Memory, Family, and Community in Roman Ephesos

Shows how inscribed statue monuments and buildings embodied the multiple identities and memories of the Vedii and their city, Ephesos.

Angela Kalinowski (Author)

9781108477871, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 15 July 2021

400 pages
25.1 x 17.6 x 3.1 cm, 0.972 kg

'The book will be a welcome addition to research libraries of individuals or institutions prioritizing work on the Roman East.' Christopher B. Zeichmann, Canadian Journal of History

This is the first book to analyse urban social relations in the eastern Roman Empire through the perspective of one elite family. From the late first to the mid-third century CE, the Vedii and their descendants were magistrates, priests and priestesses of local and imperial cults, and presided over Ephesos' many religious festivals. They were also public benefactors, paying for the construction of public buildings for the pleasure of fellow citizens. This study examines the material evidence of their activities - the buildings with their epigraphic and decorative programs – to show how members of the family created monuments to enhance their own and their family's prestige. It also discusses the inscriptions of the honorific statue monuments raised by the city and its sub-groups for the family in return for their benefactions, arguing that these reflect the community's values and interests as much as they commemorate the benefactors and their families.

Introduction
1. Community, identity and memory in Roman Ephesos
2. The Vedii: a family's history in Ephesos
3. 'Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!' The Vedii and the goddess of Ephesos
4. Fun and games in Roman Ephesos: the Vedii, the Agonistic festivals and the imperial cult
5. The Vedii and the associations of Ephesos
6. The Vedii and their civic buildings in Ephesos
Conclusions: the Vedii: a family's place in the community and the commemorative landscape of Ephesos
Appendix one: Who's who among the Ephesian Vedii and Flavii Vedii.

Subject Areas: The Early Church [HRCC1], Classical history / classical civilisation [HBLA1], Ancient history: to c 500 CE [HBLA]