The Myth and Ritual School

First Published in 2002. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

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The History of Religions

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Inconsistencies in Greek and Roman Religion

This second volume of a two-part collection of studies on inconsistencies in Greek and Roman religion focuses on the ambiguities in myth and ritual of transition and reversal.

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Canaanite Myth and Hebrew Epic

Cross traces the continuities between early Israelite religion and the Canaanite culture from which it emerged; explores the tension between the mythic and the historical in Israel's religious expression; and examines the reemergence of Canaanite mythic material in the apocalypticism of early Christianity and the Dead Sea Scrolls.

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Ritual

From handshakes and toasts to chant and genuflection, ritual pervades our social interactions and religious practices. Still, few of us could identify all of our daily and festal ritual behaviors, much less explain them to an outsider. Similarly, because of the variety of activities that qualify as ritual and their many contradictory yet, in many ways, equally legitimate interpretations, ritual seems to elude any systematic historical and comparative scrutiny. In this book, Catherine Bell offers a practical introduction to ritual practice and its study; she surveys the most influential theories of religion and ritual, the major categories of ritual activity, and the key debates that have shaped our understanding of ritualism. Bell refuses to nail down ritual with any one definition or understanding. Instead, her purpose is to reveal how definitions emerge and evolve and to help us become more familiar with the interplay of tradition, exigency, and self-expression that goes into constructing this complex social medium.

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The Gnostics

Brakke writes a pioneering study of the way the demon role relates to religious thinking and to cultural anxieties. The author’s sources include biographies of exceptional monks, collections of monastic sayings and stories, letters from ascetic teachers to their disciples, sermons, community rules, and biblical commentaries. When monks imagined the resistance that they had to overcome in cultivating their selves or the temptation that offered an easier path, they saw supernatural beings that could take the shapes of animals, women, boys, and false angels in their attempts to seduce monks away from their devotion to God. And when they considered the inclinations in their own selves that opposed their best intentions, they concluded that demons introduced such problematic “thoughts” to their minds. Although the last twenty years has seen an explosion of scholarship on early Christian asceticism, producing brilliant explorations of the body, sexual renunciation, fasting, and gender, combat with demons has been left relatively unexplored.

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Merriam Webster s Encyclopedia of World Religions

A beautifully designed volume that provides in-depth information about religions of the world. Features over 3,500 entries and 32 pages of color art and maps. Developed in cooperation with Encyclopdia Britannica.

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Art Myth and Ritual in Classical Greece

A study of the relationship between architectural sculpture and myth in Classical Greece.

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Interpretations of Greek Mythology Routledge Revivals

Interpretations of Greek Mythology, first published in1987, builds on the innovative work of Walter Burkert and the ‘Paris school’ of Jean-Pierre Vernant, and represents a renewal of interpretation of Greek mythology. The contributors to this volume present a variety of approaches to the Greek myths, all of which eschew a monolithic or exclusively structuralist hermeneutic method. Specifically, the notion that mythology can simply be read as a primitive mode of narrative history is rejected, with emphasis instead being placed on the relationships between mythology and history, ritual and political genealogy. The essays concentrate on some of the best known characters and themes – Oedipus, Orpheus, Narcissus – reflecting the complexity and fascination of the Greek imagination. The volume will long remain an indispensable tool for the study of Greek mythology, and it is of great interest to anyone interested in the development of Greek culture and civilisation and the nature of myth.

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The Poetics of Myth

First Published in 1998. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

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The Ritual Theory of Myth

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Mythology

What makes something mythic? What do mythic events and narratives have to do with us? In Mythology, David Leeming offers an unusual and effective approach to the subject of mythology by stressing universal themes through myths of many cultures. This anthology collects a wide array of narrative texts from the Bible to English literature to interpretations by Joseph Campbell, C.G. Jung, and others, which illustrate how myths serve whole societies in our universal search for meaning. Leeming illustrates the various stages or rites of passage of the mythic universal hero, from birth to childhood, through trial and quest, death, descent, rebirth, and ascension. The arrangement of texts by themes such as "Childhood, Initiation and Divine Signs," "The Descent to the Underworld," and "Resurrection and Rebirth" strip mythic characters of their many national and cultural "masks" to reveal their archetypal aspects. Real figures, including Jesus and Mohammed, are also included underlining the theory that myths are real and can be applied to real life. This edition is updated to include additional heroine myths, as well as Navajo, Indonesian, Indian, Chinese, and African tales.

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The Romans

So many myths and legends. So many senators and Caesars. So many documents, archaeological finds, movie-made misconceptions, and scholarly histories. With so much information available on the civilization of ancient Rome, and more discoveries happening all the time, where do you start? * An extensive bibliography of all major English-language resources (print, electronic, online) on Roman civilization, along with lists of references for further study concluding each chapter * Dozens of photographs and drawings, plus detailed maps of Rome and its empire as they evolved over time

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The Combat Myth in the Book of Revelation

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Philosophy Religious Studies and Myth

First Published in 1996. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

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Understanding Religious Ritual

Although numerous studies of religious rituals have been conducted by religious studies scholars, anthropologists, sociologists, and psychologists, it is rare to find a work that brings scholars from different disciplines together to discuss the similarities and differences in their research. This book represents contributions by leading scholars from several disciplines that show the diversity of approaches to religious rituals, while also providing cross-disciplinary perspectives on this topic. The goals of the chapters are to consider where the field currently stands in understanding religious rituals and what novel ideas can improve our knowledge about these practices; and furnish innovative applications of theory by discussing particular examples which are drawn from the authors’ fieldwork. The chapters cover Christian, Buddhist, Jewish, and Islamic rituals, thus providing a view of how ritual practices vary across the globe, but also how they share some important characteristics.

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Pocket Dictionary of Biblical Studies

Arthur G. Patzia and Anthony J. Petrotta offer clear, concise definitions of more than 300 terms related to biblical studies.

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Religion in Literature and Film in South Asia

This innovative, interdisciplinary collection of essays by scholars based in Europe and the United States offers stimulating approaches to the role played by religion in present-day South Asia.

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With all senses Something for body and mind

Even though educators and religious leaders know that early childhood formation is utterly crucial, ritual activities among children are rarely studied, therefore poorly understood. It is no wonder, then, that adult rituals, including those designed by supposed professionals, are in such a mess. Kim de Wildt’s “With All the Senses” makes an admirable start at cleaning up the mess. Since her determination matches her candor, readers will find this book both challenging and playful. Ronald L. Grimes, Ritual Studies International

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Myth

Myth: A New Symposium offers a broad-based assessment of the present state of myth study. It was inspired by a revisiting of the influential mid-century work Myth: A Symposium (edited by Thomas Sebeok). A systematic introduction and 15 contributions from a wide spectrum of disciplines offer a range of views on past myth study and suggest directions for the future. Contributors blend theoretical analysis with richly documented historical, ethnographic, and literary illustrations and examples drawn from Native American, classical, medieval, and modern sources.

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