Heavenly Realms and Earthly Realities in Late Antique Religions

Author: Ra'anan S. Boustan;Annette Yoshiko Reed;  

Publisher: Cambridge University Press‎

Publication year: 2004

E-ISBN: 9781316904862

P-ISBN(Paperback): 9780521831024

P-ISBN(Hardback):  9780521831024

Subject: B920 宗教理论、宗教思想

Keyword: 历史、地理

Language: ENG

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Description

This book maps the patterns of unity and diversity within the religious landscape of Late Antiquity. The idea of heaven held a special place in the late antique imagination, not only in Judaism and Christianity, but also in the Greco-Roman religious, philosophical, scientific and 'magical' traditions. This volume uses an interdisciplinary approach to understanding this formative era in Western culture and history. The idea of heaven held a special place in the late antique imagination, not only in Judaism and Christianity, but also in the Greco-Roman religious, philosophical, scientific and 'magical' traditions. This volume uses an interdisciplinary approach to understanding this formative era in Western culture and history. The idea of heaven held a special place in the late antique imagination, which was marked by a poignant sense of the relevance of otherworldly realities for earthly life. Such concerns can be found not only in Judaism and Christianity but also in the Greco-Roman religious, philosophical, scientific, and 'magical' traditions. Transcending social, regional and creedal boundaries, the preocupation with heaven in Late Antiquity serves as a focus for an interdisciplinary approach to understanding this formative era in Western culture and history. Drawing upon the expertise of scholars of Classics, Ancient History, Jewish Studies and Patristics, this volume explores the different functions of heavenly imagery in different texts and traditions in order to map the patterns of unity and diversity within the religious landscape of Late Antiquity. Introduction: 'In Heaven as it is on Earth' Ra'anan S. Bouston and Annette Yoshiko Reed; Part I. Between Earth and Heaven: 1. The bridge and the ladder: narrow passages in late antique visions Fritz Graf; 2. 'Heavenly Steps': Manilius 4.119-121 and its background Katharina Volk; 3. Heavenly ascent, angelic descent, and the transmission of knowledge in 1 Enoch 6-16 Annette Yoshiko Reed; 4. 'Connecting Heaven and Earth': the function of the hymns in Revelation 4-5 Gottfried Schimanowski; 5. Working overtime in afterlife; or, no rest for the virtuous Sarah Iles Johnson; Part II. Institutionalising Heaven: 6. Earthly sacrifice and heavenly incense: the law of priesthood in Aramaic Levi and Jubilees Martha Himmelfarb; 7. Who's on the throne?: revelation in the long year John W. Marshall; 8. The earthly monastery and the transformation of the heavenly city in late antique Egypt Kirsti B. Copeland; 9. Contextualising heaven in third-century North Africa Jan N. Bremmer; 10. Bringing the heavenly academy down to earth: approaches to the imagery of divine pedagogy in the East-Syrian tradition Adam H. Becker; Part III. Tradition and Innovation: 11. Angels in the architecture: temple art and the poetics of praise in the Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice Ra'anan S. Bouston; 12. The collapse of celestial and chthonic realms in late antique 'Appollonian Invocation' (PGMI 262-347) Christopher A. Faraone; 13. In heaven as it is in hell: the cosmology of Seder Rabbah di-Bereshit Peter Schäfer; 14. The faces of the moon: cosmology, genesis and the Mithras Liturgy Radcliffe G. Edmonds III; 15. 'O Paradoxical Fusion!': Gregory of Nazianzus on baptism and cosmology (Orations 38-40) Susanna Elm. Review of the hardback: 'The volume makes a valuable contribution to a topic of growing interest in recent study of ancient religion.' Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Review of the hardback: '… a sound and

Chapter

The Bridges

The Ladder

Conclusions

2 “Heavenly Steps”: Manilius 4.119–121 and Its Background

3 Heavenly Ascent, Angelic Descent, and the Transmission of Knowledge in 1 Enoch 6–16

Secrets in Heaven, Knowledge on Earth

Asael, the Instruction Motif, and the Text–History of the Book of the Watchers

Attitudes Toward Knowledge and Secrecy in 1 Enoch 6–11

The Instruction Motif and the Literary Structure of 1 Enoch 12–16

The Descent of the Watchers and the Elevation of Enoch

Crossing the Epistemological Boundaries Between Heaven and Earth

4 “Connecting Heaven and Earth”: The Function of the Hymns in Revelation 4–5

The Structure and Content of Revelation 4–5

The Heavenly Liturgy in a Fivefold Form

Connecting Heaven and Earth

Summary

5 Working Overtime in the Afterlife; or, No Rest for the Virtuous

Angelic Souls

Working Souls

Platonic Influences

PART TWO INSTITUTIONALIZING HEAVEN

6 Earthly Sacrifice and Heavenly Incense: The Law of the Priesthood in Aramaic Levi and Jubilees

The Law of the Priesthood

Washing

Blood on Garments

Wood for the Altar

Order of Sacrifice

The Minhah Accompanying Animal Sacrifices

Weights and Measures

The Law of the Priesthood and Sectarianism

Jubilees’ Adaptation of the Law of the Priesthood

Frankincense and the Minhah

The Incense Offering

Incense and the Heavenly Temple

7 Who’s on the Throne? Revelation in the Long Year

Preliminary Discussions of Kingdom

The Throne Vision

Seals, Trumpets, Thunders

The Holy City and the Great City

War in Heaven

Judgment and Celebration

Conclusion: The One on the Throne

8 The Earthly Monastery and the Transformation of the Heavenly City in Late Antique Egypt

The Heavenly Jerusalem, One with the Earthly Jerusalem

Jerusalem, a City in Judaea No Longer

Monastery as Heavenly Jerusalem, Heavenly Jerusalem as Monastery

9 Contextualizing Heaven in Third-Century North Africa

The Passio Sanctorum Mariani et Iacobi

The Court Scene

The Heavenly Landscape

The Fountain and the Cup

Marian’s Heaven

10 Bringing the Heavenly Academy Down to Earth: Approaches to the Imagery of Divine Pedagogy in the East Syrian Tradition

The Heavenly Classroom in the Cause of the Foundation of the Schools

The Influence of Theodore of Mopsuestia

The Pedagogical Tendency in Syriac Literature

Parallel “Earthly” Institutionalization

The Rabbinic Comparandum

The Problem of “Influence”

Conclusion

PART THREE TRADITION AND INNOVATION

11 Angels in the Architecture: Temple Art and the Poetics of Praise in the Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice

Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice: Textual History and Performative Setting

The Narrative Trajectory of the Cycle: From Angels to Architecture

Architectural Language and Temple Art in the Songs

The Poetics of the Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice, or the Strange Problem of Singular and Plural Forms

12 The Collapse of Celestial and Chthonic Realms in a Late Antique “Apollonian Invocation” (PGM I 262–347)

The Syncretistic Tendencies of Late Imperial Pagan Religion

Apollo as a Source of Oracular Inspiration in PGM III

Apollo as a Source of Oracular Inspiration in PGM II

The Recipe for an “Apollonian Invocation” in PGM I

Conclusion

13 In Heaven as It Is in Hell: The Cosmology of Seder Rabbah di-Bereshit

I

II

Midrash on Gen 1:1 (§§429–436 and §§832–854)

The Dimensions of the “World” (§§437–439)

Detailed Description of the Seven Earths and Seven Heavens (§§440–462 and 743–776)

The Area Beyond the Seventh Heaven (§§777–784 and 518–524)

III

Heaven(s) and Hell(s) in Prerabbinic Literature

The Heavens in Classical Rabbinic Literature

Earth(s) in the Classical Rabbinic Literature

Hekhalot Literature

14 The Faces of the Moon: Cosmology, Genesis, and the Mithras Liturgy

Cosmological Divisions

The Descent of the Soul Through the Divisions of the Cosmos

The Evaluation of Genesis

Feminine Intermediary Principles

Living in theWorld

Conclusion

15 “O Paradoxical Fusion!”: Gregory of Nazianzus on Baptism and Cosmology (Orations 38–40)

Conversions and Inscriptions

Incarnation

Illumination

Baptism

Rival Cosmologies, Rival Baptisms

Select Bibliography

Index

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