Paganism and Christianity

Ένα εντυπωσιακό βιβλίο. Ανοίγει μπροστά στα μάτια μας έναν άγνωστο κόσμο. Φέρνει μεθοδικά στην επιφάνεια στοιχεία που επίμονα αγνοήθηκαν και αφορούν την Παναγία την «Αθηνιώτισσα». Τον Παρθενώνα, δηλαδή, που είχε αφιερωθεί πιθανά ήδη τον 6 ο αιώνα στην Παναγία των Αθηνών. Καταδεικνύει πως η ιστορία του Παρθενώνα ως Ναού αφιερωμένου στην «Παναγία την Αθηνιώτισσα» είναι μεγαλύτερη σε χρονική έκταση απ' ότι ως ειδωλολατρικού ναού και με τεράστια ακτινοβολία σε ολόκληρη την αυτοκρατορία.

The identification of deviant burials as those of ‘vampires’ is a feature of excavated skeletons from sites across Eastern, Central and Southern Europe as well as the Balkans. Based on a close reading of historic and folkloric sources researchers have sought to match features of excavated sites with narrative descriptions drawn from vampire legend and myth. This study critically reviews the recent claims based on sites in Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Greece, Italy, Poland and Slovakia. Whilst it is found that there was a widespread belief in vampires across Europe, it is argued that it is difficult to make absolute claims for ‘vampire’ burials on archaeological grounds as in most cases there are alternate and equally compelling interpretations of the data.

KEYWORDS
ARCHAEOLOGY, HISTORY, SIXTEENTH CENTURY, SEVENTEENTH CENTURY, VAMPIRE, DEVIANT BURIAL, PLAGUE, BLACK DEATH, FOLKLORE, PAGAN, BURIAL, WITCH, BALKANS, EASTERN EUROPE, CENTRAL EUROPE, SOUTHERN EUROPE, BULGARIA, CZECH REPUBLIC, POLAND, GREECE, ITALY, SLOVAKIA, LESBOS, VENICE, APOTROPAIC, VAMPIRIDZHIJA, PERPERIKON, SOZOPOL, PROSTEJOV, CELAKOVICE, DRAWSKO, GLIWICI, SOUTHWELL, KILTEASHEEN, LAZZARETTO NUOVO, NACHTZEHRER, KAMIEN POMORSKI

The Council of Ephesus in 431 declared Mary the Mother of God. This doctrine is rooted in the Christian faith in the Incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God and God himself. But one has long wondered if it had not been influenced by the worship of mother goddesses in paganism. Several indices seriously indeed make a plausible link between the epithet "Mother of God" granted to Isis in Egypt and the title Theotokos assigned to the Virgin Mary.

On the benefits of history of religion for a deeper and comprehensive understanding of the religious dimension of landscape and religious environment -
Vom Nutzen der Religionsgeschichte und ihrer Anwendung auf ein vertieftes Verständnis der Landschaft und religiösen Lebenswelt in Unterfranken

This paper traces the origins of some places of worship in the religion of Lower Franconia (Bavaria) and their associated religious motifs and practices to their pre-Christian origins in the stratum of Germanic religion which becames established here after the demise of the Roman empire and was prevalent until Christianisation from the 8th century onwards. The markedly "matriarchal" character of Roman Catholic Christianity in this region can be related to a more matriarchal shape of Germanic Paganism in this region, which is attested by numerous traces of the goddess Freya (Freya / Frigg) in popular rites, song, iconographic traditions and lore of certain sites of pilgrimage. Following the lead of "continuity of cult" discloses a fuller understanding of these elements of the religious environment. An aspect of special theoretical interest is the observation that the early pre-Christian stratum appears to remain active for centuries after Christianisation, through significant "epiphanies".  The essay is written for a wider public of readers interested in history of religion and of religious traditions of Germany.

Dieser Aufsatz ist für eine breite Leserschaft geschrieben, die sich für Religionsgeschichte und insbesondere für die vorchristliche Schicht der Religion in Deutschland interessiert. Anhand des reichen "matriarchalen" Erbes von Kultplätzen, Brauchtum und "Epiphanien" in Unterfranken wird der Ursprung vieler dieser Zeugnisse in der Zeit germanischer Besiedlung aufgezeigt. Einen besonderen Stellenwert haben die "Frau Holle" - Traditionen, die volkskundlich gut erforscht sind. Die religionsgeschichtliche Perspektive der Kultkontinuität erlaubt hier Rückschlüsse auf eine Seite germanischer Religion, die durch ihre  patriarchal betonte mittelalterliche Überlieferung (in der Edda) leicht übersehen wird. Dem Leser soll hierdurch ein lebendiges Bild des Fortbestehens und des Fortwirkens der älteren heidnischen Schicht in Wechselwirkung mit der christlichen, die über Jahrhunderte nachweisbar sind, und periodisch neu aufleben, vermittelt werden, das erahnen lässt, das dieser Prozess nicht abgeschlossen sein dürfte.
Ergebnisse dieses Aufsatzes - nämlich der Nachweis von Kultkontinuität am Fruchtbarkeitsteich neben der Kirche in Amorbach - der auf ein Frau Holle Heiigtum hinweist, sowie die Indizien für Frau Holle Verehrung auf dem Marienberg in Würzburg, möglicherweise an der Stelle der Merowingerkapelle in der Festung, sind im Film Frau Holle aufgenommen, der am 4. Oktober, 2020 um 19.30 Uhr in der Reihe terra X von ZDF gesendet wurde:
Frau Holle – Botschaften aus der Wirklichkeit | Ganze Folge Terra X (Reupload)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyc8SACEAu0
(von Minute 23 - 27)

Consideration is given to how elements of the occult: witchcraft, magic and sorcery may be identified in the archaeological record. Working definitions of occult terminology are established before proceeding to propose a new approach, which triangulates data from historic and folkloric sources with archaeological evidence, to establish contextual narratives that stand for the past. Excavation of an occult ritual site at Barway, Cambridgeshire is presented to demonstrate how the approach works in practice. Archaeological evidence, combined with local folklore and historic accounts of spells and sorcery, identify the site as the locus of occult activity performed by cunning folk, or ‘white’ witches, during the seventeenth-century.

KEYWORDS
OCCULT, CUNNING FOLK, WITCH, WITCHCRAFT, SPELL, MAGIC, SORCERY, FOLKLORE, EAST ANGLIA, ELY, SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY, GRIMOIRE, PENDLE WITCH TRIAL, MATTHEW HOPKINS, JOHN STEARNE.

作者法蘭克.威歐拉(Frank Viola) 因著深愛教會，心中渴望經歷在新約裡讀到的那種教會。因為他參加過的任何一間教會似乎都不曾出現過這個樣式，所以希望看到基督的身體展現她自己的方式，符合其心目中上帝起初為她所定的旨意。故他試圖站在聖經、屬靈與神學的基礎上，腳踏實地尋找早期教會 的樣貌，企圖重塑基督教會應有的模樣。不過當他越讀聖經，就越相信當代教會已經遠離其聖經根基 。

本書《參雜異教的基督信仰？》(Pagan Christianity) 則是從歷史角度證明當代教會已經偏離其原始根基。教會目前彰顯耶穌基督的方式，已經從活潑、生動、朝氣蓬勃的有機演進（或者更準確的說，退化）為頭重腳輕的階層式組織，因其基本架構是模仿古羅馬帝國，所以他要藉著《參雜異教的基督信仰？》來指出現代多數教會固守的這種架構其實是不符聖經的，也是不符早期教會的聚會型態，而是經過許多異教的參雜及污染。

【書籍背景資料介紹】
《參雜異教的基督信仰？》 Pagan Christianity ?
作者：法蘭克．威歐拉(Frank Viola)、喬治．巴拿(George Barna)著
譯者：顧華德　語言：中文繁體　　規格：平裝
ISBN：9789868910621  開數：15.5*22.5cm　頁數：311
出版社：台中，  中國佈道會  出版：2014.10初版

茲就本書第四章證道及第九章洗禮與主餐之論述重點摘要及評論如下。
對本書此二章論述的評論...
筆者認為作者的強處在於：以極具張力的手法來丟下了「制度化教會不符聖經原意」這一顆石頭，激盪起了當代教會界一波波漣漪般的省思。促使現代的基督教會不得不正視此一嚴肅議題，在作者精心布局的文脈思路引導中去思考 「敬拜是群體性的基督徒生活型態」，及「靈性成長的根基在於群體互相學習基督、培養基督般性格、可以在日常中活出基督的這種真正的門徒訓練」...最終要導向「合神心意的教會必須去體制化」的目標。

然而筆者認為有待質疑及不同意之處主要有以下二點：
1. 神學方法論：我們的「真理」到底有多真？關鍵在於不同的神學風格/取向/進路，畢竟每個人都戴著他的一幅眼鏡來解釋所看到的事物，以及所閱讀的「真理」。也就是說既與詮釋有關，就離不開處境，而處境也離不開語言(文)。然而作者卻多處以「未記載於聖經的作法就是『不符聖經』，就不應採用」。可是問題來了，初代教會的發展倒底是「處境化」問題，還是「適應」(accommodation)的問題？是很難以現代的我們去下定論的。而我們所認知、所理解的「真理」到底有多真？
所以，沒有人能完全脫離自身處境的框架來詮釋聖經的，只是趨近絕對真理的程度不同而已

2.作者過於（或者是故意）簡化所觀察到問題的成因，有簡化主義及強烈的基督教原始主義之嫌。
教會歷史是聖靈工作的歷史是無庸置疑的，教義史也是聖靈光照神話語的歷史。若加上教會是有機體的成長觀點而言，很明顯的，教會的發展並非只停留在第一世紀的模式 。也就是說將第一世紀教會的模式當成是教會的典範及標竿，事實上是有待商榷的，因為近代詮釋學的探討，使人更加意識到，教會生存於世界之中就會受到歷史、地理、語言以及社會意識的限制及影響。

早期使徒教會真是成熟到可以做為後代教會的標竿和典範嗎？嬰兒的生活型態及表現可以作為青少年、或成人的生活典範嗎？至少使徒保羅對於恩賜出眾但屬靈不成熟的哥林多教會就不是這樣認為的（林前3:1-3）。但作者卻一再地高舉第一世紀初代教會應做為後代教會的典範。所以與其說：一旦基督教回歸到早期使徒教會（apostolic early church）/第一世紀初代教會的源流上，便可以達到更純正、更符合聖經的信仰形態。筆者的認知是，這倒不如說：作者是希望以初代教會作為典範，來糾正教會在歷代所積習下來的人為錯謬和組織在體制化後的缺陷。

Notre intention ici n’est pas de reposer la question à savoir si Rabelais était croyant ou athée. Nous venons de voir que ce problème est considéré comme “classé”. Il ne s’agit même pas pour nous de nous demander s’il était véritablement chrétien et catholique. Car après tout, démontrer que Rabelais n’était pas athée n’implique pas nécessairement qu’il était en bonne et due forme chrétien et catholique. Néanmoins, nous considérons ce problème aussi comme résolu. Mais, nous venons de voir que les critiques contemporains considèrent l’auteur du Pantagruel comme un réformateur de l’Eglise catholique. Nous sommes alors en droit de nous poser les questions suivantes : quelle est la finalité de cette réforme ? Quelle est sa nature théologique ? Quels sont les éléments (théologiques ou non) qu’elle mobilise pour s’imposer ? Posons une seule question qui peut synthétiser toutes celles que nous venons de poser : qu’est-ce qui fait du projet de Rabelais une vraie réforme. Evidemment, nous savons qu’il s’opposait aux abus qui, perpétrés au sein même de l’Eglise, trahissaient l’esprit même de l’Evangile. Nous savons aussi  qu’il se pourrait que Pantagruel soit une adaptation de la figure christique et que l’œuvre même, Pantagruel, soit construite selon une forme ou une structure qui rappelle l’évangile. Donc, il y a différentes façons de répondre à cette question. Mais notre réponse particulière consiste à dire que le christianisme réformé de Rabelais n’a pas mobilisé seulement des éléments qui sont à proprement parler chrétiens, mais aussi des figures, des symboles, voire même des modes d’être qui appartiennent à l’univers païen de l’Antiquité.

För äldre forskning om Mälarområdets kristnande har Adam av Bremens skrift om ärkestiftet Hamburg-Bremens historia från 1070-talets mitt haft stor betydelse. Det av Adam beskrivna hednatemplet i (Gamla) Uppsala uppfattades länge som en symbol för motståndet mot ärkestiftets missionssträvanden, för vilka Sigtuna fungerade som brohuvud. Adams krönika har också legat till grund för den utbredda uppfattningen att kristendomen skulle haft det svårare att få fotfäste i Mälarområdet än i andra delar av Skandinavien. De hedniska motreaktioner som omnämns i senare källor och som sägs ha förekommit fram till omkring år 1130 ger också en bild av ett samhälle som under en lång tid befann sig i ett kristillstånd, vacklande mellan olika former av religiöst präglade livstolkningar. Även det utdragna runstensristandet har tolkats i samma riktning.
Som kontrast till det begränsade och många gånger subjektiva skriftliga källmaterialet finns ett omfattande arkeologiskt material, framförallt gravar, som är samtida med det aktuella skeendet och som kan användas för att ge en mer nyanserad och ”opartisk” beskrivning av kristnandeprocessen än vad kyrkans ovanifrånperspektiv kan ge. Med utgångspunkt från detta material kommer jag i den här artikeln att diskutera några för skiftet avgörande frågor. En sådan är om Mälarområdets kristnande varit mer utdraget jämfört med andra regioner i Skandinavien - eller om det bara varit annorlunda? Det som framförallt skiljer Mälarområdet från andra regioner är de många gravfälten med tidigkristna gravar som undersökts under senare år och bristen på arkeologiska belägg för tidiga träkyrkor. Hur ska detta tolkas? En annan central fråga är vilken betydelse Sigtuna som kunglig stödjepunkt och kristen centralort haft för Mälarområdets kristnande. Slutligen diskuteras om den bild av kristnandeprocessen som det arkeologiska materialet ger kan ses som uttryck för ett mer eller mindre medvetet motstånd, inte mot kristendomen som sådan, utan mot de samhällsförändringar som följde i kyrkans kölvatten. I en epilog skärskådas missionsbiskoparna Adalvards respektive Eginos karriärer och deras gemensamma projekt att förstöra hednatemplet i (Gamla) Uppsala.
Artikeln omfattar perioden från Sigtunas grundläggning under slutet av 900-talet till och med 1100-talets andra hälft då en mer stabil kyrkoorganisatorisk utveckling började ta fart.

Drawing on studies of the history of emotions, trust- and community-formation, and on medieval as well as modern religious violence, this study re-evaluates the predominantly military view of medieval sieges. Instead, this article examines sieges as extreme, often purposefully histrionic, and emotionally ambivalent social events, based
on the descriptions of sieges in two Baltic missionary chronicles: Helmold of Bosau’s ‘Chronica Slavorum’ (12th c.) and Henry of Livonia’s ‘Chronicon Livoniae’ (13th c.). By focusing on the means of emotional bonding during sieges in the Baltic Rim, this article argues that emotions expressed and accentuated the social, political, and religious
predicaments of missioning and crusading. Frequently, emotions in sieges were actively deployed and navigated as means of warfare or as the performative fuel of the theatre of war. Often employed as a motivational force, emotions could also serve as a paradoxical method of socialisation within groups of faith and across religious divides.

"Beowulf" was written down In the years in which Anglo-Saxon culture was still present in Europe, and Pagan beliefs and customs were still part of everyday life. However, society was converting to Christianity at the time, and this was shown in the poem's plot, and in the many aspects of the story that clash with Paganism.

The turmoil of the 1030s in the Polish territory has so far attracted attention of historians. A detailed analysis of the information available in the written sources has strengthened a position in the result of which (in line with the reference to the events in question) the pagan backlash was to stem primarily from religious reasons. This interpretations suggests and provokes reception of Mieszko II's domain as a completely Christian organisation. Consequently, at least officially it suggests that the pagan communities had been pushed to the margins of the society. Scholars have no doubts that these communities existed because they are regarded to have affected the events of the 1030s. Was it really the case? An analysis of archaeological sources, previously not used in the discussion of the pagan backlash, does not answer the questions so unambiguously. There is a strong indication that the followers of the old values did not have to flee from persecutions or the missionary ideology. It also looks like they did not have to fear financial exploitation for the benefit of the established church structures which could have easily operated parallel to venues referring to the traditional religious symbols. If we assume that it was the case, were the events of the 1030s in fact a pagan backlash? This question was at the basis of the considerations presented in this text.

This text discusses the incision or cutting off St. Tryphon’s nose recorded in the folklore of this saint, preserved foremostly in Macedonia, Bulgaria and Serbia. The research commences with a narratological analysis of legends, thus proceeding with their typology and determining the main characters. Then, key actions related to them are given, mostly associated with the incision of St. Tryphon’s nose while he was pruning the grape vines. Implicit sexual aspirations of Tryphon towards Virgin Mary, whom legends depict as his sister, are suggested as motives for this. Hence, cutting off the nose is interpreted as a symbolic castration which would present a punishment worthy of such a misdeed. Further chapters reflect on Pre-Christian patterns for such actions, mostly in two mythical complexes: (a) myths of Attis, Agdistis and Cybele and (b) those related to Lycurgus. Insobriety and insanity (induced by gods) are considered key components of these myths, which would cause injuries of the main characters and their close ones (castration and amputation of limbs). In the legends of St. Tryphon such components are presented through his insobriety and the grape vines he is pruning i.e. the wine that is about to be fermented. A special attention is given to Pre-Christian visual patterns of the appearance of St. Tryphon, while also analyzing several archaeological finds from Macedonia and other regions depicting male characters with an emphasized nose: ancient anthropomorphic vessels, ancient earrings and Neolithic ceramic objects. Finally, presented characters are semiotically analyzed, focusing on these symbolic relations: long nose – ithyphallicism; long and/or sharp nose – beak of vultures and raptors; nose – death – chthonic.

Key words: St. Tryphon, nose, phallus, incest, castration, grapes, pruning
grape vine, wine, Attis/Agdistis and Cybele, Lycurgus.

Resumo Os mitos antigos não estão mortos. A partir desta afirmação fundamentada nas obras de autores como Warburg, Jean Seznec, Erwin Panofsky e Fritz Saxl, este trabalho pretende apontar os caminhos históricos que legitimaram a sobrevivência do mito das sibilas no mundo cristão, em sua estreita relação com a astrologia. O paganismo não renasceu após o medievo, mas esteve sempre presente no cristianismo, não só como símbolos, mas como efetiva influência essencial sobre os homens e as suas vidas. Alguns momentos históricos em particular são privilegiados neste caminho, desde os padres apologistas do cristianismo primitivo até o nascimento da ciência moderna. Sibilas e astrologia, como testemunhos "de fora" são presença constante seja na teologia cristã, seja na literatura e na música, ou nas representações plásticas do mundo cristão, que aqui privilegiamos. A sua sobrevivência ou pós-vida (Naschleben) é ora afirmada também pela legitimação de grandes nomes da patrística e d...

This essay, like Gaul, is divided into three parts, but it begins with the same question Adolf von Harnack asked over a hundred years ago: What is Christianity? Like Harnack, we desire a historical answer. Christianity insistently directs its origin to a divine revelation to humanity in the person of Jesus, the Messiah and the Son of God, and while other definitions are available to us, a historical one is the most appropriate for a discussion on the early Church appropriation of pagan piety.

Abstrakti
Suomen muinaisten kulttipaikkojen tutkimuksen katsotaan alkavan 1700-luvulla Algot Scarinin ja H. G. Porthanin vanhoja varsinaissuomalaisia pyhiä paikkoja (loca sacra) koskevista maininnoista.
Paavi Gregorius IX:n bulla v. 1229, jolla annettiin lupa ottaa kirkon haltuun pakanalliset palvontapaikat, ”lehdot ja pyhäköt” (luci & delubra), antoi 1700-luvun historiantutkijoille ensisysäyksen etsiä muinaisia kulttipaikkoja. Paavin määräys tarkoitti sitä, että pakanauskon pyhät paikat tuli repiä ja hävittää ja rakentaa niiden paikalle kirkkoja ja luostareita ja muita kirkollisia rakennuksia, jotta muistokin vanhasta uskonnosta näin häviäisi. Suomen muinaisuuden tutkijat saattoivat siten etsiä vanhoja pakanallisia kulttipaikkoja a) paikoista, joissa oli jälkiä katolisen ajan rakennuksista (kirkkoja, luostareita ym.) tai b) paikoista, joissa kansan muistitiedon mukaan olisi harjoitettu pakanallisia menoja.
Algot Scarin esittelee Varsinais-Suomen paikallisasian¬tuntijalta Matthias Halleniukselta saamansa tiedon kulttipaikasta nimeltään Hijdenkangar (”Hiidenkankare”). Tekstiin pääsi kuitenkin pujahtamaan painovirhe Hijdenkangat (”Hiidenkankaat”), jota hän suomen kieltä taitamattomana ei osannut korjata. Näin Scarin tuli luoneeksi varsinaissuomalaiseen maisemaan sopimat¬tomat paikannimet Hiidenkankaat ja Hiidenkangas, ja sanat ”hiidenkankaat” ja ”hiidenkangas” ovat jääneet elämään esikristillisiä pyhiä paikkoja ja hiisiä koskevaan tutkimukseen ja aiheuttaneet Scarinin ja Porthanin tekstien virhetulkintoja.
Halleniuksen kuvaama paikka Hiidenkankare (nykyään Hiidenmäki Nousiaisissa Nummen ja Kaiselan kylien raja¬maastossa) vastaa Scarinin ja Porthanin kirjoituksissaan antamaa mielikuvaa muinais¬jumalien (hiisien?) palvontaan pyhitetystä alueesta, johon kuuluvat ”koskemattomat pyhät lehdot ja metsät” ja joissa on näkyvinä pyhän tunnusmerkkeinä (loca sacra) mm. ”ristinkanto” ja ”pyhityspaikka”.
Merkittävää on, että Scarin näkee pakanallisen pyhäkön kahdella tavalla: antiikista periytyvän mielikuvan mukaan se on pyhä lehto tai metsä sinänsä, mutta Scarinin oman ajan silmillä nähtynä pyhiä paikkoja ovat vanhasta kultista muistuttavat maastokohdat. Näin kulttipaikkaan liittyvä ”pyhän” merkitys on kaksinainen: pyhäkkö, jossa on pyhiä paikkoja. Lisäksi Scarin rajaa kultin käyttämän paikan erilleen yhteisön muun toiminnan keskuksesta. Scarinin kahdenlainen näkymä kertoo siis kulttipaikan (”metsä”, ”hiisi”) nimeä koskevasta käsitteellisestä muutoksesta. Muutoksen aiheutti kristillistäminen. Paavin ukaasin myötä vanhat pakanalliset kulttipaikat otettiin kristilliseen käyttöön ja ”hiisi”-sanakin joutui siirtymään asutetun kyläyhteisön ulkopuolelle, metsään.

Mantuan (1447-1516) published eclogue book Adulescentia (1498) that crossed Alps & occupied schools for more than a century: essay traces him from famous school in Gonzaga court at Mantua to his fame as 'Christian Maro' & citation by school master in Loves Labour's Lost: preface to verse translation for I Tatti series

Resumo Os mitos antigos não estão mortos. A partir desta afirmação fundamentada nas obras de autores como Warburg, Jean Seznec, Erwin Panofsky e Fritz Saxl, este trabalho pretende apontar os caminhos históricos que legitimaram a sobrevivência do mito das sibilas no mundo cristão, em sua estreita relação com a astrologia. O paganismo não renasceu após o medievo, mas esteve sempre presente no cristianismo, não só como símbolos, mas como efetiva influência essencial sobre os homens e as suas vidas. Alguns momentos históricos em particular são privilegiados neste caminho, desde os padres apologistas do cristianismo primitivo até o nascimento da ciência moderna. Sibilas e astrologia, como testemunhos "de fora" são presença constante seja na teologia cristã, seja na literatura e na música, ou nas representações plásticas do mundo cristão, que aqui privilegiamos. A sua sobrevivência ou pós-vida (Naschleben) é ora afirmada também pela legitimação de grandes nomes da patrística e d...

"L’età tardoantica costituisce ormai un oggetto di studio dotato di una propria autonomia nell’ambito delle scienze dell’Antichità. In particolare, nell’arco dello sviluppo della letteratura latina, gli autori e i prodotti del periodo compreso fra il III e il VII secolo appaiono connotati da una personalità culturale e letteraria che sicuramente ne autorizza una trattazione monografica.
Infatti, una volta definitivamente superato il pregiudizio che vedeva nella cultura tardolatina un momento di decadenza rispetto alla grande produzione d’età classica e augustea, il moderno lettore si può accostare a questo periodo scoprendo autori e opere che continuamente fanno riferimento ai maestri del passato interpretandone tuttavia la lezione in modo originale alla luce del mutato contesto storico, sociale e ideologico e rispondendo a un nuovo gusto letterario.
Questo volume intende offrire una rassegna il più possibile completa della letteratura tardolatina alla luce degli studi più recenti e secondo un’interpretazione organica dei testi, esaminandoli all’interno del vario e incessante evolversi del duplice rapportodialettico pagani-cristiani e romani-barbari e considerandoli come prodotti significativi di un’età complessa e vivace, che ha molto in comune con la nostra sensibilità."

Painted tombs on the Lower Danube have been popular starting from the 4th century A.D., a time of change throughout the Roman world, visible in Roman funerary art through its iconography and symbolism. While the spiritual message changes, the means, funerary symbolism, never does, it adapts to its new context. Four major funerary themes can be identified on the frescoes discovered in ancient Viminacium, Tomis, Durostorum and near Sirmium that have the main purpose of expressing the deceased’s social status: the funerary banquet, the rider motif, the pair of peacocks suggesting the Afterlife, and the procession of servants.