Portrait of a Priestess – Women and Ritual in Ancient Greece

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Until Joan Breton Connelly's wonderful volume, Portrait of a Priestess, was published the prominent role of Greek priestesses in ancient Greek society was ignored, or even denied, by most (male) commentators. . . . Her compelling book challenges our assumptions about the role of priestesses, and more generally the role of women, in a far-off world that retains the fascination of countless readers." There were mainly three methods in which a priestess was appointed: allotment, appointment, or inheritance. Regardless of method, a religious official was normally chosen from among the elite class and aristocracy, as such an office had great prestige.

This is the first full presentation in English or in any language of the female priest in the ancient Greek world. Connelly adduces evidence that women all over the Greek world had, as priestesses, positions of great public influence in their communities. I predict this study will have a wide readership by general classicists as well as those interested in ancient religion, ancient society, and women in ancient Greece, not to mention by art historians. This promises to be a landmark study."—Stephen V. Tracy, American School of Classical Studies at Athens, author of Athens and Macedon: Attic Letter-Cutters of 300 to 229 B.C. As scholars of women in antiquity have long recognized, religious rituals provided women with a critical public role in ancient Greece, challenging the popular notion that “proper” women in Greek society were to be neither seen nor heard. Connelly’s book provides significant new evidence for the importance of women’s leadership in Greek cult. Her work follows the approach of Lewis’ The Athenian Woman (London and New York 2002) in emphasizing the value of the visual record to supplement and correct ideas regarding women in antiquity derived primarily from literary and epigraphic sources. This book represents an important addition to other recent studies of the role of women in Greek religion that rely largely on written evidence, such as Goff’s Citizen Bacchae (Berkeley, Los Angeles, and London 2004), Dillon’s Girls and Women in Classical Greek Religion (London and New York 2002), and Kraemer’s Her Share of the Blessings (New York and Oxford 1992). Judy Ann Turner, Hiereiai: acquisition of feminine priesthoods in ancient Greece, University of California, Santa Barbara, 1983 The practice of honoring priestesses was widespread in ancient Greece. They were publicly recognized with golden crowns, portrait statues, and decrees. Usually close male relatives, such as fathers, husbands, and sons, or sometimes both parents and, very occasionally, the mother alone, set up honorary statues for sacerdotal women. A priestess might dedicate a statue in her own honor, but with the permission of the city, as in the case of the statues of the priestesses of Athena Polias erected on the Athenian Acropolis. The base of one such statue describes the honored priestess as the daughter of Drakontides of Bate, who, at eighty-eight years old, had held the office for sixty-four years, from 430–365 bce. She is most likely a woman called Lysimache and possibly the prototype for Lysistrata in Aristophanes’s same-name play produced well within her term of service in 411 bce. The three-day festival was held on the eleventh of Pyanepsion, in late September or early October, a period that coincided with the fall planting of winter wheat, barley, and legumes. In the days before it was preceded by two other Demetrian festivals. First, citizen wives traveled to neighboring Halimus to celebrate the local version of the Thesmophoria, where they danced and offered sacrifice. At the Stenia, a preliminary feast to the Athenian Thesmophoria held two days earlier, they gathered and engaged in a type of ritual joking about sex, referred to as aischrologia. Thus five festival days during the early fall were set aside for women, from which men were excluded. These festivals of Demeter all occurred at seedtime and all aimed to promote agrarian and human fertility. Women’s religious activities at this time reinforced men’s labor in the fields by attempting to ensure the growth of the newly sown crops they planted. It must have been a busy ritual time for female citizens and perhaps a welcome break from domestic responsibilities and the demands of caring for their families.In Chapter 9, “The End of the Line,” Connelly concludes with a brief, but eloquent and thoroughly researched, consideration of the fate of female sacred servants in early Christianity and late antique Judaism. This is also the end of the line for the illustrations, which stop with Chapter 8. Connelly builds this history through a pioneering examination of archaeological evidence in the broader context of literary sources, inscriptions, sculpture, and vase painting. Ranging from southern Italy to Asia Minor, and from the late Bronze Age to the fifth century A.D., she brings the priestesses to life—their social origins, how they progressed through many sacred roles on the path to priesthood, and even how they dressed. She sheds light on the rituals they performed, the political power they wielded, their systems of patronage and compensation, and how they were honored, including in death. Connelly shows that understanding the complexity of priestesses’ lives requires us to look past the simple lines we draw today between public and private, sacred and secular. Joan Breton Connelly's Portrait of a Priestess: Women and Ritual in Ancient Greece is the biggest, fullest and most up-to-date study of these important women from the time of Homer through to the early years of Christianity. Beautifully illustrated and substantially documented, it is also highly argumentative and . . . ambitious."—James Davidson, Times Literary Supplement This book relies heavily upon bibliography cited in individual footnotes rather than the bibliography at the end. Most of the citations of bibliographic items and of inscriptions in the footnotes are helpful and accurate. Readers should beware, though, of some references that got garbled somewhere along the way. These are the following: The priestess was the custodian of the keys to the temple. She was the caretaker of the cult statue of the temple. She was the chief of lesser office holders in the temple, such as temporary female temple servants who often served for shorter periods of time, and had a say in who should be appointed to such posts. [2] She officiated at sacred rituals, presided over and led rituals of worship, and performed ritual sacrifice.

Connelly, Joan Breton, Portrait of a priestess: women and ritual in ancient Greece, Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, 2007 Until Joan Breton Connelly's wonderful volume, Portrait of a Priestess, was published the prominent role of Greek priestesses in ancient Greek society was ignored, or even denied, by most (male) commentators. . . . Her compelling book challenges our assumptions about the role of priestesses, and more generally the role of women, in a far-off world that retains the fascination of countless readers."— The Book Depository There was a great need for a book of this kind. Through direct observation of artifacts, the author offers many original ideas, and even manages to correct some long-held erroneous readings of ancient texts. Her emphasis on the important role played by some women in classical antiquity is a welcome corrective to the stereotype of the subordinate female in the Greek world. The remarkably wide-ranging material will be of great interest not only to archaeologists but also to scholars in various fields." —Brunilde S. Ridgway, Professor Emerita, Bryn Mawr College, author of Prayers in Stone: Greek Architectural Sculpture (c. 600-100 B.C.E.) Connelly’s primary contribution lies in her use of the visual record to fill the chronological and geographical gaps in the written sources to create a more detailed portrait of the priestess. The literary evidence in particular is highly Athenocentric and focused largely on the Classical period, while the visual material Connelly surveys dates from the Archaic through the Roman periods and comes from not only the Greek mainland but also the Peloponnese and Asia Minor, although unfortunately little from the western Greek colonies. A problem is introduced with the breadth of this approach, however. Connelly treats the material from different regions and periods of the Greek world as a continuum, neglecting to consider in detail whether other cultural conceptions, such as local religious traditions, may have influenced the portrayal of the priestesses she studies. She also neglects the possibility that by the time of the Roman Empire, religious practices in the Greek East may have been influenced by Roman ones. This assumption of the hegemony of Hellenic practices and conceptions goes counter to recent work suggesting the importance of ethnicity for the construction of identity in classical antiquity.A]lmost 20 years in the making, this is a remarkable book. It is easy to believe that al1 anyone has ever wanted to know about priestesses in the ancient Greek world is contained here. . . . Connelly's achievement is to put between two covers of an attractive book a storehouse of data."—Robin Osborne, Cambridge Archaeological Journal Joan Connelly . . . has produced a fascinating book on the central role of priestesses in ancient Greek society. Her survey is fully documented and beautifully illustrated. One cannot but admire her enthusiasm for the subject and her deft handling of the evidence." —Colin Austin, University of Cambridge, coeditor of Aristophanes Thesmophoriazusae Somewhat different were the number of Greek oracles, who had a similar position and are categorized as priestesses. [15] Impact [ edit ] While the duties of a priest or priestess differed between the local temples in which they served, there were some common similarities. During the public festival of the divinity, the priestess participated in the sacred procession to the temple, often carrying sacred objects. [3] Upon arrival to the temple, she performed a public prayer on behalf of the city. [4] Before the prayer, she performed a libation (drink sacrifice). [5] She continued with a dedication or consecration, usually divided into the chernips or lustration (chernips), the throwing of barley groats (oulochytai), and then performed the prayer itself. [6] After this, the sacrifice was performed with the slaughter of the sacrificial animal. The slaughter was sometimes followed by the search of omen. After this, the flesh was divided between the god (by being burned at the altar) and the humans, which was followed by a holy public feast in which the people present dined in the presence of the divinity. Local variations of cults made different requirements. The most common rule was that goddesses had priestesses, and male gods had male priests. The virgin goddess Artemis was, for example, served by young virgins, while Hera, goddess of marriage, was served by adult married women. However, it was far from uncommon for there to be a staff of several different "temple servants" in each temple which included both men and women in different positions. [1] Appointment [ edit ]

Joan Breton Connelly's Portrait of a Priestess: Women and Ritual in Ancient Greece is the biggest, fullest and most up-to-date study of these important women from the time of Homer through to the early years of Christianity. Beautifully illustrated and substantially documented, it is also highly argumentative and . . . ambitious." ---James Davidson, Times Literary Supplement My research focuses on Greek religion of the fourth and fifth centuries BC, primarily in Athens, although I am also interested in earlier Greek religion and the emergence of the more familiar Classical religious system. The project that I am currently engaged in is to explore ways of conceptualising a religion that does not emphasise belief or faith without recourse to the traditional dichotomy of religions of belief vs. religions of performance. This older framework reflects key debates in the Early Modern period - particularly the impacts of the Reformation and early Enlightenment study of religion on the concepts of religion and belief - but provides a problematic model for Greek religion. In place of an approach based on belief and ritual, I am attempting to develop an perspective based on recent anthropological work on concepts of perception, skill and experience. The quantity of illustrations is revealing: if women were excluded from public life, why were their images everywhere? Connelly argues that the authority entrusted to women as priestesses made them far from subordinate in the Greek state and that they were in fact often prominent and indispensable executives in the civic sphere. This is a reinterpretation of antiquity that works."—Nigel Spivey, Financial Times T]his book is useful for its wide-ranging collection of evidence, good photographs, and some observations. It gives a good stimulus to recognize the public visibility of priestesses."—Eva Stehle, Journal of Religion Joan Connelly . . . has produced a fascinating book on the central role of priestesses in ancient Greek society. Her survey is fully documented and beautifully illustrated. One cannot but admire her enthusiasm for the subject and her deft handling of the evidence."—Colin Austin, University of Cambridge, coeditor of Aristophanes Thesmophoriazusae

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Well written, beautifully illustrated, and superabundantly documented, it will richly reward the reader's effort." ---Ann Plogsterth, Wellesley Her conclusions should upset many of the assumptions commonly held about women in the time of Christ. . . . Apart from the clarity of its writing and the quality of its illustrations, this book is important because it helps the lay reader grasp what today's specialists are thinking. . . . Essential reading."—Owen Higgs, New Directions urn:oclc:845582959 Scandate 20100928033746 Scanner scribe6.sfdowntown.archive.org Scanningcenter sfdowntown Source The quantity of illustrations is revealing: if women were excluded from public life, why were their images everywhere? Connelly argues that the authority entrusted to women as priestesses made them far from subordinate in the Greek state and that they were in fact often prominent and indispensable executives in the civic sphere. This is a reinterpretation of antiquity that works." ---Nigel Spivey, Financial Times

A]lmost 20 years in the making, this is a remarkable book. It is easy to believe that al1 anyone has ever wanted to know about priestesses in the ancient Greek world is contained here. . . . Connelly's achievement is to put between two covers of an attractive book a storehouse of data." ---Robin Osborne, Cambridge Archaeological Journal Connelly's brave effort is a long time in the making and deserves to be taken seriously. For one thing, the book is substantial in length and assembles a rich body of documentation, much of it epigraphical and unfamiliar to many archaeologists and art historians. It is also lavishly produced."—Catherine M. Keesling, Bryn Mawr Classical Review Portrait of a Priestess is an impressively long book. It is beautifully produced. . . . It is also affordable and easy to use, but the book anticipates a specialist, scholarly readership. . . . [T]he author does a superb job of juggling such a massive amount of data. It is very likely that her publication will become a standard study of women and religion, serving as both monograph and reference work."—Tyler Jo Smith, Museum Anthropology This is a striking hypothesis--one that brings scholarship on women's religious roles into line with current understandings of their domestic influence." ---Susan Deacy, Journal of Hellenic Studies There was a great need for a book of this kind. Through direct observation of artifacts, the author offers many original ideas, and even manages to correct some long-held erroneous readings of ancient texts. Her emphasis on the important role played by some women in classical antiquity is a welcome corrective to the stereotype of the subordinate female in the Greek world. The remarkably wide-ranging material will be of great interest not only to archaeologists but also to scholars in various fields." --Brunilde S. Ridgway, Professor Emerita, Bryn Mawr College, author of Prayers in Stone: Greek Architectural Sculpture (c. 600-100 B.C.E.)Connelly’s careful and erudite scholarship shows up the limited conceptual space in which our cultural imagination moves in modern times – to this recensionist’s knowledge, there has never been a Disney movie starring a priestess as protagonist! Why? For a girl to grow up to become a priestess in action [agendo] must rest upon a sound foundation of heartfelt and tenacious piety, yet among all the virtues piety happens to be the one most furiously despised and contemned by post-modern feminists and secular liberal ideologues. In point of fact, Aquinas in the Summa theologiae ii-ii, q. 81, a. 6 contends that piety is the greatest virtue of all, preeminent even over the classical foursome of prudence, justice, courage and temperance! For as Aquinas states loc. cit., a. 3, ‘Now it belongs to religion to show reverence to one God under one aspect, namely, as the first principle of the creation and government of things’ – but unfortunately to show reverence towards God as the first principle of the government of things would necessarily entail a resolve to obey the commandments, and here is where the liberal must part company – who at all events could tolerate having to accept the teaching of the magisterium? Yet as John the evangelist declares in the prologue to his gospel: In contrast some priestesses served for life. This was especially true in the case when the office was inherited and the requirement was the priestess was to be a mature married women. The priestess of Heraion of Argos, for example, who was a mature married woman, served for life.