Revelation and Material Religion in the Roman East (Routledge Monographs in Classical Studies)

This collection of essays from a diverse group of internationally recognized scholars builds on the work of Steven J. Friesen to analyze the material and ideological dimensions of John’s Apocalypse and the religious landscape of the Roman East.

Readers will gain new perspectives on the interpretation of John’s Apocalypse, the religion of Hellenistic cities in the Roman Empire, and the political and economic forces that shaped life in the Eastern Mediterranean. The chapters in this volume examine texts and material culture through carefully localized analysis that attends to ideological and socioeconomic contexts, expanding upon aspects of Friesen’s research and methodology while also forging new directions. The book brings together a diverse and international set of experts including emerging voices in the fields of biblical studies, Roman social history, and classical archeology, and each essay presents fresh, critically informed analysis of key sites and texts from the periods of Christian origins and Roman imperial rule.

Revelation and Material Religion in the Roman East is of interest to students and scholars working on Christian origins, ancient Judaism, Roman religion, classical archeology, and the social history of the Roman Empire, as well as material religion in the ancient Mediterranean more broadly. It is also suitable for religious practitioners within Christian contexts.

Nathan Leach is a Lecturer in Religious Studies at Texas State University at San Marcos. He received his Ph.D. from the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. His current research analyzes the Revelation of John as part of the wider social landscape of divinatory rituals.

Daniel Charles Smith is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Classics at Whitman College. He earned his Ph.D. in Religious Studies from the University of Texas at Austin in 2022. His research investigates how imperial and material processes shaped religion in the Roman Empire, including the Apocalypse of John.

Tony Keddie is an Associate Professor of Religious Studies and Fellow of the Ronald Nelson Smith Chair in Classics and Christian Origins at the University of Texas at Austin, where he also received his Ph.D. He researches the intersections of religion and labor among Jews and Christians in the Roman Empire.