Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. Contents v
3. Introduction ix
4. Note on Translation and Transliteration xv
5. Abbreviations xvii
6. Maps xviii
7. Encountering Ancient Religions
8. What Is Ancient Mediterranean Religion? 1
9. Monotheism and Polytheism 17
10. Ritual 32
11. Myth 45
12. Cosmology: Time and History 59
13. Pollution, Sin, Atonement, Salvation 71
14. Law and Ethics 84
15. Mysteries 98
16. Religions in Contact 112
17. Writing and Religion 127
18. Magic 139
19. Histories
20. Egypt 153
21. Mesopotamia 165
22. Syria and Canaan 173
23. Israel 181
24. Anatolia: Hittites 189
25. Iran 197
26. Minoan and Mycenaean Civilizations 206
27. Greece 210
28. Etruria 220
29. Rome 225
30. Early Christianity 233
31. Key Topics
32. Sacred Times and Spaces 241
33. Religious Personnel 288
34. Religious Organizations and Bodies 311
35. Sacrifice, Offerings, and Votives 325
36. Prayers, Hymns, Incantations, and Curses 349
37. Divination and Prophecy 370
38. Deities and Demons 392
39. Religious Practices of the Individual and Family 423
40. Rites of Passage 438
41. Illnesses and Other Crises 452
42. Death, the Afterlife, and Other Last Things 470
43. Sin, Pollution, and Purity 496
44. Ethics and Law Codes 514
45. Theology, Theodicy, Philosophy 531
46. Religion and Politics 547
47. Controlling Religion 564
48. Myth and Sacred Narratives 578
49. Visual Representations 598
50. Sacred Texts and Canonicity 622
51. Esotericism and Mysticism 640
52. Epilogue 657
53. Illustrations 669
54. Acknowledgments 671
55. Contributors 673
56. Index 677