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Prof.ScottB.NoegelChair,Dept.ofNearEasternLanguagesandCivilizationUniversityofWashington.
"GreekReligionandtheAncientNearEast."
FirstPublishedin:DanielOgden,ed.
TheBlackwellCompaniontoGreekReligion
London:Blackwell(2006),21-37.
 
CHAPTERONE
GreekReligionandtheAncientNearEast
ScottB.Noegel
Infact,thenamesofnearlyallthegodscarnetoHellasfromEgypt.ForIamconvincedbyinquirythattheyhavecornefromforeignparts,andIbelievethattheycamechieflyfromEgypt.(Herodotus,2.50.1,ca.450Be)
ThehistoricalrelationshipbetweenGreekreligionandtheancientNearEastisonethatscholarshavepondered,investigated,anddebatedformanyyears.Approachestothesubjecthaverangedfronithemerelysuggestivetothefiercelypolemical.Attheheartofthesubjectisaquestionofculturalinfluence;thatistosay,whetherstrikingsimilaritiesinthetextual,artistic,andarchaeologicalremainsconstituteevidenceforNearEasterninfluenceonGreekcultureorwhetheronecanaccountforaffinitiesbyseeing'themasindependentdevelopments.ItisintothislargercontextofculturalinfluencethatonemustplacediscussionsofGreekreligionandtheancientNearEast.Intheiroutwardforms,atleast,AegeanreligionsappearverysimilartothoseintheNearEast.Inboth,forexample,onefindscultimages,altarsandsacrifices,libationsandotherritualpractices,sanctuaries,templesandtemplefunctionaries,lawsandethics,prayer,hymns,incantations,curses,culticdancing,festivals,divination,ecstasy,seers,andoracles.Othersharedfeaturesincludetheexistenceofdivinitiesanddemonsofbothgenders,anassociationofgodswithcosmicregions,notionsofthesacred,andconceptsofpollution,purification,andatonement.However,sinceonecanfindthesefeaturesinreligioustraditionsthathadnocontactwiththeAegeanortheNearEastitispossiblethattheyrepresentindependentdevelopments.Ontheotherhand,theirpresenceelsewheredoesnotnecessarilyruleoutthepossibilitythattheyaretheresultofculturalinfluence.Assomeclassicistshavepointedout,NearEasterninfluenceisthemostlikelyexplanationforsomeelements-certainpurifica-tionrituals,thesacrificialuseofscapegoats,andfoundationdeposits-tonamejustaf~w.ButhowandwhendidsuchelementsmaketheirwaytotheGreekworld?Suchquestionsarenoteasilyanswered.Forcenturies,questionsofinfluencewereintimatelyboundupwithperspectivesofprivilege.Scholarshipofthelatenineteenthandearlytwentiethcenturiesoftentookitforgrantedthat"Greece"wasthefontofwesterncivilization.InformedbyRomantic
 
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ScottB.Noegel
nationalismand,inpart,bytheracismassociatedwithit,itunderstoodthe"genius"ofGreekcivilizationasmarkingtheendofantiquityandthestartofa"miracle"that"anticipatedtheEnlightenmentbybreakingwithmyth,tradition,andpuerilesuperstitiontoachieveacriticalviewofreligion"(Lincoln2004:658).TheNearEastrepresentedallthatwas"barbarian"and"pagan."Consequently,lookingeastwardforevidenceofcontactandinfluenceremainedalargelyperipheralenterprise.Afewscholarsofferedchallengestothedominantparadigm(Astour1965;Berard1902-3;Brown1898;Farnell1911;Gordon1956,1962,1966,1967;Wirth1921),buttheirworkswentlargelyunnoticedbyclassicists.Recentdecadeshaveseenthisparadigmshift,butithasnotshiftedwithoutagooddealofcontroversyanddisciplinarypolemic(Bernal1987,1990,1991,2001;Lefkowitz1996a,1996b).Today,itisfairtosaythataconsensusviewamongclassicistsandNearEasternscholarsadmitsofsomeEast-to-Westinfluence.Yetvitalquestionsremain.Howmuchandwhatkindofinfluencearewespeakingof?Howearlydoesthisinfluenceoccur?Andhowdoesonedifferentiateevidenceformerecontactfromevidenceforinfluence?Responsestothesequestionshavebeenhotlydebated,andtypicallytheyhavefallenalongdisciplinarylines,withclassicistsseeingNearEasterninfluenceaslargelyintermittentuntilthelatearchaicandclassicalperiods(Burkert1992,2004,2005a;Scheid2004)andNearEasternscholars(andafewclassicists:Morris1992,2001;Walcot1966;West1995,1997)pushingforgreaterinfluenceandearlierdates(Burstein1996;DalleyandReyes1998a;Naveh1973;Redford1992;Talon2001).Influenceinbothdirectionsisgenerallyacceptedforthehellenisticperiodandlater
(Kuhrt1995;Linssen2004).
.
ThequestionofNearEasterninfluencewouldappeartobedifficultenoughtoanswerwereitnotforaseriesofmorerecentchallengesthathavecomefromavarietyofdisciplines.Anthropologists,forexample,havedrawnattentiontothemodernwesternbiasesthatinformtheveryquestionofinfluence.Historiansofreligionaskwhatismeantby"influence"inaworldofconstantmutualcontactandexchange.Classiciststooarenowurgingustoconsiderwhatpreconditionsmakeanyculturalexchangeapossibilityandtodefinewithgreaterrigorthemodalitiesoftransmissioninbothdirections(Johnston1999a;Raaflaub2000).Otherscholarsquestionwhetheronecanlegitimatelyspeakabout"religion"inculturesthatpossessnocorrespondingwordforit.Indeed,somewonderwhetheranyproposedtaxonomyforreligioncanaccountforitsinherentdiversityandpluralityofforms,orwhetheranytaxonomycanbefreefromideology(Smith2004:169,171-2,179).Termslike"cult,""sacrifice,"and"ritual,"whosedefinitionshadlongbeentakenforgranted,havenowbecomefocalpoints
for
theoreticaldebateandredefinition(Bremmer2004;Burkert1983;Girard1977;HubertandMauss1964;Rappaport1979;Smith2004:145-59;Versnel1993:16-89).Thelabel"NearEast"alsohasbecomeincreasinglyproblematicforsomescholarswhendiscussingreligion.Foronething,thephrasemasksunderasinglerubricdozensofdiversepeoplesandcultures.ThoughthereissomeheuristicutilityindividingtheNearEastintoseveralculturalzones,scholarsfinditextremelydifficulttospeakgenerallyof"religion"inEgypt,Syro-Canaan,Israel,Anatolia,orMesopotamiaalone,eachofwhichpossessedcountlessreligionsofinfinitevarietyatfamily,village,andstatelevels(Hornung1971;Morenz1973;Oppenheim1977;J.Smith2003;Zevit2001).Moreover,implicitintheclassification"NearEast"isa
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