A Goddess in the Caravans and a Saviour in the Hulls:
[Thesis]
Cornthwaite, Christopher J.
Worship and Migration in Athens, Delos, and Corinth
Kloppenborg, John
University of Toronto (Canada)
2019
354
Ph.D.
University of Toronto (Canada)
2019
This thesis compares how four religions moved through four ancient diasporas (c. 300 BCE-100 CE): Syrian (Delos), Phoenician (Delos), Thracian (Athens), and Judaean (Corinth). While problematizing these two concepts, it nevertheless shows that being in diaspora was the catalyst for new formulations of group identities, and that the worship of deities and associated cultural practices became more central for groups in diaspora. Often community boundaries evolved to include outsiders with no shared ethno-geographical background, for whom membership became mediated through shared worship.