Reflections on ancient Greek religion: how to understand polytheism?

Reflexões sobre a religião grega antiga: como apreender o politeísmo?

Authors

  • Fábio Antonio da Costa Colégio Pedro II
  • Yuri Hensel Fonseca Maia Universidade Federal Fluminense - UFF

Keywords:

History of Religions in Ancient Greece, Methodology, Criticism

Abstract

Pierre Bonnechere and Vinciane Pirenne-Delforge, in this article, advocate for the dismantling of a series of assumptions that explicitly or subtly guide the philosophical and historiographical understanding of forms of religiosity in ancient Greece. Equipped with the most recent research, including epigraphic and archaeological discoveries, the authors present the reasons why certain assumptions about ritual, mythology, oracles, as well as the relationship between philosophers and the religious life of the ancient Greeks, are no longer tenable. Their arguments undermine the supposed progressive lines from a more collective religiosity toward more individualized religious expressions; the split between popular religiosity and philosophical critique; the role of the oracle as a mere manipulative mechanism employed by an elite; the inclusion of mysteries and so-called oriental cults as means to satisfy a desire for a deeper connection with the divine, as opposed to the mechanized nature of civic ritualism. Furthermore, the authors provide reasons why the belief in a rupture between the forms of religiosity in classical Greece and those that prevailed in the Hellenistic period is no longer sustainable.

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Author Biographies

Fábio Antonio da Costa, Colégio Pedro II

Professor de filosofia no Colégio Pedro II e nas Licenciaturas integradas em Humanidades do Colégio Pedro II. Realizou mestrado e doutorado em Teoria do Conhecimento e Filosofia das Ciências na UERJ; possui especialização em Ciências da Religião pela Faculdade São Bento-RJ. E-mail: philonatur@gmail.com.

Yuri Hensel Fonseca Maia, Universidade Federal Fluminense - UFF

Graduado em filosofia pela Universidade Federal Fluminense. E-mail: yuri.hensel@gmail.com

References

COLLETTE-DUČIĆ, B.; GAVRAY, M.-A.; NARBONNE, J.-M. (org.) L’Esprit critique dans l’Antiquité I: Critique et licence dans la Grèce antique. Paris: Les Belles Lettres, 2019

Published

2025-05-31

How to Cite

Costa, F. A. da, & Maia, Y. H. F. (2025). Reflections on ancient Greek religion: how to understand polytheism? Reflexões sobre a religião grega antiga: como apreender o politeísmo?. PLURA, Revista De Estudos De Religião PLURA, Journal for the Study of Religion, 16(1), e160113. Retrieved from https://revistaplura.emnuvens.com.br/plura/article/view/2435