The cults of the Greek states /
by Lewis Richard Farnell.
- Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 1896-1909.
- 5 volumes : plates ; 23 cm.
- Cambridge library collection.
Includes bibliographies.
Volume 1. Aniconic age, Iconic age, the cults of Cronos, Zeus, Hera and Athena -- volume 2. Cults of Artemis, Adrasteia, Hecate, Eileithyia, and Aphrodite -- volume 3. Cults of Ge, Demeter, Hades, and Rhea -- volume 4. Cults of Poseidon and Apollo -- volume 5. Cults of Hermes, Dionysus, Hestia, Hephaestus, Ares and several minor figures.
"Lewis Richard Farnell's five-volume The Cults of the Greek States, first published between 1896 and 1909, disentangles classical Greek mythology and religion, since the latter had often been overlooked by nineteenth-century English scholars. Farnell describes the cults of the most significant Greek gods in order to establish their zones of influence, and outlines the personality, monuments, and ideal types associated with each deity. He also resolutely avoids the question of divine origins and focuses instead on the culture surrounding each cult, a position which initially drew some criticism, but which allowed him more space to analyse the religious practices themselves. Written to facilitate a comparative approach to Greek gods, his work is still regularly cited today for its impressive collection of data about the worship of the most popular deities." -- Back cover.