Religions of Rome: Volume 2, A Sourcebook

Mary Beard, John North, Simon Price

Cambridge University Press, Jun 28, 1998 - History - 428 pages

Volume two reveals the extraordinary diversity of ancient Roman religion. A comprehensive sourcebook, it presents a wide range of documents illustrating religious life in the Roman world - from the foundations of the city in the eighth century BC 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 inscriptions, 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. Judaism and Christianity are given full coverage, as important elements in the religious world of the Roman empire.

Contents

• Earliest Rome: xv
• The deities of Rome: 24
• The calendar: 58
• Religious places: 76
• Festivals and ceremonies: 114
• Sacrifices: 146
• Divination and diviners: 164
• Priests and priestesses: 192
• Individuals and gods life and death: 214
• Rome outside Rome: 237
• Threats to the Roman order: 258
• Religious groups: 286
• Perspectives: 347
• Glossary: 363
• Deities and their epithets: 367
• Bibliography: 369
• 2 Secondary literature: 373
• Details of illustrations: 400
• Index of texts cited: 403
• General index: 408

About the author

Mary Beard was born on January 1, 1955 in Much Wenlock, Shropshire, England. Her alma mater is the University of Cambridge. She is a professor of classics at Newnham College, Cambridge, and the classics editor of the Times Literary Supplement. Her previous books include the bestselling, Wolfson Prize-winning Pompeii, The Roman Triumph, The Parthenon and Confronting the Classics. Her blog has been collected in the books It's a Don's Life and All in a Don's Day. She is in the 2014 top 10 Prospect list of the most influential thinkers in the world. She is the author of Women and Power: A Manifesto, published in December 2017.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Religions of Rome: Volume 2, A Sourcebook; Volume 2 of Religions of Rome, Mary Beard; Volume 2 of Religions of Rome: Mary Beard, John North, Simon Price, Simon Price
• Authors: Mary Beard, John North, Simon Price
• Edition: illustrated, reprint
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 1998
• ISBN: 0521456460, 9780521456463
• Length: 428 pages
• Subjects: History / Ancient / General; History / Ancient / Rome; History / World; Religion / History