Background
Burkert, Walter was born on February 2, 1931 in Neuendettelsau, Germany. Arrived in Switzerland, 1969. Son of Adolf and Luise (Grossmann) Burkert.
(For the first English edition of his distinguished study,...)
For the first English edition of his distinguished study, Weisheit und Wissenschaft: Studien zu Pythagoras, Philoloas und Platon, Mr. Burkert has extensively revised both text and notes, taking into account additional literature that has appeared since 1962.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0674539184/?tag=2022091-20
( Sacrifice--ranging from the sacrifice of virgins to ci...)
Sacrifice--ranging from the sacrifice of virgins to circumcision to giving up what is most valued--is essential to all religions. Could there be a natural, even biological, reason for these practices? Something that might explain why religions of so many different cultures share so many rituals and concepts? In this extraordinary book, one of the world's leading authorities on ancient religions explores the possibility of natural religion--a religious sense and practice naturally proceeding from biological imperatives. Because they lack later refinements, the earliest religions from the Near East, Israel, Greece, and Rome may tell us a great deal about the basic properties and dynamics of religion, and it is to these cultures that Walter Burkert looks for answers. His book takes us on an intellectual adventure that begins some 5,000 years ago and plunges us into a fascinating world of divine signs and omens, offerings and sacrifices, rituals and beliefs unmitigated by modern science and sophistication. Tracing parallels between animal behavior and human religious activity, Burkert suggests natural foundations for sacrifices and rituals of escape, for the concept of guilt and punishment, for the practice of gift exchange and the notion of a cosmic hierarchy, and for the development of a system of signs for negotiating with an uncertain environment. Again and again, he returns to the present to remind us that, for all our worldliness, we are not so far removed from the first Homo religiosus. A breathtaking journey, as entertaining as it is provocative, Creation of the Sacred brings rich new insight on religious thought past and present and raises serious questions about the ultimate reasons for, and the ultimate meaning of, human religiousness.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0674175697/?tag=2022091-20
( Blood sacrifice, the ritual slaughter of animals, has b...)
Blood sacrifice, the ritual slaughter of animals, has been basic to religion through history, so that it survives in spiritualized form even in Christianity. How did this violent phenomenon achieve the status of the sacred? This question is examined in Walter Burkert's famous study.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0520058755/?tag=2022091-20
( In this book Walter Burkert, the most eminent living h...)
In this book Walter Burkert, the most eminent living historian of ancient Greek religion, has produced the standard work for our time on that subject. First published in German in 1977, it has now been translated into English with the assistance of the author himself. A clearly structured and readable survey for students and scholars, it will be welcomed as the best modern account of any polytheistic religious system. Burkert draws on archaeological discoveries, insights from other disciplines, and inscriptions in Linear B to reconstruct the practices and beliefs of the Minoan-Mycenaean age. The major part of his book is devoted to the archaic and classical epochs. He describes the various rituals of sacrifice and libation and explains Greek beliefs about purification. He investigates the inspiration behind the great temples at Olympia, Delphi, Delos, and the Acropolis - discussing the priesthood, sanctuary, and oracles. Considerable attention is given to the individual gods, the position of the heroes, and beliefs about the afterlife. The different festivals are used to illuminate the place of religion in the society of the city-state. The mystery cults, at Eleusis and among the followers of Bacchus and Orpheus, are also set in that context. The book concludes with an assessment of the great classical philosophers' attitudes to religion. Insofar as possible, Burkert lets the evidence -- from literature and legend, vase paintings and archaeology -- speak for itself; he elucidates the controversies surrounding its interpretation without glossing over the enigmas that remain. Throughout, the notes (updated for the English-language edition) afford a wealth of further references as the text builds up its coherent picture of what is known of the religion of ancient Greece.
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(Walter Burkert a publié en 1972 HOMO NECANS. INTERPRETATI...)
Walter Burkert a publié en 1972 HOMO NECANS. INTERPRETATIONEN ALTGRIECHISCHER OPFERRITEN UND MYTHEN. Ce livre a connu un succès considérable, et a été traduit dans de nombreuses langues, assurant à son auteur sa réputation internationale de spécialiste des mythes et des rites grecs. Mais alors qu''il a été abondamment utilisé jusque dans des détails par les chercheurs français, y compris d''écoles de pensée fort différentes, il n''a jamais été traduit en français.La traduction proposée ici est celle de la seconde édition publiée en 1997 que Walter Burkert a complétée d''une postface dans un souci d''actualisation de sa réflexion.HOMO NECANS (littéralement : « L''homme qui tue »), comporte 5 chapitres : I : Sacrifice, chasse et rituel funéraire ; II : Loups garous autour du chaudron tripode ; III : Dissolution et fête du Nouvel An ; IV : Anthestéries ; V : Eleusis. Cette structure permet à l''auteur d''aborder l''essentiel des rites et des mythes grecs ; son originalité est de sortir la réflexion sur ces questions du cadre spatio-temporel traditionnel strictement de Grèce historique, pour l''inscrire dans la préhistoire paléolithique : l''homme chasseur, l''homme tueur survit ainsi dans l''homme éleveur, et les rites de la Grèce historique des cités ainsi que les mythes qui les sous-tendent sont l''illustration civique, religieuse, sociale, artistique et littéraire de cette survie. Par là, dans une grande mesure, la culture occidentale est celle de L''HOMO NECANS.Deux ouvrages de Walter Burkert ont déjà été publiés dans cette collection : LES CULTES À MYSTÈRES DANS L''ANTIQUITÉ, 1992 (2e éd. 2003) ; SAUVAGES ORIGINES, 1998.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/2251324372/?tag=2022091-20
( Sacrifice--ranging from the sacrifice of virgins to ci...)
Sacrifice--ranging from the sacrifice of virgins to circumcision to giving up what is most valued--is essential to all religions. Could there be a natural, even biological, reason for these practices? Something that might explain why religions of so many different cultures share so many rituals and concepts? In this extraordinary book, one of the world's leading authorities on ancient religions explores the possibility of natural religion--a religious sense and practice naturally proceeding from biological imperatives. Because they lack later refinements, the earliest religions from the Near East, Israel, Greece, and Rome may tell us a great deal about the basic properties and dynamics of religion, and it is to these cultures that Walter Burkert looks for answers. His book takes us on an intellectual adventure that begins some 5,000 years ago and plunges us into a fascinating world of divine signs and omens, offerings and sacrifices, rituals and beliefs unmitigated by modern science and sophistication. Tracing parallels between animal behavior and human religious activity, Burkert suggests natural foundations for sacrifices and rituals of escape, for the concept of guilt and punishment, for the practice of gift exchange and the notion of a cosmic hierarchy, and for the development of a system of signs for negotiating with an uncertain environment. Again and again, he returns to the present to remind us that, for all our worldliness, we are not so far removed from the first Homo religiosus. A breathtaking journey, as entertaining as it is provocative, Creation of the Sacred brings rich new insight on religious thought past and present and raises serious questions about the ultimate reasons for, and the ultimate meaning of, human religiousness.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0674175700/?tag=2022091-20
(The culture of the ancient Greeks has often been seen as ...)
The culture of the ancient Greeks has often been seen as owing practically nothing to its neighbours. This work argues against this view, and, focusing on the period between 750 and 650 BC, demonstrates that Eastern models significantly affected Greek literature and religion.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001NUWEK0/?tag=2022091-20
(The splendid culture of the ancient Greeks has often been...)
The splendid culture of the ancient Greeks has often been described as emerging like a miracle from a genius of its own, owing practically nothing to its neighbors. Walter Burkert offers a decisive argument against that distorted view, pointing toward a balanced picture of the archaic period "in which, under the influence of the Semitic East--from writers, craftsmen, merchants, healers--Greek culture began its unique flowering, soon to assume cultural hegemony in the Mediterranean.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/067464364X/?tag=2022091-20
historian Greek language educator
Burkert, Walter was born on February 2, 1931 in Neuendettelsau, Germany. Arrived in Switzerland, 1969. Son of Adolf and Luise (Grossmann) Burkert.
Doctor of Philosophy, University Erlangen, Federal Republic Germany, 1955. Doctor of Laws, University Toronto, 1988. Doctor of Philosophy (honorary), University Fribourg, Switzerland, 1989.
Doctor of Philosophy (honorary), Oxford (England) University, 1996. Doctor of Philosophy (honorary), University Chicago, 2001.
Dozent University Erlangen, 1961-1965. Junior fellow Center Hellenic Studies, Washington, 1965-1966. Professor Technology University Berlin, 1966-1969, University Zürich, Switzerland, 1969-1996.
Sather professor University California, Berkeley, 1977.
(The rich and splendid culture of the ancient Greeks has o...)
(The splendid culture of the ancient Greeks has often been...)
( Blood sacrifice, the ritual slaughter of animals, has b...)
( In this book Walter Burkert, the most eminent living h...)
(For the first English edition of his distinguished study,...)
( Sacrifice--ranging from the sacrifice of virgins to ci...)
( Sacrifice--ranging from the sacrifice of virgins to ci...)
(The culture of the ancient Greeks has often been seen as ...)
(Walter Burkert a publié en 1972 HOMO NECANS. INTERPRETATI...)
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(Book by Burkert, Walter)
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(Die Herausforderung religionsgeschichtlicher Forschung be...)
Member Heidelberger Akademie der Wissenschaften, Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Oesterreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften, British Academy, American Philosophical Society, American Academy Arts and Sciences.
Married Maria Bosch, August 1, 1957. Children: Reinhard, Andrea, Cornelius.