Walter BurkertIn Partibus Romanorum

Bibliographic Data

ID4896013
AuthorsRobert C Phillips (Lehigh University, corresponding author)
Year2000
Volume30
Issue3
Pages245-258
Publication date2000-07-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueReligion (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0048-721X • E-ISSN: 1096-1151
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1006/reli.2000.0269
OpenAlexW2094197599
LanguageEN
References cited43

Unlike his other books, Walter Burkert's Homo Necans and Creation of the Sacred both explicitly utilise evidence from Roman religion to reach their interpretive goals. But Burkert's use of that evidence is at variance with the meticulousness which has characterised his use of Hellenic evidence throughout his academic career. This article demonstrates how his use of Roman materials is at best impressionistic and incomplete; important evidence is too often missing, and too often a Hellenist's orientation apparently compromises what does appear. More detailed attention to Roman materials could sometimes improve and sometimes undercut the interpretation. Consequently, Burkert's large-scale conclusions are less inevitable than he, and his admirers, might like. Finally, explanations for these circumstances appear in the larger context of the traditional tension between Greek and Roman in the field of classical studies even today. A tacit assumption of those who specialise in Greek religion is that expertise there automatically becomes expertise in Roman religion

Archaeology · Art · Context (archaeology) · Epistemology · Field (mathematics) · Interpretation (philosophy) · Linguistics · Literature · Sociology · Classical Antiquity Studies · Classics · Historical and Linguistic Studies · Historical, Religious, and Philosophical Studies · History · Mathematics · Philosophy

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