{"product_id":"at-the-temple-gates-the-religion-of-freelance-experts-in-the-roman-empire-9780190267148","title":"At the Temple Gates: The Religion of Freelance Experts in the Roman Empire","description":"In his sixth satire, Juvenal speculates about how Roman wives busy themselves while their husbands are away, namely, by entertaining a revolving door of exotic visitors who include a eunuch of the eastern goddess Bellona, an impersonator of Egyptian Anubis, a Judean priestess, and Chaldean\u003cbr\u003eastrologers. From these self-proclaimed religious specialists women solicit services ranging from dream interpretation to the coercion of lovers. Juvenal's catalogue suggests the popularity of such freelance experts at the turn of the second century and their familiarity to his audience, whom he\u003cbr\u003ecould expect to get the joke. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eHeidi Wendt investigates the backdrop of this enthusiasm for the religion of freelance experts by examining their rise during the first two centuries of the Roman Empire. Unlike civic priests and temple personnel, freelance experts had to generate their own authority and legitimacy, often through\u003cbr\u003edemonstrations of skill and learning in the streets, in marketplaces, and at the temple gates, among other locations in the Roman world. Wendt argues that these professionals participated in a highly competitive form of religious activity that intersected with multiple areas of specialty, \u003cbr\u003eparticularly philosophy and medicine. Over the course of the imperial period freelance experts grew increasingly influential, more diverse with respect to their skills and methods, and more assorted in the ethnic coding of their practices. Wendt argues that this context engendered many of the\u003cbr\u003einnovative forms of religion that flourished in the second and third centuries, including phenomena linked with Persian Mithras, the Egyptian gods, and the Judean Christ. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe evidence for freelance experts in religion is abundant, but scholars of ancient Mediterranean religion have only recently begun to appreciate their impact on the empire's changing religious landscape. At the Temple Gates integrates studies of Judaism, Christianity, mystery cults, astrology, \u003cbr\u003emagic, and philosophy to paint a colorful portrait of religious expertise in early Rome.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Heidi Wendt\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Oxford University Press, USA\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 09\/19\/2016\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 280\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.10lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.30h x 6.40w x 1.10d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780190267148\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHeidi Wendt\u003c\/strong\u003e is Assistant Professor of New Testament and Christian Origins at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. She has written articles in the \u003cem\u003eJournal of Roman Studies\u003c\/em\u003e, the \u003cem\u003eJournal of Biblical Literature\u003c\/em\u003e, and the \u003cem\u003eJournal of Ancient Judaism \u003c\/em\u003eand teaches courses on Judeans and Christians in the\u003cbr\u003eRoman Empire, and the Greco-Roman context of New Testament literature.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Oxford University Press, USA","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":39929198346355,"sku":"9.78E+12","price":89.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0555\/9255\/0515\/products\/img_91c02b44-8507-4c26-bb3a-6d60940907e7.jpg?v=1647611002","url":"https:\/\/bookstorenmore.com\/en-de\/products\/at-the-temple-gates-the-religion-of-freelance-experts-in-the-roman-empire-9780190267148","provider":"Bookstore N More","version":"1.0","type":"link"}