Revised versions of papers presented in meetings of the Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas between 1990 and 1994 elucidate the social, historical, and religious character of Judaism and Christianity in first-century Rome. Based on the latest biblical and historical scholarship as well as archaeologi

This volume challenges some common assumptions about the culture of the early Byzantine Near East by examining the architecture and urban design of five cities in that period. The author assesses the various kinds of religious structure found in each city, including cult centres, temples dedicated to the Olympian gods and buildings set aside for mystery religions. He also shows how the effects of these sanctuaries on civic religious life were hugely important and influential, and shaped the way that citizens conceived of their city and of themselves. This book should be of interest to:...