Research, Research, Research

Well folks, I have to say that so far, getting this book written is coming together better than I thought. With the unfortunate exception of my partner having to drop out, things are sailing along quite smoothly. With the addition of a Lesser Aresia, I’ve found at least two more festivals to reconstruct for my book: The Areia, an Athenian festival near the end of Metageitnion/beginning of Boedromion (about mid August) celebrates Ares and Athene Areia, possibly as founder gods and supporters of the Ephebes, and probably involves choral contests, among others; the second is the Enyalia, a celebration re-enacting the victory of the Athenians over Salamis, and involves a running procession to a promontory. I haven’t quite tracked down a date for this, but a review of the history books should suffice. But hey, awesomeness, right?

On another note, I’ve also been reading up on ancient battlefield religion, and how closely tied Ares, Apollon, and Artemis are in those respects. You can expect a few simple rites and prayers to come out honoring those three and others, too. More and more, this book is becoming liturgical more than philosophical, which appeases my inner “priestly” side greatly. It’s one thing to understand Ares through droll discussion and supposition, but it’s greater to follow behind him in practice, prayer, and ritual in my not-so-unbiased opinion.

Thank you all who have helped, are helping, and will help in this endeavor. I received an oracle from Sannion and Dionysos that the effort is well appreciated, which is very motivating. While I may not be blogging as frequently right now, I am thinking about you all! Hail Ares!

Ares and Athene, Revisited

So I was reading through my last post about Ares and Athene, and I was feeling slightly dissatisfied. It was rather dry and academic, and I feel I should have talked about their related symbolism, added a prayer, or included something people could actually use in worship. With that, I’m writing for a second (but probably not the last) time today.

Ares and Athene share some symbolic attributes and cultic practices; some, like their dominion over war, are obvious, while their joint relation to owls or horses may not be. We’ll get that obvious stuff out of the way first, then move on to the more obscure stuff.

First, both gods are often depicted as armor-clad and ready for battle. Both Athene and Ares are often depicted as melee fighters, as well, using the traditional spear, shield, sword, and armor combination favored by hoplites. According to Homer, it is important to note,  Athene doesn’t actually own the instruments of war; She borrows then from Her father, Zeus, when She has need of them, a nod to Her and Ares’ conflicting views toward warfare. Both are also related to the metal bronze, which the aforementioned armor and weapons were made of. Athene’s Spartan temple was even said to be encased in bronze.

Ares and Athene were more than just warriors. The people also worshipped Them as providers of fertility and bounty, as well. At Elis, suffering from depopulation due to war, Athene answered the prayer of the women there, that they may conceive of their husbands at their reunion; for this, Athene was named Meter, or mother. Ares, too, showed compassion for another. Near Mt. Kresios, the people dedicated a sanctuary to Ares Aphneios (the Abundant) for sparing the child His mortal lover Aerope, who died giving birth. Ares caused the deceased mother to produce milk for her child long enough for her child to survive before finding a wet-nurse. These are not typically what come to mind when you hear of Ares or Athene.

Ares and Athene often shared sanctuaries as well. In Athens, the sanctuary of Ares contained a statue of Ares, one of Athena, two of Aphrodite, and one of Enyo. It was here Athenians would sacrifice to Ares in remembrance of the war between Ares’ children the Amazons and Athene’s champion Theseus (this sort of behavior will be a topic for another post!). At the stadium in Olympia, the people of Elis would sacrifice to Ares Hippios and Athene Hippias (of horses) each month, though I found no evidence as to whether the sacrifice was actually a horse, a behavior attributed to Thrakians. The Spartans worshipped Athene as often as Ares, and though Ares’ cult there may be older, as the relics go, Athene was a chief divinity in Spartan life as both a defender and a healer.

Many people come to associate Athene with the owl, and that makes sense,  as it is one of Her sacred animals; I’ve seen Her depicted with one in over half the images I’ve ever seen of Her. Most people don’t know however, that certain owls, namely the barn owl and the eagle owl, are sacred to Ares. In orinthomancy, these birds’ appearances, or even just their cries, foretell war, sedition, and discord.

I suppose I’ll close with a short prayer, and let you all meditate on the symbols shared by Ares and Athene and how you might incorporate those into your own practices.

 

 

Hear me Ares, God of the Brazen Spear,

Hear me Athene, the Aegis Bearer,

Attend to me and receive my prayer,

I pray, lend my Your strength that I may walk between You,

And keep from my ear the frightful cry of Polyphonte

Lend me the strength to walk with Themis,

And keep me chained to righteousness

Accept my humble sacrifice, Stormers of Cities and Killers of Giants

That I may walk between you, in peace.

 

 

Sibling Rivalries

Well, it’s Friday, which means it’s time for my weekly update. While the previous post was fun, I feel it didn’t have the “umph” to really carry the week out, so I wanted to give you all something more to go on for the weekend. Today I wanted to talk about sibling rivalries, particularly the rivalry between Ares and Athene, and what we can learn about our own lives from looking at their respective cults and mythologies.

The rivalry between Athene and Ares is well-documented in poetry and myth. Homer sets the pair apart from the Iliad onward, always fighting and trying to one-up the other, with Athene coming out on top every time. Based on even the most basic data, it is clear that the ancient Hellenes found Athene vastly more popular as well.  It’s hard not to be rivals when you are given to governing the same forces in the world (war and battle). Yet, like most families, when it came down to the most kosmologically important matters, they came together and made things happen.

In the brutal slaying of men, Ares’ place as the best cannot be challenged. Throughout the Iliad, Homer describes the great fear of both the Greeks and the Trojans have of Ares, who “… made play in his hands with spear gigantic and ranged now in front of Hektor and now behind him.   Diomedes of the great war cry shivered as he saw him”(Homer, Iliad 5. 592 ff). Only the wit and strength of Athene could end Ares’ rampage, as She went to the side of the Greeks and wounded Ares. The best and fiercest warriors of the Iliad are given the titles “scions of Ares”, and other gods, such as Zeus, Dionysos, Aphrodite, and even Athene Herself have Ares’ name as an epithet. Ares is war. Athene is, however, better at the art of war than Ares, and proves this time and again as Her champions best the champions and children of Ares.

Athene and Ares are not always at odds, however. The pair fought together in three separate kosmological wars, and honors were bestowed upon both. During the Titanomachy, Ares was on the ground slaying the monstrous offspring of the Titans whilst Athene aided the defense of Olympos. During the Giant War, Ares again got up-close and personal, slaying Mimas, and Athene threw the whole of Sicily upon Enkelados from the back of her chariot. Both fought against Typoeus, though Ares was forced to flee; Athene stood alone with Zeus against the abomination.

Now, part of this rivalry may be explained ethnographically. Literary evidence, from Homer to Herodotus, has been cited in support of the theory that Ares is not originally a Hellenic god. Mention is often made of Ares as Thracian, and indeed much of his cult was centered in this barbarous, northern land. Indeed, some have interpreted Ares’ support of the Trojans, themselves living near Thrace, as evidence to Ares’ cult being foreign to, or even per-existing in, Hellenic religion. Some have also speculated that Ares is a pre-existing deity native to Greece whose cult diminished as the Hellenes became more civilized.

Athene’s cult, in contrast, is squarely centered in Her chief city of Athens, in the heart of classical Greece, and is much more prominent throughout every city-state, even in place Ares is regularly worshipped. Part of the reason Athene was more popular probably has much to do with the fact Her cult encompassed many more aspects of life and culture than Ares. Whilst most evidence points to Ares being strictly a cut-and-dry war god, we know Athene is a patroness of the arts, a purveyor of wisdom and healing, and the savior and champion of cities. Athene is a people’s goddess, while Ares functions as a destroyer in all but a few cases. Athene is civil, Ares is not, and that made a big difference to the Hellenes, and still does to many today. If Ares is indeed a foreign son, and Athene a native daughter, it makes a great deal of sense, in my eyes, as to why Athene receives better treatment in both myth and cult.

 

Okay, so you may be asking yourself what this means to you. How can we take these stories and facts and apply them to our own lives? Well, first, if you have siblings, you can take a look at that relationship. As the eldest of six children, I understand that not all familial relationships will be great. It’s normal to fight and disagree and compete. Are you the Ares or the Athene of the relationship? Yes, Ares is brutish and mean-spirited, but he can rise to help his family when needed. Can you do more to temper yourself, especially in times of family crisis? Are you more like Athene, the good child? Do you, as Athene has done, chide and egg-on your siblings into further bad behavior, just to see them squirm or get in trouble? Can you come to your least-favorite sibling’s side when he needs it?

Families these day no longer always conform to the traditional nuclear model. Do you resent a sibling who may be adopted? Or did a step-parent bring a child from a previous relationship into the family? Many of us deal with these tensions and disturbances to our “normal” lives every day. With divorce a chilling every-day reality, and an increasing number of couples holding off on child-bearing into less fertile ages, the occurence of adopted and step-siblings will only increase. Can you handle that challenge if faced with it? Will you become an Ares or an Athene? Neither?

Sources:

Theoi Greek Mythology Project

Cults of the Greek States, Vol V, by Lewis Richard Farnell

Greek Religion, by Walter Burkert