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Prophets and Profits -

Prophets and Profits

Ancient Divination and Its Reception

Richard Evans (Herausgeber)

Buch | Softcover
254 Seiten
2020
Routledge (Verlag)
9780367594619 (ISBN)
CHF 74,95 inkl. MwSt
Whether humans sought knowledge by applying to an oracle or whether they used soothsayers who interpreted specific signs there was a fundamental desire to know the will of the gods. This volume examines the ways in which divination linked mortals with the gods, and places the practice within the ancient socio-political and religious environment.
This volume examines the ways in which divination, often through oracular utterances and other mechanisms, linked mortals with the gods, and places the practice within the ancient sociopolitical and religious environment. Whether humans sought knowledge by applying to an oracle through which the god was believed to speak or used soothsayers who interpreted specific signs such as the flight of birds, there was a fundamental desire to know the will of the gods. In many cases, pragmatic concerns – personal, economic or political – can be deduced from the context of the application.



Divination and communication with the gods in a post-pagan world has also produced fascinating receptions. The presentation of these processes in monotheistic societies such as early Christian Late Antiquity (where the practice continued through the use of curse tablets) or medieval Europe, and beyond, where the role of religion had changed radically, provides a particular challenge and this topic has been little discussed by scholars. This volume aims to rectify this desideratum by providing the opportunity to address questions related to the reception of Greco-Roman divination, oracles and prophecy, in all media, including literature and film.



Several contributions in this volume originated in the 2015 Classics Colloquium held at the University of South Africa and the volume has been augmented with additional contributions.

Richard Evans has taught at the Universities of South Africa and Cardiff. His research has focused on the political and military history of Greece and Rome, and the ancient topography of Sicily and Magna Graecia. He is currently an Honorary Research Fellow in the Department of Biblical and Ancient Studies at the University of South Africa.

Chapter 1: Introduction



Daniel Ogden



Chapter 2: Was Didyma (Branchidae) a False Prophet?



Richard Evans



Chapter 3: ‘Who Wrote Greek Curse Tablets?’



Olivier Dufault



Chapter 4: A Story of Blood, Guts and Guesswork: Synthetic Reasoning in Classical Greek Divination



Ralph Anderson



Chapter 5: Value-Added Divination at Dodona



Philip Bosman



Chapter 6: Divination and Profit in the Roman World



Federico Santangelo



Chapter 7: Profiting from Prophecy: Q. Marcius Rex and the Construction of the Aqua Marcia



Alex Nice



Chapter 8: Valerius Maximus and the Language of Stars



Jeffrey Murray



Chapter 9: "Arrows Fletched from Our Own Wings": Discovering a ‘Delphi of the Mind’ in the Writings of the Early Church Fathers



Daniel Crosby



Chapter 10: Egyptian Necromancy in Heliodorus Aethiopica (6.12-15) and The Witch of Endor Narrative (1 Sam 28)



John Hilton



Chapter 11: Sosipatra: Prophetess, Philosopher and Theurgist: Reflections on Divination and Epistemology in Late Antiquity



Crystal Addey



Chapter 12: One Oracle too Many? Corippus and Procopius on Female Prophecy in North Africa



Martine de Marre



Chapter 13: Deconstructing Divination: Superstition, Anticlericalism, and Cicero’s De Divinatione in Enlightenment England



Katherine East



Chapter 14: Prophecy and Paul Kruger: Robert Grendon’s Appropriation of Greco-Roman Prophets and Prophetic Devices in his South African Epic, Paul Kruger’s Dream



Szerdi Nagy



Chapter 15: Cassandra Prophesies Back: Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Firebrand



Elke Steinmeyer

Erscheinungsdatum
Verlagsort London
Sprache englisch
Maße 156 x 234 mm
Gewicht 385 g
Themenwelt Geschichte Allgemeine Geschichte Altertum / Antike
Geisteswissenschaften Religion / Theologie Weitere Religionen
ISBN-13 9780367594619 / 9780367594619
Zustand Neuware
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