Companion to Greek Religion

Daniel Ogden is Professor of Ancient History at the University of Exeter. He is author of Magic, Witchcraft and Ghosts in the Greek and Roman Worlds (2002), Greek and Roman Necromancy (2001), and Greek Bastardy (1996), and editor of The Hellenistic World: New Perspectives (2002).

"The organization of this useful volume invites dipping into rather than a linear perusal. The contributors ... manage to be both informative and fair in their presentation of controversial issues, and blessedly jargon free." (Religious Studies Review, December 2009) "This collection of essays is a welcome addition to the existing books on Greek religion. Both advanced students and scholars will find it a useful introduction to the state of research on the subject." (Acta Classica, 2009)"A splendid book at a not unreasonable price." (Reference Reviews, 2008)"Modestly aiming to offer a mere impression of such a vast field, and eschewing any specific intellectual agenda, Daniel Ogden has done an excellent job both in defining major topics for discussion and in commissioning a varied list of contributors, senior and junior, European and North American, classicists, archaeologists, and historians of religion. ... Ogden has done in excellent job." (Greece and Rome, 2008)"The Companion to Greek Religion is overall an excellent package of the best and most interesting research in Greek religion." (Scholia Reviews, 2008)"Blackwell Companions have well-established reference potential defined by the breadth of scholarly perspectives presented. This volume offers ... well-documented narrations, along with cross-referencing between them." (CHOICE)"Covers all aspects of religion in the ancient Greek world. ... Each of the volume's essays is written by an international expert." (Wordtrade.com)"Blackwell maintains the high standard of its Companion series with these twenty seven essays. ... All in all, [there is] much excellent material here." (Journal of Classics Teaching)

• List of Figures xNotes on Contributors xiiAcknowledgments xviiNote on Authors and Translations xviiiAbbreviations xixAncient Author Fragment Series xxiIntroduction 1Daniel OgdenPart I In the Background 191 Greek Religion and the Ancient Near East 21Scott B. NoegelPart II The Powers: The Gods and the Dead 392 Olympian Gods, Olympian Pantheon 41Ken Dowden3 A Land Full of Gods: Nature Deities in Greek Religion 56Jennifer Larson4 Personification in Greek Religious Thought and Practice 71Emma Stafford5 The Dead 86D. Felton6 Heroes and Hero-Cults 100Gunnel EkrothPart III Communicating with the Divine 1157 Prayers and Hymns 117William D. Furley8 Greek Normative Animal Sacrifice 132Jan N. Bremmer9 Divination 145Pierre BonnecherePart IV From Sacred Space to Sacred Time 16110 A Day in the Life of a Greek Sanctuary 163Beate Dignas11 Purity and Pollution 178Andreas Bendlin12 Festivals 190Scott Scullion13 Time and Greek Religion 204James DavidsonPart V Local Religious Systems 21914 ‘‘Famous Athens, Divine Polis’’: The Religious System at Athens 221Susan Deacy15 The Religious System at Sparta 236Nicolas Richer16 The Religious System at Alexandria 253Françoise Dunand17 The Religious System in Arcadia 264Madeleine JostPart VI Social Organization, the Family, and Sex 28118 Religion and Society in Classical Greece 283Charles W. Hedrick Jr.19 Women, Religion, and the Home 297Janett Morgan20 ‘‘Something to do with Aphrodite’’: Ta Aphrodisia and the Sacred 311Vinciane Pirenne-DelforgePart VII Mysteries and Magic 32521 Finding Dionysus 327Susan Guettel Cole22 The Mysteries of Demeter and Kore 342Kevin Clinton23 Magic in Classical and Hellenistic Greece 357Matthew W. DickiePart VIII Intersections: Greek Religion and 37124 Greek Religion and Literature 373Thomas Harrison25 Greek Religion and Philosophy: The God of the Philosopher 385Fritz-Gregor Herrmann26 Greek Religion and Art 398T.H. CarpenterPart IX Epilogue 42127 Gods of the Silver Screen: Cinematic Representations of Myth and Divinity 423Lloyd Llewellyn-JonesBibliography 439Index 477