John M. Fossey - Böcker

The Levant: Crossroads of Late Antiquity. History, Religion, and Archaeology / Le Levant: Carrefour de l'Antiquité tardive explores the monumental, religious, and social developments that took place in the Roman province of Syria during the 3rd through 6th centuries CE. Ellen Bradshaw Aitken and John M. Fossey bring together the work of twenty scholars of archaeology, art history, religious studies, and ancient history to examine this dynamic period of change in social, cultural, and religious life. Close attention to texts and material culture, including palaeo-Christian mosaics and churches, highlights the encounters of peoples and religions, as well as the rich exchange of ideas, practices, and traditions in the Levant. The essays bring fresh perspectives on “East” and “West” in antiquity and the diversity of ancient religious movements.

This is the concluding volume presenting results of the author’s fieldwork spread over more than fifty years concerning the Archaeology and Topography of Ancient Boiotia that includes also discussions of the distribution within the topography of certain ancient cults, especially those of Artemis, Herakles and the Horseman Hero. Within the more purely topographic section there is much discussion of regional defense systems, all set against the history of the Boiotian League, especially its early coinage, its origins and its confrontation with Sparta and the pivotal battle of Leuktra.