Private Cult 11

[world]view The original German sentence begins with the suffix "-schauung," completing the word Anschauung (worldview or outlook) from the previous page. adapts itself initially to the circumstances, and soon to the environment as well; consequently, any new sanctuaries or cults influenced or founded from this point onward will be even more strongly Hellenized Hellenization: The historical process of spreading Greek culture, language, and religion among non-Greek peoples, often blending them with local traditions. Even more radical are the changes in those cults adopted for political reasons. When the Hellenistic ruler of Egypt Referring to Ptolemy I Soter, who reigned from 305–282 BCE and promoted the cult of Serapis, in order to bring the two classes of his country’s population closer together, brought in a new god, Serapis, from abroad, he had to adapt him as closely as possible to Egyptian conceptions and link him to existing words and concepts.

The Greek cities, however—which officially adopted the cult immediately afterward to pay him homage—needed neither to adopt an Egyptian priesthood (hardly ever does an Egyptian appear even as an advisor to the Greek priest) nor to imitate the cult in all its specific details. They constituted the cult anew, and the purely representative character of the city-state cult Polis-cult: The official, public religion of a Greek city-state, which focused on civic duty and communal ritual rather than personal salvation made specific details seem hardly important.

A more inward, personal relationship to the foreign religion was necessary in those private and free cult associations, which soon spread back even to the motherland of Egypt. If an individual chose a foreign god for their worship, it was likely the very contrast to their native cult—the novelty—that attracted them. But even then, the individuality of the founder or leader of the association had to take on special importance; meanwhile, a faithful imitation of the ritual institutions of an Oriental folk religion was often impossible for external reasons. To what extent private and public cults then influenced and permeated one another in later times is still somewhat difficult to determine... The sentence ends mid-word "wenig-" and likely continues on the next page with a phrase like "weniger klar" (less clear).