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This dissertation examines the organization of audiences in spectacular venues (theatres, amphitheatres, stadia, and odea) throughout the Graeco-Roman world. The arrangements in Rome are discussed but the main focus is the organization of spectators in Italian and provincial venues, revealed through inscriptions found on the seats themselves indicating for which individual or group the seat or area was reserved. Included with this dissertation is a catalogue of seating inscriptions from venues throughout the empire, the first to be compiled. This study compares provincial communities within the same region, across regions, and also with Rome. Topics discussed include to what extent legislation passed in Rome influenced seating outside of the city, the contrast between the display in the theatre of the egalitarian ideology of classical Athens and the display of the hierarchically-based Roman ideology, the different uses of venues as they are revealed by seating inscriptions, and the relationship of spectacular venues to the power of the Roman emperor and the ways in which this power was negotiated in the East. Spectacular venues, in which members of the local population as well as visitors were present, were ideal locations for the display of the local social hierarchy. This display was one that was, at least in the western regions of the empire, influenced to a certain degree by legislation passed in Rome but it was also influenced by the desires of the local elite throughout the empire who were responsible for the grant of reserved seats. The organization of spectacular audiences thus not only reflected the disparate social and civic structures of individual communities, but also projected an idealized vision created by those in charge of seating arrangements. Local inhabitants could, through their attendance at spectacles, determine their place within the ideal community on display. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

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In Part One, I first argue that the life and thought of educated Graeco-Romans was profoundly shaped by a tension between characteristions of a primary reality and the social experiences of everyday reality. The tension surfaced in various models, images, and expectations of the real-the-essence-the-ideal-the-perfect which both reflected and reinforced the presumption of a higher reality lying somewhere other than in the stuff of everyday life. The second chapter sketches the broad contours of Paul's preoccupation with Jesus Christ. I note how his focus on Christ spilled over into a penchant for the historical, the personal, and the social. I explore these as three interdependent axes of his thought. In chapter three I use the vantage point constructed in the first two chapters to see the distinctiveness of Paul's thought and experience over against the patterns of Graeco-Roman philosophy, theology, religion, and morality. Part Two, explores the ways in which Paul's knowledge of Christ offered coherence within the contingencies of everyday experience. Chapter four focuses on Paul's conversations for change. The topic of these chapters are really inseparable not only from each other, but from those of the previous chapters on Paul's life and thought. Thus certain themes recur through chapters two to five so that the four chapters form a continuous presentation of Paul's life and thought, albeit from several different perspectives. Part Three carries the conversation forward to evangelicalism. In chapter six, I view the sermon as a critical event in the life of evangelicalism, and as the bridge between the academy and the congregation. I concentrate on the intellectual and social phenomena which highlight an evangelical's experience of the movement as a system and a culture. This leads me to consider how evangelical meanings have broken down in the experience of some evangelicals. In chapter seven, I look at ways in which the system and culture and evangelicalism shape the reading of Paul. My focus here is on the drive to attach the epithets 'biblical' and 'unbiblical' to people, propositions, and behaviours. I argue that the intellectual and social phenomena suggest that being 'biblical' or otherwise has as much to do with social acceptability as it does with proximity to the biblical texts. This brings me full circle to the analogies which evangelicalism holds both Paul and to his Graeco-Roman milieu. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Além de Roma, nenhuma cidade no Alto Império Romano foi mais analisada, caracterizada e criticada a partir de perspectivas externas do que Alexandria no Egito. As imagens produzidas pela literatura ajudaram a elaborar a representação da cidade que a historiografia contemporânea perpetuou: uma cidade enorme, linda, rica, turbulenta e polêmica. O objetivo desta tese de doutorado é discutir as diversas representações sobre Alexandria, reforçadas e divulgadas por autores antigos entre o século I a.C. e III d.C.. Acreditamos que tais representações, associadas à grandeza e prosperidade de Alexandria que a assemelhavam à capital do Império, ilustram uma percepção da cidade como um espelho de Roma e, também, uma ameaça à sua hegemonia. Todas as ênfases nas qualidades e realizações de Alexandria por um lado, e nos seus problemas e tendência à rebelião, por outro, não eram inocentes e são indicativas de uma mentalidade que vislumbrava a cidade como um local que demandava a atenção contínua por parte dos representantes do poder romano. A intenção desta pesquisa é analisar os motivos que geraram essa dualidade nas narrativas, por meio do mapeamento das temáticas e contextos mais tratados pela tradição clássica. / Apart from Rome, no city in the early Roman Empire was more analyzed, characterized and criticized by external perspectives than Alexandria in Egypt. The images produced by the literature helped create the representation of the city that the contemporary historiography has perpetuated: an enormous, beautiful, rich, turbulent and polemic city. The aim of this doctorate thesis is to discuss the several representations about Alexandria reinforced and divulged by ancient authors between the first century BC and third century AD. We believe that theses representations associated to Alexandrias greatness and prosperity that made it similar to the capital of the Empire illustrate a perception of the city as a mirror to Rome and a threat to its hegemony. All the emphasis on Alexandrias qualities and achievements on the one hand, and on its problems and rebellious tendency on the other, were not innocent, and indicate a mentality that understood the city as a place that demanded continuous attention by the representatives of Roman power. The objective of this research is to analyze the reasons that led to this duality in the narratives by means of listing the themes and contexts mostly dealt with by the classical tradition.

Além de Roma, nenhuma cidade no Alto Império Romano foi mais analisada, caracterizada e criticada a partir de perspectivas externas do que Alexandria no Egito. As imagens produzidas pela literatura ajudaram a elaborar a representação da cidade que a historiografia contemporânea perpetuou: uma cidade enorme, linda, rica, turbulenta e polêmica. O objetivo desta tese de doutorado é discutir as diversas representações sobre Alexandria, reforçadas e divulgadas por autores antigos entre o século I a.C. e III d.C.. Acreditamos que tais representações, associadas à grandeza e prosperidade de Alexandria que a assemelhavam à capital do Império, ilustram uma percepção da cidade como um espelho de Roma e, também, uma ameaça à sua hegemonia. Todas as ênfases nas qualidades e realizações de Alexandria por um lado, e nos seus problemas e tendência à rebelião, por outro, não eram inocentes e são indicativas de uma mentalidade que vislumbrava a cidade como um local que demandava a atenção contínua por parte dos representantes do poder romano. A intenção desta pesquisa é analisar os motivos que geraram essa dualidade nas narrativas, por meio do mapeamento das temáticas e contextos mais tratados pela tradição clássica. / Apart from Rome, no city in the early Roman Empire was more analyzed, characterized and criticized by external perspectives than Alexandria in Egypt. The images produced by the literature helped create the representation of the city that the contemporary historiography has perpetuated: an enormous, beautiful, rich, turbulent and polemic city. The aim of this doctorate thesis is to discuss the several representations about Alexandria reinforced and divulged by ancient authors between the first century BC and third century AD. We believe that theses representations associated to Alexandrias greatness and prosperity that made it similar to the capital of the Empire illustrate a perception of the city as a mirror to Rome and a threat to its hegemony. All the emphasis on Alexandrias qualities and achievements on the one hand, and on its problems and rebellious tendency on the other, were not innocent, and indicate a mentality that understood the city as a place that demanded continuous attention by the representatives of Roman power. The objective of this research is to analyze the reasons that led to this duality in the narratives by means of listing the themes and contexts mostly dealt with by the classical tradition.

The information about the first-century synagogue provided by Flavius Josephus must be handled with care when used in historical reconstructions. Josephus was a skilled rhetorician who was ideologically invested in the presentation of this institution. Due care must therefore be placed on understanding the context of his various mentions of synagogues within the overall rhetorical context of his works if we are interested in historical reconstruction of this Jewish institution. However, the tendentious nature of Josephus’ writings does not preclude historical study, not least because the assumptions and ideologies inherent in this tendenz are themselves historical. Especially in his later works (Antiquitates judaicae, Vita, and Contra Apionem), we find a deliberate presentation of the synagogue as a viable, supra-local rallying point for the Jews throughout the known world, as this institution represents an assembly in which the customs and Law of Judaism may be practiced and disseminated following the loss of the Temple and the Land. Even in the earliest work of Josephus, Bellum judaicum, we find a tendentious presentation of the synagogue as a ‘holy place’ whose precincts were breached due to the impiety of the Jewish insurgents and certain non-Jewish troublemakers. Due to the rhetorical nature of Josephus’ writings and the many hermeneutical issues that arise when we deal with space, the language of Edward Soja’s spatial theory is utilized, where heuristically profitable, in order to distinguish between the ‘spaces themselves’ (firstspace), the ideals held by the author regarding the institution (secondspace), and the combination of the two in the experience represented in the passages (thirdspace). It is precisely the rhetoric with which Josephus presents the synagogue that will lead us to a better understanding of the ideological importance that synagogues had in the lives of the communities and individuals inhabiting these spaces during the period in question. / Dissertation / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

This research examines the manifestation of gender inequality represented in female sculptures during the Classical period and the relevance of such evidence. To achieve the purpose, the female figures and their sculptural developments are compared to their male counterparts, and their differences are examined and interpreted. After that, the essay views how female figures from Greek mythology were represented unequally regarding the “female nakedness” and its manipulation. To conclude, the relevance of the evidence on the manifestation of female inferiority in Classical Greek sculpture is discussed by examining how the Graeco-Roman world is often perceived and how this perception might be improved in the future for the new evidence to become more relevant.  During the Classical period, Greek sculpture embodied the ideals and values of the patriarchal society. This resulted in female figures that were never represented equally and instead were made to embody the societies’ misogynistic view of women and their bodies. While the male statues were nude, athletic, and heroic, the female figures were fully clothed or partially exposed, made erotic and sensual, and with the female nakedness, they were depicted as vulnerable, violated, and always enslaved to their biology.  Not only is the evidence on gender manifestation relevant, but it should be acknowledged on a much larger scale. The misguided perception of the Graeco-Roman world should be corrected, and we should begin a new chapter in art history and create a new generation of non- biased perceptions. Ultimately, the female figures should be acknowledged for what they represent and not ignored.

This essay explores the divinatory practice of incubation in ancient Egypt during the Graeco-Roman period with a particular focus on the magical and religious significance of the practice. Two main sanctuaries, Abydos and Deir el-Bahari have been investigated with a focus on the gods Bes and Osiris in the former and Amenhotep and Imhotep in the latter. The study has mainly examined surviving epigraphy and the ritual and cultic elements of the sites in relation to physical space as a prerequisite for ritual incubation. In addition, this study has related Greek influences on the practice of incubation in Egypt as a potential source of origin but has also investigated indigenous Egyptian traditions both for questioning the origin of and placing the practice into context. / Denna uppsats undersöker den spådomspraktik så kallad inkubation i Antika Egypten under dess Grekisk-romerska period med ett särskilt fokus på den magiska och religiösa meningen med praktiken. Två primära helgedomar, nämligen Abydos och Deir el-Bahari, har undersökts med ett fokus på gudarna Bes och Osiris i den förra och Amenhotep samt Imhotep i den senare. Studien har främst undersökt kvarlevande epigrafik och den rituella och det kultiska elementet av platserna i relation till fysiskt utrymme som en föregångare för rituell inkubation. Dessutom har denna studie relaterat grekiska influenser på inkubation i Egypten som ett potentiellt ursprung men har även undersökt inhemsk egyptisk tradition både i frågan om dess härkomst och för att ställa praktiken i sin kontext.