Product Description: This book is a collection of studies by scholars Greek, Roman, Egyptian, and early Christian religions on the topic of divination. Its topics range from necromancy to dice rolling, free-lance diviners to Delphi, and includes treatments from the Archaic period to Late Antiquity.

Product Description: During the archaic and classical periods, Greek ideas about the dead evolved in response to changing social and cultural conditions―most notably changes associated with the development of the polis, such as funerary legislation, and changes due to increased contacts with cultures of the ancient Near East...read more

Fascinating texts written on small gold tablets that were deposited in graves provide a unique source of information about what some Greeks and Romans believed regarding the fate that awaited them after death, and how they could influence it.  These texts, dating from the late fifth century BCE to the second century CE, have been part of the scholarly debate on ancient afterlife beliefs since the end of the nineteenth century.  Recent finds and analysis of the texts have reshaped our understanding of their purpose and of the perceived afterlife.  The tablets belonged to those who had been initiated into the mysteries of Dionysus Bacchius and relied heavily upon myths narrated in poems ascribed to the mythical singer Orpheus.  After providing the Greek text and a translation of all the available tablets, the authors analyze their role in the mysteries of Dionysus, and present an outline of the myths concerning the origins of humanity and of the sacred texts that the Greeks ascribed to Orpheus.  Related ancient texts are also appended in English translations.  Providing the first book-length edition and discussion of these enigmatic texts in English, and their first English translation, this book is essential to the study of ancient Greek religion.

The first English-language survey of ancient Greek divinatory methods, Ancient Greek Divination offers a broad yet detailed treatment of the earliest attempts by ancient Greeks to seek the counsel of the gods. Offers in-depth discussions of oracles, wandering diviners, do-it-yourself methods of foretelling the future, magical divinatory techniques, and much more Illustrates how the study of divination illuminates the mentalities of ancient Greek religions and societies

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Materials from ten different cultures and traditions that arose and developed in Mediterranean religions are presented side by side in an incisive study of the complexities of the ancient spiritual world, which interprets these specific beliefs, rituals, practices, gods, and cults in comparison with one another.

Product Description: From the dawn of European literature, the figure of Medea--best known as the helpmate of Jason and murderer of her own children--has inspired artists in all fields throughout all centuries. Euripides, Seneca, Corneille, Delacroix, Anouilh, Pasolini, Maria Callas, Martha Graham, Samuel Barber, and Diana Rigg are among the many who have given Medea life on stage, film, and canvas, through music and dance, from ancient Greek drama to Broadway...read more (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)