Religion and Power : Pagans, Jews, and Christians in the Greek East.
Title:
Religion and Power : Pagans, Jews, and Christians in the Greek East.
Author:
Edwards, Douglas R.
ISBN:
9780195344806
Personal Author:
Physical Description:
1 online resource (245 pages)
Contents:
Contents -- Introduction -- 1. Religion and the Symbolics of Power: Message and Significance -- The Dilemma of Specific Examples Versus General Patterns -- Language and Power: The Literary Evidence -- Iconography and Power: The Material Evidence -- 2. The Power Game: Setting the Stage -- The Civic World of the Pagan Greek East -- Jews in the Greek East -- Christians in the Greek East -- Conclusion -- 3. The Power of the Past -- Pagan Perspectives on the Past -- Jews and the Past -- Christians and the Past -- Conclusion -- 4. Cosmic Connections: Defining the Arena of Power -- Pagans and the Power of the Divine -- Jews and the Power of God -- Christians and the Christian God -- Conclusion -- 5. Geography and the Sacred: Establishing Power Across the Roman Oikoumene -- Geography and the Sacred in the Pagan Greek East -- The Jews of the Diaspora: The Power of Geography -- Christians and Geography -- Conclusion -- 6. Cosmic Power Brokers: Human Agents and Divine Emissaries -- Pagans and Cosmic Power Brokers -- Jews and Cosmic Power Brokers -- Christians and Cosmic Power Brokers -- Conclusion -- 7. The Power of the Future -- Pagans and the Power of the Future -- Jews and the Power of the Future -- Christians and the Power of the Future -- Conclusion -- Conclusion -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Author Index -- A -- B -- C -- E -- F -- G -- H -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- P -- R -- S -- T -- V -- W -- Z -- Index -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- Q -- R -- S -- T -- V -- W -- X -- Z -- Citations -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- R -- S -- T -- V -- X -- W.
Abstract:
This book contributes to the small but growing literature on the interaction between religion and power in antiquity. Edwards focusses on the eastern "Greek" provinces in the first and second centuries A.D.--the period during which Christianity, Judaism, and numerous other religions and cults exploded across the Roman Empire. His purpose is to show how the local elite classes appropriated and manipulated mythic and religious images and practices to establish and consolidate their social, political, and economic power. Edwards considers both archaeological and literary evidence. He examines coins, epigraphs, statuary, building complexes, mosaics, and paintings from across Asia Minor and Syria-Palestine looking for evidence of sponsorship by local elites and the meaning of such sponsorship. On the literary side, Edwards selects one representative figure from each of the three major religio-cultural traditions: the Greek writer, Chariton of Aphrodisias; the Jewish historian, Josephus; and the Christian evangelist, the author of Luke Acts. He illustrates how each writer's use of religion reflects the interaction of local elite groups with the "web of power" that existed in political, cultural, and social spheres of the Roman Empire.
Local Note:
Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, 2017. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries.
Genre:
Electronic Access:
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