The Matter of the Gods

Religion and the Roman Empire

Clifford Ando author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:University of California Press

Published:3rd Apr '09

Should be back in stock very soon

The Matter of the Gods cover

What did the Romans know about their gods? Why did they perform the rituals of their religion, and what motivated them to change those rituals? To these questions Clifford Ando proposes simple answers: in contrast to ancient Christians, who had faith, Romans had knowledge, and their knowledge was empirical in orientation. In other words, the Romans acquired knowledge of the gods through observation of the world, and their rituals were maintained or modified in light of what they learned. After a preface and opening chapters that lay out this argument about knowledge and place it in context, "The Matter of the Gods" pursues a variety of themes essential to the study of religion in history.

"Will cause many people to reconsider what they think they know about the Roman religion." New England Classical Journal "Contends that in contrast to early Christians who had faith, the Romans had knowledge that was empirical in orientation." New Testament Abstracts

ISBN: 9780520259867

Dimensions: 229mm x 152mm x 20mm

Weight: 363g

270 pages