Download or read book Reviving Roman Religion written by Ailsa Hunt and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2016-09-12 with total page 347 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sacred trees are easy to dismiss as a simplistic, weird phenomenon, but this book argues that in fact they prompted sophisticated theological thinking in the Roman world. Challenging major aspects of current scholarly constructions of Roman religion, Ailsa Hunt rethinks what sacrality means in Roman culture, proposing an organic model which defies the current legalistic approach. She approaches Roman religion as a 'thinking' religion (in contrast to the ingrained idea of Roman religion as orthopraxy) and warns against writing the environment out of our understanding of Roman religion, as has happened to date. In addition, the individual trees showcased in this book have much to tell us which enriches and thickens our portraits of Roman religion, be it about the subtleties of engaging in imperial cult, the meaning of numen, the interpretation of portents, or the way statues of the Divine communicate.
Download or read book Reviving Roman Religion written by Ailsa Hunt and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page 333 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sacred trees are easy to dismiss as a simplistic, weird phenomenon, but this book argues that in fact they prompted sophisticated theological thinking in the Roman world. Challenging major aspects of current scholarly constructions of Roman religion, Ailsa Hunt rethinks what sacrality means in Roman culture, proposing an organic model which defies the current legalistic approach. She approaches Roman religion as a 'thinking' religion (in contrast to the ingrained idea of Roman religion as orthopraxy) and warns against writing the environment out of our understanding of Roman religion, as has happened to date. In addition, the individual trees showcased in this book have much to tell us which enriches and thickens our portraits of Roman religion, be it about the subtleties of engaging in imperial cult, the meaning of numen, the interpretation of portents, or the way statues of the Divine communicate.
Download or read book The Romans from village to empire written by Mary Taliaferro Boatwright and published by . This book was released on 2011-11 with total page 586 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The Romans unfolds Rome's remarkable evolution from village to monarchy and then republic and finally to one-man rule by an emperor whose power at its peak stretched from Scotland to Iraq and the Nile Valley. Firmly grounded in ancient literary and material sources, the book captures and analyzes the outstanding political and military landmarks from the Punic Wars, to Caesar's conquest of Gaul and his crossing of the Rubicon, to the victory of Octavian over Mark Antony, to Constantine's adoption of Christianity. Here too are some of the most fascinating individuals ever to walk across the world stage, including Hannibal, Mithridates, Pompey, Cicero, Cleopatra, Augustus, Livia, Nero, Marcus Aurelius, and Shapur. The authors bring to life many aspects of Rome's cultural and social history, from the role of women, to literature, entertainments, town-planning, portraiture, and religion. The book incorporates more than 30 maps."--Jacket.
Download or read book Religious Networks in the Roman Empire written by Anna Collar and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2013-12-12 with total page 335 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Examines the relationship between social networks and religious transmission to reappraise how new religious ideas spread in the Roman Empire.
Download or read book Cicero on the Philosophy of Religion written by J. P. F. Wynne and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2019-10-17 with total page 321 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Do the gods love you? Cicero gives deep and surprising answers in two philosophical dialogues on traditional Roman religion.
Download or read book The Cult of Sol Invictus written by Gaston Halsberghe and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2015-11-16 with total page 189 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Preliminary material /Gaston H. Halsberghe -- THE LITERARY TEXTS /Gaston H. Halsberghe -- THE SUN CULT UP TO THE FIRST CENTURY OF THE EMPIRE /Gaston H. Halsberghe -- THE EASTERN RELIGIONS: THEIR DISTRIBUTION AND ADHERENTS /Gaston H. Halsberghe -- SOL INVICTUS ELAGABAL /Gaston H. Halsberghe -- THE CONTINUATION OF THE CULT OF SOL INVICTUS /Gaston H. Halsberghe -- THE REIGN OF AURELIAN /Gaston H. Halsberghe -- CONCLUSION /Gaston H. Halsberghe.
Download or read book Empires of Faith in Late Antiquity written by Jaś Elsner and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2020-03-19 with total page 533 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Explores the problems for studying art and religion in Eurasia arising from ancestral, colonial and post-colonial biases in historiography.
Download or read book Reviving the Eternal City written by Elizabeth McCahill and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2013-10-14 with total page 317 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1420, after more than one hundred years of the Avignon Exile and the Western Schism, the papal court returned to Rome, which had become depopulated, dangerous, and impoverished in the papacy's absence. Reviving the Eternal City examines the culture of Rome and the papal court during the first half of the fifteenth century. As Elizabeth McCahill explains, during these decades Rome and the Curia were caught between conflicting realities--between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, between conciliarism and papalism, between an image of Rome as a restored republic and a dream of the city as a papal capital. Through the testimony of humanists' rhetorical texts and surviving archival materials, McCahill reconstructs the niche that scholars carved for themselves as they penned vivid descriptions of Rome and offered remedies for contemporary social, economic, religious, and political problems. In addition to analyzing the humanists' intellectual and professional program, McCahill investigates the different agendas that popes Martin V (1417-1431) and Eugenius IV (1431-1447) and their cardinals had for the post-Schism pontificate. Reviving the Eternal City illuminates an urban environment in transition and explores the ways in which curialists collaborated and competed to develop Rome's ancient legacy into a potent cultural myth.
Download or read book The Last Pagans of Rome written by Alan Cameron and published by OUP USA. This book was released on 2011 with total page 891 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Rufinus' vivid account of the battle between the Eastern Emperor Theodosius and the Western usurper Eugenius by the River Frigidus in 394 represents it as the final confrontation between paganism and Christianity. It is indeed widely believed that a largely pagan aristocracy remained a powerful and active force well into the fifth century, sponsoring pagan literary circles, patronage of the classics, and propaganda for the old cults in art and literature. The main focus of much modern scholarship on the end of paganism in the West has been on its supposed stubborn resistance to Christianity. The dismantling of this romantic myth is one of the main goals of Alan Cameron's book. Actually, the book argues, Western paganism petered out much earlier and more rapidly than hitherto assumed.The subject of this book is not the conversion of the last pagans but rather the duration, nature, and consequences of their survival. By re-examining the abundant textual evidence, both Christian (Ambrose, Augustine, Jerome, Paulinus, Prudentius) and "pagan" (Claudian, Macrobius, and Ammianus Marcellinus), as well as the visual evidence (ivory diptychs, illuminated manuscripts, silverware), Cameron shows that most of the activities and artifacts previously identified as hallmarks of a pagan revival were in fact just as important to the life of cultivated Christians. Far from being a subversive activity designed to rally pagans, the acceptance of classical literature, learning, and art by most elite Christians may actually have helped the last reluctant pagans to finally abandon the old cults and adopt Christianity. The culmination of decades of research, The Last Pagans of Rome will overturn many long-held assumptions about pagan and Christian culture in the late antique West.
Download or read book Pollution and Religion in Ancient Rome written by Jack J. Lennon and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2014 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A detailed study of pollution and impurity in Roman religion, offering new theories on a previously neglected, yet vital, subject.
Download or read book The Conflict of Religions in the Early Roman Empire written by T R 1869-1943 Glover and published by Legare Street Press. This book was released on 2023-07-18 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Conflict of Religions in the Early Roman Empire provides a detailed analysis of the religious strife that characterized the Roman Empire in the early centuries of the common era. It explores the tensions between paganism, Judaism, and Christianity, and sheds light on the complex social and political forces that shaped the religious landscape of the time. Glover's insightful analysis offers valuable insights into a period of history that remains of great importance to historians and scholars of religion. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
Download or read book Religions of Rome Volume 2 A Sourcebook written by Mary Beard and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1998-06-28 with total page 434 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Volume two reveals the extraordinary diversity of ancient Roman religion. A comprehensive sourcebook, it presents a wide range of documents illustrating religious life in the Roman world - from the foundations of the city in the eighth century BC to the Christian capital more than a thousand years later. Each document is given a full introduction, explanatory notes and bibliography, and acts as a starting point for further discussion. Through paintings, sculptures, coins and inscriptions, as well as literary texts in translation, the book explores the major themes and problems of Roman religion, such as sacrifice, the religious calendar, divination, ritual, and priesthood. Starting from the archaeological traces of the earliest cults of the city, it finishes with a series of texts in which Roman authors themselves reflect on the nature of their own religion, its history, even its funny side. Judaism and Christianity are given full coverage, as important elements in the religious world of the Roman empire.
Download or read book Imperial Rome and Christian Triumph written by Jaś Elsner and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 1998 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Western culture saw some of the most significant and innovative developments take place during the passage from antiquity to the middle ages. This stimulating new book investigates the role of the visual arts as both reflections and agents of those changes. It tackles two inter-related periodsof internal transformation within the Roman Empire: the phenomenon known as the 'Second Sophistic' (c. ad 100300)two centuries of self-conscious and enthusiastic hellenism, and the era of late antiquity (c. ad 250450) when the empire underwent a religious conversion to Christianity. Vases, murals, statues, and masonry are explored in relation to such issues as power, death, society, acculturation, and religion. By examining questions of reception, viewing, and the culture of spectacle alongside the more traditional art-historical themes of imperial patronage and stylisticchange, Jas Elsner presents a fresh and challenging account of an extraordinarily rich cultural crucible in which many fundamental developments of later European art had their origins. 'a highly individual work . . . wonderful visual and comparative analysis . . . I can think of no other general book on Roman art that deals so elegantly and informatively with the theme of visuality and visual desire.' Professor Natalie Boymel Kampen, Barnard College, New York 'exciting and original . . . a vibrant impression of creative energy and innovation held in constant tension by the persistence of more traditional motifs and techniques. Elsner constantly surprises and intrigues the reader by approaching familiar material in new ways.' Professor Averil Cameron,Keble College, Oxford
Download or read book The Romans and Their Gods written by R. M. Ogilvie and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2000 with total page 135 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: To undestand the success of the Romans you must understand their piety. Dionysius of Halicarnassus. For over a thousand years, Roman religion satisfied the spiritual needs of a wide range of peoples throughout the empire, because is offered an intelligent and dignified interpretation of how the world functions. It was a firm, yet tolerant, religion whose adherents committed very few crimes in its name and who were healthily free of neuroses. In this short, perceptive study of Roman religious life between 80 BC and AD 69, Professor Ogilvie shows how intimately involved were the Roman gods with human activities. Drawing widely on original material (all of it quoted in translation), he tells us how the Romans prayed, what happened at a sacrifice, what sort of gods they believed in, and how seriously they took their religion - a religion in which actions, , not dogma, was paramount.
Download or read book Religio Romana Handbook written by Lucius Vitellius Triarius and published by CreateSpace. This book was released on 2013-11-16 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: RE-RELEASE: 2ND EDITION The Religio Romana Handbook: A Guide for the Modern Practitioner, 2nd Edition, is the first volume in the series, “The Modern Roman Living Series,” by Lucius Vitellius Triarius. It is a guide for the practitioner of the cultus deorum Romanum, the ancient Roman religious system as practiced in the modern time. Not a congregational religion, the cultus deorum Romanum is a religious system based on individual practices, household and ancestor worship, and religion of the state. This work is a compilation of writings, articles, opinions and beliefs from many practitioners of the Religio Romana in Nova Roma, the global Roman Reconstruction effort in our modern age. It has been compiled to assist those interested in learning more about the cultus deorum Romanum and related Roman culture, both ancient and modern, and has been designed to be of practical use by the religio practitioner and reference guide for the non-practitioner. Unlike the ancient Greek belief system, the ancient Romans believed that achieving peace and harmony in society required maintaining a positive relationship with the gods and goddesses by all to achieve that equilibrium, as the gods and goddesses walked among us daily. Each person was responsible for doing their part, whatever that part was. If you are new to the religion or a seasoned practitioner, this handbook provides you with detailed information on most aspects of the religio on how you can begin participating the global movement to bring much needed sense and balance to our modern world. The book is comprised of updates of the original 1st Edition sections, plus NEW chapters, which include: Introduction to Roman Religion - NEW! Monotheism vs. Polytheism - NEW! Declaration of Roman Religion On Roman Reconstruction - UPDATED! Religion of the Home - UPDATED! Worshipping the Gods at Home - UPDATED! Your First Prayer to the Gods - UPDATED! Ancestral and Household Worship - UPDATED! Daily Rituals - UPDATED! Kalends Ritual - UPDATED! Nones Ritual - UPDATED! Ides Ritual - UPDATED! Other Rituals - NEW! On Domestic Roman Sacrifice - UPDATED! Posture and Gesture in Roman Prayer - UPDATED! Foreign Cults in Ancient Rome - UPDATED! Gods and Goddesses of Rome - UPDATED! Roman Festivals and Ludi (Games) - UPDATED! Roman Beliefs about the Afterlife - UPDATED! The Roman Virtues - NEW! Glossary of Roman Religious Terms - UPDATED! This work gives you insight on “repairing” your household and family, which are the foundation stones of all society. It brings new insights from old perspectives, which actually worked for centuries, to the modern view of “family” and its relationship to the hearth. The hearth is the heart of the family life. To keep the fire alive on the hearth is the bounden duty of the family gods. We of the modern world have lost altogether those conception that made "hearth' and "altar" sacred words. Domestic religion sanctified domestic life. In these days of matches and electricity the smoldering brand of the hearth and their gods has lost its usefulness and, therefore, its sacredness....Our modern improvements have improved these lovely gods out of existence. The men and women of that world would laugh our gods to corn and think of them with pity, — gods shut up in churches, having nothing to do but to listen to the droning of prayers and the confessions of sins; gods who pass their dreary existence away from the warmth of the hearth, the smell of the cooking, the chatter of the maids and the stir of the family life!
Download or read book 381 AD written by Charles Freeman and published by . This book was released on 2007-10 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "In AD 381, Theodosius, emperor of the eastern Roman empire, issued a decree in which all his subjects were required to subscribe to a belief in the Trinity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This edict defined Christian orthodoxy and brought to an end a lively and wide-ranging debate about the nature of the Godhead; all other interpretations were now declared heretical. Moreover, for the first time in a thousand years of Greco-Roman civilization, free thought was unambiguously suppressed. Not since the attempt of the pharaoh Akhenaten to impose his god Aten on his Egyptian subjects in the fourteenth century BC had there been such a widesweeping programme of religious coercion. Yet surprisingly this political revolution, intended to bring inner cohesion to an empire under threat from the outside, has been airbrushed from historical record. Instead, it has been claimed that the Christian Church had reached a consensus on the Trinity which was promulgated at the Council of Constantinople in 381." "In this groundbreaking new book, acclaimed historian Charles Freeman shows that the council was a shambolic affair which only took place after Theodosius' decree had become law. In short, the Church was aquiescing in the overwhelming power of the emperor. Freeman argues that Theodosius' edict and the subsequent suppression of paganism not only brought an end to the diversity of religious and philosophical beliefs throughout the empire, but created numerous theological problems for the Church, which have remained unsolved. The year AD 381, Freeman concludes, marked 'a turning point that time forgot'."--BOOK JACKET.
Download or read book The Gods of Ancient Rome written by Robert Turcan and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-10-28 with total page 205 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: First published in 2001. This is a vivid account of what their gods meant to the Romans from archaic times to late antiquity, and an exploration of the rites and rituals connected to them. After an extensive introduction into the nature of classical religion, the book is divided into three pain main parts: religions of the family and land; religions of the city; and religions of the empire. The book ends with the rise and impact Christianity. Using archaeological and epigraphic evidence, and drawling extensively on a wide range of relevant literary material, this book is ideally suited for undergraduate courses in the history of Rome and its religions. Its urbane style and lightly worn scholarship will broaden its appeal to the large number of non-academic readers with a serious interest in the classical world.