Digital publication of the opening lecture in English by Pr Vinciane Pirenne-Delforge

Vinciane Pirenne-Delforge

Greek Polytheism: A Historical Subject

Greek polytheism was not a simple collection of juxtaposed gods and goddesses, but a complex interplay between deities at different levels - local, regional and panhellenic. Significant evidence - combining literary, epigraphic, archaeological and iconographic sources - has profoundly renewed the study of Greek polytheism and made it a relevant subject to understand ancient societies from both a historical and anthropological perspective. Greek religion is deeply embedded in unexpected areas and bringing it to the fore helps to enrich our understanding of the ancient Greek world.

Pirenne-Delforge V., Greek Polytheism: A Historical Subject, translation by Expressum, Paris, Collège de France, Inaugural Lectures, 2024.

This book was published with the support of the Fondation du Collège de France.

Vinciane Pirenne-Delforge is a historian. She has pursued her career at the Fonds de la recherche scientifique (FNRS) of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, while teaching at the University of Liège, as head of the "History and Anthropology of Religions" research unit. She is a professor at the Collège de France, where she holds the chair of Religion, History and Society in the Ancient Greek World since October 2017.