★美國普立茲獎暨國家圖書獎得主《大轉向》（The Swerve）作者葛林布萊（Stephen Greenblatt）、劍橋古典學家畢爾德（Mary Beard）盛情推薦
★已授權英、美、荷、西、阿、中簡，6國語文

探討無神論從荷馬史詩時代到羅馬帝國的千年演變！

無神論（atheism）是多新近形成的？今天，不管是無神論者或其反對者，普遍認為無神論是歐洲啟蒙運動的發明，經科學與世俗主義挑戰宗教力量應運而生。但事實上，不信神的起源應該要追溯到更久遠以前。劍橋大學希臘文化教授Tim Whitmarsh在著作《Battling the Gods》中，回到古地中海文明時期，在一個難以想像與今截然不同的世界裡，發現那些拒斥神祇的聲音與故事。關於現代無神論的討論經常過於概括粗糙，本書述及眾多古老的不信神立場，提供了縝密細緻的對照。

古希臘時，描述人類奮鬥、熱情與漫長旅途的荷馬史詩僅有的「聖典」（sacred texts），儘管如此，古希臘人同樣會質疑或諷刺其中描繪諸神的故事。而祭司的身分事實上更接近公務員，而非傳遞道德教誨與宇宙智慧的來源。由於缺乏集中化的宗教權威，人們對於神聖之事有著極其多元的觀點與立場，從虔信者到無神者（atheos）並存。

本書作者探討關於神的各種百花齊放的觀點，並聚焦於質疑神存在的人物，其中不乏偉大的古詩人、哲學家、作家，也有較鮮為人知的，包括：應是首位自稱無神論者的詩人迪亞戈拉斯（Diagoras of Melos），首位唯物主義者德謨克利特（Democritus），因否不敬神而判處死刑的蘇格拉底，伊比鳩魯及追隨者，諷刺家琉善（Lucian of Samosata）等等。

在基督教與伊斯蘭教隨帝國勢力壯大強化之前，鮮少存在信仰限制。從荷馬史詩時代到四世紀基督教成為羅馬帝國國教，其間的一千年見證了劇烈的改變，權力集中化使統治者企圖強加群體宗教信仰，起初是忠於個別統治者的教派，最終則是一神論信仰。《Battling with the Gods》述說不信神思想乃至無神論的第一個千年，說明無神論在國教（established religion）正式出現前尚不算是真正的概念，引人入勝地道出正統與異端之間對立拉鋸的故事，為宗教歷史、自由思想的根源提供豐富的闡述與映證。

Tim Whitmarsh is currently the A. G. Leventis Professor of Greek Culture at the University of Cambridge. He has published widely on ancient prose fiction, including Narrative and Identity in the Ancient Greek Novel: Returning Romance, and edited The Cambridge Companion to the Greek and Roman Novel.

“Battling the Gods is a timely and wonderfully lively reminder that atheism is as old as belief. Skepticism, Whitmarsh shows, did not slowly emerge from a fog of piety and credulity. It was there, fully formed and spoiling for a fight, in the bracing, combative air of ancient Athens. That the fight was never decisively won -- or lost -- only makes its history, as this book shows, all the more gripping.” —Stephen Greenblatt, author of The Swerve: How the World Became Modern

“Excellent . . . Whitmarsh argues convincingly that . . . [atheism] isn’t a product of the modern age but rather reaches back to early Western intellectual tradition in the ancient Greek world . . . The best part of Battling the Gods is the Greek chorus of atheists themselves . . . If you’ve been paying attention to contemporary atheists you might be startled by the familiarity of the ancient positions.” —Rebecca Newberger Goldstein, The New York Times Book Review

“A seminal work . . . to be studied, reread, and referenced . . . With a nonprofessorial, relaxed style . . . Whitmarsh delves deeply into the many philosophers who felt gods were invented by humans or saw laws, in addition to religion, as merely imposition of order . . . The author’s erudition is impressive.”
—Kirkus (starred review)

“In the face of many crude modern discussions of atheism (both pro and anti), it's great to have Tim Whitmarsh's sophisticated exploration of various versions of ancient disbelief. It brilliantly opens up all kinds of issues, from the roots of religious conflict and the alliance of religion and politics to (some) virtues of old-fashioned polytheism.”—Mary Beard, author of Confronting the Classics: Traditions, Adventures, and Innovations