Religion, Society and Culture at Dura-Europos [Hardcover]

This book advances our understanding of the religion, society and culture of Dura-Europos, known as the 'Pompeii of the Syrian desert'.This book advances our understanding of the religion, society and culture of Dura-Europos, the small town on the Euphrates known as the 'Pompeii of the Syrian desert' and one of the best sources for day-to-day life in a community on the periphery of the Roman world.This book advances our understanding of the religion, society and culture of Dura-Europos, the small town on the Euphrates known as the 'Pompeii of the Syrian desert' and one of the best sources for day-to-day life in a community on the periphery of the Roman world.This volume advances our understanding of the religion, society and culture of Dura-Europos, the small town on the Euphrates known since the 1930s as the 'Pompeii of the Syrian desert'. Several features make the site potentially our best source for day-to-day life in a small town situated on the periphery of the Roman world: inscriptions and graffiti in ten ancient languages; sculptures and frescoes combining elements of Classical and Oriental art; the most important papyrological dossier of any military unit in the Roman world; documents relating to the local economy; over a dozen pagan sanctuaries; plus a famously painted synagogue and the earliest Christian house church, all set in a gridiron city plan and surrounded by well-preserved fortifications. Dura's unique findings facilitate the study of life in a provincial small town to a degree that archaeology and history do not usually allow.Introduction Ted Kaizer; 1. Dura-Europos: a Greek town of the Parthian empire Leonardo Gregoratti; 2. Everyday life in Roman Dura-Europos: the evidence of dress practices Jennifer A. Baird; 3. Acculturation, hybridity, cr?olit?: mapping cultural diversity in Dura-Europos Michael Sommer; 4. The problem with Parthian art at Dura Lucinda Dirven; 5. Gesture at Dura-Europos: a new interpretation of the so-called 'sc?ne ?nigmatiqul³2