ISBN : 9780198810179
This handbook offers both students and teachers of ancient Greek religion a comprehensive overview of the current state of scholarship in the subject, from the Archaic to the Hellenistic periods. It not only presents key information, but also explores the ways in which such information is gathered and the different approaches that have shaped the area. In doing so, the volume provides a crucial research and orientation tool for students of the ancient world, and also makes a vital contribution to the key debates surrounding the conceptualization of ancient Greek religion. The handbook's initial chapters lay out the key dimensions of ancient Greek religion, approaches to evidence, and the representations of myths. The following chapters discuss the continuities and differences between religious practices in different cultures, including Egypt, the Near East, the Black Sea, and Bactria and India. The range of contributions emphasizes the diversity of relationships between mortals and the supernatural - in all their manifestations, across, between, and beyond ancient Greek cultures - and draws attention to religious activities as dynamic, highlighting how they changed over time, place, and context.
List of Figures
Abbreviations and Conventions
List of Contributors
IntroductionEsther Eidinow and Julia Kindt:
Part 1: What is Ancient Greek Religion?
1 Robin Osborne: Unity vs. Diversity?
2 Tom Harrison: Belief vs. Practice?
3 Emily Kearns: Old vs. New?
4 Vinciane Pirenne Delforge and Gabriella Pironti: Many vs. One?
Part 2: Types of Evidence
5 Milette Gaifman: Visual Evidence
6 Hannah Willey: Literary Evidence: Prose
7 Renaud Gagne: Literary Evidence: Poetry
8 Claire Taylor: Epigraphic Evidence
9 Caitlin E. Barrett: Material Evidence
10 David Martinez: Papyrology
Part 3: Myths? Contexts and Representations
11 Richard Martin: Epic
12 Tanja Scheer: Art and Imagery
13 Claude Calame: Drama
14 Robert Fowler: History
15 Rick Benitez and Harold Tarrant: Philosophy
Part 4: Where?
16 Mike Scott: Temples and Sanctuaries
17 Matt Dillon: Households, Families, and Women
18 Kostas Vlassopoulos: Religion in Communities
19 Christy Constantakopoulou: Regional Religious Groups, Amphictionies, and Other Leagues
Part 5: How?
20 Mike Flower: Religious Expertise
21 Ralph Anderson: New Gods
22 Hugh Bowden: Impiety
23 Andrej Petrovic: 'Sacred Law'
Part 6: Who?
24 Susan Deacy: Gods: Olympian or Chthonic
25 Carolina Lopez-Ruiz: Gods: Origins
26 Gunnel Ekroth: Heroes: Living or Dead?
27 Emanuel Voutiras: Dead or Alive?
28 Giulia Sfameni Gasparro: Daimonic Power
29 Ivana Petrovic: Deification: Gods or Men?
Part 7: What?
30 Henk Versnel: Prayer and Curse
31 Fred Naiden: Sacrifice
32 Sarah Iles Johnston: Oracles and Divination
33 Verity Platt: Epiphany
34 Fritz Graf: Healing
Part 8: When?
35 Sarah Hitch: From Birth to Death: Life-changing Rituals
36 Jan-Matheiu Carbon: Ritual Cycles: Calendars and Festivals
37 Radcliffe Edmonds III: Imagining the After-Life
Part 9: Beyond?
38 Gillian Shepherd: Magna Graecia (South Italy and Sicily)
39 Maya Muratov: The Northern Black Sea: The Case of the Bosporan Kingdom
40 Jan Bremmer: The Ancient Near East
41 Kathrin Kleibl: Greco-Egyptian Religion
42 Rachael Mairs: Bactria and India
43 Lisa Raphals: China and Greece: Comparisons and Insights
Index
