Hierophant

A hierophant (Ancient Greek: ἱεροφάντης, romanized: hierophántēs) is a person who brings religious congregants into the presence of that which is deemed holy.^[1] As such, a hierophant is an interpreter of sacred mysteries and arcane principles.

The word comes from ancient Greece, where it was constructed from the combination of τὰ ἱερά (ta hiera, 'the holy') and φαίνω (phainō, 'to reveal').

Greek priesthood

Hierophant was the title of the chief priest at the Eleusinian Mysteries in ancient Attica. It was an office inherited within the genos of the Eumolpidae, one of the two main clans which managed the Eleusinian cult - the other being the Cerycids. Occasionally from the late fourth century BC and consistently from the first century BC, hierophants practised "hieronymy", which means that they were referred to during their lifetime as "hierophant" instead of their personal name.^[2]

The known hierophants at Eleusis are:

Zacorus, early 5th century BC
Theodorus, before 415 - after 408 BC
Archias, ca. 379 BC
Lacrateides, before 353 - 350/49 BC or later
-ottus, c. 333 BC
Eurymedon, ca. 323 BC
Eurycleides, ca. 317-307 BC
"Hierophant" (Mnesiarchus?) son of Nouphrades of Perithoedae, late 4th century BC
Chaeretius son of Prophetes of Eleusis, ca. 248 BC
Aristocles of Perithoedae, 183/2-148 BC or later
Amynomachus adopted son of Eucles of Halae, after 148 BC (natural brother of Aristocles)
Menecleides son of Theophemus of Kydathenaeum, last quarter of the 2nd century BC
"Hierophant" son of Eustrophus of Piraeus, last quearter of the 2nd century BC
Theophemus son of Menecleides of Kydathenaeum, end of the 2nd century BC
"Hierophant", ca. 86/5 BC, when he served as eponymous archon
"Hierophant", mid-first century AD
Tiberius Claudius Oenophilus son of Callicratides of Tricorynthus, end of the 1st century AD
Julius "Hierophant", end of the 1st century AD
Titus Flavius Straton, ca. 125 AD
Firmus "Hierophant" of Gargettus, mid-2nd century AD
Decimus Ju- of Piraeus, mid-2nd century AD
"Hierophant" of Hagnous, ca. 138-150 AD
Julius "Hierophant", 168-191 or 192 AD
Tiberius Claudius Apollinarius son of Tiberius Claudius Apollodorus of Acharnae, 191 or 192 - 193/4 AD
Nummius "Hierophant" of Phaleron, 194 - before 209 AD
Claudius "Hierophant" of Marathon, ca. 209/10 AD
Apollonius son of Apollonius, ca. 215 AD
Heracleides, ca. 220-230 AD
Logimus, ca. 220-230 AD
Titus Flavius Glaucus son of Titus Flavius Glaucus of Marathon, ca. 225-235 AD
"Hierophant", before or after Glaucus
Erotius, after 235 AD
"Hierophant" son of Xenagoras, first half of the 4th century AD.
Nestorius, before 355 - not long before 392 AD, an associate of Julian the Apostate, and initiator of Eunapius

Eunapius and Vettius Agorius Praetextatus are notable examples.

In modern culture

Rider Waite tarot

In the Rider–Waite tarot deck and similar decks, "The Hierophant" (known in the Tarot de Marseille as "The Pope"^[3]) is one of the twenty-two trump cards comprising the "Major Arcana", and represents conformity to social standards, or a deference to the established social moral order. As the guide towards knowledge, insight, and wisdom, in a Tarot reading it might, for example, represent a priest, scholar, therapist, or teacher, possibly similar to the Hermit or the King of Cups cards.

A. E. Waite wrote that the Hierophant:

...symbolizes also all things that are righteous and sacred on the manifest side. As such, he is the channel of grace belonging to the world of institution as distinct from that of Nature, and he is the leader of salvation for the human race at large. He is the order and the head of the recognized hierarchy, which is the reflection of another and greater hierarchic order; but it may so happen that the pontiff forgets the significance of his symbolic state and acts as if he contained within his proper measures all that his sign signifies or his symbol seeks to shew [sp] forth. He is not, as it has been thought, philosophy—except on the theological side; he is not inspiration; and his is not religion, although he is a mode of its expression.^[3]

In Dungeons & Dragons

The original Unearthed Arcana supplement to 1st edition AD&D detailed how the 15th-level Grand Druid (the in-game head of all druids) could step down from his position and become a 16th-level Hierophant.^[4] In 3rd edition D&D, the hierophant prestige class for high-level divine spellcasters appeared in the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting and in the 3.5e Dungeon Master's Guide.

References

^ "hierophant | Greek priest". Retrieved 2016-09-10.
^ Clinton, The Sacred Officials of the Eleusinian Mysteries 1974, pp. 10-46.
^ ^a ^b Waite, A. E. (2012-03-06). The Pictorial Key to the Tarot. Courier Corporation. ISBN 9780486117126.
^ Gygax, Gary (1985). Unearthed Arcana. p. 17. ISBN 0880380845.

External links

Britannica article
The last hierophant at Eleusis
Dictionary definition
Definition from alt religion Archived 2008-05-16 at the Wayback Machine

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[1] "hierophant | Greek priest". Retrieved 2016-09-10.

[2] Clinton, The Sacred Officials of the Eleusinian Mysteries 1974, pp. 10-46.

[:0-3] Waite, A. E. (2012-03-06). The Pictorial Key to the Tarot. Courier Corporation. ISBN 9780486117126.

[4] Gygax, Gary (1985). Unearthed Arcana. p. 17. ISBN 0880380845.

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