Soter (nickname)

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The epithet Soter in Greek Σωτήρ ; feminine Soteira (Greek Σώτειρα ) means savior or redeemer . It is applied to various Greek and Roman deities and some rulers. This designation expresses that one hopes for salvation and salvation from them. The hoped-for redemption primarily relates to the earthly area, such as salvation from illness, war or distress, but it can also be meant transcendent . In order to obtain this help and redemption , people practiced different forms of god worship.

In the ancient world of ideas, gods had various areas of responsibility relating to salvation from emergency situations in this world and promised salvation in the hereafter. Mystery cults were formed around some of these deities, promising salvation in the hereafter as well as salvation in this world. In the course of this, earthly life should be improved or protected.

In early Christianity , Jesus Christ was also given the nickname Σωτήρ when he was called upon as savior and redeemer . From this the acronym ichthýs (fish) for "Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior" developed, which also served as a distinguishing mark.

Deities

Greece

In the Greek imagination, gods / goddesses had the ability to give people security and protection and to save them from dangerous or life-threatening situations. Thus Zeus , father of the gods, called Soter.

Apollo was attributed to the fact that he can inflict illness and death on people, but can also prevent or heal illnesses. His son Asklepios was often referred to as Soter. Various miraculous healings were ascribed to him and his sanctuary in Epidaurus was a well-known place of miraculous healing. His temple in Epidaurus had an attached dormitory for the so-called 'temple sleep' / incubation. It was assumed that Asklepios appeared to patients in their sleep and “prescribed” certain therapies for healing. In the course of time, his sanctuary developed into a kind of spa center with medicinal baths and sports facilities. Poseidon was also celebrated as the savior of those in distress, as were the Dioscurs (also called Kabiren ).

In addition to the many male deities who were nicknamed Soter, many female deities were also referred to as Soteira, for example the female deity Artemis was a savior from various emergency situations, in people's minds she was the protector of the paths and the companion of hikers, she guarded the Delphic sanctuary and provided the seafarers with favorable winds, but could also prevent them. She fulfilled another protective function in this world by assisting women during childbirth.

Demeter , a female deity, provided better hope and wealth in this world and in the hereafter, she was worshiped in the course of the Eleusinian mystery cult .

Cybele , the mother of gods, has a strong otherworldly component and gives hope in the hereafter.

Middle East and Egypt

In Egypt, Isis has a firm position as Soteira, she is a healer from diseases, saves people from distress and poverty. Her followers hope for eternal life in the hereafter, thus they satisfy the earthly and divine need for protection. Another important element is the idea that Isis guides the deceased into the underworld and protects them. The believer only receives this protection if he is accountable by speaking the negative confession of sin (eg "I did not kill") and thereby complying with the high ethical requirements.

Isis can be described as a universal deity, as it is typical for the Egyptian world of ideas in Hellenistic times, identified with several deities, such as Aphrodite , Psyche , Fortuna and Cybele .

Isis is also venerated in Rome , but there she has a different level of meaning than in Egypt .

Rome

The Egyptian goddess Isis occupies a particularly important position in Rome , as the Roman population was dependent on the grain deliveries that were transported by sea. In order to ensure favorable winds and a safe crossing, festivals were held annually in honor of Isis. These festivals were officially included in the Roman festival calendar and the Isis cult became a state cult.

Mithras was originally the personification of a binding treaty in the Iranian-Persian region. In Rome he had a different position, here Mithras was the god of justice and covenants, he was a solar god who was responsible for the change of day and night as well as for the seasons. He received justice and virtue and gave protection to the believers.

In the Mithras mysteries there was no public cult, this is an exception to other cults. In some surviving temples of the Mithras cult , so-called Mithraea , various cult images show, for example, the killing of the bull through which Mithras brings salvation. The Mithrasmysts, which are only accessible to men, are structured hierarchically, there are seven degrees of ordination to be achieved.

Ruler's cult

In addition to the immortal gods, a number of mortals, mostly rulers, were also honored with the nickname Soter. This was given as part of individual appreciation for special achievements, or adopted as an element of the ruler's ideology. The nickname Soter was given to various rulers who performed particularly great deeds, such as defeating an enemy, or by bringing about prosperity. These related exclusively to concrete salvation in this world or improvement of the life situation. One finds the name of the Soter, for mortal rulers, particularly often in the Hellenistic area. The tradition, however, continues into the Indo-Parthian and Indo-Greek regions. The epithet did not refer only to male rulers. As with the gods, female rulers were also given the surname Soteira, although this is mainly found in Ptolemaic Egypt.

Antigonids

Rulers from the Antigonid dynasty were honored with this epithet many times. Antigonus I. Monophthalmos ("the one-eyed") and his son Demetrios I. Poliorketes ("the city besiegers") received the nickname Soter together with divine honors. Antigonus was one of the most important diadochs of Alexander and founder of the Antigonid dynasty. Antigonus III. Doson , King of Macedon , and Philip V , King of Macedon, were also referred to as Soter.

Ptolemies

Especially among the Ptolemaic kings, the name Soter, or Soteira, was very common. This idea comes directly from the Egyptian royal ideology, in which the death of the Pharaoh meant the end of the world order and chaos spread. When a new ruler ascends the throne, he must clear the chaos and restore the Maat (truth and justice in the human realm, world order in the cosmic realm). In this way the rulers become saviors from need and thus Soter / Soteira. In the diadochian kingdom of the Ptolemies one can make out a large number of rulers who were honored with this epithet. There would be Ptolemy I , General Alexander the Great , Diadoche and King of Egypt , and his wife Berenice I. to name which were worshiped as Soter and Soteira. Ptolemy IX and Ptolemy X were also given the nickname Soter. Cleopatra II. , Cleopatra III. , Cleopatra V. , Cleopatra VI. and Berenike III. , from the Ptolemy family were all called Soteira and worshiped. The number of rulers shows how important this epithet must have been in Ptolemaic Egypt.

Seleucids

Also in the diadochian kingdom of the Seleucids there was a ruler cult and the designation as Soter. Antiochus I , son of Seleucus I and companion of Alexander the Great , king of the Seleucid Empire , was honored with the nickname Soter. Seleucus III , Son of Seleukos II. , And Demetrios I , son of Seleukos IV. , Were also given the nickname Soter as kings of the Seleucid Empire.

Kingdom of Pergamon

In the Hellenistic kingdom of Pergamon one can also find the name Soter, in the course of a local ruler cult. Attalus I King of Pergamon was nicknamed Soter. He was the Hellenistic King Pergamons from the Attalid dynasty . Eumenes II , the son of Attalus I from the Attalid family, also King of Pergamon, was named Soter like his father. Attalus I and Eumenes II received their epithets because of great victories over the Celts and thus because of the salvation from a concrete threat from this world.

Indo-Greek space

In the Indo-Greek area, the term Soter can also be understood. Some Indo-Greek kings from the Hindu Kush and Punjab were referred to as soter. Zoilus II , Dionysius and Hippostratos , all kings of Punjab, were honored with the nickname of Soter. Diomedes and Hermaios , rulers of the Hindu Kush, were also referred to and venerated as Soter.

Roman emperors, Nabataeans and Greco-Bactic kings

In the Hellenistic East in particular, Roman emperors were also honored with the nickname Soter, in line with the ideology of the rulers. Julius Caesar , Hadrian and Claudius deserve special mention here, to whom this honor was bestowed.

Also worth mentioning are Eucratides II , a Greco-Bactic king, and Rabbel II , the last king of the Nabataeans . Both rulers were honored with the nickname Soter.

In the Hellenistic realms, a large number of rulers were worshiped as Soter / Soteira. The reasons for this are very different: for example, by defeating an enemy, religious beliefs or periods of peace under a rule. However, we do not always know why certain rulers were nicknamed. Probably more rulers than Soter / Soteira were worshiped than we know.

Jesus Christ

In early Christianity, Jesus was referred to as Σωτήρ (savior), which corresponds to our modern word savior or redeemer. This epithet (like Christ the Anointed) only became common later. During his lifetime he was seen by many as a messiah in the sense of an earthly savior, without any otherworldly component. The liberation of Israel from Roman rule was originally expected from him and thus earthly assistance. With the emancipation of Christianity from Judaism, this "earthly" idea of ​​salvation (which became obsolete with Jesus' crucifixion ) was transferred to the hereafter directed salvation and the kingdom of heaven.

Early Christian symbol: Ichthys (fish); the Σ at the end stands for soter

The designation Σωτήρ soon became part of the word sequence Jησούς Χριστός Θεού Υιός Σωτήρ ("Jesus Christ, Son of God, Redeemer"), the first letters of which resulted in IChThYS , the Greek word for fish . The fish symbol became an inconspicuous identification symbol during the time of the persecution of Christians , e.g. B. as a reference to ways to the catacombs .

Literature on the deities

Literature on the rulers

  • Hermann Bengtson : rulers of the Hellenism. CH Beck, Munich 1975.
  • Christian A. Caroli: Ptolemy I. Soter. Ruler of two cultures. Badawi Artes Afro Arabica, Konstanz 2007.
  • Angelos Chaniotis : Celebrate yourself? Urban festivals of Hellenism in the field of tension between religion and politics. In: Paul Zanker , Michael Wörrle : Cityscape and Citizenship in Hellenism. CH Beck, Munich 1995, p. 147-.
  • Phillip Stephan G. Freber: The Hellenistic East and the Illyricum under Caesar. Franz Steiner, Stuttgart 1993.
  • Christian Habicht : God-humanity and Greek cities. CH Beck, Munich 1971.
  • Esther V. Hansen: The Attalids of Pergamon. Cornell University Press, Ithaca (NY) 1971.
  • Werner Huss : Egypt in the Hellenistic Period. 332-30 BC Chr. CH Beck, Munich 2001.
  • Hans-Joachim Schalles : Investigations into the cultural politics of the Pergamenischen rulers in the third century before Christ. E. Wasmuth, Tübingen 1985.
  • William W. Tarn: The Greeks in Bactria and India. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1951.
  • Klaus Zimmermann : Soter. In: The New Pauly (DNP). Volume 11, Metzler, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 3-476-01481-9 , column 752 f.
  • Klaus Zimmermann : Soteira. In: The New Pauly (DNP). Volume 11, Metzler, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 3-476-01481-9 , column 753.