The Ancient Greek Pharmakos Rituals: A Study in Mistrust
This article examines the role of mistrust – especially in constructions of purity, impurity, and purification – in ancient Greek religion. It begins by examining so-called scapegoat or pharmakos rituals, in which an individual was expelled from the city, apparently as a purificatory offering to the...
| 1. VerfasserIn: | |
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| Medienart: | Elektronisch Aufsatz |
| Sprache: | Englisch |
| Verfügbarkeit prüfen: | HBZ Gateway |
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Veröffentlicht: |
2022
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| In: |
Numen
Jahr: 2022, Band: 69, Heft: 5/6, Seiten: 489-516 |
| normierte Schlagwort(-folgen): | B
Griechenland (Altertum)
/ Ritus
/ Opfer (Religion)
/ Sündenbock
/ Misstrauen
/ Unsicherheit
/ Reinigungsritus
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| RelBib Classification: | AD Religionssoziologie; Religionspolitik AG Religiöses Leben; materielle Religion BE Griechisch-Römische Religionen TB Altertum |
| weitere Schlagwörter: | B
mistrust
B Impurity B Purity B spiritual insecurity B Trust B scapegoat rituals |
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| Zusammenfassung: | This article examines the role of mistrust – especially in constructions of purity, impurity, and purification – in ancient Greek religion. It begins by examining so-called scapegoat or pharmakos rituals, in which an individual was expelled from the city, apparently as a purificatory offering to the gods. Recent analyses have argued that these rituals were outlets for community aggression, and/or were resonant with myths of self-sacrifice. This article will suggest a different analysis of the evidence. I offer an alternative way of interpreting these rituals that sets them in a wider context of Greek ritual and belief: it suggests that the ritual of the pharmakos arose in a context of social and spiritual insecurity. This created, I argue, a prevailing dynamic of social and spiritual mistrust, within which the pharmakos ritual emerged – and which it exacerbated. |
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| ISSN: | 1568-5276 |
| Enthält: | Enthalten in: Numen
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1163/15685276-12341662 |
