Chthonic

In mythology and religion, and in particular in Greek, the term chthonic (from the ancient Greek χθόνιος khthónios, 'belonging to the earth', 'of earth') designates or refers to the gods or spirits of the underworld, as opposed to the celestial deities. Sometimes they are also called tellurics (from the Latin tellus).

The Greek word χθών khthốn is one of several used for 'earth' and typically refers to the interior of the soil rather than the surface of the earth (as does γαίη gaie or γῆ ge) or land as territory (as does χώρα khora). It evokes abundance and the grave at the same time.

The chthonic divinities belong to an old Mediterranean substratum, more obviously identified with Anatolia. The cycles of nature, those of life and survival after death are at the center of the concerns they translate.

Archaeology reveals, especially in the places of possible sanctuaries and in the tombs of the Neolithic period and the Bronze Age, the idols currently classified as Great Mothers or Earth-Mothers, supposedly related to the cults of fertility and fertility. The relationship of these objects with those from other sites (notably Anatolia) suggests that this ancient Mediterranean religion associated this goddess with a bull or lamb, a theme that will remain long in the region.

In Crete, the supposed cult of this Great Goddess was transformed during the 2nd millennium BC. C. as new actors appear: various animals, plants, etc. A whole crowd of demons guides the gods, such as the Curetes or the Dactyls, which expand at this time and will have numerous descendants in Greek mythology (chimeras, gorgons, mermaids, etc.). The Mother Goddess herself undoubtedly doubles as mother and daughter, as will later be the case with her heirs Demeter and Persephone.

The sanctuary of the Great Gods of Samothrace housed a mystery cult dedicated to a pantheon of chthonic divinities, the most important of which was the Great Mother.

In Acragas (present-day Agrigento) there is a temple dedicated to chthonic divinities.

Cthonic and Olympic

While other terms like “terrestrial deity” tend to have more dramatic implications, the terms khthonie and khthonios have a more technical and precise meaning in Greek, referring primarily to the way in which sacrifices were offered to the god in question.

Some chthonic cults practiced ritual sacrifice, which often took place at night. When the sacrifice was a living creature, the animal was placed in a bothros (βοθρος, 'pit') or megaron (μεγαρον, 'sunken chamber'). In other cults, on the contrary, the victim was sacrificed on a raised bomos (βομος, 'altar'). The offerings were normally burned entirely or buried instead of being cooked and distributed among the devotees.

Not all chthonic cults were Greek, nor did all of them practice ritual sacrifice: some made sacrifices in effigy or burned plant offerings.

Type of worship vs. function

Although the chthonic deities had a general relationship with fertility, they did not have a monopoly on it, nor were the Olympian gods totally indifferent to the prosperity of the land. Thus, although both Demeter and Persephone cared for various aspects of the earth's fertility, the former had a typically Olympian cult while the latter was chthonic.

To add to the confusion, Demeter was worshiped alongside Persephone with identical rites, and even Persephone was occasionally classified as an Olympian in poetry and myth. It has been suggested that the absorption of some earlier cults into the new pantheon, as opposed to those that resisted being assimilated, made the more recent myths appear confused.

Between both

The Olympian and Chthonic categories were not, however, totally strict. Some Olympian gods, such as Hermes and Zeus, also received sacrifices and tithes in some places. The deified heroes Heracles and Asclepius could be worshiped as gods or as chthonic heroes, depending on the site and time of origin of the myth.

Furthermore, a few deities are not easily classifiable under these terms. To Hecate, for example, it was customary to offer puppies at the crossroads, which was certainly not an Olympic sacrifice, but neither was it a typical offering to Persephone or heroes. Due to her functions in the underworld, Hecate is, however, generally classified as chthonic.

References in psychology

In analytical psychology, the term "chthonic" was often used to describe the spirit of inner nature, the unconscious earthly impulses of the Self, one's material depths, but not necessarily with negative connotations.

For example: «Envy, lust, sensuality, lies and all known vices are the negative and “dark” aspect of the unconscious, which can manifest itself in two ways. In the positive sense, it appears as a "spirit of nature", creatively animating Man, things and the world. In the negative sense, the unconscious (that same spirit) manifests itself as a spirit of evil, as a destructive instinct."