History of Religion in Antiquity
Objectives
1.To understand the theoretical-methodological framework of the History of Religions and to know how to apply it to the contexts of Antiquity under study.
2.To recognize the importance of religion as a structuring phenomenon in the mentalities of the ancient contexts under study.
3.To know how to interpret material, iconographic, and textual sources that display the structuring themes of the religious system under study, as well as integrating them into their specific institutional, economic, social, military, and diplomatic context.
4.To identify the main and most up-to-date historiographical interpretations of the topics analyzed.
5.To develop written and oral skills, integrating specific vocabulary and the conceptual framework appropriated to the subject-matter.
6.To acquire knowledge and skills that will enable further studies about Ancient History, particularly regarding the analytical perspective of the History of Religions.
General characterization
Code
711051098
Credits
6.0
Responsible teacher
Isabel Cristina Gomes de Almeida
Hours
Weekly - 4
Total - 168
Teaching language
Portuguese
Prerequisites
Available soon
Bibliography
1-Black, Jeremy & Green, Anthony. 1998. Gods, Demons and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia. An Illustrated Dictionary. London: British Museum Press.
2-Bottéro, J. 1998. La plus vieille religion en Mésopotamie. Paris : Éditions Gallimard
3-Dalley, S. 2000. Myths from Mesopotamia- Creation, the Flood, Gilgamesh and others. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
4-Sanmartín, J. & J. Serrano. 2006. Historia Antigua del Próximo Oriente: Mesopotamia y Egipto. Madrid: Ediciones Akkal.
5-Walls Neal H. (ed.). 2005. Cult Image and Divine Representation in the Ancient Near East, Boston, American School of Oriental Research
Teaching method
In each session, students should engage in discussions about specialized literature, as well as written, iconographic, and material documents
Evaluation method
The final assessment for the course will correspond to the arithmetic average of two individual tests, taken in person during previously defined class sessions. Each test accounts 50%.
Subject matter
1.Studies of Religion: theoretical and methodological framework
1.1 The phenomenology of Religion: different academic perspectives
1.2 The theoretical and methodological apparatus of the History of Religions: concepts and methodologies
2. Religions in Antiquity - Western Asia
2.1 The historical context
2.2 What sources for the History of West Asian Religions?
2.3 Religion or Religions?
2.4 The organization of the divine universe
3. Conceptions of creation
3.1 The cosmogony and theogony processes
3.2 The anthropogony and the diluvian destruction
3.3 The vision of death
3.4 The different dimensions of human destiny
4. Cultic practices
4.1 Official religiosity: the great cultic festivals; temple practices
4.2 Religiosity and the royal institution: the ruler as high priest
4.3 Personal religiosity: agents and practices
5. The singularity of the divine
5.1 Monotheistic tendencies
5.2 The development of biblical monotheism