Pagan Inscriptions, Christian Viewers

The Afterlives of Temples and Their Texts in the Late Antique Eastern Mediterranean

AvAnna M. Sitz

Inbunden, Engelska, 2023

Del i serien Cultures of Reading in the Ancient Mediterranean

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Beskrivning

What did people in the early Christian period think about the pagan inscriptions filling their late antique cities? Like public advertisements lining our streets today, these inscriptions were everywhere and communicated specific messages to literate late Roman viewers, often providing a very different view of the classical past than that being preached from early Christian church pulpits. In Pagan Inscriptions, Christian Viewers, Anna M. Sitz provides a fresh perspective on the Christianization of the Roman empire from the fourth to the seventh century CE by analyzing a previously overlooked body of evidence: the many ancient, pagan inscriptions, written in Greek or other languages, which were reused, preserved, or even partially erased in this period.This volume brings together for the first time the literary and archaeological evidence for attitudes towards these ancient inscriptions in the eastern Mediterranean, from Greece to Asia Minor, Syria to Egypt. Pagan Inscriptions, Christian Viewers illustrates how early Christians, late pagans, and Jews in the eastern Mediterranean interpreted older inscriptions in Greek and other languages through their own worldviews in order to build the late antique present.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum:2023-05-04
Mått:162 x 241 x 23 mm
Vikt:630 g
Format:Inbunden
Språk:Engelska
Serie:Cultures of Reading in the Ancient Mediterranean
Antal sidor:352
Förlag:OUP USA
ISBN:9780197666432
Utmärkelser:Winner, CAMWS First Book Award

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Mer om författaren

Anna M. Sitz is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Universität Heidelberg.

Recensioner i media

A must read for anyone interested in the fate of pagan inscriptions in the Eastern Mediterranean in late antiquity. Sitz offers a rich and engaging study of the Christian transformation of the religio-/cityscapes, as she explores architects' re-appropriation and viewers' interaction with ancient inscriptions." - Julien Ogereau, University of Vienna, Austria

Innehållsförteckning

Chapter 1. Introduction: Afterlives of Inscriptions Epigraphic Reincarnation at Megara Manufactured Violence Inscribed Sanctuaries Literacy in Late Antiquity Chapter Outline The Fine Print Chapter 2. The Use of Real or Imagined Inscriptions in Late Antique Literature The "Arch of Alexander" and the Ends of the Earth Writing the Past from Inscriptions Prophesying from Stone: Invented Oracles Plagiarizing for the Saints: The Life of Abercius Conclusion: The Literary Afterlives of Ancient Inscriptions Chapter 3. Preservation: Tolerating Temples and Their TextsTouring Temples Inscribed Text and Figural Imagery at Unconverted Temples Secular or Sacred? Imperial Documents on Temples of Uncertain Use Priests, Talking Columns, and Unreadable Texts at Christianized Temples Conclusion: Kings of the Past on Display Chapter 4. Spoliation: Integrating and Scrambling tions-Inscrip (T)reading the Past: Epigraphic Spolia Underfoot Constructing Churches with Inscribed Text Epigraphic Spolia Elsewhere Conclusion: Mixed Re-Views of Old Texts in New Buildings Chapter 5. Erasure: [[Damnatio Memoriae]] or Conscious Uncoupling? Unnaming the Gods Violence Against Statues Violence Against Inscriptions Selective Erasures Indiscriminate Erasure and Destruction Conclusion: Epigraphic Unnamings and a Fresh Start Chapter 6. Conclusion: Unepigraphic ReadingsReading at the Temple of Augustus in Ankara Once More An Archaeology of Reading Spolia: Breaking the Monolith Word and Image: Inscriptions and Statues Land, Men, and Gods Epigraphy: A New Direction Bibliography