Gods, daimones, heroes (2)

The plurality of the superhuman world of the Greeks is defined by a multiplicity of divine and heroic figures. But what makes a god or a hero? How can we circumscribe these general categories attested in ancient documentation and widely used by modern scholars? And how are we to understand the term daimōn, which appears in poetry in connection with divine action? Continuing the investigation opened last year, we will attempt to understand the cultic dimension of the daimōn when it is described as a "good daimōn "(Agathos daimōn) in relation to Dionysus, Good Fortune(Agathē Tychē) and a local, even familial, Zeus, provider of benefits. Nymphs, whose common name refers to the young girl of marriageable age, are also summoned to such a cultic level. The intermediate status of the latter, who in several texts are considered mortal entities, enriches and refines the question of divine status. Lastly, the status of "hero" adds another variation to this superhuman landscape, highlighting the ambiguity of cultic recipients on the broad spectrum ranging from the mortality of men, limited in their actions, to the immortality of the gods, characterized by their power.