The Emperor at the Council. Imperial Interventions in Late Antique Church Councils in Literary Sources and Documentary Records

Millennium ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 175-201
Author(s):  
Luisa Andriollo
Keyword(s):  
Late Antique ◽  
Religious Policy ◽  
Literary Sources ◽  
Sixth Session ◽  
Church Councils

Abstract This paper examines the modes of imperial interactions with Church councils, focusing on the emperor’s participation in episcopal meetings and its representation in late antique sources, both literary and documentary. The author argues that the availability and strategic dissemination of conciliar records could affect, for better or worse, the understanding of the imperial religious policy and attitude towards Church institutions. This is most clearly illustrated by Marcian’s behaviour at Chalcedon, and by the active steps he took to produce an official and imperially endorsed edition of the conciliar acts. The significance of Marcian’s initiatives emerges more clearly when placed in the context of developing practices with respect to conciliar procedure (and the imperial role therein) and the circulation of conciliar information. After considering possible precedents in both these fields, the article reconstructs the early circulation and reception of the Chalcedonian acts, focusing particularly on the records of the sixth session, which was presided by the emperor himself. The author discusses the role played by the imperial initiative at the council and in its aftermath, and how it contributed to shape the reception of Marcian’s image as a Christian ruler.

scholarly journals Between Heaven and Earth: Family ownership versus rights of monastic communities. The Theodosian Code and late antique legal practice

2020 ◽  
pp. 117-170
Author(s):  
Marzena Wojtczak
Keyword(s):  
Roman Law ◽  
Late Antique ◽  
Christian Communities ◽  
Literary Sources ◽  
Monastic Communities ◽  
The Will ◽  
The One ◽  
Secular Power ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Heaven And Earth

This article investigates the relationship between the legislation introduced in the field of proprietary rights assigned to various Church entities and the practice of accumulation of wealth by the monastic communities in late antique Egypt. On the one hand, among the literary sources the predominant theme concerning Egyptian monasticism is the idea of voluntary poverty and renunciation of worldly possessions aimed at the pursuance of a contemplative life. On the other hand, the papyri offer insight into monastic life that does not seem to have been entirely detached from the outside world. In this vein, the laws of Valentinian I and Theodosius II clearly indicate that monks and nuns continued to own property without disturbance after undertaking religious life. In addition, Theodosius the Great and later emperors restricted the freedom of certain groups of citizens to disown their property, rendering the Christian ideal of voluntary poverty not always feasible. It is only with Justinian that the rules regarding monastic poverty are shaped and set by the secular power. The incentive for this study is to check for any conflict between the principles of classical Roman law in the field of private ownership and imperial legislation included in the Codex Theodosianus. Giorgio Barone-Adesi observed the tension that took place between the Christian communities and their corporations that were allotted ever broader privileges and the Roman principle of preservation of the property within the family unit. There is, however, still some room left for discussion since not all the data easily adds up to an unequivocal conclusion. In this analysis, the Code is treated as a measure for taking a stand by the legislator in the dispute between the will of the owner, recognition of the rights of the heirs and family members, and finally the privileges granted to the religious consortia.

Amulets and the Ritual Efficacy of Christian Symbols

2019 ◽  
pp. 349-366
Author(s):  
Rangar H. Cline
Keyword(s):  
Roman Empire ◽  
Material Culture ◽  
Fourth Century ◽  
Second Century ◽  
Late Antique ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
Literary Sources ◽  
Body And Soul ◽  
Insight Into

Although “magical” amulets are often overlooked in studies of early Christian material culture, they provide unique insight into the lives of early Christians. The high number of amulets that survive from antiquity, their presence in domestic and mortuary archaeological contexts, and frequent discussions of amulets in Late Antique literary sources indicate that they constituted an integral part of the fabric of religious life for early Christians. The appearance of Christian symbols on amulets, beginning in the second century and occurring with increasing frequency in the fourth century and afterward, reveals the increasing perception of Christian symbols as ritually potent among Christians and others in the Roman Empire. The forms, texts, and images on amulets reveal the fears and hopes that occupied the daily lives of early Christians, when amulets designed for ritual efficacy if not orthodoxy were believed to provide a defense against forces that would harm body and soul.

RESIDENTIAL VILLAS IN LATE ANTIQUE ITALY: CONTINUITY AND CHANGE

2004 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 333-375
Author(s):  
Carla Sfameni
Keyword(s):  
Late Antique ◽  
Religious Buildings ◽  
Continuity And Change ◽  
Literary Sources ◽  
Residential Characteristics ◽  
Architectural Development ◽  
The Relationship

This paper surveys the architectural development of Italian villas with residential characteristics for the 4th–6th c. A.D. Literary sources relevant to aristocratic life in the countryside are also considered. Two broad phases of villa development are identified. During the late 3rd and 4th c. A.D. many villas were rebuilt, with some traditional and some new features. In the 5th and 6th c. A.D. new coherent plan types and further new features appear, such as fortifications and Christian religious buildings. Nevertheless, even in this later period, villa sites can show much continuity with the classical villa tradition. The evolution of Italian villas can generally be related to changing aristocratic lifestyles and ideas of leisure as described by the literary sources, though the relationship between archaeology and the texts is complex

THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE STYLITE

2010 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 329-397 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lukas Amadeus Schachner
Keyword(s):  
Future Research ◽  
Limited Attention ◽  
Late Antique ◽  
Archaeological Evidence ◽  
The Road ◽  
Literary Sources

Stylites or pillar ascetics and their Syrian prototype, Symeon the Elder (d. 459), are well known from our literary sources and have been studied extensively within late antique historiography. This is in contrast to the far more limited attention that has been paid to the archaeological evidence of the stylites’ pillars, their spatial setting and infrastructure, their representations and other material forms of evidence. This article seeks to outline what has been achieved so far on the archaeology of the stylites and proposes a possible agenda for future research, particularly in Syria and Mesopotamia. Such work, desperately needed, could also pave the road for a better understanding of the stylites’ Lebenswelten, function and liturgy.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF SAMARITAN RESEARCH IN ISRAEL

2010 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 189-198
Author(s):  
Shimon Dar
Keyword(s):  
Late Antiquity ◽  
Archaeological Research ◽  
Late Antique ◽  
Literary Sources ◽  
Material Evidence

Archaeological research into the history and culture of the Samaritans in late antique Israel has increased dramatically in recent decades. The Samaritans, a monotheistic sect that separated from Judaism, expanded from their heartland of Samaria to other parts of Eretz Israel. Their presence has been identified through oil lamps, sarcophagi and synagogues, and this material evidence together with literary sources and new excavations in Samaria and elsewhere has encouraged scholars to develop a better understanding of Samaritan archaeology in Late Antiquity.

TEMPLES IN LATE ANTIQUE GAUL

2011 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 163-193
Author(s):  
Penelope J. Goodman
Keyword(s):  
Late Antique ◽  
Sacred Architecture ◽  
Financial Difficulties ◽  
Literary Sources ◽  
The Military

Literary sources emphasise the role of Christian iconoclasts and churchbuilders in the demise of Gaul’s pagan temples. But the picture from archaeology is different, since excavated remains suggest that the main story is one of voluntary abandonment from the late 3rd c. A.D. onwards. This may be linked with the military upheavals of the period, but indirectly, due to factors such as financial difficulties and the changing priorities of the elite. Meanwhile, the imperial adoption of Christianity and the beginnings of official hostility towards pagan religion had little impact, because by the time they came into effect, the heyday of pagan sacred architecture in Gaul had passed.

scholarly journals Ἀργὼ πᾶσι μέλουσα, παρ᾽ Αἰήταο πλέουσα – greckie źródła literackie do poznania mitu o Medei i wyprawie Argonautów po złote runo od VIII w. p.n.e. do III w. p.n.e.

2019 ◽  
pp. 9-30
Author(s):  
Justyna Dworniak
Keyword(s):  
Ancient Greece ◽  
Late Antique ◽  
Change Over Time ◽  
Apollonius Rhodius ◽  
Literary Sources ◽  
Over Time

The myth of Medea and the Argonauts’ voyage to the faraway Colchis in search of the Golden Fleece belongs to the earliest legends of ancient Greece. The narrative elements of the tale would change over time. For almost thirteen centuries, from Homer to the late-antique poem Argonautica Orphica, which yet again retold the heroes’ expedition to Colchis, the legend of the Colchian sorceress and the fifty brave men fascinated ancient poets, historians and tragedians. Hence the paper focuses on the Greek literary sources which conveyed the tale. A detailed discussion of the works aims to highlight the diversity and multiplicity of the myth’s versions as well as outlines the evolution of the legend, whose most celebrated and recognized literary variant is found in Argonautica by Apollonius Rhodius.

Iconography and Archaeology

2021 ◽  
pp. 91-113
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Marlowe
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Late Antiquity ◽  
Third Century ◽  
Late Antique ◽  
Physical Strength ◽  
The Third ◽  
Roman Villa ◽  
Literary Sources ◽  
Art Historians

This chapter critically examines how scholars have interpreted Roman portraits of the third century ce. It focuses on two case studies. The first is a famous portrait of Maximinus Thrax from the Albani collection and now in the Capitoline Museum. Read through the lens of late antique literary sources, the portrait has been seen by art historians as portraying Maximinus’ ferocity, physical strength, and low class, barbarian origins. The second case study is a far less well-known pair of portraits excavated at the Roman villa of Lullingstone, south of London, which became the object of a highly unusual domestic cult in late antiquity. These case studies are used to argue that the heavy reliance on iconography and literary sources required to interpret portraits lacking archaeological context is less reliable and less informative than interpretations derived from a combination of iconography and archaeology.

Living and Working on the Capitoline Hill

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason Moralee
Keyword(s):  
Urban Environment ◽  
Public Spaces ◽  
Sixth Century ◽  
Third Century ◽  
Late Antique ◽  
The Third ◽  
Literary Sources ◽  
The Social ◽  
High Degree ◽  
The Hill

Chapter 2 surveys the evidence for the maintenance of the Capitoline Hill’s temples, statues, festivals, and administrative uses into the sixth century. While imperial rites celebrated at the Capitol faded in significance by the end of the third century, the hill was at the heart of the social and administrative worlds of late antique Rome. The chapter thus turns to the ways in which the hill was embedded in multiple late Roman neighborhoods and used for administrative purposes. Even as Rome’s urban environment was undergoing serious transformations in the use of public spaces, archaeology, epigraphy, and literary sources demonstrate that the Capitoline Hill was surrounded by neighborhoods displaying a high degree of sociability and commerce throughout this period.

scholarly journals Geological Materials in Late Antique Archaeology: The Lithic Lectern Throne of the Christian Syrian Churches

Heritage ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 1883-1898
Author(s):  
Giovanna Bucci
Keyword(s):  
Late Antique ◽  
Geological Materials ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
Archaeological Data ◽  
Literary Sources ◽  
New Interpretation ◽  
Materials Used ◽  
Geological Context

The geological materials used in early Christian Syrian churches involve a lithic furnishing element: the lectern throne of the Syriac bema, a stone device used as a support for the holy books. Some inscriptions found in Syria suggest an interpretation for this artifact, located in the middle of the Syriac bema hemicycle, fronting the altar zone. These elements were made of basalt or limestone, depending on the geographical–geological context of the building. In this work, an unedited classification of the main typologies of thrones is proposed with a collatio between geo-archaeological data, epigraphic texts, mosaic inscriptions, literary sources, and findings. The role of this uncommon piece of furniture, uncertain up to now, is explained with a new interpretation coming from archaeological–architectural data combined with ancient sources. The study thus locates this architectonical sculpture in the building stratigraphy and also describes decorations from the lecterns, thus contributing to chronology analysis of published and unedited Syrian sites.

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