Hellenistic Mystery Religions

The foremost historian of Greek religion provides the first comprehensive, comparative study of a little-known aspect of ancient religious beliefs and practices. Secret mystery cults flourished within the larger culture of the public religion of Greece and Rome for roughly a thousand years. This book is neither a history nor a survey but a comparative phenomenology, concentrating on five major cults. In defining the mysteries and describing their rituals, membership, organization, and dissemination, Walter Burkert displays the remarkable erudition we have come to expect of him; he also shows great sensitivity and sympathy in interpreting the experiences and motivations of the devotees.

Preliminary material /M. J. Vermaseren -- THE HELLENISTIC CONCEPT OF THE ENVIOUSNESS OF FATE /G. J. D. Aalders H. Wzn -- THE LEGEND OF CYBELE'S ARRIVAL IN ROME /JAN BREMMER -- THE CISTA MYSTICA IN THE CULT AND MYSTERIES OF ISIS /M. S. H. G. HEERMA VAN VOSS -- DER SCHATTEN IM HELLENISTISCHEN VOLKSGLAUBEN /P. W. VAN DER HORST -- BOTPYC BOHCEI. The Age of Kronos and the Millennium in Papias of Hierapolis /H. J. DE JONGE -- THE REALITY OF THE INVISIBLE. Some Remarks on St John XIV 8 and Greek Philosophic Tradition /TH. KORTEWEG -- JERUSALEM, WOHNSITZ DER WEISHEIT /J. C. H. LEBRAM -- PROVIDENCE AND THE DESTRUCTION OF THE UNIVERSE IN EARLY STOIC THOUGHT. With Some Remarks on the “Mysteries of Philosophy” /J. MANSFELD -- THE INTERPRETATIO JUDAICA OF SARAPIS /GERARD MUSSIES -- ILLNESS AND SIN, FORGIVING AND HEALING. The Connection of Medical Treatment and Religious Beliefs in Ben Sira 38, 1-15 /SIJBOLT NOORDA -- THE CULT OF THE IBIS IN THE GRAECO-ROMAN PERIOD. With Special Attention to the Data from the Papyri /K. A. D. SMELIK -- FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS AND THE MYSTERIES /W. C. VAN UNNIK -- SOME REMARKS ON THE RELIGIOUS LIFE OF MONICA, MOTHER OF SAINT AUGUSTINE /CORNELIA W. WOLFSKEEL.

"Ours is an age of new things. In no province is this more apparent than in that of New Testament interpretation. And no section of the New Testament continues to stimulate more revolutionary theories than the Pauline Epistles. It is true that discussions of authenticity have lost the importance assigned to them by scholars of the earlier time, like Baur, or by later critical investigators, like Van Manen. The emphasis has been shifted. The primary question at issue is the essential nature of St. Paul's view of the Christian faith." -- From Chapter One

This insightful read traces the development of the principal Western religions and their philosophical counterparts from the beginnings of Alexander the Great's empire in 331 B.C.E. to the emergence of the Christian world in the fourth century C.E.

Mystery cults are one of the most intriguing areas of Greek and Roman religion. In the nocturnal mysteries at Eleusis, participants dramatically re-enacted the story of Demeter's loss and recovery of her daughter Persephone; in Bacchic cult, bands of women ran wild in the Greek countryside to honour Dionysus; in the mysteries of Mithras, men came to understand the nature of the universe and their place within it through frightening initiation ceremonies and astrological teachings. These cults were an important part of life in the ancient Mediterranean world, but their actual practices were shrouded in secrecy, and much of what they were about has remained unclear until now. This is the first book to describe and explain all the major mystery cults of the ancient world, cult by cult, reconstructing the rituals and exploring their origins. It makes plentiful use of artistic and archaeological evidence, as well as ancient literature and epigraphy. Greek painted pottery, Roman frescoes, inscribed gold tablets from Greek and South Italian tombs and the excavated sites of ancient religious sanctuaries all contribute to our understanding of ancient mystery cults. Making use of the most recent work on these cults, the book is also informed by crucial current work on the anthropology and cognitive science of religion. Not only is this clearly written book a significant contribution to the study of these cults, but it is also accessible to a general readership. More than any other book on ancient religion, it allows the reader to understand what it was like to participate in these life-transforming religious events.

The contributions to this book offer a broad vision of the relationships that were established between Greek Philosophy and the Mystery Cults. The authors centre their attention on such thinkers as Plato, Aristotle, and the Stoic and the Neoplatonist philosophers, who used – and in some cases criticised – doctrinal elements from Mystery Cults, adapting them to their own thinking. Thus, the volume provides a new approach to some of the most renowned Greek philosophers, highlighting the influence that Mystery Cults, such as Orphism, Dionysianism, or the Eleusinian rites, had on the formation of fundamental aspects of their thinking. Given its interdisciplinary character, this book will appeal to a broad academic readership interested in the origin of Hellenic thinking and culture. It will be especially useful for those eager for a deeper approach to two fundamental domains that attract the attention of many Antiquity scholars: Greek philosophy and religion.