Introduction to Initiation Studies

Scholars of classical history and literature have for more than a century accepted initiation as a tool for understanding a variety of obscure rituals and myths, ranging from the ancient Greek wedding and adolescent haircutting rituals to initiatory motifs or structures in Greek myth, comedy, and tragedy.

In this book, an international group of experts including Gloria Ferrari, Fritz Graf, and Bruce Lincoln critique many of these past studies, and challenge strongly the tradition of privileging the concept of initiation as a tool for studying social performances and literary texts, in which changes in status or group membership occur in unusual ways.

These new modes of research mark an important turning point in the modern study of the religion and myths of ancient Greece and Rome, making this a valuable collection across a number of classical subjects.