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One of the most important mathematical theorems is named after Pythagoras of Samos, but this semi-mythical Greek sage has more to offer than formulas. He is said to have discovered the numerical nature of the basic consonances and transposed the musical proportions to the cosmos, postulating a "harmony of the spheres." He may have coined the words "cosmos" and "philosophy." He is also believed to have taught the doctrine of transmigration of souls and therefore to have advised a vegetarian diet. Ancient legends have Pythagoras conversing with dogs, bears, and bulls. A distinctly Pythagorean way of life, including detailed ritual regulations, was observed by his disciples, who were organized ...
Examines new methodologies used in the study of these tablets. Includes an updated edition and translation of the tablet texts.
In Early Christian Apologetics, D.H. Williams offers a first comprehensive presentation of Christian apologetic literature from the second to the fifth century CE. Williams argues that most apologies were not directed at a pagan readership. In most cases, ancient apologetics had a double object: to instruct the Christian and persuade weak Christians or non-Christians who were sympathetic to Christian claims. Taken cumulatively, he finds, apologetic literature was integral to the formation of the Christian identity in the Roman world
This volume celebrates the scholarship of Professor Johan C. Thom by tackling various important topics relevant for the study of the New Testament, such as the intellectual environment of early Christianity, especially Greek, Latin, and early Jewish texts, New Testament apocrypha and other early Christian writings, as well as Greek grammar. The authors offer fresh insights on philosophical texts and traditions, the cultural repertoire of early Christian literature, critical editions, linguistics and interpretation, and comparative analyses of ancient writings.
The period from the Late Roman Republic to the end of antiquity was marked by a wide interest in divination, and more broadly by an intense belief in the possibility of establishing close and personal connections with the gods. Divinatory practices underwent profound changes, accompanied by new trends in religious belief and philosophical reflection. Different religious, ethnic and cultural groups resorted to prophecy to define their respective identities and traditions, to articulate their peaceful or polemical interactions, and more broadly to construct their own worldview, the effects of which are still visible today. This wide-ranging volume creates a holistic picture of divination in antiquity, with perspectives from scholars of different disciplinary backgrounds. They argue that a greater focus on transcendent knowledge of the divine and cosmos influenced theories of divination among pagans, Jews, and Christians during the later part of the period.
Gnosis, derived from the ancient Greek γνῶσις (gnō̂ sis), meaning "knowledge", or also known as gnosticism, a Latinized form of γνωστικισμός (gnōstikismós), is a scientific-religious term that encompasses various teachings and religious groups that flourished in the late 19th century. 1st century and had their peak between the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD, acting as precursors of later currents. We could think that within these movements of connoisseurs many Christianities of a Gnostic nature perished, since Christianity was born as a broad set of spiritual movements based on the life of Jesus of Nazareth. The Christianity proposed by Paul of Tarsus triumphed and the Gnostic movements fell into disgrace and were considered heretical.
Courtney J. P. Friesen explores shifting boundaries of ancient religions by way of the reception of a popular tragedy, Euripides' Bacchae. As a play staging political crises provoked by the arrival of the "foreign" god Dionysus and his ecstatic cult, audiences and readers found resonances with their own cultural moments. This dramatic deity became emblematic of exuberant and liberating spirituality and, at the same time, a symbol of imperial conquest. Thus, readings of the Bacchae frequently foreground conflicts between religious autonomy and political authority, and between ethnic diversity and social cohesion. This cross-disciplinary study traces appropriations and evocations of this drama ranging from the fifth century BCE through Byzantium not only among "pagans" but also Jews and Christians. Writers variously articulated their religious visions over against Dionysus, often while paradoxically adopting the god's language and symbols. Consequently, imitation and emulati on are at times indistinguishable from polemics and subversion.
The theme of this study is the Doxography of problems in physics from the Presocratics to the early first century BCE attributed to Aëtius. Part I focuses on the argument of the compendium as a whole, of its books, of its sequences of chapters, and of individual chapters, against the background of Peripatetic and Stoic methodology. Part II offers the first full reconstruction in a single unified text of Book II, which deals with the cosmos and the heavenly bodies. It is based on extensive analysis of the relevant witnesses and includes listings of numerous doxographical-dialectical parallels in other ancient writings. This new treatment of the evidence supersedes Diels’ still dominant source-critical approach, and will prove indispensable for scholars in ancient philosophy.
The present study, for the first time, provides a comparative analysis of the objections raised against Christianity by late antique pagan philosophers (esp. Celsus in Alethes logos, Porphyry in Contra Christianos, and Julian the Apostate in Contra Gali-laeos) and Enlightenment philosophers and freethinkers and examines the impact of pagan thinking on the critique of Christianity in the 16th to 18th centuries – in particular, on discussions concerning the authority of the Bible, biblical exegesis, the Christian concept of faith, religious coercion and the uniformity of faith, the belief in miracles, and the Christ-ian understanding of morality.
The Poetics of the Homeric Citadel is an enquiry on the origins of the architectural forms as expressed in Mycenaean architecture. The Homeric Citadel is woven within concrete landscape formations and realizes the concept of the all-embracing space, which, in religious philosophy, represents God’s image in man. It is both a cosmogonic symbol and, at the same time, a ‘philosophical’ one. The rocky citadel with the deep well was the scene where ancient mysteries took place, and it is experienced by its citizen in his process of psychological transformation into the higher being which is called Anthropos; where ‘anthropos’ is the inner and complete man, which impacts upon the life of ...