Ken Dowden – författare

In an innovative sequence of topics, Ken Dowden explores the uses Greeks made of myth and the uses to which we can put myth in recovering the richness of their culture. Most aspects of Greek life and history - including war, religion and sexuality - which are discernable through myth, as well as most modern approaches, are given a context in a book which is designed to be useful, accessible and stimulating.

European Paganism provides a comprehensive and accessible overview of ancient pagan religions throughout the European continent.Before there where Christians, the peoples of Europe were pagans. Were they bloodthirsty savages hanging human offerings from trees? Were they happy ecologists, valuing the unpolluted rivers and mountains? In European Paganism Ken Dowden outlines and analyses the diverse aspects of pagan ritual and culture from human sacrifice to pilgrimage lunar festivals and tree worship. It includes:a 'timelines' chart to aid with chronologymany quotations from ancient and modern sources translated from the original language where necessary, to make them accessiblea comprehensive bibliography and guide to further reading

The first book to capture a complete picture of the most important of Greek gods in one reliable volume for almost seventy years, this masterly and comprehensive study brings a new-millennium examination of the fascinating god Zeus.Broad in scope, the book looks at myth, art, cult, philosophy, drama, theology and European painting amongst much more, and allows us to take seriously what it was to worship and respect the greatest of Greek gods, and to live through the aftershock of the Middle Ages and modern times.Showing the evidence along the way, Zeus is student-friendly and includes:a range of illustrations and mapstranslated passages from ancient authors a chronology and excellent indexing.Looking at the ancient Greeks their predecessor and their successors – the Romans and beyond – the book is engagingly written and speaks to a modern audience: this is Zeus from our remote ancestors to Wagner, and into the computer age.

European Paganism provides a comprehensive and accessible overview of ancient pagan religions throughout the European continent.Before there where Christians, the peoples of Europe were pagans. Were they bloodthirsty savages hanging human offerings from trees? Were they happy ecologists, valuing the unpolluted rivers and mountains? In European Paganism Ken Dowden outlines and analyses the diverse aspects of pagan ritual and culture from human sacrifice to pilgrimage lunar festivals and tree worship. It includes:* a 'timelines' chart to aid with chronology* many quotations from ancient and modern sources translated from the original language where necessary, to make them accessible* a comprehensive bibliography and guide to further reading.

A Companion to Greek Mythology presents a series of essays that explore the phenomenon of Greek myth from its origins in shared Indo-European story patterns and the Greeks’ contacts with their Eastern Mediterranean neighbours through its development as a shared language and thought-system for the Greco-Roman world. Features essays from a prestigious international team of literary expertsIncludes coverage of Greek myth’s intersection with history, philosophy and religionIntroduces readers to topics in mythology that are often inaccessible to non-specialistsAddresses the Hellenistic and Roman periods as well as Archaic and Classical Greece

A remarkable number of Greek myths concern the plight of virgins – slaughtered, sacrificed, hanged, transformed into birds, cows, dear, bears, trees, and punished in Hades. Death and the Maiden, first published in 1989, contextualises this mythology in terms of geography, history and culture, and offers a comprehensive theory firmly grounded in an ubiquitous ritual: pubescent girls’ rites of passage. By means of comparative anthropology, it is argued that many local ceremonies are echoed throughout the whole range of myths, both famous and obscure. Further, Professor Dowden examines boys’ rites, as well as the renewal of entire communities at regular intervals. The first full-length work in English devoted to passage-rites in Greek myth, Death and the Maiden is an important contribution to the exciting developments in the study of the interrelation between myth and ritual: from it an innovative view on the origination of many Greek myths emerges.

A remarkable number of Greek myths concern the plight of virgins – slaughtered, sacrificed, hanged, transformed into birds, cows, dear, bears, trees, and punished in Hades. Death and the Maiden, first published in 1989, contextualises this mythology in terms of geography, history and culture, and offers a comprehensive theory firmly grounded in an ubiquitous ritual: pubescent girls’ rites of passage. By means of comparative anthropology, it is argued that many local ceremonies are echoed throughout the whole range of myths, both famous and obscure. Further, Professor Dowden examines boys’ rites, as well as the renewal of entire communities at regular intervals. The first full-length work in English devoted to passage-rites in Greek myth, Death and the Maiden is an important contribution to the exciting developments in the study of the interrelation between myth and ritual: from it an innovative view on the origination of many Greek myths emerges.

In an innovative sequence of topics, Ken Dowden explores the uses Greeks made of myth and the uses to which we can put myth in recovering the richness of their culture. Most aspects of Greek life and history - including war, religion and sexuality - which are discernable through myth, as well as most modern approaches, are given a context in a book which is designed to be useful, accessible and stimulating.

A Companion to Greek Mythology presents a series of essays that explore the phenomenon of Greek myth from its origins in shared Indo-European story patterns and the Greeks’ contacts with their Eastern Mediterranean neighbours through its development as a shared language and thought-system for the Greco-Roman world. Features essays from a prestigious international team of literary expertsIncludes coverage of Greek myth’s intersection with history, philosophy and religionIntroduces readers to topics in mythology that are often inaccessible to non-specialistsAddresses the Hellenistic and Roman periods as well as Archaic and Classical Greece

Religion and the Romans provides a short, modern introduction to religion in the Roman world. It deals with the public and private nature of religion at Rome itself, and looks at the native cults of the empire, with special reference to Gaul, as well as considering how the exotic cults such as those of Isis and Mithras were viewed. Finally, a fresh look is taken at the conflict of Christianity with the inhabitants and authorities of the empire, from Nero to Constantine and beyond. This lively and accessible book will prove invaluable to students of the classical world providing a much needed general survey of Roman religion.