will be to emphasize the relevance of epigraphy to the unravelling of some of the famous obscurity of Lykophron. In this paper, I ask why the poet accumulates divine epithets in this special way. I also ask whether the information provided by the ancient scholiasts, about the local origin of the epithets, is of good quality and of value to the historian of religion. This will mean checking some of that information against the evidence of inscriptions, beginning with Linear B. It will be argued that it stands up very well to such a check. TheAlexandrahas enjoyed remarkable recent vogue, but this attention has come mainly from the literary side. Historians, in particular historians of religion, and students of myths relating to colonial identity, have been much less ready to exploit the intricate detail of the poem, although it has so much to offer in these respects. The present article is, then, intended primarily as a contribution to the elucidation of a difficult literary text, and to the history of ancient Greek religion. Despite the article's main title, there will, as the subtitle is intended to make clear, be no attempt to gather and assess all the many passages in Lykophron to which inscriptions are relevant. There will, for example, be no discussion of 1141–74 and the early Hellenistic ‘Lokrian Maidens inscription’ (IG9.12706); or of the light thrown on 599 by the inscribed potsherds carrying dedications to Diomedes, recently found on the tiny island of Palagruza in the Adriatic, and beginning as early as the fifth centuryb.c.(SEG48.692bis–694); or of 733–4 and their relation to the fifth-centuryb.c.Athenian decree (n. 127) mentioning Diotimos, the general who founded a torch race at Naples, according to Lykophron; or of 570–85 and the epigraphically attested Archegesion or cult building of Anios on Delos, which shows that this strange founder king with three magical daughters was a figure of historical cult as well as of myth.

A Comparative Analysis of Two Qualitative Methods: Deciding Between Grounded Theory and Phenomenology for Your Research

2017 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-40
Author(s):  
Masoodi Marjan
Keyword(s):  
Grounded Theory ◽  
Data Analysis ◽  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Historical Development ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Qualitative Approaches ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Applied Approach ◽  
Similarities And Differences ◽  
Research Students

Abstract The purpose of this article is to compare two qualitative approaches that can be used in different researches: phenomenology and grounded theory. This overview is done to (1) summarize similarities and differences between these two approaches, with attention to their historical development, goals, methods, audience, and products (2) familiarize the researchers with the origins and details of these approaches in the way that they can make better matches between their research question(s) and the goals and products of the study (3) discuss a brief outline of each methodology along with their origin, essence and procedural steps undertaken (4) illustrate how the procedures of data analysis (coding), theoretical memoing and sampling are applied to systematically generate a grounded theory (5) briefly examine the major challenges for utilizing two approaches in grounded theory, the Glaserian and Straussian. As a conclusion, this overview reveals that it is essential to ensure that the method matches the research question being asked, helps the researchers determine the suitability of their applied approach and provides a continues training for the novice researchers, especially PhD or research students who lack solid knowledge and background experience in multiple research methods.

Is it possible to believe in a syncretistic god? A discussion on conceptual and contextual aspects of Hellenistic syncretism

2011 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 125-141
Author(s):  
Petra Pakkanen
Keyword(s):  
Belief System ◽  
Fundamental Change ◽  
Ancient Greek ◽  
Greek Religion ◽  
Points Of View ◽  
Ptolemaic Egypt ◽  
Religious Systems

This article will look into the phenomenon of syncretism from two different points of view. Firstly, syncretism will be discussed from a conceptual perspective in relation to elaborations on belief, an equally perplexing concept in the studies of ancient Greek religion. Secondly, a very selective example of the syncretism between the goddess Demeter and Isis as an object of veneration in Ptolemaic Egypt will be looked at more closely in order to bring the conceptual perspective into closer contact with the contextual one. It will be argued that syncretism can be regarded both as an essence of polytheistic religious systems in particular, and as a process of syncretization. Once a metaphorical understanding of syncretism is added to these views, believing in a syncretistic deity (Demeter-Isis in our case) appears doubtful since a new entity in a polytheistic belief-system would have entailed a fundamental change in the belief system itself as well as an introduction of totally new features to the conception of deities in general.

A view from the Greek side

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-50
Author(s):  
Gunnel Ekroth
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Perspective ◽  
Ancient Greek ◽  
Greek Religion ◽  
Bone Material ◽  
Archaeological Material ◽  
Animal Bone ◽  
Animal Bones ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Integrated Study ◽  
Written Sources

This paper addresses the animal bone material from ancient Qumran, from the comparative perspective of zooarchaeological evidence recovered in ancient Greek cult contexts. The article offers an overview of the paramount importance of animal bones for the understanding of ancient Greek religion and sacrificial practices in particular, followed by a review of the Qumran material, taking as its starting point the zooarchaeological evidence and the archaeological find contexts. The methodological complications of letting the written sources guide the interpretation of the archaeological material are explored, and it is suggested that the Qumran bones are to be interpreted as remains of ritual meals following animal sacrifices, as proposed by Jodi Magness. The presence of calcined bones additionally supports the proposal that there was once an altar in area L130, and it is argued that the absence of preserved altar installations in many ancient sanctuaries cannot be used as an argument against their ever having been present. Finally, the similarities between Israelite and Greek sacrificial practices are touched upon, arguing for the advantages of a continued and integrated study of these two sacrificial systems based on the zooarchaeological evidence.

A Sociology of Knowledge on Humanitarianism and Displacement

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Estella Carpi ◽  
Elena Fiddian-Qasmiyeh
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Crisis Management ◽  
International Institutions ◽  
Sociology Of Knowledge ◽  
Global South ◽  
Political Factors ◽  
East Region ◽  
Similarities And Differences ◽  
Postcolonial History ◽  
Middle East Region

In this chapter, the authors endeavor to build a sociology of knowledge of studies conducted on humanitarianism and war-induced displacement in the Middle East region, considering the cases of Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, and Turkey in particular. A comparative analysis suggests that similarities and differences across the literature are not always motivated by specific forms of state governmentality. In this framework, postcolonial history seems to provide partial explanations. As a result, the displacement and humanitarianism literature need to transcend the state paradigm and focus on a larger variety of social and political factors. While most scholars have examined the work of the United Nations and of international institutions in the region, the authors highlight the need to learn from multilingual literature, especially that produced in the Global South, and from a deeper investigation of the principles and modalities of crisis management developed by actors from the Global South.

scholarly journals Foraging with the frontal cortex: A cross-species evaluation of reward-guided behavior

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter H. Rudebeck ◽  
Alicia Izquierdo
Keyword(s):  
Animal Models ◽  
Frontal Cortex ◽  
Psychiatric Disorders ◽  
Similarities And Differences ◽  
And Function ◽  
Future Work ◽  
Intense Debate

AbstractEfficient foraging is essential to survival and depends on frontal cortex in mammals. Because of its role in psychiatric disorders, frontal cortex and its contributions to reward procurement have been studied extensively in both rodents and non-human primates. How frontal cortex of these animal models compares is a source of intense debate. Here we argue that translating findings from rodents to non-human primates requires an appreciation of both the niche in which each animal forages as well as the similarities in frontal cortex anatomy and function. Consequently, we highlight similarities and differences in behavior and anatomy, before focusing on points of convergence in how parts of frontal cortex contribute to distinct aspects of foraging in rats and macaques, more specifically. In doing so, our aim is to emphasize where translation of frontal cortex function between species is clearer, where there is divergence, and where future work should focus. We finish by highlighting aspects of foraging for which have received less attention but we believe are critical to uncovering how frontal cortex promotes survival in each species.

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