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From even before the time of Alexander the Great, the Greek gods spread throughout the Mediterranean, carried by settlers and largely adopted by the indigenous populations. By the third century b.c., gods bearing Greek names were worshipped everywhere from Spain to Afghanistan, with the resulting religious systems a variable blend of Greek and indigenous elements. Greek Gods Abroad examines the interaction between Greek religion and the cultures of the eastern Mediterranean with which it came into contact. Robert Parker shows how Greek conventions for naming gods were extended and adapted and provides bold new insights into religious and psychological values across the Mediterranean. The result is a rich portrait of ancient polytheism as it was practiced over 600 years of history.
Preface
1. Names and Epithets
2. Interpretatio
3. Gods of Many Nations and Their Naming in Greek: Non-Greek Naming Traditions
4. Supreme, Ancestral, and Personal Gods
5. Ad Maiorem Deorum Gloriam: The Growth of Praise Epithets
6. Delos: Where God Meets God
Conclusion
Appendix A. Postclassical Use of the Epithet O?ñ?íéïò
Appendix B. Translated Theophoric Names
Appendix C. Interpretatio in India
Appendix D. Some Non-Greek Theonyms in Anatolia
Appendix E. Thasian Herakles
Appendix F. Some Epithets in Bilingual Texts
Appendix G. Divine and Human Names Juxtaposed
Appendix H. Exported Gods: Th e Cults of Hellenistic Colonies
Bibliography
Index
Description
From even before the time of Alexander the Great, the Greek gods spread throughout the Mediterranean, carried by settlers and largely adopted by the indigenous populations. By the third century b.c., gods bearing Greek names were worshipped everywhere from Spain to Afghanistan, with the resulting religious systems a variable blend of Greek and indigenous elements. Greek Gods Abroad examines the interaction between Greek religion and the cultures of the eastern Mediterranean with which it came into contact. Robert Parker shows how Greek conventions for naming gods were extended and adapted and provides bold new insights into religious and psychological values across the Mediterranean. The result is a rich portrait of ancient polytheism as it was practiced over 600 years of history.
