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Chthonic

This article is about the Greek deities. For the band, see Chthonic (band). For other uses, see Chthon (disambiguation).


Chthonic (from Greek χθόνιος-khthonios, of the earth, from khthōn, earth; pertaining to the Earth; earthy) designates, or pertains to, gods or spirits of the underworld, especially in relation to Greek religion.

Greek khthon is one of several words for "earth"; it typically refers to the interior of the soil, rather than the living surface of the land (as gaia or ge does) or the land as territory (as khora does). It evokes at once abundance and the grave.
Greek deities
series
Primordial deities
Titans and Olympians
Aquatic deities
Personified concepts
Other deities
Chthonic deities
Hades and Persephone,
Gaia, Demeter, Hecate,
Iacchus, Trophonius,
Triptolemus, Erinyes
Heroes and the Dead
Its pronunciation is somewhat awkward for English speakers—for this reason, many American dictionaries recommend that the initial "ch" should be silent. However, most other dictionaries, such as the OED, state that the first two letters should be pronounced [k]. Note that the modern pronunciation of the Greek word "χθόνιος" is [xθonios], though the Classical Greek pronunciation would have been something like [ktʰonios].[1]

Chthonic and Olympian

While terms like "Earth deity" have rather sweeping implications in English, the words khthonie and khthonios had a more precise and technical meaning in Greek, referring primarily to the manner of offering sacrifices to the god in question.

Some chthonic cults practiced ritual sacrifice, which often happened at nighttime. When the sacrifice was a living creature, the animal was placed in a bothros ("pit") or megaron ("sunken chamber"). In some Greek chthonic cults, the animal was sacrificed on a raised bomos ("altar"). Offerings were usually burned whole or buried rather than being cooked and shared among the worshippers. Not all Chthonic cults were Greek, nor did all cults practice ritual sacrifice, some performed sacrifices in effigy or burnt vegetable offerings.

Cult type versus function

While chthonic gods and goddesses had a general association with fertility, they didn't have a monopoly on it, nor were Olympian gods wholly unconcerned for the earth's prosperity. Thus Demeter and Persephone both watched over aspects of the fertility of land, yet Demeter had a typically Olympian cult while Persephone had a chthonic one.

Even more confusingly, Demeter was worshipped alongside Persephone with identical rites, and yet was occasionally classified as an "Olympian" in poetry and myth.

In between

The categories Olympian and chthonic weren't, however, hard and fast. Some Olympian gods, like Hermes and Zeus, also received chthonic sacrifices and tithes in certain locations. The deified heroes Heracles and Asclepius might be worshipped as gods or chthonic heroes, depending on the site.

Moreover, a few deities aren't easily classifiable under these terms. Hecate, for instance, was typically offered puppies at crossroads — not an Olympian sacrifice, to be sure, but not a typical offering to Persephone or the heroes, either. Because of her underworld functions, Hecate is generally classed as chthonic.

References in psychology

In Jungian psychology, the term chthonic was often used to describe the spirit of nature within, the unconscious earthly impulses of the Self, one's material depths, but not necessarily with negative connotations.

For example: "Envy, lust, sensuality, deceit, and all known vices are the negative, 'dark' aspect of the unconscious, which can manifest itself in two ways. In the positive sense, it appears as a 'spirit of nature', creatively animating man, things, and the world. It is the 'chthonic spirit' that has been mentioned so often in this chapter. In the negative sense, the unconscious (that same spirit) manifests itself as a spirit of evil, as a drive to destroy." [2]

References in popular culture

See also

References

1. ^ See Modern Greek phonology.
2. ^ C.G. Jung, "Man and his Symbols", ISBN 0-385-05221-9, p. 267.

External links

Chthonic (閃靈樂團; sometimes typeset ChthoniC) is a Taiwanese melodic black metal band that incorporates influences from traditional Taiwanese music including instruments such as the erhu (which is called a hena
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Chthon may mean: Chthon may also mean:
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Greek}}} 
Writing system: Greek alphabet 
Official status
Official language of:  Greece
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recognised as minority language in parts of:
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Regulated by:
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deity or god is a postulated preternatural or supernatural being, who is always of significant power, worshipped, thought holy, divine, or sacred, held in high regard, or respected by human beings.
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The English word "spirit" comes from the Latin "spiritus" ("breath").

Etymology

The English word "spirit" comes from the Latin spiritus, meaning "breath" (compare spiritus asper
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underworld is a generic term approximately equivalent to the lay term afterlife, referring to any place to which newly dead souls go.

See also:  and


Aztec mythology Mictlan
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Greek religion encompasses the collection of beliefs and rituals practiced in Ancient Greece in form of cult practices, there for the practical counterpart of Greek mythology. Within the Greek world, religious practice varied enough so that one might speak of Greek religions.
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In general, the interior of something refers to the space or part inside of it, excluding any kind of wall or boundary around its outside. It has different, more specific definitions in different contexts.
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landscape comprises the visible features of an area of land, including physical elements such as landforms, living elements of flora and fauna, abstract elements such as lighting and weather conditions, and human elements, for instance human activity or the built environment.
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For other uses, see Gaia.


Gaia (pronounced /'geɪ.ə/ or /'gaɪ.
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grave is a place where a dead body (usually a human, although sometimes an animal) is buried. The grave is usually in a graveyard or cemetery.

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Greek mythology is the body of stories belonging to the Ancient Greeks concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices.
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The ancient Greeks proposed many different ideas about the primordial gods in their mythology. The many theogonies constructed by Greek poets each give a different account of which gods came first.
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Titans (Greek: Τιτάν Titan; plural: Τιτάνες Titanes
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Twelve Olympians, also known as the Dodekatheon (Greek: Δωδεκάθεον
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The ancient Greeks had a large number of sea gods. The philosopher Plato once remarked that the Greek people were like frogs sitting around a pond -- their many cities hugging close to the Mediterranean coastline from the Hellenic homeland to Asia Minor, Libya, Sicily and
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Asclepius (Greek Ἀσκληπιός, transliterated Asklēpiós; Latin Aesculapius) is the demigod of medicine and healing in ancient Greek mythology.
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Hades (from Greek Άδης, Hadēs, originally Άιδης, Haidēs or Άΐδης
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Persephone was the Queen of the Underworld, consort of Hades, the Kore or young maiden, and the daughter of Demeter— and Zeus, in the Olympian version.

Persephone (Greek: Περσεφόνη,
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For other uses, see Gaia.


Gaia (pronounced /'geɪ.ə/ or /'gaɪ.
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Dêmêtêr /də'miː.tɚ/ (Greek: Δημήτηρ
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Hecate, Hekate (Hekátê, Hekátē), or Hekat was originally a goddess of the wilderness and childbirth, naturalized early in Thrace, but originating among the Carians of Anatolia,[1]
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In Greek mythology, Iacchus is an epithet of Dionysus, particularly associated with the Mysteries at Eleusis, where he was considered to be the son of Zeus and Demeter. Iacchus was the torch bearer of the procession from Eleusis, sometimes regarded as the herald of the 'divine
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Trophonius (the Latinate spelling) or Trophonios (in the transliterated Greek spelling) was a Greek hero or daimon or god - it was never certain which one - with a rich mythological tradition and an oracular cult at Lebadaea in Boeotia.
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