Mystery Religions in the Ancient World [Paperback]

Joscelyn Godwin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1982

A lively, illustrated overview of the variety of mystery religions that flourished at the dawn of the Christian era. In clear, enlightened text and striking images, Mystery Religions holds up a "distant mirror" to our own times, showing that the quest for spiritual illumination from Eastern religions, and emphasis on spiritual development and experience, and a concern for hidden knowledge are deeply rooted in Western culture. Mystery Religions brings the myths, the magic, their rites and the wisdom of a bygone age to compelling life, making them comprehensible to modern readers.... Here is a compelling account of the forms mystery religions took, from the cults of Mithras, Dionysus, and Orpheus to those of the Goddess, esoteric Christianity and Judaism, and Gnosticism. Godwin offers a rich and varied selection of illustrations; the symbolism of paintings, statues, releifs, and other visual imagery provides a wealth of additional information about these religions. --- excerpts from book's back cover

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Harpercollins (March 1982)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060631406
• ISBN-13: 978-0060631406
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,273,808 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Occult meanings of Ancient Religions, August 23, 2010

By 

Cwn_Annwn (Copenhagen, Denmark) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mystery Religions in the Ancient World (Paperback)

Godwin gives his take on the occult meanings of various ancient religions along with some basic history. He covers various Roman, Greek, Egyptian sects and/or Dieties. Also Gnosticism, Christianity and Judaism. Throughout the book he uses pics of various artifacts and gives his interpretaions of them and what they are symbolic of on the esoteric level.

Overall I thought this was a good book but he dropped the ball with Christianity not spotting the obvious conspiratorial scam that it was and still is as well as missing the Christianity as a sun worship/astrological allegory that has gained a lot of popularity in the past few years due to Jordan Maxwell and the Zeitgeist documentary.