GREEK RELIGION

our knowledge of this sub- ject has been put on a new basis by researches into the beliefs of pre-dorian greece and minoan crete. n. m. p. nilsson’s conclusions, that a mother-goddess and a divine child, who is born, is suckled by an animal and dies annually are character- istic of crete and of the mainland, that this pre-greek goddess survives in the olympian pantheon as athena and as hera, that at eleusis and many other places a cult was continuously prac- tised from prehistoric times, and that the great cycles of greek mythology all centre round sites important in the bronze age, are of the utmost value.} how far this minoan religion, which has clear affinities with asia minor, philistia and cyprus, was part of a gencral aegean or even mediterranean culture, we cannot yet say: sardinia offers a remark- able point of contact.2 these researches into prehistoric beliefs have transformed the study of greek mythology. we recognise in it not a little confused history, even if forrer’s identification of eteokles and andreus, mythical kings of orchomenus, with poten- tates mentioned in the hittite tablets from boghaz-k6i (see archaeology: asia, west), should be seriously contested; we see in it also the reflex of old sacred traditions or rites (thus the death by burning of herakles on mount oeta reflects a fire-ritual there annually performed), the influence of folklore motives distributed over a wide cultural area, and the effects of the desire to tell a good story for its own sake? this study is in a favourable position, since wilamowitz, robert and others have done much to determine the earliest form and later developments of heroic stories,’ while nilsson, eitrem, farnell and many writers in religionsgeschichtliche versuche und vorarbeiten have increased our knowledge of ancient ritual. others, again, have investigated, not without exaggerations, the survival of ritual forms in drama and in the great games, and the gain to knowledge is clear, though it must be remembered that the search for a single origin of a human custom may well 1 summarised in his history of greek religion (oxford, 1925). 2 cf. t. ashby, the year's work in classical studies, p. 117 f. (1923-4). a che, pfister, philologische wochenschrift (july 1922); l. r. farnell, greek hero cults and ideas of immortality (oxford, 1921), is of great value. 4c. robert, die griechische heldensage (1920- as giving a learned and critical survey. 5s. eitrem’s chief work is opferritus und voropfer der griechen und remer (oslo, 1915). a good survey is f. pfister’s article “ kultus”” in pauly-winowa real-encyclopadie. ) is noteworthy 290 prove tlusory, that a rite can arise independently or by parallel development in two places and that at the same time few rites or beliefs have developed unchanged by external influences. not all athletic contests started as acts of homage to a dead man, but some did, just as all heroes are not degraded gods, but some (as, for instance, hyakinthos) are.’ ritual origins can be forgot- ten; so could also the original meaning of certain survivals of primitive culture in historic greece.? at the same time, the value of anthropological parallels appears in w. i’. otto’s conclusions, partly based thereon, that in homer the yvux7 or soul in hades is not the evyes or soul of the living man.* the study of cult has further shown how moral requirements grow out of ritual requirements, and how important is the group as contrasted with theindividual.t in thestudy of cults and in particular of their geographical distribution has lain the chief advance in knowledge of greek religion of the central period. meanwhile we have learned much of the ilellenistic age as the period in which icastern belicfs made their way into the west, and in which many of the religious phenomena of the empire have their roots; among these are ruler- worship, astral and other mysticism, as also certain liturgical forms and the type of magic familiar in roman egypt. side by side with newer ideas the old ‘worships lived on; there is no simple formula which expresses the religious attitude of the three centuries following alexander’s death. survivals of ancient paganism in christianity? and in modern greek beliefs and folklore have been much discussed; on many important points agreement has not been reached, but much progress in cletail has been realised. bibliography.—among books of note not mentioned earlier are boll's series sro:xyeca (1914); a. b. cook’s zeus, 1. (rota), u1. (1925); kurt latte, herliges recht (1920): the ealicceion of relevant inscrip- tions in the third volume of the new edition of dittenberger, swloge anscripiionum (1920); o. gruppe, gesenichte der ala ssischen. ‘am vihologie und relisionswisseischa ft (1921) (a supplement to roscher's z exikon), the last work of a scholar who has deserved well of the subject for the high standard of accuracy which he set; r. pettazoni, la religione nella grecia fino ad alessandro (1921) ‘and tmisteri (1923): a 13, drachmann, atheism in pagan anti quity, engl, trans. (1922); o. kern, orphicorum fragmenta {¥y22); ch, picard, fephese et claros (192 2): b. schweitzer, [lerakies (1922); and f. m. cornford, greek religious thought from llomer to the -ige of alexander (1923) (a col- lection of texts in translation). tuller surveys of recent advances are given by l. deubner, archiv. fiir religionswissenschaft, 20 (1924); weinreich, id., 23 (1924); gruppe, bursiuns jahresberichte, vol. 186; and in the year’s work in classical studies (annually). a. dln.) greeley, adolphus washington (1844— ), american soldier and scientist, was born at newburyport, mass., march 27 1844. enlisting in 1861 as a private, he served in the civil war, and rose to be brevet major. in 1867 he was appointed second lieutenant in the regular army and became chief signal officer and brigadier general. while commanding at lady frank- lin bay, one of the 13 international circumpolar stations, 1881-4, he reached, in 1882, 83°24’ n. 42°45’ w., the farthest north at 1qon the drama cf. f. m. cornford, origin of attic comedy (1914); sir w. ridgeway, the dramas and dramatic dances of non-liuropean a (1915); on the games h. j. rose, aberystwyth studies, no. 3, . 24 (1922): l. malten, remische mitteilungen, vol. 38, 39; n. m. p nilsson, deutsche litferaturzeitung (sept. 1925). ss daal rose, primitive culture in greece (1925), is very useful for its criticism of the supposition that totemism and tribal initiations were prevalent. 3 die manen (berlin, 1923). ‘cf. j. e. harrison, themis (1912), significant rather as one of the first attempts to employ modern psychological theory than for positive addition to knowledge. ®e. ciaceri, cultt e mitt nella storta dell’antica sicilia (catania, iqii); baege, de macedonum sacris (pdissertationes philologicae h[alenses, 22) (halle, 1913); g. gianelli, crultz e aziti della afagna grecia (florence, 1924); r. m. peterson, cults of campania, rome, i9i9, (1923). 6 cf. kranz cumont, astrology and religion among the greeks and romans (1912); r. reitzenstein, /?te hellenistischen mystertenre- ligionen, 2nd ed. (1920); dasiranische f rlesungsmysterium (1921); e. norden, a gnostos theos (1913); s. eitrem, papyri osloenses (1925); the hopfner, griechisch-dgy plischer offenbarungszauber i., il. (1922-4). 7¢ ch. clemen, religionsgeschtchiliche erkldrung des neten pean (1924); the new leipzig journal, ayyedos; w. r. halliday, folklore studies (1924), cf. also his chapter in r. m. dawkins’ afedern greek in asia minor (1916); and the journal aaoypadia (athens, ig0g- - ). greeley—grenades that time. two relief expeditions failed to reach him, and when the third, under capt. schley, rescued him at cape sabine, all but seven of his party were dead. from 1887 to 1906 he admin- istered the weather bureau and the signal corps. under him were built more than 25,000 m. of cables and telegraph lines in alaska, china, cuba, porto rico and the philippine islands. promoted major-general in 1906, he conducted relief operations in san francisco and put down the ute rebellion. he served with the international conference, london, too4, at the request of the british govt. and was dean of the american delegation to the wireless conference at berlin that year. retired for age in 1908, in 1910 he was sent by president taft to represent the united states at the coronation of king george v. he wrote extensively on meteorological, electrical, geographical and other subjects. his best known popular volumes are three years of arctic service (1885); handbook of polar discoveries (1900); and mandbook of -llaska (1925). greenock, scotland (see 12.548), had a population § of 81,123 in 1921. the area of the borough is 2,945 acres. there are several large shipbuilding yards, and a torpedo factory. the old west kirk is to be removed and re-crected at seafield to permit of the extension of messrs. harland and wollff’s ship- yard. ‘the new works at the harbour include a tidal basin and an “always afloat ” dock, the entrances of which are closed by caissons to keep in 32 fi. of water at low tide. in 1921 there were three miles of quays in the port. lady alice park was given to the town in 1910, and lady octavia park in the following year; in 1919 togo house was presented and opened as a ma- ternity hospital. gregory, isabella augusta, lapy (1852— ), irish playwright and author, was born march 5 1852, the youngest daughter of dudley persse of roxborough, co. galway. in 1881 she married sir william gregory, a well-known irish m.p. she produced many plays, essays, volumes of folklore, versions of ancient sagas and romances concerning early irish heroes, and did much to popularise the anglo-irish dialect of english as spoken in the west. she translated for the abbey theatre sev- eral of moliere’s plays into this dialect under the title of the kilturtan moliere (1910). her work as playwright and director of the abbey theatre, in association with w. b. yeats, was extremely fruitful. this theatre was opened in 1904 and lady gregory told its story in our irish theatre (1914). sir hugh lane, whose life she wrote, ugh lane’s life and achievement (1920), was her nephew. among lady gregory's other works are: cuchulain of afuir- thenine (1902): gods and fighting men (1904); seven short plays (1909); the k ihtartan [i story book (1909); irish foik history plays (1912); the golden apple (1916); the kiltartan poetry book (1919); the dragon (1920).