Mediterranean World

The areas surrounding the Mediterranean Sea have seen some of the highest levels of religious activity and interaction in the world. A fully comprehensive account of the complex interplay at work over the 5,000 plus years around the Mediterranean basin is beyond the scope of this entry, but the broad strokes of the religious dynamics will be delineated. Stretching back to Egyptian and Mycenaean/Minoan civilizations founded earlier than 3000 BCE, for years the territory surrounding the Mediterranean Sea was the most sought-after real estate, due to the fertile land and avenues of trade it provided. No single religion can lay claim to dominance in the area, and the centers of power on the Mediterranean coast relocated with the different cultures that gained ascendancy. The following ...