Paganism

Un misterioso rito, retaggio vivente di epoche remotissime, si rinnova ogni anno all’interno delle celebrazioni del carnevale di Castelnuovo a Volturno, in Molise. Un essere fantastico, Gl’ Cierv, furioso e selvatico Uomo Cervo, muore e rinasce ciclicamente, simbolo solare e della rigenerazione della natura, testimonianza viva di un antico mito cosmico-agrario. Seguendo le sue orme, un viaggio lunghissimo attraverso il tempo e lo spazio ci conduce in un reame magico nel quale sciamani in estasi, contadini e cacciatori sono i custodi dell’arcaico culto del dio cervo.

ENG: A mysterious ritual, a living legacy of ancient times, is renewed every year within the celebrations of the Castelnuovo a Volturno carnival, in Molise (Italy). A fantastic being, Gl ’Cierv, furious and wild Deer Man, dies and reborn cyclically, a solar symbol and the regeneration of nature, living testimony of an ancient cosmic-agrarian myth. Following in his footsteps, a very long journey through time and space leads us to a magical realm in which ecstatic shamans, farmers and hunters are the keepers of the archaic cult of the deer god.

Link per l'acquisto:
https://www.stamperiadelvalentino.it/product/luomo-cervo/

ISBN: 979-12-80721-08-2

Despite assertions to the contrary, there were in fact many religions which included beliefs and practices centered around dying and rising deities.  One such god was Romulus, the legendary founder of Rome, whose worshipers could be found throughout the Roman sphere of influence.

The purpose of the present study is to describe the struggle against paganism and pagan survival in Spain up to the fall of the Visigothic kingdom in 712. By paganism is here meant not only the worship of the pagan gods, but also the practices associated with pagan worship, such as astrology and magic. An attempt will be made to show the part that political, social and religious factors played in pagan survivals as well as to point out the various manifestations of paganism. This study, it is hoped, will throw light upon a phase of early Spanish history that has not hitherto been adequately treated. It will enable the reader to compare the paganism of Spain with that found in Africa, France, Germany and Italy, in as far as the extant sources and modern studies make such comparison possible.

Bachelor Thesis about Julian the Apostate’s 'imperial tradition', being a combination of his policy, ideas and representation thereof, it contains an analysis of the effectiveness of these topics in regard to later emperors as well as a comparison with predecessors in regard to what extent Julian's imperial tradition is itself a continuation on the policies of his predecessors. The thesis deals with the following subjects in four chapters, 'representation on coinage', 'the military', 'imperial administration and economy' and 'religion'.

This thesis was graded with an 8.0/10.0.

For further information or questions, contact me.

This paper examines the Dyonisian and Orphic symbolic and ritual iconographical aspects of a Centuripe vase from Southern Italy from the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. Measuring 70.5 by 34.5 centimeters, the basic form of the vase is that of a bell krater without handles set on a high foot and surmounted by a domed lid ending in an egg-shaped finial (Richter 188), formed of separate sections that have been assembled in production. The vase has been assembled from broken pieces, showing little surface damage. In order to facilitate description and analysis, two very similar Centuripe vases, one in New York, the other in Princeton, are  referred to.
A.Description of the iconographic and decorative aspects of the vase, which depicts a scene of three woman and a man in a ritual scene. One woman holds a thyrsus and tympaneum and there is a tripod.
B. Analysis of the elements in relation to the history and development of Greek vase art. Mayo has observed that ‘’death, marriage, and the mysteries is a frequent triad in South Italian and Sicilian vase-painting’’ (283). These aspects will be examined, in the context of feminine themes, to see if they can shed light on the imagery and function of the vase.
1. Feminine aspects
2. Marriage aspects
3. Funerary aspects
4. Dyonisian aspects
5. Orphic aspects
C. Interpretation.  Ariadne has often been linked  with Aphrodite (Otto 182-85).  Figure 29 (de Grummond 92)  is a wall painting from Pompeii depicting Dionysus and Ariadne watching a contest between Pan and Eros, aptly illustrating the combination of the worlds of Dionysus and Aphrodite. Figure 30 (Lissarague in Masks 21),  from a fifth century Bell krater, depicting what could be a puberty initiation scene,  illustrates  Dionysus and Ariadne in a ritual context. The Maenad holding the rabbit, a well-known fertility symbol could be an aspect linking Ariadne to Aphrodite. 
The portrait on the Montreal Centuripe vase could serve to indicate that the deceased identified herself with Ariadne, as her features resembles the Ariadne figure on the body. The head can be related to the ascension of Aphrodite in a  role of chthonian goddess (Calinescu in Mayo 143), and possibly related to Ariadne’s divinization after her revival  by Dionysus, where Zeus placed her crown in the heavens (Seyffert 64). As shown in figures 11-14, Centuripe imagery has been related to the Dionysus and Ariadne figures of the frieze of the Villa of Mysteries.

The early 2000s saw a sharp rise in the popularity of Wicca, most obviously in the number of teenagers practising Witchcraft. This period similarly saw the introduction of a new era, in which identity formation underwent dramatic changes and the world became increasingly connected, with new forms of media playing a large role in both aspects. In this thesis, I show that teenage Witchcraft can and should be seen within the context of these postmodern developments. Witchcraft offers teenagers an attractive alternative to conventional lifestyle by placing an emphasis on nature and the environment and by providing a possibility for identity formation, yet while still leaving teenagers with a lot of options regarding the practise of their religion.

A unique group of sculpture from Early Christian Cyprus comes from the so-called Villa of Theseus, at Nea Paphos. The group comprises (at least) twenty sculptures of divinities and mythological figures, which range in date from the Hellenistic to the Late Roman periods. Their discovery with connection to late antique layers demonstrates the long-lasting importance of sculpture to the villa culture and confirms the empire-wide appreciation of local elites to the medium in late antique times. In this paper, the decoration of the Villa of Theseus will be re-assessed in order to efficiently envisage its sculptural environment, between the late fourth and late sixth centuries. Possibilities for the display and usage of the sculptures within the villa will be offered, while possible reasons for the selection of particular iconographical types will also be suggested, within the broader context of Nea Paphos.

The excavations of the University of Warsaw in the so-called Villa of Theseus in Kato Paphos uncovered a unique group of at least twenty sculptures, predominantly depicting mythological figures and divinities. The building took its definite architectural form in the late fourth century, although its construction had started early in the second half of the second century. In terms of decoration, the villa reached its heyday between the late fourth and sixth centuries. Most of the sculptures, which vary in scale and style, have, nevertheless, been described as reduced copies of the late second or early third century at the latest. Yet, their discovery in late antique layers establishes their availability at the time and confirms the importance of sculpture to the villa culture that boomed in Late Antiquity (fourth to seventh century).

It is the aim of this paper to study the statuary from the Villa of Theseus against the background of the architectural development of the building. Immovable decorative elements and architectural features will be considered, in order to assess where sculpture might have been displayed and reconstruct—to the extent possible—the ancient viewers’ experience. The selection of certain sculptural subjects and their significance (decorative, allegorical, religious) will also be discussed.

The time frame of the thesis is the period approximately from the tenth to the twelfth century and it focuses on the area of north-eastern Germany that was more or less the north-eastern quarter of the former German Democratic Republic. The Warnow river, the Baltic sea, the Oder river and the Havel river basin roughly define this region.  The thesis concentrates on the Slavic inhabitants of this area in that time and their political and ideological response to challenges from the Empire, in political terms, and Christianity in the ideological and religious spheres, looking also into a similar pressures, albeit much weaker, from other neighbours such as Poland and Denmark.
The thesis not explore a single issue, and as it follows Emil Durkheim’s notion of  social basis of religion, it analyses not only political but also religious developments.  One of the major findings of the research is that, despite the strong influence of and extensive contacts with Western Christendom, Polabian religion remained basically Slavic in character, and there were not significant borrowings. Nonetheless, Christianity provided  ready models for organized cults, a formal priesthood and temples.  The research demonstrates that from various early and common Slavic deities new syncretic gods and cults emerged, comprising features and functions from numerous deities.  At the same time certain tribal deities emerged as dominant ones and Polabian beliefs underwent a transformation into a clearly defined henotheistic religion.
A certain uniformisation of these Polabian deities was also observed. Various, originally different tribal gods with different functions evolved into deities that shared many functions, rituals and characteristics.  In reality although their names differed they turned functionally into practically the same deities. The findings challenge common assumption of the origin of Polabian deities. In particular, they show that Polabian gods were not Perun (allegedly a war god) disguised under a different name, and that Perun was not originally a war deity but rather an atmospheric god.  The research shows that gods like Sventovit of Rügen and Yarovit at Wolgast and Havelberg were initially agricultural Slavic deities, who in the course of the time amalgamated other functions and characteristics.  As war dominated the last centuries of the Polabian independence, all these gods evolved into clearly martial deities.
In the political sphere the research demonstrates that under strong external pressure many Polabian Slavs organized themselves into larger, supra-tribal political entities.  In some areas a city emporium such as Wolin, Szczecin or Wolgast emerged. They were characterized by the dominant role of craftwork and commerce in their economy and relatively small size.  Generally all north-eastern Polabian political entities developed a peculiar political system.  They retained in most cases the old institution of a tribal assembly, called in Slavic veche, despite emerging local elites and upper class.  One of the unique characteristics of their political system was the very prominent role of  the pagan priesthood.  Nowhere did this system become a true theocracy but at least on Rügen island the pagan priests were a dominant political force, and in fact they were the real rulers of the principality.  This finding challenges the commonly accepted notion that the north-eastern Polabian priesthood played a much less prominent role and was the same footing  the tribal assembly and local elite or "princes".

Abstract - Roma Triumphans by Biondo Flavio represents the first treatise offering a systematic investigation of the religious, civic and political institutions of ancient Rome, evaluating data from a historical-comparative viewpoint. Observations on the religious structures of ancient Rome show Biondo’s original aptitude for noticing some specific aspects of Roman Paganism, civic meaning of some of its rituals and values, their evolution and influence on Christian ceremonies. reflecting nonetheless a critical position on Paganism and his profoundly Christian perspective influenced by Eusebius of Caesarea and Augustin. Key words: Biondo Flavio, Pagan Rome, religious institutions, critical position on Paganism, Eusebius of Caesarea
Key words: Biondo Flavio, Pagan Rome, religious institutions, critical position on Paganism, Eusebius of Caesarea - Augustin. ---

Sintesi - La Roma Triumphans di Biondo Flavio costituisce il primo trattato che offre una ricognizione sistematica delle istituzioni religiose, civili e politiche dell’antica Roma, valutando i dati dal punto di vista storico-comparativo. Le osservazioni sulle strutture religiose dell’antica Roma mostrano l’inclinazione originale di Biondo nel rilevare alcuni aspetti specifici del Paganesimo romano pur riflettendo una posizione critica nei riguardi del Paganesimo e la sua prospettiva strettamente cristiana, influenzata da Eusebio di Cesarea e Agostino.
Biondo Flavio, Roma pagana, istituzioni religiose, posizione critica nei riguardi del paganesimo, Eusebio di Cesarea - Agostino

Siaburcharpat Con Culaind is a great cross-over saga. Cú Chulainn, the greatest of pagan heroes, helps Patrick in his mission to convert the king of Ireland. What does this story tell us about conversion? What role is played by the pagan past? Why is telling stories so important?

Published in: CSANA Yearbook 1 (2001) 109–25

Selection of days for princes’ infant sons’ postrigi (cut of hair) in Old Rus’. The author supports the idea of Christian spirit in Old Russian princes’ infant sons’ postrigi (cut of hair) and adduces new arguments in favor of this idea — these ceremonies often coincide with Christian feasts.

Автор поддерживает мнение о христианском характере древнерусских княжичьих постригов и приводит в пользу этого новые аргументы, связанные с календарной приуроченностью данных церемоний.

The Bamiléké of Cameroon have long believed that after the corpses of their ancestors have rotted they can be exhumed and the skulls used to communicate with the spirits of the dead, as well as their godhead, to receive spiritual guidance. The religious rite, which has necromancy at its fulcrum, is of ancient origin and the Bamiléké have practiced it for thousands of years. Urbanisation has impinged upon the Skull Cult as it is forbidden to move ancestral skulls, which must at all times remain in the natal village of the deceased. Nevertheless, city-dwellers who are beset by misfortune may travel to the birth places of their ancestors to honour them and perform rites to propitiate them. However, although urbanisation has adversely affected the practice, it is the Catholic Church that has most infringed upon the Skull Cult. Due to pressure from the officiants of the local Catholic Church, which has labelled the skull cult 'barbaric' and even Satanic.

Analysis of the evolution of the use of the words Hellene, gentile, and pagan, when combined with the study of a few representative figures in Roman history, illuminates how notions of personal and group identity shifted from blood relations to civic relations and then to religious identification. The etymological analysis supporting this view is presented in the first half of the essay. The second half connects linguistic evolution to the confluence of Greek philosophy and Eastern mysticism, as exemplified in the beliefs of emperors Marcus Aurelius and Julian the Apostate.

Conservative and essentialist gender roles prevail in Rodnoverie literature, in which men are regularly presented as strong warriors and women as tender mothers and homemakers. Patriarchy is presented not only as a societal model of the pre-Christian Russian society but also as an ideal model for contemporary Russia and Pagan communities. Rodnoverie rituals also feature a conservative understanding of gender, and this tendency seems to be reified by the processes of unification and elaboration of ritual practices in the movement. Nevertheless, one may also detect features that break the simplistic idea of Rodnoverie gender roles as patriarchal and conservative. An integral element in Rodnoverie’s identity vis-à-vis Christianity is the criticism of the demonization and subjugation of women by the latter. In Rodnoverie ritual practices, women often creatively fashion their gender identities.

The bipolar division into femininity and masculinity also characterized such Western Pagan religions as Wicca for a long time, and a more inclusive and open understanding of gender was the result of a conscious labor of widening the understanding of, for example fertility. Similarly, I suggest that Rodnoverie rhetoric about gender should be assessed in its social context. Admittedly, in comparison to many forms of Western Paganism, Rodnoverie seems extremely conservative in this matter. However, in Russian society, much of the essentialism simply reflects the general attitudes and underlying assumptions. Therefore, in a Russian context views that could be regarded as conservative in some Western discussions may in fact be moderate or even liberal in the context of Russian religiosity.

Jessica Kingsley Publishers, due 2016
Explores the relationship and dialogue between religion and atheism, focusing upon Christian, Islamic, Buddhist and other, e.g. Pagan, traditions in their encounter with secularism and atheism. It explores such issues as faith and reason, science and religion, gender and sexuality, 'texts of terror', and the use and abuse of arguments, evidence, and concepts.

ТОЛЬКО ОЗНАКОМИТЕЛЬНЫЙ ФРАГМЕНТ, электронная версия не распространяется.

Гальцин Д. Д. Лики Протея: история современного язычества как религиозной идентичности / под общ. ред. Д. М. Ильиной. — СПб.: Издательство РХГА, 2020. — 296 с. — (Серия «Ариадна». Научные исследования эзотеризма и мистицизма. Вып. 5). ISBN 978-5-907309-10-4

Ответственный редактор Двинянинов Б. К.

В книге прослеживается история такой религиозной идентичности, как «язычество». На протяжении веков в различных культурах Евразии бытовали различные наименования чужой религиозности, которые могут быть переведены термином «язычество». ВM XX в. на Западе впервые появляются группы, принимающие этот термин в качестве определения собственной религии. Такие новые религиозные движения, как викка, асатру, друидизм, духовность Богини, родноверие, ромува, диевтуриба, гетанизм, элленизм и многочисленные этнические реконструкционизмы сегодня вM большей или меньшей степени используют религионим «язычество» для самоописания. Также к началу XXI в. окончательно складывается область исследований современного язычества, или «неоязычества» (так называемых Pagan Studies), где языческие религии исследуются с позиций религиоведения, социологии, антропологии, культурологии.

Dmitry, Galtsin. Faces of Proteus: A History of Modern Paganism as a Religious Identity. — SPb.: Publisher RHGA, 2020, 296 p.

The book dwells upon the history of “Paganism” as a religious identity. For centuries various cultures of Eurasia used different monikers for alien religiosity (exonymes) which can be translated into modern languages as “Pagan/Heathen”. In the 20th century first groups appeared in the West which accepted this term as a self-designation (endonyme), a name for one’s own religion. Such new religions as Wicca, Asatru, Druidism, Goddess spirituality, Rodnoverie, Romuva, Dievturiba, Hellenismos and many ethnic reconstructionisms today more or less use the appellation “Paganism” for self-description. By the early 21st century an academic field of Pagan Studies emerged, exploring the existing Pagan religions from the vantage points of religious studies, sociology, anthropology, culture studies etc.

The poem of Beowulf is unique in being composed in a period of history roughly placed between paganism and Christianity. As a logical reflection of this context, the content of the poem contains elements of both creeds. However, it is obscure in both content and context where the essence of the poem can be placed between these two seemingly incompatible beliefs systems. In this essay, I will address this obscurity, where it is found in content by forming an argument from allegorical evidence, namely Grendel’s origin and Beowulf’s death. And on the other in regard to the context as justified by Christian scholastic tradition. By both of these points, I will argue the poem is a fundamentally Christian text, or at the very least, that a purely pagan reading of the poem is not valid.

В статье на примере сенаторской семьи Цейониев Руфиев рассматриваются нормы воспитания, принятые у язычников и христиан. Автор приходит к выводу, что воспитательные практики не противоречили друг другу, сосуществуя даже в пределах одной семьи. Позднеримская языческая воспитательная парадигма (благородное происхождение, религиозность, нравственные добродетели, умеренность в бытовых привычках, образованность и прохождение cursus honorum) сохраняла свое значение. Христианские интеллектуалы лишь дополнили ее новыми требованиями, такими как необходимость аскетизма в повседневной жизни и постоянного приобщения как к умственной, так и физической деятельности. Отдельно наставники, в частности Иероним, оговаривали, что христианским девам не стоит принимать участия в общественной жизни. Изменился и корпус текстов, на основании которых христиане получали образование. Классических языческих авторов заменили произведения христианских апологетов и каноническая литература. Сенаторские семьи не всегда следовали этому воспитательному идеалу в повседневной жизни. Иногда аристократы не оставляли светской карьеры или обращались к переводу и комментированию языческих авторов начала империи. Такая ситуация была возможна, поскольку многие проповедники сами были воспитаны в рамках языческой традиции. Эта же причина позволяла христианским и языческим идеалам воспитания некоторое время сосуществовать в пределах одной семьи, не противореча друг другу. Однако постепенно языческие идеалы воспитания растворялись в набирающей силу христианской традиции.

In the 40 years since the Maimonides studies (1,2) it has become clear, through both scientific research and first hand reports, that individuals can become telepathically linked in dreams, and can even experience one another in a consensual way in a shared intersubjective dreamspace. However, considering the fact that many animals dream physiologically just as humans do, it should not surprise us that, given the strong bonds between humans and their animal companions, that psi-dreaming might connect humans with other species as well. This presentation will explore human-animal psi-dreaming, and invites participants to share their own interspecies dreams.

in: Ivo Štefan & Martin Wihoda (eds.), Kostel Panny Marie na Pražském hradě: Dialog nad počátky křesťanství v Čechách (Prameny české historie 3), Nakladatelství Lidové noviny, Praha 2018, s. 29–55. 978-80-7422-625-0

The paper by Jiří Dynda attempts to set the Christianization of medieval Bohemia and Moravia into the broader perspective of Religious Studies and also introduces the problems and issues connected with the study of sources on the paganism in medieval Bohemia and Moravia. The paper is a part of the collective monograph, in which eight researchers, historians, linguists, religionists and art historians (Iva Adámková, Nora Berend, Jiří Dynda, Jan Frolík, Jana Maříková-Kubková, Dalibor Prix, Ivo Štefan a Martin Wihoda) interpret the sigificance of the Church of Virgin Mary at Prague Castle and attempt to connect its archaeological remains with the Christianization of Czech lands.