Applying the latest narratological theory and focusing on the use of anachrony (or 'chronological deviation'), this book explores how Statius competes - successfully - for a place within an established literary canon. Given the tremendous pressure on poets to render familiar stories in unfamiliar and novel ways, how did he achieve this? When Statius elected to sing of the quarrelsome sons of Oedipus he was acutely aware that this was a well-trod road, one frequently reproduced in a variety of genres - epic, drama and lyric poetry. Despite this highly varied corpus against which he sought to contend, he boasts that his epic has novelty and proudly declares that he is now counted among the 'prisca nomina', or ancient names, that sang of Thebes. And indeed precisely the fact that there were so many story-versions (a greater number survive for comparison than for any other work from antiquity, rivaling even the popularity of the Trojan legend) means that the story is conveniently positioned to offer a unique exploration into how Statius creates a compelling story despite working within a saturated and overly familiar mythic tradition. This book argues that it is chiefly through the use of narrative anachrony, or non-chronological modes of narration, that Statius manipulates states of anticipation, suspense, and even surprise in his audience.

Using in-depth examples of 'magical' practice such as exorcisms, love rites, alchemy and the transformation of humans into divine beings, this lively volume demonstrates that the word 'magic' was used widely in late antique texts as part of polemics against enemies and sometimes merely as a term for other people's rituals. Professor Janowitz shows that 'magical' activities were integral to late antique religious practice, and that they must be understood from the perspective of those who employed them.

Using in-depth examples of 'magical' practice such as exorcisms, love rites, alchemy and the transformation of humans into divine beings, this lively volume demonstrates that the word 'magic' was used widely in late antique texts as part of polemics against enemies and sometimes merely as a term for other people's rituals. Professor Janowitz shows that 'magical' activities were integral to late antique religious practice, and that they must be understood from the perspective of those who employed them.

Images of episodes from Greek mythology are widespread in Roman art, appearing in sculptural groups, mosaics, paintings and reliefs. They attest to Rome's enduring fascination with Greek culture, and its desire to absorb and reframe that culture for new ends. This book provides a comprehensive account of the meanings of Greek myth across the spectrum of Roman art, including public, domestic and funerary contexts. It argues that myths, in addition to functioning as signifiers of a patron's education or paideia, played an important role as rhetorical and didactic exempla. The changing use of mythological imagery in domestic and funerary art in particular reveals an important shift in Roman values and senses of identity across the period of the first two centuries AD, and in the ways that Greek culture was turned to serve Roman values.

Classical Mythology offers both newcomers and long-time enthusiasts new ways to navigate the world of Greek and Roman myths and legends, beginning by explaining what classical mythology is, how it came into being, and how we know about it today. Although classical myths and legends are often encountered separately, they actually make up a coherent, self-contained system-a corpus of narratives with geography, history, and interrelationships as well as narrative rules and conventions. The present book explores the individual stories and the cosmic realms in which they are situated, and introduces the principal characters-gods, nymphs, satyrs, centaurs, monsters, and humans-along with their relationships to one another: how they are similar, how they differ, and why deities and humans need each other. It describes the physical worlds in which the mythic action takes place: terrestrial landscapes and waters, the lofty abode of the Olympian gods, the lowly realm of the dead, and Tartaros, cosmic prison for defeated supernatural beings. The main part of the book gives a detailed narration of the principal events of classical mythology in chronological sequence from the beginning of the cosmos to the end of the heroic age, showing the relationship of individual narratives to the whole. This chronological narration is complemented by a mythological dictionary of the most important characters and themes. In addition, the dictionary discusses key concepts that are crucial for understanding how classical mythology functions. Richly illustrated with more than one hundred images drawn from ancient art, the second edition of this unparalleled guide includes a thoroughly revised introduction, augmented lexical entries, an updated further-reading section, and enlarged discussions about the reception of classical mythology and the impact of cognitive science on the study of myth. Whether you wish only to explore the narratives or do research on a specific aspect of the whole, this handbook is the best available guide to an extraordinary cast of characters, to the fascinating world in which they play out their fates, and to current work on classical mythology.

Teachers and Texts in the Ancient World presents a comprehensive and accessible survey of religious and philosophical teaching and classroom practices in the ancient world. H. Gregory Snyder synthesises a wide range of ancient evidence and modern scholarship to address such questions as how the literary practices of Jews and Christians compared to the literary practices of the philosophical schools and whether Christians were particularly noteworthy for their attatchment to scripture.
Teachers and Texts in the Ancient World will be of interest to students of classics, ancient history, the early Christian world and Jewish studies.

Teachers and Texts in the Ancient World presents a comprehensive and accessible survey of religious and philosophical teaching and classroom practices in the ancient world. H. Gregory Snyder synthesises a wide range of ancient evidence and modern scholarship to address such questions as how the literary practices of Jews and Christians compared to the literary practices of the philosophical schools and whether Christians were particularly noteworthy for their attatchment to scripture.
Teachers and Texts in the Ancient World will be of interest to students of classics, ancient history, the early Christian world and Jewish studies.

eBook available with sample pages: 020346253X

The parables contained in this book focus on the Celtic spirit, covering themes that include love and hate, wisdom and folly and life and death. The examples are drawn from Victorian books and offer a new angle on established Celtic themes.

European Paganism provides a comprehensive and accessible overview of ancient pagan religions throughout the European continent.
Before there where Christians, the peoples of Europe were pagans. Were they bloodthirsty savages hanging human offerings from trees? Were they happy ecologists, valuing the unpolluted rivers and mountains? In European Paganism Ken Dowden outlines and analyses the diverse aspects of pagan ritual and culture from human sacrifice to pilgrimage lunar festivals and tree worship. It includes:
* a 'timelines' chart to aid with chronology
* many quotations from ancient and modern sources translated from the original language where necessary, to make them accessible
* a comprehensive bibliography and guide to further reading.


eBook available with sample pages: EB:0203011775

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.

The 'Orphic' gold tablets, tiny scraps of gold foil found in graves throughout the ancient Greek world, are some of the most fascinating and baffling pieces of evidence for ancient Greek religion. This collection brings together a number of previously published and unpublished studies from scholars around the world, making accessible to a wider audience some of the new methodologies being applied to the study of these tablets. The volume also contains an updated edition of the tablet texts, reflecting the most recent discoveries and accompanied by English translations and critical apparatus. This survey of trends in the scholarship, with an up-to-date bibliography, not only provides an introduction to the serious study of the tablets, but also illuminates their place within scholarship on ancient Greek religion.

Reception studies have transformed the classics. Many more literary and cultural texts are now regarded as 'valid' for classical study. And within this process of widening, children's literature has in its turn emerged as being increasingly important. Books written for children now comprise one of the largest and most prominent bodies of texts to engage with the classical world, with an audience that constantly changes as it grows up. This innovative volume wrestles with that very characteristic of change which is so fundamental to children's literature, showing how significant the classics, as well as classically-inspired fiction and verse, have been in tackling the adolescent challenges posed by metamorphosis. Chapters address such themes as the use made by C S Lewis, in The Horse and his Boy, of Apuleius' The Golden Ass; how Ovidian myth frames the Narnia stories; classical 'nonsense' in Edward Lear; Pan as a powerful symbol of change in children's literature, for instance in The Wind in the Willows; the transformative power of the Orpheus myth; and how works for children have handled the teaching of the classics.

Religion in Late Roman Britain explores the changes in religion over the fourth century; the historical background for these changes and the forces which contributed to them.
Dorothy Watts examines the reasons for the decline of Christianity and the continuation of the pagan, Celtic cults in Britain. The author establishes a chronology for the rise and decline of Christianity, based on the available archaeological evidence, and she charts the fate of the pagan cults and temples in the fourth century. The author discusses the nature of Romano-British pagan religion and she analyses the controversial rite of decapitated burial in the light of some startling new archaeological evidence.

eBook available with sample pages: 020306173X

This book brings together, for the first time in a single volume, the significant works on ancient Egyptian religion by renowned Egyptologist Aylward M. Blackman (1883-1956). During his life, Blackman did not publish his writings in book form, placing them instead in a range of publications that are now difficult to obtain.

Section I discusses subjects including purification, salvation, sin, myth, and ritual. In Section II, such topics as the cult of the dead and the significance of incense and libations in funerary and temple ritual are covered. Section III includes explorations of priesthood, the hierarchical position of women, and worship. Finally, Section IV looks at topics including kinghood, communication between gods and men, and oracles.

Blackman's seminal studies of Egyptian religious belief and practice have long been regarded as essential readings on the subject, and Gods, Priests, and Men finally makes Blackman's classic writings available to a broad, general audience. A select bibliography provides an update and key to more recent work on topics discussed by Blackman.

The role of women in Roman culture and society was a paradoxical one. On the one hand they enjoyed social, material and financial independence and on the other hand they were denied basic constitutional rights. Roman history is not short of powerful female figures, such as Agrippina and Livia, yet their power stemmed from their associations with great men and was not officially recognised.
Ariadne Staples' book examines how women in Rome were perceived both by themselves and by men through women's participation in Roman religion, as Roman religious ritual provided the single public arena where women played a significant formal role. From Good Goddess to Vestal Virgins argues that the ritual roles played out by women were vital in defining them sexually and that these sexually defined categories spilled over into other aspects of Roman culture, including political activity.
Ariadne Staples provides an arresting and original analysis of the role of women in Roman society, which challenges traditionally held views and provokes further questions.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203435478

In 203 AD a group of Christians in Carthage, North Africa, were sentenced to the beasts in the arena. One of these, a twenty-two year old young mother, wrote a diary while she was imprisoned awaiting execution; later, this diary was completed by an observer who described her death in the arena. This poignant and personal narrative is the focus of this study of the conflict that resulted in the martyrdom of Perpetua.
"Perpetua's Passion" studies the third-century martyrdom of a young woman and places it in the intellectual and social context of her age. Conflicting ideas of religion, family and gender are explored as Salisbury follows Perpetua from her youth in a wealthy Roman household to her imprisonment and death in the arena. The author explores the ideas that shaped Perpetua's experience and the memories that appeared in her dreams and text, including metaphysical reflections, Carthaginian ideas of sacrificial suicide, and early Christian praise of prophecy and passion. "Perpetua's Passion" also encompasses more earthly dilemmas such as family, gender roles and motherhood, using the experience of this young martyr to explore these conflicting ideals and the conflict of ideologies. This book examines concepts of martyrdom and memory as her prison diary was preserved and read for centuries.
"Perpetua's Passion" provides insights into early Christian communities and the spiritual aspirations that shaped the converts, and will be of interest to classicists and medievalists, church historians and anyone interested in spirituality and the origins of Christianity.

This book studies the third-century martyrdom of a young woman and places it in the intellectual and social context of her age. Conflicting ideas of religion, family and gender are explored.

The great Norse Myths are among the most dramatic and unforgettable stories in all human history. These fascinating, fantastical tales have inspired centuries of art, culture and literature, including the storytelling of Tolkien, Neil Gaiman, George R. R. Martin's Game of Thrones, Wagner's Ring Cycle and Marvel Comics. The Norse Myths takes us on a thrilling journey through the Norse cosmos, from the creation of the world to Ragnarok, the final world-destroying conflict; via the Nine Worlds, and the exploits of the mighty gods and goddesses - mystical Odin, malicious Loki, mighty Thor and more - and their quarrel with the giants. Bringing to life the magical world of monsters and mythical creatures, The Norse Myths also introduces the adventures of humankind: folk heroes and tricksters; Sigmund's great battle in the Volsung Saga; the exploits of Kings and Princes; Viking exploration and settlement of new lands including Iceland, Greenland, America; and Viking life in the Mediterranean and the East. As well as a treasure trove of these epic stories of heroism and cruelty, squabbles and seductions, The Norse Myths is a comprehensive study of their origins, survival and interpretations - as academically important as it is exhilarating.

Prayer From Alexander To Constantine presents a diverse selection of prayer chosen by over 40 different historians, all specialists in their respective areas of Graeco-Roman literature. This collaboration gives the book a range and depth that no individual author could hope to rival.
Each selection includes an introductory essay, followed by a new English translation of the prayer, accompanied by critical notes and biography. In this way the reader is able to gain an insight into the variety of subjects and styles involved in people's communications with their gods in antiquity.
The volume will be a key text for students engaged in courses which explore the period's history and theologies. There is no comparable anthology available in English. The volume will also be of value to the general reader interested in the history of this period and anyone interested in the forms of prayer.

Prayer From Alexander To Constantine presents a diverse selection of prayer chosen by over 40 different historians, all specialists in their respective areas of Graeco-Roman literature. This collaboration gives the book a range and depth that no individual author could hope to rival.
Each selection includes an introductory essay, followed by a new English translation of the prayer, accompanied by critical notes and biography. In this way the reader is able to gain an insight into the variety of subjects and styles involved in people's communications with their gods in antiquity.
The volume will be a key text for students engaged in courses which explore the period's history and theologies. There is no comparable anthology available in English. The volume will also be of value to the general reader interested in the history of this period and anyone interested in the forms of prayer.

The Mesopotamian influence on Greek mythology in literary works of the epic period is considerable - yet it is a largely unexplored field. In this book Charles Penglase investigates major Mesopotamian and Greek myths. His examination concentrates on journey myths. A major breakthrough is achieved in the recognition of the extent of Mesopotamian influence and in the understanding of the colourful myths involved.
The results are of significant interest, especially to scholars and students of ancient Greek and Near Eastern religion and mythology.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203443918

Pagan Studies is maturing and moving beyond the context of new religious movements to situate itself in within of the study of world religions. Introduction to Pagan Studies is the first and only text designed to introduce the study of contemporary Paganism as a world religion. It examines the intellectual, religious, and social spheres of Paganism through common categories in the study of religion, which includes beliefs, practices, theology, ritual, history, and role of texts and scriptures. The text is accessible to readers of all backgrounds and religions and assumes no prior knowledge of Paganism. This text will also serve as a general introduction to Pagan Studies for non-specialist scholars of religion, as well as be of interest to scholars in the related disciplines of Anthropology, Sociology and Cultural Studies, and to students taking courses in Religious Studies, Pagan Studies, Nature Religion, New Religious Movements, and Religion in America. The book will also be useful to non-academic practitioners of Paganism interested in current scholarship.

"Women and Religion in the First Christian Centuries" focuses on religion during the period of Roman imperial rule and its significance in women's lives. Discussing the rich variety of religious expression, from pagan cults and classical mythology to ancient Judaism and early Christianity, and the wide array of religious functions fulfilled by women, the author analyzes key examples from each context, creating a vivid image of this crucial period which laid the foundations of Western civilization.
This study challenges the concepts of religion and of women in the light of post-modern critique. As such, it is an important contribution to contemporary gender theory. In its broad and interdisciplinary approach, this book will be of interest to students of early religion as well as those interested in cultural theory.