ABSTRACT
Greek piety required correct behavior (orthopraxy) in several domains. A pious individual undertook the ritual roles appropriate to his or her age, gender and social status. Most religious activity was organized and supervised by the state, but individuals, families and other groups also exercised religious agency. Piety required the observation of moral precepts ultimately derived from shared intuitions about reciprocity. The Greek gods were concerned with enforcing such behaviors rather than defining them. Greek rituals often incorporated magic, a technique which could be used either to reinforce or to violate moral norms. Although beliefs about magic and divine agency were supported by different cognitive systems, the two often coincided in the same ritual. Magical beliefs underlay another important area of orthopraxy in Greek religion, ritual requirements regarding purity and pollution. A special form of pollution known as agos was, in turn, closely intertwined with moral intuition. The illustrative essays examine the inclusiveness of the Panathenaic games and procession, the Greek institution of choral dance for the gods, and an important inscription from fourth-century Kyrene which details the city’s purity laws.
