Introducing New Gods: The Politics of Athenian Religion

by Robert Garland

Overview

The religious imagination of the Greeks, Robert Garland observes, was populated by divine beings whose goodwill could not be counted upon, and worshipers faced a heavy burden of choice among innumerable deities to whom they might offer their devotion. These deities—and Athenian polytheism itself—remained in constant flux as cults successively came into favor and waned. Examining the means through which the Athenians established and marketed cults, this handsomely illustrated book is the first to illuminate the full range of motives—political and economic, as well as spiritual—that prompted them to introduce new gods.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780801474866
Publisher:	Cornell University Press
Publication date:	11/13/2008
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.90(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Robert Garland is Director of the Division of the Humanities and Roy D. and Margaret B. Wooster Professor of the Classics at Colgate University.

What People are Saying About This

Paula Perlman

Introducing New Gods proposes new and provocative ways to view the religious history of ancient Athens. By contextualizing the topic, Robert Garland demonstrates that the relationship between the community and its cults was a dynamic one. He not only avoids skepticism concerning the spiritual content of ancient Greek religion, but forces us to confront modern prejudices.

Editorial Reviews

In this book Robert Garland gives us a set of well-researched studies on a subject of importance for ancient Greece and Western civilization. Classical Greece presents a multitude of modestly scaled, sovereign communities, connected by common culture and with religion a salient feature. Each polis possessed cults of pan-Hellenic, Olympian divinities and cults of heroes. The pattern of cults in a given polis was the result of that city's individual history, with all the variety and quirkiness characteristic of historical evolution. Garland describes how one polis, Athens, acquired its constellation of cults.

American Historical Review

In this book Robert Garland gives us a set of well-researched studies on a subject of importance for ancient Greece and Western civilization. Classical Greece presents a multitude of modestly scaled, sovereign communities, connected by common culture and with religion a salient feature. Each polis possessed cults of pan-Hellenic, Olympian divinities and cults of heroes. The pattern of cults in a given polis was the result of that city's individual history, with all the variety and quirkiness characteristic of historical evolution. Garland describes how one polis, Athens, acquired its constellation of cults.

-- "American Historical Review"

Religious innovation is a special problem for polytheists. Worshipers face a heavy burden of choice among countless competitive deities. Religion and politics, nowhere easy to separate, are here inseparable. Every attempt to introduce a new god creates a political and social crisis. New cults seem an obvious key to cultural change in Ancient Greece, but the subject has been relatively neglected. In this nicely written and illustrated book, Robert Garland does much to fill the gap.

-- "Journal of the American Academy of Religion"

From the Publisher

The religious imagination of the Greeks, Garland (classics, Colgate U.) observes, was populated by divine beings whose goodwill could not be counted upon, and worshippers faced a heavy burden of choice among innumerable deities to whom they might offer their devotion. Examining the means through which the Athenians established and marketed cults, Garland illuminates the full range of motives--political and economic, as well as spiritual--which prompted them to introduce new gods. Includes 30 b&w photographs and 14 line drawings. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews

Religious innovation is a special problem for polytheists. Worshipers face a heavy burden of choice among countless competitive deities. Religion and politics, nowhere easy to separate, are here inseparable. Every attempt to introduce a new god creates a political and social crisis. New cults seem an obvious key to cultural change in Ancient Greece, but the subject has been relatively neglected. In this nicely written and illustrated book, Robert Garland does much to fill the gap.

Journal of the American Academy of Religion