The preeminent reference volume explores elements that are both common to and unique about major Western religions
TACOMA, Wash. – Most religions work hard to convince their followers that each is the unique proprietor of access to the divine. But to those in the know, the entrenched intermingling and similarities of many practices and beliefs in Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Greek and Roman traditions, and, most would say, even magic and witchcraft, is only too obvious.
The rich cultural heritage that shaped these and other ancient religions can be explored in a single, comprehensive new volume, The Routledge Encyclopedia of Ancient Mediterranean Religions (Routledge, 2016). Edited by Eric Orlin, professor of classics at the University of Puget Sound, the reference work contains entries written by more than 450 eminent scholars based in more than 20 countries. Three associate editors and an assistant editor named below helped to produce the 1,054-page work.
“This project aimed to continue to break down disciplinary barriers between scholars of classics, the ancient Near East and Egypt, early Christianity, early Judaism, and early Islam, and to facilitate further collaboration,” Orlin said. “I am immensely proud of the internationally renowned scholars who worked across both geographical and temporal boundaries to lay the foundations for a new generation of cross-cultural scholarship.”
The encyclopedia, targeted at scholars and students, provides a valuable resource for understanding common among the ancient Mediterranean religions and what was unique to each. By using a multidisciplinary approach, the book provides readers with some of the most recent and most intriguing thinking of scholars who have partnered to understand issues such as the role of Christianity and Judaism in the broader Roman imperial world, the part played by Islam in the Late Antique world, and the impact of ancient Greek, Roman, and Near Eastern religions on these monotheistic traditions.
The volume provides succinct definitions and contexts for specialist terminology, allowing scholars who are new to a particular religious tradition to enter the discussion. It also provides maps of the Mediterranean world, ancient Egypt, the Roman Empire, the Hellenistic world, and timelines of major events, innovations, and individuals.
Geographically the encyclopedia covers western Asia, northern Africa, and southern Europe, and in its content, it recognizes and explores the close intertwining of religion, politics, and social customs. The authors’ discussions cover the period from prehistoric antiquity in the third millennium B.C. through Islam's rise in the seventh century.
The University of Texas at Austin Distinguished Teaching Professor of Classics Karl Galinsky described the book as “a splendid achievement.”
“[It is] an extremely useful and informative resource that treats the religions of the ancient Mediterranean holistically and not as discrete entities,” he wrote in a review. “The result is a needed widening of horizons.”
Erich S. Gruen, professor emeritus of history at the University of California Berkeley, wrote that the volume is a “valuable entrance for students and scholars into a myriad of diverse topics in ancient religions. … It introduces readers to methodologies, debates, and theoretical approaches that exhibit both the commonalities among religions and the uniqueness of each of them.”
The associate editors for the book are Lisbeth S. Fried, visiting scholar in the Department of Near Eastern Studies at the University of Michigan; Jennifer Wright Knust, associate professor of New Testament and Christian origins at Boston University; and Michael L. Satlow, professor of religious studies and Judaic studies at Brown University. Michael E. Pregill, the interlocutor in the Institute for the Study of Muslim Societies and Civilizations at Boston University, served as assistant editor.
To learn more or to purchase the book, visit: routledge.com/products/9780415831970.
Press photos of Eric Orlin, and the book jacket can be downloaded from pugetsound.edu/pressphotos.
Photos on page: Book jacket; Professor Eric Orlin
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