Religious Violence in the Ancient World
From Classical Athens to Late Antiquity

A comparative examination and interpretation of religious violence in the Graeco-Roman world and Late Antiquity.

Jitse H. F. Dijkstra (Edited by), Christian R. Raschle (Edited by)

9781108494908, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 1 October 2020

400 pages, 12 colour illus.
24 x 16 x 3 cm, 0.8 kg

Much like our world today, Late Antiquity (fourth-seventh centuries CE) is often seen as a period rife with religious violence, not least because the literary sources are full of stories of Christians attacking temples, statues and 'pagans'. However, using insights from Religious Studies, recent studies have demonstrated that the Late Antique sources disguise a much more intricate reality. The present volume builds on this recent cutting-edge scholarship on religious violence in Late Antiquity in order to come to more nuanced judgments about the nature of the violence. At the same time, the focus on Late Antiquity has taken away from the fact that the phenomenon was no less prevalent in the earlier Graeco-Roman world. This book is therefore the first to bring together scholars with expertise ranging from classical Athens to Late Antiquity to examine the phenomenon in all its complexity and diversity throughout Antiquity.

1. General introduction Jitse H.F. Dijkstra and Christian R. Raschle
I. Methodology: 2. Sacred prefigurations of violence: Religious communities in situations of conflict Hans G. Kippenberg
3. Priestesses, pogroms and persecutions: Religious violence in antiquity in a diachronic perspective Jan N. Bremmer
II. Religious Violence in The Graeco-Roman world: 4. Ancient Greek binding spells and (political) violence Esther Eidinow
5. The expulsion of Isis worshippers and astrologers from Rome in the late republic and early empire Christian R. Raschle
6. Religious violence? two massacres on a Sabbath in 66 CE: Jerusalem and Caesarea Steve Mason
7. Religion, violence and the diasporic experience: The Jewish diaspora in Flavian Rome and Puteoli Andreas Bendlin
8. Animal sacrifice and the Roman persecution of Christians (Second–Third Centuries) James B. Rives
9. The great persecution and imperial ideology: Patterns of communication on Tetrarchic Coinage Erika Manders
10. The violent legacy of constantine's Militant Piety Elizabeth Depalma Digeser
III: Religious violence in late antiquity: 11. Religious violence in late antiquity: Current approaches, trends and issues Wendy Mayer
12. Coercion in late antiquity: A brief intellectual history Peter Van Nuffelen
13. Crowd Behaviour and the Destruction of the Serapeum at Alexandria in 391/392 CE Jitse H.F. Dijkstra
14. Violence and Monks: From a Mystical Concept to an Intolerant Practice (Fourth–Fifth Centuries) Fabrizio Vecoli
15. The discipline of domination: Asceticism, violence and monastic curses in Theodoret's Historia Religiosa Chris L. De Wet
16. Suffering saints: Shaping narratives of violence after chalcedon Christine Shepardson
17. Fighting for Chalcedon: Vitalian's rebellion against Anastasius Hugh Elton
18. The Emperor, the people and urban violence in the fifth and sixth centuries Geoffrey Greatrex.

Subject Areas: Church history [HRCC2], Religion: general [HRA], Ancient history: to c 500 CE [HBLA]