History Archives - Page 3 of 3

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Mystery Cults in the Ancient World

A landmark study of ancient Greek and Roman cults, from the nocturnal mysteries at Eleusis to the cults of Dionysus and Mithras.

Mystery cults are one of the most intriguing areas of Greek and Roman religion. In the nocturnal mysteries at Eleusis, participants dramatically re-enacted the story of Demeter’s loss and recovery of her daughter Persephone; in Bacchic cult, bands of women ran wild in the Greek countryside to honour Dionysus; in the mysteries of Mithras, men came to understand the nature of the universe and their place within it through frightening initiation ceremonies and astrological teachings.

These cults were an important part of life in the ancient Mediterranean world, but their actual practices were shrouded in secrecy, and much of what they were about has remained unclear until now. This is the first book to describe and explain all the major mystery cults of the ancient world, cult by cult, reconstructing the rituals and exploring their origins. It makes plentiful use of artistic and archaeological evidence, as well as ancient literature and epigraphy. Greek painted pottery, Roman frescoes, inscribed gold tablets from Greek and South Italian tombs and the excavated sites of ancient religious sanctuaries all contribute to our understanding of ancient mystery cults. Making use of the most recent work on these cults, the book is also informed by crucial current work on the anthropology and cognitive science of religion.

Not only is this clearly written book a significant contribution to the study of these cults, but it is also accessible to a general readership. More than any other book on ancient religion, it allows the reader to understand what it was like to participate in these life-transforming religious events.

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The Ancient Mysteries: A Sourcebook of Sacred Texts

Zeus and the other gods of shining Olympus were in reality divine only by popular consent. Over the course of time Olympian luster diminished in favor of religious experiences more immediate to the concerns of people living in an increasingly cosmopolitan ancient world. These experiences were provided by the mysteries, religions that flourished particularly during the Hellenistic period and were secretly practiced by groups of adherents who decided, through personal choice, to be initiated into the profound realities of one deity or another. Unlike the official state religions, in which people were expected to make an outward show of allegiance to the local gods, the mysteries emphasized an inwardness and privacy of worship within a closed band of initiates.
In this book, Marvin W. Meyer explores the sacrifices and prayers, the public celebrations and secret ceremonies, the theatrical performances and literary works, the gods and goddesses that were a part of the mystery religions of Greece in the seventh century B.C. to the Judaism and Christianity of the Roman world of the seventh century A.D.

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The Roman Revolution: 1 (The Fall of the Roman Empire)

‘An enlightening and lively interpretation of an important but neglected historical period.’ Kirkus Reviews

It was a time of revolution. The Roman Revolution describes the little known “crisis of the third century”, and how it led to a revolutionary new Roman Empire. Long before the more famous collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the fifth century, in the years between AD 235-275, barbarian invasions, civil war and plague devastated ancient Rome. Out of this ordeal came new leaders, new government, new armies and a new vision of what it was to be Roman. Best remembered today is the rapid rise of Christianity in this period, as Rome’s pagan gods were rejected, and the emperor Constantine converted to this new religion. Less well remembered is the plethora of other changes that conspired to provide an environment well suited to a religious revolution.

Drawing on the latest research, Nick Holmes looks for new answers to old questions. He charts the rise of the Roman Republic and the classical Roman Empire, examining the roles played by sheer good luck and the benign climate. For example, he emphasises the unexpected death of Alexander the Great and the subsequent weakness of the Greek successor states as the ideal political environment for Rome’s expansion. But Rome’s good fortune did not last. The rise of Sasanian Persia, the growing strength of the German barbarians, and the brutal effects of the Antonine plague caused the near collapse of the Roman Empire in the third century. Focusing on the reigns of the critically important but under-researched emperors in the third century, such as Aurelian, Diocletian and Constantine, he vividly brings to life how Rome just escaped catastrophe in the third century, and embarked on a journey that would take it into a brave new world – one which provided the foundations for modern Europe and America.

This book is the first of a multi-volume series that will chart the full course of the Fall of the Roman Empire from the third century AD to the seventh. The second book, The Fall of Rome, continues the story of Rome’s decline up to the sack of Rome by Alaric the Goth in AD 410. The third book, Rome and Attila, covers the period from AD 410 to the western empire’s final demise in AD 476. Further books will look at the Roman reconquest of Italy and North Africa under the Emperor Justinian in the sixth century, followed by the rise of Islam and the demise of the Eastern Roman Empire in the seventh century.

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