The Gods of Ancient Greece: Identities and Transformations (Edinburgh Leventis Studies)

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0748637982 ISBN 13: 9780748637980

Publisher: Edinburgh University Press, 2010

This collection offers a fresh look at the nature and development of the Greek gods in the period from Homer until Late Antiquity The Greek gods are still very much present in modern consciousness. Although Apollo and Dionysos, Artemis and Aphrodite, Zeus and Hermes are household names, it is much less clear what these divinities meant and stood for in ancient Greece. In fact, they have been very much neglected in modern scholarship. Bremmer and Erskine bring together a team of international scholars with the aim of remedying this situation and generating new approaches to the nature and development of the Greek gods in the period from Homer until Late Antiquity. The Gods of Ancient Greece looks at individual gods, but also asks to what extent cult, myth and literary genre determine the nature of a divinity and presents a synchronic and diachronic view of the gods as they functioned in Greek culture until the triumph of Christianity.

About the Author:

Jan Bremmer is Emeritus Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Groningen.

Andrew Erskine is Professor of Ancient History at the University of Edinburgh.

Review:

"...this is a very rich collection of papers which no one interested in ancient Greek religion can afford to miss." -- Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2011 04.55 "...this is a very rich collection of papers which no one interested in ancient Greek religion can afford to miss."