Theologies of Ancient Greek Religion

This book does away once and for all with the assumption that only religions of the book think systematically about god(s).

Esther Eidinow (Edited by), Julia Kindt (Edited by), Robin Osborne (Edited by)

9781107153479, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 3 August 2016

438 pages, 16 b/w illus.
22.3 x 14.6 x 2.2 cm, 0.7 kg

'… the volume as a whole reads very well and clear efforts have been made to cross-reference between contributions while the individual contributions strike a nice balance between discussions of more familiar and unfamiliar subject-matter. … Anyone interested in (teaching) Greek religion should consult this book, which has something for everyone.' Gary Vos, Classics For All

Studied for many years by scholars with Christianising assumptions, Greek religion has often been said to be quite unlike Christianity: a matter of particular actions (orthopraxy), rather than particular beliefs (orthodoxies). This volume dares to think that, both in and through religious practices and in and through religious thought and literature, the ancient Greeks engaged in a sustained conversation about the nature of the gods and how to represent and worship them. It excavates the attitudes towards the gods implicit in cult practice and analyses the beliefs about the gods embedded in such diverse texts and contexts as comedy, tragedy, rhetoric, philosophy, ancient Greek blood sacrifice, myth and other forms of storytelling. The result is a richer picture of the supernatural in ancient Greece, and a whole series of fresh questions about how views of and relations to the gods changed over time.

1. Introduction: what might we mean by the theologies of ancient Greek religion? Esther Eidinow, Julia Kindt, Robin Osborne and Shaul Tor
2. The story of theology and the theology of the story Julia Kindt
3. Theologies of the family in Homer and Hesiod Barbara Graziosi
4. Who's afraid of Cypselos? Contested theologies and dynastic dedications Renaud Gagné
5. Heraclitus on Apollo's language and his own: contemplating oracles and philosophical enquiry Shaul Tor
6. The 'theology' of the Dionysia and Old Comedy Eric Csapo
7. Polytheism and tragedy Simon Goldhill
8. Gods and men in ancient Greek conceptions of lawgiving Hannah Willey
9. Popular theology: the gift of divine envy Esther Eidinow
10. Sacrificial theologies Robin Osborne
11. Theologies of statues Milette Gaifman
12. The gods in the Athenian Assembly Gunther Martin
13. Plato and the secularisation of Greek theology Rick Benitez
14. Philosophy as religion and the meaning of 'providence' in Middle Platonism George Boys-Stones
15. Narratives of continuity and discontinuity Peter Van Nuffelen.

Subject Areas: Ancient religions & mythologies [HRKP], Classical history / classical civilisation [HBLA1]