What did the Romans know about their gods? Why did they perform the rituals of their religion, and what motivated them to change those rituals? To these questions Clifford Ando proposes simple answers: In contrast to ancient Christians, who had faith, Romans had knowledge, and their knowledge was empirical in orientation. In other words, the Romans acquired knowledge of the gods through observation of the world, and their rituals were maintained or modified in light of what they learned. After a preface and opening chapters that lay out this argument about knowledge and place it in context, The Matter of the Gods pursues a variety of themes essential to the study of religion in history.
| |||||||||||||||
Book Description
Frequently Bought Together
Editorial Reviews
Review
"Will cause many people to reconsider what they think they know about the Roman religion."--New England Classical Jrnl
"Contends that in contrast to early Christians who had faith, the Romans had knowledge that was empirical in orientation."--New Testament Abstracts
"Contends that in contrast to early Christians who had faith, the Romans had knowledge that was empirical in orientation."--New Testament Abstracts
From the Inside Flap
"A work of innovative spirit and great learning, stylishly argued throughout, and beautifully written."--Sabine MacCormack, author of The Shadows of Poetry: Virgil in the Mind of Augustine
"Ando's intellectually daring work breaks through the traditional perceptions of Roman religion under the Empire."--Guy Stroumsa, author of Barbarian Philosophy: The Religious Revolution of Early Christianity
"Ando's intellectually daring work breaks through the traditional perceptions of Roman religion under the Empire."--Guy Stroumsa, author of Barbarian Philosophy: The Religious Revolution of Early Christianity
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
|
There are no customer reviews yet.
|
|||
|
Video reviews
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
