Cognitive Approaches to Ancient Religious Experience

Esther Eidinow is Professor of Ancient History at the University of Bristol. She works on ancient Greek culture, specialising in magic and religion. She is a distinguished fellow of the Religion, Cognition and Culture section of Aarhus University, and a founder of the Journal of Cognitive Historiography. She is currently leading a project funded by the UK's Arts and Humanities Research Council to develop a virtual-reality experience of consultation of the oracle of Zeus at Dodona. Armin W. Geertz is Emeritus Professor in the History of Religions at Aarhus University. He works on the cognitive science of religion, evolutionary theory, and the psychology of religious experiences. He is co-founder/editor of the Journal for the Cognitive Science of Religion and Advances in the Cognitive Science of Religion. John North is Emeritus Professor of History at UCL. He has worked on the religious history of Rome and the changing character of religious life in the Roman Empire down to the rise of Christianity. He is a co-author of the two-volume history and sourcebook, Religions of Rome (Cambridge, 1998).

Introduction Esther Eidinow, Armin W. Geertz, Quinton Deeley, John North; Part I. Ritual: 1. A cognitive approach to ancient Greek animal sacrifice Hugh Bowden; 2. To the netherworld and back: cognitive aspects of the descent to Trophonius Yulia Ustinova; Part II. Representation: 3. Ancient Greek smellscapes and divine fragrances: anthropomorphizing the gods in ancient Greek culture Esther Eidinow; 4. Belief, make-believe and the religious imagination: the case of the Deus Ex Machina in Greek tragedy Felix Budelmann; 5. Chanting and dancing into dissociation: the case of the Salian priests at Rome Maik Patzelt; Part III. Gender: 6. The Bacchants are silent: using cognitive science to explore the experience of the Oreibasia Vivienne McGlashan; 7. Who is the Damiatrix? Roman women, the political negotiation of psychotropic experiences, and the cults of Bona Dea Leonardo Ambasciano; Part IV. Materiality: 8. Walls and the ancient Greek ritual experience: the sanctuary of Demeter and Kore at Eleusis Michael Scott; 9. Identifying symptoms of religious experience from ancient material culture: the example of cults of the Roman Mithras Luther H. Martin; Part V. Texts: 10. Bridging the gap: from textual representations to the experiential level and back Anders Klostergaard Petersen; 11. A relevant mystery: intuitive and reflective thought in Gregory of Nyssa's representations of divine begetting in the Against Eunomius Isabella Sandwell.