Synopses & Reviews
andquot;This broad yet scrupulous study invites a fundamental rethinking of the history of Christianity in the Sasanian Empire. Rejecting the conventional historiographical framework that focuses on Christian narratives of Zoroastrian persecution,
A State of Mixture demonstrates, with cogency and clarity, how thoroughly the Sasanian Empire absorbed the Christian community within its borders. Weaving together a rich array of texts, documents, and archaeology, Payneandrsquo;s study shows how the Christian elites of the Sasanian world created local histories, law, and martyr legends consistent with their own values.andquot;andmdash;Joel Walker, Associate Professor and Jon Bridgman Endowed Professor of History at the University of Washington
andquot;Sasanian history and the place of Christians within pre-Islamic Iran is opaque to most scholars and when narrated often done so with banal statements about intolerance and persecution. Richard Payne integrates archaeological and linguistically complex sources to tell a compelling story about violence, ritual, class, ideology, and social life. More broadly, this is a book about how subjects negotiate their positions within empires and how imperial ideology is compatible with religious difference.andquot;andmdash;Adam H. Becker, Associate Professor of Classics and Religious Studies at New York University
Review
and#8220;A learned study of how the writings of two religious rivals . . . were products of the same cultural koine, Hellenism. . . . Recommended.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;The refined corrective [Elms] brings to the dominant portrayals of her two protagonists is itself noteworthy, but her book does much more.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;This very good book is a welcome contribution . . . and is worthy of the prestigious series in which it appears.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;Obligatory reading for anyone interested in Greek tragedy, reception studies, the history of the theater, or US cultural history. . . . Essential.and#8221;
Review
"[A] monumental mosaic of a book."
Synopsis
This groundbreaking study brings into dialogue for the first time the writings of Julian, the last non-Christian Roman Emperor, and his most outspoken critic, Bishop Gregory of Nazianzus, a central figure of Christianity. Susanna Elm compares these two men not to draw out the obvious contrast between the Church and the Emperorand#8217;s neo-Paganism, but rather to find their common intellectual and social grounding. Her insightful analysis, supplemented by her magisterial command of sources, demonstrates the ways in which both men were part of the same dialectical whole. Elm recasts both Julian and Gregory as men entirely of their times, showing how the Roman Empire in fact provided Christianity with the ideological and social matrix without which its longevity and dynamism would have been inconceivable.
Synopsis
and#147;In this magisterial study, Susanna Elm illuminates fresh and persuasive connections between intellectual life and imperial politics in the late Roman empire, describing complex concepts with consummate ease and in a splendidly fluent style.
Sons of Hellenism is a model of what a history of ideas should be.and#8221;and#151;John Anthony McGuckin, Professor of Byzantine Christian History, Columbia University
and#147;With this book, Susanna Elm has blown an irreparable hole in the wall that has long separated the study of philosophy, theology, and politics in the ancient world. Sons of Hellenism is an intellectual tour de force and a master work in every respect.and#8221;and#151;H.A. Drake, author of Constantine and the Bishops: The Politics of Intolerance
Synopsis
This pioneering study examines a pivotal period in the history of Europe and the Near East. Spanning the ancient and medieval worlds, it investigates the shared ideal of sacred kingship that emerged in the late Roman and Persian empires. This shared ideal, while often generating conflict during the four centuries of the empires' coexistence (224-642), also drove exchange, especially the means and methods Roman and Persian sovereigns used to project their notions of universal rule: elaborate systems of ritual and their cultures' visual, architectural, and urban environments. Matthew Canepa explores the artistic, ritual, and ideological interactions between Rome and the Iranian world under the Sasanian dynasty, the last great Persian dynasty before Islam. He analyzes how these two hostile systems of sacred universal sovereignty not only coexisted, but fostered cross-cultural exchange and communication despite their undying rivalry. Bridging the traditional divide between classical and Iranian history, this book brings to life the dazzling courts of two global powers that deeply affected the cultures of medieval Europe, Byzantium, Islam, South Asia, and China.
Synopsis
and#147;This book is a true
tour de force in the scholarship of the late ancient world. Canepa has bridged the traditional divide between Classical and Iranian studies to illuminate the long-running artistic dialogue between the late Roman and Sasanian Empires. Every chapter offers exciting new insights into the development of late antique art and rituals of power."and#151;Joel Walker, author of
The Legend of Mar Qardagh: Narrative and Christian Heroism in Late Antique Iraq"The Two Eyes of the Earth is a masterly synthesis of a theme of the utmost importance for the political culture of the late antique world."and#151;Peter Brown, author of Power and Persuasion
Synopsis
This book explores the emergence of Greek tragedy on the American stage from the nineteenth century to the present. Despite the gap separating the world of classical Greece from our own, Greek tragedy has provided a fertile source for some of the most innovative American theater. Helene P. Foley shows how plays like Oedipus Rex and Medea have resonated deeply with contemporary concerns and controversiesand#151;over war, slavery, race, the status of women, religion, identity, and immigration. Although Greek tragedy was often initially embraced for its melodramatic possibilities, by the twentieth century it became a vehicle not only for major developments in the history of American theater and dance, but also for exploring critical tensions in American cultural and political life. Drawing on a wide range of sourcesand#151;archival, video, interviews, and reviewsand#151;Reimagining Greek Tragedy on the American Stage provides the most comprehensive treatment of the subject available.
Synopsis
"Only Helene Foley could have written this book. The combination of meticulous classical scholarship with a lifetime of accumulated experience of the US contemporary arts scene has produced a stylish, exciting, and energising read. Mandatory reading for anyone who loves either Greek or American Theatre.and#8221;and#151;Edith Hall, author of
Greek Tragedy: Suffering under the Sunand#147;This eagerly anticipated volume covers enormous ground with great skill and insight. It demonstrates unequivocally that the ancient plays have not simply been central to life within the American academy; they have also routinely been at the forefront of innovation and debate within the American theatre.and#8221;and#151;Fiona McIntosh, Director of the Archive of Performances of Greek and Roman Drama, University of Oxford.
"A magnificent work, impressive in its scope and learning, yet accessible and engagingand#151;an extraordinary, indeed indispensable contribution to reception studies of Greek tragedy."and#151;Mary Kay Gamel, Professor of Classics, Comparative Literature, and Theater Arts, University of California, Santa Cruz
Synopsis
Christian communities flourished during late antiquity in a Zoroastrian political system, known as the Iranian Empire, that integrated culturally and geographically disparate territories from Arabia to Afghanistan into its institutions and networks. Whereas previous studies have regarded Christians as marginal, insular, and often persecuted participants in this empire, Richard Payne demonstrates their integration into elite networks, adoption of Iranian political practices and imaginaries, and participation in imperial institutions.
and#160;The rise of Christianity in Iran depended on the Zoroastrian theory and practice of hierarchical, differentiated inclusion, according to which Christians, Jews, and others occupied legitimate places in Iranian political culture in positions subordinate to the imperial religion. Christians, for their part, positioned themselves in a political culture not of their own making, with recourse to their own ideological and institutional resources, ranging from the writing of saintsandrsquo; lives to the judicial arbitration of bishops. In placing the social history of East Syrian Christians at the center of the Iranian imperial story, A State of Mixture helps explain the endurance of a culturally diverse empire across four centuries.
and#160;
Synopsis
"Sasanian history and the place of Christians within pre-Islamic Iran is opaque to most scholars and, when narrated, done so with banal statements about intolerance and persecution. Richard Payne integrates archeological and linguistically complex sources to tell a compelling story about violence, ritual, class, ideology, and social life. More broadly, this is a book about how subjects negotiate their positions within empires and how imperial ideology is compatible with religious difference."and#151;Adam H. Becker, Associate Professor of Classics and Religious Studies at New York University
About the Author
Helene P. Foley is Professor of Classics at Barnard College, Columbia University, and the 2008 Sather Professor at UC Berkeley. Her many books include Ritual Irony and Female Acts in Greek Tragedy .
Table of Contents
Abbreviations
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Universalism and Governance
Julian the Emperor and Gregory the Theologian
Gregory and the Bishops
Julian and Gregory in Context
Part I
1. Nazianzus and the Eastern Empire, 330and#150;361
Nazianzus and Gregory: The Personal and the Local
Constantinople: Emperor, Cosmopolis, and Cosmos
Constantiusand#8217;s Triumph: Unity and Harmony, 358and#150;360
Reversal: Constantius and Julian Augustus, 360and#150;361
2. Julian, from Caesar to Augustus: Paris to Constantinople, 355and#150;362
Toward Constantinople: From Caesar to Augustus, 360and#150;361
Julianand#8217;s Concepts of Leadership: Philosopher and King
3. Philosopher, Leader, Priest: Julian in Constantinople, Spring 362
The Context of Julianand#8217;s Concepts of the True Philosophical Life
A Philosopher as Leader, in Julianand#8217;s Own Words: Against the Cynic Heraclius
A Universal Divinity for a Universal Empire; or, How to Interpret Myth: Hymn to the Mother of the Gods
How to Achieve True Philosophy: Against the Uneducated Cynics
The Law Regarding Teachers
Part II
4. On the True Philosophical Life and Ideal Christian Leadership: Gregoryand#8217;s Inaugural Address, Oration 2
A High-Wire Act: The True Philosophical Life as the Model of Priesthood in Late Antiquity
The Codes of Aptitude
5. The Most Potent Pharmakon: Gregory the Elder and Nazianzus
The Other High-Wire Act: Fathers and Sons
The Royal Road: Gregory the Elderand#8217;s Opponents at Nazianzus
6. Armed like a Hopliteand#151;Gregory the Political Philosopher at War: Eunomius, Photinus, and Julian
Oikeiosis pros Theon as Political Philosophy
The Enemy on the Inside: Photinus and Eunomius
What Do Words Mean?
Oikeiosis pros Theon: Oration 2 against Eunomius
Part III
7. A Health-Giving Star Shining on the East: Julian in Antioch, July 362 to March 363
The Emperor as Priest
Julianand#8217;s Divine Mandate
The Platonic Philosopher-King: The Misopogon and Julianand#8217;s Universal Vision
8. The Making of the Apostate: Gregoryand#8217;s Oration 4 against Julian
The Pillar of Infamy: An Inverted Fand#252;rstenspiegel
Imperial Decrees and Divine Enactments: Julian and Constantius
9. A Bloodless Sacrifice of Words to the Word: Logoi for the Logos
Myth and Allegory
Logoi: The Theological Implications
Apostasis versus Theosis; or, True Oikeiosis pros Theon
Oration 6, On Peace: Unity and Concord
10. Gregoryand#8217;s Second Strike, Oration 5
The Pagan Context
Gregoryand#8217;s Second Strike against the Pagans
Procopius versus Valens
Conclusion: Visions of Rome
Governing the Oikoumene
Authority and Kinship of the Elites
Competing Universalisms
Notes
Bibliography
Index