Dialectics of Religion in the Roman World
Description
Recent scholarship has seen a general turn from separate entities to relations and inclusivity, from static and systemic views to a focus on historical processes and fluidity. Dialectical thinking fundamentally builds on the entwinement of social interactions, inclusivity, contradictory relations, and historical movement. Yet, it is underrepresented in current research of Roman society and religion. Therefore, this volume intends to foreground dialectical thinking as a critical and constructive way to expose and analyse the dynamism, diversity, and discrepancies of religion in the Roman world. Based on critical theories and archaeological, epigraphic, and literary sources, the authors discuss cults, ranging from Mars Thincsus and Mithras to Magna Mater and the deified emperors, in diverse contexts across the Mediterranean from East to West (the Hauran, Asia Minor, Jerusalem, Dalmatia, Gaul, Britain, and Rome). Together, they give a taste of the potential of dialectical approaches for enhancing our understanding of Roman society and religion.
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Content
- Intro
- Table of Contents
- List of Contributors
- List of Figures
- List of Abbreviations
- Acknowledgments
- (Warren S. Goldstein) Foreword
- (Francesca Mazzilli / Dies van der Linde) Dialectics of Religion and the Roman World: Relations, Inclusivity, and Change
- PART I DIALECTICS IN THEORY
- (Rudolf J. Siebert / Dustin J. Byrd) Chapter 1: A Dialectical Approach to the Roman Religion of Utility. The Hinges of History
- (Jörg Rüpke) Chapter 2: Roman Warfare and the Dialectics of Religion and Politics
- (Josipa Lulic) Chapter 3: The Dialectics of Structure and Agency in the Study of Religion. A Case for the Cognitive Theory of Religious Change
- PART II DIALECTICS OF CULT
- (Asuman Lätzer-Lasar) Chapter 4: The Dialectics of Religious Placemaking. Exploring the Relations between the Different Mater Magna Venerations in Republican and Imperial Rome
- (Nirvana Silnovic) Chapter 5: Keeping One's Voice Down? The Social Function of the Cult of Mithras
- (G. Anthony Keddie) Chapter 6: Beyond the "Den of Robbers". The Dialectics of Sacred and Profane Finances in Early Roman Jerusalem
- PART III DIALECTICS IN CONTEXT
- (Eleri Cousins) Chapter 7: Ritual on the Edge. The Dialectics of Religious Expression on the Frontiers of Roman Britain
- (Aaron Irvin) Chapter 8: Cult, Community, and Empire. Reconfiguring Gallo-Roman Polytheism, Administration, and Identity
- (Francesca Mazzilli) Chapter 9: The Pantheon of the Hauran. A Dialectical Dialogue
- (Dies van der Linde) Chapter 10: Zeus and Emperor in Aizanoi. Landed Property, Power, and Dialectics
