In Honor Thy Gods Jon Mikalson uses the tragedies of Aeschylus,
Sophocles, and Euripides to explore popular religious beliefs and
practices of Athenians in the fifth and fourth centuries B.C. and
examines how these playwrights portrayed, manipulated, and otherwise
represented popular religion in their plays. He discusses the central
role of honor in ancient Athenian piety and shows that the values of
popular piety are not only reflected but also reaffirmed in tragedies.
Mikalson begins by examining what tragic characters and choruses have to
say about the nature of the gods and their intervention in human
affairs. Then, by tracing the fortunes of diverse characters -- among
them Creon and Antigone, Ajax and Odysseus, Hippolytus, Pentheus, and
even Athens and Troy -- he shows that in tragedy those who violate or
challenge contemporary popular religious beliefs suffer, while those who
support these beliefs are rewarded.
The beliefs considered in Mikalson's analysis include Athenians' views
on matters regarding asylum, the roles of guests and hosts, oaths, the
various forms of divination, health and healing, sacrifice, pollution,
the religious responsibilities of parents, children, and citizens,
homicide, the dead, and the afterlife. After summarizing the vairous
forms of piety and impiety related to these beliefs found in the
tragedies, Mikalson isolates "honoring the gods" as the fundamental
concept of Greek piety. He concludes by describing the different
relationships of the three tragedians to the religion of their time and
their audience, arguing that the tragedies of Euripides most
consistently support the values of popular religion.
