Roman identity is one of the most interesting cases of social identity because in the course of time, it could mean so many different things: for instance, Greek-speaking subjects of the Byzantine empire, inhabitants of the city of Rome, autonomous civic or regional groups, Latin speakers under 'barbarian' rule in the West or, increasingly, representatives of the Church of Rome. Eventually, the Christian dimension of Roman identity gained ground. The shifting concepts of Romanness represent a methodological challenge for studies of ethnicity because, depending on its uses, Roman identity may be regarded as 'ethnic' in a broad sense, but under most criteria, it is not. Romanness is indeed a test case how an established and prestigious social identity can acquire many different shades of meaning, which we would class as civic, political, imperial, ethnic, cultural, legal, religious, regional or as status groups. This book offers comprehensive overviews of the meaning of Romanness in most (former) Roman provinces, complemented by a number of comparative and thematic studies. A similarly wide-ranging overview has not been available so far.

A Companion to Food in the Ancient World presents a comprehensive overview of the cultural aspects relating to the production, preparation, and consumption of food and drink in antiquity. Provides an up-to-date overview of the study of food in the ancient world Addresses all aspects of food production, distribution, preparation, and consumption during antiquity Features original scholarship from some of the most influential North American and European specialists in Classical history, ancient history, and archaeology Covers a wide geographical range from Britain to ancient Asia, including Egypt and Mesopotamia, Asia Minor, regions surrounding the Black Sea, and China Considers the relationships of food in relation to ancient diet, nutrition, philosophy, gender, class, religion, and more

This best-selling translation of Hesiod's the Theogony, the Works and Days, and the Shield has been updated into the most indispensable edition yet for students of Greek mythology and literature. Next to the works of Homer, Hesiod's poems are foundational texts for students of the classics. His two major surviving works, the Theogony and the Works and Days, address the divine and the mundane, respectively. The Theogony traces the origins of the Greek gods and recounts the events surrounding the crowning of Zeus as their king, while the Works and Days is a manual of moral instruction in verse addressed to farmers and peasants. Though modern scholars dispute the authorship of the Shield, ancient texts treat this final poem about the shield of Herakles as unquestionably Hesiodic. Introducing his celebrated translations of Hesiod, Apostolos N. Athanassakis positions the philosopher-poet as heir to a long tradition of Hellenic poetry. Hesiod's poems demonstrate the author's passionate interest in the governance of human society through justice and a tangible work ethic. As a physicist and a materialist, Hesiod avoided such subjects as honor and the afterlife. His works contain the oldest fundamentals on law and Greek economy, making Hesiod the first great thinker of Western civilization. Athanassakis's contextual notes offer both comparison to Biblical and Norse mythologies as well as anthropological connections to modern Greece. The third edition of this classic undergraduate text includes a thoroughly updated bibliography reflecting the last two decades of scholarship. The introductions and notes have been enriched, clarifying contextual history and the meaning of Hesiod's own language and themes, and notes have been newly added to the Shield. Athanassakis has lightly improved his translation throughout the text, expertly balancing the natural flow of the verse while adhering closely to the literal Greek.

People have been speculating for centuries about how the ancient Egyptians built the Great Pyramids.Few people have paid attention to Herodotus and his writings about Egypt's intricate canal system, but historian James V. Barr believes these played a critical role in pyramid construction. Relying on years of research, he presents the lock and canal system of construction.Barr also examines other theories of pyramid construction such as the levitation theory and the ramp theory. He explains why explanations of pyramid construction that do not focus on the canal system are wrong and why the canal and lock system makes the most sense.Barr hopes to show Egypt both as it once was and as it is today, sharing entirely new photographs, drawings, and maps. This is concise, informative primer for anyone who wants to learn more about the methods employed in pyramid construction.Discover the ingenuity of the ancient Egyptians and dig deeper into some of their greatest feats of engineering as you take a trip back in time on "The Floating Stones of Egypt."

This ground-breaking book applies trauma studies to the drama and literature of the ancient Greeks. Diverse essays explore how the Greeks responded to war and if what we now term "combat trauma," "post-traumatic stress," or "combat stress injury" can be discerned in ancient Greek culture.

Brennan's book surveys the history of the Roman praetorship, which was one of the most enduring Roman political institutions, occupying the practical center of Roman Republican administrative life for over three centuries. The study addresses political, social, military and legal history, as well as Roman religion. Volume I begins with a survey of Roman (and modern) views on the development of legitimate power--from the kings, through the early chief magistrates, and down through the creation and early years of the praetorship. Volume II discusses how the introduction in 122 of C. Gracchus' provincia repetundarum pushed the old city-state system to its functional limits.

Rome acquired her great empire under republican institutions. These institutions were held to be remarkably stable because they were a mixture of monarchy, oligarchy and democracy, created by natural evolution not by a lawgiver. The Republic was also a classic example of a largely unwritten constitution, like that of Britain, and so it has bearing on modern political theory.

Eusebius of Caesarea (d. 339) is our major historical witness to the triumph of Christianity in the early fourth century. His commentary on the Book of Isaiah has only been available to modern scholars since 1975. The present book, the first comprehensive study, examines how Eusebius interpreted Isaiah in the context of Constantine's conversion.

"Lives of the Caesars" tells the stories of 12 of Rome's most fascinating and influential rulers, uncovering the unique features of their reigns which allowed them to earn their places in history.

A comprehensive and engaging account of the lives of the Caesars, who helped shaped one of the most significant periods in history
Each chapter entertainingly recounts the life and reign of a Roman emperor
Includes notorious leaders such as Nero and Caligula, as well as less famous ones like Diocletian and Vespasian
Includes illustrations, a timeline of Roman history, and a chart of dynasties

For over threescore years Cyrus H. Gordon's scholarship and teaching have provided new directions to the study of the ancient Near East. This collection of 34 essays in honour of his 90th birthday, edited by three of his former pupils, celebrates his fascinating and remarkable achievements and reflects his broad command of ancient studies. The global impact of his research can be seen from the geographical dispersion of the outstanding scholars who have written here on the following topics: archaeology, Bible studies, Ugaritic, Aramaic, Arabic, Egypto-Semitic, the cuneiform world, Indo-European, Samaritan, the Graeco-Roman world, mediaeval studies. The inclusion of a complete bibliography of Gordon's works is of singular value.

This book presents a historical study of the Roman Empire in Late Antiquity from the accession of the emperor Diocletian 284 to the death of the emperor Heraclius in 641.* The only modern study to cover the western and eastern empire and the entire period from 284 to 641 in a single volume* A bibliographical survey supports further study and research* Includes chronological tables, maps, and charts of important information help to orient the reader* Discusses the upheaval and change caused by the spread of Christianity and the barbarian invasions of the Huns, Goths and Franks* Contains thematic coverage of the politics, religion, economy and society of the late Roman state* Gives a full narrative of political and military events* Discusses the sources for the period

This study offers an in-depth examination of Porphyrian soteriology, or the concept of the salvation of the soul, in the thought of Porphyry of Tyre, whose significance for late antique thought is immense. Porphyry's concept of salvation is important for an understanding of those cataclysmic forces, not always theological, that helped convert the Roman Empire from paganism to Christianity. Porphyry, a disciple of Plotinus, was the last and greatest anti-Christian writer to vehemently attack the Church before the Constantinian revolution. His contribution to the pagan-Christian debate on universalism can thus shed light on the failure of paganism and the triumph of Christianity in late antiquity. In a broader historical and cultural context this study will address some of the issues central to the debate on universalism, in which Porphyry was passionately involved and which was becoming increasingly significant during the unprecedented series of economic, cultural, political, and military crises of the third century. As the author will argue, Porphyry may have failed to find one way of salvation for all humanity, he nonetheless arrived a hierarchical soteriology, something natural for a Neoplatonist, which resulted in an integrative religious and philosophical system. His system is examined in the context of other developing ideologies of universalism, during a period of unprecedented imperial crises, which were used by the emperors as an agent of political and religious unification. Christianity finally triumphed over its competitors owing to its being perceived to be the only universal salvation cult that was capable of bringing about this unification. In short, it won due to its unique universalist soteriology. By examining a rival to Christianity's concept of universal salvation, this book will be valuable to students and scholars of ancient philosophy, patristics, church history, and late antiquity.

The elements of music, musical values, the relationship of music to the other ancient arts--all of these subjects are explored as Polin discusses the musical heritage of the ancient Near East.

This book contributes to the understanding of Dionysos, the Greek god of wine, dancing, theatre and ecstasy, by putting together 30 studies of classical scholars. They combine the analysis of specific instances of particular dimensions of the god in cult, myth, literature and iconography, with general visions of Dionysos in antiquity and modern times. Only from the combination of different perspectives can we grasp the complex personality of Dionysos, and the forms of his presence in different cults, literary genres, and artistic forms, from Mycenaean times to late antiquity. The ways in which Dionysos was experienced may vary in each author, each cult, and each genre in which this god is involved. Therefore, instead of offering a new all-encompassing theory that would immediately become partial, the book narrows the focus on specific aspects of the god. Redefinition does not mean finding (again) the essence of the god, but obtaining a more nuanced knowledge of the ways he was experienced and conceived in antiquity.

It is not the aim of this book to add to the extensive literature on Alcibiades' life and career. Instead the author focuses on the explosive mix of fear and fascination excited by Alcibiades in his contemporaries and in particular in key literary texts: Thucydides, the mysterious pseudo-Andocides 4, the encomium of Isocrates 16, the final scene of Plato's Symposium. The book is about the acute tension between the classical city and the individual of superlative power, status, and ambition. It looks at the way Alcibiades is approximated to archetypes of the individual 'outside' the city: the tyrant, the athletic victor, the ostracism victim, the scapegoat, the barbarian. Whereas modern discussions of ancient Athens and Athenian civic texts stress collective ideology, this study focuses on the opposing strand in tension with this dominant ideology: the fascination with the powerful individual. The book is thus at once a contribution to the study of civic ideology, and also to that of the individual and of the role of the individual in classical texts - rhetoric, the historiography of Thucydides, the Platonic dialogue. The book also considers the development of the post-classical depiction of Alcibiades, concluding with a study of Plutarch's reaction both to this tradition and to the classical texts.