Prolegomena to the Study of Greek Religion

This article will look into the phenomenon of syncretism from two different points of view. Firstly, syncretism will be discussed from a conceptual perspective in relation to elaborations on belief, an equally perplexing concept in the studies of ancient Greek religion. Secondly, a very selective example of the syncretism between the goddess Demeter and Isis as an object of veneration in Ptolemaic Egypt will be looked at more closely in order to bring the conceptual perspective into closer contact with the contextual one. It will be argued that syncretism can be regarded both as an essence of polytheistic religious systems in particular, and as a process of syncretization. Once a metaphorical understanding of syncretism is added to these views, believing in a syncretistic deity (Demeter-Isis in our case) appears doubtful since a new entity in a polytheistic belief-system would have entailed a fundamental change in the belief system itself as well as an introduction of totally new features to the conception of deities in general.

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Animal sacrifice in ancient Greek religion, Judaism and Christianity, 100 BC to AD 200, by M.-Z. Petropoulou (book review)

Opuscula Annual of the Swedish Institutes at Athens and Rome ◽

10.30549/opathrom-02-13 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 2 ◽

pp. 221-224

Author(s):

Gunnel Ekroth

Keyword(s):

Ancient Greek ◽

Greek Religion ◽

Animal Sacrifice

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A view from the Greek side

Journal of Ancient Judaism ◽

10.30965/21967954-00701004 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 7 (1) ◽

pp. 35-50

Author(s):

Gunnel Ekroth

Keyword(s):

Comparative Perspective ◽

Ancient Greek ◽

Greek Religion ◽

Bone Material ◽

Archaeological Material ◽

Animal Bone ◽

Animal Bones ◽

Starting Point ◽

Integrated Study ◽

Written Sources

This paper addresses the animal bone material from ancient Qumran, from the comparative perspective of zooarchaeological evidence recovered in ancient Greek cult contexts. The article offers an overview of the paramount importance of animal bones for the understanding of ancient Greek religion and sacrificial practices in particular, followed by a review of the Qumran material, taking as its starting point the zooarchaeological evidence and the archaeological find contexts. The methodological complications of letting the written sources guide the interpretation of the archaeological material are explored, and it is suggested that the Qumran bones are to be interpreted as remains of ritual meals following animal sacrifices, as proposed by Jodi Magness. The presence of calcined bones additionally supports the proposal that there was once an altar in area L130, and it is argued that the absence of preserved altar installations in many ancient sanctuaries cannot be used as an argument against their ever having been present. Finally, the similarities between Israelite and Greek sacrificial practices are touched upon, arguing for the advantages of a continued and integrated study of these two sacrificial systems based on the zooarchaeological evidence.

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VI. Gender

New Surveys in the Classics ◽

10.1017/s0533245120000085 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 46 ◽

pp. 79-96

Keyword(s):

Role Models ◽

Real Life ◽

Sexual Fluidity ◽

Greek Religion ◽

The West ◽

Proper Place ◽

Women In Art ◽

Lgbt Community ◽

Gendered Roles ◽

Representations Of Women

In the West, recent years have witnessed a big increase in accepting sexual fluidity, as manifested in the growing visibility of the LGBT community. It was different in antiquity, where a binary culture of masculinity and femininity prevailed, although reality will have been more diverse. Ancient historians and literary scholars have worked on concepts of masculinity in antiquity, but more recent studies of Greek religion have mainly analysed positions and representations of women, in so far as they have focused on gender differences at all. I will therefore first look at some elements of the female life cycle and daily life (§1), then consider representations of women in art and myth, and goddesses as possible role models (§2), and conclude with a discussion of the most important women's festivals (§3). At all times, we should keep in mind, however, that the real life of women probably differed significantly from male ideologies of their worth and proper place. This means that, although I focus on female gendered roles, male gendered roles will play a role too, even if more indirectly than directly in this chapter.

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Theologies of Ancient Greek Religion. Edited by EstherEidinow, JuliaKindt and RobinOsborne. Pp. xvii, 423, Cambridge University Press (Cambridge Classical Studies), 2016, £74.99.

The Heythrop Journal ◽

10.1111/heyj.13811 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 62 (2) ◽

pp. 332-333

Author(s):

Robin Waterfield

Keyword(s):

Ancient Greek ◽

Greek Religion ◽

Cambridge University ◽

Classical Studies

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Religion without doctrine or clergy: the case of Ancient Greece

Journal of Institutional Economics ◽

10.1017/s1744137421000461 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-15

Author(s):

George Tridimas

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Interest Group ◽

Ancient Greece ◽

Ancient Greek ◽

Greek Religion ◽

Distinct Class ◽

Religious Doctrine ◽

Moral Behaviour ◽

Mass Participation

Abstract The paper examines doctrinal and political reasons to explain why the Ancient Greek religion did not feature a distinct class of professional priests as suppliers of religious goods. Doctrinal reasons relate to worshiping a multitude of powerful anthropomorphic gods with flawed characters; absence of a founder of religion and of a scripture; lack of religious doctrine and of a code of moral behaviour and piety manifested as mass participation in rituals. These factors denied religious suppliers the opportunity to form a monopoly acting as an autonomous intermediary between humans and gods. Political reasons relate to the supremacy of the demos which watchfully guarded its decision-making powers and prevented other actors like a priestly interest group to challenge its authority.

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