Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. The New Age of Greek Religiosity: Orthodox Christianity and Beyond
3. Matiasma: the Energetic Interplay of Senses and Emotions
4. Ksematiasma: Healing, Power, Performance
5. Creative Syntheses through Material Culture: the Evil Eye in the Spiritual Marketplace
6. The Pluralistic Landscape of Greek Religiosity: Religion and Spirituality at a Global Age
7. Conclusion
Bibliography
Index

Promotional Information

Examines the rise of new age spirituality in Greece and challenges the stereotype that in southern European countries, religious identity and Christianity go hand-in-hand.

About the Author

Eugenia Roussou is a Senior Researcher at the Centre for Research in Anthropology (CRIA), ISCTE - University Institute of Lisbon, Portugal.

Reviews

In this fascinating book, Eugenia Roussou captures how “energy” has become a bridge connecting traditional Greek conceptions of the evil eye with New Age spiritualities. This contribution to the anthropology of religion captures the dimensions of a Greek vernacular religiosity, still influenced by Greek Orthodox Christianity, yet spanning beyond it.
*Charles Stewart, Professor of Anthropology, University College London, UK*

Reflecting more than a decade of anthropological work, this is a meticulously researched, eloquently written and deeply personal ethnography about the lived religion of contemporary Greece. It sheds new light into the everyday practices of Greeks and connects these practices with the broader cross-cultural currents of New Age religiosity as well as the scholarly research on the multiple meanings of spirituality in different cultures.
*Victor Roudometof, Associate Professor, University of Cyprus, Cyprus*

Roussou’s monograph provides a compelling account of a dynamic and vivid religious landscape, where stereotypes and boundaries are crumbling, and where a “spiritual revolution” (162) is long under way.
*Journal of Orthodox Christian Studies*