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Was Ancient Greek religion really "mere ritualism?" Early Christians denounced the pagans for the disorderly plurality of their cults, and reduced Greek religion to ritual and idolatry; Protestant theologians condemned the pagan "religion of form" (with Catholicism as its historical heir). For a long time, scholars tended to conceptualize Greek religion as one in which belief did not matter, and religiosity had to do with observance of rituals and religious practices, rather than with worshipers' inner investment. But what does it mean when Greek texts time and again speak of purity of mind, soul, and thoughts? This book takes a radical new look at the Ancient Greek notions of purity and pollution. Its main concern is the inner state of the individual worshipper as they approach the gods and interact with the divine realm in a ritual context. It is a book about Greek worshippers' inner attitudes towards the gods and rituals, and about what kind of inner attitude the Greek gods were envisaged to expect from their worshippers. In the wider sense, it is a book about the role of belief in ancient Greek religion. By exploring the Greek notions of inner purity and pollution from Hesiod to Plato, the significance of intrinsic, faith-based elements in Greek religious practices is revealed--thus providing the first history of the concepts of inner purity and pollution in early Greek religion.
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I nner P urit y and P ollution in G ree k R eligion Inner Purity and Pollution in Greek Religion Volume I: Early Greek Religion A N D R E J P E T R OV IC and I VA NA P E T R OV IC 1 1 Great Clarendon Street, Oxford, OX2 6DP, United Kingdom Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide. Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and in certain other countries © Andrej Petrovic and Ivana Petrovic 2016 The moral rights of the authors have been asserted First Edition published in 2016 Impression: 1 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, by licence or under terms agreed with the appropriate reprographics rights organization. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above You must not circulate this work in any other form and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer Published in the United States of America by Oxford University Press 198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, United States of America British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Data available Library of Congress Control Number: 2015957928 ISBN 978–0–19–876804–3 Printed in Great Britain by Clays Ltd., St Ives plc Links to third party websites are provided by Oxford in good faith and for information only. Oxford disclaims any responsibility for the materials contained in any third party website referenced in this work Preface The impetus to pursue the topic of inner purity and pollution came to us during the summer of 2005, while we were working in Heidelberg and Giessen respectively. Back then, we found ourselves in the most privileged position of enjoying the superb atmosphere of Heidelberg’s Seminar für Alte Geschichte und Epigraphik (SAGE), which, as any reliable witness would be happy to confirm, had something magical about it. Angelos Chaniotis, Thomas Corsten, Eftychia Stavrianopoulou, and all the other members of this department made sure that there was never a dull day: not only were we surrounded by inspiring colleagues who regular