Back Chtoniese gode Afrikaans الآلهة الخثونية Arabic Dioses ctónicos AST Xtonik tanrılar Azerbaijani Хтонични божества Bulgarian Ctònic Catalan Chthonische Götter German Ελληνικές χθόνιες θεότητες Greek Ktona Esperanto Ctónico Spanish
In Greek mythology, deities referred to as chthonic (/ˈθɒnɪk/) or chthonian (/ˈθoʊniən/)[a] were gods or spirits who inhabited the underworld or existed in or under the earth, and were typically associated with death or fertility.[2] The terms "chthonic" and "chthonian" are derived from the Ancient Greek word χθών (khthṓn) meaning 'earth' or 'soil'. The Greek adjective χθόνιος (khthónios) means 'in, under, or beneath the earth', which can be differentiated from γῆ (gê), which speaks to the living surface of land on the earth.[3][4][5] In Greek, χθόνιος (khthónios) is a descriptive word for things relating to the underworld,[6] which was in antiquity sometimes applied as an epithet to deities such Hermes, Demeter, and Zeus.[7]
The chthonic deities have been compared to the more commonly referred-to Olympic gods and their associated rites and cults. Olympic gods are understood to reference that which exists above the earth, particularly in the sky.[8] Gods that are related to agriculture are also considered to have chthonic associations as planting and growing take place in part under the earth.[9]
- ^ Parker, Robert (2015). "chthonian gods". Oxford Classical Dictionary. doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780199381135.013.1568.
- ^ Tripp, s.v. chthonian deities, p. 163.
- ^ Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert (1940). "A Greek-English Lexicon". Perseus Digital Library. Tufts University. Archived from the original on 2012-10-11.
- ^ Bailly, Anatole (1935). "Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français". Internet Archive.
- ^ "Dictionary by Merriam-Webster". Retrieved 5 November 2022.
- ^ Roberts, Ellie Mackin (2015), "Echoes of the Underworld: Manifestations of Death-Related Gods in Early Greek Cult and Literature", King's College London
- ^ RE, s.v. Chthonios (1); Oxford Classical Dictionary, s.v. chthonian gods, p. 329.
- ^ A companion to Greek religion. Daniel Ogden. Malden, MA: Blackwell Pub. 2007. ISBN 978-1-4051-8216-4. OCLC 173354759.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link) - ^ Scullion, Scott (1994-04-01). "Olympian and Chthonian". Classical Antiquity. 13 (1): 75–119. doi:10.2307/25011006. ISSN 0278-6656. JSTOR 25011006.
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