Personal Experience and Materiality in Greek Religion

Description

Employing frameworks of lived religion and materiality, this book provides the first full-length study of personal religious experience in the Greek Archaic and Classical periods. Rask analyzes archeological, epigraphic, and textual evidence to highlight the role of individuals as vital actors and makers of Greek religion. A range of perspectives, such as those of Archaic mariners and Late Classical weaving women, show that religion infused the daily lives of ancient Greeks. Chapters visit the many spaces where people engaged in religious activities, from household kitchens to international emporia, as well as shrines both large and small. The book also interrogates devotional activities such as making votives and engaging in lifelong relationships with divinities, arguing for the emotionally rich character of Greek lived religion. Not only do these considerations demonstrate underexplored ways for reconstructing aspects of Greek religion, but also allow us to rethink familiar subjects such as votive portraits and epiphany from new angles. Personal Experience and Materiality in Greek Religion is of interest to students and scholars working on ancient Greek religion and archeology, as well as anyone interested in daily life and lived experience in the ancient world. Cover Half Title Series Page Title Page Copyright Page Contents Figures Maps Acknowledgments Conventions & Abbreviations 1. Introduction Personal experience in Greek religion: My approach in this book Phenomenology and personal experience Materiality in religion and material religion Iconography and visual culture Comparison, ancient and modern The organization of this book Notes 2. From the Hands of Votaries: Self-made Offerings and Personal Devotion Engaging with votive objects and images Self-made votives Greek self-made votives Wreaths Making cakes Woven votives Wood carving Implications: The hand as apprehender and creator Notes 3. "We Placed Our Offerings Side by Side with His": Personal History, Childhood, and Religious Materiality Personal biography and lifelong religious activity The religious experience of Attic children "The spectacle of our parents, addressing the gods": The oikos and religious education Sentiment and Athenian memory "We laid our hands with his": Embodiment in children's devotion Media for maintaining relationships with the dead Explaining enduring forms and iconography in religious material culture Metapontion in Southern Italy Corinth's horse-and-rider figurines Ubiquitous votives, tradition, and ta patria "Ubiquity and sameness": Continuity in votives and personal biography Personal history as ta patria: the way I have always done things Conclusion Notes 4. Experiencing Supernatural Presence: From Bodily Blessings to Ghostly Visitors Divine presence and its study Materiality Absence Present gods in Greek lives The divine inside humans? Ghosts and daimones Conclusion Notes 5. Media of Presence: Keeping Gods and Humans Close Visual content and symbols: Material culture and presence Divine presence on the human body: finger rings, seals, and amulets Bodily contact The votive role of seals and rings Mortal presence and material culture Material essence: Ousia Mortal presence, portraits, and memory Mutual presence: Humans to gods, and humans to humans? Mortal-to-mortal presence Free-standing and life size: The phenomenology of portrait statues Conclusion Notes 6. Bringing It All Together: Religion and the Seafaring Life Gravisca Naukratis Lived religion at sea and port Sanctuary space and offerings Wrapping up Notes Epilogue: Going Forward Bibliography Index