One God

Pagan Monotheism in the Roman Empire

Stephen Mitchell editor Peter Van Nuffelen editor

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Cambridge University Press

Published:21st Jan '21

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One God cover

This book establishes a framework for understanding the relationship between polytheistic and monotheistic religious cultures between the first and fourth centuries.

Graeco-Roman religion in its classic form was polytheistic, but monotheistic ideas enjoyed wide currency in ancient philosophy. This book establishes a new framework for understanding the relationship between polytheistic and monotheistic religious cultures between the first and fourth centuries AD.Graeco-Roman religion in its classic form was polytheistic; on the other hand, monotheistic ideas enjoyed wide currency in ancient philosophy. This contradiction provides a challenge for our understanding of ancient pagan religion. Certain forms of cult activity, including acclamations of 'one god' and the worship of theos hypsistos, the highest god, have sometimes been interpreted as evidence for pagan monotheism. This book discusses pagan monotheism in its philosophical and intellectual context, traces the evolution of new religious ideas in the time of the Roman empire, and evaluates the usefulness of the term 'monotheism' as a way of understanding these developments in later antiquity outside the context of Judaism and Christianity. In doing so, it establishes a framework for understanding the relationship between polytheistic and monotheistic religious cultures between the first and fourth centuries AD.

'Whether or not one finds the term pagan monotheism useful, and I do, this volume is … extraordinarily effective in conveying the continuities between paganism, ancient Judaism and Christianity.' Bryn Mawr Classical Review

ISBN: 9781108984966

Dimensions: 229mm x 152mm x 13mm

Weight: 340g

249 pages