Economy of the Sacred in Hellenistic and Roman Asia Minor ( O.C.M. )

Erscheinungsjahr 2002
ISBN: 978-0-19-925408-8
Verlag: OUP Oxford

Buch, Englisch, 378 Seiten, Format (B × H): 145 mm x 222 mm, Gewicht: 666 g

Reihe: Oxford Classical Monographs

This original study challenges the idea that sanctuaries in Hellenistic and Roman Asia Minor were fully institutionalized within the poleis that hosted them. Examining the forms of interaction between rulers, cities, and sanctuaries, the book proposes a triangular relationship in which the rulers often acted as mediators between differing interests of city and cult. A close analysis of the epigraphical evidence illustrates that neither the Hellenistic kings
nor the representatives of Roman rule appropriated the property of the gods but actively supported the functioning of the sanctuaries and their revenues. The powerful role of the sanctuaries was to a large extent based on economic features, which the sanctuaries possessed precisely because of their religious
character. Nevertheless, a study of the finances of the cults reveals frequent problems concerning the upkeep of cults and a particular need to guard the privileges and property of the gods. Their situation oscillated between glut and dearth. When the harmonious identity between city and cult was disturbed, those closely attached to the cult acted on behalf of their domain.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Dignas, Beate

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Religionswissenschaft Religionswissenschaft Allgemein Religionsgeschichte Religionen der Antike
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Alte Geschichte & Archäologie
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Weltgeschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Europäische Länder
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Asiatische Geschichte
• Interdisziplinäres Wissenschaften Wissenschaft und Gesellschaft | Kulturwissenschaften Kulturwissenschaften
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Europäische Geschichte

Über Autor(innen)

Beate Dignas is Assistant Professor of History at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.