Religions of the Hellenistic-Roman Age [Paperback]

Antonia Tripolitis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2001

This engaging volume traces the development of the principal Western religions and their philosophical alternatives from the beginnings of Alexander the Greats empire in 331 B.C.E. to the emergence of the Christian world in the fourth century C.E. Antonia Tripolitis examines the rise of the Hellenistic-Roman world and presents a comprehensive overview of its beliefs and practices, their sociopsychological and historical development, general patterns of thought, and the reasons for their success or failure. Her work examines Mithraism, Hellenistic Judaism, Christianity, and Gnosticism as well as the philosophies of Stoicism, Epicureanism, and Middle Platonism. It also includes a review of the principal mystery cults, Demeter at Eleusis, Dionysus, Isis, and Cybele or Magna Mater. Based on the most reliable, up-to-date research on the ancient world, Religions of the Hellenistic-Roman Age is ideally suited for classes in early Christianity, late antiquity, and related topics taught in departments of history, religion, and classics.

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company (October 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 080284913X
• ISBN-13: 978-0802849137
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #670,448 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

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Breezy overview of a spiritually volatile era, December 8, 2001

By 

Charles S. Houser (Binghamton, NY) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Religions of the Hellenistic-Roman Age (Paperback)

The text of this very readable, no-nonsense, high-level view of all the key philosophies and religions that competed with Judaism and Christianity at the beginning of the Common Era runs to a mere 149 pages. I liked that Tripolitis reduced matters to the mere essentials. I've struggled with the articles in the Anchor Bible Dictionary on many of these religions and have found them difficult to follow and perplexing...and they never seem to give one a sense of how dominant any of them were during their time. Tripolitis provides ample footnotes and a bibliography for the skeptics who want to challenge her generalizations (of which there are many) if they find them too sweeping. One I might want to follow up on myself is her statement that the concept of the individual began in the era she covers (roughly from 331 B.C.E. to the 4th century C.E.). She attributes the success of mystery religions and religions promising personal salvation to this rise of individualism.

Tripolitis covers the great mystery cults (Demeter, Dionysus, Isis, and Cybele), religious philosophies (Stoicism, Epicureanism, and Middle Platonism), Mithraism, Hellenistic Judaism, Christianity, and Gnosticism (both the Christian and non-Christian forms). I appreciated that Tripolitis acknowledges when information is lacking (as with the mystery cults) and that she resists the temptation to fill in the gaps with speculative psychology. Similarly, she is careful not to try to identify clear relationships between the many different Gnostic sects that emerged in the 2nd century C.E. The ultimate and lasting success of Christianity she attributes to more than just Constantine's favor. It succeeded, she asserts, because of its universalism, ecclesiastical organization, standardized canon of Scripture, and credal formulas. In sum, this is a handy book that you'll want to keep near by as you wrestle with weightier and more opinionated tomes.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars adding only, May 19, 2003

By 

Alvaro Lewis "jwatson5" (Redwood City, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Religions of the Hellenistic-Roman Age (Paperback)

I would like to add to the two reviews written earlier, only that this work makes available for introductory students an intelligent skimming of the surface of religions of the Hellenistic-Roman period. This period description is crucial as it refers not exclusively to the traditional span of the Hellenistic Age from 323 B.C.E. to 31 B.C.E., but from the death of Alexander the Great to the fourth century of the common era. This recalibration nearly doubles the space under review and as a result allows or requires that most of the book addresses the early Jewish diaspora and the early Christian religion.

The author handles each religion or way of life relatively well, clarifying with polish and style the major characteristics, rituals and contexts of the belief systems. New ideas are not the order of business here, instead this concise summary fills a need.

Approximately thirty pages cover all of the "mystery cults" (Isis, Magna Mater, Dionysus, Demeter), with a separate chapter given to Mithraism. What I mean to suggest is that the gross majority of the work summarizes the information available about the beginnings of religions that remain, however changed, not those earlier religions of the Mediterranean that have disappeared. For me the lack of attention to the religions of the Greek and Roman landscapes proved a disappointment, but the book is of exemplary quality as it is for what it is.

A final note: the maps are truly outstanding.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great way to put early Christianity into perspective, April 19, 2008

By 

calmly - See all my reviews

This review is from: Religions of the Hellenistic-Roman Age (Paperback)

An excellent introduction, concise but with lots of details.

Enough about key mystery cults (of Demeter, Dionysius, Isis, Cybele, and especially Mithra), religious philosophies (Stoicism, Epicureanism, and Middle Platonism) and Hellenic Platonism to put early Christianity into good perspective.

The 7-page summary reinforces the full (but itself only 142 page) presentation. If Tripolitis did not know this subject so well, I see no way she could have written such a fine summary (nor the entire book).

A 9-page bibliography, organized to follow the book's chapters, may help you to follow up if you want to plunge down into any topic that book has introduced.