The Religious Life of Palmyra (Oriens et Occidens. Studien zu antiken Kulturkontakten und ihrem Nachleben (O&O))

This study of the social patterns of worship in Palmyra (Syria) investigates how aspects of the cityAes religious life contributed to the way in which its society was built up and worked. The validity of the model of aecivicAe vs aetribalAe forms of worship (wrongly based upon a sociopolitical model from the Roman period) is reconsidered, and a revised classification of the divine world of Palmyra is proposed and made visible in a detailed analysis of the cityAes sanctuaries and cults. In addition, a fresh and methodical re-evaluation of the relevant sources provides new insights into the complexities of both the ritual activities in Palmyra and of the way in which the various groups of worshippers, priests and benefactors served as markers in Palmyrene society. "Eine detaillierte Auswertung der Quellen, insbesondere der Inschriften, verbunden mit einer grundsatzlichen Vorsicht und Skepsis in Fragen der Interpretation, machen sein Buch zu einer Grundlage fur weitere Forschungen zur palmyrenischen Geschichte, ferner zur Sozial- und Religionsgeschichte des antiken Nahen Ostens wie uberhaupt fur das Studium antiker Religionen." H-Soz-u-Kult "ader kolossale Wert der von K. vorgelegten Arbeit, die weit uber alles hinausgeht, was bisher zur palmyrenischen Religion und ihrem Sitz im sozialen Leben geschrieben wurde. Wer kunftig uber Religion nicht nur in Palmyra, sondern im gesamten Vorderasien arbeitet, wird an ihr nicht vorbeikommen." Plekos "K.Aes virtues in this book are much like those of his thesis supervisor: the thorough and rigorous examination of the evidence, the wariness of breezy generalizations and unexamined assumptions, and the repeated insistence on the limitation of our knowledge. The collection of material is invaluable: K. provides a full critical edition of every inscription he discusses, with Greek text in the original and /or Aramaic text in transliteration, and textual notes a [an] admirable worka" Journal of Roman StudiesKaizer, Ted is the author of 'The Religious Life of Palmyra (Oriens et Occidens. Studien zu antiken Kulturkontakten und ihrem Nachleben (O&O))', published 2002 under ISBN 9783515080279 and ISBN 3515080279.