Write a 2 page essay on HIstory Review.
Bodard (2005) states that this book is essential for beginners or students because it introduces the concept of ancient Greek religion, which does not delve on its theoretical analysis. instead, this book focuses on the objective depiction of what the Greek said and did.
This book review is centered on the evidences used by the author to thoroughly discuss the religious system of Greeks.
The evidences are formulated on the literary, artistic, or epigraphical, and archaeological.
Literary evidence is the usage of text to support an argument. Mikalson (2005, Preface) utilizes the “quotations or summaries of important ancient writings,” which involve the Homeric Hymns to Demeter and Apollo, Bacchae and Ion of Euripides, Thesmophoriazusae of Aristophanes, the description of Olympia in the book of Pausania, Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, and the poems written by Hesiod and Pindar (par. 5). The literary pieces present the culture and tradition of ancient Greek, which are mostly written by Hesiod and Homer. According to Coldstream (2003), the religious beliefs and behaviors of ancient Greeks were influenced by the heroic adventure or epic, which contained in the Greek literature. The Greek writers produced an image of gods, which signifies that Greek gods are products of authors’ imagination or a fictitious character that symbolized Greek mythology. The Greek mythology created Zeus as the ruler, Hades that lived in the underworld, Poseidon as the god of the sea, and Athena. The author added that adjacent to the widespread popularity of epics and heroic literature, the cults began to emerge wherein Greeks followed the customs and tradition including the burial of royalty.
The literary evidence is supported by the artistic manifestation from the book including photos of Poseidons’ statue, the bronze head of Zeus or Poseidon, Athenian amphora (drawing), and the recreation of the Sanctuary of Athena. Crotty (2007) asserts
