This is a site for discussing roleplaying games. Have fun doing so, but there is one major rule: do not discuss political issues that aren't directly and uniquely related to the subject of the thread and about gaming. While this site is dedicated to free speech, the following will not be tolerated: devolving a thread into unrelated political discussion, sockpuppeting (using multiple and/or bogus accounts), disrupting topics without contributing to them, and posting images that could get someone fired in the workplace (an external link is OK, but clearly mark it as Not Safe For Work, or NSFW). If you receive a warning, please take it seriously and either move on to another topic or steer the discussion back to its original RPG-related theme.

pantheons & priests

Started by signoftheserpent, May 22, 2007, 01:01:11 PM

Previous topic - Next topic
Print
Go Down Pages1
User actions

signoftheserpent

May 22, 2007, 01:01:11 PM
I would like to know, in cultures such as ancient Greece or Rome (those with multiple gods), how the 'priesthood' or 'church' functioned. Was there one overarching body that administred belief throughout society?
 

Pseudoephedrine

#1
May 22, 2007, 01:11:52 PM
No. At least with the Athenians, there were multiple overlapping organisations, most of them composed of non-professional priests, who held rites for one aspect of a god or another (Greek gods being worshipped as, for example, "Zeus the Saviour" or "Zeus the Wolf" instead of just "Zeus", with each aspect having its own cult and religious practice). The people we think of as "priests" were mainly responsible for the upkeep of temples, not the promulgation of dogma.

My source for this is Athenian Popular Religion by Jon D. Mikalson. It's worth checking out if you want more info.
Running
The Pernicious Light, or The Wreckers of Sword Island;
A Goblin\'s Progress, or Of Cannons and Canons;
An Oration on the Dignity of Tash, or On the Elves and Their Lies
All for S&W Complete
Playing: Dark Heresy, WFRP 2e

"Elves don\'t want you cutting down trees but they sell wood items, they don\'t care about the forests, they\'\'re the fuckin\' wood mafia." -Anonymous

RPGPundit

#2
May 22, 2007, 06:05:33 PM
It was more or less the same in Rome, though Rome had a more structured "Imperial Cult" (the cult of Jupiter as patron of Rome, and of the imperial family, and later of the various Emperors who had become gods).
You also need to keep in mind that priesthoods in the Roman empire were political positions; being in the college of Augurs was a political stepping stone, and the Pontifex Maximus (high priest) was the emperor (before the Empire, it was a very desirable political post in the Republic).

The Roman Senate was considered a religious body.  That's why to lay a hand on a senator was considered not just a civil offense, but a religious one.

RPGPundit
LION & DRAGON: Medieval-Authentic OSR Roleplaying is available now! You only THINK you\'ve played \'medieval fantasy\' until you play L&D.


My Blog:  http://therpgpundit.blogspot.com/
The most famous uruguayan gaming blog on the planet!

NEW!
Check out my short OSR supplements series; The RPGPundit Presents!


Dark Albion: The Rose War! The OSR fantasy setting of the history that inspired Shakespeare and Martin alike.
Also available in Variant Cover form!
Also, now with the CULTS OF CHAOS cult-generation sourcebook

ARROWS OF INDRA
Arrows of Indra: The Old-School Epic Indian RPG!
NOW AVAILABLE: AoI in print form

LORDS OF OLYMPUS
The new Diceless RPG of multiversal power, adventure and intrigue, now available.

Caudex

#3
May 23, 2007, 12:23:47 AM
Pontifex Maximus was, in the late Republic, considered the single most prestigious post available, though it was not the most powerful. Getting the gig at a ridiculously young age (in his 30s, IIRC) was one of the early triumphs of Julius Caesar.

The chapter in this book (fully viewable on Google Books) is fairly useful:
http://www.google.com/books?id=cbJtYyWeMocC
Roman Antiquities: Or an Account of the Manners and Customs of the Romans (1837)

(page 191 on)
Print
Go Up Pages1
User actions