The Names of the Gods in Ancient Mediterranean Religions

Studying the names of twelve Mediterranean gods reveals the changing aspects of the divine in antiquity.

Corinne Bonnet (Edited by), Ralph Häussler (Translated by), Ian Rutherford (Preface by)

9781009394826, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 7 March 2024

306 pages, 47 colour illus. 1 map
23.6 x 15.7 x 2.2 cm, 0.59 kg

'A fascinating collection of essays that demonstrate that the multiplicity and complexity of divine appellations are not arbitrary but respond to logic and reason and display an astonishing plurality of religious systems even though talking about gods remains a daring endeavour for the people of the ancient world.' Anselm C. Hagedorn, Journal for the Study of the Old Testament

From Greece to Palmyra, Tyre or Babylon, the names of the gods, like 'Thundering Zeus', 'Three-faced Moon', 'Baal of the Force' or the enigmatic YHWH, reveal their history, family ties, fields of competence and capacity for action. Shared or specific, these names bring to light networks of gods: the Saviour gods, the Ancestral gods, the gods of a city or a family. Names tell stories about the relationship between men and gods, gods and places, places and cultures and so on. They show how gods travel and spread, how they appear and disappear, how they participate in the political, social, intellectual history of each community. Through the study of divine names, the twelve chapters of this book unfold a gallery of portraits that reveal the changing aspects of the divine throughout the ancient Mediterranean.

Introduction. In the mirror of Vertumnus
1. 'To the Immortals everything is possible': portraits of Homeric gods between savagery and empathy Corinne Bonnet
2. All sides of the moon: a Greek incantation from late antique Egypt Thomas Galoppin
3. 'May the Force be with you!'. Men and gods in battle in the Phoenician world Maria Bianco
4. Dionysos in the mirror of Poseidon: crossed onomastic portraits Sylvain Lebreton
5. Lord of the Universe, the World and Eternity: Gods with unlimited powers in Palmyra? Aleksandra Kubiak-Schneider
6. This is not a name: the polyvalence of divine names in Mesopotamia Marinella Ceravolo
7. The sword and the patera: Zeus Helios Great Sarapis Laurent Bricault
8. A travelling portrait: the Baal of Tyre, from one rock to another Elodie Guillon
9. Pantheus, a 'total' god in the Greek and Roman world Ginevra Benedetti
10. 'I will be who I will be' (Exod. 3:14). Portrait of a deity that would be nameless and imageless Fabio Porzia
11. Golden locks among the Greeks, or the hair secrets of the beautiful Apollo Adeline Grand-Clément
12. Athena – Artemis. An attempt to outline two sisters by their epiclesis Pierre Brulé.

Subject Areas: Ancient history: to c 500 CE [HBLA]