Overview

Phrygia in the second and third centuries CE offers more vivid evidence for what has been termed “lived ancient religion” than any other region in the ancient world. The evidence from Phrygia is neither literary nor issued by cities or their powerful inhabitants but rather comes from farmers and herders who left behind numerous stone memorials of themselves and dedications to their gods, praying for the welfare of their families, crops, and cattle. In Religion in Roman Phrygia: From Polytheism to Christianity, Robert Parker opens a rare window into the world of those Sir Ronald Syme called “the voiceless earth-coloured rustics” who have been “conveniently forgotten.” The period in which Phrygian paganism flourished so visibly was also the period in which Christianity was introduced by the apostle Paul and took root. Parker presents a rich body of evidence and uses it to explore one of history’s great stories and enigmas: how and why the new religion overtook its predecessor, with the Christian God meeting needs previously satisfied by Zeus and the other gods.

Full Product Details

Author:   Robert Parker
Publisher:   University of California Press
Imprint:   University of California Press
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 2.30cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.499kg
ISBN:  

9780520395480

ISBN 10:   0520395484
Pages:   266
Publication Date:   19 September 2023
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Out of stock  
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Table of Contents

Contents List of Illustrations  Preface  Introduction  1. Contexts of religious life  2. Priesthoods, finance, authority  3. Phrygian polytheism I: The gods  4. Phrygian polytheism II: Differentiated powers?  5. Heavenly and imperial gods  6. Consecrations and confessions at the sanctuary of Apollo Lairbenos  7. Phrygian gods and death  8. Christianity and paganism in Phrygia  9. Retrospect  10. The masked ball: Interpretatio and its effects  11. Envoi  Appendix A. Myths and traditions of city origins  Appendix B. ‘Honoured by/consecrated to Hekate’ and related texts  Appendix C. τὸν θεόν σοι, μὴ ἀδικήσῃς Appendix D. Paganism and Montanism  Appendix E. The prose inscription for Epitynchanos and family  Appendix F. Iconography and ‘recovering the indigenous’  Bibliography  Index 

Reviews

“Every book by Robert Parker is an event in the field of the history of religions, and not only; this one is no exception. . . . Far from being monolithic, Roman Phrygia, between countryside and cities, with its communities of Jews and Christians, offers a view of a religious landscape complex that Parker has beautifully highlighted.” * Bryn Mawr Classical Review *

Author Information

Robert Parker is Wykeham Professor Emeritus of Ancient History at Oxford University. He is author of five monographs on Greek religion, most recently Greek Gods Abroad. His book Polytheism and Society at Athens won the Criticos Prize for 2005.

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