The Religious Thought of the Greeks, from Homer to the Triumph of Christianity

A series of lectures traces the evolution of Greek religious thought over roughly a thousand years, treating Homeric and Hesiodic foundations, Orphic and Pythagorean movements, the poets of the sixth and fifth centuries, the fifth-century Athenian context, Plato and Aristotle, later religious philosophies culminating in thinkers like Plotinus and Origen, the influence of Oriental religions in the Roman West, and the rise of Christianity. The emphasis is on concepts of the gods, divine-human relations, and moral obligations, with selective attention to practices and a conscious avoidance of antiquarian or mythological minutiae. Comparative consideration of Jesus and Paul illustrates the interaction between Christian teaching and Hellenic philosophy.