In this thesis, the role of the night in Early Christianity is examined from the first century to 250 CE. What nocturnal worship meant and how early Christians gave meaning to the role of the night...Show moreIn this thesis, the role of the night in Early Christianity is examined from the first century to 250 CE. What nocturnal worship meant and how early Christians gave meaning to the role of the night in their practice, as well as how this was seen and interpreted by their Romans neighbours, is combined in this study to make the case for the inherent nocturnality of the early church, and promote increased research into the topic.Show less
The horti, vast aristocratic and imperial estates directly bordering on the city of Rome, are taken as a case study on the appropriation of Hellenistic artistic and architectural styles by Roman...Show moreThe horti, vast aristocratic and imperial estates directly bordering on the city of Rome, are taken as a case study on the appropriation of Hellenistic artistic and architectural styles by Roman elites. Three types of material remains are analysed: architecture, surface art (e.g. mosaics, wall-paintings, veneering), and sculpture. The main conclusion is that many of the Hellenistic motifs and types of art that were imitated in the horti had a highly contextual (and often religious) significance in the Hellenistic world, but that the Roman owners of the horti treated these visual elements as mere decorative elements, while still making use of the intellectual and religious connotations that these had in their original settings. As such, concepts like code-switching and globalisation theory do not seem to adequately explain the Hellenistic elements that are seen in the horti, and we may instead speak of a thorough and far-reaching process of appropriation.Show less
Thinking of ‘crises’ in antique Christianity, one generally thinks of impactful and violent events like the East-West Schism at the beginning of the first millennium, the Donatist schism in the...Show moreThinking of ‘crises’ in antique Christianity, one generally thinks of impactful and violent events like the East-West Schism at the beginning of the first millennium, the Donatist schism in the fourth century, or the Diocletian persecutions from 303 to 313. However, ‘crisis’ did not start there, as historical crises can be traced back to the very beginning of Christianity. At the turn of the first century, a certain bishop in Asia Minor wrote letters revealing of this turbulent start of a new religion. When literally being escorted to his martyr’s death (how turbulent do you want it), Ignatius of Antioch wrote several letters to communities of Christ believers. He shows a surprisingly independent, stylistically quite idiosyncratic and rhetorically brilliant voice on central issues, concerning the ‘humanity’ of Christ and his believers, which renders him indispensable for any analysis of the early Christian crises of his time. Writing right after the first generation of believers, he is in dialogue with apostolic heritage. He explicitly refers to Paul, offering insight into the mechanics of historical development, which involves debate and, as you will, ‘crisis’. This thesis takes Ignatius’ testimony to give meaning to the historical crises of the time.Show less
Greek poets reflected upon the epiphany – the presence - of the Muses in their poems in Ancient Greece. This study aims to determine why poets reflected upon the epiphany of the Muses in their...Show moreGreek poets reflected upon the epiphany – the presence - of the Muses in their poems in Ancient Greece. This study aims to determine why poets reflected upon the epiphany of the Muses in their poems. Since Greek poetry was performed in front of a public, it focusses on the social demands to question the epiphany of the Muses in Ancient Greece. Specifically, it investigates how various political and military crises may have created social demands to reflect upon the Muses’ epiphanies. To test the hypothesis that crises created needs for poets to question the reliability and presence of the Muses, the circumstances of poets’ lives and careers are investigated. Biographical and autobiographical literary evidence, in combination with archaeological and iconological evidence, supports the idea that crises led to a demand to reflect upon the Muses’ epiphanies. This suggests that disruptive experiences such as war and diseases impacted the trustworthiness of divine inspiration and divine knowledge.Show less
In older scholarship, it was often claimed that Christian martyrdom contributed significantly to the conversion of the Roman Empire. This assertion, however, has been significantly criticized in...Show moreIn older scholarship, it was often claimed that Christian martyrdom contributed significantly to the conversion of the Roman Empire. This assertion, however, has been significantly criticized in recent decades, so that conversion in response to witnessing acts of Christian martyrdom now appears to have been relatively minor. In order to both elaborate on and critically evaluate these criticisms, the present thesis compares a number of Christian and ‘pagan’ texts from the second and third centuries CE that deal with martyrdom and/or ‘noble death’. While the thesis pays attention to issues surrounding the scale on which martyrdom occurred and the extent to which witnessing the torture and execution of Christians may have inspired conversion, its main focus is on the importance of martyr texts to the Christianization of the Roman Empire. ‘Christianization’ here is used in a more general sense, and includes not only conversion, but also the formation of Christian (group)identity and the catechesis of new members. With regards to the possibility of Christian texts being used to convert outsiders or instruct the newly-initiated, the thesis works from the assumption that these ‘pagan’ audiences would have been more likely to adopt a favourable view of Christian martyrdom – and perhaps concomitantly, Christianity – insofar as its (literary) representations presented it as similar to noble death. Simultaneously, the thesis argues that Christian martyr texts contain several unique elements, principally religious in character, that allowed them to out-live ‘pagan’ noble death traditions like that of the Acta Alexandrinorum. These shared and unique aspects are recovered through an in-depth analysis and comparison of a number of Christian and ‘pagan’ texts. All in all, the findings of the thesis generally agree with earlier revisionist publications, and suggest that conversion induced by martyrdom was rare, and that the importance of martyr texts to Early Christianity mostly lay in their ability to provide Christian groups with powerful communities identities and moral exemplars.Show less
This work analyses the police apparatus of early imperial Rome. The research is embedded in existing theories about policing and explores by what means the Roman state managed to police early...Show moreThis work analyses the police apparatus of early imperial Rome. The research is embedded in existing theories about policing and explores by what means the Roman state managed to police early imperial Rome.Show less
This research studied the conceptualization of the functionality of power objects in the ancient world. With the help of emerging research fields on material agency and ancient emotions,...Show moreThis research studied the conceptualization of the functionality of power objects in the ancient world. With the help of emerging research fields on material agency and ancient emotions, instructions for making amulets have been studied to understand why ancient individuals put trust in certain objects that could, as they believed, influence their lives. This research has shown that the concept of protective circles can help to gain a better understanding of the believed functions of amulets and other power objects.Show less
The Ravenna Papyri is a set of documents from Late Antiquity. The documents provide insight into the system and structure of land ownership in this rather understudied period (445 AD - 700 AD)....Show moreThe Ravenna Papyri is a set of documents from Late Antiquity. The documents provide insight into the system and structure of land ownership in this rather understudied period (445 AD - 700 AD). This study examines both the social and economic aspects of the papyri, with an emphasis on (1) the organization of agriculture in the sources, (2) the social structure of landowners and those who are connected to landholdings (often by working on it as tenant), and (3) how landholdings circulated (between owners).Show less
Emperor Justinian (r.527 to 565) was one of the most famous and infamous emperors of Late Antiquity. One of his most remarkable qualities had been his legislative fervour. Early on, he had...Show moreEmperor Justinian (r.527 to 565) was one of the most famous and infamous emperors of Late Antiquity. One of his most remarkable qualities had been his legislative fervour. Early on, he had completed what would later be called the Corpus Iuris Civilis, incorporating the Codex, the Digesta and the Institutiones. However, in the wake of this Corpus, his reign produced another 155 ‘new laws’ that have not yet received the scholarly attention they deserve. This thesis has taken these Novellae seriously as a corpus of its own and has explored how we should understand this multitude of laws in their socio-political context and how these innovations were anchored in a sixth-century worldview. The Novellae performed a multi-layered balancing act between tradition and innovation, subject and emperor, and being shaped by and shaping society. However, these laws singled out one person whose presence invaded every corner of the text: the emperor. He was ruler of the eternal Roman Empire and Christian father of the people. In the end, he knew what was best.Show less
This study searches for an answer to the question who the Palestinian leistes was and which role he played within early Roman Palestinian society. It starts with a re-examination of earlier models,...Show moreThis study searches for an answer to the question who the Palestinian leistes was and which role he played within early Roman Palestinian society. It starts with a re-examination of earlier models, mainly the Zealot model and the social banditry model. Due to dissatisfaction with both major models, it continues by seeing latrocinium as a means used by both regional strongmen and Palestinian peasant communities to fulfil economic, social, and political goals. Peasants entered into patronal relations with regional strongmen and performed latrocinium-like activities for the former in exchange for protection against subsistence crises and external enemies. The regional strongmen on the other hand, used their leistai to strengthen their own position in society. This study looks at how latrocinium worked in Early Roman Palestine and how it penetrated into all levels of society. Furthermore, making use of both the model developed in this study and the model of multi-polar network-centric insurgency, it proposes a new way of looking at the First Jewish War (66-74AD) and at the role of leistai within this event.Show less
Ancient Roman notions of the feminine were ambiguous: on the one hand the feminine was defined as wild, irresponsible and dangerous, but on the other hand the feminine was defined as a cultured,...Show moreAncient Roman notions of the feminine were ambiguous: on the one hand the feminine was defined as wild, irresponsible and dangerous, but on the other hand the feminine was defined as a cultured, productive and essential element of society. Pearls regularly feature in Roman discourses about the feminine, and posess a similar ambiguity. Pearls were used as a symbol or metaphor for both sides of the ambiguous identity of the feminine in literary, visual and archaeological sources. This thesis analyses the underlying thoughts and connections between pearls and the ambiguous notions of feminine identity in the Roman world.Show less
There is extensive discussion amongst scholars as to the origin and flourishing of the phenomenon of the living deified ruler. The so-called ruler cult quickly gains popularity in the Hellenistic...Show moreThere is extensive discussion amongst scholars as to the origin and flourishing of the phenomenon of the living deified ruler. The so-called ruler cult quickly gains popularity in the Hellenistic era and continues long into the Roman period. Although scholars have long been trying to find an explanation for this in the source material, none have succeeded in finding one which satisfies all. It is possible that the Cognitive Science of Religion (CSR) could provide us with a new framework in which to place the already exciting evidence. Cognitive science is the interdisciplinary and scientific investigation of the mind and intelligence. Its advantages are that it focusses on general ‘laws’ of thinking that follow out of the structure of our brains. It follows then, that these are theories that should be applicable across cultures and, since the structure of our brains has not evolved since the beginning of history (ca. 3000 B.C.), they are also applicable through time. Cognitive science could therefore help in providing a framework in which the current theories on the ruler cult can function, by indicating what is even humanly possible to think based on the structure of the brain. It could perhaps, even suggest the most likely theories that can be discovered given certain tendencies the human mind has. This research examines the possibility of applying the Cognitive Science of Religion in the origin and flourishing of the Hellenistic and Roman ruler cults, as well as the study of Ancient History in general. It does this by examining the viability of the so-called Standard Model (a seven-point construct that outlines the major areas of consensus in CSR) in the primary material of the Hellenistic and Roman periods.Show less
This thesis looks at changes in landholding patterns in the age of Sulla. While most studies on landholding patterns focus on the second century B.C., the author argues that the first century B.C....Show moreThis thesis looks at changes in landholding patterns in the age of Sulla. While most studies on landholding patterns focus on the second century B.C., the author argues that the first century B.C. is deserving of more scholarly attention since many big changes occur in this period. The author discusses Sulla’s colonization programme and the proscriptions in order to determine the effect of these measures on landholding patterns in Italy. Specifically, this thesis seeks to help illuminate the reasons behind the veritable explosion of villa-buildings after the age of Sulla. This study offers up a reassessment of the colonization programme and argues that the programme was conducted on a much smaller scale than is often thought. The overall impact of the programme is also far less significant than often assumed. It is argued that the proscriptions had a far larger impact on landholding patterns. The author argues that it was the proscriptions, and not the colonization programme, that is likely to have led to an increase in villa-buildings.Show less
