Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: Animal Sacrifice and the Greek Gods
The ritual of animal sacrifice in ancient Greece brought humans closer to the gods even as it defined their differences.
Wild Saints and Holy Fools
Early Christian writers valorized the desert life of ascetic monks, but the city also had something to offer would-be “fools for Christ”.
Pakistan’s Ambiguous Islamic Identity
Pragmatism, not faith, drove Muhammad Ali Jinnah to lead the call for the founding of the new Islamic state of Pakistan.
That Time Thor and Loki Cross-Dressed
Why the Old Norse gods disguised themselves as a bride and bridesmaid before visiting Thrymr, king of Jötunheima.
What We’re Reading 2023
Enjoy a fresh batch of year-end book reports from all of the readers, writers, and editors at JSTOR Daily!
Plant of the Month: Frangipani
An ornamental plant whose white flowers hang over graveyards and temples in Southeast Asia presents complicated questions on national belonging and religious identity.
The Teyollohcuani: Cosmopolitan Vampire Witch
When different cultures meet, their languages, foods, and songs mix and change—and so do their monsters.
How Comparative Religion Took Root in the 19th Century
Many Americans considered faiths outside Christianity and Judaism to be "pagan." Unitarian minister James Freeman Clarke argued otherwise.
The Festival of the Flayed God
The terrifying and gruesome rituals of the Flayed God had a symbolic subtext that was somewhat gentler than one might imagine.
