The Role of Religion in Athenian Political Life: Contrasting Socrates’ Ethical Piety with Pericles’ Political Religion

This paper examines the role of religion in Athenian political life by contrasting Pericles’ instrumental use of religion with Socrates’ conception of piety as intrinsically tied to justice and good governance. While Pericles employed religious symbolism and monumental architecture to unify the polis, legitimize authority, and advance democratic reforms, Socrates, through the Euthyphro, argues that true piety consists in the exercise of wisdom, making religious practice coextensive with justice rather than merely supportive of it. Engaging with Mark McPherran’s interpretation of piety as a subordinate part of justice, the paper argues instead that Socratic piety encompasses all just action, even when not performed with explicit religious intent, thereby reinforcing the unity of the virtues. To demonstrate the contemporary significance of this debate, the study applies the Pericles–Socrates distinction to modern states, identifying Iran, the United Kingdom, and Singapore as case studies that respectively illustrate instrumental, mixed, and intrinsically grounded models of religion in governance. By situating Socrates within both his historical context and modern political discourse, the paper reveals how Socratic thought offers a compelling framework for understanding the enduring question of religion’s role in civic life.

A Convergence at the Grave: The Influence of Graeco-Roman, Middle Eastern, and Eastern Cultures on the Penn Museum’s Palmyrene Mortuary Statue

During the second to fourth centuries CE, Palmyra, an ancient city in modern-day central Syria, emerged as a cultural crossroads and a bustling trading hub. Its economic success began when Roman emperor Trajan rerouted the Silk Road through the city. Soon after, its political autonomy was secured by his successor, Hadrian. Among Palmyra’s most distinctive antiquities are its funerary statues, often found in hypogea, underground tombs. The statues are portraits of the deceased, who were laid to rest in the recesses behind the statues. The limestone figures often reflect important aspects of a man’s life or occupation, while women are commonly portrayed with extravagant adornments. Many previous studies have emphasized the posture, attire, and bodily forms of these statues, commenting on their physicality and the conventions of funerary art; however, this paper aims to use these statues as a means to establish connections and influences between the various powers and civilizations of the Classical era. Using the Palmyrene mortuary statue of a noble woman at the Penn Museum as a case study, this paper identifies and interprets the intersection of Graeco-Roman, Middle Eastern, and Eastern influences on the statue’s attire, adornment, style, and body positioning. Graeco-Roman influence is evident in medium, form, and housing; Middle Eastern style is apparent in the inscription and attire; and Eastern customs are apparent in her adornment and style. The analysis and interpretation of this limestone relief demonstrates how Palmyrene funerary art not only illustrates the assimilation of diverse traditions but also reflects the dynamics of trade, identity, and globalization in the ancient world.