This introduction to the volume Storia delle religioni. I. L’Oriente e l’Europa nell’antichità. Tomo primo, focuses on the definition of some basic aspects of the methodology behind a scientific comparative history comparison of religions.

Chapter 1 displays the basic question: “What is religion?”. The author stresses at the very beginning how the comparative history of religions, as many others, needs a deontological definition and a clear field of investigation, in this case, the term/concept of ‘religion(s)’. Nevertheless, the very same concept of ‘religion’ is elusive in its definition: in fact, it can be perceived as a mixing of philosophical and social beliefs, of ‘fantastic’ elements, of feelings and different practices. Other scholars, as Benedetto Croce did, negated a specific ontology of religion, relegating it under the sphere of logic or morality. On the other hand, Rudolf Otto, recognised the autonomy of the religious phaenomenon, identifying its peculiarity under the transcendental concept of ‘sacred’. Furthermore, other scholars recognised religion as a universal human phaenomenon, embedded in the human nature (defining the human being as a homo religious), stating the existence of an ‘innate religion’ expressed in different (phenomenological) forms. Notwithstanding, the historical investigation on religion(s) needs to be based on actual evidence, i.e. the different historical manifestation of religion, avoiding any presupposition on innatism (a theory more linked to neuropsychology than to history or comparative studies): «Historical reality knows only the multiplicity of religions and not ‘the religion’, founded on either the transcendent or ‘human nature’ or psychological ‘laws’» (p. 6; English translation by mDP).

As a matter of fact, ancient pre-classical cultures (but also Greeks and Romans) did not retain a specific word for ‘religion’: in the so-called ‘primitive religions’, religion itself is manifested in minimal details of the daily life (such as food, attire, disposition of houses, relationships with relatives and foreigners, economic activities, etc.). Also for the so-called ‘superior religions’ (such as those of Mesopotamia and Egypt), religion was primarily perceived under the real of myths and festivals or other practices (such as the cult and the funerary customs).

Brelich analyses the concept of religious beliefs: since a general definition could be misleading, the author suggests to identify in each singular society the specificity of its religious thoughts, not under a theoretical perspective, but by analysing their peculiar cultural contexts. He also presents the supernatural beings, starting from the pre-historical societies, where spirits were identified in nature, moving to more complex cultures, where people developed a pantheon (or even different pantheons), splitting these supernatural beings under a strict hierarchy, such as dividing gods from demons or semi-gods/heroes (nevertheless, it must be noted that in many societies the difference between gods and demons is very slippery, as in the case of Mesopotamian or Egyptian ‘demons’ [on this second topic, cf. Lucarelli 2010 Demons]).

Another sphere where religious beliefs can be retraced is mythology; in many cultures, myths imply common traits: a) they describe a primordial situation; b) they report events that occurred in a situation very different from the present one; c) these events lead to a formation or transformation of someone or something (p. 23). Rituals represent another useful sphere for the definition of religious thoughts: sometimes they are addressed to worship gods or ancestors, sometimes they are rites of passage (such as a new birth, weddings, treaties of peace, a declaration of war, or death). Other religious phenomena can be indicative of a specific religious thought: it is the case of the taboos (such as food interdictions) or of sacrifices; in both the instances, the human beings establish a relation with the sacred sphere (in the first case dealing with or avoiding something which is ‘sacred’, i.e., non-human).

Chapter 2 moves to another question: “What is the history of religions?”. After a presentation of different opinions or definitions of this topic, the author concludes with a basic methodological statement: the only way to conduct a proper and effective history of religions is to consider and analyse any specific religion in its cultural and historical milieu.

All in all, this contribution helps in defining the concept of ‘religion’ in ancient times, stressing how superimpositions of modern terminology can be misleading and must therefore be avoided in the historical and comparative analysis of ancient religious systems. The definition of ancient ‘religion’ is outlined by the author of the base on its actual manifestations and representations, a topic often discussed by Giorgio Buccellati (see e.g. When on High…, Chapter 4).

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