Description
Book SynopsisRestoring the manes, or deified dead of Rome, to their dominant place in the Roman afterlife, this book offers a comprehensive study of the manes, their worship, and their place in Roman conceptions of their society.
Trade Review[A] groundbreaking monograph...It will be an invaluable resource for scholars of religion, funerary practice and afterlife in ancient Rome and more generally...King aims to use his model of variability in Roman belief to show the cult of the dead as inclusive of all Romans, living and deceased. Through extensive literary evidence and select cross-cultural comparisons, he largely succeeds. This stands to become a foundational text. * Antiquity *
[
The Ancient Roman Afterlife] makes essential reading, not only for specialists in religion or funerary studies, but for all Romanists and anyone with an interest in Roman culture...Its implications are far-reaching, and its conclusions cannot be ignored. It should generate discussion and debate well beyond the field of funerary studies. * Journal of Roman Studies *
[An] excellent monograph…This book is absolutely essential reading for anyone working on ancient afterlife belief or on Roman funerary custom and the cult of the dead...A truly excellent piece of scholarship. * The Classical Review *
King presents many attractive impressions of Roman society in his study...King’s major thesis – that Romans regarded their dead as gods, thought about them, communicated with them, attended to them, and intended to join them – is conclusively presented. * Bryn Mawr Classical Review *
Within an ambiance that has vigorously challenged even the ability to talk about 'religion' in the Roman world, King's work is a breath of fresh air that offers sober analyses of concepts that usually go without further elaboration in studies dealing with Roman religious ideas: gods, afterlife, belief, and ancestors. In this respect, I find King's work to be an irreplaceable piece of scholarship for all interested in Roman religion. Highly recommended. * Religious Studies Review *
Table of Contents
- Abbreviations of Ancient Authors
- Abbreviations of Journals and Modern Editions
- Acknowledgments
- Preface
- A) The Afterlife: Interpretive Issues
- B) The Primacy of the Manes
- 1: Di Manes: The Godhood of the Dead
- A) Manes: A General Definition
- B) The Term Di Manes
- C) The Manes and Roman Categories of “Gods”
- 2: Di Manes: The Number of the Gods
- A) The Plural Form Manes
- B) The Worship of Individuals
- C) The Chronology of Worshipping Individuals
- D) The Manes of Dis Manibus
- 3: Who Worshipped Whom?
- A) The Complex Legacy of Fustel de Coulanges
- B) Inheritance
- 1. Scaevola’s Rules
- 2. Coruncanius’ Rules
- 3. The Digest
- C) Inheritance Rules and the Diversity of Worship
- D) Pietas, Affection, and Loyalty
- 1. Familial Relationships
- 2. Extensions of One’s Family
- 3. The Political “Family”
- E) Contemporary Focus (and Elite Exceptions)
- F) Inclusiveness
- 4: The Manes in the Context of Roman Religion: Beliefs and Variations
- A) Variation: A Challenge to Interpretation
- B) The Debate over Defining the Word “Belief”
- C) Roman Implications of Nondogmatic Belief
- 1. Polymorphism
- 2. Pietas: Collective and Individual Relationships
- 3. Orthopraxy
- D) An Interpretive Model: Belief Clusters
- 5: The Powers of the Dead
- A) Power over Life and Death
- 1. Guardians of the Living—Benefits for Individuals
- a. The Extension of Life
- b. Clusters within Clusters
- 2) Guardians of the Living—Benefits for the Community
- a. The Mundus
- b. The Lupercalia
- 3) Bringers of Death
- a. Instruments of Vengeance
- b. Destroyers of Armies and Cities
- B) The Power to Monitor the Living
- 1. Guardians of Oaths
- 2. Voices from Beyond
- C) Protectors after Death
- D) Powers and Worshippers
- 6: The Manes in the Context of the Funeral
- A) Ritual Conservatism and the Potential for Generalization
- B) The Funerary Ritual: Early Stages through the Cremation
- C) The Afterlife in the Early Stages
- D) At the Grave: Rites of Worship
- 1. Dis Manibus Sacrum: A Point of Terminology
- 2. Creating Sacred Space and Offerings to the Manes
- 3. The Liberation of the Dead
- 4. After the Sacrifices
- E) The Manes at the Funeral
- 7: Festivals, Ceremonies, and Home Shrines
- A) The Parentalia
- 1. Ovid as a Source
- 2. The Ceremony
- B) The Lemuria
- 1. The Ritual Form
- 2. Belief Cluster: Manes and Lemures
- C) Personal Observances
- 1. Home Shrines
- 2. Further Offerings at the Tomb
- 3. Lifestyle and Nonritual Offerings
- D) Rituals: Conclusions
- 8: Conclusion
- Appendix 1: The Larvae
- Appendix 2: The Decline of the Lemuria
- Notes
- Bibliography
- General Index
- Index Locorum
