Books by Franz Cumont

This study by the great Belgian historian Franz Cumont describes one aspect of the cultural meeting of east and west in the early Roman empire. It describes the great pagan religions of the orient, and tells how their religious thought and ceremonies permeated, altered, and revivified Roman paganism.It provides a coverage of all the more important eastern religions of the time, from their first appearance in Rome, 204 B.C., when the great Mother of the Gods was first imported from Syria:The ecstatic cults of Phrygia and Syria; the worship of Cybele, the Magna Mater, Attis, Adonis; their orgies and mutilatory rites. The mysteries of Egypt; the worship of Serapis, Isis, Osiris, their closely hidden secret rites, redemption ceremonies.The dualism of Persia; the elevation of cosmic evil, to a full and equal partnership with the deity; the mysteries of Mithra. The worship of Hermes Trismegistos, and the documents ascribed to him; Sabazios, Ishtar, Astarte.The magic, thaumaturgy, judicial astrology of the ancient near east.The emotional and intellectual impact of the great civilized traditions of Egypt and Babylonia upon still barbarian Europe.Cumont's 'Oriental Religions in Roman Paganism' is the best general picture, on an intermediate level, of this important moment in cultural history. It is also of great value in analyzing an era which shared certain cultural problems with our own time.

It is not, however, because it is combined with scientific theories, nor because it enters into the teaching of pagan mysteries, that astrology forces itself on the meditations of the historian of religions, but for its own sake . . . , because he is obliged to enquire how and why this alliance, which at first sight seems monstrous, came to be formed between mathematics and supersitition. . . . How could this absurd doctrine arise, develop, spread, and force itself on superior intellects for century after century? There, in all its simplicity, is the historical problem which confronts us. -from the IntroductionContentsIntroduction1. The Chaldeans2. Babylon and Greece3. The Dissemination in the West4. Theology5. Astral Mysticism. Ethics and Cult6. EschatologyFranz Cumont (1868-1947) was a Belgian archaeologist, linguist, and historian of ancient religions. He was Professor at the University of Ghent and later curator of the Brussels Royal Museum. His major works include ''The Mysteries of Mithra,'' ''The Oriental Religions in Roman Paganism,'' and ''After Life in Roman Paganism.''

At least we can distinguish the principal phases of the religious movement which caused imperial society to pass from incredulity to certain forms of belief in immortality, forms at first somewhat crude but afterwards loftier, and we can see where the movement led. The change was a capital one and transformed for the ancients the whole conception of life. The axis about which morality revolved had to be shifted when ethics no long sought, as in earlier Greek philosophy, to realise the sovereign good on this earth but looked for it after death. -from the Introduction Contents Preface Historical Introduction 1. After Life in the Tomb 2. The Nether World 3. Celestial Immortality 4. The Winning of Immortality 5. Untimely Death 6. The Journey to the Beyond 7. The Sufferings of Hell and Metempsychosis 8. The Felicity of the Blessed

Through the course of eight lectures, Franz Cumont gives a thorough investigation of the afterlife in Roman pagan thought. He covers topics such as the afterlife, celestial immortality, untimely death, the sufferings of hell and metempsychosis, the felicity of the blessed, the journey to the beyond, and more.