Hilary Marlow - Eschatology in Antiquity: Forms and Functions

This collection of essays explores the rhetoric and practices surrounding ancient notions of eschatology, such as 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.

Hilary Marlow is Fellow, Director of Studies and Tutor at Girton College, Cambridge, UK, and teaches Hebrew Bible in the Faculty of Divinity, University of Cambridge, UK. Her research interests include nature in the Hebrew Bible, ecology and the Bible and prophetic texts of the Hebrew Bible. She is author of Biblical Prophets and Contemporary Environmental Ethics (2009) and numerous articles and essays.

Karla Pollmann is Dean of the Faculty of Arts at the University of Bristol, UK, and Professor of Classics and Theology. She is also an honorary member of the University of Aarhus, Denmark, and the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa, and a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at Green College, UBC, Vancouver, Canada. Her research interests span Classical and Late Antique literature and culture, and their reception. In 2020, she was awarded a Humboldt Research Prize in recognition of her internationally leading work. Major publications include The Oxford Guide to the Historical Reception of Augustine, 3 vols (2013) as Editor-in-Chief, and The Baptized Muse (2017).

Helen Van Noorden is Senior Lecturer in Classics and Wrigley Fellow at Girton College, Cambridge, UK, and in 20202022 is Associate Professor and AIAS-COFUND Fellow at the Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies, Denmark. She is the author of Playing Hesiod: the Myth of the Races in Classical Antiquity (2015). Her current focus is a monograph study and translation of Books 35 of the Sibylline Oracles.

Rewriting Antiquity provides a platform to examine major themes of the ancient world in a broad, holistic and inclusive fashion. Coverage is broad both in time and space, allowing a full appreciation of the selected topic rather than an exclusive view bound by a relatively short timescale and place. Each volume examines a key theme from the Ancient Near East to Late Antiquity, and often beyond, to break down the boundaries habitually created by focusing on one region or time period.

Volumes within the series highlight the latest research, current developments and innovative approaches, situating this with existing scholarship. Individual case studies and analysis held within sections build to form a comprehensive and comparative overview of the subject enabling readers to view matters in the round and establish interconnections and resonance across a wide spectrum. In this way, the volumes allow new directions of study to be defined and provide differing perspectives to stimulate fresh approaches to the theme examined.

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Children in Antiquity

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Eschatology in Antiquity

Forms and Functions

Edited by Hilary Marlow, Karla Pollmann, and Helen Van Noorden

https://www.routledge.com/Rewriting-Antiquity/book-series/REWRITEANT

First published 2021

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2021 selection and editorial matter, Hilary Marlow, Karla Pollmann, and Helen Van Noorden; individual chapters, the contributors

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British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Marlow, Hilary, editor. | Pollmann, Karla, editor. | Van Noorden, Helen, editor.

Title: Eschatology in antiquity : forms and functions / edited by Hilary Marlow, Karla Pollmann, and Helen Van Noorden.

Description: Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2021. | Series: Rewriting antiquity | Includes bibliographical references and index. |

Identifiers: LCCN 2021005624 (print) | LCCN 2021005625 (ebook) | ISBN 9781138208315 (hbk) | ISBN 9781032043050 (pbk) | ISBN 9781315459486 (ebk)

Subjects: LCSH: Eschatology, Ancient.

Classification: LCC BL500 .E835 2021 (print) | LCC BL500 (ebook) | DDC 202/.30901dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021005624

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021005625

ISBN: 978-1-138-20831-5 (hbk)

ISBN: 978-1-032-04305-0 (pbk)

ISBN: 978-1-315-45948-6 (ebk)

Typeset in Bembo

by KnowledgeWorks Global Ltd.

1. Helen Van Noorden, Hilary Marlow and Karla Pollmann
2. 1. Dina Katz