A number of long-standing theories concerning the production of Deuteronomy are currently being revisited. This volume takes a fresh look at the theory that there was an independent legal collection comprising chs 12-26 that subsequently was set within one or two narrative frames to yield the book, with ongoing redactional changes. Each contributor has been asked to focus on how the "core" might have functioned as a stand-alone document or, if exploring a theme or motif, to take note of commonalities and differences within the "core" and "frames" that might shed light on the theory under review. Some of the articles also revisit the theory of a northern origin of the "core" of the book, while others challenge de Wette's equation of Deuteronomy with the scroll found during temple repairs under Josiah. With Deuteronomic studies in a state of flux, this is a timely collection by a group of international scholars who use a range of methods and who, in varying degrees, work with or challenge older theories about the book's origin and growth to approach the central focus from many angles. Readers will find multivalent evidence they can reflect over to decide where they stand on the issue of Deuteronomy as a framed legal "core."

In the course of the last two decades, both the historical reconstruction of the Iron I-Iron IIA period in Israel and Judah and the literary-historical reconstruction of the Books of Samuel have undergone major changes. With respect to the quest for the "historical David", terms like "empire" or "Grossreich" have been set aside in favor of designations like "mercenary" or "hapiru leader", corresponding to the image of the son of Jesse presented in I Sam. At the same time, the literary-historical classification of these chapters has itself become a matter of considerable discussion. As Leonhard Rost's theory of a source containing a "History of David's Rise" continues to lose support, it becomes necessary to pose the question once again: Are we dealing with a once independent 'story of David' embracing both the HDR and the "succession narrative" are there several independent versions of an HDR to be detected, or do I Sam 16-II Sam 5* constitute a redactional bridge between older traditions about Saul on the one hand and David on the other? In either case, what parts of the material in I Sam 16-II Sam 5 are based on ancient traditions, and may therefore serve as a source for any tentative historical reconstruction? The participants in the 2018 symposium at Jena whose essays are collected in this volume engage these questions from different redaction-critical and archaeological perspectives. Together, they provide an overview of contemporary historical research on the book of First Samuel.

This book provides a wide-ranging collection of original source material that covers the history of medieval religion from the fall of the Roman Empire to the Renaissance.

Easy-to-read and accessible to students, with introductions to each section explaining the main themes and issues raised, it provides coverage of the key elements of the history of the Western Church in the period, including:

• the Papacy
• saints
• monastic orders
• popular piety and devotion
• sections on the Eastern Church, Judaism, Islam and Mysticism

The texts selected are arranged clearly in chronological order and each one is introduced by a brief editorial note to provide context. Medieval Religion also includes a comprehensive further reading section.

Students of medieval religion will find this a valuable companion in their studies.

Now in its eighth edition, this magisterial work offers a comprehensive survey of the stories of Greek myth, from the Olympian gods, through the lesser gods and deities, to the heroes, adventures, and foundation myths of the ancient Greek world. The Routledge Handbook of Greek Mythology sets out to provide a comprehensive history of the divine order and mythical prehistory of Greece, as systematized on a genealogical basis by Hesiod and the ancient mythographers, while also taking into account the ways in which individual myths have changed and evolved over time in different genres of literature. This new edition has been extensively rewritten and reorganized to make it more accessible to readers who may have no particular knowledge of the ancient world and Greek mythology, and to ensure that information on each myth or mythical figure is easy to find within the book. This new edition of the handbook continues to offer an essential reference resource for all students of Greek mythology, and it provides an accessible and comprehensive overview of these stories for anyone with an interest in the classical world.

Despite the attention that has already been paid to the theme of creation in the book of Sirach, scholarship has yet to provide a comprehensive analysis of Ben Sira's instruction regarding the cosmic order and its role in the divine bestowal of wisdom upon human beings. This book, which consists of two parts, fills a lacuna in scholarship by offering such an analysis. The first part of this study examines Ben Sira's three main treatments of the created world, thus providing a comprehensive description and synthesis of Ben Sira's doctrine concerning the created order of the cosmos. The second part of this work analyzes the place of human beings in general, and the Jewish people in particular, within the cosmic order. This second part includes an analysis of the role of the created order in Ben Sira's wisdom instruction in 1:1-10 and 24:1-34 as well as an elucidation of the way in which his treatments of various kinds of people-civic leaders, wives, doctors, manual laborers, scribes, and cultic personnel-are integral to Ben Sira's doctrine of creation. This study demonstrates that the created order is a fundamental category that Ben Sira relies upon in articulating his instructions about wisdom and wise behavior.

Medea, the sorceress of Greek myth and Euripides' vengeful heroine, is famed for the murder of her children after she is banished from her own family and displaced by a new wife. Her reputation as a wronged 'Everywoman' of Greek tragedy has helped engender her lasting appeal to the modern age. However, this firmly rooted status has also caused many of the intricacies of her timeless tale to be overlooked.
Emma Griffiths brings into focus previously unexplored themes of the Medea myth, along with providing an incisive introduction to the story and its history. Viewed within its context, the tale reveals fascinating insights into ancient Greece and its ideology, the importance of children, the role of women, and the position of the outsider and barbarian.
The critically sophisticated analysis, expressed in clear and accessible terms, proceeds to examine the persistence of the Medea myth through ancient Rome to the modern day. Placing the myth within a modern context and into analytical frameworks such as psychoanalysis, Griffiths highlights Medea's position in current classical study, as well as her lasting appeal. A vivid portrait of a woman empowered by her exclusion from society, alive with passion and the suffering of wounded love, this book is an indispensable guide to a fascinating mythical figure.

Disputation literature is a type of text in which usually two non-human entities (such as trees, animals, drinks, or seasons) try to establish their superiority over each other by means of a series of speeches written in an elaborate, flowery register. As opposed to other dialogue literature, in disputation texts there is no serious matter at stake only the preeminence of one of the litigants over its rival. These light-hearted texts are known in virtually every culture that flourished in the Middle East from Antiquity to the present day, and they constitute one of the most enduring genres in world literature. The present volume collects over twenty contributions on disputation literature by a diverse group of world-renowned scholars. From ancient Sumer to modern-day Bahrain, from Egyptian to Neo-Aramaic, including Latin, French, Middle English, Armenian, Chinese and Japanese, the chapters of this book study the multiple avatars of this venerable text type.

This is an exploration of how the legend of Thor has been adopted, adapted and transformed through history. The myths of the Norse god Thor were preserved in the "Icelandic Eddas", set down in the early Middle Ages. The bane of giants and trolls, Thor was worshipped as the last line of defence against all that threatened early Nordic society. Thor's significance persisted long after the Christian conversion and, in the mid-eighteenth century, Thor resumed a symbolic prominence among northern countries. Admired and adopted in Scandinavia and Germany, he became central to the rhetoric of national romanticism and to more belligerent assertions of nationalism. Resurrected in the latter part of the twentieth century in "Marvel Magazine", Thor was further transformed into an articulation both of an anxious male sexuality and of a parallel nervousness regarding American foreign policy. Martin Arnold explores the extraordinary regard in which Thor has been held since medieval times and considers why and how his myth has been adopted, adapted and transformed.

Babylonia in the second half of the 2nd millennium BCE is one of the most understudied periods of Mesopotamian history. In the last few years, discoveries of new texts and archaeological materials from the Sealand Dynasty have emerged, which expand the possibilities to fill this gap in our knowledge of Mesopotamian history. At the same time, scholars have started to revive Kassite studies using new materials, methods, and questions. While those works are groundbreaking contributions to the field, many questions about the history and chronology, archaeology, economy, language of Babylonia during this period are still unsolved. This volume brings together eleven contributions by leading scholars in the Sealand and Kassite period, approaching those questions from an archaeological, ethnological, historical, linguistic, and economical point of view. The book opens with an introduction into the history and research on Babylonia under the Sealand Dynasty and the Kassites.

Embrace the power of the divine in this beginner's guide to some of mythology's fiercest females and most legendary ladies Across thousands of years and countless civilizations, goddesses have been a powerful presence. Whether as leaders, mothers, warriors or lovers, these indomitable divinities have always been able to fascinate and seduce us. This pocket guide offers readers an engaging and accessible introduction to a selection of the most powerful and influential goddesses throughout ancient and modern history, retelling their stories and celebrating their awesome abilities. Each profile includes a concise history of the goddess and her origins, a summary of her main powers, a look at the goddess in myth and popular culture and an exploration of her best attributes. Learn about the Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom and war; Bastet, the Egyptian goddess of pleasure and protection; the beautiful Freyja, the Norse goddess of love, and many others. Let yourself be inspired and empowered by tales of feminine power, strength and wisdom in this pocketbook of dazzling deities.

Ever since its first publication in 1932, Sorcerers of Dobu has been recognized as one of the great triumphs of anthropological research and interpretation in the field of ethnography. A rich source of information on primitive psychology, the book presents sociological analysis of the complex tribal organisation of the Dobuans.
Originally published in 1932

Gathering together under a single cover material from a wide range of African societies, this volume allows similarities and differences to be easily perceived and suggests social correlates of these in terms of age, sex, marital status, social grading and wealth. It includes material on both traditional and modern cults.

Introducing the reader to the gods and their worshippers and to the ways in which they were related, this book focuses on the ever-present link between the human and the divine in Ancient Egypt. The book also examines the impact of Egyptian religion upon the Judaeo-Christian world. First published in 1973.

Though many practitioners of yoga and meditation are familiar with the Sri Cakra yantra, few fully understand the depth of meaning in this representation of the cosmos. Even fewer have been exposed to the practices of mantra and puja (worship) associated with it. Andre Padoux, with Roger Orphe-Jeanty, offers the first English translation of the Yoginihrdaya, a seminal Hindu tantric text dating back to the 10th or 11th century CE. The Yoginihrdaya discloses to initiates the secret of the Heart of the Yogini, or the supreme Reality: the divine plane where the Goddess (Tripurasundari, or Consciousness itself) manifests her power and glory. As Padoux demonstrates, the Yoginihrdaya is not a philosophical treatise aimed at expounding particular metaphysical tenets. It aims to show a way towards liberation, or, more precisely, to a tantric form of liberation in this life--jivanmukti, which grants both liberation from the fetters of the world and domination over it.

Die Colloquia Raurica werden alle zwei Jahre vom CollegiumRauricum veranstaltet. Sie finden auf Castelen, dem Landgut der Roemer-Stiftung Dr. Rene Clavel in Augst (Augusta Raurica) bei Basel, statt. Jedes Colloquium behandelt eine aktuelle geisteswissenschaftliche Frage von allgemeinem Interesse aus der Perspektiveverschiedener Disziplinen. Einen Schwerpunkt bilden dabei Beitrage aus dem Bereich der Altertumswissenschaft. Um moeglichst vielseitig abgestutzte Erkenntnisse zu gewinnen, eroertern die eingeladenen Fachvertreter das Tagungsthema im gemeinsamen Gesprach. Die Ergebnissedes Colloquiumwerden in der Schriftenreihe Colloquia Raurica publiziert.

Focusing on representations of Celtic motifs and traditions in post-1980s adult fantasy literature, this book illuminates how the historical, the mythological and the folkloric have served as inspiration for the fantastic in modern and popular culture of the western world. Bringing together both highly-acclaimed works with those that have received less critical attention, including French and Gaelic fantasy literature, Imagining the Celtic Past in Modern Fantasy explores such texts as Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, Alan Garner's Weirdstone trilogy, the Irish fantasies of Jodi McIsaac, David Gemmell's Rigante novels, Patricia Kennealy-Morrison Keltiad books, as well as An Sgoil Dhubh by Iain F. MacLeoid and the Vertigen and Frontier series by Lea Silhol. Lively and covering new ground, the collection examines topics such as fairy magic, Celtic-inspired worldbuilding, heroic patterns, classical ethnography and genre tropes alongside analyses of the Celtic Tarot in speculative fiction and Celtic appropriation in fan culture. Introducing a nuanced understanding of the Celtic past, as it has been informed by recent debates in Celtic studies, this wide-ranging and provocative book shows how modern fantasy is indebted to medieval Celtic-language texts, folkloric traditions, as well as classical sources.

Valerius Maximus was an indefatigable collector of historical anecdotes illustrating vice and virtue. His Memorable Deeds and Sayings are unparalleled as a source for the opinions of Romans in the early empire on a vast range of subjects.
Mueller focuses on what Valerius can tell us about contemporary Roman attitudes to religion, attacking several orthodoxies along the way. He argues that Roman religion could be deeply emotional. That it was possible to believe passionately in the divinity of the emperor - even when, like Tiberius, he was still alive - and that Rome's gods and religious rituals had an important role in fostering conventional morality.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203463269

"Egyptian Mummies" is regarded by egyptologists as the classic account of mummification in ancient Egypt. Originally published in 1924, its re-issue in complete form will be welcomed by all those who have sought rare second hand copies in vain. This book provides the most comprehensive account available of the technical processes and materials employed by the ancient Egyptian embalmers together with a historical analysis of their modification throughout the dynastic period. The authors draw on fully illustrated archaeological and pathological evidence together with Egyptian and Greek textual references to provide a thorough survey of the mummification process and attendant funeral ceremonies, and to offer clues to an understanding of the custom's significance and the reasons for its adoption.

Oedipus Tyrannus by the great tragedian Sophocles is one of the most famous works of ancient Greek literature. The play has always been admired for the tight unity of its plot; every bit of every scene counts towards the dramatic effect. The action is concentrated into a single day in Oedipus' life; his heinous crimes of unwittingly killing his father and marrying his mother all lie long ago in the past, and now, in the action of this one day, there awaits for him only the discovery of the truth. Oedipus is portrayed as a noble king, deeply devoted to his people and they to him. Proud of his earlier defeat of the Sphinx, he is determined to save his city once again, and he unflinchingly pursues the truth of who he is and what he has done, unaware that it will bring him to disaster. The spectators, familiar with Oedipus' story, wait in horrified suspense for that terrible moment of realisation to arrive. And when it does, Oedipus survives it: he takes full responsibility for what he has done, accepts the grief and the pain, and carries on, remaining indomitable to the end. Sophocles gives no answer as to why Oedipus is made to suffer his tragic fate. He simply shows us how human life is; how even a great and good man can be brought to the utmost misery through no fault of his own. The gods may, for no apparent reason, deal out unbelievable suffering, but humankind can survive it. Jenny March's new facing-page translation brings alive the power and complexities of Sophocles' writing, with a substantial introduction and a detailed commentary.