The Role of Vestal Virgins in Roman Civic Religion

The Role of Vestal Virgins in Roman Civic Religion PDF Author: Lindsay J. Thompson
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 184

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Book Description
This study introduces a question, somewhat disregarded or discounted in recent years, regarding the link between the Vestals and early Christian consecrated virgins. In a political interpretation of the ancient Roman virginity cult, this work demonstrates that female virginity was understood by both Christian and non-Christian Romans as a symbolic analogue of the securely intact body politic.

The Role of Vestal Virgins in Roman Civic Religion

The Role of Vestal Virgins in Roman Civic Religion PDF Author: Lindsay J. Thompson
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 184

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Book Description
This study introduces a question, somewhat disregarded or discounted in recent years, regarding the link between the Vestals and early Christian consecrated virgins. In a political interpretation of the ancient Roman virginity cult, this work demonstrates that female virginity was understood by both Christian and non-Christian Romans as a symbolic analogue of the securely intact body politic.

A Place at the Altar

A Place at the Altar PDF Author: Meghan J. DiLuzio
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 069120232X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 298

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Book Description
A Place at the Altar illuminates a previously underappreciated dimension of religion in ancient Rome: the role of priestesses in civic cult. Demonstrating that priestesses had a central place in public rituals and institutions, Meghan DiLuzio emphasizes the complex, gender-inclusive nature of Roman priesthood. In ancient Rome, priestly service was a cooperative endeavor, requiring men and women, husbands and wives, and elite Romans and slaves to work together to manage the community's relationship with its gods. Like their male colleagues, priestesses offered sacrifices on behalf of the Roman people, and prayed for the community’s well-being. As they carried out their ritual obligations, they were assisted by female cult personnel, many of them slave women. DiLuzio explores the central role of the Vestal Virgins and shows that they occupied just one type of priestly office open to women. Some priestesses, including the flaminica Dialis, the regina sacrorum, and the wives of the curial priests, served as part of priestly couples. Others, such as the priestesses of Ceres and Fortuna Muliebris, were largely autonomous. A Place at the Altar offers a fresh understanding of how the women of ancient Rome played a leading role in public cult.

Rome's Vestal Virgins

Rome's Vestal Virgins PDF Author: Robin Lorsch Wildfang
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134151667
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 176

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Book Description
Comprehensive and thoroughly up-to-date, this volume offers a brand new analysis of the Vestal Virgins’ ritual function in Roman religion. Undertaking a detailed and careful analysis of ancient literary sources, Wildfang argues that the Vestals’ virginity must be understood on a variety of different levels and provides a solution to the problem of the Vestals’ peculiar legal status in ancient Rome. Addressing the one official state priesthood open to women at Rome, this volume explores and analyzes a range of topics including: the rituals enacted by priestesses (both the public rituals performed in connection with official state rites and festivals and the private rites associated only with the order itself) the division and interface between religion, state and family structure the Vestals’ participation in rights that were outside the sphere of traditional female activity. New and insightful, this investigation of one of the most important state cults in ancient Rome is an essential addition to the bookshelves of all those interested in Roman religion, history and culture.

The Role of Vestal Virgins in Roman Civic Religion

The Role of Vestal Virgins in Roman Civic Religion PDF Author: Lindsay J. Thompson
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780773430143
Category : Rome
Languages : en
Pages : 170

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Book Description
This study introduces a question, somewhat disregarded or discounted in recent years, regarding the link between the Vestals and early Christian consecrated virgins. In a political interpretation of the ancient Roman virginity cult, this work demonstrates that female virginity was understood by both Christian and non-Christian Romans as a symbolic analogue of the securely intact body politic.

The Roman Republic: A Very Short Introduction

The Roman Republic: A Very Short Introduction PDF Author: David M. Gwynn
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 0191642355
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 168

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Book Description
The rise and fall of the Roman Republic occupies a special place in the history of Western civilization. From humble beginnings on the seven hills beside the Tiber, the city of Rome grew to dominate the ancient Mediterranean. Led by her senatorial aristocracy, Republican armies defeated Carthage and the successor kingdoms of Alexander the Great, and brought the surrounding peoples to east and west into the Roman sphere. Yet the triumph of the Republic was also its tragedy. In this Very Short Introduction, David M. Gwynn provides a fascinating introduction to the history of the Roman Republic and its literary and material sources, bringing to life the culture and society of Republican Rome and its ongoing significance within our modern world. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Pantheon

Pantheon PDF Author: Joerg Ruepke
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691211558
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 572

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Book Description
From one of the world's leading authorities on the subject, an innovative and comprehensive account of religion in the ancient Roman and Mediterranean world In this ambitious and authoritative book, Jörg Rüpke provides a comprehensive and strikingly original narrative history of ancient Roman and Mediterranean religion over more than a millennium—from the late Bronze Age through the Roman imperial period and up to late antiquity. While focused primarily on the city of Rome, Pantheon fully integrates the many religious traditions found in the Mediterranean world, including Judaism and Christianity. This generously illustrated book is also distinguished by its unique emphasis on lived religion, a perspective that stresses how individuals’ experiences and practices transform religion into something different from its official form. The result is a radically new picture of Roman religion and of a crucial period in Western religion—one that influenced Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and even the modern idea of religion itself.

The Cambridge Companion to the Roman Republic

The Cambridge Companion to the Roman Republic PDF Author: Harriet I. Flower
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107032245
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 519

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Book Description
This second edition examines all aspects of Roman history, and contains a new introduction, three new chapters and updated bibliographies.

The History of the Vestal Virgins of Rome

The History of the Vestal Virgins of Rome PDF Author: T. Cato Worsfold
Publisher: Pickle Partners Publishing
ISBN: 1789127262
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 220

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Book Description
In ancient Rome, the Vestals or Vestal Virgins were priestesses of Vesta, goddess of the hearth. The College of the Vestals and its well-being were regarded as fundamental to the continuance and security of Rome. They cultivated the sacred fire that was not allowed to go out. The Vestals were freed of the usual social obligations to marry and bear children and took a 30-year vow of chastity in order to devote themselves to the study and correct observance of state rituals that were forbidden to the colleges of male priests. “AS far back as it is possible to trace the old religions of mankind, and in cases where primitive religions are still to be observed in savage countries, one finds as a feature of many cults, in various ages and countries, establishments of Virgin Priestesses, or religious votaries as an important adjunct to the worship of the Deity. “Of these establishments, perhaps the best known is that of the Vestal Virgins of Rome. “As I know of no exhaustive account of the Vestals in the English language, I have sought in these pages to trace the history of the foundation from its beginning (715 B.C.) to its extinction under Theodosius in a.D. 394, to set forth the status, functions and privileges of its members during this period of over one thousand years; to describe and discuss the temples served and hostels occupied by the Vestals, both as recorded in Latin and Greek authors and as shown by their existing remains; and finally, to give some account of similar foundations in other countries and other ages.”—T. Cato Worsfold

Raised from Obscurity

Raised from Obscurity PDF Author: Greg W Forbes
Publisher: James Clarke & Company
ISBN: 0227905377
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 243

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Book Description
Luke-Acts contains many and diverse female characters, many of whom play significant roles in the unfolding drama of God's plan of salvation through Jesus and the early church. Women followers of Jesus are fully-fledged disciples who prove to be reliable and insightful, participating in God's mission at all levels. They act as interpreters of salvation history, God's prophetic mouthpieces, witnesses to the resurrection, proclaimers and teachers of the gospel, and patrons and leaders of the early church. At the heart of this narratival exposure lies a particular theology of women. This narratival presentation and theology is rich and quite remarkable given the socio-religious climate in which Luke wrote. An appreciation of this 'narratival theology' is important, not only for a well-rounded understanding of Luke-Acts, but as a vital part of the variegated witness of the New Testament regarding the role of women in God's new community.

Human Sacrifices at Rome and Other Notes on Roman Religion

Human Sacrifices at Rome and Other Notes on Roman Religion PDF Author: James Smith Reid
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Human sacrifice
Languages : en
Pages : 32

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Book Description