In the early second century AD four extraordinary imperial deifications are recorded. The first took place during the reign of the emperor Trajan (r. 98-117), who deified his sister, Ulpia Marciana, immediately following her death in 112. Next, in 119, Marcianas daughter, Matidia, was deified by Hadrian (r. 117-138), who was married to Matidias daughter, Vibia Sabina. The usual interpretation of these two deifications is that the honours paid these women bolstered imperial prestige within a political atmosphere that later allowed Hadrian to use their deifications as a means of creating a fictive dynastic connection to legitimize his succession. Similar motivations are applied by scholars to the deifications of Pompeia Plotina, the dowager empress of the emperor Trajan, who died during the tenure of his successor, Hadrian, in 123, and of Hadrians own wife, Vibia Sabina, who died in 136 or 137, little more than a year before her husband. Intriguingly, none of these women is much remembered in extant historical records, though other evidence for their prominence statues, coins, inscriptions, buildings in Romes centre is striking in its abundance. The rationale for the deifications of these women therefore remains the subject of a debate that ultimately engages questions of female involvement and the meaning of that involvement within Romes traditional hierarchies of power and prominence. This paper seeks a culturally relevant context for the mystery of these deifications, proposing that the theoretical underpinnings for female deification lie as much in the implications of female involvement in the public sphere as they do in dynastic considerations. Using a social and ethnographic approach, it investigates evidence for the wealth, social standing, and public presence of these early second century women and connects these to the Romans need to uphold traditional mores and morals in the face of social change and shifting political realities.

In the early second century AD four extraordinary imperial deifications are recorded. The first took place during the reign of the emperor Trajan (r. 98-117), who deified his sister, Ulpia Marciana, immediately following her death in 112. Next, in 119, Marcianas daughter, Matidia, was deified by Hadrian (r. 117-138), who was married to Matidias daughter, Vibia Sabina. The usual interpretation of these two deifications is that the honours paid these women bolstered imperial prestige within a political atmosphere that later allowed Hadrian to use their deifications as a means of creating a fictive dynastic connection to legitimize his succession. Similar motivations are applied by scholars to the deifications of Pompeia Plotina, the dowager empress of the emperor Trajan, who died during the tenure of his successor, Hadrian, in 123, and of Hadrians own wife, Vibia Sabina, who died in 136 or 137, little more than a year before her husband. Intriguingly, none of these women is much remembered in extant historical records, though other evidence for their prominence statues, coins, inscriptions, buildings in Romes centre is striking in its abundance. The rationale for the deifications of these women therefore remains the subject of a debate that ultimately engages questions of female involvement and the meaning of that involvement within Romes traditional hierarchies of power and prominence. This paper seeks a culturally relevant context for the mystery of these deifications, proposing that the theoretical underpinnings for female deification lie as much in the implications of female involvement in the public sphere as they do in dynastic considerations. Using a social and ethnographic approach, it investigates evidence for the wealth, social standing, and public presence of these early second century women and connects these to the Romans need to uphold traditional mores and morals in the face of social change and shifting political realities.

Evaluations of the stance of 1 Peter toward the Roman Empire have for the most part concluded that its author adopted a submissive or conformist posture toward imperial authority and influence. Recently, however, David Horrell and Travis Williams have argued that the letter engages in a subtle, calculated (“polite”) form of resistance to Rome that has often gone undetected. Nevertheless, discussion of the matter has remained largely focused on the letter’s stance toward specific Roman institutions, such as the emperor, household structures, and the imperial cults. Taking the conversation beyond these confines, the present work examines 1 Peter’s critique of the Empire from a wider angle, looking instead to the letter’s ideology or worldview. Using James Scott’s work to think about ideological resistance against domination, I consider how the imperial cults of Anatolia and 1 Peter offered distinct constructions of time and space—that is, how they envisioned reality differently. Insofar as these differences led to divergent ways of conceiving the social order, they acquired political valences and generated potential for conflict. 1 Peter, I argue, confronted Rome on a cosmic scale with its alternative construal of time and space. For each of the axes of time and space, I first investigate how it was constructed in cultic veneration of the emperor, and then read 1 Peter comparatively in light of the findings. Although both sides employed similar strategies in conceptualizing time and space, they parted ways on fundamental points. We have evidence that the Petrine author consciously, if cautiously, interrogated the imperial imagination at its most foundational levels, and set forth in its place a theocentric, Christological understanding of the world.

This dissertation examines Luke's use of kyrios within his narratives of the Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles. Luke reached back into the common religious cultural context of the early Christians where he obtained his understanding of kyrios as Yahweh from the Greek Jewish Scriptures (Chapter 1). When Luke and his Jewish audience heard kyrios, they first understood it to mean Yahweh. Luke was also writing in the larger cultural context of the Greco-Roman world and the Roman Empire, which was pervasively informed by the imperial cult (Chapter 2). Luke and his Greco-Roman audience (including his Jewish audience) instinctively recognized that kyrios' most obvious Greco-Roman referent was the emperor. Based on these identities of kyrios, Luke used his Gospel as the narrative canvas on which to develop and progressively reveal the identity of Jesus as Yahweh because he is kyrios (Chapter 3). Luke then took this established identity and made an overt political claim that Jesus is superior to the emperor as a god because he is Lord of all (Chapter 4). Luke's narrative agenda not only embraced the Jewish roots from which Christianity was born, it also challenged the environment in which it would thrive and ultimately triumph. For Luke, the identity of Jesus was profoundly clear. Jesus was Yahweh, the Lord God of Israel, born a human being and as such he explicitly replaced Caesar as Lord of all. / Religion

Comment les Stoïciens concilient-ils l’exigence d’une piété intérieure, reposant sur l’obéissance à un dieu rationnel avec la défense des rites traditionnels ? Après avoir étudié les oscillations constantes chez les Stoïciens grecs entre la légitimation et la condamnation des cultes civils, nous montrons que les Stoïciens impériaux, Cornutus, Perse, Épictète et Marc- Aurèle, prolongent le débat sur la relation entre philosophie et religion sous une perspective différente, en l’acclimatant au contexte politico-religieux de la Rome impériale et en l’adaptant à la nature du destinataire et aux stratégies persuasives de chaque œuvre. / How can the stoics reconcile the research of rational piety based on moral perfection with the legitimization of the ritualism and traditional representation of pagan gods? After studying the constant oscillation between the legitimization and condemnation of traditional rites in ancient stoicism, we demonstrate that the roman stoics, Cornutus, Persius, Epictectus and Marcus Aurelius, address the same question, but with two essential specifics : adapting it to the political-religious context of Imperial Rome and paying particular attention to their readers as to the pedagogic strategist to grant its moral conversion.

La Gaule protohistorique est traditionnellement vue comme dénuée d'unité, déchirée par de continuelles guerres entre ses peuples. L'entité gauloise décrite par César serait une création de ce dernier en vue d'objectifs politiques bien romains. Néanmoins, les institutions des peuples gaulois sont vues comme un tout cohérent conforme au modèle éduen. L'étude renouvelée des sources. Du "Bellum Gallicum" en particulier, infirme ces vues héritées des siècles passés. La Gaule est en fait une réalité antérieure au descriptif romain, un espace politique cohérent doté de pratiques politiques communes : des assemblées à différents niveaux, dont une commune à la Gaule, la reconnaissance d'un peuple hégémonique, le recours à des coalitions générales dirigées par un chef de guerre. Ces pratiques bien établies à l’époque de César, fournirent en partie le socle du système administratif romain en Gaule. Ainsi l'entité gauloise fut pérennisée par le culte du Confluent qui ignore la tripartition provinciale et obéit en partie à des critères hérités de l'indépendance. Quant aux institutions des peuples, elles sont ici conçues comme autant d'entités indépendantes, révélant, par-delà des convergences, leur diversité. La conquête romaine n'entraîne pas d’immédiat bouleversement institutionnel et les guerres civiles retardent l'application d'une "forma provinciae". Rome s'appuie alors sur des hommes qu'elle maintient au pouvoir et ce n'est qu’en 16-13 av. J.-C. qu'Auguste réalise le découpage provincial et initie la mutation civique en Gaule ce qui pousse à plus d'homogénéité institutionnelle. Mais la diversité perdure, et le droit latin ne met pas fin non plus aux situations héritées du passé. / Protohostoric Gaul is traditionally seen as devoid of unity, torn apart by continuous wars between its peoples. The Gallic entity described by Caesar would be a creation of his own in view of Roman politics goals. Nonetheless, the institutions of Gallic peoples are seen as a coherent whole obeying to the Aeduan model. The renewed study of the sources, particularly the "Bellum Gallicum", invalidates these views inherited from passed centuries. ln fact, Gaul is a reality that precedes the Roman description. It is a coherent political space with common political practices: assemblies at different levels, among which one for Gaul, the recognition of a hegemonic people, the use of general coalitions headed by a war leader. These practices, well established already during Caesar's time, provided for a part of the basis of the Roman administrative system in Gaul. Thus the Gallic entity is perpetuated though the cult at the Confluent which ignored the provincial tripartition and partially obeyed criteria inherited from the independence. As for the peoples' institutions, they are here considered as many of independent entities therefore revealing their diversity in spite of their convergences. The Roman conquest did not entail an immediate institutional upheaval and civil wars delayed the establishment of a "forma provinciae". Rome then relies on men it maintained to power. It is only in 16-13 BC that Augustus completed the provincial cutting and triggered civic mutation in Gaul which leads to more institutional homogeneity. But diversity endured and the Latin right doesn't put an end to situations inherited from the past either.

The thesis mainly studies social-historical co(n)texts to understand the polemic in Revelation against the so-called ‘Jews’ and a self-professed prophetess named ‘Jezebel’ (Rev 2-3). The enquiry centres on two areas: (1) the underlying issues to the polemic against the abovenamed contenders, and (2) a reading of a polemical technique in the text against prophetess ‘Jezebel’ through a specific web of associations involving two ‘Jezebels’ and a great harlot. Preliminary studies provide the framework for the main enquiry. ‘Historical anchorage’ is attained in the echoes/allusions of the beast from the sea-abyss to emperor Titus (Ch. 2) and the ‘Satanic trio’ and their cult (Rev 13) to the Flavian dynasty and cult (Ch. 3). A real crisis for Christians is seen late in Domitian’s time involving pressure from the Flavian provincial temple, widespread false accusations of άθεότηζ άσέβεια or maiestas and pressures from Domitian’s rigorous exaction of the Jewish tax. These matters are seen to implicate both Jewish and Gentile Christians (Ch. 4). The figure of the beasts, the social pressure from the imperial cult, and the vulnerability of Christians reflected in these preliminary studies contribute to a fuller understanding of the anti-Judaistic polemic. There are reasons to think that the anti-Judaistic polemic in Rev 2:9-10 and 3:9 is not aimed at the Jewish community per se, but acts to discourage Christians from feigning affiliation with the synagogue to escape social pressure from the imperial cult. There is a growing importance of the imperial cult towards the end of the first century C.E. in Asia Minor, and a judaizing tendency among some Christians there late first century and beyond. Importantly, Rev 14:9- 11 reflects the author’s major concern about (1) participation in the imperial cult and (2) Christian ‘judaizing’ behaviour (the mark of beast as tefillin worn by outsiders to Rabbinic Judaism). Under the author’s creative hand, the beast from the land/false prophet becomes the ‘Satanic’ source of pressure to these two aspects (cf. 13:11-17; Ch. 5). The second major part demonstrates a polemical technique in the text that binds the prophetess ‘Jezebel’ with an OT Queen and the Great Harlot (Rev 17-18). Social meals with drinking parties in guilds/associations and the imperial cult could have been a common context for allurements to sexual immorality and eating idol-food that ‘Jezebel’ advocates. I construct a picture of the prophetess ‘Jezebel’, who perhaps doubles as a patroness of a trade guild incorporating members from the Thyatiran church. Pagan ‘mysteries’ could have been a part of her activities (Ch. 6). I also examine the Great Harlot within the Graeco-Roman context giving attention to her depiction as tyrannical and sexually immoral queens and assimilated goddesses, such as Isis, Cybele, Aphrodite and Roma (Ch. 7). The OT Queen Jezebel is also studied within her social-historical context. She is seen to take on the image of the ‘woman at the window’ (2 Kgs 9:30), reflective of goddess Astarte or her temple servant. Her role as the ‘הבׂבג’ (great lady; 2 Kgs 10:13) and queen mother also fits that of another goddess, Asherah, whose prophets she hosts (Ch. 8). The destruction of Queen Jezebel and that of the Great Harlot contain a polemic against pagan deities they both embody. The prophetess veering into pagan grounds of idolatry is bound tightly with them and is indirectly castigated for her syncretistic practices (Ch. 9). Overall, the author’s polemic in Revelation acts to deter Christians from veering into the grounds of ‘Satan’—the imperial cult and the synagogue (as the author puts it)—and against behaviours, such as sexual license and eating food offered to idols, that would allow Christians to easily enter contexts involving pagan worship.

This study provides an in depth analysis of three temples dedicated to emperors in Roman Asia (western Asia Minor): the Temple of Divine Rulers at Aphrodisias, the Temple of Divine Rulers at Ephesus and the Temple of Zeus Philios and Trajan at Pergamon. Focusing on each case study in a separate chapter, the project provides a brief introduction to each city's history and a detailed discussion of each temple's name, dating, patronage structure, architectural form, sculptural program, and the application techniques of sculptural and architectural details. The study proposes an understanding of these temples as key monuments of constantly changing dynamic urban landscapes rather than simple symbolic gestures towards the Roman emperors. Utilizing Kevin Lynch's terminology, the project suggests close links between each monument and the already existing urban elements of each individual city, further strengthening its overall urban image. These structures were essential to their urban contexts, and their meanings and functions were directly linked to the culture and history of each city. Finally, the project demonstrates that through their architectural designs and sculptural programs, each temple emphasized the perspectives of the local elite. The methodology of the project involves a careful study of the city plans, an analysis of context-specific local features and finally a consideration of multiple-viewer perceptions. This dissertation aims to provide an alternative model for later studies in Roman provincial art and architecture. / text

Avec la romanisation à grande échelle pendant le Haut-Empire, les Romains ont propagé leur culture dans tout le bassin méditerranéen. Les jeux de gladiateurs ont été en Asie Mineure un apport important à la société romaine instaurée en milieu grec. Les théâtres hellénistiques ont été modifiés pour accueillir ces nouveaux divertissements, typiquement romains. Il est question de tout ce qui entoure ces endroits et les gladiateurs grecs qui les ont massivement fréquentés pendant les trois premiers siècles de notre ère, également de ces combattants grecs à travers les spectacles, les festivals et le culte impérial. Quatre cités sont étudiées dans cette optique : Éphèse, Aphrodisias, Attaleia, Side. Nous pouvons ainsi analyser les développements de ce phénomène autant dans les grands que les petites villes. / With full scale Romanization during the early days of the Empire, the Romans propagated their culture all across the Mediterranean region. Gladiatorial games were in Asia Minor a significant feature of the Roman culture implanted amid the Greek population. The Hellenistic theaters were modified to accommodate this new Roman entertainment. This contribution is about all that surrounds these places and the Greek gladiators who fought in them during the first three centuries of our era ; it explores those Greek warriors in spectacle, festival and imperial cult. Four cities are studied : Ephesos, Aphrodisias, Attaleia and Side. The choice of these examples, it is hoped, will allow a better understanding of the development of this phenomenon in big urban centers as well as in smaller cities. / Entièrement réalisé grâce au programme LaTeX (http://www.latex-project.org/)

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