Religions of the ancient world : a guide / Sarah Iles Johnston, general editor.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Johnston, Sarah Iles, 1957- editor, contributor.

Series:

Harvard University Press reference library.

Harvard University Press Reference Library

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

History, Ancient.

Mediterranean Region--Religion.

Mediterranean Region.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xvii, 697 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates) : illustrations (some colour), maps, plans

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Massachusetts ; London, England : The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2004.

Summary:

"Religious beliefs and practices, which permeated all aspects of life in antiquity, traveled well-worn routes throughout the Mediterranean: itinerant charismatic practitioners journeying from place to place peddled their skills as healers, purifiers, cursers, and initiators; and vessels decorated with illustrations of myths traveled with them. New gods encountered in foreign lands by merchants and conquerors were sometimes taken home to be adapted and adopted. A full understanding of this complex spiritual world unfolds in Religions of the Ancient World, the first basic reference work that collects and organizes available information to offer an expansive, comparative perspective. At once sweeping in scope and groundbreaking in format, the Guide eschews the usual encyclopedic approach, instead presenting, side by side, materials from ten cultures and traditions. Thus specific beliefs, cults, gods, and ritual practices that arose and developed in Mediterranean religions--of Egypt, Anatolia and the Near East, Mesopotamia, Iran, Greece, and the Roman world, from the third millennium to the fourth century C.E.--are interpreted in comparison with one another, and with reference to aspects that crisscross cultural boundaries, such as Cosmology, Myth, Law and Ethics, and Magic. Written by leading scholars of ancient religion, the essays in this guide sketch the various religious histories, raise central theoretical issues, and examine individual topics such as Sacred Times and Spaces; Prayers, Hymns, Incantations, and Curses; Sin, Pollution, and Purity; Death, the Afterlife, and Other Last Things; Divination and Prophecy; Deities and Demons; and Sacred Texts and Canonicity. Clearly and stylishly written, grandly illustrated, this comprehensive work welcomes readers as never before into the diversity and interconnections of religion in the ancient world."--Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Introduction / Sarah Iles Johnston

Note on Translation and Transliteration

Abbreviations

Maps

Encountering Ancient Religions

What Is Ancient Mediterranean Religion? / Fritz Graf

Monotheism and Polytheism / Jan Assmann

Ritual / Jan Bremmer

Myth / Fritz Graf

Cosmology: Time and History / John J. Collins

Pollution, Sin, Atonement, Salvation / Harold W. Attridge

Law and Ethics / Eckart Otto

Mysteries / Sarah Iles Johnston

Religions in Contact / John Scheid

Writing and Religion / Mary Beard

Magic / Sarah Iles Johnston

Histories

Egypt / Jan Assmann and David Frankfurter

Mesopotamia / Paul-Alain Beaulieu

Syria and Canaan / David P. Wright

Israel / John J. Collins

Anatolia: Hittites / David P. Wright

Iran / William Malandra and Michael Stausberg

Minoan and Mycenaean Civilizations / Nanno Marinatos

Greece / Jon Mikalson

Etruria / Olivier de Cazanove

Rome / John North

Early Christianity / Harold Attridge

Key Topics

Sacred Times and Spaces

Religious Personnel

Religious Organizations and Bodies

Sacrifice, Offerings, and Votives

Prayers, Hymns, Incantations, and Curses

Divination and Prophecy

Deities and Demons

Religious Practices of the Individual and Family

Rites of Passage

Illnesses and Other Crises

Death, the Afterlife, and Other Last Things

Sin, Pollution, and Purity

Ethics and Law Codes

Theology, Theodicy, Philosophy

Religion and Politics

Controlling Religion

Myth and Sacred Narratives

Visual Representations

Sacred Texts and Canonicity

Esotericism and Mysticism

Epilogue / Bruce Lincoln

Illustrations

Acknowledgments

Contributors

Index.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9780674264823

0674264827

OCLC:

988942955