Renowned scholars discuss the past, present, and future of the study of religion in both antiquity and modernity, celebrating the contributions of Panayotis Pachis to the field.An advocate of the historical and scientific study of the religions of past and present, Panayotis Pachis has dedicated his celebrated career at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki to the study of various aspects of ancient religions. These range from the importance of agriculture and religion in ancient Greece, the Mystery Cults, the centrality of initiatory rituals and rites of passage, to the promotion of a modern, scientific study of religion that extends from the comparative and historical method to the cognitive study of religion.The contents of this book reflect Pachis' conviction that the study of religious ideas and practices should be focused on three pillars: the study of history, the formulation and application of theoretical frameworks, and the utilization of traditional as well as innovative methodological tools.

List of IllustrationsNotes on ContributorsAcknowledgementsIntroduction, Luther H. Martin( University of Vermont, USA) and Donald Wiebe (Trinity College, University of Toronto, Canada)Part I: Religion(s) and The Ancient World1. From Nergal to Heracles: Methodological Problems in the Study of Intercultural Influences Between the Ancient Near East and the Mediterranean, Asterios - Evangelos Kechagias (North-West University, South Africa)2. Slaves and Religions in the Ancient World: A Comparative Approach, Kostas Vlassopoulos (University of Crete, Greece)3. The Scientific Study of Graeco-Roman Religions, Luther H. Martin (University of Vermont, USA)4. Greek Mythology in European Religious History, Ulrich Berner (University of Bayreuth, Germany)5. On Definition, Theories, and Disciplinary Cooperation: Towards a Modern Study of Ancient Greek and Roman Religion, Nickolas P. Roubekas (University of Vienna, Austria)Part Ii: New Approaches to Ancient Ideas and Practices6. The History of Graeco-Roman Religions in the Light of Cultural Evolution: A Computational Text Analysis of Ancient Greek Inscriptions, Vojtech Kase (University of Western Bohemia, Czech Republic) and Tomás Glomb (Masaryk University, Czech Republic)7. What Neurocognitive Theories May Offer to History and the Study of Religion: The Paradigm of the Plague of Athens, Olympia Panagiotidou8. Monarch to God to Devil: The Many Lives of King Faunus Through the Ages, Leonardo Ambasciano (Independent Scholar, Italy)9. Jesus and Asklepios: Cognitive Perspectives on the Miraculous, Jennifer Larson10.Macrohistorical Aspects of the Constantinian Shift: Climatic Change, Pandemics, and the Rise of Christianity, Ales Chalupa (Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic)Part 3: The Study of Religion, Past and Present11.Critical Theory of Religion: From Antiquity and the Graeco-Roman Period to Modernity, Ioannis S. Petrou (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece)12.From Pettazzoni to Bianchi: The felix tempus of the History of Religions in Italy Ennio Sanzi (Independent Scholar, Italy)13.Much Ado About Nothing: The Concept of "Religion" Yet Again, Anders Klostergaard Petersen(Aarhus University, Denmark)14.Mysticism in Four Dimensions: Neurological, Physiological, Psychological, and Cultural Expectation-Modulation, Armin W. Geertz (Aarhus University, Denmark)15.Did the "New Atheists" Contribute to or Undermine the Scientific Study of Religion, Donald Wiebe (Trinity College, University of Toronto, Canada)16.Why We Need an Integrative Approach to the Study of Religion, Dimitris XygalatasAddendum: The Planets in Mithraism, Roger BeckIndex