The Material Dynamics Of Festivals In The Graeco Roman East

Much of our knowledge of civic festivals in the Graeco-Roman East comes from material culture - inscriptions, coins, architecture, and art - works. This volume draws attention to the choices made on what to record (and where, and how) in a variety of different forms of material culture relating to Greek festivals from the Hellenistic to Roman periods.

The Material Dynamics of Festivals in the Graeco-Roman East explores the various ways in which the experience of civic festivals in the Graeco-Roman East was created and framed by material culture. By the second and third centuries AD, Greek festivals were thriving across the eastern Mediterranean. Much of our knowledge of these festivals, and their associated processions, rituals, banquets, and competitions, comes from material culture-- inscriptions, coins, architecture, and art-works. Yet each of these pieces of material evidence was the result of a conscious act, of what to record, and where and how to record it, with varying patterns discernible across different areas, and in different media. This volume draws attention to the choices made in a variety of different forms of material culture relating to Greek festivals from the Hellenistic to Roman periods, and unpicks the ways in which they encode or forge particular social relationships and power structures, as well as creating senses of community or communication between different groups. These helped to fix ephemeral events into public memory, to present particular views of their significance for the wider community, and to frame the experience of their participants.

Greek and Roman Festivals addresses the multi-faceted and complex nature of Greco-Roman festivals and analyses the connections that existed between them, as religious and social phenomena, and the historical dynamics that shaped them. It contains twelve articles which form an interdisciplinary perspective of classical scholarship on the topic.

Sport and spectacle in the ancient world has become a vital area of broad new exploration over the last few decades. This Handbook brings together the latest research on Greek and Roman manifestations of these pastimes to explore current approaches and open exciting new avenues of inquiry. It discusses historical perspectives, contest forms, contest-related texts, civic and social aspects, and use and meaning of the individual body. Greek and Roman topics are interwoven to simulate contest-like tensions and complementarities, juxtaposing, for example, violence in Greek athletics and Roman gladiatorial events, Greek and Roman chariot events, architectural frameworks for contests and games in the two cultures, and contrasting views of religion, bodily regimens, and judicial classification related to both cultures. It examines the social contexts of games, namely the evolution of sport and spectacle across cultural and political boundaries, and how games are adapted to multiple contexts and multiple purposes, reinforcing social hierarchies, performing shared values, and playing out deep cultural tensions. The volume also considers other directing forces in the ancient Mediterranean, such as Bronze Age Egypt and the Near East, Etruria, and early Christianity. It addresses important themes common to both antiquity and modern society, such as issues of class, gender, and health, as well as the popular culture of the modern Olympics and gladiators in cinema. With innovative perspectives from authoratative scholars on a wide range of topics, this Handbook will appeal to both students and researchers interested in ancient history, literature, sports, and games.

Reveals the ways in which athletic self-presentation was used to deliver political messages and to increase social status.

This book explores how festivals of Rome were celebrated in the Greek East and their transformations in the Christian world.

Over the last three decades, archaeologists have progressively embarked on field-walking projects all around the Mediterranean basin. The aim of most of these projects is to investigate the ancient settlement and landscape dynamics of specific Mediterranean regions. They greatly contribute to the new liveliness which characterizes present-day classical archaeology, not only by introducing new research methods but also, and in particular, by widening its subject matter to include the history of societies in the margins of the Graeco-Roman urban world. It is within this recent tradition that the present book has been written; the author aims to examine the ancient settlement and societal dynamics of the Brindisi region, in the north-east of the Salento peninsula. The field surveys indicate that during the pre-Roman period the regional society was characterized by processes of centralization and urbanization. Subsequently, from the 3rd century BC onwards, it gradually integrated into the Roman orbit. Burgers emphasizes an active indigenous role in the succesive colonial situations in southern Italy. He focuses on the internal dynamics of the local communities and investigates how social strategies manifested themselves, especially in external contacts and in the organization of settlement and landscape.

In Urban Rituals in Sacred Landscapes in Hellenistic Asia Minor, Christina G. Williamson examines the phenomenon of monumental sanctuaries in the countryside of Asia Minor that accompanied the second rise of the Greek city-state in the Hellenistic period. Moving beyond monolithic categories, Williamson provides a transdisciplinary frame of analysis that takes into account the complex local histories, landscapes, material culture, and social and political dynamics of such shrines in their transition towards becoming prestigious civic sanctuaries. This frame of analysis is applied to four case studies: the sanctuaries of Zeus Labraundos, Sinuri, Hekate at Lagina, and Zeus Panamaros. All in Karia, these well-documented shrines offer valuable insights for understanding religious strategies adopted by emerging cities as they sought to establish their position in the expanding world.