Mystery religions in the ancient world

by Joscelyn Godwin

A lively, illustrated overview of the variety of mystery religions that flourished at the dawn of the Christian era. In clear, enlightened text and striking images, Mystery Religions holds up a “distant mirror” to our own times, showing that the quest for spiritual illumination from Eastern religions, and emphasis on spiritual development and experience, and a concern for hidden knowledge are deeply rooted in Western culture. Mystery Religions brings the myths, the magic, their rites and the wisdom of a bygone age to compelling life, making them comprehensible to modern readers. Godwin begins Mystery Religions with a crucial discussion of the five basic spiritual attitudes or orientations, one (or more) of which informs the religious conceptions of all peoples of every epoch. He clarifies the various paths—that of the warrior, of the monk, of the magician, of love, and of knowledge—and applies them in a detailed examination of the major mystery religions that follows. Here is a compell