The author: Emma Stafford is the author of numerous papers
on Greek mythology and iconography, and is currently preparing a
source book on Greek religion.
The Greeks, in Dr Johnson's phrase, 'shock the mind by ascribing
effects to non-entity'. The culture of ancient Greece was thronged
with personifications. In poetry and the visual arts, personified
figures of what might seem abstractions claim our attention. This
study examines the logic, the psychology and the practice of Greeks
who worshipped these personifications with temples and sacrifices,
and addressed them with hymns and prayers. Emma Stafford conducts
case-studies of deified 'abstractions', such as Peitho (Persuasion),
Eirene (Peace) and Hygieia (Health). She also considers general
questions of Greek psychology, such as why so many of these figures
were female. Modern scholars have asked, Did the Greeks believe
their own myths? This study contributes importantly to the debate,
by exploring widespread and creative popular theology in the historical
period.
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