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Healing, Disease and Placebo in Graeco-Roman Asclepius Temples
narrates a story of religious healing that took place at
sanctuaries dedicated to the ancient Greek god Asclepius, the so
called asclepieia. The Asclepius cult, which attracted supplicants
afflicted by various illnesses, appeared in Greece in the sixth
century BCE, thrived in the Hellenistic period and spread
throughout the Graeco-Roman world only declining during the final
dominance of Christianity in the fifth century CE. This study
analyses inscriptions from the asclepieia which were supposed to
record personal stories of healing. Using the archaeological and
historical evidence it looks at the placebo effect and the role it
may have played in healing at the Asclepius sanctuaries in light of
contemporary theories and neurocognitive research on placebo
effects. It explores the specific biological, cognitive, and
psychological processes as well as the external cultural and social
influences that would have shaped personal healing experiences. It
is the first historical study of the Asclepius cult which
integrates theoretical insights into the human mind provided by
neurocognitive sciences. It can be considered a cognitive
historiography of patients who visited the asclepieia as
supplicants which aims to deepen our understanding of past minds
and, more generally, of human cognition.
Healing, Disease and Placebo in Graeco-Roman Asclepius Temples
narrates a story of religious healing that took place at
sanctuaries dedicated to the ancient Greek god Asclepius, the so
called asclepieia. The Asclepius cult, which attracted supplicants
afflicted by various illnesses, appeared in Greece in the sixth
century BCE, thrived in the Hellenistic period and spread
throughout the Graeco-Roman world only declining during the final
dominance of Christianity in the fifth century CE. This study
analyses inscriptions from the asclepieia which were supposed to
record personal stories of healing. Using the archaeological and
historical evidence it looks at the placebo effect and the role it
may have played in healing at the Asclepius sanctuaries in light of
contemporary theories and neurocognitive research on placebo
effects. It explores the specific biological, cognitive, and
psychological processes as well as the external cultural and social
influences that would have shaped personal healing experiences. It
is the first historical study of the Asclepius cult which
integrates theoretical insights into the human mind provided by
neurocognitive sciences. It can be considered a cognitive
historiography of patients who visited the asclepieia as
supplicants which aims to deepen our understanding of past minds
and, more generally, of human cognition.
The Roman Mithras Cult: A Cognitive Approach is the first full
cognitive history of an ancient religion. In this groundbreaking
book on one of the most intriguing and mysterious ancient
religions, Roger Beck and Olympia Panagiotidou show how cognitive
historiography can supplement our historical knowledge and deepen
our understanding of past cultural phenomenon. The cult of the sun
god Mithras, which spread widely across the Greco-Roman world at
the same time as other 'mystery cults' and Christianity, offered to
its devotees certain images and assumptions about reality.
Initiation into the mysteries of Mithras and participation in the
life of the cult significantly affected and transformed the ways in
which the initiated perceived themselves, the world, and their
position within it. The cult's major ideas were conveyed mainly
through its major symbolic complexes. The ancient written
testimonies and other records are not adequate to establish a
definitive reconstruction of Mithraic theologies and the meaning of
its complex symbolic structures. Filling this gap, The Roman
Mithras Cult: A Cognitive Approach identifies the cognitive and
psychological processes which took place in the minds and bodies of
the Mithraists during their initiation and participation in the
mysteries, enabling the perception, apprehension, and integration
of the essential images and assumptions of the cult in its
worldview system.
This book is the first full cognitive history of an ancient
religious practice. In this ground-breaking study on one of the
most intriguing and mysterious cults, Olympia Panagiotidou, with
contributions from Roger Beck, shows how cognitive historiography
can supplement our historical knowledge and deepen our
understanding of past cultural phenomena. The cult of the sun god
Mithras, which spread widely across the Graeco-Roman world at the
same time as other 'mystery cults', offered its devotees certain
images and assumptions about reality. Initiation into the mysteries
of Mithras and participation in the life of the cult significantly
affected and transformed the ways in which the initiated perceived
themselves, the world, and their position within it. The cult's
major ideas were conveyed mainly through its symbolic complexes.
The ancient written testimonies and other records are not adequate
to establish a definitive reconstruction of Mithraic theologies and
the meaning of its complex symbolic structures. The Roman Mithras
Cult identifies the cognitive and psychological processes which
would have taken place in the minds and bodies of the Mithraists
during their initiation and participation in the mysteries,
enabling the perception, apprehension, and integration of the
essential images and assumptions of the cult in its worldview
system.
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