Initiations grecques et idéologie indo-européenne

Greek Initiations and Indo-European Ideology There is evidence to suggest that Greek initiation rites were an extension of an Indo- European notion, according to which the youth who was about to become full member of adult society ought to be an accomplished individual embodying the three functions of the tripartite ideology. As P. Vidal-Naquet has shown, the initiation was in fact based on an inversion principle : the ephebe, who was to become a hoplite, appears to be an anti- hoplite. This inversion principle seems to exist in the three realms of Indo-European ideology. The youth undergoing initiation was characterized by his inverse behavior by the standards of the second function (he is an anti-hoplite), the third function (in economic terms, he is a predator, not a producer ; sexually, he is a passive homosexual, not a married procreator), and the first function (by obeying religious rites at odds with the customary practice of sacrifice and acting against recognized values of good, concord, and justice).Briquel Dominique. Initiations grecques et idéologie indo-européenne. In: Annales. Économies, Sociétés, Civilisations. 37ᵉ année, N. 3, 1982. pp. 454-464