Religious Authority in Archaic and Classical Athens

Abstract

The paper considers who has the right in the Athenian state to act authoritatively both in the name of, and in matters of, religion. It discusses the role of priests, the demos, magistrates, oracles, chresmologoi/manteis, exegetai, epimeletai, epistatai, and hieropoioi. A descriptive catalogue is included of the priesthoods, arranged according to cult; this includes a summary acount of the sanctuaries, evidence for the appointments, status, festivals, origins of the cult, and of the emoluments and honours involved, together with the identity of holders of these offices, where known. This is followed by an account of the magistrates, religious experts, and assistants. It is concluded that the ultimate authority lay outside the purview of the Athenian state, with the god himself, normally Apollo but less frequently Zeus, to whom personal enquiry had to be made by official delegation of the Athenian state to his oracular shrine, though this does not mean the shrine had the right of intervention; the oracle could sanction but could not propose. Religious authority in Athens was the monopoly neither of the citizen body as a whole nor any particular group of individuals within it, but a discrete prerogative shared out among a number of corporations comprising amateurs as well as experts, clergy as well as laity.