Initiation in Ancient Greek Rituals and Narratives: New Critical Perspectives

David Dodd, Christopher A. Faraone

ISBN 10: 0415511054 / ISBN 13: 9780415511056

Published by Routledge 2012-04-05, 2012

About this Item

Seller Inventory # 6666-IUK-9780415511056

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Initiation in Ancient Greek Rituals and Narratives: New Critical Perspectives
• Publisher: Routledge 2012-04-05
• Publication Date: 2012
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0415511054
• ISBN 13: 9780415511056
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

Scholars of classical history and literature have for more than a century accepted `initiation' as a tool for understanding a variety of obscure rituals and myths, ranging from the ancient Greek wedding and adolescent haircutting rituals to initiatory motifs or structures in Greek myth, comedy and tragedy. In this books an international group of experts including Gloria Ferrari, Fritz Graf and Bruce Lincoln, critique many of these past studies, and challenge strongly the tradition of privileging the concept of initiation as a tool for studying social performances and literary texts, in which changes in status or group membership occur in unusual ways. These new modes of research mark an important turning point in the modern study of the religion and myths of ancient Greece and Rome, making this a valuable collection across a number of classical subjects.

About the Author

David Dodd