ePub Hinduism in Public and Private Reform; Hindutva; Gender; and Sampraday (Oxford India Paperbacks) by Antony Copley in History

Description

Sharing with the Gods examines one of the most ubiquitous yet little studied aspects of ancient Greek religion; the offering of so-called "first-fruits" (aparchai) and "tithes" (dekatai); from the Archaic period to the Hellenistic. While most existing studies of Greek religion tend to focus on ritual performance; this volume investigates questions of religious belief and mentality: why the Greeks presented these gifts to the gods; and what their behaviour tells us about their religious world-view; presuppositions; and perception of the gods. Exploiting an array of ancient sources; the author assesses the diverse nature of aparchai and dekatai; the complexity of the motivations underlying them; the role of individuals in shaping tradition; the deployment of this religious custom in politics; and the transformation of a voluntary practice into a religious obligation.By synthesizing a century of scholarship on 'first-fruits' practices in Greek and other religious cultures; the author challenges prevailing interpretations of gift-exchange with the gods in terms of do ut des and da ut dem; which emphasize the reciprocal; obligatory; and sometimes commercial aspects of the gift; and explores hitherto neglected notions including gratitude and thanksgiving. Drawing on current approaches to gift-giving in anthropology; sociology; and economics; in particular the French anthropologist Godelier's idea of 'debt'; the volume offers new perspectives with which to conceptualize human-divine relations; and challenges traditional views of the nature of gift-giving between men and gods in Greek religion.