Ritual imagination : a study of tromba possession among the Betsimisaraka in eastern Madagascar /
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Ritual Imagination is a study of spirit possession and ritual dynamics. Based on fieldwork in eastern Madagascar, Hilde Nielssen shows how tromba possession works as a flexible and fluid force, whose ritual imaginary playfully draws together elements from radically different cultural and social domains, thereby constituting human realities and creating ways of relating to changing and disjunctive circumstances. Tromba's strength lies in its fluid capacities to relate to ongoing social change by altering its own practices, while at the same time continuing to heal person and cosmos. The book critically addresses the still dominant perspective in anthropology, where rituals are understood as representations of culture and society. Using tromba as a pivotal case in the critique of ritual as representation, this book offers a fresh perspective on ritual and spirit possession.
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1 online resource (xi, 326 pages) : color illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004223875 :
0169-9814 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Handbook of Nordic new religions /
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When James R. Lewis, one of the editors of the current collection, first moved to Norway in late 2009, he was unprepared to discover that so many researchers in Nordic countries were producing innovative scholarship on new religions and on the new age subculture. In fact, over the past dozen years or so, an increasingly disproportionate percentage of new religions scholars have arisen in Nordic countries and teach at universities in Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden and the Baltic countries. Nordic New Religions, co-edited with Inga B. Tøllefsen, surveys this rich field of study in this area of the world, focusing on the scholarship being produced by scholars in this region of northern Europe.
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1 online resource (xviii, 502 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004292468 :
1874-6691 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The revival of the Anu cult and the nocturnal fire ceremony at late Babylonian Uruk /
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In The Revival of the Anu Cult and the Nocturnal Fire Ceremony at Late Babylonian Uruk , Julia Krul offers a comprehensive study of the rise of the sky god Anu as patron deity of Uruk in the Late Babylonian period (ca. 480-100 B.C.). She reconstructs the historical development of the Anu cult, its underlying theology, and its daily rites of worship, with a particular focus on the yearly nocturnal fire ceremony at the Anu temple, the Bīt Rēš. Providing the first in-depth analysis of the ceremony, Julia Krul convincingly identifies it as a seasonal renewal festival with an important exorcistic component, but also as a reinforcement of local hierarchical relationships and the elite status of the Anu priesthood.
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Based on the author's thesis (doctoral)--Universität Münster, 2014. :
1 online resource (xiii, 310 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 267-290) and indexes. :
9789004364943 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Eastern cults in Moesia Inferior and Thracia (5th century BC-4th century AD) /
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Translation of: Istorii͡a na iztochnite kultove v Dolna Mizii͡a i Trakii͡a V v pr. n.e.--IV v ot n.e.
Includes indexes. :
1 online resource (xxx, 306 pages, 92, [4] pages of plates) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. xii-xxx). :
9789004295735 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Egyptianizing figurines from Delos : a study in Hellenistic religion /
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This book investigates Hellenistic popular religion through an interdisciplinary study of terracotta figurines of Egyptian deities, mostly from domestic contexts, from the trading port of Delos. A comparison of the figurines' iconography to parallels in Egyptian religious texts, temple reliefs, and ritual objects suggests that many figurines depict deities or rituals associated with Egyptian festivals. An analysis of the objects' clay fabrics and manufacturing techniques indicates that most were made on Delos. Additionally, archival research on unpublished notes from early excavations reveals new data on many figurines' archaeological contexts, illuminating their roles in both domestic and temple cults. The results offer a new perspective on Hellenistic reinterpretations of Egyptian religion, as well as the relationship between "popular" and "official" cults.
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1 online resource (xix, 731 pages, [80] pages of plates) : illustrations (some color) :
Includes bibliographical references and indexes. :
9789004222663 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Power, politics, and the cults of Isis : proceedings of the Vth International Conference of Isis studies, Boulogne-sur-Mer, October 13-15, 2011 /
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In the Hellenistic and Roman world intimate relations existed between those holding power and the cults of Isis. This book is the first to chart these various appropriations over time within a comparative perspective. Ten carefully selected case studies show that "the Egyptian gods" were no exotic outsiders to the Hellenistic and Roman Mediterranean, but constituted a well institutionalised and frequently used religious option. Ranging from the early Ptolemies and Seleucids to late Antiquity, the case studies illustrate how much symbolic meaning was made with the cults of Isis by kings, emperors, cities and elites. Three articles introduce the theme of Isis and the longue durée theoretically, simultaneously exploring a new approach towards concepts like ruler cult and Religionspolitik .
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Includes index. :
1 online resource (xvii, 364 pages) : illustrations (some colour) :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004278271 :
0927-7633 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The supreme gods of the Bosporan Kingdom : Celestial Aphrodite and the Most High God /
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This is the first systematic study of the cults of the Bosporan Kingdom, which existed in South Russia in the first centuries AD. The research is based on a variety of sources: archaeological evidence and inscriptions, largely unknown to the non-Russian readers, as well as historical and literary texts. The religion of the Bosporus is viewed in this monograph as a blend of Greek and indigenous Iranian traditions. Its first part is dedicated to the cult of Celestial Aphrodite. The second part examines the controversial cult of the Most High God and its alledged Jewish affinities. The book, illustrated with thirty figures, is an important contribution to the understanding of the religious life in Greek colonies, and the history of Eastern Mediterranean in Late Antiquity.
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1 online resource (x, 371 pages) : illustrations, maps. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 293-321) and index. :
9789004295902 :
0927-7633 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Isis and Sarapis in the Roman world /
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Isis and Sarapis in the Roman World deals with the integration of the cult of Isis among Roman cults, the subsequent transformation of Isis and Sarapis into gods of the Roman state, and the epigraphic employment of the names of these two deities independent from their cultic context. The myth that the guardians of tradition and Roman religion tried to curb the cult of Isis in order to rid Rome and the imperium from this decadent cult will be dispelled. A closer look at inscriptions from the Rhine and Danubian provinces shows that most dedicators were not Isiac cult initiates and that women did not outnumber men as dedicators. Inscriptions that mention the two deities in connection with a wish for the well-being of the emperor and the imperial family are of special significance.
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1 online resource (xiv, 235 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 207-230) and index. :
9789004283466 :
0927-7633 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Nile into Tiber : Egypt in the Roman world : proceedings of the IIIrd International Conference of Isis Studies, Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University, May 11-14, 2005 /
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Interest in all kinds of interactions between Egypt and Rome has grown considerably over the last decade. This debate has not only altered our views on the impact of Rome on Alexandria and Egypt but also strongly put to the fore the reverse direction of this cultural interaction: Egyptian influences on the Roman world. It is this topic, Egypt in the Roman World , that was central to the IIIrd International Conference of Isis Studies, held in Leiden in May 2005. This book, a selection of the papers delivered at the conference, gives a clear overview of the debate as it has developed in recent years. In two parts (I. Interpretations of the meaning of Aegyptiaca Romana and II. Understanding the cults of Isis in their local context )preceded by a general introduction it offers a broad perspective on the various aspects of cultural interaction between Egypt and Rome, also by bringing together different research traditions in this field.
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1 online resource (xxv, 562 pages) : illustrations, maps. :
Includes bibliographical references and indexes. :
9789047411130 :
0927-7633 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The city of the moon god : religious traditions of Harran /
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This study treats the religious and intellectual history of the city of Harran (Eastern Turkey) from biblical times down to the establishment of Islam. The author starts from the well-known reference in the Qur'an and the early Islamic histories to the people of Harran as Sabians, one of the 'peoples of the book.' The author unravels strands of religious tradition in Harran that run from the old Semitic planetary cults through Hellenistic hermeticism, gnosticism, and Neo-Pythagoreanism and Christian cults to esoteric Islamic sects such as the Sufis and Shiites.
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1 online resource (viii, 232 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 218-224) and index. :
9789004301429 :
0927-7633 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Cult and Koinon in Hellenistic Thessaly
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Cult and Koinon in Hellenistic Thessaly examines the territorial expansion of the Thessalian League circa 196-27 BCE and the development of the state religion of the League. Individual chapters trace the adoption of a common Thessalian calendar by new members of the League, the establishment of new regional festivals, the elaboration or reorganization of older cults, and League participation in a network of international festivals; cult could equally well enact alternatives to this political arrangement, however, and older religious traditions continued to be maintained both within new League territories and especially at Delphi. The result is a fresh portrait of the politics of cult on the Greek mainland in the later Hellenistic period.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004215023 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Ex Asia et Syria : Oriental religions in the Roman Central Balkans /
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This title examines the cults of Asia Minor and Syrian origin in the Roman provinces of the Central Balkans. The author analyses all hitherto known epigraphical and archaeological material attesting to the presence of the cults in that region, a subject yet to be the object of serious scholarly study.
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Also issued in print: 2021. :
1 online resource (266 pages) : illustrations (black and white, and colour), maps (black and white, and colour). :
Specialized. :
Includes bibliographical references. :
9781789699142 (PDF ebook) :
Maritime-related cults in the coastal cities of Philistia during the Roman period : legacy and change /
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This title questions the origins and the traditions of the cultic rites practised during Roman times along the southern shores of the Land of Israel. This area was known since biblical times as 'Peleshet' (Philistia), after the name of one of the Sea Peoples that had settled there at the beginning of the Iron Age. Philistia's important cities Jaffa, Ashkelon, Gaza and Rafiah were culturally and religiously integrated into the Graeco-Roman world. At the same time, each city developed its own original and unique group of myths and cults that had their roots in earlier periods. Their emergence and formation were influenced by environmental conditions as well as by ethno-social structures and political circumstances. Philistia's port cities served as crossroads for the routes connecting the main centres of culture and commerce in ancient times.
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Also issued in print: 2019. :
1 online resource (ii, 212 pages) : illustrations (black and white, and colour). :
Specialized. :
Includes bibliographical references. :
9781789692570 (PDF ebook) :
Religion and Cult in the Dodecanese During the First Millennium BC : proceedings of the International Archaeological Conference /
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This volume publishes the proceedings of the conference of the same name, held in Rhodes in October 2018. Contributions draw on archaeological and literary sources to explore both the development and continuity of cults in the Dodecanese, from the Early Iron Age through to the 1st century BC.
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Conference proceedings.
Also issued in print: 2023. :
1 online resource (xi, 321 pages) : illustrations (black and white, and colour), maps (black and white, and colour) :
Specialized. :
Includes bibliographical references. :
9781803274522 (PDF ebook) : :
Open access.