Christiane Sourvinou-Inwood


Christiane Sourvinou-Inwood was a scholar in the field of Ancient Greek religion and one of the most influential Hellenists.

Biography

Sourvinou-Inwood was born in Volos, Greece, in 1945, but grew up in Corfu. Sourvinou-Inwood studied at the University of Athens, and began research in the field of Mycenology in Rome and later in Athens.
She graduated from Oxford in 1973 with a doctorate on Minoan civilization and Mycenaean beliefs in the afterlife. She was a lecturer in classical archaeology at Liverpool, and a senior research Fellow at University College, Oxford. She also worked as Reader in Classical Literature at the University of Reading.

Career and Influence

Sourvinou-Inwood has been praised for the clarity and directness of her approach. In the words of a colleague, "she wanted scholars to abandon fashionable assumptions" and "to read ancient texts through the eyes of their contemporary readers".
According to the University of Reading Classics Department, Sourvinou-Inwood's acknowledged supremacy in the area of Greek religion studies made a lasting contribution to the Department's research, and this field continues to be one of its strongholds in the twenty-first century.

Polis-Religion Model

One of Sourvinou-Inwood's most influential works was her development of the 'Polis-religion' model. This was originally explored in two articles, entitled "What is Polis Religion?" and "Further Aspects of Polis Religion".

Honours