Chapter 1- Religion Glossary
| Word | Literal Meaning | Use |
| Aegis | / | Goatskin of Athena, symbol of military might |
| Aphrodite | Born from the foam | Name of Love goddess as she was born from semen of castrated father. |
| Kore | The Girl | Name given to Persephone, daughter of Demeter and wife of Hades. |
| Chthonic | Cthon means ‘Earth’ | Gods of the Earth and opposite to Olympian. |
| Phoebos | shining | Epitaph of Apollo |
| Polos | / | Symbolic crown of Hera |
| Agalma | Thing of delight | Cult statue of a particular deity in the centre of the sanctuary. |
| Augury | / | The observation of birds so as to find omens. |
| Mantis | / | A professional soothsayer |
| Naos | Dwelling-place | Central area of a temple. |
| Pronaos | / | The entrance area to the Naos. |
| Opisthodomos | Behind the house | The area behind the naos. |
| Temenos | Sanctuary, originating from word ‘To cut off’ | A Sanctuary was a place of religious importance including a temple and other features. |
| Choê | / | A libation to the Cthonic gods. |
| Ololygê | / | A ritual cry of women at a sacrifice of an animal to mark the passage from life to death. |
| Spondê | / | A libation to the Olympian gods which is the opposite of a Choê. |
| Spondai | truce | Sailors and warriors would have a Spondai before doing their job. It also came to mean a ‘truce’. |
| Thysia | / | A blood sacrifice (i.e. the killing of an animal) |
| Arrêphoroi | / | Four aristocratic girls who were chosen for service to Athena. |
| Ergastinai | / | The women would weave the Peplos. |
| Pannychis | All night | A service performed the night before the procession, in honour of Athena. |
| Peplos | / | A massive loom which was the icon of the whole festival. |
| Adyton | / | The forbidden place of the temple in which the Oracle was situated. |
| Hosioi | Holy men | Holy men who supported priests and was a messenger to the Pythia. |
| Omphalos | Navel stone | In the temple of Apollo, there is a large stone which was where Zeus’s eagles met. |
| Promanteia | / | The right to go straight to the front of the queue in Delphi. |
| Pythia | To rot | The main female soothsayer who was the Oracle. |
| | | |
| Amphictyonic League | The league of those living around. | The league of states that kept Delphi independent. |
| Mêden agan | Nothing in excess | First part of the Greek motto. |
| Gnôthi Seanton | Know yourself. | Second part of the Greek motto, |
| Anaktoron | | |
| Epoptai | Those who have seen closer | A name given to initiates who returned year after year. |
| Hiera | | |
| Hierophant | The revealer of sacred things | Chief priestess of Eleusian rituals. |
| mystagôgos | / | A spiritual guide assigned to initiates of the Eleusian sect. |
| mystêrion | A ceremony or place of initiation | Used to describe the mystery religions of Greece, in particular the Eleusian religion. |
| Mystês | / | Singular of the Mystai (an initiate) |
| telestêrion | / | The hall at the heart of the sanctuary within it was the adycton and the hiera. |
