Inventing Superstition : From the Hippocratics to the Christians.

Intro -- Contents -- Preface -- 1 Superstitious Christians -- 2 Problems of Definition -- 3 Inventing Deisidaimonia: Theophrastus, ReligiousEtiquette, and Theological Optimism -- 4 Dealing with Disease: The Hippocratics and theDivine -- 5 Solidifying a New Sensibility: Plato and Aristotleon the Optimal Universe -- 6 Diodorus Siculus and the Failure of Philosophy -- 7 Cracks in the Philosophical System: Plutarch andthe Philosophy of Demons -- 8 Galen on the Necessity of Nature and theTheology of Teleology -- 9 Roman Superstitio and Roman Power -- 10 Celsus and the Attack on Christianity -- 11 Origen and the Defense of Christianity -- 12 The Philosophers Turn: Philosophical Daimons inLate Antiquity -- 13 Turning the Tables: Eusebius, the "Triumph" ofChristianity, and the Superstition of the Greeks -- Conclusion: The Rise and Fall of a GrandOptimal Illusion -- Notes -- Works Cited -- Index.

Martin provides the first detailed genealogy of the idea of superstition, its history over eight centuries, from classical Greece to the Christianized Roman Empire of the fourth century C.E.

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Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, 2024. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries.