The Mysteries of Artemis of Ephesos; Cult, Polis, and Change in the Graeco-Roman World

by Guy MacLean Rogers

• ISBN13: 9780300178630
• ISBN10: 0300178638
• Format: Trade Book
• Copyright: 2013-01-08
• Publisher: Yale University Press

Summary

Artemis of Ephesos was one of the most widely worshiped deities of the Graeco-Roman World. Her temple, the Artemision, was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, and for more than half a millennium people flocked to Ephesos to learn the great secret of the mysteries and sacrifices that were celebrated every year on her birthday. In this work Guy MacLean Rogers sets out the evidence for the celebration of Artemis's mysteries against the background of the remarkable urban development of the city during the Roman Empire and then proposes an entirely new theory about the great secret that was revealed to initiates into Artemis's mysteries. The revelation of that secret helps to explain not only the success of Artemis's cult and polytheism itself but, more surprisingly, the demise of both and the success of Christianity. Contrary to many anthropological and scientific theories, the history of polytheism, including the celebration of Artemis's mysteries, is best understood as a Darwinian tale of adaptation, competition, and change.

Author Biography

Guy MacLean Rogers is Kemper Professor of History and Classics at Wellesley College. He is the author of The Sacred Identity of Ephesos: Foundation Myths of a Roman City, Alexander: The Ambiguity of Greatness, and Roots of the Western Tradition: A Short History of the Ancient World. He lives in Litchfield County, Connecticut.

Table of Contents

Preface: Anathema	p. ix
Maps	p. xiii
Muesis-Initiation
Continuity in Change	p. 3
Funeral Games	p. 33
Mysteries and Sacrifices	p. 61
Teletai- Rites
Mystic Sacrifices	p. 91
Kouretes eusebeis	p. 122
Kouretes eusebeis kai philosebastoi	p. 145
Kouretes eusebeis kai philosebastoi kai bouleutai	p. 171
"The Nurse of Its Own Ephesian God,"	p. 205
"Our Common Salvation,"	p. 230
Epopteia-Viewing
Cult, Polis, and Change in the Graeco-Roman World	p. 259
The Other Mystery Cults of the Polis	p. 293
Cults of the Prytaneion	p. 303
Chronological Chart of Kouretes	p. 309
Chart of Mysteries and Change	p. 311
List of Abbreviations	p. 313
Notes	p. 315
Glossary	p. 437
Select Modern Bibliography	p. 441
General Index	p. 481
Index of Ancient Authors	p. 495
Index of Inscriptions	p. 497
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