Oh, well, thank you. I must admit, I just thought this was standard fare.

I have heard similar things happening in the ancient mysteries. Don't quote me, but I think it was Alcibiades who was accused of being part of a conspiracy of exposing the Eleusinian Mysteries.

I have heard (but don't quote me) that a big part of the Greek idea of thrēskeia (θρησκεία) was the idea of ritual purity, and the avoidance of ritual pollution or stain, or miasma (μίασμα). What what I have heard, if you screwed up a ritual, or if an unclean person were to enter in the presence of something considered especially sacred or attuned to the divine, is that there might be an outbreak of some spiritual pollution, that would attract alastores (ἀλάστορες), or vengeful spirits.

First, I can assure you, my intent to forge any sort of personal mythology or cosmos. Rather, my intent was to investigate any debates that ancient Greeks had regarding the reality, or unreality, of various extraordinary or supra-mundane phenomena.

Thank you very much for pointing out the distinction between the Gods, vs. Hecate. I was wondering, IYO, was there a kind of dualism going on in the cosmology of many Greeks? For example, did various people who were engaged in, shall we say, "unorthdox" practices call upon deities or forces that were considered unsavory, such as Hecate or the Titans?

Thank you very much for the references.

Oh, I know. I guess I was just wondering if there were any surviving documents or debates surrounding how to interpret various paradoxa. I know that in ancient Greece there was wide debate regarding the hermeneutics and exegesis of various texts like the Iliad and the Odyssey, and that these various exegetical techniques are still being used today, such as in the interpretation of the Christian scriptures, and elsewhere.

What I was wondering is if there were any members of the "realist" school (as in, people who thought that the various extraordinary elements of the texts and various tales actually happened and how they would explain why such events were less likely today. Thank you.

I just wanted to thank everyone for taking the time to reply. It is very appreciated. Thank you.