Regum Externorum Consuetudine: The Nature and Function of Embalming in Rome

1996 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 189-202 ◽  
Author(s):  
Derek B. Counts
Keyword(s):  
Social Structure ◽  
First Century ◽  
Imperial Rome ◽  
Significant Aspect ◽  
Death Ritual ◽  
Social Distinction ◽  
Roman Society ◽  
The Social ◽  
Apparent Shift ◽  
And Function

Although embalming is traditionally considered an Egyptian custom, ancient sources suggest that in imperial Rome the practice was not employed by Egyptians or Egyptianized Romans alone. The mos Romanorum in funerary ritual encompassed both cremation and inhumation, yet embalming appears in Rome as early as the first century AD and evidence points to its limited use during the first three centuries AD. Within the social structure of Rome's dead these preserved corpses certainly occupied a distinct place. Yet who were they and why were they embalmed? It is argued here that various factors allowed for the occasional use of embalming by Romans: (1) an apparent shift in attitudes towards Egypt, (2) the manipulation of death ritual for social distinction, and (3) the flexibility of the traditional Roman funeral, which was able to incorporate deviations in methods of body disposal. Although embalming has been largely ignored as a significant aspect of Roman funerary history, its patrons come from the classes of highest status, including even the imperial household. This fact alone makes it worthwhile to examine this small corpus of evidence. For example, the emperor Nero embalmed his wife Poppaea; such a deviation from standard disposal methods reflects imperial fashion, but also requires us to re-evaluate Nero's reign and, especially, the societal constructs of Neronian Rome. This study attempts to contextualize embalming within Roman society and offer some likely causes and effects of its use.

scholarly journals Οίκέταί (huisbediendes) in die eerste-eeuse Grieks-Romeinse samelewing

1997 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
G. J. Van Wyk ◽  
F. J. Van Rensburg
Keyword(s):  
Social Structure ◽  
First Century ◽  
Social Classes ◽  
Peter 2 ◽  
1 Peter ◽  
Roman Society ◽  
The Social ◽  
Foundational Work ◽  
General Perspective

This article attempts to do the foundational work for a construct of the probable socio-historic context of household servants mentioned in 1 Peter 2:18. The article provides a general perspective of the different social classes, especially the lower classes in the Graeco-Roman society during the first century A.D. It is proposed that not all slaves were part of the lowest level of the social structure and that not all Roman citizens were equal or functioned as part of the top level of the social pyramid. Many slaves were indeed household servants. Some ex­- slaves (freedmen and freedwomen), however, were also classified according to this category. It is possible and probable that some (poor) citizens and (poor) foreigners were household servants.

Commending a freedman. Virtues and masculinities in the recommendation letters of Cicero and Pliny the Younger

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 401-418
Author(s):  
Lisa Hagelin
Keyword(s):  
Social Complexity ◽  
Hegemonic Masculinity ◽  
Close Reading ◽  
Imperial Rome ◽  
Gender Discourse ◽  
Pliny The Younger ◽  
Roman Society ◽  
Roman World ◽  
The Social ◽  
Cardinal Virtue

This article explores Roman freedmen’s masculine positions expressed as virtues, qualities, and ideals in the recommendation letters of Cicero and Pliny the Younger. It discusses whether there were specific freedman virtues, qualities, and ideals and what consequences their existence or absence had for freedmen’s constructions of masculinity. A critical close reading of the texts is applied, combined with theories of masculinity, where hegemonic masculinity is a key concept. It is concluded that there were no virtues or qualities that were specific or exclusive to freedmen. A distinct set of virtues for freedmen did not exist in Late Republican and Early Imperial Rome, since much the same behaviour and qualities are seen as manly and desirable for freedmen as for freeborn male citizens of high birth. However, freedmen cannot comply with the hegemonic masculinity in full, since they cannot embody the Roman masculine ideal of the vir bonus and cannot be associated with the Roman cardinal virtue virtus, which was central in the construction of masculinity in the Roman world. This illustrates the complex Roman gender discourse and, on the whole, the social complexity of Roman society.

scholarly journals UNGKAPAN MARAH DAN UNGKAPAN PUJIAN MASYARAKAT NIAS DI KAKI GUNUNG PADANG

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 10
Author(s):  
Faula Ismi ◽  
Ermanto Ermanto
Keyword(s):  
Data Collection ◽  
Social Structure ◽  
Social Function ◽  
Structure And Function ◽  
The People ◽  
The Social ◽  
Data Source ◽  
And Function ◽  
The Village ◽  
Descriptive Method

This study  aimed to determine the structure and social function of folklore legend naming Batunabontar Batang Natal district Mandailing Natal district. The method used in this research was descriptive method. The data source of this research was the people who inhabit Batunabontar village, Batang Natal District, Mandailing Natal District. The instrument used in this study was the researcher himself and the informant based on the understanding of the structure and social function of the naming legend of a place. Data collection techniques used in this study were observation by observation and to strengthen the data obtained, direct interviews were carried out to the authorities in research on the Social Structure and Function of the Legend of the Naming of Batunabontar Village, Batang Natal District, Mandailing Natal District. The results of this study indicate that the Social Structure and Function of Naming Legend of Batunabontar Village, Batang Natal District, Mandailing Natal District has a unique history and structure and function in the village. The uniqueness of this Batunabontar makes the writer want to know the importance of the structure and function of the Batunabontar in Batang Natal District, Mandailing Natal Regency.  

scholarly journals PERANAN PEMBENTUKAN KARAKTER DAN MORALITAS KEAGAMAAN UNTUK PEMBERANTASAN KORUPSI

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (01) ◽  
pp. 16
Author(s):  
Dalmeri Dalmeri
Keyword(s):  
Social Structure ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Community Life ◽  
Religious People ◽  
The People ◽  
The Social ◽  
And Function ◽  
Religious Morality ◽  
Role And Function

Reality of paradoxical in Indonesian existence shows that the corruption achievements is improve as wll as the diversity of the people. It shows that the pattern of religious people still in the theoretical-formalistic stage. It seems the religius leader attempts to tease the religion doctrin to destroy the social structure of community life. Corruption has become a cultural and traditions that haunting destruction the character of Indonesian nation because people who have distort the authority given by the people of Indonesia. That they do corruption can the resulted crisis economical, crisis politic and also poornes, jobles and criminalty, starvation, hardness with others. Majority the people Indonesia regarded as people who are religious. This phenomenon can build character and religious morality to apply teachings of religion to eradicate corruption. This paper seeks to analyze the role and function of religion as a source of kindness and instructions in social life in order to building the character and morality of religion to eradicate corruption.

Introduction

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Topher L. McDougal
Keyword(s):  
Social Structure ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Transportation Network ◽  
First Century ◽  
Economic Governance ◽  
Scholarly Literature ◽  
Rebel Groups ◽  
Early Twenty ◽  
The Social ◽  
Governance Institutions

This chapter serves as an accessible introduction to the issue, divided into five subsections. Section 1.1 describes the principal puzzle driving the research: why do some rural-based rebel groups prey on urban areas, while others do not? Section 1.2 summarizes the thesis: namely, that the structure of the transportation network and the social structure of the trade network jointly inform the outcome. Section 1.3 argues for the importance of this study, contending that understanding the rural–urban relationship will bolster our understanding of economic governance more generally—and the nature of disruptions currently upsetting the scalar consolidation of governance institutions in the early twenty-first century. Section 1.4 discusses the gap in scholarly literature this study fills. Section 1.5 describes the structure of the remaining chapters.

scholarly journals STRUKTUR DAN FUNGSI SOSIAL LEGENDA SETEMPAT SAMPURAGA DI DESA SIRAMBAS KECAMATAN PANYABUNGAN BARAT KABUPATEN MANDAILING NATAL

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 110
Author(s):  
Wendi Nofrialdi ◽  
Hasanuddin WS ◽  
Muhammad Ismail Nasution
Keyword(s):  
Social Structure ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Social Function ◽  
Structure And Function ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Social Solidarity ◽  
Social Functions ◽  
The Social ◽  
Identity Based ◽  
And Function

This research had a purpose to describe Social Structure and Function of Legend of Sampuraga Story. The theory used by researchers in this research was folklore theory. The type of this research is qualitative research with description method which is explaining facts explicitly obtained from research object. To be able to describe the Social Structure and Function of the Legend of Sampuraga, this research is done by analyzing the data as an object with the following steps. (1) to describe the Structure of Folklore Legend of Sampuraga. (2) to describe the socio-function of the folklore of the Samapuraga legend. Structures are elements that build a ceruta, there are elements that are (1) characterizations, (2) style of language, (3) events and plot, (4) point of view, (5) background, and (6) theme and mandate. Furthermore, social function is a form of community belief to folklore they have and become a separate function in their social life. The social functions are (1) as a means of entertainment, (2) as a means of education (3) a means of social control, (4) social solidarity inauguration, and (5) group identity. Based on data analysis conducted, it can be concluded that there are only 5 elements in the Structure of Folklore Legend because the point of view is not found in the folklore Legend Sampuraga. All the social functions described above apply to the community of folklore owner Legend Sampuraga.Keywords: folklore, sampuraga, social function

The Freedman's Story: an Accusation of Witchcraft in the Social World of Early Imperial Roman Italy (CIL11.4639 =ILS3001)

2018 ◽  
Vol 108 ◽  
pp. 53-73
Author(s):  
Duncan E. Macrae
Keyword(s):  
Social Structure ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Social World ◽  
First Century ◽  
Slave Society ◽  
The Social ◽  
Roman Culture ◽  
Roman Italy ◽  
Ambiguous Position

AbstractThis article proposes a new reading of a late first-centuryc.e.inscribed dedication from Todi (Umbria) as an accusation of witchcraft, a rhetorical text aimed at propagating a particular story among the local community. Historical and anthropological studies of witchcraft accusations in other societies have emphasised how they can reveal tensions and anxieties that are normally not visible to the observer. By drawing on these studies and close examination of the language and content of the inscription, this article analyses an historical agent's experience of the social structure of early imperial Italy. The accusation is read as a freedman's response to his ambiguous position in a slave society, the ambivalent power of writing in Roman culture and the religious claims of Flavian imperial discourse.

The Scope and Function of Civil Wrongs in Roman Society

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Floriana Cursi
Keyword(s):  
First Century ◽  
Republican Period ◽  
Roman Society ◽  
Typical System ◽  
General Law ◽  
And Function ◽  
Unlawful Conduct ◽  
Law Of Delict

The earliest evidence of Roman delicts is to be found in the rules of the XII Tables which introduced the first types of delict and obligation. From these rules the Roman lawyers did not develop a general law of delict governing the delictual liability. The Roman system of delicts was in fact typical: with new delicts emerging until the first century BC. Simultaneously, during the final Republican period, the praetor introduced some actions for reparation of damage, later included by Justinian in quasi delict category. But the Roman system of delicts, was too typical to ensure the total reparation of the private damages deriving from an unlawful conduct. So actio de dolo was introduced to repair the loss caused by dolus, in case of absence of any specific delictual action. This was a subsidiary remedy, which filled the gaps of the typical system of actions.

scholarly journals STRUKTUR DAN FUNGSI SOSIAL CERITA RAKYAT LEGENDA ASAL USUL KAMPUNG BATUNABONTAR

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Atika Batubara ◽  
Nurizzati Nurizzati
Keyword(s):  
Data Collection ◽  
Social Structure ◽  
Social Function ◽  
Structure And Function ◽  
The People ◽  
The Social ◽  
Data Source ◽  
And Function ◽  
The Village ◽  
Descriptive Method

This study  aimed to determine the structure and social function of folklore legend naming Batunabontar Batang Natal district Mandailing Natal district. The method used in this research was descriptive method. The data source of this research was the people who inhabit Batunabontar village, Batang Natal District, Mandailing Natal District. The instrument used in this study was the researcher himself and the informant based on the understanding of the structure and social function of the naming legend of a place. Data collection techniques used in this study were observation by observation and to strengthen the data obtained, direct interviews were carried out to the authorities in research on the Social Structure and Function of the Legend of the Naming of Batunabontar Village, Batang Natal District, Mandailing Natal District. The results of this study indicate that the Social Structure and Function of Naming Legend of Batunabontar Village, Batang Natal District, Mandailing Natal District has a unique history and structure and function in the village. The uniqueness of this Batunabontar makes the writer want to know the importance of the structure and function of the Batunabontar in Batang Natal District, Mandailing Natal Regency.  

The Rise and Function of the Holy Man in Late Antiquity

1971 ◽  
Vol 61 ◽  
pp. 80-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Brown
Keyword(s):  
Late Antiquity ◽  
Near East ◽  
Roman Society ◽  
The Social ◽  
Patient Work ◽  
Eastern Empire ◽  
And Function ◽  
Holy Man ◽  
Lives Of The Saints ◽  
Late Roman

To study the position of the holy man in Late Roman society is to risk telling in one's own words a story that has often been excellently told before. In vivid essays, Norman Baynes has brought the lives of the saints to the attention of the social and religious historian of Late Antiquity. The patient work of the Bollandists has increased and clarified a substantial dossier of authentic narratives. These lives have provided the social historian with most of what he knows of the life of the average man in the Eastern Empire. They illuminate the variety and interaction of the local cultures of the Near East. The holy men themselves have been carefully studied, both as figures in the great Christological controversies of the fifth and sixth centuries, and as the arbiters of the distinctive traditions of Byzantine piety and ascetic theology.The intention of this paper is to follow well known paths of scholarship on all these topics, while asking two basic questions: why did the holy man come to play such an important rôle in the society, of the fifth and sixth centuries ? What light do his activities throw on the values and functioning of a society that was prepared to concede him such importance? It is as well to ask such elementary questions. For there is a danger that the holy man may be taken for granted as part of the Byzantine scene. Most explanations of his position are deceptively easy.

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