DAY TWO: Cult Practices in Ancient Literatures: Egyptian, Near Eastern and Graeco-Roman Narratives in a Cross-Cultural Perspective

Workshop organized by Franziska Naether (ISAW Visiting Research Scholar)

Heroic stories and novels, tales, travel fictions and wisdom texts in the ancient world, from Egypt to Greece, from Anatolia to Rome, they contained rituals, magic and divination. In this two-day workshop on May 16-17, 2016, we will discuss phenomena of such cult practices and their functions in regard to ritual and literary studies. Topics include secret knowledge, presentations of the divine and of fate, sacred justice and practitioners of cult practices as protagonists in the narratives.

Chair, Morning Sessions: Marc LeBlanc, ISAW

9:30am - Meredith J. C. Warren, University of Sheffield
Revelatory Ingestion in Revelation: Hierophagy as Transformational Eating

10:00am - Elena Chepel, University of Reading
Interpreting God's Words: The Performance of Oracles in Greek Comedy

10:30am - Coffee Break

10:45am - Final Discussion

Please check isaw.nyu.edu for event updates.

Registration is required at isaw.nyu.edu/rsvp

Please note that separate registration is required for each day of the workshop: May 16th (10:00am-4:30pm) and May 17th (9:30am-11:30am).