Oaths and Hellenic Polytheism
Hereâs my short essay on oaths. If you find anything that needs correcting please contact me.Â
An oath for the purposes of this essay is defined as a statement of fact sworn upon, âthe head of Zeusâ or upon the River Styx*. The daimon of oaths, Horkos9, will be referred to as Horkos in this essay to avoid confusion between the two as in some text the daimon is referred to as simply Oaths.
There are two kinds of oaths that will be covered, the sworn oath and the unsworn oath. This essay will provide examples of both types of oaths, explain the consequences for breaking oaths, and finally, this essay will look at how classic oaths could effect and influence the lives of Hellenic polytheists in their current practices.
An oath is given by swearing upon Zeusâs head, or by referencing the water of the river Styx. In the Homeric Hymn to Hermes, however, Hermes never explicitly voices his oath to Apollon instead Apollon outlines the oath and asks that Hermes nod his head to accept it or verbally swear it himself. When Hermes nods, both gods treat that oath like it was sworn verbally by Hermes.
Unsworn oaths, specifically the unsworn oaths of Hermes are taken from the Homeric Hymn to Hermes. These oaths sound like proper sworn oaths but the language used provides wiggle room for the trickster.
âBut if you wish, I will swear a great oath by my fatherâs head, that I am not responsible, nor have I seen any other who stole your cows âŠâ1
Fletcher, author of A Tricksterâs Oaths in the âHomeric Hymn to Hermes argues that the use of I will instead of I do keep this oath from being a properly sworn oath7. The text supports this argument because the infant-god is not punished for âbreakingâ this oath, because the Hymn is clear that Hermes did in fact steal Apollonâs cattle7.
It should be mentioned that unsworn oaths are mentioned as a warning. Attempting to hoodwink the gods with an unsworn oath is unlikely to end well.
There are many examples of oaths in Hellenic texts. Â Here are two examples.
Leto swearing an oath to Delos, âNow hear this, Earth and wide Heaven above, and dropping water of Styx (this is the strongest and most awful oath for the blessed gods), surely Phoebus shall have here his fragrant altar and precinct, and you he shall honour above all.â1
Calypso giving her oath to Odysseus âMay heaven above and earth below be my witnesses, with the waters of the river Styx- and this is the most solemn oath which a blessed god can take- that I mean you no sort of harm, and am only advising you to do exactly what I should do myself in your place.â5
Epiorkia or perjury is the breaking of an oath. Epiorkia has consequences both for mortals and for immortals11. Horkos, who was mentioned above as the daimon of oaths, was the one who inflicted punishment upon perjurers. Horkos is described in Hesiodâs Theogony as one âwho does more damage than any other to earthly men, when anyone, of his knowledge, swears to a false oath.â3
âBeware of all the fifth days [of the month]; for they are harsh and angry; it was on the fifth, they say, that the Erinyes (Furies) assisted at the bearing of Horkos (Horcus, Oath), whom Eris (Strife) bore, to be a plague on those who take false oath.â4
In Aesopâs Fables Horkos tells a man who hoped to avoid being punished for oath breaking, âYou also need to know that if somebody intends to provoke me, I am accustomed to come back again the very same day.â This is in reference to the man wanting to escape punishment who had asked Horkos how often he came to punish oath breakers. When Horkos replied that we would return in thirty or forty years, the mortal thought he could escape the punishment, he was wrong2. Â
Hesiod describes what happens to the deathless gods when they break oaths:
â[When a god] is forsworn, [he] lies breathless until a full year is completed, and never comes near to taste ambrosia and nectar, but lies spiritless and voiceless on a strewn bed: and a heavy trance overshadows him. But when he has spent a long year in his sickness, another penance and an harder follows after the first. For nine years he is cut off from the eternal gods and never joins their councils of their feasts, nine full years. But in the tenth year he comes again to join the assemblies of the deathless gods who live in the house of Olympus.â3
Oaths could very easily have a place in lives of Hellenic polytheists, if the polytheists are aware of the seriousness and weight of the oaths. These oaths invoke the Hellenic gods and daimons, and should not be taken lightly but with proper knowledge and awareness oaths are like any other promise with a slightly higher stake for breaking them.
Possible uses for oaths could be in oathing oneâs self to deities and in marriage ceremonies. Both situations require commitment and sincerity and would have to be worded very carefully.
For example, when oathing to a deity the ritual language provided in The Homeric Hymns can be a good template to work from. It would be easy to craft an oath using similar language to the example oaths, like referencing the heaven and earth, adding in the deity of choice as a specific witness, as well as the water of the river.
Mentioning the solemnness of the oath is also a reoccurring pattern, even in oaths sworn on the head of Zeus, so that wouldnât be remiss to mention.
Here is a mock-up of an oath.
âMay the Heavens and Earth be witness to my oath, upon the water of the River Styx which flows, this most solemn oath, is given toâŠâ
Keep in mind itâs just an example but it stands to reason that all oaths would follow that similar pattern.
*Something I didnât really explore is the possible that there are two âlevels of oathâ one sworn on the head of Zeus which is described by Hermes in his unsworn oath in the Homeric Hymn to Hermes as a great oath1. An oath on the water of the River Styx is described several times as the âthe most solemn oathâ1 that a deathless god can swear which seems to imply that that between the two oaths on made on the River Styx is more serious, than one sworn on Zeus.
Another example of swearing to Zeus instead of the River Styx is in The Iliad. Achilles swears upon his sceptre which is said to represent Zeusâ justice8, ââŠand swear it with a great oath- nay, by this my sceptreâŠâ5
[7] Fletcher, Judith. âA Tricksterâs Oaths in the Homeric Hymn to Hermes.â American Journal of Philology 129.1 (2008): 19-46. Web.
[8] http://mythagora.com/bios/zeusiliad.html
[10] ThĂŒr, Gerhard (Graz). âEpiorkia.â Brillâs New Pauly. Antiquity volumes edited by: Hubert Cancik and , Helmuth Schneider. Brill Online, 2015. Reference. 27 June 2015 <http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/brill-s-new-pauly/epiorkia-e333010>
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