Sanctuaries and Experience

Ancient religion is traditionally understood in terms of myths, rituals and institutions, as transmitted in ancient texts. The studies gathered here focus instead on the lived experience of ancient cult and the places in which that experience was formed. They build on recent explorations of Lived Ancient Religion and also on new approaches to Material Ancient Religion. All ancient societies constructed elaborate sanctuaries. Their architecture and the collective rituals that took place there shaped collective experiences. Through case studies drawn from Ancient Egypt, the Greek World and the Roman Empire these themes are explored and elaborated. Together they indicate new ways of approaching ancient religious experience, collective and individual.