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Religion in the Ancient Greek City
This book considers how religious beliefs & cultic rituals were given expression in ancient Greece. The chapters cover ritual, then myth, rooting the account in the practices of the classical city while also taking seriously the world of the imagination. For this edition the bibliography has been substantially revised to meet the needs of an English-speaking readership. The book is enriched by illustrations & quotations from original sources.
List of Illustrations
Author's Preface to the English Translation
Translator's Introduction
List of Sources
1 Introduction: How should we study Greek civic religion? The necessity of cultural estrangement; Some fundamental notions; Sources of evidence
2 Cult-practices. Rituals; Religious personnel; Places of cult; Rites of passage; Settings of religious life; Religion & political life; The festival system: the Athenian case; The Panhellenic cults
3 Systems for representing the divine. Myths & mythology; A polytheistic religion; Forms of imaginative projection
4 Envoi. Concluding reflections
Appendix 1: The classical Greek temple
Appendix 2: The monuments of the Athenian Akropolis
Bibliography
Index & Glossary
List of Illustrations
Author's Preface to the English Translation
Translator's Introduction
List of Sources
1 Introduction: How should we study Greek civic religion? The necessity of cultural estrangement; Some fundamental notions; Sources of evidence
2 Cult-practices. Rituals; Religious personnel; Places of cult; Rites of passage; Settings of religious life; Religion & political life; The festival system: the Athenian case; The Panhellenic cults
3 Systems for representing the divine. Myths & mythology; A polytheistic religion; Forms of imaginative projection
4 Envoi. Concluding reflections
Appendix 1: The classical Greek temple
Appendix 2: The monuments of the Athenian Akropolis
Bibliography
Index & Glossary
306 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1989
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156 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
April 10, 2012
Religion in the Ancient Greek City by Louise Bruit Zaidman and Pauline Schmitt Pantel offers to readers what is probably one of the best introductions to Greek polytheism available. Originally published in France, it bears the marks of that country’s historical tradition, that is, it is often theoretical and anthropological in its nature. This, however, only adds to its effectiveness by providing poignant insight and historical context to the information dealt with. The English translation has been slightly modified in that certain elements have been rearranged from the French version to make the readership more fluid, and it is.
Zaidman and Pantel pepper the text with helpful quotations from the original Greek sources as well as images of relevant artifacts to further the reader’s understanding. The book begins by putting the reader in the correct mindset with which to study ancient polytheism, which is to leave modern definitions of religion and piety at the door and begin to see objectively a truly foreign culture. Next they delve into Greek rituals and mystery cults, and finally into the mind of the ancient Greek in how they saw and understood their deities. Athens is the dominant focus, though a few other cities do get a moderate amount of attention, and Classical Greece is really the period of concern. The chapters are split into subsections that are easy to comprehend.
This being an introduction, it does not go in depth into any single element, but it does give a wealth of knowledge to allow the reader to capably research further on their own. The bibliography, likewise, is extensive.
Zaidman and Pantel pepper the text with helpful quotations from the original Greek sources as well as images of relevant artifacts to further the reader’s understanding. The book begins by putting the reader in the correct mindset with which to study ancient polytheism, which is to leave modern definitions of religion and piety at the door and begin to see objectively a truly foreign culture. Next they delve into Greek rituals and mystery cults, and finally into the mind of the ancient Greek in how they saw and understood their deities. Athens is the dominant focus, though a few other cities do get a moderate amount of attention, and Classical Greece is really the period of concern. The chapters are split into subsections that are easy to comprehend.
This being an introduction, it does not go in depth into any single element, but it does give a wealth of knowledge to allow the reader to capably research further on their own. The bibliography, likewise, is extensive.
December 19, 2025
J'ai beaucoup aimé ce livre, qui s'éloigne beaucoup de ce qu'on peut trouver comme ouvrages francophones sur le sujet. Bien qu'il ne soit pas très épais, il donne les fondations de la religion grecque antique, c'est-à-dire ses gestes et sa pratique, et pose, selon moi, des questions très intéressantes comme les méthodes d'étude des fonctions et des mythes des divinités, ou le symbolisme de leurs représentations anthropomorphiques. Pour moi, ce n'est pas un livre qui apporte des réponses toutes faites mais qui donnent certains éléments de réponse pour pousser à s'interroger, à approfondir, à décortiquer.
Si vous souhaitez des réponses toutes prêtes sur les dieux et leurs cultes, ce n'est pas là que vous les trouverez. Mais si vous souhaitez un ouvrage qui montre la diversité des formes de la religion grecque, de leurs dieux, et qui interrogent notre façon de les interpréter aujourd'hui, alors vous êtes au bon endroit !
Si vous souhaitez des réponses toutes prêtes sur les dieux et leurs cultes, ce n'est pas là que vous les trouverez. Mais si vous souhaitez un ouvrage qui montre la diversité des formes de la religion grecque, de leurs dieux, et qui interrogent notre façon de les interpréter aujourd'hui, alors vous êtes au bon endroit !
October 19, 2014
"notions of likeness and imitation of an external model, which are basic to our definition of an image, were not fundamental to the greeks."
just think about that statement
just think about that statement
September 5, 2014
Louise Bruit Zaidman and Pauline Schmitt Pantel, Religion in the Ancient Greek City, translated by Paul Cartledge (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004). Pp. 280. Paperback.
After reading about sacrifices at the ancient Jerusalem Temple, I was curious as to how sacrifices were carried out in the Greek world. To answer this question, I turned to this book, which was one that was on my undergrad syllabus - a class with Prof. Sellew. Outside of Walter Burkert's book, Greek Religion, this seems to be the best introduction to ancient Greek paganism.
Originally this book was written in French, and then translated by Paul Cartledge. However, the authors state in their preface that this translation has a number of improvements, so instead of thinking of this as a translation, one could think of it as a second edition.
The main thesis of this book is that one can't approach Greek Religion from our viewpoint. If we do, we tend to impose Judeo-Christian categories and values,which forces us to think about Greek religion in a way that would have been foreign to those who practiced it. If we are careful to study Greek Religion from the framework of the ancient Greeks, we notice that religion, politics, and the civil life were all tied together. This observation is what led them to title the book, Religion in the Ancient Greek City.
Some examples of Judeo-Christian values that we can't impose on Greek religion would be the idea that God is the creator and external to creation - Greek gods were themselves created and a lived within creation, in fact rather than gods, we may want to think of them as immortals; the idea that religion is for salvation; and the idea that religion is governed by a set theology or particular book, such as a Bible.
Another example of us imposing Jude-Christian values on Greek religion is the idea that there are "sacraments" that demarcate various stages of life (birth, marriage, death). While there are rituals and sacrifices that existed for these events, we need to remember that ritual was a part of everyday life, so we shouldn't be so quick to see them as unique events. What was most interesting to me was to see that pagan Greek religion had some practices that exist in modern Greek Orthodoxy, ones that don't exist in Roman Catholicism - such as the wearing of crowns at marriages, and circling the hearth/altar for newborns, and weddings. Though this book isn't interested in making modern day connections, I can't help but wonder if our modern practices don't have an origin in ancient Greek religion.
For the Greeks, religion was more about an interaction with the "divine world," so as to maintain a balance for social and civic stability. This comes out very clearly in the rationale behind sacrifices. The myth of Prometheus and Pandora sets the stage for sacrifices (though this isn't universal). Prometheus makes a sacrifice but withholds the best portion for humankind. Zeus gets angry and takes fire away from humans, but Prometheus steals it back. Zeus, again angry, sends Pandora (which means "gift for all") to humans, but this "gift" unlocks all the ills that now plague humanity. This myth explains why certain portions of the sacrifice go to the gods, and why certain portions are eaten by man. Sacrifices symbolically represent a communion that humanity once had with the gods, yet, at the same time, it also represents the gulf that now exists between the divine and the human. While it connects humanity to the primordial events that set the stage for our current existence, it also shows that "fire," like Pandora, was both a gift and a curse.
The book also explains how sacrifices were done; typically three parts: 1) the promenade, 2) the sacrifice, and the 3) butchering and eating of the sacrifice. It then also explains the various competitions that may have been connected to sacrifices: games, theater, music, etc.
One of the best aspects of this book is the way it places religion in an everyday context. It becomes very clear that libations and other sorts of sacrifices were an integral part of life. Religion is played out not only in the home life (oikos), but also as a part of the overall working of the city-states. The book also discusses how religion was able to unite the Greeks in pan-Hellenic celebrations (the most famous for us being the Olympics or the plays in celebration of Dionysus - think of Euripides, Sophocles, Aeschylus, or Aristophanes).
Another amazing discussion in the book was how to understand the myths, and representation of the gods, as a whole. Whereas most books want to discuss each god individually, this book stresses that a proper understanding of the gods is in relationship to one another, and in relationship to the city in which they were worshiped. Though there are a limited number of gods, the roles they played within society varied depending on the city-state, hence the great number of epithets that existed for each god.
In short, I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in how ancient Greek religion worked, and what it meant to those who practiced it. This book will give you a good foundation from which to understand the classical world. It's very readable and not written in a highly academic tone. The only thing it won't do is systematically go through the stories of all the gods - the mythology. However, it will give you a way of understanding classical mythology, if you want to go on and read those stories, and that is very valuable!
After reading about sacrifices at the ancient Jerusalem Temple, I was curious as to how sacrifices were carried out in the Greek world. To answer this question, I turned to this book, which was one that was on my undergrad syllabus - a class with Prof. Sellew. Outside of Walter Burkert's book, Greek Religion, this seems to be the best introduction to ancient Greek paganism.
Originally this book was written in French, and then translated by Paul Cartledge. However, the authors state in their preface that this translation has a number of improvements, so instead of thinking of this as a translation, one could think of it as a second edition.
The main thesis of this book is that one can't approach Greek Religion from our viewpoint. If we do, we tend to impose Judeo-Christian categories and values,which forces us to think about Greek religion in a way that would have been foreign to those who practiced it. If we are careful to study Greek Religion from the framework of the ancient Greeks, we notice that religion, politics, and the civil life were all tied together. This observation is what led them to title the book, Religion in the Ancient Greek City.
Some examples of Judeo-Christian values that we can't impose on Greek religion would be the idea that God is the creator and external to creation - Greek gods were themselves created and a lived within creation, in fact rather than gods, we may want to think of them as immortals; the idea that religion is for salvation; and the idea that religion is governed by a set theology or particular book, such as a Bible.
Another example of us imposing Jude-Christian values on Greek religion is the idea that there are "sacraments" that demarcate various stages of life (birth, marriage, death). While there are rituals and sacrifices that existed for these events, we need to remember that ritual was a part of everyday life, so we shouldn't be so quick to see them as unique events. What was most interesting to me was to see that pagan Greek religion had some practices that exist in modern Greek Orthodoxy, ones that don't exist in Roman Catholicism - such as the wearing of crowns at marriages, and circling the hearth/altar for newborns, and weddings. Though this book isn't interested in making modern day connections, I can't help but wonder if our modern practices don't have an origin in ancient Greek religion.
For the Greeks, religion was more about an interaction with the "divine world," so as to maintain a balance for social and civic stability. This comes out very clearly in the rationale behind sacrifices. The myth of Prometheus and Pandora sets the stage for sacrifices (though this isn't universal). Prometheus makes a sacrifice but withholds the best portion for humankind. Zeus gets angry and takes fire away from humans, but Prometheus steals it back. Zeus, again angry, sends Pandora (which means "gift for all") to humans, but this "gift" unlocks all the ills that now plague humanity. This myth explains why certain portions of the sacrifice go to the gods, and why certain portions are eaten by man. Sacrifices symbolically represent a communion that humanity once had with the gods, yet, at the same time, it also represents the gulf that now exists between the divine and the human. While it connects humanity to the primordial events that set the stage for our current existence, it also shows that "fire," like Pandora, was both a gift and a curse.
The book also explains how sacrifices were done; typically three parts: 1) the promenade, 2) the sacrifice, and the 3) butchering and eating of the sacrifice. It then also explains the various competitions that may have been connected to sacrifices: games, theater, music, etc.
One of the best aspects of this book is the way it places religion in an everyday context. It becomes very clear that libations and other sorts of sacrifices were an integral part of life. Religion is played out not only in the home life (oikos), but also as a part of the overall working of the city-states. The book also discusses how religion was able to unite the Greeks in pan-Hellenic celebrations (the most famous for us being the Olympics or the plays in celebration of Dionysus - think of Euripides, Sophocles, Aeschylus, or Aristophanes).
Another amazing discussion in the book was how to understand the myths, and representation of the gods, as a whole. Whereas most books want to discuss each god individually, this book stresses that a proper understanding of the gods is in relationship to one another, and in relationship to the city in which they were worshiped. Though there are a limited number of gods, the roles they played within society varied depending on the city-state, hence the great number of epithets that existed for each god.
In short, I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in how ancient Greek religion worked, and what it meant to those who practiced it. This book will give you a good foundation from which to understand the classical world. It's very readable and not written in a highly academic tone. The only thing it won't do is systematically go through the stories of all the gods - the mythology. However, it will give you a way of understanding classical mythology, if you want to go on and read those stories, and that is very valuable!
December 19, 2024
Το βιβλίο βοηθάει τον αναγνώστη να καταλάβει τι είδους θρησκεία είναι η ελληνική θρησκεία. Οι συγγραφείς προσφέρουν μια ολική εικόνα για τους θεούς, τις τελετές και εορτές των Ελλήνων της κλασικής εποχής.
January 23, 2011
As an intro text to how Greek religion worked in day-to-day urban life (especially Athens), I don't think the authors really could have done a better job. There aren't any new or shocking revelations, but it is readable, concise, and occasionally funny. There's also a useful list of books that the authors recommend for readers interested in particular topics.
July 28, 2011
One of the best books about Hellenistic religious practices I have ever read. This book takes such a through look at Greek religion - history, gender, culture, class, politics, practices, etc. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in the topic.
January 21, 2015
Solid introduction to Greek religion with an emphasis placed on understanding it in its original context. There are some sections where the translator stuck to the original French syntax too closely, but overall it's a very interesting book.
July 23, 2008
It does alright. It's as structuralist as anyone needs for a general exam. (Emphasis on "general")...
You also learn to appreciate the moments of irony in the book. Sink or swim, I say.
You also learn to appreciate the moments of irony in the book. Sink or swim, I say.
Want to read
March 18, 2009Yay! Minneapolis Central has a copy Dewey #: BL785.Z3513 1992
January 25, 2014
Shamefully Frenchified English translation, though!
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews