How (if, and if so, how, when, and why) did the vast complex of ancient Graeco-Roman religion, that had united and held together the ancient Mediterranean world, come to an end? I have attempted to...Show moreHow (if, and if so, how, when, and why) did the vast complex of ancient Graeco-Roman religion, that had united and held together the ancient Mediterranean world, come to an end? I have attempted to devise a reasoned roadmap to solving that issue, in conversation with recent scholarship and in doing so have strived to create a method and subset of themes that a scholar can use to study the end of a religion.Show less
This research deals with discovering how Herod the Great put the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple Complex to use within the political situation of the Roman Empire and the relation of the Empire...Show moreThis research deals with discovering how Herod the Great put the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple Complex to use within the political situation of the Roman Empire and the relation of the Empire with the Jewish People. As client king for the Roman Empire in Judea it was his job to prepare the Judean people for future incorporation in the Roman Empire, for which he used the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple. To prove this was indeed the case I will investigate how Herod used the Hellenistic architectural style – favoured by the Romans – within the Temple Mount Complex while still adhering to the Jewish rules and regulations concerning their Temple. To be able to do so I will be looking at a number of different case studies from various time periods and from approximately the same region as the Jewish Temple and comparing them to Herod’s Temple. These case studies are the Ba’al Temple in Palmyra, Herod’s Caesarea Maritima, Gerasa and the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus. Each of these shall be discussed in some detail, as well as giving a detailed description of the Temple Complex itself. At this point the main similarities to the Temple Mount Complex shall be chosen from the case studies and put next to the information already gleaned from the Complex itself. This will show how Herod managed to maintain balance between the position of Judea and the future position it would hold within the Roman Empire.Show less
