Alte Geschichte: Hermes und Herakles. Formen, Strata und Funktionen mythischer Sphärenwechsel in der griechischen Kultur

该项目追求双重目标。该项目采用经典（古代历史）的视角，希望突出古希腊社会中关于领域和空间变化的神话传统的重要性。两个主要的例子将被研究：赫尔墨斯作为一个神和神圣的信使和赫拉克勒斯作为一个英雄到达奥林匹斯山并获得了神圣的存在。这些例子将在几个世纪的发展过程中加以考察。调查的重点是神话故事和历史背景之间的相互作用问题。另一个重要的观点是神话传统对仪式实践的影响，反之亦然。研究的重点课题是神与人、人与英雄/死者之间的交流形式。此外，人类希望获得永生：古代资料经常将这个话题与赫尔墨斯或赫拉克勒斯联系起来。该项目考察了关于赫尔墨斯和赫拉克勒斯的神话如何影响古代神秘领域和对死者的特定崇拜，希腊化时期的私人英雄化以及希腊统治者崇拜直到罗马皇帝的仪式神化。对于提议的项目同样重要的是将研究小组的方法和比较目标结合起来。选定的神话例子“在各种各样的来源上进行检查”将显示方法策略的可操作性：通过新的方法方法（主题排序和分层分析）实现神话的跨文化可比性。希腊神话在这方面尤其重要，因为其动机与古代近东神话和罗马传统相似。这些相似之处经常被观察到（或假设），但从未被系统地比较过。因此，该项目将产生关于神话在古希腊社会中的作用的新知识。此外，在（扩展的）古代地中海和近东的不同文化和宗教社区中，某些神话动机似乎相似，期望对这些神话动机的跨文化类型学或遗传联系有新的见解。研究小组的比较方法将有助于说明和解释希腊神话和其他神话在社会功能和历史嵌入方面的文化具体差异和相似之处。

The project pursues a double objective. Adopting the perspective of the classics (ancient history) the project wants to highlight the importance of mythological traditions about changers and changes of spheres and spaces in ancient Greek society. Two main examples will be studied: Hermes as a god and divine messenger and Heracles as a hero who reached Mount Olympus and gained a divine existence. These examples will be examined in their development during the centuries. Focus of the investigation is the question of interactions between mythic stories and historical contexts. Another important point is the influence mythological traditions have exerted on ritual practice and vice versa. Key subjects for the research are the forms of communication both between Gods and men and between men and heroes/the dead. Also taken into view is the human hope to gain immortality: the ancient sources often connect this topic with Hermes or Heracles. The project examines how myths about Hermes and Heracles influenced the field of ancient mysteries and the specific cult of the dead, private heroization in Hellenistic times and the Greek ruler cult up to the ritual apotheosis of the Roman emperor. Equally important for the proposed project is the integration in the methodical and comparatistic aims of the research group. The selected mythological examples ¿ examined on a wide variety of sources ¿ will show the operationability of the methodological strategy: to achieve intercultural comparability of myths by new methodological approaches (mytheme sequencing and stratification analysis). Greek myths are particularly important in this respect, because of the motivic similarities with both Ancient Near Eastern myths and Roman traditions. These similarities have been often observed (or postulated), but have never been systematically compared. Accordingly the project will generate new knowledge about the function of myth in ancient Greek society. In addition new insights are expected on the intercultural typological or genetic connections of certain mythological motives that seem similar in different cultures and religious communities in the (extended) ancient Mediterranean and Near East. The comparative approach of the research group will contribute to illustrate and to explain the cultural specific differences and similarities in the social function and historical embeddedness of greek and other myths.