 The Homeric Gods: Spiritual Significance of Greek Religion (1954 English language edition) | |
| Author | Walter F. Otto |
|---|---|
| Original title | Die Götter Griechenlands |
| Translator | Moses Hadas |
| Language | German |
| Subject | Ancient Greek religion |
| Publisher | Friedrich Cohen |
Publication date | 1929 |
| Publication place | Germany |
Published in English | 1954 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover and Paperback) |
| Pages | 371 (first edition) |
The Homeric Gods: Spiritual Significance of Greek Religion (German: Die Götter Griechenlands. Das Bild des Göttlichen im Spiegel des griechischen Geistes, lit. 'The Gods of Greece: The Image of the Divine in the Mirror of the Greek Spirit') is a book about ancient Greek religion, published in 1929 and written by the philologist Walter F. Otto. Its main thesis is that the Greek religion was focused on the profundity of natural experiences, and therefore used less magical thinking than Asian religions, which tend to focus more on miracles. According to Otto, this reached its greatest expression in the works of Homer, where the Greek gods are portrayed as present in the natural world as particular forms of existence.
The book has both been praised for its insights and larger arguments and criticized for its approach and errors. Otto's ontological approach to polytheism had an impact on a number of scholars and influenced the structuralist study of ancient religions.