Oldtidens græske religion og mytologi

In this work, Andrei A. Orlov examines Jewish apocalyptic traditions about the angel Yahoel, tracing their conceptual impact on the development of later rabbinic and Hekhalot beliefs concerning the supreme angel Metatron. The author argues that the figure Yahoel, who became associated in Jewish apocalypticism with the distinctive aural ideology of the divine Name, provides an important conceptual key not only for elucidating the evolution of the Metatron tradition, but also for understanding the origins of the distinctive aural ideology prominent in early Jewish mystical accounts. Andrei A. Orlov suggests that the aural mould of Jewish apocalypticism exercised a decisive and formative influence on the development of early Jewish mysticism.

The impetus for this collection of essays on canonical and non-canonical Acts is to honor the scholarly achievements of Richard I. Pervo. Pervo pioneered the view that canonical Acts is comparable to ancient fiction - the various episodes about Peter, Paul, and the other apostles composed to entertain, even as they inform. In the spirit of this work, contributors prod and provoke readers, traveling at different speeds and with notable variation from the center of the broad orbit of canonical Acts. The hope is that the essays foster conversation about the things discussed, offering no small measure of delight along the way. Contributors:Harold W. Attridge, Clayton N. Jefford, Amy-Jill Levine, Dennis R. MacDonald, Troy W. Martin, Shelly Matthews, David Moessner, Mikeal C. Parsons, Mark Reasoner, Clare K. Rothschild, Melissa Harl Sellew, Janet E. Spittler, Angela Standhartinger

In this study, Jonathan S. Milgram demonstrates that the transformation of inheritance law from the biblical to the tannaitic period is best explained against the backdrop of the legal and social contexts in which the tannaitic laws were formulated. Employing text and source critical methods, he argues that, in the absence of the hermeneutic underpinnings for tannaitic innovations, the laws were not the result of the rabbinic imagination and its penchant for inventive interpretation of Scripture. Turning to the rich repositories in biblical, ancient near eastern, Second Temple, Greek, Elephantine, Judean desert, and Roman sources, the author searches for conceptual parallels and antecedents as well as formulae and terminology adopted and adapted by the tannaim. Since the tannaitic traditions reflect the social and economic contexts of the tannaitic period - the nuclear family on privatized landholdings in urban centers - the author also considers the degree to which tannaitic inheritance laws may have emerged out of these contexts.

Covenant and election are two theological concepts that dominate the landscape of the Hebrew Bible. If they became the main structuring concepts of the Hebrew Bible, they were not so from the beginning. Their centrality was the result of their utilization by exilic and post-exilic scribes and tradents to focus Israel's traditions into a coherent structure as fitted the revelation of one God. The essays in this collection examine covenant and election across the biblical literature, from the priestly document through Deuteronomy to Jeremiah and the book of Chronicles. They show how the ideas were shaped and refined under the conditions of national disaster and rebuilding.

Daniele Pevarello analyzes the Sentences of Sextus, a second century collection of Greek aphorisms compiled by Sextus, an otherwise unknown Christian author. The specific character of Sextus' collection lies in the fact that the Sentences are a Christian rewriting of Hellenistic sayings, some of which are still preserved in pagan gnomologies and in Porphyry. Pevarello investigates the problem of continuity and discontinuity between the ascetic tendencies of the Christian compiler and aphorisms promoting self-control in his pagan sources. In particular, he shows how some aspects of the Stoic, Cynic, Platonic and Pythagorean moral traditions, such as sexual restraint, voluntary poverty, the practice of silence and of a secluded life were creatively combined with Sextus' ascetic agenda against the background of the biblical tradition. Drawing on this adoption of Hellenistic moral traditions, Pevarello shows how great a part the moral tradition of Greek paideia played in the shaping and development of self-restraint among early Christian ascetics.

Ethnic values changed as Imperial Rome expanded, challenging ethnocentric values in Rome itself, as well as in Greece and Judea. Rhetorically, Roman, Greek, and Judean writers who eulogized their cities all claimed they would receive foreigners. Further, Greco-Roman narratives of urban tensions between rich and poor, proud and humble, promoted reconciliation and fellowship between social classes. Luke wrote Acts in this ethnic, economic, political context, narrating Jesus as a founder who changed laws to encourage receiving foreigners, which promoted civic, missionary growth and legitimated interests of the poor and humble. David L. Balch relates Roman art to early Christianity and introduces famous, pre-Roman Corinthian artists. He shows women visually represented as priests, compares Dionysian and Corinthian charismatic speech and argues that larger assemblies of the earliest, Pauline believers "sat" (1 Cor 14.30) in taverns. Also, the author demonstrates that the image of a pregnant woman in Revelation 12 subverts imperial claims to the divine origin of the emperor, before finally suggesting that visual representations by Roman domestic artists of "a category of women who upset expected forms of conduct" (Bergmann) encouraged early Christian women like Thecla, Perpetua and Felicitas to move beyond gender stereotypes of being victims. Balch concludes with two book reviews, one of Nicolas Wiater's book on the Greek biographer and historian Dionysius, who was a model for both Josephus and Luke-Acts, the second of a book by Frederick Brenk on Hellenistic philosophy and mystery religion in relation to earliest Christianity.

William D. Barker analyzes a wide array of possible ancient Near Eastern backgrounds to Isaiah 24-27. He finds that there is a uniquely Ugaritic background to the chapters, with evidence of a literary framework and narrative progression that has been intentionally adopted and creatively adapted from either the Ba'al Myth (KTU 1.1-1.6) itself or a shared tradition between ancient Ugarit and ancient Israel. Barker also closely examines Isaiah 24-27 in the light of the Ugaritic material and thereby contributes to the resolution of some of the historic questions about the interpretation, genre, dating, and function of Isaiah 24-27. A new epithet for the chapters is also proposed.

This volume presents a group of articles that deal with connections between ancient Babylonian, Iranian and Jewish communities in Mesopotamia under Neo-Babylonian, Achaemenid, and Sasanian rule. The studies, written by leading scholars in the fields of Assyriology, Iranian studies and Jewish studies, examine various modes of cultural connections between these societies, such as historical, social, legal, and exegetical intersections. The various Mesopotamian connections, often neglected in the study of ancient Judaism, are the focus of this truly interdisciplinary collection. Contributors:Jonathan Ben-Dov, Yaakov Elman, Irving Finkel, James Nathan Ford, Eckart Frahm, Uri Gabbay, Yishai Kiel, Reuven Kiperwasser, Maria Macuch, Shai Secunda, Dan D. Y. Shapira, Prods Oktor Skjærvø, Caroline Waerzeggers, Nathan Wasserman, Abraham Winitzer, Ran Zadok

Conversations in the House of Life offers a new translation of a text first published as The Ancient Egyptian Book of Thoth (2005). The composition is a dialogue between a Master, perhaps the god Thoth himself, and a Disciple, named "The-one-who-loves-knowledge." Originally written in Demotic, the text dates to the Graeco-Roman Period (ca. 300 B.C. to 400 A.D.). The dialogue covers everything from how to hold the writing brush and the symbolic significance of scribal utensils to a long exposition on sacred geography. The work may be an initiation text dealing with sacred knowledge. It is closely associated with the House of Life, the temple scriptorium where the priests wrote their books. The 2005 publication was aimed at specialists, but Conversations in the House of Life is intended for the general reader. The revised translation reflects recent advances in our understanding of the text. The explanatory essays, commentary, and glossary help the reader explore the fascinating universe of the Book of Thoth. As a document of Late Period Egyptian thought it is of importance to all those interested in Graeco-Roman Period intellectual history; students of the Classical Hermetica will find the Book of Thoth especially intriguing. The express goal of Conversations in the House of Life is to make this challenging Ancient Egyptian composition accessible to the widest possible audience.

Following a scholarly conference given in honor of Adela Yarbro Collins, this collection of essays offers focused studies on the wide range of ways that women and gender contribute to the religious landscape of the ancient world. Experts in Greek and Roman religions, Early Christianity, Ancient Judaism, and Ancient Christianity engage in literary, social, historical, and cultural analysis of various ancient texts, inscriptions, social phenomena, and cultic activity. These studies continue the welcomed trend in scholarship that expands the social location of women in ancient Mediterranean religion to include the public sphere and consciousness. The result is an important and lively book that deepens the understanding of ancient religion as a whole. With contributions by:Patricia D. Ahearne-Kroll, Loveday Alexander, Mary Rose D'Angelo, Stephen J. Davis, Robert Doran, Radcliffe G. Edmonds III, Carin M. C. Green, Fritz Graf, Jan Willem van Henten, Paul A. Holloway, Annette B. Huizenga, Jeremy F. Hultin, Sarah Iles Johnston, James A. Kelhoffer, Judith L. Kovacs, Outi Lehtipuu, Matt Jackson-McCabe, Candida R. Moss, Christopher N. Mount, Susan E. Myers, Clare K. Rothschild, Turid Karlsen Seim

The religious history of Palestine has not yet been studied as that of an ordinary, Roman province. Until now, scholars have mainly highlighted the two, monotheistic religions, Judaism and Christianism. If Palestinian uniqueness comes actually from them, pagan Palestine little differed from the rest of the Roman - especially eastern - world and was in fact a real religious mix due to its history in the Hellenistic and Roman periods. Nicole Belayche examines the pagan part, quantitatively the majority, of the Palestinian population between 135 and the fourth century. As a consequence of the two revolts of 66-70 and 132-135, pagan peoples had been settled all over the territory and pagan cults - avodah zarah to speak as a Mishnah - spread with them. Data of various natures and religious origins allow one to reconstruct the ritual aspects of the pagan cults. The collection of gods is varied and their origins recall local history, Semitic but above all Graeco-Hellenistic and then Roman. They prove the adherence of the province to the main religious trends of the imperial, Graeco-eastern ensemble. The pagan religious life is studied for itself and in the relationship of the pagans to the Jewish population, since monotheistic and polytheistic communities did not live in closed worlds. The general plan of the book follows them city by city in order to respect the juridical status of the communities and their cultural personality. Second to fourth century Judaea-Palestine offers a good short cut to the religious procedures at work in the already Hellenized Roman provinces, perhaps the best one due to local history. The mechanics of cohabitation in the system of Graeco-Roman cultural representation functioned here as elsewhere because the monotheistic communities, Jewish then Christian, from the third century on, did not risk intermixing. As in the rest of the Empire, Constantine's reign was not an effective turning point and pagan cults still flourished until the end of the fourth century at least.

Bent Hallers fortælling om den græske sagnhelt Jason og hans kone, troldkvinden Medea, er sammensat af de bedste elementer fra oldgræsk mytologi og moderne fantasi. Den gamle kong Aison fra Iolkos bliver udstødt af sin halvbror Pelias, og Aisons lille søn, Jason, bliver sendt til kentaurnes konge, den vise Cheiron, der kan aflæse stjernerne deres hemmeligheder. Jason vokser op til at blive en smuk og stærk mand, og da han er gammel nok, drager han tilbage til Iolkos for at kræve sin retmæssige trone. Pelias, der er snedig mand, befaler Jason at hente Det Gyldne Skind i krigsguden Ares’ hellige lund for at bevise sit værd. Sammen med de største krigere i landet bygger Jason skibet Argo og stævner ud. Men blandt de græske guder er der opstået strid om Jasons skæbne, og på trods af hjælp fra kong Aietes datter, den smukke troldkvinde Medea, der ved hjælp af Amors pil har forelsket sig håbløst i Jason, bliver det ikke nogen let opgave…OM FORFATTERENBent Haller (f. 1946) er en dansk forfatter og billedkunstner. som debuterede i 1976 med romanen "Katamaranen", der handlede om en gruppe børns opvækst i et socialt boligbyggeri. Selvom han har skrevet bøger for voksne, er han dog mest kendt for sin børne- og ungdomsbøger som "Blåfolket" (1986), "Fuglekrigen i Kanøfleskoven" (1990), "Silke" (1991) og "Kaskelotternes sang" (1983), der er hans til dato mest berømte bog. Haller har vundet flere priser for sine romaner, deriblandt Kulturministeriets Børnebogspris i 1978 og Nordisk Børnebogspris i 2000.

"De forestillinger, ideer og principper, vi lever på, har deres tilblivelseshistorie, og fordybelsen i denne kaster lys over åndens væsen og vilkår." Sådan begynder forordet til "Grækerånden. Tolv populære foredrag over åndshistorie". Bogen er en samlet udgave af tolv foredrag, der blev afholdt for eleverne på Kunstakademiet i København i vinteren 1901 af den danske forfatter og dramatiker P.A. Rosenberg. Formålet med foredragene var at undersøge kulturudviklingens gang gennem tiderne, og de fokuserer blandt andet på den græske kulturs åndstanke, hellenernes indvandring, græsk religion, gudetyper, den kulturhistoriske fremstilling af livet i den homeriske verden og meget mere. Bogen udkom første gang i 1903.P.A. Rosenberg (1858-1935) var en dansk forfatter, dramatiker, lærer og foredragsholder. Han var uddannet i religionsfilosofi og underviste ved flere københavnske privatskoler. I stor kontrast til samtidens kulturradikalisme med Georg Brandes i spidsen, var Rosenbergs liv præget af en kristen verdensanskuelse, og han var stor fortaler for nationale traditioner i åndslivet. Han debuterede som forfatter med fortællingen "Af et digterliv" i 1881 og udgav efterfølgende en lang række skuespil, digte og fagbøger om blandt andre Herman Bang og Søren Kierkegaard.

»Altid skuer han og blæser og samler i sit blik og sit horn den fjerne verden vi selv slipper af syne, når vi presses ind i snævre rum af Verden, som er for meget med os. Hans horn drager os tilbage til egne bag træer og bjerge og bølger. Andre lyde, forvirrede og vekslende, dæmpes og svinder for den lange rolige kalden. Hans verden er den rigtige, den bagved, den der bærer os, også gennem gyset.«Sådan skriver Johnny Christensen (1930–2018) om Glyptotekets Triton-statue i en af teksterne i denne bog. Som professor i klassisk filologi ved Københavns Universitet i mere end 30 år var han selv draget af antikkens fjerne verden, og han formidlede levende centrale fagområder fra den verden: filosofi, filologi og sprogvidenskab.»Den fjerne verdens« betydning for vores måde at tænke, forstå og udtrykke os i dag var central for hans virke som underviser og forelæser, og den er også omdrejningspunktet for de 25 tekster i denne bog. I Fra filologens værksted drager Johnny Christensen læseren tilbage til antikken og trækker samtidig antikkens tankevirksomhed ind i nutiden og belyser dens betydning for vores tankeverden og sprog i dag.

Den tidligste litteratur, der er bevaret fra den græske verden, er fortællende, episke digte, der i varierende omfang skildrer gudernes oprindelse, historie og forhold til menneskene. Afrodite, den græske gudinde for sex og forførelse, er blandt de græske guder, der hyppigst optræder i den tidlige græske poesi.Dette til trods har Afrodite ikke nydt megen opmærksomhed i forskningslitteraturen. Afrodite i den tidlige græske epik udgør således den første systematiske analyse af Afroditeskildringen hos Homer, Hesiod og i de Homeriske Hymner.Med perspektiver til sumerisk digtning og til det babylonske epos Gilgamesh bidrager bogen ligeledes til forskningen i den mesopotamiske kulturs påvirkning af den tidlige græske poesi og mytologi.

Tragic Workings in Euripides’ Drama offers a substantially new theory and method for understanding Attic tragedy. Starting from anthropological insights, and drawing on Aristotle’s theory of the specific ‘tragic’ reactions of ‘shock and horror’ as well as his propositions on the ‘tragic’ violation of fundamental social values, Des Bouvrie argues that the participating community in fifth-century Greece, for instance at the Dionysia, the Athenian dramatic festival, assembled as a collective body engaging in a program of ‘prescribed sentiments.’ She identifies this program as a ‘tragic process’ that mobilized the audience into revitalizing their institutional order, the unquestionable values sustaining the oikos and preserving the polis.Des Bouvrie’s novel, not to say revolutionary, and explicitly ‘anthropological’ approach, consists in focusing primarily on the ‘tragic workings’ of Attic tragedy. While Euripides is singled out – with astute readings of Heracleidae, Andromache, Hecuba, Heracles, The Trojan Women, Iphigenia in Tauris and Iphigenia at Aulis on offer - the author’s earlier work on other Greektragedians suggests that these features were operating in the genre as such. For students and scholars interested in ancient Greek tragedy, this volume constitutes a remarkable contribution. It will significantly further studies of the tragic genre as well as stimulate new debate.

Et limerick kræver en skjaldog at tegne det, det er et kald.Så når Daidalos' vingerop mod solen os bringer,må vi frygte for Ikaros' fald.Daidalos, den græske mytologis Leonardo da Vinci, blev indespærret sammen med sin søn Ikaros i Labyrinten ved Knossos. Men Daidalos lavede kunstige vinger af fjer holdt sammen med voks. Far og søn fløj op fra labyrinten, men i sit overmod fløj Ikaros så højt, at solen smeltede vokset i hans vinger, så han styrtede i havet og druknede. Lige siden oldtiden er Ikaros blevet brugt som symbol på straffen for overmod og overdreven selvtillid.Foruden at forske i det antikke Grækenlands sprog og kultur har den verdenskendte specialist i demokratiet og dets historie Mogens Herman Hansen gennem mange år skrevet limericks med den græske mytologi som emne. I 38 mytologiske limericks samler han nu de bedste limericks fra sine tidligere udgivelser, 50 mytologiske limericks (1994), Nye mytologiske limericks (2005) og Mytologiske limericks og andre vers (2011), som alle har været særdeles populære. Nyudgivelsen er illustreret af satiretegneren Jens Hage, kendt bl.a. for sine illustrationer til Berlingske, Blæksprutten og Svikmøllen. Hages streg vækker myterne yderligere til live. Versene i bogen følger det traditionelle mønster for limericks: vittige vers, gerne frivole og lidt sjofle. Af hensyn til læsere, der ikke er fortrolige med historierne fra den græske mytologi, er hvert limerick forsynet med en manchet, der på prosa fortæller myten, så man ved, hvad man griner af. Denne lille bog er altså nyttig som morsom læsning, men også som en saglig introduktion til et emne der med sit enorme omfang og lange historie ellers kan forekomme overvældende. Med kombinationen af de skælmske – og til tider noget dristige – limericks, tegninger og mytemanchetter er denne bog oplagt til højtlæsning ved festlige lejligheder som f.eks. julefrokosten eller konfirmationsfesten:En Kyklop Polyfem sku’ fordøjesin dessert og ku’ sige med føje:»Hvis man skal holde festog vil nyde sin gæst,må man vove det ene øje« Mogens Herman Hansen er lektor emeritus i oldgræsk ved Saxo-Instituttet, Københavns Universitet, hvor han har undervist og forsket i det antikke Grækenlands sprog og kultur. Jens Hage tegner til Berlingske, Blæksprutten og Svikmøllen, samt en lang række blade, bøger og virksomheder. Han har vundet flere udmærkelser, bl.a. Den Gyldne Tegnestift og EU-prisen Best European Cartoonist.

Iliaden og Odysseen er Europas ældste bevarede romaner, og nogle vil også sige de bedste. Som danskere har vi den fordel, at vi kan læse dem i en fremragende oversættelse af Christian Wilster fra 1836-37. Den blev genudgivet i 1979 og i 1984 ledsaget af Billeder til Homer, som foruden et fyldigt billedstof indeholder geografisk orientering, ordforklaringer og navneregister. Homerstudier er fjerde og afsluttende bind i dette værk. Det indeholder en række artikler om homeriske spørgsmål fra mykensk tid til det 20. århundrede e.Kr. De homeriske tekster selv er emne for artikler om Homertekstens historie og om den danske oversættelse. Flere indlæg handler om fortolkningsmæssige og kompositoriske spørgsmål, bl.a. i lyset af teorien om mundtlig komposition. Der er artikler om den materielle kultur og om religion og samfund. Desuden bringes en oversættelse af Kykols, et senantikt referat af de andre - tabte - episke digte fra den trojanske sagnkreds.