Household and Family Religion in Antiquity
Saul M Olyan editor John Bodel editor
Format:Hardback
Publisher:John Wiley and Sons Ltd
Published:16th May '08
Should be back in stock very soon
This hardback is available in another edition too:
- Paperback£37.95(9781118255339)
The first book to explore the religious dimensions of the family and the household in ancient Mediterranean and West Asian antiquity.
- Advances our understanding of household and familial religion, as opposed to state-sponsored or civic temple cults
- Reconstructs domestic and family religious practices in Egypt, Greece, Rome, Israel, Mesopotamia, Ugarit, Emar, and Philistia
- Explores many household rituals, such as providing for ancestral spirits, and petitioning of a household's patron deities or of spirits associated with the house itself
- Examines lifecycle rituals – from pregnancy and birth to maturity, old age, death, and beyond
- Looks at religious practices relating to the household both within the home itself and other spaces, such as at extramural tombs and local sanctuaries
"While studies on the purpose and place of religion in ancient family life have been a topic of scholarly interest for some decades, this book is unique in both the scope of the papers presented and the underlying theoretical approaeh by which they are linked." (Journal of World History, December 2009)
"The volume stands as a splendid landmark in opening up comparative discussion about family and domestic religion in the ancient world, and does so with an admirably wide-reaching geographical and chronological scope" (New England Classics Journal, August 2009)
"This volume will find its place on the bookshelf of anyone looking for an authoritative treatment of religion and society in Mediterranean and West Asian antiquity." (The Classical Journal, August 2009)
"As a collection of essays that provides insightful consideration of family or household religious life in many Near Eastern and classical cultures, it has the added benefit of offering a comparative perspective." (Catholic Biblical Quarterly, Spring 2009)
"[I would] recommend the book as a worthy addition to the field of ancient religious studies and a good read for those interested in the subject." (Scholia Reviews, 2009)
"The methodology of the volume is thus simultaneously contextual and comparative. An introductory essay provides a theorization of 'family,' 'household,' and 'religion' as analytical and comparative categories. A conclusion, written by the editors, offers comparative perspectives and suggests directions for future research. The individual essays provide excellent introductions to family religion in various historical periods, and would work well as introductory readings in undergraduate and graduate courses.... Recommended." (CHOICE)
"[The book] offers a counterpart to text-based religion - which equates to civic, public, state religion - by analysing religious rituals, locations and objects in setting governed more by collective memory than by rules." (The Times Literary Supplement, August 2008)
ISBN: 9781405175791
Dimensions: 254mm x 180mm x 23mm
Weight: 771g
346 pages