The Shape of Non-Violent Belonging: Exploring Gods, Circles, and Sacrifice in the Political Domain of Ancient Greece Through a Mimetic Lens

This article explores contemporary research on the origins of the political domain in ancient Greece. Marcel Detienne has noted that the political domain in ancient Greece was associated with a circular or semi-circular space of assembly and was invariably associated with Hesta, the goddess of sacrificial fire. Detienne has framed the origins of the political domain in terms of a rupture with the metaphysical. This article applies the lens of mimetic theory to these motifs of the political domain: the circle and sacrifice. Linking Detienne’s observations to René Girard’s work on social order and generative violence, this article critiques the myth of political innocence and argues that the political domain is itself a product of what Girard terms the sacred. The Fourth Gospel offers alternative, non-violent forms of belonging; the eucharistic circle as opposed to the sacred circle of generative violence.