Understanding Greek Religion

Jennifer Larson is Professor of Classics at Kent State University. Her research interests include Greek poetry, mythology and religion. She is the author of Greek Nymphs: Myth, Cult, Lore (2001) and Ancient Greek Cults: A Guide (2007).

• ContentsList of Illustrations, Maps and TablesPreface and AcknowledgmentsUsing This BookAbbreviations1. What is Greek Religion? Essay 1.1: Twelve Gods, and Other Ways to Limit a Pantheon Essay 1.2: Homer’s Hera and the Hera(s) of Cult Essay 1.3: Reciprocity in Greek Religion2. Implicit Theology and the (Ir)rationalEssay 2.1: Epiphanies of AthenaEssay 2.2: What Do The Gods Know?Essay 2.3: Myth, Ritual and Adonis 3. Orthopraxy, Identity, and SocietyEssay 3.1: The Inclusiveness of the Panathenaic FestivalEssay 3.2: Dancing for the GodsEssay 3.3: The Kyrene Cathartic Law4. Ritual, Festival and SacrificeEssay 4.1: Sacrificing to Zeus Polieus on KosEssay 4.2: Theseus and the Athenian CalendarEssay 4.3: Ritual Form and the Greek Evidence5. Eschatology, Mysteries and Hero CultsEssay 5.1 How Mystical Were the Eleusinian Mysteries?Essay 5.2 Texts to Accompany the DeadEssay 5.3 Three Heroic Founders6. Memory, Continuity and ChangeEssay 6.1 Memory and the Molpoi Essay 6.2 Herakles as Pan-Mediterranean DeityEssay 6.3 The Origins of SarapisGlossaryThe Cognitive Science of Religion: A Bibliographical EssayIndex

"Understanding Greek Religion: A Cognitive Approach is the best possible introduction to ancient Greek religion. There is more to the Greek religion than poetic myths and strange rituals. Jennifer Larson starts from the crucial idea that the ancient Greeks were like us, in that they shared the same mental processes and lived in the same world. She shows how this means that there is a lot more that can be said about the role of religion in their lives than simple studies of the ancient texts can reveal. Anyone at all interested in ancient Greek religion should read this book."- Professor Hugh Bowden, King's College London"Providing a comprehensive introduction to ancient Greek religion, Larson (classics, Kent State Univ.) examines the customary topics—myths, rituals, deities, mystery and hero cults, divination, festivals, games, processions, pollution, sacrifice, and so on—from a thoroughly new perspective: cognitive science ... Larson shows how the dynamics of religious thought and behavior involve agency, dual processing (distinguishing intuitive and reflective processes), and counterintuitive concepts (making concepts memorable) and how mental tools enable humans to construct representations as the basis of religion. The glossary and bibliographical essay will guide students as they explore this new approach to Greek religion. This volume is a model for the study of the ancient world."- L. J. Alderink, Concordia College