Religious Excitement in Ancient Anatolia

by I. Moga

This book provides a detailed insight into the typology, characteristicsand conceptual and iconographic elements of the solar and lunardivinities of Asia Minor. It has a special focus on native orindigenised cults. Furthermore, Anatolian divinities are studied notonly in the Roman, but also during the incipient phases of these cults.The main topics include issues of polymorphism, polyonymy and thespecific cultural adaptations of the Anatolian deities, the world of thegods, that of mortals and the relations between dedicators anddivinities. The first part studies the origin of the name and of thedivinity, an attempt to determine the area of dessemination, epithets,attributes, identifications with other gods, myths and the associateddivinities, as well as symbolism and iconographical elements. The secondpart features the economic life of the temples, the organisation of thesacred space, the nature of the priesthood and the categories ofdedicators, association patterns, age and kinship, and the alterationsthat occurred during this period in the perception of the divine worldboth in the Anatolian area and throughout the Roman empire. In the lastpart of the volume the reader can find useful information regarding thetypology of inscriptions used by the author and the means ofcommunication between the divine world and the terrestrial one.