In an innovative sequence of topics, Ken Dowden explores the uses Greeks made of myth and the uses to which we can put myth in recovering the richness of their culture. Most aspects of Greek life and history - including war, religion and sexuality - which are discernable through myth, as well as most modern approaches, are given a context in a book which is designed to be useful, accessible and stimulating.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203138570

Do the terms `pagan' and `Christian,' `transition from paganism to Christianity' still hold as explanatory devices to apply to the political, religious and cultural transformation experienced Empire-wise? Revisiting `pagans' and `Christians' in Late Antiquity has been a fertile site of scholarship in recent years: the paradigm shift in the interpretation of the relations between `pagans' and `Christians' replaced the old `conflict model' with a subtler, complex approach and triggered the upsurge of new explanatory models such as multiculturalism, cohabitation, cooperation, identity, or group cohesion. This collection of essays, inscribes itself into the revisionist discussion of pagan-Christian relations over a broad territory and time-span, the Roman Empire from the fourth to the eighth century. A set of papers argues that if `paganism' had never been fully extirpated or denied by the multiethnic educated elite that managed the Roman Empire, `Christianity' came to be presented by the same elite as providing a way for a wider group of people to combine true philosophy and right religion. The speed with which this happened is just as remarkable as the long persistence of paganism after the sea-change of the fourth century that made Christianity the official religion of the State. For a long time afterwards, `pagans' and `Christians' lived `in between' polytheistic and monotheist traditions and disputed Classical and non-Classical legacies.

Ishtar is the first book dedicated to providing an accessible analysis of the mythology and image of this complex goddess. The polarity of her nature is reflected in her role as goddess of sexual love and war, and has made her difficult to characterise in modern scholarship. By exploring this complexity, Ishtar offers insight into Mesopotamian culture and thought, and elucidates a goddess who transcended the limits of gender, divinity and nature. It gives an accessible introduction to the Near Eastern pantheon, while also opening a pathway for comparison with the later Near Eastern and Mediterranean deities who followed her.

Few classical stories are as exciting as that of Jason and the Golden Fleece. The legend of the boy, who discovers a new identity as son of a usurped king and leads a crew of demi-gods and famous heroes, has resonated through the ages, rumbling like the clashing rocks, which almost pulverised the Argo. The myth and its reception inspires endless engagements: while it tells of a quest to the ends of the earth, of the tyrants Pelias and Aetes, of dragons' teeth, of the loss of Hylas (beloved of Hercules) stolen away by nymphs, and of Jason's seduction of the powerful witch Medea (later betrayed for a more useful princess), it speaks to us of more: of gender and sexuality; of heroism and lost integrity; of powerful gods and terrifying monsters; of identity and otherness; of exploration and exploitation. The Argonauts are emblems of collective heroism, yet also of the emptiness of glory. From Pindar to J. W. Waterhouse, Apollonius of Rhodes to Ray Harryhausen, and Robert Graves to Mary Zimmerman, the Argonaut myth has produced later interpretations as rich, salty and complex as the ancient versions. Helen Lovatt here unravels, like untangled sea-kelp, the diverse strands of the narrative and its numerous and fascinating afterlives. Her book will prove both informative and endlessly entertaining to those who love classical literature and myth.

Around the year 1060 Williram von Ebersberg wrote a commentary on the Song of Solomon that was the most widely read commentary of its kind in the German Middle Ages. Here a critical textual analysis of this commentary is undertaken on the basis of all 46 extant versions dating from the 11th to the 16th century. It transpires that Williram circulated eight versions of his text. Each of these versions has been transmitted by a group of manuscripts whose interdependencies are examined and represented in a stemma. The interpretation of the author variants sheds light on the way Williram worked.

The Evolution of Religious Doctrines From the Eschatology of the Ancient Egyptians. "In writing the explanation of the Signs and Symbols of Primordial Man, I have gone back to the foundation of the human as a beginning, and traced these signs from the first Pygmies, and their then meaning, up to the latter-day Christians, and shown the evolution and meaning of the same, back to the Primordial Signs and Symbols and Sign Language, which have never been studied or taken into account either in Freemasonry, the Christian doctrines or the Eschatology of the Egyptians." Partial Contents: Freemasonry Generally, Totemism; Hieroglyphics; Remains of Ritual found amongst the Zapotecs, Mexicans, People of Yucatan and Central America; Myths and Legends same as Egyptian; Tribes of West Africa; Birthplace of Man and various Exodes; The Pygmies; Druids and Israelites; Chaldeans; Origin of the Zodiac; Oriental Origins; The Incas; The Buddhists; Steller to Solar Mythos; Origins and Explanations of Other

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

This introduction to modern Druidism provides a comprehensive overview of today's Pagan religion and philosophy, whose roots go back to the Celtic tribal societies of ancient Britain and Ireland. The author covers Druidism's mythology, history and important figures and its beliefs and moral system, and describes practices, rituals and ceremonies. A gazetteer of important sacred sites in Europe and America is included, along with information about modern Druid groups and organizations.

Noted French scholar and linguist discusses the gods of the continental Celts, the beginnings of mythology in Ireland, heroes, and the two main categories of Irish deities: mother-goddesses-local, rural spirits of fertility or of war-and chieftain-gods: national deities who are magicians, nurturers, craftsmen, and protectors of the people.

Drawing upon the latest research in gender studies, history of religion, feminism, ritual theory, performance, anthropology, archaeology, and art history, Finding Persephone investigates the ways in which the religious lives and ritual practices of women in Greek and Roman antiquity helped shape their social and civic identity. Barred from participating in many public arenas, women asserted their presence by performing rituals at festivals and presiding over rites associated with life passages and healing. The essays in this lively and timely volume reveal the central place of women in the religious and ritual practices of the societies of the ancient Mediterranean. Readers interested in religion, women's studies, and classical antiquity will find a unique exploration of the nature and character of women's autonomy within the religious sphere and a full account of women's agency in the public domain.

Following their first contact in 1519, accounts of Aztecs identifying Spaniards as gods proliferated. But what exactly did the Aztecs mean by a "god" (teotl), and how could human beings become gods or take on godlike properties? This sophisticated, interdisciplinary study analyzes three concepts that are foundational to Aztec religion-teotl (god), teixiptla (localized embodiment of a god), and tlaquimilolli (sacred bundles containing precious objects)-to shed new light on the Aztec understanding of how spiritual beings take on form and agency in the material world. In The Fate of Earthly Things, Molly Bassett draws on ethnographic fieldwork, linguistic analyses, visual culture, and ritual studies to explore what ritual practices such as human sacrifice and the manufacture of deity embodiments (including humans who became gods), material effigies, and sacred bundles meant to the Aztecs. She analyzes the Aztec belief that wearing the flayed skin of a sacrificial victim during a sacred rite could transform a priest into an embodiment of a god or goddess, as well as how figurines and sacred bundles could become localized embodiments of gods. Without arguing for unbroken continuity between the Aztecs and modern speakers of Nahuatl, Bassett also describes contemporary rituals in which indigenous Mexicans who preserve costumbres (traditions) incorporate totiotzin (gods) made from paper into their daily lives. This research allows us to understand a religious imagination that found life in death and believed that deity embodiments became animate through the ritual binding of blood, skin, and bone.

This is the extraordinary history of the hidden civilizations of the first people of the South American Andes, with over 200 photographs and illustrations. This is a fascinating in-depth guide to the mysterious Inca world, providing an extraordinary insight into everyday life. It offers a vivid account of how the Chavin, Nazca, Moche, Wari, Tiwanaku, Chimu, Inca and other people lived. It explores the daily life of the Incas from birth and childhood, to adulthood, marriage, the rituals of death and burial. Chart the progression of Andean societies from primitive villages to the busy, bustling cities of the Late Horizon period including Tiwanaku, Chan Chan and Cuzco. 200 stunning colour photographs, illustrations and detailed maps accompany a lively text, to create a glorious vision of the Inca world. The lives of the ancient native people of Peru and the Andes are shrouded in mystery and mythology. This volume uncovers the day-to-day realities of the ancient Andean world. Beautiful photographs and illustrations create a pictorial timeline from the first villages to the bustling cities of the late period. Explore the working conditions of the Andean civilizations and the realities of daily life. Delve into the religion and mythology of the Inca world. With over 200 full-colour illustrations, accompanied by engaging text, timelines and a comprehensive glossary, this is a highly readable source of reference for both specialist and general reader.

Ancestor worship is often assumed by contemporary European audiences to be an outdated and primitive tradition with little relevance to our societies, past and present. This book questions that assumption and seeks to determine whether ancestor ideology was an integral part of religion in Viking Age and early medieval Scandinavia. The concept is examined from a broad socio-anthropological perspective, which is used to structure a set of case studies which analyse the cults of specific individuals in Old Norse literature. The situation of gods in Old Norse religion has been almost exclusively addressed in isolation from these socio-anthropological perspectives. The public gravemound cults of deceased rulers are discussed conventionally as cases of sacral kingship, and, more recently, religious ruler ideology; both are seen as having divine associations in Old Norse scholarship. Building on the anthropological framework, this study introduces the concept of 'superior ancestors', employed in social anthropology to denote a form of political ancestor worship used to regulate social structure deliberately. It suggests that Old Norse ruler ideology was based on conventional and widely recognised religious practices revolving around kinship and ancestors and that the gods were perceived as human ancestors belonging to elite families.

? As long as the TUAT has not been completed and remains hardly affordable for students, this continues to be a useful collection for instruction purposes. Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Christoph Markschies"

A compelling account of Christianity's Jewish beginnings, from one of the world's leading scholars of ancient religion How did a group of charismatic, apocalyptic Jewish missionaries, working to prepare their world for the impending realization of God's promises to Israel, end up inaugurating a movement that would grow into the gentile church? Committed to Jesus's prophecy-"The Kingdom of God is at hand!"-they were, in their own eyes, history's last generation. But in history's eyes, they became the first Christians. In this electrifying social and intellectual history, Paula Fredriksen answers this question by reconstructing the life of the earliest Jerusalem community. As her account arcs from this group's hopeful celebration of Passover with Jesus, through their bitter controversies that fragmented the movement's midcentury missions, to the city's fiery end in the Roman destruction of Jerusalem, she brings this vibrant apostolic community to life. Fredriksen offers a vivid portrait both of this temple-centered messianic movement and of the bedrock convictions that animated and sustained it.