Cosmopoulos - Greek mysteries: the archaeology of ancient Greek secret cults
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![GREEK MYSTERIES Mystery cults represent the spiritual attempts of the - photo 1](/uploads/posts/book/188633/images/cover.jpg)
GREEK MYSTERIES
Mystery cults represent the spiritual attempts of the ancient Greeks to deal with their mortality. As these cults had to do with the individuals inner self, privacy was paramount and was secured by an initiation ceremony, a personal ritual that established a close bond between the individual and the gods. Once initiated, the individual was liberated from the fear of death by sharing the eternal truth, known only to the immortals.
Because of the oath of silence taken by the initiates, a thick veil of secrecy covers those cults and archaeology has become our main tool in deciphering their meaning. In a field where archaeological research constantly brings new data to light, this volume provides a close analysis of the most recent discoveries, as well as a critical re-evaluation of the older evidence. The book focuses not only on the major cults of Eleusis and Samothrace, but also on the lesser-known Mysteries in various parts of Greece, over a period of almost two thousand years, from the Late Bronze Age to the Roman Imperial period.
In our mechanized and technology-oriented world, a book on Greek spirituality is both timely and appropriate. The authors inter-disciplinary approach extends beyond the archaeological evidence to cover the textual and iconographic sources and provides a better understanding of the history and rituals of those cults. Written by an international team of acknowledged experts, Greek Mysteries is an important contribution to our understanding of Greek religion and society.
Michael B. Cosmopoulos is the Hellenic GovernmentKarakas Foundation Professor of Greek Studies and Professor of Greek Archaeology at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. He has excavated at several ancient Greek sites and is the director of three archaeological projects, at Eleusis, Oropos, and Iklaina. He has published ten books and over seventy papers in archaeological journals and conference proceedings. His recent publications include The Mycenaean Pottery from Grotta,Naxos (2002), The Rural History of Ancient Greek City States (2001), and The BronzeAge Pottery from Eleusis (in press).
Contributors: Pierre Bonnechere, Kevin Clinton, Susan G. Cole, Michael B. Cosmopoulos, Fritz Graf, Madeleine Jost, Mark Lawall, Noel Robertson, Albert Schachter, Christiane Sourvinou-Inwood.
![LONDON AND NEW YORK First published 2003 by Routledge 11 New Fetter Lane - photo 2](/uploads/posts/book/188633/images/9781134536160_0004_001.jpg)
LONDON AND NEW YORK
First published 2003
by Routledge
11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group
This edition published in the Taylor and Francis e-Library, 2005.
To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledges collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.
2003 selection and editorial matter, Michael B. Cosmopoulos; individual chapters, the contributors
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Greek mysteries : the archaeology of ancient Greek secret cults / edited by Michael B. Cosmopoulos.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Mysteries, ReligiousGreece. 2. GreeceReligion. 3. Mysteries, ReligiousTurkey. 4. TurkeyReligion. I. Cosmopoulos, Michael B., 1963
BL795.M9 G74 2002
292.9dc21
2002031736
ISBN 0-203-98684-9 Master e-book ISBN
ISBN 0-415-24872-8 (hbk)
ISBN 0-415-24873-6 (pbk)
TO THE MEMORY OF MARY E. CRITZAS
Figures
Tables
Pierre Bonnechere, Universit de Montral
Kevin Clinton, Cornell University
Susan G. Cole, State University of New York, Buffalo
Michael B. Cosmopoulos, University of Missouri-St. Louis
Fritz Graf, Princeton University
Madeleine Jost, Universit de Paris X-Nanterre
Mark L. Lawall, University of Manitoba
Noel Robertson, Brock University
Albert Schachter, McGill University
Christiane Sourvinou-Inwood, Oxford, UK
Since the beginning of our existence, humans have pondered the mysteries of life and death and have strived to find meaning in a constantly changing world. Above and beyond the world of the senses and the triviality of our existence there has always been a belief in another kind of reality, one of eternal powers, powers that affect and impact human lives. To comprehend that supreme reality and to be in harmony with it, humanity has relied on religion.
Religion in ancient Greece had a strong public character and was, in many respects, a way of integrating the individual into the community. Within this public religion, which often was sponsored and even imposed by the polis, there were special cults that addressed people on an individual basis and were voluntarily selected by each person. The ancient Greeks called them Mysteries (Mysteria) and they represented a special opportunity for dealing with the gods of the polis on an individual basis. As these cults had to do with the individuals inner self, privacy was necessary and was secured by an initiation ceremony, a personal ritual that brought the individual to a new spiritual level, a higher degree of awareness in relation to the gods. Once initiated, the individual was entitled to share the eternal truth, to catch a glimpse of the eternal reality.
Mystery cults are the spiritual attempts of the ancient Greeks to deal with their mortality. The phenomenon is by no means restricted to Greece, but it is in Greece that it found its philosophical explanation and justification. Exactly because Mysteria deal with the spiritual aspects of our existence, they have fascinated both scholars and the public. Looking back in order to understand those cults is especially timely today. We live in an age of rapid technological progress, an age of virtual realities and an abundance of material goods that are redefining our society. And yet our age experiences a surge of private cults and religious sects, of drugs and abuse, of violence and materialism, forcefully proving how desperately we need to regain our spirituality. It is one of the greatest paradoxes of our time, that those of us who are fortunate to live in the developed countries seem to have all the material objects we could possibly desire, but our lives appear to be emptier than ever. Unless we redefine our priorities to focus on our humanity, rather than our technology, we may never regain a deep connection with ourselves and with each other.
Within this framework, a book on ancient Greek mystery cults is both timely and appropriate. This volume will not solve the great mysteries of life and death or settle the unanswered questions about our spirituality. Its purpose is to take you, the reader, on a fascinating intellectual journey, a journey through the minds, lives, and souls of hundred of thousands of people who lived before us, people who loved, suffered, rejoiced, and aspired to happiness, much like we do. There are many lessons to be learned from their experience. As you turn each page of this book, please remember that the picture so painstakingly reconstructed by each author is part of a greater canvas the painting of ancient Greek religious and spiritual life. Although the contributions found in this volume are the fruits of the rational and meticulous work of scholars, they offer valuable new pieces to the great puzzle of ancient Greek mystery cults.
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