Polytheisms and Cosmologies
5 May 2021, 1:00 pm ET
with Cléo Carastro (École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales) Read more
religion
Recap: Michael Puett on the study of religion
Rituals and Revelations Re-thinking Comparative Approaches to the Study of Religion Written by Alba Curry The Center for Hellenic Studies would like to extend their greatest thanks and appreciation to all of those who participated in the second meeting of the Comparatism Seminar. We would also like to thank Professor… Read more
Rituals and Revelations
22 March 2021, 2:00 pm ET
Michael Puett (Harvard University) on re-thinking some of our categories in the study of religion from a comparative perspective. Read more
A Guide to Greek Traditions and Customs in America
Here is a clear and comprehensive guide to the religious and secular life of the Greek-American community. This book provides an easy-to-understand explanation of Orthodox and Hellenic traditions in America for the newcomer and for Greek Americans wishing to learn more. Here are the traditions of Orthodoxy so that the… Read more
Old Norse Mythology—Comparative Perspectives
Old Norse mythology is elusive: it is the label used to describe the religious stories of the pre-Christian North, featuring such well-known gods as Odin and Thor, yet most of the narratives have come down to us in manuscripts from the Middle Ages mainly written by Christians. Our view of… Read more
Choruses of Young Women in Ancient Greece: Their Morphology, Religious Roles, and Social Functions
New and revised edition, translated by Derek Collins and Janice Orion In this groundbreaking work, Claude Calame argues that the songs sung by choruses of young girls in ancient Greek poetry are more than literary texts; rather, they functioned as initiatory rituals in Greek cult practices. Using semiotic and anthropologic… Read more
Greek Literature in Late Antiquity: Dynamism, Didacticism, Classicism
Late Antiquity has attracted a significant amount of attention in recent years. As a historical period it has thus far been defined by the transformation of Roman institutions, the emergence of distinct religious cultures (Jewish, Christian, Islamic), and the transmission of ancient knowledge to medieval and early modern Europe. Despite… Read more
Poetry as Initiation: The Center for Hellenic Studies Symposium on the Derveni Papyrus
The Derveni Papyrus is the oldest known European “book.” It was meant to accompany the cremated body in Derveni Tomb A but, by a stroke of luck, did not burn completely. Considered the most important discovery for Greek philology in the twentieth century, the papyrus was found accidentally in 1962… Read more
‘Paradise’ Earned: The Bacchic-Orphic Gold Lamellae of Crete.
This is a study of the twelve small gold lamellae from Crete that were tokens for entrance into a golden afterlife: the deceased who were buried or cremated with them believed that they had “earned Paradise.” The lamellae are placed within the context of a small corpus of similar texts, and published… Read more
Practitioners of the Divine: Greek Priests and Religious Officials from Homer to Heliodorus
“What is a Greek priest?” This volume, which has its origins in a symposium held at the Center for Hellenic Studies in Washington, D.C., focuses on the question through a variety of lenses: the visual representation of cult personnel, priests as ritual experts, variations of priesthood, ideal concepts and their… Read more