Experiencing Powerlessness, Power, and Religion in the Ancient World

We often speak of power and powerlessness but how are these things experienced? By what means can we say someone experiences power? What are the nuances of that experience? Is powerlessness merely a lack of something or does the experience of powerlessness have a more complex interaction with its subjects? In this class we will be investigating the effects of experiencing power and powerlessness in the context of religion in the ancient world. We will be analyzing the means by which people acted upon others and the ways in which those actions affected both themselves and their subjects.