Phlegon of Tralles' Book of Marvels


Book Description

Not only was it mined by later writers on wonders as well as by writers of books on ghosts and demonology, but it also inspired Goethe's well-known vampire ballad, The Bride of Corinth, a translation of which is included in this book.




Anthology of Ancient Greek Popular Literature


Book Description

Not all readers in ancient Greece whiled away the hours with Homer, Plato, or Sophocles - at least, not always. Many enjoyed light reading, such as can be found in the pages of this lively anthology. Various types of popular writing - novels, short stories, books of jokes or fables, fortune-telling handbooks - trace their origins to the ancient Mediterranean. In fact, some of this literature was so successful that it remained in circulation for centuries, even into the Middle Ages. Translated into other languages, these works were the best sellers of their time and remain enjoyable reading today. They are also fascinating social documents that reveal much about the daily lives, humor, loves, anxieties, fantasies, values, and beliefs of ordinary men and women.




Book III of the Sibylline Oracles and its Social Setting


Book Description

This volume contains a thorough study of the third book of the Sibylline Oracles. This Jewish work was written in the Roman province of Asia sometime between 80 and 40 BCE. It offers insights into the political views of the author and his perception of the relation between Jews and non-Jews, especially in the field of religion and ethics. The present study consists of three parts: 1. introductory questions; 2. a literary analysis of the book, translation, and commentary; 3. the social setting of the book. It aims to further the scholarly use of the third Sibylline book and to improve our knowledge of early Judaism in its Graeco-Roman environment.




The Ashgate Research Companion to Monsters and the Monstrous


Book Description

The field of monster studies has grown significantly over the past few years and this companion provides a comprehensive guide to the study of monsters and the monstrous from historical, regional and thematic perspectives. The collection reflects the truly multi-disciplinary nature of monster studies, bringing in scholars from literature, art history, religious studies, history, classics, and cultural and media studies. The companion will offer scholars and graduate students the first comprehensive and authoritative review of this emergent field.




Re-Wiring The Ancient Novel, 2 Volume set


Book Description

The Fifth International Conference on the Ancient Novel, which was held in Houston, Texas, in the fall of 2015, brought together scholars and students of the ancient novel from all over the world in order to share new and significant developments about this fascinating field of study and its important place in the field of Classical Studies. The essays contained in these two volumes are clear evidence that the ancient novel has become a valuable part of the Classics canon and its scholarly attempts to understand the ancient Graeco-Roman world.




Literature and Culture in the Roman Empire, 96–235


Book Description

This book explores new ways of analysing interactions between different linguistic, cultural, and religious communities across the Roman Empire from the reign of Nerva to the Severans (96–235 CE). Bringing together leading scholars in classics with experts in the history of Judaism, Christianity and the Near East, it looks beyond the Greco-Roman binary that has dominated many studies of the period, and moves beyond traditional approaches to intertextuality in its study of the circulation of knowledge across languages and cultures. Its sixteen chapters explore shared ideas about aspects of imperial experience - law, patronage, architecture, the army - as well as the movement of ideas about history, exempla, documents and marvels. As the second volume in the Literary Interactions series, it offers a new and expansive vision of cross-cultural interaction in the Roman world, shedding light on connections that have gone previously unnoticed among the subcultures of a vast and evolving Empire.




Collectors, Scholars, and Forgers in the Ancient World


Book Description

Collectors, Scholars, and Forgers in the Ancient World focuses on the fascination which works of art, texts, and antiquarian objects inspired in Greeks and Romans in antiquity and draws parallels with other cultures and eras to offer contexts for understanding that fascination. Statues, bronze weapons, books, and bones might have been prized for various reasons: because they had religious value, were the work of highly regarded artists and writers, had been possessed by famous mythological figures, or were relics of a long disappeared past. However, attitudes towards these objects also changed over time: sculpture which was originally created for a religious purpose became valuable as art and could be removed from its original setting, while historians discovered value in inscriptions and other texts for supporting historical arguments and literary scholars sought early manuscripts to establish what authors really wrote. As early as the Hellenistic era, some Greeks and Romans began to collect objects and might even display them in palaces, villas, or gardens; as these objects acquired value, a demand was created for more of them, and so copyists and forgers created additional pieces - while copyists imitated existing pieces of art, sometimes adapting to their new settings, forgers created new pieces to complete a collection, fill a gap in historical knowledge, make some money, or to indulge in literary play with knowledgeable readers. The study of forged relics is able to reveal not only what artefacts the Greeks and Romans placed value on, but also what they believed they understood about their past and how they interpreted the evidence for it. Drawing on the latest scholarship on forgery and fakes, as well as a range of examples, this book combines stories about frauds with an analysis of their significance, and illuminates and explores the link between collectors, scholars, and forgers in order to offer us a way to better understand the power that objects held over the ancient Greeks and Romans.




Medicine and Paradoxography in the Ancient World


Book Description

The present volume offers a systematic discussion of the complex relationship between medicine and paradoxography in the ancient world. For a long time, the relationship between the two has been assumed to be virtually non-existent. Paradoxography is concerned with disclosing a world full of marvels and wondrous occurrences without providing an answer as to how these phenomena can be explained. Its main aim is to astonish and leave its readers bewildered and confused. By contrast, medicine is committed to the rational explanation of human phusis, which makes it, in a number of significant ways, incompatible with thauma. This volume moves beyond the binary opposition between ‘rational’ and ‘non-rational’ modes of thinking, by focusing on instances in which the paradox is construed with direct reference to established medical sources and beliefs or, inversely, on cases in which medical discourse allows space for wonder and admiration. Its aim is to show that thauma, rather than present a barrier, functions as a concept which effectively allows for the dialogue between medicine and paradoxography in the ancient world.




Classical Mythology


Book Description

Classical Mythology offers newcomers and long-time enthusiasts new ways to navigate the world of Greek and Roman myths, beginning by exploring the landscapes where the myths are set. It then provides a richly detailed timeline of mythic episodes from the origin of the cosmos to the end of the Heroic Age--plus an illustrated mythological dictionary listing significant characters, places, events, objects, and concepts.




The Next Quest for the Historical Jesus


Book Description

A diverse group of scholars charts new paths in the quest for the historical Jesus. After a decade of stagnation in the study of the historical Jesus, James Crossley and Chris Keith have assembled an international team of scholars to envision the quest anew. The contributors offer new perspectives and fresh methods for reengaging the question of the historical Jesus. Important, timely, and fascinating, The Next Quest for the Historical Jesus is a must read for anyone seeking to understand Jesus of Nazareth. Contributors Michael P. Barber, Augustine Institute Graduate School of Theology, United States of America Giovanni B. Bazzana, Harvard Divinity School, United States of America Helen K. Bond, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom James Crossley, MF Norwegian School of Theology, Religion, and Society, Norway, and Centre for the Critical Study of Apocalyptic and Millenarian Movements, United Kingdom Tucker S. Ferda, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, United States of America Paula Fredriksen, Boston University, United States of America, and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel Deane Galbraith, University of Otago, Aotearoa New Zealand Mark Goodacre, Duke University, United States of America Meghan R. Henning, University of Dayton, United States of America Nathan C. Johnson, University of Indianapolis, United States of America Wayne Te Kaawa, University of Otago, Aotearoa New Zealand Chris Keith, MF Norwegian School of Theology, Religion, and Society, Norway John S. Kloppenborg, University of Toronto, Canada Amy-Jill Levine, Hartford International University for Religion and Peace, United States of America, and Vanderbilt University, United States of America Brandon Massey, University of Münster, Germany Justin J. Meggitt, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom Halvor Moxnes, University of Oslo, Norway Robert J. Myles, Wollaston Theological College, University of Divinity, Australia Wongi Park, Belmont University, United States of America Janelle Peters, Loyola Marymount University, United States of America Taylor G. Petrey, Kalamazoo College, United States of America Adele Reinhartz, University of Ottawa, Canada Rafael Rodríguez, Johnson University, United States of America Sarah E. Rollens, Rhodes College, United States of America Anders Runesson, University of Oslo, Norway Nathan Shedd, William Jessup University, United States of America, and Johnson University, United States of America Mitzi J. Smith, Columbia Theological Seminary, United States of America, and University of South Africa, South Africa Joan Taylor, King’s College London, United Kingdom Matthew Thiessen, McMaster University, Canada Robyn Faith Walsh, University of Miami, United States of America Matthew G. Whitlock, Seattle University, United States of America Stephen Young, Appalachian State University, United States of America Christopher B. Zeichmann, Toronto Metropolitan University, Canada




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