PDF Divine Epiphany in Greek Literature and Culture by Georgia Petridou in History

Description

In ancient Greece; epiphanies were embedded in cultural production; and employed by the socio-political elite in both perpetuating pre-existing power-structures and constructing new ones. This volume is the first comprehensive survey of the history of divine epiphany as presented in the literary and epigraphic narratives of the Greek-speaking world. It demonstrates that divine epiphanies not only reveal what the Greeks thought about their gods; they tell us just as much about the preoccupations; the preconceptions; and the assumptions of ancient Greek religion and culture. In doing so; it explores the deities who were prone to epiphany and the contexts in which they manifested themselves; as well as the functions (narratives and situational) they served; addressing the cultural specificity of divine morphology and mortal-immortal interaction. Divine Epiphany in Greek Literature and Culture re-establishes epiphany as a crucial mode in Greek religious thought and practice; underlines its centrality in Greek cultural production; and foregrounds its impact on both the political and the societal organization of the ancient Greeks.