Greek Religious Terminology – Telete & Orgia

Book excerpt: A proper understanding of the words τελετή and ὄργια and the context in which they occur is fundamental to the study of Greek religion. This volume seeks to make a significant portion of the source material available to present-day students of religions in the Graeco-Roman world. The ancient texts are accompanied by English translations. Revised chapters from the seminal works by Zijderveld (1934) and Van der Burg (1939) show a whole range of different contexts in ancient literature, thus arguing against an automatic equation of τελετή and ὄργια with mystery rites. New chapters give an overview of the loanword orgia in Latin poetry, and of τελετή and ὄργια in the epigraphical evidence.