User:Mmpepl22/Greek city-state patron gods

What's a City-State?
A city-state, also known as a polis, was the structure for ancient Greek cities. Fundamentally, the city-state was the basis of Greek civilization and was comprised of both state and society. What separates one city-state from another is political identity. Most members of ancient Greek city-states all had a similar ethnic identity, but it is their political identity that connects them. Political identity and patriotic sentiment are what separate one city-state from the next. City-states are known to be self-governing states, but not always independent. A large city-state is made up of smaller city-states in order to work together for protection. Looking at societal impacts of the city-state, it was a different kind of culture than anything currently seen in the world today. There is an interesting dynamic of constant war between city-states of Ancient Greece, yet they rely on each other for economic and cultural interactions.

What was a Patron-God?
A patron-god is a deity that is worshipped within a certain city or region to bring good fortune. The people of this region have developed a relationship with the deity and worship them through festivals, sanctuaries dedicated to the deity, and votives in order to maintain a good relationship. The identity of, "a city's protective deity and information about the cult must be of the utmost importance for the identification of a given community as a polis,"

Understanding the Importance of City-State Patron Gods
It is important to understand that the patron gods were not only an important part of the Greeks religion, but also their daily lives. For the Greeks, it was not that they thought that the Gods were consumed with the actions of men, but they honored the Gods in hopes for their favor and in attempt to divert any of their anger. Since there is no defined dogma or creed with the Greek religion, individual people, groups, or city-states were left to decide what the proper way to honor the Gods were. The Gods were so important to the Greek people because they believed they held the power to make their lives better. The Greeks actions were determined by what they thought their Gods wanted.

When looking at Gods in regards to the city-state as a whole, the city-state was a testament to the Gods' engagement with human affairs. The city-state boundaries were somewhat defined by religious practices. Religious sites in many Greek city-states were in public areas that were central to the political activity in the city-state. Major shrines were made close to the city center, but shrines were found throughout the city. People in city-states had their own groups in which they practiced their religion and made altars and religious places throughout the villages and countryside. Dining and drinking clubs did not have their own shrines, but they did offer libations and sacrifices at events and may have even claimed the patronage of certain Gods. Honoring the patron gods of a city-state was almost a way of life for the Greeks. It was an integral part of their routines and was a part of many aspects of their lives.

The Significance of Greek Sanctuaries and Temples
Sanctuaries and temples were used frequently in Ancient Greek religion so that the citizens can use the space to worship their patron god.

Votives Used
The citizens of the city would bring votives for the deity when they entered the temple, such as pottery, animal figures, bowls, statues of the deity. People brought what they could afford while still being willing to pay their respects to the Patron god or goddess.

Importance of Location
The acropolis was placed in the center of the city so that it is easily accessible to everyone while simultaneously offering the most important space in the city to the deity. This temple was placed in the acropolis because it was thought to be the seat of power in the previous civilization. This is an offering to the deity, by the city proving their devotion to them.

Social
Socially, it was a way for people to see each other outside of mundane day-to-day activities. People were able to flaunt their wealth with the quality of votives given at the sanctuary and to show off their social status. People would take part in rituals for the patron god or goddess and the entire community would be involved by taking, "the tithe of the produce of the land in season and offer sacrifice to the goddess, all the citizens and the men and women of the neighbourhood taking part in the festival,” (Price 1999)

Religious
Religiously, it was an opportunity to give homage to the patron deity in exchange for spiritual good fortune and protection over the region. It was a complicated event that the citizens of the city-state took very seriously. Religiously, it was an opportunity to give homage to the patron deity in exchange for spiritual good fortune and protection over the region. It was a complicated event that the citizens of the city-state took very seriously. Many sought advice and help from the gods when embarking on military conquests to ensure a successful war. People prayed to the gods, “for his participation to be a success,” or “Another Greek who was eager to become commander of the force sacrificed to the gods for three days, but gave up on his plans when the sacrifices did not prove favourable.”

Economic
Economically, it was an opportunity to boost the economy. During festivals, people would come from all over to the sanctuary and worship the deity. The festivals would allow merchants to sell their trade to more people and boost the economy in the process. The mass amounts of people from far off places would buy things at the festival to commemorate their trip to the sanctuary and come back every year for more because of the positive experience they had in previous years. It ensured life-long customers for the merchants and created a stable income for merchants and tradesmen.

Importances of Landscapes
The Ancient Greek worshippers chose their sacred spaces very carefully. They took into consideration all aspects of the land and its meaning and integrated it into their practice. They venerated nature and considered it a Divine being. Ancient Greeks assigned every natural organism to a Divine identity, for example, there were nymphs, dryads, and many gods and goddesses that represent the natural world, such as Persephone or Demeter. The Ancient Greeks used their landscape to worship their patron god or goddess to please them. The landscapes also allowed the relationships between citizens of the city-state to strengthen. Citizens could bond with their fellow citizens during the precession of the rituals and illuminated the fact that, "'religion was totally embedded in society- no sphere of life lacked religious aspect.'"

Which Gods?
The Spartans were known to be an ancient militaristic society that held a lot of power due to their emphasis on military defense. The city-state's patron gods were actually goddesses. Sparta appointed the high-ranking to the Olympian goddesses Athena and Artemis.

What do these Gods Represent?
Athena, also referred to as Athene, was the goddess of war. She was known to be powerful, she conquered man, mastered animals and subjugated nature, all consistent with the wisdom she was said have had since birth. It makes sense for Sparta to have chosen Athena as one of their patron gods because of their status as a strong military state. Athena embodied the military mentality of Sparta with her gifts of wisdom and war. An interesting practice the Spartans participated in before undertaking any war would be to offer a sacrifice to the goddess. The Spartan army would not cross borders of the land until the goddess was appeased and they would bring animals to sacrifice every morning before beginning to march again. When there was no war being fought, the Spartans would have a festival to honor both Athena and frontline fighters.

Artemis was the goddess of wild animals, the hunt, chastity, and childbirth. She was believed to preside over childbirth, watching over the labour itself and protecting the newborn child. For Spartans, this was important because Sparta relied on these children to become war-worthy and Artemis promised favour and protection which was highly sought after. Artemis was also known to preside over a woman's transition from virgin to wife and she was fierce in defending any one who dare violate a girl's sacred innocence. Woman were highly valued in Spartan society because they were being trusted to produce the next generation of soldiers. Sparta accredited much of their military success to the women of Sparta because they were the ones providing such strong and worthy sons. Artemis also provided protection to the children in military training. The training was incredibly tough and rigorous and the presence of such a powerful goddess was believed to help young Spartans through it. The Spartan sanctuaries dedicated to Artemis were built on opposite sides of Sparta in order for her to guard the boundaries of wilderness and settled land. The Spartans trusted Artemis to protect the boundaries due to her connection with wild animals and the hunt. She played an important role in allowing Sparta to have no walls. The favor of Artemis was believed to protect the boys who were taken for military training beginning at age 7 and not leaving the military until usually twenty years later. This time in a young Spartans life is incredibly grueling and Artemis was tasked with watching over them during this time.

The Usage of Myths
Sparta was proud of their ties to the Trojan War hero, Achilles. Achilles was the son of a mortal king and the sea goddess Thetis. The demi-god fought for the Spartans during the Trojan War and lead the most elite troops, the Myrmidons, through battle. He fought with weapons made by the Gods to defeat Troy. Sparta used this myth to instill the notion into their citizens that they can emulate the same characteristics that Achilles had because they are Spartans.

Which Gods?
Eleusis is most famous for their festival, the Mysteries at Eleusis, that they held annually. Here they celebrated one of their patron gods, Demeter, who also had a sanctuary in the city.

What do these Gods Represent?
The people of Eleusis were very secretive of Demeter's sanctuary and the mystery cult. Demeter is the goddess of corn and fertility. Demeter represented the kindness of the ancient Eleusinian people. When her child, Kore, was abducted the Eleusinians were the ones kind to her when she was enraged. As a gift, Demeter gave the people the fruits of the fields, agrarian abundance, and Mysteria. People given Mysteria gain a better position in the afterlife. This all lead to the people of Eleusis continuing to pay respect to Demeter to be able to continue to receive her gifts. They continued to do this every year with the festival of the Mysteries at Eleusis. The people of Eleusis worked hard to continue to worship Demeter after all the good fortune she once gave them.

The Usage of Myths
Demeter was an integral figure in Eleusis mystery cults. It was said that, "In the Homeric Hymn to Demeter when Demeter has revealed her true identity to queen Metaneira and the other inhabitants of the city of Eleusis, she instructs the Eleusinian's to propitiate her anger by building her 'a temple and an altar below it' (Hymn line 270)." of Demeter's Temple in Eleusis' mystery cult complex was a place where only Demeter's followers, or "initiates" were allowed to enter. Eleusis uses this myth to justify their religion and why it is so important to their city-state, they are trying appease an angry goddess and make sure that she does not raze their city.

Which Gods?
The city of Athens derived its name from its patron goddess, Athena. She was the protector of their city and therefore their patron god. Her statue, which lived in the Acropolis, was known to be the holiest object in all of Athens. The city-state had many other prominent deities, including Zeus and Poseidon, throughout the city, but Athena and Hermes remained the most important and celebrated. The Athenians made it known they were celebrating their gods, they had shrines throughout the city-state. For citizens in the countryside, shrines were integral to their identity and way of life.

What do these Gods Represent?
In Athens, Athena represented many different things for the people of the city-state. She was known by a range of titles, including Promachos (champion), Nike (victory), Ergane (worker), Hygieia (good health), and Boulaia (of the Council). All of these titles for Athena show how much she meant to Athenian people. In Athens, Athena represented They believed that she held a lot of power to the point that many Athenians believed that not even Zeus could destroy their city because of the protection they had from Athena. She was the biggest patron god in Athens and treated as such. Over the course of time in Athens, as the city-state became stronger, so did their worship to Athena. This is mainly because Athenians believed Athena choose to be the patron-god for Athens and therefore they must celebrate her even more. Many of the festivals and rituals in Athens centered around Athena. In the procession of the Great Panathenaea, a large festival held in Athens in Athena's honor, they sacrificed a cow in front of the temple of Athena Nike, while then continuing on the sacrifice around 100 cows in total. In Athens, Athena was the basis of their lifestyle, religion, and politics. The Athenians acted based on how they believed would best please her.

Many other gods and goddesses played a role in the city-state of Athens, but none as much as Athena. The only real competition for the spot as the top patron-god was with Poseidon. This competition comes from the story that Athena and Poseidon fought for the spot as the patron-god in Athens.

The Usage of Myths
Athens uses the birth of their patron goddess, Athena, to solidify their beliefs. There are depictions of her next to Zeus in his charioteer with Heracles fighting divine monsters on pottery votives left at the Athenian Acropolis, venerating her military successes. She is a successful military leader and warrior in the eyes of Athenian worshippers and she is the forefront of every piece of artwork in Athens.