Abstract
The paper will address the issue of the transmission of religious knowledge through inscribed ritual norms. Besides orality and mimetic-performative processes the public display of ritual norms represents a further mode of transmission of ritual knowledge which needs to be taken into consideration, especially because of the growing importance of the practice of inscribing from the Hellenistic period onwards. Not only does writing constitute a creative force, which has an impact on different cultural fields, such as religion, but it is also linked to processes of selection with regard to the existing repertoire of knowledge. Using as a case-study those norms which concern the ritual conduct of participants, I will argue that the practice of writing not only preserved, but also (re)generated religious knowledge, thus functioning as a form both of socialization and control.
