Download or read book The Final Pagan Generation written by Edward J. Watts and published by University of California Press. This book was released on 2020-08-25 with total page 348 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A compelling history of radical transformation in the fourth-century--when Christianity decimated the practices of traditional pagan religion in the Roman Empire. The Final Pagan Generation recounts the fascinating story of the lives and fortunes of the last Romans born before the Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity. Edward J. Watts traces their experiences of living through the fourth century’s dramatic religious and political changes, when heated confrontations saw the Christian establishment legislate against pagan practices as mobs attacked pagan holy sites and temples. The emperors who issued these laws, the imperial officials charged with implementing them, and the Christian perpetrators of religious violence were almost exclusively young men whose attitudes and actions contrasted markedly with those of the earlier generation, who shared neither their juniors’ interest in creating sharply defined religious identities nor their propensity for violent conflict. Watts examines why the "final pagan generation"—born to the old ways and the old world in which it seemed to everyone that religious practices would continue as they had for the past two thousand years—proved both unable to anticipate the changes that imperially sponsored Christianity produced and unwilling to resist them. A compelling and provocative read, suitable for the general reader as well as students and scholars of the ancient world.
Download or read book Art and Ceremony in Late Antiquity written by Sabine MacCormack and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Greek Biography and Panegyric in Late Antiquity written by Tomas Hägg and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2000 with total page 310 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How classical narrative models were adapted as early Christian culture took shape and developed.
Download or read book Doctrine and Power written by Carlos R. Galvao-Sobrinho and published by University of California Press. This book was released on 2021-03-16 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During the fourth century a.d., theological controversy divided Christian communities throughout the Eastern half of the Roman Empire. At stake was not only the truth about God but also the authority of church leaders, whose legitimacy depended on their claims to represent that truth. In this book, Carlos R. Galvao-Sobrinho argues that out of these disputes was born a new style of church leadership, one in which the power of the episcopal office was greatly increased. He shows how these disputes compelled church leaders repeatedly to assert their orthodoxy and legitimacy—tasks that required them to mobilize their congregations and engage in action that continuously projected their power in the public arena. These developments were largely the work of prelates of the first half of the fourth century, but the style of command they inaugurated became the basis for a dynamic model of ecclesiastical leadership found throughout late antiquity.
Download or read book Crisis of Empire written by Phil Booth and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2017-10-26 with total page 412 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This book focuses on the attempts of three seventh-century Palestinian intellectuals--John Moschos, Sophronius of Jerusalem, and Maximus the Confessor--to determine the Church's power and place during a period of profound crisis, as the eastern Roman empire suffered serious reversals in the face of Persian and then Islamic expansion. Through their stories, Booth documents nothing less than a profound change in the very nature of the self-perception of a religious society. Although focused on the first half of the seventh century, this book throws bright light both behind itself--on the nature of the role of the holy man in late antiquity--and in front of itself--on the nature of the Byzantine Orthodoxy that would emerge in the middle ages, and which is still central to the churches of Greece and Eastern Europe"--
Download or read book Guardians of Language written by Robert A. Kaster and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2023-09-01 with total page 466 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What did it mean to be a professional teacher in the prestigious "liberal schools"—the schools of grammar and rhetoric—in late antiquity? How can we account for the abiding prestige of these schools, which remained substantially unchanged in their methods and standing despite the political and religious changes that had taken place around them? The grammarian was a pivotal figure in the lives of the educated upper classes of late antiquity. Introducing his students to correct language and to the literature esteemed by long tradition, he began the education that confirmed his students' standing in a narrowly defined elite. His profession thus contributed to the social as well as cultural continuity of the Empire. The grammarian received honor—and criticism; the profession gave the grammarian a firm sense of cultural authority but also placed him in a position of genteel subordination within the elite. Robert A. Kaster provides the first thorough study of the place and function of these important but ambiguous figures. He also gives a detailed prosopography of the grammarians, and of the other "teachers of letters" below the level of rhetoric, from the middle of the third through the middle of the sixth century, which will provide a valuable research tool for other students of late-antique education.
Download or read book Change in Byzantine Culture in the Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries written by A. P. Kazhdan and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 1990-02 with total page 348 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Byzantium, that dark sphere on the periphery of medieval Europe, is commonly regarded as the immutable residue of Rome's decline. In this highly original and provocative work, Alexander Kazhdan and Ann Wharton Epstein revise this traditional image by documenting the dynamic social changes that occurred during the eleventh and twelfth centuries.
Download or read book In Praise of Later Roman Emperors written by C. E. V. Nixon and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2015-03-18 with total page 750 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Here, for the first time, is an annotated English translation of the eleven later panegyrics (291-389 C.E.) of the XII Panegyrici Latini, with the original Latin text prepared by R. A. B. Mynors. Each panegyric has a thorough introduction, and detailed commentary on historical events, style, figures of speech, and rhetorical strategies accompanies the translations. The very difficult Latin of these insightful speeches is rendered into graceful English, yet remains faithful to the original.
Download or read book Pachomius written by Philip Rousseau and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 1999-07-06 with total page 268 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Pachomius, who died in 346, has long been regarded as the "founder of monasticism." Available again, Philip Rousseau's careful reading of the available texts reveals that Pachomius's pioneering enterprise has been consistently misread in light of later monastic practices. Rousseau not only provides a fuller and more accurate portrait of this great teacher and spiritual director but also gives a new perspective on the development of monasticism. In a new preface Rousseau reviews the scholarly developments that have modified his views and emphases since the book was published. The result is to make Pachomius an even less assured pioneer, a man likely to have been more involved in the village and urban society of his time than previously thought.
Download or read book Barbarians and Politics at the Court of Arcadius written by Alan Cameron and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 1993-01-01 with total page 460 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This book explodes the common view that pro- and anti-German factions dominated Byzantine politics at the turn of the century, and in so doing it rewrites the history of a brief but crucial period in early Byzantium."--Robert Kaster, author of Guardians of Language
Download or read book The Rich and the Pure written by Daniel Caner and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2021-09-07 with total page 437 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A portrait of history’s first complex Christian society as seen through the lens of Christian philanthropy and gift giving As the Roman Empire broke down in western Europe, its prosperity moved decisively eastward, to what is now known as the Byzantine Empire. Here was born history’s first truly affluent, multifaceted Christian society. One of the ideals used to unite the diverse millions of people living in this vast realm was the Christianized ideal of philanthrōpia. In this sweeping cultural and social history, Daniel Caner shows how philanthropy required living up to Jesus’s injunction to “Give to all who ask of you,” by offering mercy and/or material aid to every human being, regardless of their origin or status. Caner shows how Christian philanthropy became articulated through distinct religious ideals of giving that helped define proper social relations among the rich, the poor, and “the pure” (Christian holy people), resulting in new and enduring social expectations. In tracking the evolution of Christian giving over three centuries, he brings to the fore the concerns of the peoples of Early Byzantium, from the countryside to the lower levels of urban society to the imperial elites, as well as the hierarchical relationships that arose among them. The Rich and the Pure offers nothing less than a portrait of the whole of early Byzantine society.
Download or read book The Making of a Heretic written by Virginia Burrus and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2024-07-26 with total page 270 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Silenced for 1,600 years, the "heretics" speak for themselves in this account of the Priscillianist controversy that began in fourth-century Spain. In a close examination of rediscovered texts, Virginia Burrus provides an unusual opportunity to explore heresy from the point of view of the followers of Priscillian and to reevaluate the reliability of the historical record. Her analysis takes into account the concepts of gender, authority, and public and private space that informed established religion's response to this early Christian movement. Priscillian, who began his career as a lay teacher with particular influence among women, faced charges of heresy along with accusations of sorcery and sexual immorality following his ordination to the episcopacy. He was executed along with several of his followers circa 386. His purportedly "gnostic" doctrines produced controversy and division within the churches of Spain, dissension that continued into the early decades of the fifth century. Burrus's thorough and wide-ranging study enlarges upon previous scholarship, particularly in bringing a feminist perspective to bear on the gendered constructions of religious orthodoxies, making a valuable contribution to the recent commentary that explores new ways of looking at early Christian controversies. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1996.
Download or read book Society and the Holy in Late Antiquity written by Peter Brown and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 1989-10-25 with total page 364 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With the blend of art and learning that is the hallmark of his work, Peter Brown here examines how the sacred impinged upon the profane during the first Christian millennium.
Download or read book Theodosian Empresses written by Kenneth G. Holum and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 1989-10-25 with total page 275 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Theodosian Empresses sets a series of compelling women on the stage of history and offers new insights into the eastern court in the fifth century.
Download or read book City and School in Late Antique Athens and Alexandria written by Edward J. Watts and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2008-09-10 with total page 303 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This lively and wide-ranging study of the men and ideas of late antique education explores the intellectual and doctrinal milieux in the two great cities of Athens and Alexandria from the second to the sixth centuries to shed new light on the interaction between the pagan cultural legacy and Christianity. While previous scholarship has seen Christian reactions to pagan educational culture as the product of an empire-wide process of development, Edward J. Watts crafts two narratives that reveal how differently education was shaped by the local power structures and urban contexts of each city. Touching on the careers of Herodes Atticus, Proclus, Damascius, Ammonius Saccas, Origen, Hypatia, and Olympiodorus; and events including the Herulian sack of Athens, the closing of the Athenian Neoplatonic school under Justinian, the rise of Arian Christianity, and the sack of the Serapeum, he shows that by the sixth century, Athens and Alexandria had two distinct, locally determined, approaches to pagan teaching that had their roots in the unique historical relationships between city and school.
Download or read book The Two Eyes of the Earth written by Matthew P. Canepa and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2017-03-10 with total page 451 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This pioneering study examines a pivotal period in the history of Europe and the Near East. Spanning the ancient and medieval worlds, it investigates the shared ideal of sacred kingship that emerged in the late Roman and Persian empires. Bridging the traditional divide between classical and Iranian history, this book brings to life the dazzling courts of two global powers that deeply affected the cultures of medieval Europe, Byzantium, Islam, South Asia, and China.
Download or read book Synesius of Cyrene written by Jay Bregman and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2024-06-28 with total page 221 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The conflict of religions during the Christianization of the Greco-Roman aristocracy in Late Antiquity is typified by Synesius (ca. A.D. 365/70–414?), an old-fashioned pagan Neoplatonist who studied under Hypatia at Alexandria, yet who in A.D. 410 became the Christian bishop of Ptolemais in Libya. Before accepting, however, he openly stated his objections to certain Christian dogmas. Was he a Christian or a "baptized Neoplatonist"? The generation of Synesius saw the rapid decline of paganism. Furthermore, the Constantinople he visited (A.D. 399–402) was a Greek-Christian Rome whose elites were classically educated. He returned home an ally of the city's Orthodox Christians. He tried to reconcile Neoplatonism with Christianity, but a study of his works demonstrates that he was only partially successful. Synesius is important for our understanding of the old aristocracy in Late Antiquity. His becoming a bishop completes the picture in which we finally see the ancient world transforming itself into the medieval world. The life of Synesius, one man of Late Antiquity, may be viewed as both the recapitulation and anticipation of all the major themes of Classical and Late Antiquity. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1982.
