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92-402: Yerma has been married two years. She wants to strengthen her husband, Juan, so he can give her children. Telling Yerma to stay at home, Juan goes back to his work in the olive groves, and Yerma talks and sings to the child she wishes she were carrying. Yerma fears that if she doesn't conceive soon, her blood will turn to poison. María, married five months and already pregnant, asks Yerma to sew for

184-520: A borrowing of Greek ἔθνος ( ethnos ) via Armenian hethanos . The term has recently been revived in the forms "Heathenry" and "Heathenism" (often but not always capitalized), as alternative names for the modern Germanic pagan movement, adherents of which may self-identify as Heathens. It is perhaps misleading even to say that there was such a religion as paganism at the beginning of [the Common Era] ... It might be less confusing to say that

276-467: A child, to be content with what she has. Realizing that Juan never did and never will want a child, Yerma strangles him, thus killing her only hope of ever bearing a child. The play ends with Yerma saying, "Don’t come near me, because I’ve killed my child. I’ve killed my child with my own hands!" Yerma deals with the themes of isolation, passion, and frustration but also the underlying themes of nature, marriage, jealousy, and friendship. Social conventions of

368-502: A class of subordinate gods/ daimons —see henotheism —or divine emanations . To Christians, the most important distinction was whether or not someone worshipped the one true God . Those who did not (polytheist, monotheist, or atheist ) were outsiders to the Church and thus considered pagan. Similarly, classical pagans would have found it peculiar to distinguish groups by the number of deities followers venerate. They would have considered

460-503: A creed outworn; So might I, standing on this pleasant lea, Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn; Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea; Or hear old Triton blow his wreathèd horn. In Italy, with the fall of the Papal States the process of Italian unification fostered anti-clerical sentiment among the intelligentsia. Intellectuals like archaeologist Giacomo Boni and writer Roggero Musmeci Ferrari Bravo promoted

552-612: A cultural and scholarly center, with the establishment of the first Muslim university in 717 under Umar II , attracting scholars from across the Islamic world. Although Harran lost its capital status under the Abbasid Caliphate , it continued to flourish, particularly during the reign of Harun al-Rashid (786–809), when its university became a key center for translation and intellectual activity. The local religion, blending elements of Mesopotamian paganism and Neoplatonism, persisted into

644-405: A cultural sense. It retained that meaning for roughly the first millennium of Christianity. This was influenced by Christianity's early members, who were Jewish . The Jews of the time distinguished themselves from foreigners according to religion rather than ethno - cultural standards, and early Jewish Christians would have done the same. Since Hellenic culture was the dominant pagan culture in

736-404: A hermitage high in the mountains, a place to which many barren women, including Yerma, have made a pilgrimage. Young men are there, hoping to father a child or to win a woman away from her husband. The old woman tells Yerma to leave Juan and take up with her son, who is "made of blood," but Yerma holds to her sense of honor and dismisses that thought. Juan overhears and tells Yerma to give up wanting

828-612: A largely pagan city well into the early Islamic period. When the city was besieged by the armies of the Rashidun Caliphate in 639–640, it was the pagan community that negotiated its peaceful surrender. Under the subsequent rule of the caliphates, Harran became a major settlement within the Diyar Mudar region and retained a significant degree of autonomy. During the First Fitna , the people of Harran sided with Mu'awiya I over Ali at

920-591: A military context rather than a religious one is in Tertullian 's De Corona Militis XI.V, where the Christian is referred to as paganus ( civilian ): Paganus acquired its religious connotations by the mid-4th century. As early as the 5th century, paganos was metaphorically used to denote persons outside the bounds of the Christian community. Following the sack of Rome by the Visigoths just over fifteen years after

1012-435: A particular group of people or set of ideas other than their family and political context. If this is the right view of pagan life, it follows that we should look on paganism quite simply as a religion invented in the course of the second to third centuries AD, in competition and interaction with Christians, Jews and others. Defining paganism is very complex and problematic. Understanding the context of its associated terminology

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1104-504: A sacred – although secular – longstanding, unwavering and unchallenged authority with a cross-religious effectiveness over the Albanians, which is attributed to an earlier pagan code common to all the Albanian tribes . Historically, the Christian clergy has vigorously fought, but without success, the pagan rituals practiced by Albanians for traditional feasts and particular events, especially

1196-628: A second run from July to August 2017 with two live broadcasts to cinemas in the UK on 31 August and international cinemas on 21 September. Encore performances were later added after demand surged. In October 2017, it was announced that Piper would transfer with the show to New York City in 2018. The play was a sold out hit playing for six weeks at the Park Avenue Armory in New York City and was hailed by US critics. The New York Times said Piper's performance

1288-477: A subject in their own right." In addition, Petts notes how various spiritual, religious, and metaphysical ideas branded as "pagan" from diverse cultures were studied in opposition to Abrahamism in early anthropology, a binary he links to ethnocentrism and colonialism. Ludwig Feuerbach defined the paganism of classical antiquity , which he termed Heidentum ('heathenry') as "the unity of religion and politics, of spirit and nature, of god and man", qualified by

1380-481: A theological aspect to an ethnological one, and religions began to be understood as part of the ethnic identities of peoples, and the study of the religions of so-called primitive peoples triggered questions as to the ultimate historical origin of religion . Jean Bodin viewed pagan mythology as a distorted version of Christian truths. Nicolas Fabri de Peiresc saw the pagan religions of Africa of his day as relics that were in principle capable of shedding light on

1472-494: A traditional association with well-being or ill-health. In Celtic Europe fire was used in major rituals in which bonfires and torches were used to promote fertility of the fields, animals, and humans. One sense of the element fire in Yerma is that of passion, or lack thereof. Yerma mentions how Juan's face lacks the color of life and how his pale skin has not been touched by the fire of the sun's rays. In contrast, Víctor's passionate nature

1564-419: A woman has nothing but the care of a child to get her through the day, and she lives day by day without that. Her inner struggle is too great toward the end, and she commands power as she strangles Juan to his death. She has finally stood up for what she wanted and at the same time killed her only chances. “Yerma” has many Christian morals such as marrying for the main reason to procreate and not going outside of

1656-447: A woman who still has no children, who has been looking at another man, and whose husband has brought in his sisters to keep an eye on her. We know they mean Yerma. The laundresses sing about husbands, lovemaking, and babies. Juan's two sisters watch over Yerma. She refuses to stay at home, and people are talking. Without children in it, her house seems like a prison to her. Her marriage has turned bitter. María visits, but reluctantly since

1748-623: Is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism , or ethnic religions other than Judaism. In the time of the Roman Empire, individuals fell into the pagan class either because they were increasingly rural and provincial relative to the Christian population, or because they were not milites Christi (soldiers of Christ). Alternative terms used in Christian texts were hellene , gentile , and heathen . Ritual sacrifice

1840-416: Is childless and glad of it, although her mother, Dolores, is giving her herbs for pregnancy. Next Víctor comes along, and the conversation between Víctor and Yerma becomes tense with unspoken thoughts and desires. Juan enters, worrying about what people will say if Yerma stays out chatting. He tells her he intends to work all night. Yerma will sleep alone. It is three years later. Five laundresses gossip about

1932-419: Is crucial to stress right from the start that until the 20th century, people did not call themselves pagans to describe the religion they practised. The notion of paganism, as it is generally understood today, was created by the early Christian Church. It was a label that Christians applied to others, one of the antitheses that were central to the process of Christian self-definition. As such, throughout history it

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2024-436: Is debated. In the 19th century, paganism was adopted as a self-descriptor by members of various artistic groups inspired by the ancient world . In the 20th century, it came to be applied as a self-descriptor by practitioners of modern paganism , modern pagan movements and Polytheistic reconstructionists . Modern pagan traditions often incorporate beliefs or practices, such as nature worship , that are different from those of

2116-419: Is evident in his life and inner fire. It is toward the end where we see fire start to be represented indirectly with Yerma. She tells Juan how unfair it is for her to be consumed, making reference to fire and being a victim. Wanting to cease being a victim, she goes off to change things for herself. In the end, Juan's lack of passion has fueled her flaming desire to have a child even more. The fact that she goes to

2208-452: Is important. Early Christians referred to the diverse array of cults around them as a single group for reasons of convenience and rhetoric . While paganism generally implies polytheism , the primary distinction between classical pagans and Christians was not one of monotheism versus polytheism, as not all pagans were strictly polytheist. Throughout history, many of them believed in a supreme deity . However, most such pagans believed in

2300-451: Is in the fields, and he is able to fertilize all the soil except that of Yerma. What Yerma does not realize is that to get Juan to want her, she must yield to him as the Earth would do and let go of her fantasy if she has any hope to have a child. The next element, water , is the one that Juan lacks the most. He only has a limited supply of water to irrigate the fields; all that water must go to

2392-496: Is related to pangere ('to fasten', 'to fix or affix') and ultimately comes from Proto-Indo-European *pag- ('to fix' in the same sense): The adoption of paganus by the Latin Christians as an all-embracing, pejorative term for polytheists represents an unforeseen and singularly long-lasting victory, within a religious group, of a word of Latin slang originally devoid of religious meaning. The evolution occurred only in

2484-553: Is the context in which Early Christianity itself developed as one of several monotheistic cults, and it was in this period that the concept of pagan developed in the first place. As Christianity emerged from Second Temple Judaism and Hellenistic Judaism , it stood in competition with other religions advocating pagan monotheism, including the cults of Dionysus , Neoplatonism , Mithraism , Gnosticism , and Manichaeanism . Dionysus in particular exhibits significant parallels with Christ, so that numerous scholars have concluded that

2576-437: Is the medium in which movement occurs and is also the element that surrounds everything in nature. This is suggestive of the male's sexual embrace of a woman. Air is featured many times throughout the play. It is mentioned when Yerma speaks of the wind singing in the trees and when she raises her arms and yawns, which is significant of the deep ritualistic inhalation of the air that made the Earth fertile. Since Yerma cannot be like

2668-405: Is the “cold brook” where the washerwomen gather. This represents Yerma's inability to get pregnant and Juan's coldness to the idea. Both the elements Earth and water are feminine elements, but they cannot be complete without the masculine elements air and fire . Air is seen as male because of the association with “the breath of life” and dynamics of storms and winds. In conjunction with that, air

2760-570: The Battle of Siffin in 657, which allegedly resulted in a brutal retaliation by Ali, who massacred much of the population. Under the Umayyad Caliphate (661–750), Harran prospered and was selected as the capital by the last Umayyad caliph, Marwan II , from 744 to 750. This move may have been influenced by the city's pagan sympathies and its strategic position near the empire's eastern provinces. The city's prominence under Umayyad rule saw it grow as

2852-559: The Christian persecution of paganism under Theodosius I , murmurs began to spread that the old gods had taken greater care of the city than the Christian God. In response, Augustine of Hippo wrote De Civitate Dei Contra Paganos ('The City of God against the Pagans'). In it, he contrasted the fallen "city of Man" with the "city of God", of which all Christians were ultimately citizens. Hence,

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2944-545: The French Revolution and saw it as a path to restoring an ancient republic. He took the name Quintus Nautius, claimed Roman priestly lineage, and performed Orphic rites at his home. His followers were mainly his household. In 1799, he published La Thréicie , advocating a revival of paganism in France, condemning Christianity, and promoting universal animation . In the 17th century, the description of paganism turned from

3036-652: The Gheg – Tosk dialectal diversification. Regardless of the Christianization, ancient paganism persisted among Albanians , and especially within the inaccessible and deep interior – where Albanian folklore evolved over the centuries in a relatively isolated tribal culture and society – it has continued to persist, or at most it was partially transformed by the Christian, and later Muslim and Marxist beliefs, that were either to be introduced by choice or imposed by force. The Albanian traditional customary law ( Kanun ) has held

3128-826: The Mani Peninsula —where paganism had endured until the 12th century) encouraged the Medici, descendants of the Maniot Latriani dynasty, to found the Neoplatonic Academy in Florence , helping to spark the Renaissance . In addition Julius Pomponius Laetus (student of Pletho) established the Roman academy which secretly celebrated the Natale di Roma and the birthday of Romulus . The Academy

3220-510: The Spanish Civil War . It most openly challenges the institution of Catholicism and the strict sexual morality of contemporary Spanish society. In 2016, Australian playwright Simon Stone premiered an adaption at the Young Vic , starring Billie Piper . The play was an enormous success receiving rave reviews, namely for Piper's "earth-quaking" performance. The play went on to become one of

3312-533: The classical world ; including those of the Greco-Roman, Celtic, Germanic, and Slavic tribes. However, modern parlance of folklorists and contemporary pagans in particular has extended the original four millennia scope used by early Christians to include similar religious traditions stretching far into prehistory . Paganism came to be equated by Christians with a sense of hedonism, representing those who are sensual, materialistic, self-indulgent, unconcerned with

3404-415: The element Earth . Earth is the element that is representative of mothering and nurturing. This element is the most instinctive in Yerma. In the play she tells of the times when she goes outdoors just to feel her bare feet on the ground. She senses that she must have physical contact with the soil which identifies her with Earth. Juan is also associated with the Earth because of his job in the fields. His life

3496-555: The 10th century, though periodic decrees enforced conversions to Islam, especially under Al-Ma'mun in 830. Nonetheless, Harran retained its heterogeneity, with a population that included Muslims, Christians, Jews, and a variety of other religious groups. The medieval church accused sects deemed heretical such as the Waldensians and Cathars of participating in pagan fertility rites. Arab paganism gradually disappeared during Muhammad 's era through Islamization . The sacred months of

3588-590: The 9th century, despite some church ruins from the 4th century indicating early Christian presence. The region's mountainous terrain allowed the Maniots to evade the Eastern Roman Empire's Christianization efforts, thus preserving pagan traditions, which coincided with significant years in the life of Gemistos Plethon . Another safe area for the pagans was the city of Harran which, Despite the persecution of its pagan inhabitants by Byzantine Emperor Maurice, remained

3680-618: The Arab pagans were the 1st, 7th, 11th, and 12th months of the Islamic calendar. After Muhammad had conquered Mecca he set out to convert the pagans. One of the last military campaigns that Muhammad ordered against the Arab pagans was the Demolition of Dhul Khalasa . It occurred in April and May 632 AD, in 10AH of the Islamic Calendar. Dhul Khalasa is referred to as both an idol and a temple, and it

3772-472: The Earth and yield or be passive, she must be active in the manifestation of her sexuality. This is what the old woman tried to tell Yerma, and because the old woman is as free as air, she has had two husbands and given birth to fourteen children. Air is also a subject of interest when Juan berates Yerma for her obsession "with things that drift in the air." Juan, again, does not exhibit the masculine nature that Yerma desperately hopes for. Víctor, however, embodies

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3864-473: The Genoese Il Basilisco (1979–1989), which released several works on pagan studies, and Politica Romana (1994–2004), seen as a high-level Romano-pagan journal. One prominent figure was actor Roberto Corbiletto , who died in a mysterious fire in 1999.The 1980s and 1990s also saw an increasing interest in serious academic research and reconstructionist pagan traditions. The establishment and growth of

3956-513: The Internet in the 1990s brought rapid growth to these, and other pagan movements. By the time of the collapse of the former Soviet Union in 1991, freedom of religion was legally established across Russia and a number of other newly independent states, allowing for the growth in both Christian and non-Christian religions. In the 2000s, Associazione Tradizionale Pietas began reconstructing temples across Italy and sought legal recognition from

4048-658: The Latin west, and in connection with the Latin church. Elsewhere, Hellene or gentile ( ethnikos ) remained the word for pagan; and paganos continued as a purely secular term, with overtones of the inferior and the commonplace. Medieval writers often assumed that paganus as a religious term was a result of the conversion patterns during the Christianization of Europe , where people in towns and cities were converted more easily than those in remote regions, where old ways tended to remain. However, this idea has multiple problems. First,

4140-620: The Latin-speaking Western Roman Empire of the newly Christianizing Roman Empire , Koine Greek became associated with the traditional polytheistic religion of Ancient Greece and was regarded as a foreign language ( lingua peregrina ) in the west. By the latter half of the 4th century in the Greek-speaking Eastern Empire , pagans were—paradoxically—most commonly called Hellenes ( Ἕλληνες , lit. "Greeks") The word had almost entirely ceased being used in

4232-671: The Moon and Starhawk 's The Spiral Dance opened a new chapter in public awareness of paganism. With the growth and spread of large, pagan gatherings and festivals in the 1980s, public varieties of Wicca continued to further diversify into additional, eclectic sub-denominations, often heavily influenced by the New Age and counter-culture movements. These open, unstructured or loosely structured traditions contrast with British Traditional Wicca , which emphasizes secrecy and initiatory lineage. The public appeal for pre-Christian Roman spirituality in

4324-684: The Roman east, they referred to pagans as Hellenes. Christianity inherited Jewish terminology for non-Jews and adapted it to refer to non-Christians with whom they were in contact. This usage is recorded in the New Testament . In the Pauline epistles , Hellene is almost always juxtaposed with Hebrew regardless of actual ethnicity The usage of Hellene as a religious term was initially part of an exclusively Christian nomenclature, but some Pagans began to defiantly call themselves Hellenes. Other pagans even preferred

4416-641: The audience. NBC's Katie Englehart said "Piper is so devastating I almost vomited in my seat - that doesn't sound like an endorsement but it is." Vogue hailed Piper as "one of the great talents of her generation" and described her performance as "astonishing, raw, feral and terrifying." The AM New York critic claimed to be left "gasping for air" whilst the New York Stage Review found Piper's "downward spiral into abyss utterly harrowing and blazingly remarkable." Paganism Paganism (from classical Latin pāgānus "rural", "rustic", later "civilian")

4508-442: The baby. The couple's friend, Víctor, sees Yerma sewing and assumes she is pregnant. His advice when he learns the truth: Try harder. Yerma has just taken Juan his dinner in the fields. On the road home, she encounters an old woman who insists that passion is the key to conception. Yerma admits a secret longing for Víctor but none for Juan. She then meets two girls whose attitudes astonish her. One has left her baby untended. The other

4600-545: The context of the 1848 revolutions , leading to the creation of national epics and national myths for the various newly formed states. Pagan or folkloric topics were also common in the musical nationalism of the period. Paganism resurfaces as a topic of fascination in 18th to 19th-century Romanticism , in particular in the context of the literary Celtic , Slavic and Viking revivals, which portrayed historical Celtic , Slavic and Germanic polytheists as noble savages . Great God! I'd rather be A Pagan suckled in

4692-402: The elements appear they constitute the foundation of all that exists. García Lorca uses the elements to create a symbolic pattern ironic in that it is Yerma who often refers to the pagan elements yet cannot assimilate them. Earth is first noted in Yerma's offstage lullaby at the beginning of the play when she sings she will make a hut in the field to shelter the child, with the field representing

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4784-488: The emperor. The growing religious stigmatization of Hellenism had a chilling effect on Hellenic culture by the late 4th century. By late antiquity, however, it was possible to speak Greek as a primary language while not conceiving of oneself as a Hellene. The long-established use of Greek both in and around the Eastern Roman Empire as a lingua franca ironically allowed it to instead become central in enabling

4876-628: The fairy tales of a country were particularly representative of it, to the neglect of cross-cultural influence. Among those influenced were the Russian Alexander Afanasyev , the Norwegians Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe , and the Englishman Joseph Jacobs . Romanticist interest in non-classical antiquity coincided with the rise of Romantic nationalism and the rise of the nation state in

4968-514: The fire rituals ( Zjarri ). Pagan Continuity in Mani and Mistra (800–1100) Christianity was introduced late in Mani, with the first Greek temples converted into churches during the 11th century. Byzantine monk Nikon "the Metanoite" (Νίκων ὁ Μετανοείτε) was sent in the 10th century to convert the predominantly pagan Maniots. Although his preaching began the conversion process, it took over 200 years for

5060-549: The foreign invaders were "not of the city" or "rural". The term pagan was not attested in the English language until the 17th century. In addition to infidel and heretic , it was used as one of several pejorative Christian counterparts to goy ( גוי / נכרי ) as used in Judaism, and to kafir ( كافر , 'unbeliever') and mushrik ( مشرك , 'idolater') as in Islam. In

5152-465: The future, and uninterested in more mainstream religions. Pagans were usually described in terms of this worldly stereotype , especially among those drawing attention to what they perceived as the limitations of paganism. Thus G. K. Chesterton wrote: "The pagan set out, with admirable sense, to enjoy himself. By the end of his civilization he had discovered that a man cannot enjoy himself and continue to enjoy anything else." In sharp contrast, Swinburne

5244-410: The hermitage, where woman walk barefoot on the soil, makes reference to her initial association with the earth. Finally, with Juan stating that he will never want children, Yerma is taken over by her passion. Juan is consumed by her fiery frustration and is finally killed. Ian Gibson suggests that Yerma is the work of García Lorca's most directly associated with his assassination in the early days of

5336-641: The historical paganism of Classical Antiquity. The 19th century also saw much scholarly interest in the reconstruction of pagan mythology from folklore or fairy tales. This was notably attempted by the Brothers Grimm , especially Jacob Grimm in his Teutonic Mythology , and Elias Lönnrot with the compilation of the Kalevala . The work of the Brothers Grimm influenced other collectors, both inspiring them to collect tales and leading them to similarly believe that

5428-432: The land, which means Yerma has no water to quench her thirst. She indistinctly notices that Juan is lacking water and tells him that she would like him to go to the river and swim or go to the roof when the rain drenches the roof. Her mentioning water in two different situations alludes to the fact that she wants Juan to have more water within himself. The symbol of immersion in water can sometimes imply “rebirth.” In contrast,

5520-488: The largest world religions. Contemporary knowledge of old pagan religions and beliefs comes from several sources, including anthropological field research records, the evidence of archaeological artifacts , and the historical accounts of ancient writers regarding cultures known to Classical antiquity . Most modern pagan religions existing today express a worldview that is pantheistic , panentheistic , polytheistic, or animistic , but some are monotheistic . It

5612-460: The majority to accept Christianity fully by the 11th and 12th centuries. Patrick Leigh Fermor noted that the Maniots, isolated by mountains, were among the last Greeks to abandon the old religion, doing so towards the end of the 9th century: Sealed off from outside influences by their mountains, the semi- troglodytic Maniots themselves were the last of the Greeks to be converted. They only abandoned

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5704-521: The marriage to fix any problems. García Lorca uses the strict rules of the Christian religion to depict Yerma as one not able to act upon natural human drives. As Robert Lima details in his article "Toward the Dionysiac: Pagan Elements and Rites in Yerma ," García Lorca writes of the naturalness of the pagan ways throughout the play, using as vehicles characters such as the old woman, events such as

5796-452: The masculine element. In one instance, Yerma goes to the spot where he last stood and takes a deep breath to inhale natural virility. She realizes that he has always had the potential to fill her fully, but alas she is too late and out of honor chooses to stay with Juan. Lastly there is fire, the other male element that carries with it varied meanings. In some traditions, it functioned as purgation, transmutation, and regeneration. Fire also has

5888-482: The most acclaimed and awarded of the decade, with Piper winning all six available Best Actress theatre awards, including the coveted Laurence Olivier Award, fending off competition from Glenda Jackson. The play saw an unparalleled number of five-star reviews with Piper being described as "dangerously draining", "searing, stunning and unmissable". It also won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Revival . It played

5980-430: The narrow meaning of the word from a broad cultural sphere to a more specific religious grouping. However, there were many Christians and pagans alike who strongly objected to the evolution of the terminology. The influential Archbishop of Constantinople Gregory of Nazianzus , for example, took offence at imperial efforts to suppress Hellenic culture (especially concerning spoken and written Greek) and he openly criticized

6072-467: The observation that man in the pagan view is always defined by ethnicity , i.e., As a result, every pagan tradition is also a national tradition. Modern historians define paganism instead as the aggregate of cult acts, set within a civic rather than a national context, without a written creed or sense of orthodoxy . The developments in the religious thought of the far-flung Roman Empire during Late Antiquity need to be addressed separately, because this

6164-550: The old religion of Greece towards the end of the ninth century. It is surprising to remember that this peninsula of rock, so near the heart of the Levant from which Christianity springs, should have been baptised three whole centuries after the arrival of St. Augustine in far-away Kent . According to Constantine VII in De Administrando Imperio , the Maniots were referred to as 'Hellenes' and only fully Christianized in

6256-426: The other male character, Víctor, has a more positive relation to water. There is one instance where Yerma hears Víctor singing offstage and tells him how well he sings and how it sounds like a torrent of water filling his mouth. Her association with him and water reinforce what the old woman said about children rushing to water. Yerma, however, is too late for the very plentiful water of Víctor. The next instance of water

6348-422: The pagans, before their competition with Christianity, had no religion at all in the sense in which that word is normally used today. They had no tradition of discourse about ritual or religious matters (apart from philosophical debate or antiquarian treatise), no organized system of beliefs to which they were asked to commit themselves, no authority-structure peculiar to the religious area, above all no commitment to

6440-456: The period also play a large part in the play's plot. The character Yerma, the name meaning barren, is a younger woman with no children. She marries Juan out of honor and duty to her father. She is surrounded by a society that feels that women have a duty to their husband to provide them with heirs. Most of the town's people blame Yerma for her inability to conceive. There also seems to be no love within this marriage, and at times she considers that

6532-422: The pilgrimage, and the four Empedoclean or "classical" elements , all providing contrast against Christian morals and their operation and effects. The four elements (earth, water, fire, and wind) are noted in the play both directly and indirectly. The elements have been known to represent the four seasons of the year, the four “humors” that represent human temperament, and the four points of the compass. Usually when

6624-416: The play it would seem that Yerma had little or no power in her situation. She had no baby but without the consent of her husband, she has no other options. Her struggle is between her duty to her husband and her inner want of a child. She wants a child not only because she longs for one but also because during the time that she lives that's all a woman could hope for. Unlike a man, who has the land and his work,

6716-558: The poet would comment on this same theme: "Thou hast conquered, O pale Galilean; the world has grown grey from thy breath; We have drunken of things Lethean, and fed on the fullness of death." Recently, the ethnocentric and moral absolutist origins of the common usage of the term pagan have been proposed, with scholar David Petts noting how, with particular reference to Christianity, "...local religions are defined in opposition to privileged 'world religions'; they become everything that world religions are not, rather than being explored as

6808-493: The priestly colleges (such as the College of Pontiffs or Epulones ) and cult practices more meaningful distinctions. Referring to paganism as a pre-Christian indigenous religion is equally untenable. Not all historical pagan traditions were pre-Christian or indigenous to their places of worship. Owing to the history of its nomenclature, paganism traditionally encompasses the collective pre- and non-Christian cultures in and around

6900-526: The reason why she cannot have children. It is hinted in the play that she may have feelings for another man, but she refuses to express these feelings because of a strong sense of duty to her husband. Even when the old woman tells her that she has a very fertile son that she can go off with, Yerma refuses by replying, "What about my honour? . . . Did you really think that I could go with another man? That I’d go and beg him for what’s already mine?" There are also overflowing themes of power and struggle . Throughout

6992-408: The reasons why Víctor is leaving. Yerma is angered, and when Juan goes out with Víctor, Yerma makes her escape to see Dolores. Yerma is found at Dolores's house. Dolores and the old woman have been praying over Yerma all night in the cemetery. Juan accuses Yerma of deceit, and she curses her blood, her body, and her father "who gave me his blood, enough for a hundred children." The scene begins near

7084-568: The recasting of Jesus the wandering rabbi into the image of Christ the Logos , the divine saviour, reflects the cult of Dionysus directly. They point to the symbolism of wine and the importance it held in the mythology surrounding both Dionysus and Jesus Christ; Wick argues that the use of wine symbolism in the Gospel of John , including the story of the Marriage at Cana at which Jesus turns water into wine,

7176-716: The restoration of Roman religious practices. In 1927, philosopher and esotericist Julius Evola founded the Gruppo di Ur in Rome, along with its journal Ur (1927–1928), involving figures like Arturo Reghini . In 1928, Evola published Imperialismo Pagano , advocating Italian political paganism to oppose the Lateran Pacts . The journal resumed in 1929 as Krur . A mysterious document published in Krur in 1929, attributed to orientalist Leone Caetani , suggested that Italy's World War I victory and

7268-525: The rise of fascism were influenced by Etruscan-Roman rites. The 1960s and 1970s saw a resurgence in neo-Druidism as well as the rise of modern Germanic paganism in the United States and in Iceland . In the 1970s, Wicca was notably influenced by feminism, leading to the creation of an eclectic, Goddess -worshipping movement known as Dianic Wicca . The 1979 publication of Margot Adler 's Drawing Down

7360-758: The rise of the Gruppo dei Dioscuri in cities like Rome, Naples, and Messina, which published a series of four booklets, including titles such as L'Impeto della vera cultura and Rivoluzione Tradizionale e Sovversione , before fading from public view ..The Evolian journal Arthos , founded in Genoa in 1972 by Renato del Ponte , expressed significant interest in Roman religion. In 1984, the Gruppo Arx revived Messina's Dioscuri activities, and Reghini's Pythagorean Association briefly resurfaced in Calabria and Sicily from 1984 to 1988, publishing Yghìeia . Other publications include

7452-405: The sight of her baby always makes Yerma weep. The childless girl says her mother, Dolores, is expecting Yerma. Víctor comes in to say goodbye. Yerma is surprised and a little saddened by Víctor's announcement to go. When she asks him why he must go he answers along the lines of “things change.” Juan enters and it is later found out that Juan has bought Víctor's sheep. It would seem that Juan is one of

7544-677: The spread of Christianity—as indicated for example, by the use of Greek for the Epistles of Paul . In the first half of the 5th century, Greek was the standard language in which bishops communicated, and the Acta Conciliorum ("Acts of the Church Councils") were recorded originally in Greek and then translated into other languages. "Heathen" comes from Old English : hæðen (not Christian or Jewish); cf. Old Norse heiðinn . This meaning for

7636-562: The state, drawing inspiration from similar groups like YSEE in Greece. In 2023, Pietas participated in the ECER meeting, resulting in the signing of the Riga Declaration, which calls for the recognition of European ethnic religions. Public rituals, such as those celebrating the ancient festival of the Natale di Roma , have also resumed in recent years. The idea of practicing Roman religion in

7728-499: The term originated from Gothic haiþno ( gentile woman) being used to translate Hellene in Wulfila's Bible , the first translation of the Bible into a Germanic language . This may have been influenced by the Greek and Latin terminology of the time used for pagans. If so, it may be derived from Gothic haiþi (dwelling on the heath ). However, this is not attested . It may even be

7820-729: The word's usage as a reference to non-Christians pre-dates that period in history. Second, paganism within the Roman Empire centred on cities. The concept of an urban Christianity as opposed to a rural paganism would not have occurred to Romans during Early Christianity . Third, unlike words such as rusticitas , paganus had not yet fully acquired the meanings (of uncultured backwardness) used to explain why it would have been applied to pagans. Paganus more likely acquired its meaning in Christian nomenclature via Roman military jargon (see above). Early Christians adopted military motifs and saw themselves as Milites Christi (soldiers of Christ). A good example of Christians still using paganus in

7912-420: The years following fascism was largely driven by Julius Evola . By the late 1960s, a renewed "operational" interest in pagan Roman traditions emerged from youth circles around Evola, particularly concerning the experience of the Gruppo di Ur . Evola's writings incorporated concepts from outside classical Roman religion, such as Buddhism , Hinduism , sexual magic , and private ritual nudity . This period saw

8004-478: Was "an unconditional victory" and "blisteringly powerful" awarding it five stars, whilst Hollywood Reporter found her "simply staggering" adding; "When the actress appears at the curtain call, looking emotionally and physical exhausted, you find yourself relieved that she's OK and concerned that she'll have to do it all over again the next night." Time Out likened Piper to an "angry beast" warning that her "astonishing" performance inflicted psychological-like emotions on

8096-473: Was an integral part of ancient Greco-Roman religion and was regarded as an indication of whether a person was pagan or Christian. Paganism has broadly connoted the "religion of the peasantry ". During and after the Middle Ages , the term paganism was applied to any non-Christian religion, and the term presumed a belief in " false gods ". The origin of the application of the term "pagan" to polytheism

8188-822: Was dissolved in 1468 when Pope Paul II orderd the arrest and execution of some of the members, Pope Sixtus IV allowed Laetus to open the academy again until the Sack of Rome of the 1527. After the French Revolution , the French lawyer Gabriel André Aucler (mid 1700s–1815) adopted the name Quintus Nautius and sought to revive paganism , styling himself as its leader. He designed religious clothing and performed pagan rites at his home. In 1799, he published La Thréicie , presenting his religious views. His teachings were later analyzed by Gérard de Nerval in Les Illuminés (1852). Admiring ancient Greece and ancient Rome , Aucler supported

8280-488: Was generally used in a derogatory sense. The term pagan derives from Late Latin paganus , revived during the Renaissance . Itself deriving from classical Latin pagus which originally meant 'region delimited by markers', paganus had also come to mean 'of or relating to the countryside', 'country dweller', 'villager'; by extension, ' rustic ', 'unlearned', ' yokel ', ' bumpkin '; in Roman military jargon , 'non-combatant', 'civilian', 'unskilled soldier'. It

8372-743: Was intended to show Jesus as superior to Dionysus. The scene in The Bacchae wherein Dionysus appears before King Pentheus on charges of claiming divinity is compared to the New Testament scene of Jesus being interrogated by Pontius Pilate . Proto-Albanian speakers were Christianized under the Latin sphere of influence, specifically in the 4th century CE, as shown by the basic Christian terms in Albanian, which are of Latin origin and entered Proto-Albanian before

8464-445: Was known by some as the Ka'ba of Yemen, built and worshipped by polytheist tribes. Interest in reviving ancient Roman religious traditions can be traced to the Renaissance , with figures such as Gemistus Pletho and Julius Pomponius Laetus advocating for a revival, when Renaissance magic was practiced as a revival of Greco-Roman magic . Gemistus Plethon, who was from Mistras (near

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