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Author Versnel, H. S

Title Coping with the gods : wayward readings in Greek theology / by H.S. Versnel
Published Leiden ; Boston : Brill, 2011
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Description 1 online resource (xiii, 593 pages) : illustrations
Series Religions in the Graeco-Roman world, 0927-7633 ; v. 173
Religions in the Graeco-Roman world ; v. 173.
Contents Introduction -- ch. 1: Many gods: complications of polytheism -- ch. 2: The gods: divine justice or divine arbitrariness? -- ch. 3: One god: three Greek experiment in oneness -- ch. 4: A god: why is Hermes hungry? -- ch. 5: God: the question of divine omnipotence -- ch. 6: Playing (the) god: did (the) Greeks believe in the divinity of their rulers? -- Epilogue -- Appendix one: Grouping the gods -- Appendix two: Unity or diversity-one god or many? a modern debate -- Appendix three: Drive towards coherence in two Herodotus studies -- Appendix four: Did the Greeks believe in their gods?
1. Many Gods: Complications of Polytheism -- Order versus Chaos -- The Greek pantheon: kosmos or chaos? -- Ingredients for Chaos -- In search of identities -- Names and surnames: one god or many? -- Creating Order: Taking Place -- The gods who dwell in our city -- Beyond the polis border (and back) -- Ducking out: gods in personal religiosity -- 2. The Gods: Divine Justice or Divine Arbitrariness? -- Controversial diction in archaic poetry -- Modern Voices -- Homer -- Herodotus -- Two tales, many perspectives -- Modern voices: fear of diversity -- Saving the Author -- Solon Again -- Once More: Chaos or Order? -- Paratactic multiplicity -- 'Gnomologisches Wissen' -- The rehabilitation of parataxis -- Thinking in gnomai--speaking in parataxis -- Putting to the Test: Hesiod -- Envoy -- 3. One God: Three Greek Experiments in Oneness -- One and Many: The God(s) of Xenophanes -- One or many? -- One and Many -- One is Many: The Gods, the God and the Divine -- On singular plurals -- One is the God -- Praising the god -- Aretalogy -- Nine characteristics of henotheistic religion -- The nature of oneness in henotheistic religion -- Questions of origin -- 4. A God: Why is Hermes Hungry? -- Hungry Hermes and Greedy Interpreters -- Hermes: The Human God in the Hymn -- Hermes: The Eternal Dupe in the Fable -- Burlesques -- Paying a social call -- Hermes: The Present God in Visual Art -- Socializing -- More burlesques -- Herms and sacrifice -- Hungry Hermes: The Sacrificial Meal -- The warm splanchna which I used to gobble up -- The titbits Hermes likes to eat -- Companion of the feast -- 5. God: the Question of Divine Omnipotence -- God: Self and Other -- Self -- Other -- Self and other -- Gods: Self and other -- Some inferences -- God: Powerful or All-Powerful? -- Miracles in Double Perspective: The Case of Asklepios -- God: Powerful and All-Powerful -- Omnipotence, ancient philosophers and modern theologians -- Inconsistency in religious expression -- 6. Playing (the) God: did (the) Greeks Believe in the Divinity of their Rulers? -- Men into Gods -- A swollen-headed doctor: the case of Menekrates -- A charismatic prince: the case of Demetrios Poliorketes -- Modern Perplexities -- The Construction of a God -- Language -- Performance -- Did (the) Greeks believe in the Divinity of their Rulers? -- Ritual Play: Sincere Hypocrisy -- Birds into Gods: Comic Theopoetics -- Making a God: A Multiple Perspective Approach -- Appendices -- Grouping the Gods -- Unity or Diversity--One God or Many? A Modern Debate -- Drive Towards Coherence in Two Herodotus-Studies -- Did the Greeks Believe in their Gods?
Summary Inspired by a critical reconsideration of current monolithic approaches to the study of Greek religion, this book argues that ancient Greeks displayed a disquieting capacity to validate two (or more) dissonant, if not contradictory, representations of the divine world in a complementary rather than mutually exclusive manner. From this perspective the six chapters explore problems inherent in: order vs. variety/chaos in polytheism, arbitrariness vs. justice in theodicy, the peaceful co-existence of mono- and polytheistic theologies, human traits in divine imagery, divine omnipotence vs. limitat
Analysis omnipotence
veelgoderij
theodicy
cultus
divine
voorspellen
leider
ruler
almacht
religie
cult
theodicee
religion
polytheism
Ancient Greece
Greeks
Hermes
Zeus
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages 561-576) and indexes
Notes English
Print version record
Subject RELIGION -- Antiquities & Archaeology.
BODY, MIND & SPIRIT -- Spirituality -- Paganism & Neo-Paganism.
RELIGION -- History.
Religion
Nichtchristliche Religion
Theologie
Gottesvorstellung
Religion.
Theologie.
Gottesvorstellung.
SUBJECT Greece -- Religion. http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85057127
Subject Greece
Griechenland Altertum
Griechenland (Altertum)
Grekland -- religion -- antiken.
Form Electronic book
LC no. 2011008358
ISBN 9789004210905
9004210903
9786613161666
6613161667