Herodotus and Greek religion

Bibliographic Data

ID23429050
AuthorsScott Scullion (corresponding author)
Year2006
Pages192-208
Publication date2006-06-08
Open AccessYes
TypeCHAPTER
VenueThe Cambridge Companion to Herodotus (SOURCE_BOOK)
PublisherCambridge University Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1017/ccol052183001x.014
OpenAlexW2979475519
ISBN9781139001045
LanguageEN
Citations received32

The Histories contains a great deal of information about specific elements of Greek religion, from sacrificial practice to oracles delivered at Delphi, but questions about the general role of religion in the work and about Herodotus' own religious attitudes suggest themselves to every reader and are the natural focus of a brief account. What distinguishes Herodotus' treatment of religion from that of other writers? Is there an overarching religious theme in the Histories ? Can we construct a Herodotean theology? Difficulty in answering these questions is caused by the contrast between Herodotus' largely uncritical handling of religious material and his few critical or sceptical statements of general import. Most scholars focus on the former and neglect or explain away the latter; others, notably Burkert, stress the scepticism without adequately reconciling it with the usual, uncritical treatment. I attempt such a reconciliation here, primarily on the basis of Herodotus' ambivalent attitude to custom and convention ( nomos ).

Ambivalence · Archaeology · Construct (python library) · Convention · Epistemology · Focus (optics) · Natural (archaeology) · Neglect · Psychoanalysis · Skepticism · Social science · Sociology · Theme (computing) · Biblical Studies and Interpretation · Classical Antiquity Studies · Computer Science · Historical and Linguistic Studies · History · Philosophy · Psychology

Tools

Open DOISci-Hub