The chapter reconstructs the origins and development of the historical anthropology of Greek religion, understood as an integral part of the political, legal, and social life of the polis. In the absence of normative sacred texts, Greek religion was based primarily on practices, rituals, and customs transmitted over time. The sacred emerged from the interaction between humans and gods, while myth and ritual must be examined together. The theoretical path begins with Durkheim and Mauss, continues through Meyerson’s historical psychology, and finds a decisive application to ancient Greece in the work of Louis Gernet. Myths and legends thus become forms of social memory and tools for reconstructing archaic structures of organization and thought. Jean-Pierre Vernant further develops this method by connecting ritual practices, mythical images, and the institutions of the polis. The result is a non-idealized interpretation of Greek civilization, grounded in texts, historical comparison, and the rejection of universal categories or rigid disciplinary boundaries.
Il capitolo ricostruisce la nascita e gli sviluppi dell’antropologia storica della religione greca, considerata parte integrante della vita politica, giuridica e sociale della polis. In assenza di testi sacri normativi, la religione greca si fonda soprattutto su pratiche, riti e consuetudini trasmesse nel tempo. Il sacro nasce dall’interazione tra uomini e dèi, mentre mito e rito devono essere analizzati insieme. Il percorso teorico parte da Durkheim e Mauss, prosegue con la psicologia storica di Meyerson e trova in Louis Gernet un’applicazione decisiva allo studio della Grecia antica. Miti e leggende diventano così documenti di memoria sociale e strumenti per ricostruire forme arcaiche di organizzazione e pensiero. Jean-Pierre Vernant sviluppa ulteriormente questo metodo, collegando pratiche rituali, immagini mitiche e istituzioni della polis. Ne deriva una lettura non idealizzata della civiltà greca, fondata sui testi, sulla comparazione storica e sul rifiuto di categorie universali o separazioni disciplinari rigide.
Per una antropologia storica della religione greca
Taddei andrea
2026-01-01
Abstract
The chapter reconstructs the origins and development of the historical anthropology of Greek religion, understood as an integral part of the political, legal, and social life of the polis. In the absence of normative sacred texts, Greek religion was based primarily on practices, rituals, and customs transmitted over time. The sacred emerged from the interaction between humans and gods, while myth and ritual must be examined together. The theoretical path begins with Durkheim and Mauss, continues through Meyerson’s historical psychology, and finds a decisive application to ancient Greece in the work of Louis Gernet. Myths and legends thus become forms of social memory and tools for reconstructing archaic structures of organization and thought. Jean-Pierre Vernant further develops this method by connecting ritual practices, mythical images, and the institutions of the polis. The result is a non-idealized interpretation of Greek civilization, grounded in texts, historical comparison, and the rejection of universal categories or rigid disciplinary boundaries.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
