Ancient religions and Mythologies

The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Studies responds to and celebrates the explosion of research in this inter-disciplinary field over recent decades.

Forms of Astonishment sets out to interpret a number of Greek myths about the transformations of humans and gods.

This book is the first attempt that has ever been made to give a comprehensive account of the religious life of ancient Athens.

The Strangeness of Gods combines studies of changes in modern interpretations of Greek religion with studies of changes in Athenian ritual.

Singing for the Gods develops a new approach towards an old question in the study of religion - the relationship of myth and ritual.

A study of animal sacrifice within Greek paganism, Judaism, and Christianity during the period of their interaction between about 100 BC and AD 200.

'a Greek gentleman in a straw hat, standing absolutely motionless at a slight angle to the universe' E.

A study of the religious system of Mithraism, one of the 'mystery cults' popular in the Roman Empire contemporary with early Christianity.

'Once upon a time there were just the gods; mortal beings did not yet exist.

The Roman Empire was a remarkable achievement.

What is a grimoire?

Polybius boldly declared that 'now that all places have become accessible by land or sea, it is no longer appropriate to use poets and writers of myth as witnesses of the unknown' (4.

Homer and the Poetics of Hades offers a new and unique approach to the Iliad and, more particularly, the Odyssey through an exploration of the role and function of the Underworld as a poetic resource permitting an alternative perspective on the epic past.

Homer and the Poetics of Hades offers a new and unique approach to the Iliad and, more particularly, the Odyssey through an exploration of the role and function of the Underworld as a poetic resource permitting an alternative perspective on the epic past.

What is good luck and what did it mean to the Romans?

What is good luck and what did it mean to the Romans?

Osiris, god of the dead, was one of ancient Egypt's most important deities.

Osiris, god of the dead, was one of ancient Egypt's most important deities.

Of all the divinities of classical antiquity, the Greek Hermes (Mercury in his Roman alter ego) is the most versatile, enigmatic, complex, and ambiguous.

Of all the divinities of classical antiquity, the Greek Hermes (Mercury in his Roman alter ego) is the most versatile, enigmatic, complex, and ambiguous.

Was Ancient Greek religion really 'mere ritualism'?

Was Ancient Greek religion really 'mere ritualism'?

The powerful gods of Greece, Rome, and Scandinavia, the more mystical deities of Buddhist and Hindu India, and the stern spirits of the African and American continents all reflect very different civilizations, yet they also demonstrate the unity of mankind in its fundamental need for explanations of the unknown.

The Epic Distilled is a rich exploration of Virgil's use of sources in the Aeneid, considering elements of history, geography, mythology, and ethnography.

The Epic Distilled is a rich exploration of Virgil's use of sources in the Aeneid, considering elements of history, geography, mythology, and ethnography.

Polybius boldly declared that 'now that all places have become accessible by land or sea, it is no longer appropriate to use poets and writers of myth as witnesses of the unknown' (4.

What and how do people remember?

This handbook offers both students and teachers of ancient Greek religion a comprehensive overview of the current state of scholarship in the subject, from the Archaic to the Hellenistic periods.

This handbook offers both students and teachers of ancient Greek religion a comprehensive overview of the current state of scholarship in the subject, from the Archaic to the Hellenistic periods.

The nineteenth century is a key period in the history of the interpretation of the Greek gods.

The establishment of the Augustan regime presents itself as the assertion of order and rationality in the political, ideological, and artistic spheres, after the disorder and madness of the civil wars of the late Republic.

Many scholars today believe that early Greek literature, as represented by the great poems of Homer and Hesiod, was to some extent inspired by texts from the neighbouring civilizations of the ancient Near East, especially Mesopotamia.

This richly illustrated history provides a readable and fresh approach to the extensive and complex story of witchcraft and magic.

This richly illustrated history provides a readable and fresh approach to the extensive and complex story of witchcraft and magic.

In ancient Greece, epiphanies were embedded in cultural production, and employed by the socio-political elite in both perpetuating pre-existing power-structures and constructing new ones.

'Athena seized the writhing serpent and hurled it into the sky, and fixed it to the very pole of the heavens.

'Athena seized the writhing serpent and hurled it into the sky, and fixed it to the very pole of the heavens.

A Cyclops is popularly assumed to be nothing more than a flesh-eating, one-eyed monster.

The history of Roman imperial religion is of fundamental importance to the history of religion in Europe.

In the dying days of the eighth century, the Vikings erupted onto the international stage with brutal raids and slaughter.

In the dying days of the eighth century, the Vikings erupted onto the international stage with brutal raids and slaughter.

Late Bronze Age tombs in Greece and their attendant mortuary practices have been a topic of scholarly debate for over a century, dominated by the idea of a monolithic culture with the same developmental trajectories throughout the region.

Late Bronze Age tombs in Greece and their attendant mortuary practices have been a topic of scholarly debate for over a century, dominated by the idea of a monolithic culture with the same developmental trajectories throughout the region.

Whatever we may think of Alexander--whether Great or only lucky, a civilizer or a sociopath--most people do not regard him as a religious leader.

Whatever we may think of Alexander--whether Great or only lucky, a civilizer or a sociopath--most people do not regard him as a religious leader.

Rome's Capitoline Hill was the smallest of the Seven Hills of Rome.

In the Greek Classical period, the symposium--the social gathering at which male citizens gathered to drink wine and engage in conversation--was held in a room called the andron.

In the Greek Classical period, the symposium--the social gathering at which male citizens gathered to drink wine and engage in conversation--was held in a room called the andron.

The Roman emperor Augustus gave his name to the age he dominated, from the latter half of the first century BC until the second decade of the following century.

The Roman emperor Augustus gave his name to the age he dominated, from the latter half of the first century BC until the second decade of the following century.