Memory in Ancient Rome and Early Christianity [Hardcover]

Memory in Ancient Rome and Early Christianitypresents perspectives from an international and interdisciplinary range of contributors on the literature, history, archaeology, and religion of a major world civilization, based on an informed engagement with important concepts and issues in memory studies.What and how do people remember? Who controls the process of what we call cultural or social memory? What is forgotten and why? People's memories are not the same as history written in retrospect; they are malleable and an ongoing process of construction and reconstruction. Ancient Rome provided much of the cultural framework for early Christianity, and in both the role of memory was pervasive.Memory in Ancient Rome and Early Christianitypresents perspectives from an international and interdisciplinary range of contributors on the literature, history, archaeology, and religion of a major world civilization, based on an informed engagement with important concepts and issues in memory studies. Moving beyond terms such as 'collective', 'social', and 'cultural memory' as standard tropes, the volume offers a selective exploration of the wealth of topics which comprise memory studies, and also features a contribution from a leading neuroscientist on the actual workings of the human memory. It is an importamt resource for anyone interested in Roman antiquity, the beginnings of Christianity, and the role of memory in history.PrefaceList of FiguresList of ContributorsIntroduction,Karl GalinskyPart I: Memory and Roman Writers1. Memory as Motive in Tacitus,Alain Gowing2. Forgetful Theseus and Mindful Aeneas in Catullus 64 and Aeneid 4,Brigitte Libby3. Knowledge of Religion in Valerius Maximus' exempla: Roman Historiography and Tiberian Memory Culture,Jorg RupkePart II: Memory and Roman Emperors4. Augustan Reconstruction and Roman Memory,Eric Orlin5 Qualis artifex pereo: The GenerationlC