Ancient Religions Books

New and Published Books

1. Nefer

   The Aesthetic Ideal in Classical Egypt

   By Willie Cannon-Brown

   Series: African Studies

   This book provides an original treatment of the concept of good and beauty in ancient Egypt. It seeks to examine the dimensions of nefer, the term used to describe the good and the beautiful, within the context of ordinary life. Because the book is based upon original research on ancient Egypt...

   Published March 21st 2013 by Routledge
2. Ritual Texts for the Afterlife

   Orpheus and the Bacchic Gold Tablets, 2nd Edition

   By Fritz Graf, Sarah Iles Johnston

   Fascinating texts written on small gold tablets that were deposited in graves provide a unique source of information about what some Greeks and Romans believed regarding the fate that awaited them after death, and how they could influence it. These texts, dating from the late fifth century...

   Published March 10th 2013 by Routledge
3. Julian's Gods

   Religion and Philosophy in the Thought and Action of Julian the Apostate

   By Rowland B. E. Smith

   Julian's brief reign (360-363 AD) had a profound impact on his contemporaries, as he worked fervently for a pagan restoration in the Roman Empire, which was rapidly becoming Christian. Julian's Gods focuses on the cultural mentality of `the last pagan Emperor' by examining a wide variety of his own...

   Published September 29th 2012 by Routledge
4. The Origin of Heresy

   A History of Discourse in Second Temple Judaism and Early Christianity

   By Robert M. Royalty

   Series: Routledge Studies in Religion

   Heresy is a central concept in the formation of Orthodox Christianity. Where does this notion come from? This book traces the construction of the idea of ‘heresy’ in the rhetoric of ideological disagreements in Second Temple Jewish and early Christian texts and in the development of the polemical...

   Published August 7th 2012 by Routledge
5. Initiation in Ancient Greek Rituals and Narratives

   New Critical Perspectives

   Edited by David Dodd, Christopher A. Faraone

   Scholars of classical history and literature have for more than a century accepted `initiation' as a tool for understanding a variety of obscure rituals and myths, ranging from the ancient Greek wedding and adolescent haircutting rituals to initiatory motifs or structures in Greek myth, comedy and...

   Published April 4th 2012 by Routledge
6. Time in Roman Religion

   One Thousand Years of Religious History

   By Gary Forsythe

   Series: Routledge Studies in Ancient History

   Religion is a major subfield of ancient history and classical studies, and Roman religion in particular is usually studied today by experts in two rather distinct halves: the religion of the Roman Republic, covering the fifth through first centuries B.C.; and the religious diversity of the Roman...

   Published March 20th 2012 by Routledge
7. Early Christian Dress

   Gender, Virtue, and Authority

   By Kristi Upson-Saia

   Series: Routledge Studies in Ancient History

   Early Christian Dress is the first full-length monograph on the subject of dress in early Christianity. It pays attention to the ways in which dress expressed and shaped Christian identity, the role dress played in Christians’ rivalries with pagan neighbours, and especially to the ways in which...

   Published June 13th 2011 by Routledge
8. Religion in Late Roman Britain

   Forces of Change

   By Dorothy Watts

   Religion in Late Roman Britain explores the changes in religion over the fourth century; the historical background for these changes and the forces which contributed to them.Dorothy Watts examines the reasons for the decline of Christianity and the continuation of the pagan, Celtic cults in Britain...

   Published January 26th 2011 by Routledge
9. Aphrodite

   By Monica S. Cyrino

   Series: Gods and Heroes of the Ancient World

   Aphrodite explores the many myths and meanings of the Greek goddess of love, sex and beauty. One of the most widely worshipped and popular deities in Greek antiquity, Aphrodite emerges from the imaginations of the ancient Greek writers and artists as a multifaceted, powerful and charismatic figure....

   Published March 28th 2010 by Routledge
10. King Arthur in Antiquity

    By Graham Anderson

    This original and compelling study argues against the traditional identification of Arthur as a king in Celtic Britain. Instead, Graham Anderson explores the evidence for two much older figures, known to classical writers as kings of Arcadia and Lydia, over a millenium before. He shows how these...

    Published May 15th 2009 by Routledge