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Zusatztext A convincing and very readable demonstration of how theories and methods from complexity science can enhance the study of the spread of ancient religions. Informationen zum Autor Tomáš Glomb is Assistant Professor at the Centre for the Digital Research of Religion at Masaryk University, the Czech Republic. Zusammenfassung Why did Egyptian cults, especially those dedicated to the goddess Isis and god Sarapis, spread so successfully across the ancient Mediterranean after the death of Alexander the Great? How are we limited by the established methodological apparatus of historiography and which innovative methods from other disciplines can overcome these limits? In this book, Tomáš Glomb shows that while the interplay of different factors such as the economy, climate, and politics created favorable conditions for the early spread of the Isiac cults, the use of innovative quantitative methods can shed new light and help disentangle the complex interplay of individual factors. Using a combination of geospatial modeling, mathematical modeling, and network analysis, Glomb determines that, at least in the regions of the Hellenistic Aegean and western Asia Minor, the political channels created by the Ptolemaic dynasty were a dominant force in the local spread of the Isiac cults. An important contribution to the historiography of the ancient Mediterranean, this book answers the specific question of “how it happened” as well as, “how can we answer it beyond the limits of the established methodological apparatus in historiography.” Inhaltsverzeichnis Introduction 1. Development of the Isiac Cults2. Spread of the Isiac Cults - An Overview3. Case Study - Hellenistic Aegean4. Case Study - West Coast of the Hellenistic Asia Minor5. Political Activities of the Ptolemaic Dynasty and Their Impact on the Spread of the Isiac Cults Abroad - A Historical Pattern6. Methodological Implications for the Historiography of AntiquityBibliographyIndex...
