Greek Philosophical schools and Religion
(New Testament Background, part 1)
1. Hellenistic Philosophical Schools and Philosophic Religion
(a) The Academy and Platonism
Xenocrates and Speusippus, Plato’s students, created the Platonic system, which popularized demonology and contributed philosophical legitimacy to beliefs related to demons, thus laying the foundation for their later propagation in philosophical and theological literature. The Middle Academy of the 3rd and 2nd centuries BCE had disputes with the Stoics and other philosophical schools; in this process, the Academy fell into skepticism. Antiochus of Ascalon broke this skepticism and gave up the opposition to the Stoics. Furthermore, Platonism spread widely in the 1st century BCE as a cultural development, accompanied by the development of dualistic anthropology and cosmology associated with it. Plato proposed two world souls: good and evil souls. The Stoic philosopher Posidonius took this dualistic idea and differentiated two worlds in his cosmology: the celestial world and the sublunar world. Moreover, he developed a trichotomic anthropology: spirit, body, and soul. This Platonizing Stoicism became the foundation for philosophical and religious development at the close of the Hellenistic period, as demonstrated in Philo, whose allegorical interpretation and concept of God are Stoic, while his anthropology and cosmology are Platonic, and his concept of the Logos has both Platonic and Stoic features.
(b) The Peripatetic Philosophy
Aristotle’s teachings were not influential for a long time until Andronicus of Rhodes (middle of the 1st century BCE), head of the Peripatetic school, was responsible for the new edition of Aristotle’s writings, which established Aristotle’s importance in the imperial period. The Peripatetic school was interested in natural science, character studies, and bibliographies.
(c) Epicurus and the Epicureans
Epicurus (341-270 BCE) established his school in Athens. This school proposed that God does not involve himself in human lives, and therefore it is meaningless to depend on God. Natural events are determined by laws related to the movement of atoms. They promoted independence and imperturbability for the wise man. The Epicureans were organized like a religious association or mystery club to provide happiness and friendship to individuals. They had friendship, community, and mutual pastoral care as religious duties, and community meals and memorial festivals as liturgical celebrations. The religious goal of true happiness was limited to earthly life. Furthermore, they considered death to be the dissolution of the soul into atoms.
(d) The Stoa
The Stoa was founded by Zeno of Citium in Cyprus. From its inception, Stoic philosophy was cosmopolitan and pantheistic. Believing themselves to be heirs of Socrates, they explained the preeminence of their ethical teaching: virtue is the only good that exists. Their ethics were disassociated from empirical and external motivations. The goal of moral action is “to live in agreement (with Logos),” according to Zeno, or “to live in agreement with nature,” according to Chrysippus. “Nature” means the nature of human beings, that is, Logos, which is rational discernment. This view led to the development of their cosmology and psychology. Astrology and natural science were sources of their cosmology. A strict materialistic and deterministic view of the world resulted from this. Stoic psychology is a doctrine of affections.
Stoics and Epicureans contributed to the ideals of the wise man in Hellenistic times. Furthermore, Stoicism was the main contributor to the renewal of religious ideas in the Hellenistic period and thus laid the foundation for Hellenistic theology. This is because of their materialistic doctrine of the all-governing Logos, a rational principle that ruled all things. Therefore, the Stoics reinterpreted old myths and rituals to relate religion and philosophy by using allegorical methods. Hellenistic-Jewish interpreters and Christians later used this hermeneutical method. Moreover, Panaetius of Rhodes (ca. 180-110 BCE) emphasized ethical teachings directed toward the conduct of life, and his work On Right Conduct was used in Cicero’s De Officiis. The further development of Stoicism came from Posidonius of Apamea, who amalgamated different philosophical streams. His cosmology appears in the cosmic anthropology of Gnosticism. Stoics of the imperial period referred to Chrysippus instead of Posidonius.
2. The Spirit of the Hellenistic Age
(a) The Cynics
The founder of Cynic philosophy was Diogenes of Sinope (400/390-328/323 BCE). He propagated no particular philosophy, but later Cynics were influenced by Stoic philosophy. They propagated their teachings through striking examples of behavior. They developed diatribe as a method for teaching and preaching. The diatribe scorned technical language and used the vernacular language of the common man, even to the point of rudeness in its images and examples. The diatribe was founded by Dion of Borysthenes, who was influenced by Aristotelian and Platonic philosophy. This style influenced the writings of Paul, Philo, Seneca, Musonius, Epictetus, Maximus, and Lucian.
(b) Euhemerism
There were many popular theories about the origins of belief in gods in antiquity. Euhemerism was established by Euhemerus of Messene (340-260 BCE). He critically interpreted the myths and reduced gods to mere heroes, who were worshiped like heroes or divine rulers.
(c) Astrology and Fate
Plato stated that stars are divine beings. In the 6th century BCE, Babylonian beliefs in stars and astronomy became popular among the Greeks. Alexandria became the center of astronomy and new discoveries. Moreover, astronomy became the framework for a new philosophico-religious view of the world, where the old local and city gods received a new universal form. This worldview promoted the concept of heimarmene (sometimes also called ananke, which Aristotle defined as that which is contrary to the movement of free choice), the highest god, the final power over everything, including fate written in the stars, which predetermined human life. Astrology, particularly faith in fate, became popular in the Hellenistic period, and belief in astrology and heimarmene reached its climax in the Roman period.
(d) Orphism Concept of the Afterlife
The time of the origin of Orphism and the Thracian singer Orpheus is uncertain, though his followers dated the origin before Homer. Orphism first appeared in the context of the production of mythical writing in Greece. Greek authors produced many theogonies in poetic language during the 6th-5th centuries BCE. Several theogonies of the 4th century BCE were Orphic works. Their theology tends toward monotheism while holding polytheistic ideas. They had faith in life, bliss, and punishment after death. Orphic beliefs included the punishment of the soul in the depth of the earth and the field of bliss in the far west. The punishment of the soul in the depths of the earth became widespread in the Hellenistic world and appeared in pagan religions, Judaism (1 Enoch), and Christianity (the Acts of Thomas and the Apocalypse of Peter).
3. The Development of Greek Religion
(a) Syncretism
Syncretism implies the mixing of Greek and oriental religions. The following are the elements behind such syncretism: firstly, Greek and oriental religions were originally local cults of people, states, or cities. This view changed because of philosophical influence, intellectual enlightenment, and the mobility of the population. The result was the transplantation of deities, that is, deities from the East brought to Greece and vice versa. Secondly, the identification and combination of various deities took place. In this process, the cult of foreign gods was established in Greek-speaking areas with their Hellenized forms. Thirdly, there was the mutual permeation of various elements of different religions and cultures. In this process, oriental religions were Hellenized; the concept of Greek religion invaded other religions, and inherited concepts of local traditions were reinterpreted to fit new world culture. Fourthly, new religions were created from Greek and non-Greek elements of older religions. Here, syncretism developed as a religion that harmonized two opposing historical forces: the constraints established by tradition and the new culture and its spirit. In light of this development, Christianity adapted a variety of cultural and religious currents and foreign elements to become a world religion.
(b) The Old Gods and Their Cults
The old cults began to decline at the beginning of Hellenism. The political power of the central sanctuary of the political league came to an end in both the East and West due to superpower politics. This loss of function of old traditions led to religious and liturgical reformation in the cults of the old gods. This was frequent in the Hellenistic era, and the old cults also flourished during this period, manifesting through extensive temple-building activities, the multiplication of games and festivals, and the reformation of Greek temples. In the Roman period, Augustus gave imperial support to Greek cults. During this period, the old cults underwent innovations, such as the introduction of incense burning, hymns, prayers, incense, and lamps as daily rituals, and sermons preached on special occasions.
(c) The Oracles
Although the political significance of oracles diminished in the Hellenistic era, the sibyls gained increasing popularity. These oracles were usually published as books under the names of famous Asian sibyls. In their Asian form, these oracles were produced by prophetic women through ecstatic predictions. Such books typically predicted the final turn in the history of the world and humanity. Jews and Christians appropriated this form of prophecy in such books to propagate their own apocalypticism. Oracles became more popular in the Roman period. In this period, the oracles of Apollo at Claros became more popular because Claros could respond properly to the needs of the time.
(d) Asclepius
The cult of Asclepius originated in Thessaly, where he was a local healing god. The expansion of this cult began in the early 4th century BCE. The cult expanded during the Hellenistic and Roman periods through the methodological propaganda of its leading proponents, such as Epidaurus. The cult became popular because, firstly, the Asclepiea continued the old tradition of local deities; secondly, spectacular healings occurred through them; and finally, the clinical health-spa services provided by several sanctuaries of Asclepiea. These sanctuaries focused on individual human beings for medical treatment and its ritual preparation. Moral standards were understood as a requirement for healing. Moreover, Asclepius had a more human side as a god.
(e) The Greek Mysteries
The cult of Demeter in Eleusis was the epitome of Hellenistic mystery cults and influenced other mystery cults. It was a major contributor to the development of mystery cults. The festivals and sanctuaries of Demeter were very popular in Greece and had a strong influence in the Roman period, with several Roman emperors initiated into the Eleusinian mysteries. In addition to the cult of Eleusis, there were other mystery cults, and the sanctuary of the Cabiri at Samothrace was the most famous among them, enjoying wide popularity in both the Roman and Hellenistic periods.
(f) Dionysus
The cult of Dionysus was another widely accepted mystery cult. Dionysus (also called Bacchus) was a popular god in the Greek period, considered a god of fertility. Savagery and ecstasy were features associated with the rituals of this cult. The Dionysus cult had a connection with Orphic ideas, namely life after death. This cult was widely recognized in the Hellenistic period, even by ruling authorities. In this cult association, mysteries were performed in private homes, and the celebrations included a common meal and the drinking of wine. Although this cult was popular among the upper class in the Roman period, the Senatus consultum provides evidence that severe measures were taken by Roman authorities against this type of mystery cult.
4. Hellenistic New Religions
(a) Sarapis and Isis
Several Egyptian gods, such as Isis, Osiris, Apis, and Seth, were Hellenized during the Hellenistic period. Apis and Osiris (the god of the shepherds of the Nile’s eastern delta and the god of the dead) were closely associated, resulting in the divine name Osiris-Apis. Ptolemy I Hellenized the cult of Osiris-Apis and brought it to his new capital. Sarapis was the new Hellenized name of Osiris-Apis. The Ptolemies adapted the Egyptian gods as their own deities in order to maintain legitimacy as the true heirs of the Pharaohs. Moreover, Isis, a goddess who came to the Hellenistic world along with Osiris-Apis, became a universal deity. The aretalogies reveal that this cult had the influence of cosmological and astrological concepts and a tendency toward monotheism and universality. Concerning the process of initiation, Isis offers a concept of dying to one's former life and the possibility of new life in the service of the goddess. This Hellenistic concept of rebirth might be seen in Romans 6, where Paul speaks about those who are baptized as having died with Christ and should walk in new life. The difference between the two is that one needed to pay a high amount for initiation into the cult of Isis, but Christianity liberated initiation from financial requirements and democratized it. Moreover, Sarapis sanctuaries had large halls to accommodate their followers and conduct services. Sarapis might have had structures that clearly resemble those of Jewish synagogues or Christian churches.
(b) The Magna Mater and Attis
The cult of Cybele, the Great Mother of life and fertility, a deity of the Phrygians, became widespread during the Hellenistic period. This cult was brought to the West, where it was accepted officially by Rome as early as 204 BCE. The mystery cult had a great spring festival from March 15 to 27. The festivals were colorful, filled with music and dance, and involved rites of primitivism and cruelty. Their understanding of moral standards was high. Moreover, the myth of Attis was used by Christian Gnostics.
(c) Sabazius, Men, and Others
Sabazius was a Phrygian (and Thracian) god from Asia Minor, related to the cult of Dionysus, whose worship became widespread and accepted during the Hellenistic period in the Roman West. This cult had features of a mystery cult. Furthermore, Sabazius was also identified with Zeus, Hypsistos ("The Highest God"), the Great Mother, and Mithras. It is assumed and argued that there might have been a Jewish-Syncretic mystery cult in Asia Minor based on several documents from Asia Minor about the cult of the "God the Highest" and the existence of people who observed the Sabbath. Moreover, it seems that Christianity may have been influenced by such syncretistic Jewish cults. Additionally, Men was another Phrygian deity whose cult resembled mystery religions in the Hellenistic period.
(e) The Problems of Mystery Religions
Richard Reitzenstein’s thesis on the oriental-Iranian origin of the mystery religions contributed significantly to the understanding of these religions, though the hypothesis that the mystery religions had a homogenous character and a Persian origin is questionable.
The Greek mysteries were attached to broad meanings and usages. Several old gods' cults had mysteries that can be found in religious associations organized with priests and presidents, fixed memberships, and regular meetings. Sometimes, mysteries served the purpose of organizing public processions and festivals. They were even connected to the emperor cult. The oriental religions regarded mysteries as secret rituals. The mystery religions were Hellenized oriental cults in which the understanding of special secret rites as "mysteries" was a Greek component of their Hellenization.
The features of mystery cults are as follows: a firm organization in each congregation to which all members are subject, membership obtained through rites of initiation, participation in regular meetings in which sacramentals are celebrated according to fixed rites, obligations to observe certain moral and ascetic precepts, mutual support of all members, obedience to the leader of the cult or community, and the cultivation of tradition, which was subject to arcane discipline.
Some of the features of mystery cults can be seen in early Christianity: the Lord's Supper, which Christians celebrated as a mystery that guaranteed immortality for each participant; the diversity of leadership and interpretation of tradition in the early church; the fellowship meal understood as the Messianic banquet; and the worldwide organization of Christianity. Even Christianity, with its many groups and sects, some parts of diaspora Judaism, and rabbinic Judaism, can be considered as mystery religions.
Theologically, the rites of mysteries can be understood as a means to provide salvation or immortality. The language and ideas used for this purpose were derived from the general history of Hellenistic religions, which flourished in the Roman imperial period. Judaism and Christianity shared this language. Christianity came under suspicion as a mystery religion when it employed such language, especially related to mysteries. Through this process, Christianity became one of the Hellenistic religions.
The followers of mystery religions included the populations of large cities, urban populations, and educated and literate people. The practice of wandering missionaries and philosophers, with their active demonstrations, was widespread. They won individuals and created inclusive communities for religious purposes. In Christianity, the Gnostic concept of the elect few conflicted with Christian universalism.
The Hellenistic and Roman periods can be called the age of mystery religions. These mystery religions spread with the help of the contemporary milieu, where they were linked with the Hellenistic view of human beings and their world. The cosmos had a divine order, but humans were not allowed to participate fully in this divine order because they were caught in the realm of sense perception, matter, disorder, mortality, and fate. Salvation could only be achieved through faith in invisible powers. Therefore, the mastery of life depended on the help of otherworldly powers and the guarantees that extended to life beyond death. This idea of overcoming death and fate and participating in the divine order took precedence over philosophical doctrines. The right of initiation had the implication of a guarantee for the work of superior powers and an opportunity to be accepted into a community that possessed the same secret. Ideas such as the favor of otherworldly powers in the adversities of life and life after death can also be found in Christianity.
Summary from: Koester, Helmut. History, Culture, and Religion of the Hellenistic Age. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1980.