Civic rites : democracy and religion in ancient Athens

by: Evans, N.

Price: 23,50 EURO

(in stock)

 Civic Rites
Democracy and Religion in Ancient Athens
Nancy Evans

About this book
Civic Rites explores the religious origins of Western democracy by examining the government of fifth-century BCE Athens in the larger context of ancient Greece and the eastern Mediterranean. Deftly combining history, politics, and religion to weave together stories of democracy?s first leaders and critics, Nancy Evans gives readers a contemporary?s perspective on Athenian society. She vividly depicts the physical environment and the ancestral rituals that nourished the people of the earliest democratic state, demonstrating how religious concerns were embedded in Athenian governmental processes. The book?s lucid portrayals of the best-known Athenian festivals—honoring Athena, Demeter, and Dionysus—offer a balanced view of Athenian ritual and illustrate the range of such customs in fifth-century Athens.

Frontmatter

Contents

Illustrations

Preface

Maps

Introduction: The City of Pericles and Socrates

One. Cleisthenes: The Family Curse behind Athenian Democracy

Two. Athena: Religion and the Demo cratic Polis

Three. Pericles: Empire and War in the City of Athena

Four. Demeter: Civic Worship, Women?s Rites, and the Eleusinian Mysteries

Five. Alcibiades: Politics, Religion, and the Cult of Personality

Six. Dionysus: Civic Rituals of Wine, Theater, and Transformation

Seven. Socrates: Impiety Trials in the Restored Democracy

Epilogue: The City after Socrates

Glossary of terms

Suggested further readings by chapter

Bibliography

Index

Civic rites : democracy and religion in ancient Athens

by: Evans, N.

• ISBN-13: 9780520262034 / 978-0-520-26203-4
• ISBN-03: 0520262034 / 0-520-26203-4
• University of California Press, Berkeley, 2010

Price: 23,50 EURO

(in stock)