This is the first systematic study of the cults of the Bosporan Kingdom, which existed in South Russia in the first centuries AD. The research is based on a variety of sources: archaeological evidence and inscriptions, largely unknown to the non-Russian readers, as well as historical and literary texts. The religion of the Bosporus is viewed in this monograph as a blend of Greek and indigenous Iranian traditions. Its first part is dedicated to the cult of Celestial Aphrodite. The second part examines the controversial cult of the Most High God and its alledged Jewish affinities. The book, illustrated with thirty figures, is an important contribution to the understanding of the religious life in Greek colonies, and the history of Eastern Mediterranean in Late Antiquity.
This volume deals with the figure of Attis. The work aims to reconsider the mythical and cultic information about this character, trying to provide proof of the processes of "construction" and "reconstruction" that have contributed to the moulding of the different forms of Attis that developed as a result of various demands within different religious traditions. After an introduction about the history of the studies, the first part examines the oldest evidence on Attis, resorting to comparison with religious traditions earlier than or contemporary with Phrygian culture. The second part tackles the classical world and collects the elements of continuity and of innovation in respect of Asianic religious traditions. The third part analyses the problem of the processes of reinterpretation of the traditional cults that both the "pagan" philosophers and the fathers of the Church effected. The link between Attis and Death is discussed in the fourth part.
Although angels are typically associated with Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, Ancient Angels demonstrates that angels (angeloi) were also a prominent feature of non-Abrahamic religions in the Roman era. Following an interdisciplinary approach, the study uses literary, inscriptional, and archaeological evidence to examine Roman conceptions of angels, how residents of the empire venerated angels, and how Christian authorities responded to this potentially heterodox aspect of Roman religion. The book brings together the evidence for popular beliefs about angels in Roman religion, demonstrating the widespread nature of speculation about, and veneration of, angels in the Roman Empire
The period AD 300-600 saw huge changes. The Graeco-Roman city-state was first transformed then eclipsed. Much of the Roman Empire broke up and was reconfigured. New barbarian kingdoms emerged in the Roman West. Above all, religious culture moved from polytheistic to monotheistic. Here, twenty papers by international scholars explore how group identities were established against this shifting background. Separate sections treat the Latin-speaking West, the Greek East, and the age of Justinian. Themes include religious conversion, Roman law in the barbarian West, problems of Jewish identity, and what in Late Antiquity it meant to be Roman.
This volume analyzes the priesthood of the provincial cult in every province of the Latin West where evidence has survived in the period from Augustus down to the mid-third century. Particular attention is paid to the epigraphic record, notably the Testimony of honorific statues.
The Scythians were warlike nomadic horsemen who roamed the steppe of Asia in the first millennium BC. Using archaeological finds from burials and texts written, mainly, by Greeks, this book reconstructs the lives of the Scythians, exploring their beliefs, their burial practices, their love of fighting and their flexible attitude to gender.
Discovering Cyrus: The Persian Conqueror Astride the Ancient World Some of the most fascinating human epochs lie in the borderlands between history and mystery. So it is with the life of Cyrus the Great, founder of the Persian Empire in the sixth century B.C. By conquest or gentler means, he brought under his rule a dominion stretching from the Aegean Sea to the Hindu Kush and encompassing some tens of millions of people. All across this immense imperium, he earned support and stability by respecting local customs and religions, avoiding the brutal ways of tyranny, and efficiently administering the realm through provincial governors. The empire would last another two centuries, leaving an indelible Persian imprint on much of the ancient world. The Greek chronicler Xenophon, looking back from a distance of several generations, wrote: “Cyrus did indeed eclipse all other monarchs, before or since.” The biblical prophet Second Isaiah anticipated Cyrus’ repatriation of the Jews living in exile in Babylon by having the Lord say, “He is my shepherd and will accomplish all that I please.” Despite what he achieved and bequeathed, much about Cyrus remains uncertain. Persians of his era had no great respect for the written word and kept no annals. The most complete accounts of his life were composed by Greeks. More fragmentary or tangential evidence takes many forms – among them, archaeological remains, administrative records in subject lands, and the always tricky stuff of legend. Given these challenges, Discovering Cyrus: The Persian Conqueror Astride the Ancient World is a remarkable feat of portraiture. In his vast sweep, Reza S. Zarghamee draws on sources of every kind, painstakingly assembling detail, and always weighing evidence carefully where contradictions arise. He describes the background of the Persian people, the turbulence of the times, and the roots of Cyrus’ policies. His account of the imperial era itself delves into religion, military methods, commerce, court life, and much else besides. The result is a living, breathing Cyrus standing atop a distant world that played a key role in shaping our own.
This volume analyzes the priesthood of the provincial cult in every province of the Latin west where evidence has survived in the period from Augustus down to the mid third century. Particular attention is paid to the epigraphic record, notably the Testimony of honorific statues especially at provincial centres, but discussion also focusses on the origin and background of provincial priests, their office and duties, and their careers both before and after holding provincial office. Of special interest are the sixteen tables that list the main facts preserved by the epigraphic record, also a concluding overview that summarizes the principal features of the institution including the office of priestess and the role of administrative officials. Some fifty plates illustrate the text.
This volume focuses on the headquarters of provincial cults and the principal features of the worship offered there on behalf of the province. Evidence for provincial centres survives in various forms of varying degress of reliability but, while no standard pattern emerges, it seems clear that every province established a permanent base that served similar cultic, administrative, recreational and ideological purposes. Traces of provincial worship are more fleeting but a rough picture can be reconstructed of priestly regalia and of the calendar, rites and associated liturgy and ceremonial that marked the differing cults of individual provinces. Both studies conclude with an overview of the main conclusions and are profusely illustrated with over a hundred plates or diagrams.
This volume deals with the institution and evolution of imperial cult at the provincial level from the earliest foundations under Augustus down to the mid-third century A.D. On the basis of detailed examination of evidence from the different regions or provinces of the Latin west the emphasis of provincial cults can be seen to move first from the living emperor and Roma to the deified emperor, then from a composite cult of living and deified dead emperors to a renewed emphasis on the reigning emperor in the late second and early third centuries. Analysis is based primarily on the study of epigraphical, numismatic and iconographic evidence, generously illuminated by plates. The volume concludes with a series of essays summarizing the main lines of development in the light of various related issues.
