Religion in the Roman Empire - Paperback

by James B. Rives (Author)

This book provides an engaging, systematic introduction to religion in the Roman empire.

• Covers both mainstream Graeco-Roman religion and regional religious traditions, from Egypt to Western Europe
• Examines the shared assumptions and underlying dynamics that characterized religious life as a whole
• Draws on a wide range of primary material, both textual and visual, from literary works, inscriptions and monuments
• Offers insight into the religious world in which contemporary rabbinic Judaism and Christianity both had their origin

Back Jacket

This book provides an engaging, systematic introduction to religion in the Roman Empire. It explores mainstream Graeco-Roman religion, as well as the diverse regional religions within the empire, from the millennia-old traditions of Egypt to the Celtic traditions of Western Europe.

The author describes the distinctive features of religion in the Roman world and examines the shared assumptions and underlying dynamics that characterized religious life as a whole. By drawing on a wide range of primary material, including literary works, inscriptions, and monuments, he allows readers to engage with original sources directly and provides unique insight into the religious world in which contemporary rabbinic Judaism and Christianity both had their origins.

Author Biography

James B. Rives is Kenan Eminent Professor of Classics at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. He is the author of Religion and Authority in Roman Carthage (1995), Tacitus: Germania (1999), and has co-edited Flavius Josephus and Flavian Rome (2005). He has written a number of important articles on Roman religion in the Journal of Roman Studies and Journal of Early Christian Studies, and has taught courses on Jews and Christians in the Roman Empire, religions of the Roman Empire, and ruler cult in the Graeco-Roman world.