Votive Body Parts in Greek and Roman Religion (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781107157835)

This book examines a type of object that was widespread and very popular in classical antiquity - votive offerings in the shape of parts of the human body. It collects examples from four principal areas and time periods: Classical Greece, pre-Roman Italy, Roman Gaul and Roman Asia Minor. It uses a compare-and-contrast methodology to highlight differences between these sets of votives, exploring the implications for our understandings of how beliefs about the body changed across classical antiquity. The book also looks at how far these ancient beliefs overlap with, or differ from, modern ideas about the body and its physical and conceptual boundaries. Central themes of the book include illness and healing, bodily fragmentation, human-animal hybridity, transmission and reception of traditions, and the mechanics of personal transformation in religious rituals.

Author: Jessica Hughes
ISBN-10: 1107157838
ISBN-13: 9781107157835
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Language: English
Published: 05/18/2017
Pages: 234
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.43lbs
Size: 10.12h x 7.13w x 0.66d