Archaic Roman Religion

An interpretation of the god Dionysos as seen by Greek vase painters before the golden age of classical culture, which will help understand his wide popularity beyond wine consumption, which lasted until the end of antiquity.

In classical antiquity, there was much interest in necromancy–the consultation of the dead for divination. People could seek knowledge from the dead by sleeping on tombs, visiting oracles, and attempting to reanimate corpses and skulls. Ranging over many of the lands in which Greek and Roman civilizations flourished, including Egypt, from the Greek archaic period through the late Roman empire, this book is the first comprehensive survey of the subject ever published in any language.