Private Associations in the Ancient Greek World
Regulations and the Creation of Group Identity

The first analysis of the regulations underpinning ancient associations and their subsequent impact and context within wider communities.

Vincent Gabrielsen (Edited by), Mario C. D. Paganini (Edited by)

9781108838993, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 4 November 2021

320 pages, 3 tables
23.5 x 15.8 x 2.2 cm, 0.61 kg

Private associations abounded in the ancient Greek world and beyond, and this volume provides the first large-scale study of the strategies of governance which they employed. Emphasis is placed on the values fostered by the regulations of associations, the complexities of the private-public divide (and that divide's impact on polis institutions) and the dynamics of regional and global networks and group identity. The attested links between rules and religious sanctions also illuminate the relationship between legal history and religion. Moreover, possible links between ancient associations and the early Christian churches will prove particularly valuable for scholars of the New Testament. The book concludes by using the regulations of associations to explore a novel and revealing aspect of the interaction between the Mediterranean world, India and China.

1. Associations' regulations from the ancient Greek world and beyond: an introduction V. Gabrielsen and M.C.D. Paganini
2. Admission procedures and financial contributions in private associations: norms and deviations N. Giannakopoulos
3. Regulations on absence and obligatory participation in ancient associations B. Eckhardt
4. The place of purity: groups and associations, authority and sanctuaries J.-M. Carbon
5. Associations and place: regulating meeting-places and sanctuaries S. Skaltsa
6. Greek thorybos, Roman eustatheia. The normative universe of Athenian cult associations I. Arnaoutoglou
7. Private affairs in a public domain: regulating behavioural code towards benefactresses and planning a strategy of social impact in Mantinean associations S. Zoumbaki
8. A world full of associations: rules and community values in early Roman Egypt M. Langellotti
9. Ordo corporatorum. The rules of Roman associations and the collegia at Ostia in the second and third centuries AD N. Tran
10. Rules and regulations of associations – the Eurasian comparandum K.G. Ever
11. Conclusion: associations in their world V. Gabrielsen and M.C.D. Paganini.

Subject Areas: Ancient religions & mythologies [HRKP], Western philosophy: Ancient, to c 500 [HPCA], Classical Greek & Roman archaeology [HDDK], Ancient history: to c 500 CE [HBLA]