A Place at the Altar

Priestesses in Republican Rome

Meghan J. DiLuzio (Autor)

Buch | Hardcover

304 Seiten

2016
Princeton University Press (Verlag)
978-0-691-16957-6 (ISBN)

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A Place at the Altar illuminates a previously underappreciated dimension of religion in ancient Rome: the role of priestesses in civic cult. Demonstrating that priestesses had a central place in public rituals and institutions, Meghan DiLuzio emphasizes the complex, gender-inclusive nature of Roman priesthood. In ancient Rome, priestly service was a cooperative endeavor, requiring men and women, husbands and wives, and elite Romans and slaves to work together to manage the community's relationship with its gods. Like their male colleagues, priestesses offered sacrifices on behalf of the Roman people, and prayed for the community's well-being. As they carried out their ritual obligations, they were assisted by female cult personnel, many of them slave women. DiLuzio explores the central role of the Vestal Virgins and shows that they occupied just one type of priestly office open to women. Some priestesses, including the flaminica Dialis, the regina sacrorum, and the wives of the curial priests, served as part of priestly couples. Others, such as the priestesses of Ceres and Fortuna Muliebris, were largely autonomous.
A Place at the Altar offers a fresh understanding of how the women of ancient Rome played a leading role in public cult.

Meghan J. DiLuzio is assistant professor of classics at Baylor University.

List of Illustrations ix Acknowledgments xi Abbreviations xiii Introduction 1 1 The Flamen and Flaminica Dialis 17 2 Priestly Couples 52 3 Salian Virgins, Sacerdotes, and Ministrae 79 4 The Vestal Virgins 119 5 The Costume of the Vestal Virgins 154 6 The Ritual Activities of the Vestal Virgins 185 7 The Vestal Virgins in Roman Politics 223 Conclusion 240 Bibliography 245 Index 273

Erscheinungsdatum	15.10.2016
Zusatzinfo	19 halftones. 2 line illus.
Verlagsort	New Jersey
Sprache	englisch
Maße	152 x 235 mm
Gewicht	624 g
Themenwelt	Geschichte ► Allgemeine Geschichte ► Vor- und Frühgeschichte
	Geschichte ► Allgemeine Geschichte ► Altertum / Antike
	Geisteswissenschaften ► Geschichte ► Regional- / Ländergeschichte
ISBN-10	0-691-16957-8 / 0691169578
ISBN-13	978-0-691-16957-6 / 9780691169576
Zustand	Neuware