Heroic Epiphanies: Narrative, Visual, and Cultic Contexts

Abstract

Part of the religious experience of the ancient Greeks involved the worship of heroes, mortal figures who were thought to possess some residual power after death.1 Like the gods, many heroes were capable of appearing to the Greeks and making their presence known in an effective way. Heroes appeared in dreams, to offer advice or healing. The appearance of a hero could lead to the establishment of his cult. There is also a well-documented tradition of heroic epiphanies in the context of war, when the heroes provided needed aid to the human combatants to guarantee their victory. W. K. Pritchett, in his study of the role of religion in Greek warfare, counted forty-nine instances of divine epiphany during historical conflicts, and of these about half involved the epiphanies of heroes.2 This essay explores the extent to which elements in the votive iconography that the ancient Greeks used for their heroes correspond to the concept of heroic epiphany. Among the votive offerings that the Greeks made to their heroes were representations of the hero himself. The archaeological record preserves examples rendered in various media including stone relief, terracotta relief plaques, and terracotta figurines. They range in date from the late Archaic period through Roman times and come from all over the ancient Greek world.3 Commenting on this type of