017. Apollo's Faithful

EPISODE 17, APOLLO'S FAITHFUL.

Welcome back to Spartan History Podcast, we're back on the Spartan narrative this time and taking a look at the early religious practices of the city's inhabitants.

Although often understated, the Spartans were an incredibly pious people, even by the standards of piety set by the ancient Greek world of the day. Herodotus recorded in his histories that they placed more faith in the words of the gods than they did in those of men.

I'll be stepping through all of the major festivals and celebrations of their religious calendar, paying special attention to the dualistic nature of varied deities revered to tease out the origin stories buried within the holy rites.

Still in the very early part of the archaic phase, the fast solidification of the Olympic Pantheon supplanted the many forms of indigenous worship that were there before. Rather than discard and abandon ancient practice, the Spartans' in many instances amalgamated it with the more popular and homogeneous Olympian deities.

Lastly, we'll see the largely reciprocal relationship had between the Delphic oracle and Sparta, one that stretches back to the very beginning of Spartan dominance in the Peloponnese.

I hope you all enjoy and take care.

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