Abstract
The paper examines doctrinal and political reasons to explain why the Ancient Greek religion did not feature a distinct class of professional priests as suppliers of religious goods. Doctrinal reasons relate to worshiping a multitude of powerful anthropomorphic gods with flawed characters; absence of a founder of religion and of a scripture; lack of religious doctrine and of a code of moral behaviour; and piety manifested as mass participation in rituals. These factors denied religious suppliers the opportunity to form a monopoly acting as an autonomous intermediary between humans and gods. Political reasons relate to the supremacy of the demos which watchfully guarded its decision-making powers and prevented other actors like a priestly interest group to challenge its authority.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1-15 |
Number of pages | 15 |
Journal | Journal of Institutional Economics |
Early online date | 1 Jul 2021 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published online - 1 Jul 2021 |
Event | Presented to 2021 European Public Choice Conference (Lille, France, virtual event) - Lille, France, Lille, France Duration: 21 Apr 2021 → 22 Apr 2021 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Millennium Economics Ltd.
Keywords
- Ancient Greek religion
- priests
- religious doctrine
- moral behaviour
- interest groups
- city-state