Mohr Siebeck Seeing the God: Image, Space, Performance, and Vision in the Religion of the Roman Empire: 2 (Culture, Religion, and Politics in the Greco-Roman World)

The first inter-disciplinary and cross-disciplinary work of its kind, this book focuses on the importance of visual culture in the study of classical, Roman, and Christian antiquity. It explores the role of the visual in helping to create a vision of the gods and how commitment to the visibility of the divine affected ancient religious practices, rituals, and beliefs. The essays deploy a wide range of disciplines that include archaeology, iconology, cultural studies, visual anthropology, the study of ancient rhetoric, and the cognitive sciences to consider the visual aspects of ancient religion from a variety of angles. The contributors take up the role of the visual in multiple contexts including domestic art, the imperial cult, martyrology, ritual practice, and temples. This groundbreaking book, which includes essays by classicists, Roman historians, archaeologists, biblical scholars, and scholars of ancient Christian iconography, promises to advance the discussion of the importance and role of visual culture in shaping the religions of antiquity in significant new ways. About the Author is Akademische Rätin at the Department of Classical Archaeology of the University of Bonn.is Professor of New Testament and Early Christian Studies at Vancouver School of Theology.Geboren 1962; 1995-99 Professor für Klassische Philologie an der Universität Potsdam; 1999-2008 Professor für Vergleichende Religionswissenschaft an der Universität Erfurt; seit 2008 Fellow am Max-Weber-Kolleg und Sprecher der Kollegforschergruppen "Religiöse Individualisierung in historischer Perspektive" (2008-18) und "Religion und Urbanität: Wechselseitige Formationen" (2018-22).