Places and spaces are key factors in how individuals and groups construct their identities. Identity theories have emphasised that the construction of an identity does not follow abstract and universal processes but is also deeply rooted in specific historical, cultural, social and material environments.
The essays in this volume explore how various groups in Late Antiquity rooted their identity in special places that were imbued with meanings derived from history and tradition. In Part I, essays explore the tension between the Classical heritage in public, especially urban spaces, in the form of ancient artwork and civic celebrations and the Church's appropriation of that space through doctrinal disputes and rival public performances. Parts II and III investigate how particular locations expressed, and formed, the theological and social identities of Christian and Jewish groups by bringing together fresh insights from the archaeological and textual evidence. Together the essays here demonstrate how the use and interpretation of shared spaces contributed to the self-identity of specific groups in Late Antiquity and in so doing issued challenges, and caused conflict, with other social and religious groups.
Author(s): Juliette Day, Raimo Hakola, Maijastina Kahlos, Ulla Tervahauta (eds.)
Publisher: Routledge
Year: 2016
Language: English
Pages: XVI+242
List of Illustrations vii
Notes on Contributors ix
Acknowledgements xii
List of Abbreviations xiii
Introduction: Spaces in Late Antiquity – Cultural, Theological and Archaeological Perspectives / JULIETTE DAY, RAIMO HAKOLA, MAIJASTINA KAHLOS AND ULLA TERVAHAUTA 1
PART I. Cultural Perspectives 9
1. Meddling in the Middle? Urban Celebrations, Ecclesiastical Leaders and the Roman Emperor in Late Antiquity / MAIJASTINA KAHLOS 11
2. Classical Culture, Domestic Space and Imperial Vision in the 'Cycle' of Agathias / STEVEN D. SMITH 32
3. Monastic Space: The Ascetic Between Sacred and Civil Spheres in Theodoret of Cyrrhus / ANDREAS WESTERGREN 48
PART II. Theological Perspectives 67
4. Seeing Christ at the Holy Places / JULIETTE DAY 69
5. Sacred Space, Virginal Consecration and Symbolic Power: A Liturgical Innovation and Its Implications in Late Ancient Christianity / DAVID G. HUNTER 89
6. The City of God and the Place of Demons: City Life and Demonology in Early Christianity / JOONA SALMINEN 106
7. Preaching, Feasting and Making Space for a Meaning / ANNA-LIISA TOLONEN 118
PART III. Archaeological Perspectives 139
8. Galilean Jews and Christians in Context: Spaces Shared and Contested in the Eastern Galilee in Late Antiquity / RAIMO HAKOLA 141
9. Performing the Sacred in a Community Building: Observations from the 2010–2015 Kinneret Regional Project Excavations in the Byzantine Synagogue of Horvat Kur (Galilee) / JÜRGEN K. ZANGENBERG 166
10. Thrown into Limekilns: The Reuse of Statuary and Architecture in Galilee from Late Antiquity onwards / RICK BONNIE 190
Bibliography 212
Index 239
