Religions of Rome: Volume 2: A Sourcebook

Mary Beard, John North, Simon Price

ISBN 10: 0521456460 / ISBN 13: 9780521456463

Published by Cambridge University Press, 1998

About this Item

Very good softcover in printed wraps. Minor scuff marks to the cover. 8vo. (6.85 x 0.98 x 9.72 inches) Clean text free of marks or underlining. B&W photos and illustrations. Includes a list of abbreviations and conventions, glossary, details of illustrations, bibliography, index of texts cited and a general index. 416 pp. Fast shipping in a secure book box mailer with tracking. This book reveals the extraordinary diversity of ancient Roman religion. A comprehensive source-book, it presents a wide range of documents illustrating religious life in the Roman world - from the foundation of the city in the eighth century B.C. to the Christian capital more than a thousand years later. Each document is given a full introduction, explanatory notes and bibliography, and acts as a starting point for further discussion. Through paintings, sculptures, coins, and inscrip-tions, as well as literary texts in translation, the book explores the major themes and problems of Roman religion, such as sacrifice, the religious calendar, divination, ritual, and priesthood. Starting from the archaeological traces of the earliest cults of the city, it finishes with a series of texts in which Roman authors themselves reflect on the nature of their own religion, its history, even its funny side. In between, the widening scope of religious choice, both within and outside 'official' cults of the state, provides a major theme. Judaism and Christianity are given full coverage, as important elements in the religious world of the Roman empire. The companion volume, Religions of Rome 1: A History, offers a narrative account of the religions of Rome and a wider context for the documents discussed in this volume.

Seller Inventory # 202546

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Religions of Rome: Volume 2: A Sourcebook
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication Date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0521456460
• ISBN 13: 9780521456463
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition: Illustrated.
• Condition: Very good
• Seller catalogs:
  • Greece
  • Anthropology: Archeology
  • From the Library of Peter Green
  • Ancient History

About this title

Synopsis

This book, the second of the two volumes that make up Religions of Rome, presents a wide range of documents illustrating religious life in the Roman world from the early Republic to the late Empire (both visual evidence and texts in translation). More than just a "sourcebook," it explores some of the major themes and problems of Roman religion (such as sacrifice, the religious calendar, divination and prediction). Each document has an introduction, explanatory notes and bibliography, and is used as the starting point for further discussion.

Review

'This is an excellent book that answers any reader's questions on the religious life of the Romans.' The Australian National Review

' ... the best one-volume study in publication ... a well written book that should have a place of the shelf of every student of early European history, and on that of every theologian as well'. Theology

'These books are the result of years of patient scholarship and intellectual questioning. No other volume has covered such a time span so effectively and made such clear use of maps, illustrations and archaelogical evidence.' Robin Lane-Fox, British Museum Magazine