Oracles and Divination - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook Oracles and Divination write by Michael Loewe. This book was released on 1981. Oracles and Divination available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle.
Oracle Bones Divination
Oracle Bones Divination - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook Oracle Bones Divination write by Kostas Dervenis. This book was released on 2013-12-17. Oracle Bones Divination available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. The first complete guide to this ancient Greek form of divination • Explains how to cast and interpret this oracle using either coins or traditional animal bones • Reveals how the use of oracle bones predates the I Ching • Includes the complete matrix of oracle interpretations reconstructed by the author from stanzas in ancient Greek temples In ancient Greece methods of foretelling the future were widespread, whether they were official oracles of the gods or simple dice games to divine one’s luck. One of the most popular and accessible ways of determining one’s fate and fortune was through the ritual casting of animal bones, similar to the casting of coins or yarrow stalks with the Chinese I Ching. Kostas Dervenis explains how to interpret the casting of the oracle bones--either traditional sheep anklebones or coins--to answer your questions on love, health, wealth, and the future. Using the original stanzas discovered in ancient Greek temples in Greece and Turkey, the author reconstructs the complete matrix of interpretation for each possible casting of the bones. He explores how this practice traces back to the Golden Age of the Neolithic period in Greece, Turkey, and Bulgaria--predating the I Ching--and how it is still practiced today as the popular folk game of “knucklebones.” Providing the first complete guide to this ancient practice, Dervenis allows anyone to cast the bones for guidance, inspiration, and insight into their fate.
Omens and Oracles
Omens and Oracles - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook Omens and Oracles write by Matthew Dillon. This book was released on 2017-07-14. Omens and Oracles available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Addressing the role which divination played in ancient Greek society, this volume deals with various forms of prophecy and how each was utilised and for what purpose. Chapters bring together key types of divining, such as from birds, celestial phenomena, the entrails of sacrificed animals and dreams. Oracular centres delivered prophetic pronouncements to enquirers, but in addition, there were written collections of oracles in circulation. Many books were available on how to interpret dreams, the birds and entrails, and divination as a religious phenomenon attracted the attention of many writers. Expert diviners were at the heart of Greek prophecy, whether these were Apollo’s priestesses delivering prose or verse answers to questions put to them by consultants, diviners known as manteis, who interpreted entrails and omens, the chresmologoi, who sang the many oracles circulating orally or in writing, or dream interpreters. Divination was utilised not only to foretell the future but also to ensure that the individual or state employing divination acted in accordance with that divinely prescribed future; it was employed by all and had a crucial role to play in what courses of action both states and individuals undertook. Specific attention is paid in this volume not only to the ancient written evidence, but to that of inscriptions and papyri, with emphasis placed on the iconography of Greek divination.
Divination and Oracles
Divination and Oracles - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook Divination and Oracles write by Michael Loewe. This book was released on 2021-12-30. Divination and Oracles available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. First published in 1981, Divination and Oracles analyses the religious practices of the ancient world as they have been witnessed from Scandinavia to Tibet and Japan, from the third millennium BC until the present day. Divination and the consultation of oracles formed part of the religious practice of the ancient world and are part of the living folklore of the contemporary societies. They are subjects that are of immediate concern to anthropologists and not infrequently to the historians of early science. Written by the specialists in the early history of European and Asian Civilisations, the chapters call on the evidence of the written word of history and the surviving artefacts and inscriptions of archaeology. They describe the different methods that have been adopted and examine the types of question that feature in man’s attempt to seek guidance from other powers. The contributions show how an appeal to the irrational can affect the decision of prophet or statesman, or the way of life of farmer or sailor; and how such an appeal can also stimulate scientific enquiry into the cycles of nature. This book is a must read for scholars and researchers of religion, comparative religion, and ancient history.
Divination and Theurgy in Neoplatonism
Divination and Theurgy in Neoplatonism - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook Divination and Theurgy in Neoplatonism write by Crystal Addey. This book was released on 2016-05-13. Divination and Theurgy in Neoplatonism available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Why did ancient philosophers consult oracles, write about them, and consider them to be an important part of philosophical thought and practice? This book explores the extensive links between oracles and philosophy in Late Antiquity, particularly focusing on the roles of oracles and other forms of divination in third and fourth century CE Neoplatonism. Examining some of the most significant debates between pagan philosophers and Christian intellectuals on the nature of oracles as a central yet contested element of religious tradition, Addey focuses particularly on Porphyry's Philosophy from Oracles and Iamblichus' De Mysteriis - two works which deal extensively with oracles and other forms of divination. This book argues for the significance of divination within Neoplatonism and offers a substantial reassessment of oracles and philosophical works and their relationship to one another. With a broad interdisciplinary approach, encompassing Classics, Ancient Philosophy, Theology, Religious Studies and Ancient History, Addey draws on recent anthropological and religious studies research which has challenged and re-evaluated the relationship between rationality and ritual.
