Making Gods. Divine Plasticity and the Agency of Ritual Practice. Reflections on the Phoenician Context

Résumé

As part of the project “Mago. Making gods. The role of ritual practice in the construction of divinities” (CNR, Italy), this paper explores the processes through which gods and goddesses were constructed in ancient polytheistic societies, focusing in particular on the role of ritual practice. Rather than fixed and immutable beings, deities are approached as dynamic and relational entities whose profiles could be modulated according to specific historical, cultural, and devotional contexts. Within this framework, ritual emerges as a fundamental medium through which divine powers were activated, experienced, and defined, enabling interaction between human and superhuman spheres. Through selected examples from the Phoenician world, the study illustrates how rite actively contributed to the articulation and transformation of divine figures.