chthonic
adjUK /ˈkθɒnɪk/ · US /ˈθɑnɪk/
Etymology From Ancient Greek χθών (khthṓn, “ground, soil”) + -ic.
1
Usually Dwelling within the underworld.
- The young pantheon had remanded their elders to the role of smouldering, chthonic gods; to inhabiting dark, deep places, hidden from mortal eyes and influence.
- In this ceremony the Olympian Gods are placed in opposition to the Chthonic genii, the divinities of death and the dark side of nature, in which class the heroes are also reckoned; but Zeus Soter is conceived as a third and lord over both worlds.1835, C[arl] [i.e., Karl] O[tfried] Müller, “Religious Point of View”, in Dissertations on The Eumenides of Æschylus: With the Greek Text and Critical Remarks, Cambridge: Printed at the Pitt Press, by John Smith, for J. and J. J. Deighton; also for John William Parker, London, →OCLC, page 220:
4 more examples
- In connexion with these Chthonic surroundings, the form of the head-dress which crowns the recumbent figure of Dionysos-Pluto, and is also occasionally seen on the kead of the Kourotrophos at the foot of the couch, is of considerable significance.1886, Arthur J[ohn] Evans, “Recent Discoveries of Tarentine Terra-cottas”, in The Journal of Hellenic Studies, volume VII, London: Published by the Council, and sold on their behalf by Macmillan and Co., 29, Bedford Street, Strand, London, →OCLC, page 17:
- There is no god more chthonic than the god of death, Leinth, and it is he that holds on his left knee Maris Halna, who (in mere innocence) shows no fear of him.1959, Quentin Froebel Maule, Votive Religion at Caere: Prolegomena, page 114:
- The snake symbolizes the chthonic force, the being which crawls along the ground; the bird symbolizes the higher realms of the consciousness, the being which is liberated from earth and can fly off to Heaven.1981, William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture, London: Rider/Hutchinson & Co., page 112:
- Beowulf's mood as he gets ready to fight the dragon - who could be read as a projection of Beowulf's own chthonic wisdom refined in the crucible of experience - recalls the mood of other tragic heroes.1999, Seamus Heaney, “Introduction”, in Beowulf, London: Faber and Faber, page xix:
- Derived terms
- chthonicity, chthonic law
- Related terms
- autochthon, autochthonous, Chthonia, chthonian, hypogean, subterranean, underground, underworld
- Coordinate terms
- ouranic, thalassic