Choice Reviews Online · 1996 · 556 citations · 0 references
HumanitiesHistoryReligionAncient HistoryGreek HistoryReligious HistoryAncient Greek SocietyAncient Social HistoryAthenian DemocracyAthenian HistoryClassical GreeceGreek ReligionAncient Greek HistoryAncient Greek PoliticsAthenian FestivalsAthenian ReligionAthenian SocietyCult Of AthenaGreek TemplesLocal Cults
The study focuses on Athens from 750 to 250 BC, covering a wide range of religious phenomena beyond festivals and situating them within the city’s social structures. The book aims to treat Greek religion as an inherently social phenomenon and to bridge the divide between religious studies and Greek history and society. It examines the chronology of Athenian temples, festivals, and cults, the evolution of their social structures, and the interplay between religion and political change, including the influence of new cults and figures such as Lycurgus and Socrates.
This book is an attempt to take seriously the cliche that Greek religion is an eminently social phenomenon. It differs from 'Histories of Greek Religion' by focusing on a particular Greek city with particular social structures. It treats a much broader range of phenomena than do books on 'Athenian festivals'. It seeks to bridge the gap that usually divides studies of Greek religion from studies of Greek history and society. Among the topics discussed are the actual dates and circumstances of foundation of many temples, festivals, and cults at Athens, the historical development of the social structures within which religious activities took place, and the effects in the religious sphere of the radical shift in Athens' political life from tyranny to democracy and the acquisition of an empire. Robert Parker investigates the relation between religion and political prestige, considers the introduction of new cults, and looks in detail at such key personalities and events in the religious history of Athens as Lycurgus the Eteoboutad and his religious policies, and the trial of Socrates. The period covered is roughly that from 750 to 250 BC.