Longing for Perfection in Late Antiquity

In the post-Enlightenment world, philosophy and religion have come to occupy different, even opposed, domains. But how were they related before this? What were the commonalities and dissimilarities between them? Did they already contain the seeds of their later division - or do they still share enough in common to allow meaningful conversation between them?

This new Brill series "Ancient Philosophy & Religion" provides an interdisciplinary platform for monographs, edited volumes and commentaries on this issue. It is edited by two leading scholars in the fields it brings together, George Boys-Stones (Ancient Philosophy) and George van Kooten (New Testament Studies), and is supported by an editorial board whose members are known for their work in the area. It invites scholars of ancient philosophy, Classics, early Judaism, ancient Judaism, New Testament & early Christianity, and all other relevant fields, to showcase their research on ancient philosophy and religion and to contribute to the debate.

The series' subject matter is symbolized by its icon, used by courtesy and permission of the New Acropolis Museum in Athens. It represents a dialogue between philosophers, as shown on one of the reliefs of the funeral sacrificial table (mensa) from the "House of Proclus" on the Southern slope of the Acropolis at Athens, excavated in 1955. Dating from 350-325 BC, the reliefs of the mensa depict, after the lamentation and the farewell, the posthumous encounter of the deceased with the philosophers (1950 NAM 90).

The editors very much welcome proposals for monographs, edited volumes and even commentaries on relevant texts.