Im antiken Judentum ebenso wie in den christlichen Monarchien Europas waren die heiligen Schriften ein bedeutsames Reservoir zur Argumentation nicht nur in theologischen Fragen, sondern auch auf dem Feld der Politik. Dies gilt in besonderem Masse, seitdem die Bibel in einem Textkanon festgelegt ist. Der vorliegende Sammelband geht kultur- und epochenubergreifend der Frage nach, wie die Bibel jeweils zur politischen Argumentation herangezogen wurde, welche Gruppen sich ihrer bedienten und welche Textstellen sich zur politischen Argumentation offensichtlich in besonderer Weise anboten. Dabei richtet sich der Blick insbesondere auf politische Konflikte, in denen die Legitimitat von monarchischer Herrschaft von der Antike bis zur Fruhen Neuzeit auf dem Prufstand stand."

"What is a Greek priest?" The volume, which has its origins in a symposium held at the Center for Hellenic Studies in Washington, D.C., focuses on the question through a variety of lenses: the visual representation of cult personnel, priests as ritual experts, variations of priesthood, ideal concepts and their transformation, and the role of manteis. Each chapter looks at how priests and religious officials used a potential authority to promote themselves and their posts, how they played a role in conserving, shaping and reviving cult activity, how they acted behind the curtain of polis institutions, and how they performed as mediators between men and gods. It becomes clear that Greek priests had many faces, and that the factors that determined their roles and activities are political as well as historical, religious as well as economic, idealistic as well as pragmatic, personal as well as communal.