Greek Religion

Greek Religion by Walter Burkert, trans. by John Raffan

Review by Jojo

Greek Religion is touted as being one of the most important book in a Hellenismos library, after the primary sources, and it’s easy to see why. A wealth of information is in this book, begging for more than one read-through. It covers the span of Ancient and Classical periods, is packed with information on the gods, the heros, the rituals, the Mysteries, the sacrifices, the worship, the--well, it just keeps going. It’s a wonderful, wonderful book.

It has some downfalls. Having a better idea of the Hellenic timeline than I had, going into this book, would be a perk. Also, unless you are fluent in German (the language the book was originally published in) don’t expect to get any use out of the footnotes. (And the footnotes are one third of the book. I’m not exaggerating. Text runs from page 1 to page 337, and footnote info from 338 to 478. It’s crazy! It’s maddening!)

It is also a bit of a dry read, but I suppose that’s to be expected, and it did not detract from the over-all experience. I *love* this book!

Five amulets. I told you. I love it.

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