I am an historian with interests in the history of the Greco-Roman world (especially Sport, Political Structures and Historiography) and in comparative history. Phone: 734-936-2249 (office) Address: 2127 Angell Hall The University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1003
As the Roman world became increasingly in uenced by the spread of Christianity, contemporary soci... more As the Roman world became increasingly in uenced by the spread of Christianity, contemporary social and political practices both shaped and were shaped by the new religion. For Christians the realm of public spectacle was marked by ambiguities, as religious authority gures strove to reconcile these cultural expressions, their origins embedded in commemorations of the pagan state, with their own
Dexippus provides important and original information about the 3rd century Goths. This paper dis... more Dexippus provides important and original information about the 3rd century Goths. This paper discusses how he got his information
As the Roman world became increasingly in uenced by the spread of Christianity, contemporary soci... more As the Roman world became increasingly in uenced by the spread of Christianity, contemporary social and political practices both shaped and were shaped by the new religion. For Christians the realm of public spectacle was marked by ambiguities, as religious authority gures strove to reconcile these cultural expressions, their origins embedded in commemorations of the pagan state, with their own
Dexippus provides important and original information about the 3rd century Goths. This paper dis... more Dexippus provides important and original information about the 3rd century Goths. This paper discusses how he got his information
From flowers and perfumes to urban sanitation and personal hygiene, smell—a sense that is simulta... more From flowers and perfumes to urban sanitation and personal hygiene, smell—a sense that is simultaneously sublime and animalistic—has played a pivotal role in western culture and thought. Greek and Roman writers and thinkers lost no opportunity to connect the smells that bombarded their senses to the social, political and cultural status of the individuals and environments that they encountered: godly incense and burning sacrifices, seductive scents, aromatic cuisines, stinking bodies, pungent farmyards and festering back-streets.
The cultural study of smell has largely focused on pollution, transgression and propriety, but the olfactory sense came into play in a wide range of domains and activities: ancient medicine and philosophy, religion, botany and natural history, erotic literature, urban planning, dining, satire and comedy—where odours, aromas, scents and stenches were rich and versatile components of the ancient sensorium. The first comprehensive introduction to the role of smell in the history, literature and society of classical antiquity, Smell and the Ancient Senses explores and probes the ways that the olfactory sense can contribute to our perceptions of ancient life, behaviour, identity and morality.
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Papers by David Potter
The cultural study of smell has largely focused on pollution, transgression and propriety, but the olfactory sense came into play in a wide range of domains and activities: ancient medicine and philosophy, religion, botany and natural history, erotic literature, urban planning, dining, satire and comedy—where odours, aromas, scents and stenches were rich and versatile components of the ancient sensorium. The first comprehensive introduction to the role of smell in the history, literature and society of classical antiquity, Smell and the Ancient Senses explores and probes the ways that the olfactory sense can contribute to our perceptions of ancient life, behaviour, identity and morality.