Guilt and Atonement? Communal Disasters and the Creation of Hero-Cults in Ancient Greece

Authors

  • Armin Unfricht Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14232/suc.2020.1.29-56

Keywords:

heros, heroization, hero cult, athlete cult, Greek religion, Greek mythology, oracles, loimos

Abstract

In Greek Antiquity, communal suffering and misfortune was often interpreted as resulting from divine or supernatural ill-will. In some accounts, it is a wrathful heros who is the cause, and a cult has to be instituted in order to appease him and possibly gain a powerful ally. In this article, I focus on narratives where the hero receiving a cult in this fashion is a historical figure. Specifically, I analyze the different elements of these narratives in regards to how they characterize and frame the hero and his relationship towards his community, focusing especially on the function of the collective disasters and afflictions in these tales.

Author Biography

Armin Unfricht, Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz

Armin Unfricht studied English, History and Sports at the Universities of Graz and Reykjavik. He was student assistant at the Centre for Antiquity of the University of Graz and after finishing his studies worked as a teacher at a vocational school. Since 2018, he is research associate and PhD-student at the Institute of Ancient History in Graz, as well as fellow of the International Graduate School “Resonant Self-World Relations in Ancient and Modern Socio-Religious Practices”.

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Published

2020-12-01

How to Cite

Unfricht, A. (2020). Guilt and Atonement? Communal Disasters and the Creation of Hero-Cults in Ancient Greece. Sapiens Ubique Civis, 1, 29–56. https://doi.org/10.14232/suc.2020.1.29-56

Issue

Vol. 1 (2020): Sapiens ubique civis I

Section

Articles