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This handbook offers both students and teachers of ancient Greek religion a comprehensive overview of the current state of scholarship in the subject, from the Archaic to the Hellenistic periods. It not only presents key information, but also explores the ways in which such information is gathered and the different approaches that have shaped the area. In doing so, the volume provides a crucial research and orientation tool for students of the ancient world, and also makes a vital contribution to the key debates surrounding the conceptualization of ancient Greek religion.
The handbook's initial chapters lay out the key dimensions of ancient Greek religion, approaches to evidence, and the representations of myths. The following chapters discuss the continuities and differences between religious practices in different cultures, including Egypt, the Near East, the Black Sea, and Bactria and India. The range of contributions emphasizes the diversity of relationships between mortals and the supernatural - in all their manifestations, across, between, and beyond ancient Greek cultures - and draws attention to religious activities as dynamic, highlighting how they changed over time, place, and context.
List of contents
- List of Figures
- Abbreviations and Conventions
- List of Contributors
- Introduction
- Part 1: What is Ancient Greek Religion?
- 1: Robin Osborne: Unity vs. Diversity?
- 2: Tom Harrison: Belief vs. Practice?
- 3: Emily Kearns: Old vs. New?
- 4: Vinciane Pirenne Delforge and Gabriella Pironti: Many vs. One?
- Part 2: Types of Evidence
- 5: Milette Gaifman: Visual Evidence
- 6: Hannah Willey: Literary Evidence: Prose
- 7: Renaud Gagne: Literary Evidence: Poetry
- 8: Claire Taylor: Epigraphic Evidence
- 9: Caitlin E. Barrett: Material Evidence
- 10: David Martinez: Papyrology
- Part 3: Myths? Contexts and Representations
- 11: Richard Martin: Epic
- 12: Tanja Scheer: Art and Imagery
- 13: Claude Calame: Drama
- 14: Robert Fowler: History
- 15: Rick Benitez and Harold Tarrant: Philosophy
- Part 4: Where?
- 16: Mike Scott: Temples and Sanctuaries
- 17: Matt Dillon: Households, Families, and Women
- 18: Kostas Vlassopoulos: Religion in Communities
- 19: Christy Constantakopoulou: Regional Religious Groups, Amphictionies, and Other Leagues
- Part 5: How?
- 20: Mike Flower: Religious Expertise
- 21: Ralph Anderson: New Gods
- 22: Hugh Bowden: Impiety
- 23: Andrej Petrovic: 'Sacred Law'
- Part 6: Who?
- 24: Susan Deacy: Gods: Olympian or Chthonic
- 25: Carolina López-Ruiz: Gods: Origins
- 26: Gunnel Ekroth: Heroes: Living or Dead?
- 27: Emanuel Voutiras: Dead or Alive?
- 28: Giulia Sfameni Gasparro: Daimonic Power
- 29: Ivana Petrovic: Deification: Gods or Men?
- Part 7: What?
- 30: Henk Versnel: Prayer and Curse
- 31: Fred Naiden: Sacrifice
- 32: Sarah Iles Johnston: Oracles and Divination
- 33: Verity Platt: Epiphany
- 34: Fritz Graf: Healing
- Part 8: When?
- 35: Sarah Hitch: From Birth to Death: Life-changing Rituals
- 36: Jan-Matheiu Carbon: Ritual Cycles: Calendars and Festivals
- 37: Radcliffe Edmonds III: Imagining the After-Life
- Part 9: Beyond?
- 38: Gillian Shepherd: Magna Graecia (South Italy and Sicily)
- 39: Maya Muratov: The Northern Black Sea: The Case of the Bosporan Kingdom
- 40: Jan Bremmer: The Ancient Near East
- 41: Kathrin Kleibl: Greco-Egyptian Religion
- 42: Rachael Mairs: Bactria and India
- 43
About the author
Esther Eidinow is Associate Professor in Ancient Greek History at the University of Nottingham.
Julia Kindt is Associate Professor in the Department of Classics and Ancient History at the University of Sydney.
Summary
This handbook offers both students and teachers of ancient Greek religion a comprehensive overview of the current state of scholarship in the subject, from the Archaic to the Hellenistic period.
Additional text
[T]his handbook features a dazzling array of notable contributors, writing on subjects in which they are acknowledged experts. One of the most valuable aspects of the book is its recurrent emphasis on theoretical and methodological rigor. This will be an indispensable volume for students and specialists alike.
Report
broadly conceived in coverage, period, approach and methodology Gocha R. Tsetskhladze, Ancient West and East (AWE)
