Cambridge University Press Greek Religion and Cults in the Black Sea Region - Cambridge

Explore the first integrated study of Greek religion and cults within the Black Sea region. Centered on the Bosporan Kingdom, this work examines how religious practices on the northern shores connected to and influenced Greece and the wider Mediterranean world. Author David Braund provides a detailed analysis of the cohesive roles played by key goddesses, including Aphrodite Ourania, Artemis Ephesia, Taurian Parthenos, and Isis. The text tracks these religious developments through several major historical eras, starting from archaic colonization and moving through Athenian imperialism, the Hellenistic world, and the Roman Empire in the East, reaching all the way to the Byzantine era. This book is an essential resource for students and historians, offering a wealth of new and unfamiliar data on these deities. By examining the religious landscape of the Bosporan Kingdom, readers gain a deeper understanding of how these cults functioned as social and cultural forces across centuries of Mediterranean history.