A ritualised rethinking of what it meant to be “European” post-heroic age for ancient Greeks of the post-heroic age : Evidence from the Heroikos of Philostratus

doi:10.4324/9781315616711-13

Chapter

A ritualised rethinking of what it meant to be “European” post-heroic age for ancient Greeks of the post-heroic age

ABSTRACT

In the Heroikos of Philostratus, 52.3–54, there is a vivid description of a ritual performed by Thessalians who travel across the Aegean Sea to the site of ancient Troy in order to worship Achilles there as their cult hero. The ritual is compared in this chapter to the ritual of the Locrian Maidens as analysed by James Redfield. The Locrian ritual, as Redfield shows, is coordinated with myths centering on the Trojan War. It is argued that there is a comparable coordination of the Thessalian ritual with the same myths.