Pollution and religion in Ancient Rome

242 Pages·2014·14.764 MB·English

by  Lennon, Jack J

more information - www.cambridge.org/9781107037908

POLLUTION AND RELIGION
IN ANCIENT ROME
Pollution could come from any number of sources in the Roman
world. Bodily functions, sexual activity, bloodshed, death – any of
these could cause disaster if brought into contact with religion.
Its presence could invalidate sacrifices, taint religious officials, and
threatentobringdowntheangerofthegodsuponthecity.Orators
couldusepollutionasameansofdenigratingopponentsandobstruct-
ingreligiousprocedures,andwriterscouldemphasisethe‘otherness’
ofbarbariansbydrawingattentiontotheirdifferentideasaboutwhat
wasorwasnot‘dirty’.Yetdespiteallthis,religiouspollutionremained
avagueconceptwithintheLatinlanguage,andwhatconstitutedpol-
lutioncouldchangedependingonthecontextinwhichitappeared.
Callinguponarangeofresearchdisciplines,thisbookhighlightsthe
significantrolethatpollutionplayedacrossRomanreligion,andthe
roleitplayedintheconstructionofreligiousidentity.
jack j. lennon received his PhD from the University of Not-
tinghamandhassincetaughtatvariousacademicinstitutions,most
recentlyasTeachingFellowintheDepartmentofHistory,University
College London. His interest is in ancient history, particularly pre-
ChristianRomanreligionandmagic,andespeciallythephenomenon
ofpollutionandritualimpurity.Hisresearchfrequentlyaimstointe-
gratethetheoriesofmodernanthropologyalongsidethoseofancient
historyandphilologyinordertoexplorebeyondthetraditionallimits
ofclassicalscholarship.Inadditiontostudyingthenatureofpollution
withinreligion,heisalsointerestedinthewiderculturalperceptions
ofdirtandcleanlinessacrossancientRomansociety.

POLLUTION AND RELIGION
IN ANCIENT ROME
JACK J. LENNON
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AcataloguerecordforthispublicationisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary
LibraryofCongressCataloguinginPublicationdata
Lennon,JackJ.,1985–
PollutionandreligioninancientRome/JackJ.Lennon.
pages cm
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
isbn978-1-107-03790-8(hardback)
1.Rome–Religion. 2.Pollution–Religiousaspects. I.Title.
bl805.l35 2014
292.1ʹ77–dc23 2013013109
isbn978-1-107-03790-8Hardback
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Contents
Preface pageix
Introduction 1
1 Definingpollution 29
30
PartI:Lexicalcategories
44
PartII:ThepureandthepollutedinRomanreligion
2 Birth,sexandbodilymargins 55
3 Blood 90
4 Deathandremembrance 136
5 Pollutionandrhetoric 167
Conclusion 188
References 197
Index 223
vii