Greek Cult Culture

First, the discussion of the musical aspect of cult foundation in chapter 1 had taught us something that might seem trivial to any unbiased observer if not for the sheer total lack of scholarly research on the subject, meaning the centrality of music in any and every cult practice. Up till now musico-ritualistic practices were dealt with only in the periphery of Greek religious research and if so, they had been studied in isolation from the main body of research or as a footnote to the study of more visible elements of ritual, such as the sacrifice. This study revealed an opposite claim pointing that the musical practices were actually a central element in Greek ritual, an axis around which the center of gravity of the religious experience

In Archaic Greek society the cultic identity (both that of the cult as a cultural space, both that of the local divinity or the identity of the cultic community itself) was encoded in musical worship: in the narrative of performance and through the manifold ways it served as a focal point, mentally and physically, for the community. In like manner, the soundscape actively operated in the realm of the creation and dissemination of religious identities. In the example of Euripides Bacchae, we have seen that the newly arrived cult of Dionysos was introduced to the Thebans through its trademarked musical practices, and simultaneously, the cultic community itself, the Maenads and Bacchants, were marked in Theban religious sphere by their unique musical ideologies and practices. Through the use of comparative history and anthropology we have shown that this role of cultic music was not a unique feature of Greek society. Musical culture, secular or religious alike, brings together peoples of different and distant societies. Hence, The musical performance is being regarded here as a cultural middle-ground, a focal point that ties communities together through synchronized activities of song, dance and listening practices, and in doing so presenting them with common and

We have pointed out that on many occasions musical elements were called into action when political power was being established and in order to intensify its legitimacy in public opinion. The musico-ritualistic practices were being considered, in the ancient near-east as in archaic Greece, as an attributive facet of political power, and thus, controlling and manipulating the sacred soundscape served to establish and bolster political legitimacy in public mindset. throughout this study we have seen that this element of sovereignty was reflected in many of the musical foundation stories, in which the sovereign, whether it be a God, a king, a tyrant, founder of cities or the legal reformer, often turned to the establishment of musico-ritualistic practices while founding, expanding or reforming his areas of