Gods, daimones, heroes (1)

In the context of Greek polytheism, gods and heroes are essential elements that have not necessarily been met with the attention to ritual that has prevailed at certain points in the study of ancient Greek religion. For if there is ritual, we must, as external observers of the system in question, take account of the recipients to whom they are dedicated. Now, the superhuman world of the Greeks is populated by entities of various statuses, who receive generic designations such as theoi, " gods ", daimones - which we'd be wary of translating as " demon " -, and hērōes, " heroes ". In order to understand the significance of such distinctions in terms of status and power of action in the world of men, the notion of daimōn was at the heart of this year's lectures. The aim was to apply a " polytheistic " reading grid to the daimōn, through an analysis of the Greek representation of divine action in the world as attained through the uses of the word in different literary genres of the Archaic and Classical periods.