CGRN: Collection of Greek Ritual Norms

Friday, September 1, 2017

CGRN: Collection of Greek Ritual Norms

The project issues from the reassessment of a category of inscriptions which have come to fore in the study of ancient Greek religion. These are the texts known as leges sacrae or “sacred laws”, collected by F.Sokolowski in the 1950s and 60s (LSAM, LSS, LSCG), and more recently by E. Lupu in 2005 (NGSL).

The validity and the utility of this epigraphical category has recently been questioned. Articles published as part of the preliminary investigations of the CGRN project have broadened this discussion. Please consult: “Beyond Greek ‘Sacred Laws’” and “Codifying ‘Sacred Laws’”. In the present collection, instead of remaining under the lens of “sacred laws”, we have chosen to focus on the normative character of inscriptions relating to ancient Greek rituals, and in particular on the two large subjects of sacrifice and purification.

The result of this reappraisal is an original Digital Humanities resource, funded by the Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique – FNRS (Belgium). The Collection of Greek Ritual Norms (CGRN) is a website which conforms to the general guidelines of TEI Epidoc XML. Its primary goal is to gather epigraphical material for the study of Greek rituals and to make these sources widely available, in a clear and accessible form, with translations in English and in French (for some conventions, see here).

In addition, the Collection aims to innovate by providing detailed, research-oriented tools for scholars wishing to investigate the two principal subjects of sacrifice and purification, notably the extensive lists of “Themes” identifiable under the “Browse” and “Search” functionalities of the website. To orient yourself and to consult the conceptual “Themes” analysed in the CGRN, please click here. You are cordially invited to browse, search, or simply to start exploring sacrificial rituals in the calendar of Thorikos, CGRN 32, as well as the purifications listed in the regulation from Kos, CGRN 85 (for a concordance, see here).