Product Description

This is the first major synthesis of Greek religion to appear for a generation. A clearly structured and readable survey for classical scholars and students, it will also be generally welcomed as the best modern account of any polytheistic religious system. The text builds up an impressive and coherent picture of the current state of knowledge about the religion of the ancient Greeks.

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Great work        Rating:

In this book, Walter Burkert seeks to provide a comprehensive study in Greek religion during the Hellenic are. The work is monumental in its scope and content, and deserves a place in the library of anyone who needs to study such topics. In particular, I would recommend this text to people looking at comparative religion involving ancient Greece.

There are a few points which are not mentioned in other reviews that I think are helpful to note.

The first is that both the bibliography and the notes are extremely detailed (the notes section accounts for around 180 pages). This provides a serious student additional resources for studying any aspect covered in this book.

The second is that the level of detail in areas such as festivals, animal sacrifice, groupings of gods, etc. is extremely high. This level of work allows a real reconstruction of the Greek worldview in relation to religious practice to be developed.

All in all, an excellent work. Highly recommended.

A Truly Indispensable Study        Rating:

Burkert's thorough examination of ancient Greek religion is where anyone wishing to seriously study Hellenistic religion should begin. Also, his book "Ancient Mystery Cults" is equally elucidating. Burkert's writing style is slightly tedious, but the treasure trove of information it provides makes the process very much worthwhile.

Highly recommended as a first-read for any serious student of Hellenic paganism.

Essential Resource.        Rating:

Walter Burket's "Greek Religion" is an intense survey of Hellenistic religious beliefs from their earliest Minoan and Mycennean antecedents. This review will summarize the material contained within the study, extrapolate the central themes of the text, and finally shall offer an analysis of the text with regard to its presentation of data, use of archaeological and primary sources, and its intended audience.
The material is diverse within it's scope. Whereas other survey-type texts only include an overview of the basic Olympian Gods, and perhaps a marginal mentioning of some of the major festivals, Burket's text provides the reader with an in-depth look at all of those issues as well as giving the reader the, "why", as best as he could surmise through his research. He is blunt about stating the lack of comprehensive written resources, and does not speculate too far beyond the scant information he does possess. To the researcher this is valuable, as massive leaps are not made from what does exist to what may possibly have been the case.
As previously mentioned, the first few chapters of the text offer a brief chronology of what was happening spiritually in the pre-Hellenistic Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations. This provides the reader with an appropriate historical context within which to frame the discussion of later spiritual beliefs. The scope of the text covers a vast time period of that prehistory, from approximately 1500-1200 B.C., then continues on to describe the formation of a distinctly Greek religion developing from those antecedents at or about the ninth/eighth century. The chronological scope concludes at or about the time of the conquests of Alexander and the rise of religious philosophers who attempted to rationalize the world around them, usually without employing polytheistic spiritual beliefs.
The people whose belief systems are studied are all of those who fell within the geographic scope of this text, which includes all of those who spoke the Greek language and had Greek literature at their disposal. In what or who did those peoples believe? Burket is quick to tell us that there is a great deal of speculation, but scant evidence to actually confirm the full scope of Minoan and later Mycenaean belief systems. From what archaeological and scant written evidence exists in the forms of Linear A and Linear B, as well as referencing the work of his predecessors, Burket is able to reconstruct a basic set of deities and holy places. Minoan civilization seemed to heavily favor female goddesses to include but not limited to, the Snake Goddess, who was essentially a house goddess. Evidence of the existence of male deities is limited, at best. The "Minoan Tree and Pillar Cult," which was a set of sanctuaries at which worship was conducted were also important. The trees and pillars, although sacred sites, were not themselves worshipped. Also important, especially on Crete not only in Minoan and Mycenaean traditions, but with elements carried over into the later Hellenistic tradition was symbology related to the bull. Although there is no evidence that the bull was worshipped as a god, the sacred symbols and festivals celebrating the bull persist. Mycenaean Gods are discussed, and for the first time the reader is introduced, based upon archaeological evidence, (specifically Linear B tablets recovered from Knossos and Pylos on Crete,) among others, to the gods and goddesses that would become the familiar Olympian deities.
Section III of the text delves into a discussion of the Olympian and related gods and goddesses. It relies heavily on the work of Homer, Hesiod, and Xenophanes for the purpose of providing the reader with general genealogical information, then moves into archaeological and historical evidence which paints a broader picture of the gods and goddesses in several different contexts, specifically, how the deity evolved from different influences, an overview of how cult was paid, and how the individual regarded the deity. Interesting to note is the evidence Burket provides stating that most all of the Greek deities had much earlier influences, some more important than others. For example, he points out how earlier researchers, "sought to connect Athena with the Snake Goddess" from earlier Minoan civilization, then continues to show her with antecedents in Syrian culture, at Troy, and at other sites in and around the Mediterranean. Although this text is traditionally regarded as a survey by many critics, it covers each of the traditional Olympian gods and goddesses in significant detail, as well as some of the lesser deities and sprits, such as nature deities including the rivers, nymphs, Gaia and Helios. The final section discusses the availability if not importance of foreign gods in the polytheistic Pantheon, divine and/or semi-divine figures such as Heroes and the Dead, to whom cult was also paid by the Greeks.
How did the Greeks worship their Gods and Goddesses? This question is answered in great detail by Burket, usually with reference to each individual deity. Many chapters of
the text, however, are devoted the discussion of specific festivals and what went on there. For example, the Anthesteria festival is discussed at length. Within the context of that
chapter the reader is offered the time of year when the festival happened, (springtime), the length of the festival, (three days), what the festival was for, and what manner of activity took place there. A detailed account, based upon what sparse information survives, is offered to the reader for several different festivals. Interesting to note is that several smaller festivals are discussed, setting this text apart from general survey texts.
The final section of this section of the text provides the reader with some of the reasons why the Greeks practiced their beliefs in the manner that they did. It is one of the more illuminating portions of the book, as it offers ideas such as initiation into manhood, crisis management in the polis, and the establishment and maintenance of social mores as motivating factors behind worship.
Section VII of the text, which chronologically comprises the end of the era discussed in the scope of the text, discusses philosophical religion, and the break that some major philosophers of the era had with polytheism. Many philosophers, such as Anaxagoras, Empedocles, Leukippos, and Democritus developed systems that offered rational explanations for nature. The interplay of earth, water, fire, and wind are offered by as explanations for the creation of the tangible world, and the events which took place in it; opinions which stand in stark opposition to the belief system established by the early Greeks who believed that all were the result of the deeds of some anthropomorphic deity. The text concludes by offering the opinions of Plato, Aristotle, Xenocrates as they debate atheism and polytheism.
This book is more than a general chronology of Greek Religion, which attempts only to find a well-defined "beginning" or an ending. Instead, its central themes focus on explaining, in great detail, everything that can be covered within the scope for which written or archaeological evidence exists in support. The main theme of the text states that it is interested in a "...focus on an ahistorical structuralism concerned with formal models and confined to presenting in their full complexity the immanent, reciprocal relationships within the individual myths and rituals." This exploration of the those relationships is explored at length as it related to the interactions between the Greeks on the both a large scale, as demonstrated with the extensive discussion of beliefs practiced by the polis, and on a smaller scale by the family and individual.
This text was originally published in 1977 in German by Walter Burket, a scholar who has published numerous other texts and articles on the subject to include, but not limited to Lore and Science in Ancient Pythagoreanism, (1972), Structure and History in Greek Mythology and Ritual, (1979), Homo Necans: The Anthropology of Ancient Greek Sacrificial Ritual and Myth. (1983), among others. Based upon the body of work produced by Burket, coupled with the fact that said body of work remains relevant and utilized by scholars to this day, it is safe to assume that Burket was an authority on not just one specific area, but had as great an understanding of Greek Religion on the whole as any of his contemporaries, if not a better one. Sources include primary material from Herodotus, Plato, Aristotle, and Xenocrates, but also delves into the archaeological record as interpreted by Evans and Nillson. Burket, with his employment of the archaeological discoveries of his day, obviously appreciated the value that archaeology
could lend to the researcher in helping him to better understand his subject, rather than relying solely on written primary and secondary sources.
The book is divided with some attention to a chronology of events in Minoan and Mycenaean times, but then moves thematically into a discussion of the Gods, what role polytheism played in the Polis with specific attention to festivals and discussions of the
bases upon which those belief systems were predicated. Mystery sanctuaries, festivals, and Asceticism are discussed, with the final division of the text returning to a thematic examination of how many philosophers of the day viewed polytheistic traditions and subsequently broke from it.
Considering these factors, the text could be interpreted as best being utilized as a reference that is inclined toward the scholar or serious historian, rather than the general reader. It can become very dense at times and needs to be read from start to finish to place events, people, and places in their appropriate context. Without a basic understanding of the societies which predated Classical Greece as covered in the early chapters, the reader may find themselves easily confused with the later discussions. That considered, the text may be a bit intimidating to the general reader, which goes further to establishing this as a research text, and not one that the general reader may pick up for simple pleasure reading.
In conclusion, Burket's Greek Religion offers the reader an extensive discussion of Greek spiritual beliefs, to include the Gods and their interactions with one another and the polis as well as the individual and family. It offers a chronology of antecedent civilizations and concurrent influences, as a means by which to explain the belief systems of the Greeks. The text relies heavily upon archaeological and primary sources to reach its intended audience of scholars and historians, and succeeds very well at this endeavor.

Reading the book is a devotion to Athena        Rating:

Burkert leaves no stones unturned in this survey of Greek religion. Everything you would want to know about religion is covered here. Topics include the manifold origins of Hellenic religion; a detailed discussion of the innumerable divinities who constitute the actual focus of the religion; cults, rituals, sacrifices, temples and the like; and finally the impact of the philosophical schools. As a reference and research material it is currently second to none.

My favorite section is the one that outlined the Olympian gods themselves. Many of the Greek gods are not actually Greek. Bet you didn't learn that in school.

There are some problems with this book, though. The first is the incredibly dry and monotonous tone of the book. Obviously academic books are not meant to read like poetry, but either Burkert or his translator is uncannily dull even for a professor. The second is the sheer scope and depth of the book may cause some people to actually drown in an overload of details.

For these two reasons I took a star off the ratings. I actually don't recommend this book for the beginner. If you're a neophyte to the serious study of Greek religion, there are less severe works out there. But if you already have some exposure to the subject and want to take your research to the next level, then this book just might be for you.

The Perfect Handbook        Rating:

Burkert's Greek Religion is the perfect handbook for any serious student of archaic and classical Greek religion. Burkert is a thorough scholar, and treats the diverse and complex problem of Greek religion from its Minoan-Mycenaean precursors through the esoteric Mysteries. Burkert cleanly and succinctly addresses Greek ritual practices and provides accurate and enlightening
definitions of the mainstays of Greek religion - from temple (naos) to cult image (xaonon) to the gods themselves. Burkert's text is an invaluable resource no student of classical studies should be without.

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