This comprehensive, richly illustrated work on the history of ancient religions offers a new perspective on the ancient world. At the center of this fascinating narrative is the period from the beginning of the first millennium BC to the spread of Christianity in late antiquity. The internationally renowned religious scholar Jörg Rüpke recounts, among other things, the establishment of the first monumental burial sites in Etruria, temple construction projects, priests, believers, and rituals, the cult of the emperor, and the attempts of intellectuals to transform religion into knowledge. He looks over the shoulders of women and men whenever possible, who had religious experiences in dark sanctuaries or at household altars, sought to be remembered through prayer and inscriptions beyond their own death, or, for example, did not understand why they should worship a new god.