Description: Redefining Ancient Orphism A Study in Greek Religion In a paradigm shift, this book redefines Orphism as a polemical label for extra-ordinary religion, good or bad. Radcliffe G. Edmonds III (Author) 9781108730075, Cambridge University Press Paperback, published 24 January 2019 463 pages 23 x 15.2 x 2.3 cm, 0.65 kg This book examines the fragmentary and contradictory evidence for Orpheus as the author of rites and poems to redefine Orphism as a label applied polemically to extra-ordinary religious phenomena. Replacing older models of an Orphic religion, this richer and more complex model provides insight into the boundaries of normal and abnormal Greek religion. The study traces the construction of the category of 'Orphic' from its first appearances in the Classical period, through the centuries of philosophical and religious polemics, especially in the formation of early Christianity and again in the debates over the origins of Christianity in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. A paradigm shift in the study of Greek religion, this study provides scholars of classics, early Christianity, ancient religion and philosophy with a new model for understanding the nature of ancient Orphism, including ideas of afterlife, cosmogony, sacred scriptures, rituals of purification and initiation, and exotic mythology. Part I. Introduction: Definitions Old and New: 1. The name of Orpheus 2. Orphism through the ages: a history of scholarship 3. The problem of definition Part II. Orphic Scriptures or the Vaporings of Many Books?: 4. Orphic textuality: a hubbub of books 5. Orphic Hieroi Logoi: sacred texts for the rites 6. Orphic mythology: the content of Orphic poems Part III. Orphic Doctrines or the Pure from the Pure?: 7. Orphic purity: piety or superstition? 8. Life in the afterlife: the initiates' privilege and the mythic tradition 9. Original sin or ancestral crimes: Zagreus and the concern with purification 10. Conclusions: redefining ancient Orphism. Subject Areas: Ancient religions & mythologies [HRKP], Christianity [HRC], Religion & beliefs [HR], Classical history / classical civilisation [HBLA1], Ancient history: to c 500 CE [HBLA]
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BIC Subject Area 1: Ancient religions & mythologies [HRKP]
BIC Subject Area 2: Christianity [HRC]
BIC Subject Area 3: Religion & beliefs [HR]
BIC Subject Area 4: Classical history / classical civilisation [HBLA1]
BIC Subject Area 5: Ancient history: to c 500 CE [HBLA]
Item Height: 230mm
Item Width: 152mm
Author: Radcliffe G. Edmonds Iii
Publication Name: Redefining Ancient Orphism: a Study in Greek Religion
Format: Paperback
Language: English
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Subject: History
Publication Year: 2019
Type: Textbook
Item Weight: 650g
Number of Pages: 463 Pages
