The Matter of the Gods: Religion and the Roman Empire Volume 44

by Clifford Ando

Book Overview

What did the Romans know about their gods? Why did they perform the rituals of their religion, and what motivated them to change those rituals? To these questions Clifford Ando proposes simple answers: In contrast to ancient Christians, who had faith, Romans had knowledge, and their knowledge was empirical in orientation. In other words, the Romans acquired knowledge of the gods through observation of the world, and their rituals were maintained or...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0520259866
• ISBN13: 9780520259867
• Release Date: March 2009
• Publisher: University of California Press
• Length: 270 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.0" x 8.8"