Archaeology and Fertility Cult in the Ancient Mediterranean

Archaeology and Fertility Cult in the Ancient Mediterranean
Author: Anthony Bonanno
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing
Total Pages: 369
Release: 1986
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 9060322886

The papers in this volume derive from the First International Conference on Archaeology of the Ancient Mediterranean (Malta, 1985). The field remains divided between the view supporting the existence of a universal belief in an all-pervading and all-embracing Mother Goddess – of which the fertility cult is just one, albeit important, aspect – and the view questioning the very bases of that theory. This conference showed that there seems to be a greater disposition for further dialogue. The fertility content in Near Eastern and Classical religions remains indisputable. The conference proved to be also, not accidentally, of special significance to Maltese archaeology. The volume is divided into four sections: Section I. Prehistory; Section II. Prehistory, Malta; Section III. Phoenician and Near Eastern Religions; Section IV. The Greco-Roman World.

Religious Convergence in the Ancient Mediterranean

Religious Convergence in the Ancient Mediterranean
Author: Sandra Blakely
Publisher: Lockwood Press
Total Pages: 597
Release: 2019-12-15
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1948488175

This volume brings together scholars in religion, archaeology, philology, and history to explore case studies and theoretical models of converging religions. The twenty-four essays offered in this volume, which derive from Hittite, Cilician, Lydian, Phoenician, Greek, and Roman cultural settings, focus on encounters at the boundaries of cultures, landscapes, chronologies, social class and status, the imaginary, and the materially operative. Broad patterns ultimately emerge that reach across these boundaries, and suggest the state of the question on the study of convergence, and the potential fruitfulness for comparative and interdisciplinary studies as models continue to evolve.

The Archaeology of Malta

The Archaeology of Malta
Author: Claudia Sagona
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 471
Release: 2015-08-25
Genre: History
ISBN: 1107006694

This book synthesizes the archaeology of the Maltese archipelago from the first human colonization c. 5000 BC through the Roman period (c. 400 AD). Claudia Sagona interprets the archaeological record to explain changing social and political structures, intriguing ritual practices, and cultural contact through several millennia.

Popular Religion and Ritual in Prehistoric and Ancient Greece and the Eastern Mediterranean

Popular Religion and Ritual in Prehistoric and Ancient Greece and the Eastern Mediterranean
Author: Giorgos Vavouranakis
Publisher: Archaeopress Publishing Ltd
Total Pages: 188
Release: 2019-01-14
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1789690463

This volume features a group of select peer-reviewed papers by an international group of authors, both younger and senior academics and researchers, on the frequently neglected popular cult and other ritual practices in prehistoric and ancient Greece and the eastern Mediterranean.

Hosea 2

Hosea 2
Author: Brad E. Kelle
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 371
Release: 2005
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9004146695

The complex and, at times, violent metaphorical discourse of Hosea 2 has elicited a variety of interpretive approaches. This study explores the text from the perspective of rhetorical criticism. The classical conception of rhetoric as the art of persuasion and the function of metaphor within persuasive discourses and social settings correlate with the oracular characteristics of Hosea 2 and illuminate its use of specific metaphors. A reading of Hosea 2 from this perspective proposes that the prophets of Israel may have functioned in a manner similar to the orators of ancient Greece, who delivered extended rhetorical discourses designed to discern meaning in contemporary events and to persuade audiences. This study offers a distinctively political reading of Hosea 2 that explores the text as a metaphorical and theological commentary on the political and religious dynamics in Israel at the close of the Syro-Ephraimitic War (731-730 BCE). "Paperback edition is available from the Society of Biblical Literature (www.sbl-site.org)"

Cult in Context

Cult in Context
Author: Caroline Malone
Publisher: Oxbow Books
Total Pages: 1043
Release: 2010-04-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 1782974962

Gods, deities, symbolism, deposition, cosmology and intentionality are all features of the study of early ritual and cult. Archaeology has great difficulties in providing satisfactory interpretation or recognition of these elusive but important parts of ancient society, and methodologies are often poorly equipped to explore the evidence. This collection of papers explores a wide range of prehistoric and early historic archaeological contexts from Britain, Europe and beyond, where monuments, architectural structures, megaliths, art, caves, ritual activity and symbolic remains offer exciting glimpses into ancient belief systems and cult behaviour. Different theoretical and practical approaches are demonstrated, offering both new directions and considered conclusions to the many problems of studying the archaeology of cult and ritual. Central to the volume is an exploration of early Malta and its intriguing Temple Culture, set in a broad perspective by the discussion and theoretical approaches presented in different geographical and chronological contexts.

The Living Goddesses

The Living Goddesses
Author: Marija Gimbutas
Publisher: Univ of California Press
Total Pages: 312
Release: 2001-01-12
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780520229150

Presents evidence to support the author's woman-centered interpretation of prehistoric civilizations, considering the prehistoric goddesses, gods and religion, and discussing the living goddesses--deities which have continued to be venerated through the modern era.

A Gendered Past

A Gendered Past
Author: Elisabeth A. Bacus
Publisher: U OF M MUSEUM ANTHRO ARCHAEOLOGY
Total Pages: 193
Release: 1993-01-01
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0915703319

This annotated bibliography reviews contributions from a wide variety of theoretical orientations, many from geographical or temporal contexts.

Land of Fertility III

Land of Fertility III
Author: Maciej Wacławik
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
Total Pages: 109
Release: 2019-04-10
Genre: History
ISBN: 1527532992

The papers in this volume are based on presentations given at the third and fourth international conferences of the “Land of Fertility: The Southeast Mediterranean from the Bronze Age to the Muslim Conquest” series. The former, “The Migration of People, Goods and Ideas in Ancient Times”, was held at the Institute of Archaeology, Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Poland, in June 2016. Its main aim was to look more closely at the migration of people, goods and ideas in ancient times and their influences on civilization—in terms of both material and spiritual culture—in the area of the so-called “Fertile Crescent”. The fourth conference, entitled “Egyptian Perspective: Ancient civilisations in relation to The Two Lands”, was held in June 2017. This time, the main theme of the conference was the relation of ancient Egypt to its neighbouring civilisations. Had they lived in peace or conflict? Were relations based on partnership or supremacy? The period covered in the present collection spans from the beginning of the Bronze Age, through the ancient era to the Muslim Conquest—covering almost 5000 years of the development of human civilisation.