These two papers, which both make important contributions, could have benefited from some cross-referencing, given that they discuss similar or identical issues on more than one occasion. Anna Jiménez San Cristóbal examines the meanings of key terms in Orphism.
Dionysiac worship is attested in this region for a period of a thousand years and Casadio demonstrates how the cult of Dionysus presents itself in various seemingly contradictory forms that characterise the god’s ethos. Part i, on Dionysus and Orpheus, contains a well-rounded selection of papers from important scholars in the field, opening with Giovanni Casadio’s examination of the cult of Dionysus in Campania. This introduction is very useful, although certain generalised statements made therein may be misleading to non-specialists, such as “The idea of rebirth can be documented only in later Hellenism” (which, even discounting the evidence from Plato and Pythagoreanism, is questionable given the existence of the “Orphic” Gold Tablets from the fourth century bce which seemingly attest to this notion in some form). It also introduces key features and elements of each of the cults under examination, centring on what can currently be deduced from available evidence. The introduction contains a comprehensive survey of previous and recent scholarship on ancient mystery cults, discussing historical and critical perspectives, including research undertaken by classicists, historians of religion and ethnologists.
More could have been said about these intriguing issues and a conclusion drawing together such threads and suggesting areas for future research would have been a very helpful addition to the volume. Several themes and topoi recur in various papers, such as the importance of divinization and the aim of immortality in forms of Orphism and Dionysiac cults, as well as the significant roles of both men and women in Demeter cults in Magna Graecia. In a broader sense, more cohesiveness and interplay between the various contributions would have improved the quality of the volume. Drew Griffiths, do actively engage with philosophical evidence and themes). However, given this impressive showcase of methodologies, the historian of philosophy might hope for more discussion of philosophical parallels and connections (although certain contributions, such as those of Alberto Bernabé and R. Moreover, the papers examine textual, archaeological, epigraphic and iconographic forms of evidence, with one drawing on cognitive theory and several combining detailed analyses of multiple forms of evidence in order to give a balanced and rounded picture of the cults under consideration. A major strength of the collection is its interdisciplinary nature, with contributions from classicists, historians of religion and even a geographer. This thematic structure is excellent, allowing the reader to locate relevant contributions on specific cults easily and quickly furthermore, the decision to group papers on Dionysiac and Orphic cults together makes sense, given the extreme difficulties in drawing any firm demarcation between these respective forms of religiosity.Īs is often the case with such an edited collection, the papers are of varying quality and scope. The papers are divided thematically in accordance with the chief deity of and type of cult: the first section examines cults dedicated to Dionysus and Orpheus the second focuses on cults of Demeter and Isis and the third on the cult of Mithras. This alone makes it a useful reference work and ‘must-read’ for those interested in ancient Mediterranean religious traditions and practices. This edited collection of papers arises from two symposia held in 20 and hosted by the Vergilian Society and Brandeis University at the Villa Vergiliana in Cuma, Italy, on the topic of “The Cults of Magna Graecia.” To the best of my knowledge, this is the first volume focusing exclusively on a wide range of ancient religious cults in the geographic region of Magna Graecia. Austin, Texas: University of Texas Press, 2009.