Community and Identity at the Edges of the Classical World

A timely and academically-significant contribution to scholarship on community, identity, and globalization in the Roman and Hellenistic worlds  Community and Identity at the Edges of the Classical World examines the construction of personal and communal identities in the ancient world, exploring how globalism, multi-culturalism, and other macro events influenced micro identities throughout the Hellenistic and Roman empires. This innovative volume discusses where contact and the sharing of ideas was occurring in the time period, and applies modern theories based on networks and communication to historical and archaeological data. A new generation of international scholars challenge traditional views of Classical history and offer original perspectives on the impact globalizing trends had on localized areas—insights that resonate with similar issues today.    This singular resource presents a broad, multi-national view rarely found in western collected volumes, including Serbian, Macedonian, and Russian scholarship on the Roman Empire, as well as on Roman and Hellenistic archaeological sites in Eastern Europe. Topics include Egyptian identity in the Hellenistic world, cultural identity in Roman Greece, Romanization in Slovenia, Balkan Latin, the provincial organization of cults in Roman Britain, and Soviet studies of Roman Empire and imperialism. Serving as a synthesis of contemporary scholarship on the wider topic of identity and community, this volume:  Provides an expansive materialist approach to the topic of globalization in the Roman world   Examines ethnicity in the Roman empire from the viewpoint of minority populations  Offers several views of metascholarship, a growing sub-discipline that compares ancient material to modern scholarship  Covers a range of themes, time periods, and geographic areas not included in most western publications  Community and Identity at the Edges of the Classical World is a valuable resource for academics, researchers, and graduate students examining identity and ethnicity in the ancient world, as well as for those working in multiple fields of study, from Classical, Hellenistic, and Roman historians, to the study of ethnicity, identity, and globalizing trends in time. 

Table of Contents:
List of Tables v List of Illustrations vi List of Contributors ix Introduction 1 1 The beauty of the Oikumene has two edges: Nurturing Roman Imperialism in the “Glocalizing” traditions of the East 7 Ljuben Tevdovski 2 “Triggered identity”: The use of Macedonian ethnic by Blaundos in confrontation with the Roman Empire 29 Luca Mazzini 3 The population of Siscia in the light of epigraphy 47 Ivan Radman-Livaja 4 Roman presence in Athens in the light of epigraphic sources 63 Aleksandar Simić 5 Global and local in the sanctuary of the Egyptian Gods in Marathon: The construction of a cultural identity in Roman Greece 79 Dafni Maikidou-Poutrino 6 Consciousness of connectivity: Roman temples in southern Syria 97 Francesca Mazzilli 7 Macedonian, Greek, or Egyptian? Navigating the royal additive identities of Ptolemy I Soter and Ptolemy II Philadelphus 119 Rachel J. Mittelman 8 Being Mithraist: Embracing ‘other’ in the Roman cultural milieu 139 Nina Mazhjoo 9 “There are always two sides to every story”: Roman rule, cultural continuities and ethnic identity in southern Hispania 155 Francisco Machuca Prieto 10 Unlocking ritual performances in the Romano-British countryside: How small finds and structured deposits enrich our understanding of provincial priesthoods 173 Alessandra Esposito 11 Purification through puppies: Dog symbolism and sacrifice in the Mediterranean world 189 Aaron W. Irvin and Jason Lundock 12 Communities at the edges of the Roman world: The perception of identity in the Roman Iron Age Barbaricum 209 Kala Drewniak 13 Deconstructing “Balkan Latin” 225 Dragana Kunčer 14 The importance of being earnest: Why precise language matters 243 Kaja Stemberger Flegar 15 The dictatorship of identity: Soviet scholarship and Roman imperialism 255 Anton Y. Baryshnikov Index 271

About the Author :
AARON W. IRVIN is Associate Professor of the Ancient World at Murray State University, Murray, Kentucky. Previously, he was Lecturer at the University of California Los Angeles and California State Polytechnic University. His research examines human organization, government, empire, and religion in the Roman world, and in the Late Bronze Age system of states.