This authoritative English translation of the Middle Kingdom Coffin Texts is an essential resource for all Egyptologists. The new edition reprints Faulkner's whole work in one volume. Filling the gap between the Pyramid Texts and the New Kingdom Book of the Dead, these writings were intended to supply the deceased with the speeches he would need to achieve a secure and important position in the next world. As such they supply valuable insights into Egyptian beliefs and mortuary practices. Concise textual notes are kept to a minimum, allowing the character of the texts to be experienced as a whole. Indexes cover divinities, localities, celestial bodies, selected Egyptian words in translation and also the parts of boats and sailing gear that figure prominently in some spells.

Did the ancient Greeks and Romans use psychoactive cannabis? Scholars say that hemp was commonplace in the ancient world, but there is no consensus on cannabis usage. According to botany, hemp and cannabis are the same plant and thus the ancient Greeks and Romans must have used it in their daily lives. Cultures parallel to the ancient Greeks and Romans, like the Egyptians, Scythians, and Hittites, were known to use cannabis in their medicine, religion and recreational practices. Cannabis in the Ancient Greek and Roman World surveys the primary references to cannabis in ancient Greek and Roman texts and covers emerging scholarship about the plant in the ancient world. Ancient Greek and Latin medical texts from the Roman Empire contain the most mentions of the plant, where it served as an effective ingredient in ancient pharmacy. Cannabis in the Ancient Greek and Roman World focuses on the ancient rationale behind cannabis and how they understood the plant's properties and effects, as well as its different applications. For the first time ever, this book provides a sourcebook with the original ancient Greek and Latin, along with translations, of all references to psychoactive cannabis in the Greek and Roman world. It covers the archaeology of cannabis in the ancient world, including amazing discoveries from Scythian burial sites, ancient proto-Zoroastrian fire temples, Bronze Age Chinese burial sites, as well as evidence in Greece and Rome. Beyond cannabis, Cannabis in the Ancient Greek and Roman World also explores ancient views on medicine, pharmacy, and intoxication.

The series Beihefte zur Zeitschrift fur die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft (BZAW) covers all areas of research into the Old Testament, focusing on the Hebrew Bible, its early and later forms in Ancient Judaism, as well as its branching into many neighboring cultures of the Ancient Near East and the Greco-Roman world. BZAW welcomes submissions that make an original and significant contribution to the field; demonstrate sophisticated engagement with the relevant secondary literature; and are written in readable, logical, and engaging prose.

Perpetua was an early Christian martyr who died in Roman Carthage in 203 CE, along with several fellow martyrs, including one other woman, Felicitas. She has attracted great interest for two main reasons: she was one of the earliest martyrs, especially female martyrs, about whom we have any knowledge, and she left a narrative written in prison just before she went to her death in the amphitheater. Her narrative is embedded in a tripartite telling of the arrest and deaths of these martyrs, the Passio Sanctarum Perpetuae et Felicitatis. The other two parts of her tale were written by Saturus, a fellow martyr and probably her teacher, and a nameless editor or confessor, who introduces her circumstances and group and then tells of her death after she stops writing. Her story is steeped in mystery, and every aspect of her life and death has generated much controversy. Some do not believe that she herself could have written the narrative: the circumstances of her imprisonment and the limitations of her ability to write such a rhetorically complex tale are inconceivable. Some believe that her editor was none other then Tertullian, the famous 2nd-3rd century church father and Perpetua's fellow north African. Some, including Augustine, wonder why the feast day was named only for Perpetua and Felicitas and not for her fellow male martyrs. Some believe that these martyr tales were largely fabricated or constructed in order to generate publicity for the early Christians. This book will investigate and try to make sense of all aspects of Perpetua's life, death, and circumstances: her family and life in Carthage, Christians and Romans in Carthage and in the Roman empire in this period, the comparisons of martyrs to athletes, the influence of these martyr tales upon the Acts of the Apostles and the Greek novel, the reactions of later church fathers like Augustine to her story and her popularity, and the gendering of this text.

A philosopher, mathematician, and martyr, Hypatia is one of antiquity's best-known female intellectuals. For the sixteen centuries following her murder by a mob of Christians Hypatia has been remembered in books, poems, plays, paintings, and films as a victim of religious intolerance whose death symbolized the end of the Classical world. But Hypatia was a person before she was a symbol. Her great skill in mathematics and philosophy redefined the intellectual life of her home city of Alexandria. Her talent as a teacher enabled her to assemble a circle of dedicated male students. Her devotion to public service made her a force for peace and good government in a city that struggled to maintain trust and cooperation between pagans and Christians. Despite these successes, Hypatia fought countless small battles to live the public and intellectual life that she wanted. This book rediscovers the life Hypatia led, the unique challenges she faced as a woman who succeeded spectacularly in a man's world, and the tragic story of the events that led to her murder.

This is the second of three volumes, first published in 1906, which explore the Egyptian theology of the afterlife. It contains the complete hieroglyphic text of the short form of the Am-Tuat and of the Book of Gates, with translations and reproductions of all the illustrations. In the Book of Gates the doctrines of the sophisticated cult of Osiris are prominent: they affirm that the beatified live for ever in the kingdom of Osiris, and feed daily upon his eternal body. The object of all the Books of the Other World was to provide the dead with a 'guide' or 'handbook,' containing a description of the regions through which their souls would have to pass on their way to the Kingdom of Osiris, and which would supply them with the words of power and magical names necessary for an unimpeded journey from this world to the next.

This deluxe edition of the world's most beloved, bestselling classic on Greek, Roman, and Norse mythology is stunningly illustrated with specially commissioned full-color plates and a beautiful gold-bordered pages.

Since its original publication in 1942, Edith Hamilton's Mythology has sold millions of copies throughout the world and established itself as a perennial bestseller. For nearly 80 years, readers have chosen Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes above all other books to discover the enchanting world of Greek, Roman, and Norse mythology -- from Odysseus's adventure-filled journey to Odin's effort to postpone the final day of doom.

This deluxe, hardcover edition is illustrated throughout with specially commissioned, original artwork and beautifully illustrated lineages, making it a true collector's item.

AUFSTIEG UND NIEDERGANG DER ROEMISCHEN WELT (ANRW) is a work of international cooperation in the field of historical scholarship. Its aim is to present all important aspects of the ancient Roman world, as well as its legacy and continued influence in medieval and modern times. Subjects are dealt with in individual articles written in the light of present day research. The work is divided into three parts: I. From the Origins of Rome to the End of the Republic II. The Principate III. Late Antiquity Each part consists of six systematic sections, which occasionally overlap: 1. Political History, 2. Law, 3. Religion, 4. Language and Literature, 5. Philosophy and the Sciences, 6. The Arts. ANRW is organized as a handbook. It is a survey of Roman Studies in the broadest sense, and includes the history of the reception and influence of Roman Culture up to the present time. The individual contributions are, depending on the nature of the subject, either concise presentations with bibliography, problem and research reports, or representative investigations covering broad areas of subjects. Approximately one thousand scholars from thirty-five nations are collaborating on this work. The articles appear in German, English, French or Italian. As a work for study and reference, ANRW is an indispensable tool for research and academic teaching in the following disciplines: Ancient, Medieval and Modern History; Byzantine and Slavonic Studies; Classical, Medieval Latin Romance and Oriental Philology; Classical, Oriental and Christian Archaeology and History of Art; Legal Studies; Religion and Theology, especially Church History and Patristics. In preparation: Part II, Vol. 26,4: Religion - Vorkonstantinisches Christentum: Neues Testament - Sachthemen, Fortsetzung Part II, Vol. 37,4: Wissenschaften: Medizin und Biologie, Fortsetzung. For further information about the project and to view the table of contents of earlier volumes please visit http://www.bu.edu/ict/anrw/index.html To search key words in the table of contents of all published volumes please refer to the search engine at http://www.uky.edu/ArtsSciences/Classics/biblio/anrw.html

Following on from Healing Power of Celtic Plants, Angela Paine's latest book covers a new range of Celtic medicinal plants which are native to Britain, as well as a few plants, such as Sage and Rosemary, which were introduced by the Romans. Combining the latest scientific data on the healing properties of the herbs used by the ancient Celts with recent archaeological discoveries, written in a jargon-free, easy to understand narrative style and offering a botanical description of each plant, an outline of their chemical constituents, and advice on ways to grow, harvest, preserve and use each plant, Healing Plants of the Celtic Druids is an essential guide.

Epiphanius, Bishop of Constantia on Cyprus from 367 to 403 CE, was incredibly influential in the last decades of the fourth century. Whereas his major surviving text-the Panarion, an encyclopedia of heresies-is studied for lost sources, Epiphanius himself is often dismissed as an anti-intellectual eccentric, a marginal figure of late antiquity. In this book, Andrew S. Jacobs moves Epiphanius from the margin back toward the center and proposes we view major cultural themes of late antiquity in a new light altogether. Through an examination of the key cultural concepts of celebrity, conversion, discipline, scripture, and salvation, Jacobs shifts our understanding of late antiquity from a transformational period open to new ideas and peoples toward a Christian Empire that posited a troubling, but ever-present, otherness at the center of its cultural production.

Pindar and the Cult of Heroes combines a study of Greek culture and religion (hero cult) with a literary-critical study of Pindar's epinician poetry. It looks at hero cult generally, but focuses especially on heroization in the 5th century BC. There are individual chapters on the heroization of war dead, of athletes, and on the religious treatment of the living in the 5th century. Hero cult, Bruno Currie argues, could be anticipated, in different ways, in a person's lifetime. Epinician poetry too should be interpreted in the light of this cultural context; fundamentally, this genre explores the patron's religious status. The book features extensive studies of Pindar's Pythians 2, 3, 5, Isthmian 7, and Nemean 7.

Longlisted for the Highland Book Prize 2020 From the author of The Long Take, shortlisted for the Booker Prize and winner of both the Walter Scott Prize and the Goldsmiths Prize. 'I've long admired Robin Robertson's narrative gift . . . If you love stories, you will love this book.' Val McDermid Like some lost chapters from the Celtic folk tradition, Grimoire tells stories of ordinary people caught up, suddenly, in the extraordinary: tales of violence, madness and retribution, of second sight, witches, ghosts, selkies, changelings and doubles, all bound within a larger mythology, narrated by a doomed shape-changer - a man, beast or god. A grimoire is a manual for invoking spirits. Here, Robin Robertson and his brother Tim Robertson - whose accompanying images are as unforgettable as cave-paintings - raise strange new forms which speak not only of the potency of our myths and superstitions, but how they were used to balance and explain the world and its predicaments. From one of our most powerful lyric poets, this is a book of curses and visions, gifts both desired and unwelcome, characters on the cusp of their transformation - whether women seeking revenge or saving their broken children, or men trying to save themselves. Haunting and elemental, Grimoire is full of the same charged beauty as the Scottish landscape - a beauty that can switch, with a mere change in the weather, to hostility and terror.

When they discover Celtic spirituality, many Christians feel that in some sense they have come home. As they begin to explore the people and places significant in the early centuries of Christianity in the British Isles, they find an expression of faith that weaves together strands of being and belonging, worship and witness in a unique and powerful way. Restoring the Woven Cord takes 15 leading figures from that era - ranging from Patrick of Ireland to John of Beverley - and shares something of their stories, showing their burning love for the Bible, their depth of prayer, their radical commitment to the poor and to caring for creation. Reflecting on their lives and works, we can find powerful inspiration for our own walk with God and rich resources for the ministry of the local church.

A full-length study and new translation of the great Sanskrit poet Kalidasa's famed Meghaduta (literally "The Cloud Messenger,") The Cloud of Longing focuses on the poem's interfacing of nature, feeling, figuration, and mythic memory. This work is unique in its attention given to the natural world in light of the nexus of language and love that is the chief characteristic (lakshana) of the poem. Along with a scrupulous study of the approximately 111 verses of the poem, The Cloud of Longing offers an extended look at how nature was envisioned by classical India's supreme poet as he portrays a cloud's imagined voyage over the fields, valleys, rivers, mountains, and towns of classical India. This sustained, close reading of the Meghaduta will speak to contemporary readers as well as to those committed to developing a more in-depth experience of the natural world. The Cloud of Longing fills a gap in the translation of classical Indian texts, as well as in studies of world literature, religion, and into an emerging integrative environmental discipline.

In this volume, first published in 2006, Sandra Blakely considers technological myths and rituals associated with ancient Greek daimones, who made metal; and African rituals in which iron plays a central role. Noting the rich semantic web of associations that has connected metallurgy to magic, birth, kingship, autochthony, and territorial possession in both Greek and African cultures, Blakely examines them together in order to cast light on the Greek demons, which are only fragmentarily preserved and which have often been equated to general types of smithing gods. Her comparison demonstrates that these demons are more sophisticated and ritually useful than has been previously acknowledged. This book provides new insights into the position of technology in Greek myth. Providing a new methodology for the study of Greek religion, which uses comparative cultural material in a thoughtful and careful way, it helps close the fifty-year gap between the social sciences and Classical philology in the theoretical understanding and study of technological systems.

How did Christians in Classical Antiquity view history? How did they apply and modify traditional biblical options - for example the view of the apocalypse or salvation - in their interpretation of contemporary times? What role did the "Imperial Crisis" in the 3rd century and the changes in the 4th century play for the Christian's interpretation of history? Did Eusebius of Caesarea, the first Christian historian, merely write a "collection of materials" or was he guided by contemporary standards of academic historiography?This study provides answers to these questions and to other controversial issues in the discussion of Christian historiography in Classical Antiquity.

Fairies are a challenging subject, intertwining culture, folklore, and anecdotal accounts across centuries and millennia. Focusing primarily on the Celtic speaking cultures, with some material from adjacent cultures including Anglo-Saxon and Norse, A New Dictionary of Fairies has in-depth entries on a variety of fairies as well as subjects related to them, such as why we picture elves with pointed ears or where the idea of fairies being invisible comes from. It also tackles more complicated topics like the nature and physicality of the fairy people. Anyone with an interest in the Good Neighbours will find this book a solid resource to draw from.

A Companion to Greek Mythology presents a series of essays that explore the phenomenon of Greek myth from its origins in shared Indo-European story patterns and the Greeks contacts with their Eastern Mediterranean neighbours through its development as a shared language and thought-system for the Greco-Roman world. * Features essays from a prestigious international team of literary experts * Includes coverage of Greek myth s intersection with history, philosophy and religion * Introduces readers to topics in mythology that are often inaccessible to non-specialists * Addresses the Hellenistic and Roman periods as well as Archaic and Classical Greece

This brief but highly informative book presents an outline of Greek religion in the classical period. After surveying its main characteristics, it offers a clear and innovative view of the great gods and heroes as well as their sanctuaries and also the main myths, rituals and mysteries: from Athena to Zeus, from sacrifice to the puritan Orphics, from the Indo-European roots to the influence of the ancient Near East. The approach pays attention to the sociological, anthropological, and psychological aspects of Greek religion and also to the gender roles. By paying attention to the often modern origin of many of the notions employed in the analysis of Greek religion, it illustrates the difference between Greek polytheism and the place of religion in modern Western society. This second edition has been updated to account for the latest developments, and its bibliography makes this book very useful for students and teachers alike.