Roman Augural Lore in Greek Historiography PDF Download

Author: Jyri Vaahtera
Publisher: Franz Steiner Verlag
ISBN: 9783515079464
Category : History
Languages : el
Pages : 200

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Book Description
The augurs, the official Roman diviners, had a significant role in the public life of the Roman Republic. However, to recover the facts concerning their rites and doctrine is a difficult task because of the defectiveness and the fragmentary nature of our sources. This book offers the first thorough examination of the ways in which the augural doctrine has been treated by the Greek historians who have written about Rome. The main bulk of its material derives from four prominent writers of the Roman period: Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Plutarch, Appian and Cassius Dio. Analysing the Greek sources from the point of view of language, style, bilingualism, and cultural context, the author not only sheds light on disputed matters of augural doctrine and Roman constitution, but also offers a good deal of new material that in various ways clarifies the meeting of the two cultures.

Author: J. A. North
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0198872690
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 417

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Book Description
The Religious History of the Roman Empire: The Republican Centuries is the second Oxford Readings in Classical Studies volume on the religious history of the Roman Empire, accompanying the volume on paganism, Judaism, and Christianity. This volume presents fourteen chapters dealing with aspects of the religious life of Republican Rome between c. 500 BCE and the fall of the Republican constitution in c. 30 BCE. The topics covered include Iron Age rituals (Christopher Smith); Roman Priesthood (John Scheid; Mary Beard); religion and war (Jörg Rüpke); religious behaviour in the context of polytheism (Andreas Bendlin); religious ritual in early and middle Republic (John North); Italian warfare practices (Olivier de Cazanove); the role of women (Rebecca Flemming); sacrificial ritual in Roman poetry (Denis Feeney); the centuriation-ritual (Daniel Gargola); Roman divination (Mary Beard); Augustan Peace and the stars (Alfred Schmid); the great cult-places of Italy (John Scheid); the grove of Pesaro (Filippo Coarelli). Originally published between 1981 and 2011, these chapters provide a vivid picture of key issues under discussion in this period, providing a missing link in the historiography of Roman republican religion. A central question concerns the balance to be found between ritual and belief, both problematic concepts in interpreting this religious tradition. While there can be no question that the performance of rituals was a regular traditional activity to which Romans attached great significance, particularly those who were in a responsible position as priests or senators, the later years of the Republic increasingly saw religious issues taken as matters for debate, and books on religious themes, unknown before the age of Cicero and Varro, began to appear.

Author: Ashleigh Green
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 100084207X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 195

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Book Description
This book explores the place of birds in Roman myth and everyday life, focusing primarily on the transitional period of 100 BCE to 100 CE within the Italian peninsula. A diverse range of topics is considered in order to build a broad overview of the subject. Beginning with an appraisal of omens, augury, and auspices – including the ‘sacred chickens’ consulted by generals before battle – it goes on to examine how Romans farmed birds, hunted them, and kept them as pets. It demonstrates how the ownership and consumption of birds were used to communicate status and prestige, and how bird consumption mirrored wider economic and social trends. Each topic adopts an interdisciplinary approach, considering literary evidence alongside art, material culture, zooarchaeology, and modern ornithological knowledge. The inclusion of zooarchaeology adds another dimension to the work and highlights the value of using animals and faunal remains to interpret the past. Studying the Roman view of birds offers great insight into how they conceived of their relationship with the gods and how they stratified and organised their society. This book is a valuable resource for bird lovers and researchers alike, particularly those studying animals in the ancient world.

Author: Matthew Dillon
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136761438
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 808

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Book Description
A companion volume to the highly successful and widely used Ancient Greece, this Sourcebook is a valuable resource for students at all levels studying ancient Rome. Lynda Garland and Matthew Dillon present an extensive range of material, from the early Republic to the assassination of Julius Caesar. Providing a comprehensive coverage of all important documents pertaining to the Roman Republic, Ancient Rome includes: source material on political developments in the Roman Republic (509–44 BC) detailed chapters on social phenomena, such as Roman religion, slavery and freedmen, women and the family, and the public face of Rome clear, precise translations of documents taken not only from historical sources, but also from inscriptions, laws and decrees, epitaphs, graffiti, public speeches, poetry, private letters and drama concise up-to-date bibliographies and commentaries for each document and chapter a definitive collection of source material on the Roman Republic. All students of ancient Rome and classical studies will find this textbook invaluable at all levels of study.

Author: Jörg Rüpke
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1444339249
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 578

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Book Description
A comprehensive treatment of the significant symbols and institutions of Roman religion, this companion places the various religious symbols, discourses, and practices, including Judaism and Christianity, into a larger framework to reveal the sprawling landscape of the Roman religion. An innovative introduction to Roman religion Approaches the field with a focus on the human-figures instead of the gods Analyzes religious changes from the eighth century BC to the fourth century AD Offers the first history of religious motifs on coins and household/everyday utensils Presents Roman religion within its cultural, social, and historical contexts

Author: Peter Michael Swan
Publisher: Oxford : Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0195167740
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 449

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Book Description
"This commentary pays close critical attention to Dio's historical sources, methods, and assumptions as it also strives to present him as a figure in his own right. During a long life (ca. 164-after 229), Dio served as a Roman senator under seven emperors from Commodus to Severus Alexander, governed three Roman provinces, and was twice consul."--BOOK JACKET.

Author: Sarah Davies
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004411909
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 220

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Book Description
In Rome, Global Dreams, and the International Origins of an Empire, Sarah Davies explores how the Roman Republic evolved, in ideological terms, into an “Empire without end.” This work stands out within Roman imperialism studies by placing a distinct emphasis on the role of international-level norms and concepts in shaping Roman imperium. Using a combination of literary, epigraphic, and numismatic evidence, Davies highlights three major factors in this process. First is the development, in the third and second centuries BCE, of a self-aware international community with a cosmopolitan vision of a single, universalizing world-system. Second is the misalignment of Rome’s polity and concomitant diplomatic practices with those of its Hellenistic contemporaries. And third is contemporary historiography, which inserted Rome into a cyclical (and cosmic) rise-and-fall of great power.

Author: Michael Lipka
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 904742848X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 232

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Book Description
Drawing exclusively on the evidence from urban Rome up to the age of Constantine, the book analyzes the pagan, Jewish, and Christian concepts of "god" along the lines of space, time, personnel, function, iconography and ritual.

Author: Nathan Rosenstein
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1444357204
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 769

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Book Description
This Companion provides an authoritative and up-to-date overview of Roman Republican history as it is currently practiced. Highlights recent developments, including archaeological discoveries, fresh approaches to textual sources, and the opening up of new areas of historical study Retains the drama of the Republic’s rise and fall Emphasizes not just the evidence of texts and physical remains, but also the models and assumptions that scholars bring to these artefacts Looks at the role played by the physical geography and environment of Italy Offers a compact but detailed narrative of military and political developments from the birth of the Roman Republic through to the death of Julius Caesar Discusses current controversies in the field

Author: Kathryn Milne
Publisher: Pen and Sword Military
ISBN: 1399070673
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 371

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Book Description
Takes the career of Spurius Ligustinus, detailed by the Roman historian Livy, as a focus, giving a very human and empathetic approachability to the author’s lucid and thorough analysis. Inside the Roman Legions aims to tell the story of the Roman soldier through a holistic, empathetic examination of what the experience of military service in the Middle Republic was really like. It traces real examples of soldiers described in the ancient sources to reveal how they traveled, how they were organized and what campaign objectives they faced. Specifically, the author follows the ordinary soldier Spurius Ligustinus, whose life is related by the historian Livy, as an example, detailing the experiences of his career. The book begins by discussing the young future soldier’s background and what military values were conveyed to him through the prevailing culture of the time. It then follows him through a range of potential experiences, examining camp conditions and training with various types of weapons and armor, and proceeds to take the reader through the experience of fighting in a pitched battle step by step. It also addresses experiences that only some soldiers would have had, such as escaping a total defeat, deserting, or being subject to unusual punishments. Throughout, the focus of the book is on how the individual might be shaped by the experiences as they are described.