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The Cosmos in Ancient Greek Religious Experience

Sacred Space, Memory, and Cognition

Efrosyni Boutsikas author

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Cambridge University Press

Published:29th Oct '20

Currently unavailable, currently targeted to be due back around 2nd December 2024, but could change

The Cosmos in Ancient Greek Religious Experience cover

Reconstructs ancient rituals in their day/night/season combining them with relevant mythology and astronomical observations to understand the ritual's cosmological links.

A nuanced study for students and researchers of ancient Greek religion and archaeology. It reveals the importance of cosmological tenets in the performance of ritual and the importance of their location and time for religious education. Also of interest to historians of science, as it explains how astronomy permeated ancient daily life.In this book, Efrosyni Boutsikas examines ancient Greek religious performances, intricately orchestrated displays comprising topography, architecture, space, cult, and myth. These various elements were unified in a way that integrated the body within cosmic space and made the sacred extraordinary. Boutsikas also explores how natural light or the night-sky may have assisted in intensifying the experience of these rituals, and how they may have determined ancient perceptions of the cosmos. The author's digital and virtual reconstructions of ancient skyscapes and religious structures during such occurrences unveil a deeper understanding of the importance of time and place in religious experience. Boutsikas shows how they shaped emotions, cosmological beliefs, and ritual memory of the participants. Her study revolutionises our understanding on ancient emotionality and cognitive experience, demonstrating how Greek religious spaces were vibrant arenas of a shared experience of the cosmos.

'An undoubtedly interesting book, well-researched and rich in new conceptions, that is to be recommended to all students and researchers in ancient Greek religion, architecture, and archaeoastronomy, as well as to anyone, non-expert, interested in these subjects.' Panagiota Markoulaki, Journal of Hellenic Religion

ISBN: 9781108488174

Dimensions: 259mm x 180mm x 18mm

Weight: 770g

278 pages