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The decline of Mithraism in the fourth century AD is used as a case-study for understanding the end of other classes of `paganism' in the Roman western provinces. The author reviews epigraphic and numismatic evidence to date the final uses of Mithraea. He then discusses examples of wilful damage to Mithraic monuments. Drawing all this archaeological evidence into a historical framework, Sauer argues that rather than losing its social function as the Roman army became splintered, Mithraism was a healthy religion with active shrines until the very late fourth century. Rather than fading away, its desecrated monuments indicate that the religion was the victim of a sustained Christian attack which was also directed at other established faiths in the western provinces.
There is no agreement over how to name the 'pagan' cults of late antiquity. Clearly they were more diverse than this Christian label suggests, but also exhibited tendencies towards monotheism and internal changes which makes it difficult to describe them as 'traditional cults'. This volume, which includes two extensive bibliographic essays, considers the decline of urban temples alongside the varying evolution of other focii of cult practice and identity. The papers reveal great regional diversity in the development of late antique paganism, and suggest that the time has come to abandon a single compelling narrative of 'the end of the temples' based on legal sources and literary accounts. Although temple destructions are attested, in some regions the end of paganism was both gradual and untraumatic, with more co-existence with Christianity than one might have expected. Contributors are Javier Arce, Béatrice Caseau, Georgios Deligiannakis, Koen Demarsin, Jitse H.F. Dijkstra, Demetrios Eliopoulos, James Gerrard, Penelope J. Goodman, David Gwynn, Luke Lavan, Michael Mulryan, Helen G. Saradi, Eberhard W. Sauer, Gareth Sears, Peter Talloen, Peter Van Nuffelen and Lies Vercauteren.
This book focuses primarily on the end of the pagan religious tradition and the dismantling of its material form in North Africa (modern Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya) from the 4th to the 6th centuries AD. Leone considers how urban communities changed, why some traditions were lost and some others continued, and whether these carried the same value and meaning upon doing so. Addressing two main issues, mainly from an archaeological perspective, the volume explores the change in religious habits and practices, and the consequent recycling and reuse of pagan monuments and materials, and investigates to what extent these physical processes were driven by religious motivations and contrasts, or were merely stimulated by economic issues.
An accessible and authoritative overview capturing the vitality and diversity of scholarship that exists on the transformative time period known as late antiquity. Provides an essential overview of current scholarship on late antiquity – from between the accession of Diocletian in AD 284 and the end of Roman rule in the Mediterranean Comprises 39 essays from some of the world's foremost scholars of the era Presents this once-neglected period as an age of powerful transformation that shaped the modern world Emphasizes the central importance of religion and its connection with economic, social, and political life Winner of the 2009 Single Volume Reference/Humanities & Social Sciences PROSE award granted by the Association of American Publishers
This book offers a radical new survey of more than a thousand years of religious life at Rome. It sets religion in its full cultural context, between the primitive hamlet of the eighth century BC and the cosmopolitan, multicultural society of the first centuries of the Christian era. The narrative account is structured around a series of broad themes: how to interpret the Romans' own theories of their religious system and its origins; the relationship of religion and the changing politics of Rome; the religious importance of the layout and monuments of the city itself; changing ideas of religious identity and community; religious innovation - and, ultimately, revolution. The companion volume, Religions of Rome: A Sourcebook, sets out a wide range of documents richly illustrating the religious life in the Roman world.
The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Studies responds to and celebrates the explosion of research in this inter-disciplinary field over recent decades. As a one-volume reference work, it provides an introduction to the academic study of early Christianity (c. 100-600 AD) and examines the vast geographical area impacted by the early church, in western and eastern late antiquity. It is thematically arranged to encompass history, literature, thought, practices, and material culture. It contains authoritative and up-to-date surveys of current thinking and research in the various sub-specialties of early Christian studies, written by leading figures in the discipline. The essays orientate readers to a given topic, as well as to the trajectory of research developments over the past 30-50 years within the scholarship itself. Guidance for future research is also given. Each essay points the reader towards relevant forms of extant evidence (texts, documents, or examples of material culture), as well as to the appropriate research tools available for the area. This volume will be useful to advanced undergraduate and post-graduate students, as well as to specialists in any area who wish to consult a brief review of the 'state of the question' in a particular area or sub-specialty of early Christian studies, especially one different from their own.
In The Cult of Mithras in Late Antiquity David Walsh explores how the cult of Mithras developed across the 3rd and 4th centuries A.D. and why by the early 5th century the cult had completely disappeared. Contrary to the traditional narrative that the cult was violently persecuted out of existence by Christians, Walsh demonstrates that the cult’s decline was a far more gradual process that resulted from a variety of factors. He also challenges the popular image of the cult as a monolithic entity, highlighting how by the 4th century Mithras had come to mean different things to different people in different places.
The era of late antiquity--from the middle of the third century to the end of the eighth--was marked by the rise of two world religions, unprecedented political upheavals that remade the map of the known world, and the creation of art of enduring glory. In these eleven in-depth essays, drawn from the award-winning reference work Late Antiquity: A Guide to the Postclassical World, an international cast of experts provides essential information and fresh perspectives on this period's culture and history.
This book examines political and religious power as practised by the elite of the Roman Empire. Based on a fresh collection of the evidence, it argues that religion was crucial in power negotiations between emperor and Senate, and that Roman senators embraced and contributed to the emperors' new, individualized religious power.
Are the Jewish arguments against belief in Jesus as mankind's Savior any good? Is Jesus Christ the promised Messiah of the Old Testament's prophecies? Is Christianity derived from ancient Roman or Greek pagan mystery religions? Is the New Testament historically reliable? Was Jesus of Nazareth God according to the New Testament? Did Gnosticism influence Christianity? Since some 185,000 Americans have converted to Judaism according to a 1990 survey, the arguments of such groups as Jews for Judaism against Christianity can't be dismissed lightly. Using solid scholarship and rigorous logic, A Zeal For God Not According to Knowledge defends Christianity against the arguments of its Jewish critics, such as Samuel Levine, Michoel Drazin, Tovia Singer, and Hyam Maccoby. This book demonstrates that the New Testament is historically reliable, denies that Christian doctrines and sacraments can be derived from pagan beliefs and practices, shows that Jesus of Nazareth was the promised Messiah based on the Old Testament's prophecies, and proves that the New Testament teaches the Deity of Christ. This book is intended for both Christians perplexed by the arguments of Jewish friends, coworkers, and relatives, and Jews interested in objectively considering the claims of Christianity while searching for spiritual truth about whether Jesus is their Messiah also.