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Animal Sacrifice in the Roman Empire (31 BCE-395 CE)

Power, Communication, and Cultural Transformation

J. B. Rives (Kenan Eminent Professor of Classics, Kenan Eminent Professor of Classics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)

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Hardback

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English
Oxford University Press Inc
02 June 2024
For over a thousand years, the practice of animal sacrifice held a central place in ancient Graeco-Roman culture as a means of both demonstrating piety to the gods and structuring social relationships. As Christianity took root in Rome in the third century CE, the cultural role of this practice changed dramatically. In Animal Sacrifice in the Roman Empire (31 BCE-395 CE), J. B. Rives explores the shifting socio-economic, political, and cultural significance of animal sacrifice in this crucial period of change.

Drawing on literary, epigraphic, archaeological, art historical, philosophical, and scriptural evidence, this volume provides a comprehensive and detailed study of the central role of animal sacrifice in the ancient Mediterranean world and traces the changes in its social function and cultural significance during the period when that world became Christianized.

By focusing on the evolution of this specific cultural practice, Rives illustrates the larger phenomenon of the religious and cultural transformation taking place in the Graeco-Roman world in the third and fourth centuries CE, providing a unique perspective which will appeal to scholars across religious and classical studies.

By:  
Imprint:   Oxford University Press Inc
Country of Publication:   United States
Dimensions:   Height: 122mm,  Width: 231mm,  Spine: 36mm
Weight:   862g
ISBN:   9780197648919
ISBN 10:   0197648916
Pages:   416
Publication Date:  
Audience:   General/trade ,  ELT Advanced
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active

J. B. Rives is Kenan Eminent Professor of Classics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His previous books include Religion in the Roman World, Tacitus: Germania (as translator and editor), and Flavius Josephus and Flavian Rome (as coeditor).

Reviews for Animal Sacrifice in the Roman Empire (31 BCE-395 CE): Power, Communication, and Cultural Transformation

Animal Sacrifice in the Roman Empire takes its place as the most important study yet of animal sacrifice, its practices and politics, through the centuries and vicissitudes of the Roman empire. The book provides lucid and theoretically-informed explanations of sacrifice in the cultural lives of Greek and Roman cities as well as the best interpretation yet of the Edict of the emperor Decius, which many Christians took as deliberate persecution. The book should be required reading for any course in Roman history, the rise of Christianity, or the world of ancient Judaism. * David Frankfurter, Boston University * In this convincing and well-written book, James Rives details how animal sacrifice maintained its essential role in ancient Roman society for centuries and how, as that role evolved, the ritual became a flashpoint in the competition between pagan and Christian authorities. * Celia Schultz, University of Michigan *


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