The Greek Gods in Modern Scholarship: Interpretation and Belief in Nineteenth- and Early Twentieth-Century Germany and Britain

Description

The nineteenth century is a key period in the history of the interpretation of the Greek gods. The Greek Gods in Modern Scholarship examines how German and British scholars of the time drew on philology, archaeology, comparative mythology, anthropology, or sociology to advance radically different theories on the Greek gods and their origins. For some, they had been personifications of natural elements, for others, they had begun as universal gods like the Christian god, yet for others, they went back to totems or were projections of group unity. The volume discusses the views of both well-known figures like K. O. Muller (1797-1840), or Jane Harrison (1850-1928), and of forgotten, but important, scholars like F. G. Welcker (1784-1868). It explores the underlying assumptions and agendas of the rival theories in the light of their intellectual and cultural context, laying stress on how they were connected to broader contemporary debates over fundamental questions such as the origins and nature of religion, or the relation between Western culture and the 'Orient'. It also considers the impact of theories from this period on twentieth- and twenty-first-century scholarship on Greek religion and draws implications for the study of the Greek gods today. Cover The Greek Gods in Modern Scholarship: Interpretation and Belief in Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Century Germany and Britain Copyright Dedication Acknowledgments Contents Introduction 1: The Tyranny of Nature over the Greek Gods: Variations of Physical Interpretation I. THE REDISCOVERY OF GREECE AND PHYSICAL INTERPRETATIONS OF GREEK RELIGION: PETER WILHELM FORCHHAMMER (1801–94) II. ZEUS KRONION AND THE GREEK GODS BETWEEN NATUR AND CULTUR: FRIEDRICH GOTTLIEB WELCKER’S GRIECHISCHE GÖTTERLEHRE (1857–63) II.I. The Urwesen Zeus II.II. The Reform II.III. The Greek Gods between Naturand Cultur: The Case of Apollo III. POLYTHEISM AND NATURRELIGION: LUDWIG PRELLER’S ACCOUNT OF GREEK RELIGION III.I. Elements of Monotheism in Greek Religion III.II. Preller’s Account of Apollo IV. PHYSICAL INTERPRETATIONS OF THE GREEK GODS AND INDO-EUROPEAN COMPARATIVE MYTHOLOGY IV.A. The Greek Gods in the Light of the Veda: Friedrich Max Müller (1823–1900) IV.A.I. The Supreme Aryan God and Zeus IV.A.II. Apollo the Door-Opener IV.B. Comparing Greek and Roman Gods: Wilhelm Heinrich Roscher (1845–1923) 2: Stammesgötter and Universal Gods: The Historical-Critical Approach I. THE DORIAN APOLLO OF KARL OTFRIED MÜLLER (1797–1840) II. JAHRESGÖTTER AND UNIVERSAL GODS: HEINRICH DIETRICH MÜLLER (1819–93) III. UNITING THE ARYAN WITH THE SEMITIC: ERNST CURTIUS (1814–96) 3: Ancient Polytheisms and Modern Antagonisms: Hermann Usener’s Theory of Sondergötter 4: British Responses I. THE ANTHROPOLOGICAL BACKGROUND II. BRIDGING ANTHROPOLOGY WITH THE STUDY OF GREEK RELIGION: ANDREW LANG (1844–1912) III. THE GREEK GODS BETWEEN GERMAN ALTERTHUMSWISSENSCHAFT AND BRITISH ANTHROPOLOGY: LEWIS RICHARD FARNELL (1856–1934) III.I. The Refutation of the Case for a Solar Apollo III.II. Elements of Monotheism in Greek Religion IV. ANTHROPOLOGY, SOCIOLOGY AND THE RETURN OF PHYSICAL INTERPRETATION: JANE ELLEN HARRISON (1850–1928) Conclusion APPENDIX: Apollo in Twentieth and Twenty-First Century Scholarship Bibliography General Index Index of Gods and Heroes Index of Scholars and Poets