Greek Polytheism Tested by Herodotus.
Beautiful Letters| N° d'inventaire | 23203 |
| Format | 13.5 x 21 |
| Détails | 251 p., paperback. |
| Publication | Paris, 2020 |
| Etat | Nine |
| ISBN | 9782251451459 |
The religion of the ancient Greeks is regularly the subject of introductions and syntheses. This work stands out for its reflection on the plurality inherent in this religious system. Indeed, the tension between unity and plurality, between general and particular, is constitutive of the relationships that the Greeks maintained with their many gods. Based on this observation, several questions run through the book. What is the relevance of the terms religion and polytheism for understanding ancient Greece? Should we speak of "Greek religion" in the singular or in the plural? Do divine figures dissolve into the variety of their cults to the point of becoming unrecognizable? Can we speak of "belief" in this framework? Was the sacrificial practice strictly local or based on a background shared by all Greek communities? Taking Herodotus's Inquiry as a guiding thread, the investigation aims to do justice to a profusion of gods and rituals, and to make intelligible the fluid plurality of a complex system, far from the impression of chaos to which our own cultural determinisms risk reducing it.
The religion of the ancient Greeks is regularly the subject of introductions and syntheses. This work stands out for its reflection on the plurality inherent in this religious system. Indeed, the tension between unity and plurality, between general and particular, is constitutive of the relationships that the Greeks maintained with their many gods. Based on this observation, several questions run through the book. What is the relevance of the terms religion and polytheism for understanding ancient Greece? Should we speak of "Greek religion" in the singular or in the plural? Do divine figures dissolve into the variety of their cults to the point of becoming unrecognizable? Can we speak of "belief" in this framework? Was the sacrificial practice strictly local or based on a background shared by all Greek communities? Taking Herodotus's Inquiry as a guiding thread, the investigation aims to do justice to a profusion of gods and rituals, and to make intelligible the fluid plurality of a complex system, far from the impression of chaos to which our own cultural determinisms risk reducing it.