Ecology and Theology in the Ancient World by Ailsa Hunt;Hilary F. Marlow;

Author:Ailsa Hunt;Hilary F. Marlow;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bloomsbury UK

CHAPTER 8

RECONSIDERING THE CHTHONIC IN AESCHYLUS’ ORESTEIA: ERINYES, THE EARTH’S RESOURCES AND THE COSMIC ORDER

Emmanuela Bakola

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Introduction: Eco-theology and the ‘chthonic’?

There is an ancient category of the divine which would seem sine qua non in a volume about the relationship between ancient and modern ecotheological thinking: that of the ‘chthonic’. As the term (from the Greek chthon=earth) suggests, these divine powers’ sphere of operation is the earth, as the source of fertility and growth.1 The Athenian cult and festivals of deities such as Zeus Meilichios (Diasia) or Polieus (Dipolieia), Dionysus (Lenaia, Rural Dionysia, Anthesteria, Oschophoria), Demeter and Persephone (Proerosia, Thesmophoria, Haloa, Great Mysteries) – to name but a few – reflect to a large degree the human need to establish a good relationship with powers which facilitate or hinder the natural processes of production, generation and growth; the powers, that is, that can bestow prosperity, livelihood and wellbeing.2 Such cult and festivals reflect an awareness that these processes, whilst outside human control, can be influenced by human behaviour towards the divine and towards nature. In other words, if we are to look for an ‘ecological’ awareness in the various theologies of the Greek world, a fruitful area would undoubtedly be the category of divine known as ‘chthonic’ and associated cults.

Unfortunately, due to a long-standing scholarly debate on the antithesis ‘Olympian vs chthonic’ in Greek religion,3 the term ‘chthonic’ has been more frequently understood as reflecting the dark qualities of the underworld and the dead. It is not uncommon to find discussions of the category leaning heavily towards this definition, with mere lip-service paid to these deities’ more ‘positive’ aspects, namely concern with the earth’s generative processes, with growth, fertility and well-being. Often, when these aspects are discussed, they are understood only in connection with agriculture, not more generally with spontaneous growth, natural production and the conditions which allow them.4 As a result, ‘chthonic’ has become too narrow a concept, and its perceived negative aspects and associations with ‘primitive’ elements of Greek religion have only contributed to its suppression in scholarly discourse. This is unfortunate, because the chthonic has a prominent place in hugely popular cultural forms, especially Greek drama. Furthermore, in the last thirty years, the debate about the chthonic has become even more rigid because of the scholarly focus on types of sacrificial ritual, and the rejection altogether of a single ‘chthonic’ type of sacrifice.5 All these difficulties have progressively resulted in a reluctance even to employ the term. For example, although Parker analyses the category of powers who promote growth and are associated with death, in the same publications he has also expressed concerns over the usefulness of the term ‘chthonic’ as analytical tool.6

Parker’s reluctance largely stems from the observation that the Greeks did not use the term chthonios consistently to describe these powers.7 Although this is instructive, absence or inconsistent use of a term does not amount to absence of a concept. Since, as even Parker’s analyses show, a group of divinities have been consistently understood

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