Sovereignty and Divinity in Classical Greek Thought

Abstract

This chapter examines, in purely Greek terms, the connections between the divine kingship of Zeus and the social and political organization of the archaic and classical Greek world. It shows how closely bound the Greeks were to the thought and experience of their Eastern neighbors throughout the archaic and classical eras. This chapter also presents a broader historical study of the relationship between notions of divinity and the forms of sovereignty articulated by the Greeks of the classical era. The discussions in this chapter include topics as the study of religion in Greek history, sovereignty and the Greek religion, Theogony and the conditions of sovereignty, humanity and divine sovereignty, sovereignty and tyranny, and the Greek's quest for transcendent divinity.