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RELIGIONS IN THE CLASSICAL WORLD

PAOLA CORRENTE RELIGIONS IN THE CLASSICAL WORLD

0322200040
DEPARTMENT OF HUMANISTIC STUDIES
EQF7
ANCIENT PHILOLOGY, LITERATURES AND HISTORY
2025/2026

YEAR OF COURSE 2
YEAR OF DIDACTIC SYSTEM 2023
AUTUMN SEMESTER
CFUHOURSACTIVITY
630LESSONS
PAOLA CORRENTE T Curriculum
Objectives
THE COURSE AIMS TO EXPAND THE VISION OF CLASSICAL CULTURE IN ITS HISTORICAL-RELIGIOUS ASPECTS BY PROVIDING INDISPENSABLE NOTIONS OF THEORY AND METHOD

KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING
THE STUDENT WILL BE ABLE TO EXPAND THE KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF CLASSICAL CULTURE WITH REGARD TO THE HISTORICAL-RELIGIOUS ASPECTS OF ANCIENT GREEK AND ROMAN SOCIETIES.

APPLYING KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING
THE STUDENT WILL BE ABLE TO:
- ANALYZE ANCIENT SOCIETIES THROUGH THE ACQUISITION OF THE INDISPENSABLE NOTIONS OF THEORY AND METHOD IN THE STUDY OF THE TEXTS AND MATERIAL CULTURE OF GREEK AND ROMAN CIVILIZATIONS.
- PROCESS AND/OR APPLY ORIGINAL APPROACHES AND INSIGHTS ON THEMES AND TOPICS OF CLASSICAL CULTURE.

MAKING JUDGEMENTS
STUDENTS WILL BE ABLE TO EXPAND THEIR KNOWLEDGE OF CLASSICAL CULTURE BY APPROACHING WITH ORIGINALITY THE TOPICS COVERED.
THEY WILL EXPAND THEIR AUTONOMY OF JUDGMENT DEVELOPED THROUGH THE REASONED STUDY AND THE USE OF THE PROPOSED TEXTS.
THEY CAN EASILY RELATE TO THE REALITY AND HISTORICAL-RELIGIOUS ASPECTS OF ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS.

COMMUNICATION SKILLS
THE STUDENT WILL BE ABLE TO EXPRESS ONE'S OWN IDEAS USING AN APPROPRIATE TERMINOLOGY.

LEARNING SKILLS
THE STUDENT WILL BE ABLE TO CARRY OUT RESEARCH ACTIVITIES, FORM AUTONOMOUS JUDGMENTS AND CONTINUOUSLY UPDATE HIS/HER KNOWLEDGE.
Prerequisites
BASIC KNOWLEDGE OF HISTORY, GEOGRAPHY, LITERATURE AND PHILOSOPHY (IN PARTICULAR, OF THE ANCIENT WORLD). GENERAL KNOWLEDGE OF THE CLASSICAL CULTURE. AT LEAST AN ELEMENTARY KNOWLEDGE OF LATIN AND GREEK WOULD BE IDEAL (IN ANY CASE, ANCIENT LANGUAGE TEXTS WILL BE READ AND COMMENTED IN ITALIAN TRANSLATION). IT WOULD BE IDEAL TO HAVE ATTENDED THE HISTORY OF RELIGIONS COURSE, WHICH GIVES A GENERAL BASIS FOR THE STUDY OF RELIGION, PREPARING THE STUDENTS FOR THE THEORETICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL CHALLENGES OF THE DISCIPLINE AND INTEGRATING THEIR KNOWLEDGE OF THE VARIOUS TYPES OF RELIGION.
Contents
THE COURSE FOCUSES ON THE STUDY OF ANCIENT RELIGION (POLYTHEISM), PARTICULARLY GREEK RELIGION, THROUGH COMPARISON WITH OTHER RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS OF THE ANCIENT WORLD, PRIMARILY THOSE OF THE MEDITERRANEAN, BUT ALSO THOSE OF THE AMERICAS AND ASIA; AT THE SAME TIME, THE COURSE WILL PROVIDE AN OVERVIEW OF THE THEORETICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF THE HISTORY OF RELIGIONS.

THE COURSE CONSISTS OF THREE MODULES: 1) INTRODUCTION 2) GENERAL PART 3) MONOGRAPHIC PART

INTRODUCTION (6 HOURS):
- DEFINITIONS
- HISTORY AND METHODOLOGY OF THE STUDY OF RELIGIONS (IN PARTICULAR, OF ANCIENT RELIGIONS)
- POLYTHEISM. GENERAL CHARACTERS. HISTORICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL CONTEXTS: THE COMPARISON.

GENERAL PART. POLYTHEISMS IN THE ANCIENT WORLD (12 HOURS):

- MESOPOTAMIA
- GREECE
- ROME


MONOGRAPHIC PART. ECONOMY AND RELIGION (12 HOURS):

- GENERAL CHARACTERS: THE ECONOMY IN ANCIENT TIMES; ECONOMY AND RELIGION
- ECONOMIC ASPECTS IN MYTHS

Teaching Methods
LECTURES; SEMINARS

DURING THE LECTURES, REFLECTION ON THE TOPICS COVERED WILL BE ENCOURAGED THROUGH DISCUSSIONS AND DEBATES.
ATTENDANCE IS STRONGLY RECOMMENDED.
Verification of learning
FINAL EXAM (ORAL).

THE FINAL EVALUATION WILL TAKE THE FORM OF AN ORAL DISCUSSION LASTING APPROXIMATELY 20 MINUTES, WHICH WILL FOCUS ON THE CONTENTS OF THE LECTURES AND THE BIBLIOGRAPHICAL MATERIAL INDICATED. THE EXAM WILL ASSESS:

1) THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE FUNDAMENTAL THEMES OF GREEK AND ROMAN RELIGIONS AND, IN GENERAL, OF ANCIENT POLYTHEISM
2) THE ACQUISITION OF THEORETICAL NOTIONS OF METHODOLOGY IN THE STUDY OF ANCIENT RELIGIONS
3) THE QUALITY OF EXPOSITION AND THE ABILITY TO ANALYSE AND ELABORATE AN AUTONOMOUS CRITICAL THOUGHT (I.E. NOT THE MERE REPETITION OF THE LECTURES AND/OR READINGS) ON THEMES AND TOPICS CONCERNING RELIGIONS AND, IN GENERAL, CLASSICAL AND ANCIENT CULTURES.



THE GRADE WILL REFLECT THE QUALITATIVE LEVEL OF PREPARATION, MEASURED BY ACCURACY, THOROUGHNESS AND CRITICAL THINKING. IF THE LEVEL IS SUFFICIENT, THE GRADE WILL BE BETWEEN 18 AND 21; IF IT IS AVERAGE, THE GRADE WILL BE BETWEEN 22 AND 24; IF IT IS GOOD, THE GRADE WILL BE BETWEEN 25 AND 27; IF IT IS EXCELLENT, THE GRADE WILL BE BETWEEN 28 AND 30; IF IT IS OUTSTANDING, THE GRADE WILL BE 30 WITH DISTINCTION. A GRADE BELOW 18 INDICATES AN INSUFFICIENCY, I.E. THE STUDENT HAS NOT DEMONSTRATED ADEQUATE PREPARATION.
Texts
THE TEXTS TO BE STUDIED WILL BE DIFFERENT FOR STUDENTS WHO ATTEND REGULARLY AND THOSE WHO DO NOT ATTEND. THOSE WITH 50% ATTENDANCE WILL BE CONSIDERED TO BE ATTENDING (OUT OF 15 LECTURES: 8. BUT IT IS STRONGLY RECOMMENDED TO ATTEND AT LEAST 12 LESSONS)

TEXTS FOR THE ATTENDING STUDENTS:

- COURSE’S NOTES
1)
THE ARTICLE “ROMAN RELIGION”, OF THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF RELIGION (L. JONES, ED., 20052)

2)
P. BORGEAUD E F. PRESCENDI (A CURA DI), RELIGIONI ANTICHE, ED. IT. A CURA DI D. BONANNO E G. PIRONTI, ROMA: CAROCCI 2011: CHAPTERS 4, 5 AND 7.

3)
P. MANDER, LA RELIGIONE DELL’ANTICA MESOPOTAMIA, ROMA: CAROCCI 2009.

TEXTS FOR THE NON-ATTENDING STUDENTS:

1)
ARTICLES: “GREEK RELIGION”, “ROMAN RELIGION”, “MYSTERY RELIGION”, “GODS AND GODDESSES” OF THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF RELIGION (L. JONES, ED., 20052)

2)
P. BORGEAUD E F. PRESCENDI (A CURA DI), RELIGIONI ANTICHE, ED. IT. A CURA DI D. BONANNO E G. PIRONTI, ROMA: CAROCCI 2011: CHAPTERS 2, 4, 5, 6 E 7.

3)
P. MANDER, LA RELIGIONE DELL’ANTICA MESOPOTAMIA, ROMA: CAROCCI 2009

4)
G. FILORAMO, M. MASSENZIO ET ALII, MANUALE DI STORIA DELLE RELIGIONI, ROMA-BARI: LATERZA, CHAP. 1 “IL POLITEISMO: CARATTERI GENERALI” E CHAP. 8 “L’ETÀ ELLENISTICA”.


SOME OF THESE MATERIALS WILL BE PROVIDED BY THE PROFESSOR.

FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE TEXTS WILL BE GIVEN BY THE PROFESSOR AT THE BEGINNING OF THE COURSE
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