Höcker, Christoph (Kissing) I. Material Remains (CT) A. General (CT) [German version] 1. Introduction (CT) The present article offers a survey of the ways in which material remains from the ancient world have been transmitted to the modern age. Not included are the active acquisition of antiquities for display or their representation in art museums, or the systematic post-Classical acquisition of remains for research purposes (cf. Antiquarianism; Antiquities, collections of; Classical Archaeology;  Art works, acquisition of/ Art theft; Museum). Höcker, Christoph (Kissing) …

Frank, Karl Suso (Freiburg) [German version] A. Origins (CT) Monasticism, as  one of the designated and recognized Christian ways of life, was a part of the Church in Late Antiquity and was assimilated by the Germanic people into their emerging national Churches with their acceptance of Christianity.   Monasticism was not a uniform entity.  Aside from the constitutive elements -- leading a life characterised by asceticism in imitation of Christ, either in a regulated community (cenobitic life) or as a he…

Guthmüller, Bodo (Marburg/Lahn RWG) I. Literature (CT) [German version] A. Introduction (CT) In the Encyclopédie of the French Enlightenment (1751-1780) we read in the entry 'mythology' ( mythologie, fable): "The study of mythology is indispensable for painters, sculptors and particularly for poets. Mythology is the foundation of their works and from it they draw their principal ornaments (...). Our theatre plays and operas, all genres of literature constantly make allusions to mythology; the engravings, paintings and stat…

Rendtel, Constanze [German version] A. Subject Area (CT) Pilgrimage is common to all great civilizations and appears to be among the anthropological constants. It stems from a desire for contact with the numinous and the idea that certain sites can convey a blessing. People hope that by visiting such a site they might be helped in times of illness or other distress, or obtain advice on difficult decisions (oracle). A pilgrimage is based on religious motives and remains distinct from other reasons for tr…

Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) [German version] A. Terminology (CT) Neither Greek nor Latin had a word that precisely corresponds to the modern term 'religion' in its academic sense, whether to designate a specific cultural subsystem ('the religion of the Aztecs') or to refer to the anthropological constant of religion. This modern concept was a result of the Enlightenment and ethnological discoveries, and dates only to the Early Modern era. Ancient concepts focused on individual areas: the Greek thrēskeía, 'worship', and the Greek eusébeia refer only to ritual in the collective…