Abstract
In the classical world, religion and belief played a major role in the lives of both the ancient Greeks and Romans. Often, ancient Greeks would go about their day, walking past and interacting with many temples and other formats of belief, like the Athenians seeing the Parthenon on top of the Acropolis every day. Similarly, the Romans would have interacted with temples and other parts of belief as well, seeing temples as they went to the forum, baths, or the theater. While temples were a great center of religion and belief in Rome and Greece, religion and belief were also seen through divination and curse tablets. These other examples of belief in the classical world highlight the extent of belief structures throughout civilizations in the classical period. Several ancient scholars discuss divination in their works, like Herodotus referencing prophecies given by the Oracle of Delphi and Livy highlighting examples of omens and sacrifices. Alongside this, examples of curse tablets allow a lens into the beliefs of people forgotten by historical scholars, such as the bakers and the blacksmiths of ancient Greece and Rome. This paper examines and compares ancient Greek and Roman belief structures, made up of divination and curse tablets, and investigates how they are similar and different by looking into the examples given by curse tablets found from the periods and passages from Herodotus and Livy.
Advisor
Hettinger, Madonna
Department
Classical Studies; History
Recommended Citation
Grindall, Brandon, "A Comparison of Belief Structures and Practices Found in Ancient Greek and Roman Society in the Works of Livy, Herodotus, and the Archaeological Record." (2025). Senior Independent Study Theses. Paper 11515.
https://openworks.wooster.edu/independentstudy/11515
Disciplines
Ancient History, Greek and Roman through Late Antiquity | European History | Social History
Publication Date
2025
Degree Granted
Bachelor of Arts
Document Type
Senior Independent Study Thesis
© Copyright 2025 Brandon Grindall