Welcome, this is my first blog entry which will be used as a means to express my thoughts, inquisitions and the challenges I will face whilst undertaking ‘Ancient Greek Religion’ as a module at my final year at Roehampton University in London.
This first blog is an introduction to the different areas that will be further explored throughout my course.
It is evident throughout history that religion has had such a central role in our society. It has influenced our behaviour, our choices and in some ways, has become so embedded that it can be effortless to oversee it on an everyday basis such as certain festivals and holidays…even the word holiday itself!
Every week I will concentrate on an aspect of the module that has interested me and I will use perhaps a deity, myth or a ritual to support my argument. By taking this approach I am not restricted to one deity but allowed to pick a variety in order to support my line of reasoning. However, the set back with this method is that I cannot present to you in advance the scholarship I will be engaging with since they will change on a weekly basis. Nonetheless I will always supply a bibliography further reading for the areas I have not been able to explore in depth.
Throughout my blog entries, I will be exploring questions that anyone about to embark on a journey to investigate ancient Greek religion will face some time or another. I will be tackling obstacles that, we as historians have to overcome and most importantly, learn how to overcome them correctly, in a manner that it would not oversimplify or ‘over-alienate’ ancient Greek religion in comparison to our own. Questions like: why did they worship and visualise their gods the way they did? How do we study the pantheon without undermining its purpose? How much can it tell us about the way that the Greeks saw their gods? And mainly, what can we learn about their society through their way of worship?
In other words…
“For a person who is about to embark on any serious discourse or task, it is proper to begin first with the gods” (Demosthenes, Letters 1.1)
Bibliography:
- Dem. Letters 1.1
- Larson, J. (2007) Ancient Greek Cults: A Guide, New York and London: Routledge
- Swadding, J. (2011) 'Religion and the Games' http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/greeks/greek_olympics_gallery_02.shtml last accessed 23/11/11 (image)
- Zaidman, L.B. and Schmitt Pantel, P. (1992) Religion in the Ancient Greek City, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
