INQ-270 | Greek Cults & Mystery Religions

Full Title: Greek Cults & Mystery Religions

Topic Description:

What kinds of divine beings did the inhabitants of the ancient Mediterranean world believe existed and what were they like? And what of the human world and human life itself—what was their relationship to these divine beings? How did human believe they interacted with them, and what did they hope to gain through this connection? We will investigate a variety of ancient religious traditions with both a critical eye and a compassionate understanding of them as responses to the human condition. The following thematics will receive substantial attention: rituals (i.e., cult practices), iconography and architecture of sacred space, mythology, social organization, sacred texts, and understanding of the cosmos, divinity, and the afterlife. We will pay particular attention to how we create knowledge about religious traditions using the tools of the Humanities to analyze written and archaeological/material evidence.

Counts as Global? No

Topic Approved: October 2020