Mapping ancient gods: naming and embodiment beyond “anthropomorphism”. A survey of the field in echo to the books of M.S. Smith and R. Parker

Abstract

Two recent books provide exceptionally stimulating insights on how space gives shape to religious representations. On the one hand, Mark S. Smith’s 2016 book Where the Gods Are: Spatial Dimensions of Anthropomorphism in the Biblical World focuses on the spatial dimension of the divine presence, as a crucial dimension of human experience. On the other hand, Robert Parker’s 2017 book Greek Gods Abroad: Names, Natures and Transformations, concentrates on the naming processes and their evolution in cross-cultural contexts. Both publications offer rich evidence on the interaction between naming and locating the gods. This paper, written by the team of the ERC project “Mapping Ancient Polytheisms”, is an attempt to extend and improve reflection on these topics, by offering a survey of the current research on mapping and naming the gods.