Religion

[amyntoros]

Just found this today (thanks to David Meadows' Rogueclassicism) in the Bryn Mawr Classical Review. Thought it worth copying a couple of excerpts here as they're relevant to this discussion. Angelos Chaniotis, War in the Hellenistic World: A Social and Cultural History. -á Oxford: -áBlackwell Publishing, 2005. -áReviewed by Michael P. Fronda, McGill University

"Hellenistic battle narratives often feature miraculous events and divine intervention, the propaganda of war frequently involved claims that the enemy had committed wrongs against the gods, many religious rituals were related to warfare, and military success and failure could be interpreted as signs of divine favor or abandonment -- all underscoring the close link between religion and war. [. . .] Regarding religion, "perhaps the most fundamental boundary broken by Hellenistic wars is that separating mortals from the gods" (p. 252), as kings became gods and the gods made themselves present among mortals during wars to perform miracles."

Aside from the above quotes, the book looks like a interesting read. The review is at: http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/bmcr/2005/2005-08-20.html And for those new to Pothos who don't know of David's daily update, he can be found at: http://www.atrium-media.com/rogueclassicism/ Best regards, Amyntoros

[marcus]

Your mention of RogueClassicism gives me an opening for a bit of name dropping ... if anyone has seen the occasional pieces on RogueClassicism about the Swedish chap who has set up a Roman chariot racing spectacle at Jerash, in Jordan ... well, I have a connection to one of the (English) chaps whose been an instrumental part of setting it up.Problem is, I don't know the guy personally (although I'm still angling for an invitation) ... ATBMarcus