Eschatology in Antiquity

Forms and Functions

Hilary Marlow, Karla Pollmann, Helen Van Noorden, Hilary Marlow, Karla Pollmann, Helen Van Noorden

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9781315459479
• Edition: 1
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Ancient History
• Index: History

This collection of essays explores the rhetoric and practices surrounding views on life after death and the end of the world, including the fate of the individual, apocalyptic speculation and hope for cosmological renewal, in a wide range of societies from Ancient Mesopotamia to the Byzantine era.

The 42 essays by leading scholars in each field explore the rich spectrum of ways in which eschatological understanding can be expressed, and for which purposes it can be used. Readers will gain new insight into the historical contexts, details, functions and impact of eschatological ideas and imagery in ancient texts and material culture from the twenty-fifth century BCE to the ninth century CE. Traditionally, the study of "eschatology" (and related concepts) has been pursued mainly by scholars of Jewish and Christian scripture. By broadening the disciplinary scope but remaining within the clearly defined geographical milieu of the Mediterranean, this volume enables its readers to note comparisons and contrasts, as well as exchanges of thought and transmission of eschatological ideas across Antiquity. Cross-referencing, high quality illustrations and extensive indexing contribute to a rich resource on a topic of contemporary interest and relevance.

Eschatology in Antiquity is aimed at readers from a wide range of academic disciplines, as well as non-specialists including seminary students and religious leaders. The primary audience will comprise researchers in relevant fields including Biblical Studies, Classics and Ancient History, Ancient Philosophy, Ancient Near Eastern Studies, Art History, Late Antiquity, Byzantine Studies and Cultural Studies. Care has been taken to ensure that the essays are accessible to undergraduates and those without specialist knowledge of particular subject areas.

General Index

• Abbāsid dynasty 529–531, 534, 538
• Abgar VIII, king of Edessa 500
• Abraham, Apocalypse of 13n11, 236
• Abraham, Testament of 13n11, 236, 244, 540, 541, 544–545, 546, 547, 550
• Abū Muslim 530, 532, 534
• Achaemenids 34, 43, 44, 584
• Acheron, river 109, 114 n17, 121, 212, 287, 291 n33, 294, 339
• Acherusia, lake 245, 287, 548
• Achilles 106, 107–8, 110, 113 n5, 544–114 n16, 115 n31, 132, 134, 323–325; shield of 304 n22
• Achilles Tatius 350
• Adad-guppi, queen mother of Babylon 20, 31 n3
• Adam, Apocalypse of 237, 248 n13
• Adam and Eve, Life of 236
• Addai, Teaching of 500
• Adso of Montier-en-Der 520
• Ādur, Persian deity 39
• Ādurbād ī Mahrspandān 39
• Adventists 100
• Aegium 285
• Aemilius Paullus, Lucius 268
• Aemilius Sura 92, 160, 161, 166, 167 n3
• Aeolus 106, 113 n6
• Aeternitas, personification of 360, 364–365
• Aethiopians 8, 105, 106, 111–113
• aetiology 22, 27, 49, 479, 480
• Aetna, Mount 113 n6, 311
• Agamemnon 112, 256, 324–325
• agape 412–413, 414
• Agape (martyr) 491
• Agat’angel 12, 516, 517–518, 519–523
• aggregates, a...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Series Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• List of figures
• List of table
• List of contributors
• Acknowledgements
• List of abbreviations
• Introduction
• SECTION I Ancient Near East and Hebrew Bible
• SECTION II Greek World
• SECTION III Jewish Texts of the Hellenistic and Roman Periods
• SECTION IV Etruscan and Roman Worlds
• SECTION V New Testament Texts
• SECTION VI Late Antique and Byzantine Worlds
• Indices