A Jew in the Roman Bathhouse: Cultural Interaction in the Ancient Mediterranean

A Jew in the Roman Bathhouse

Cultural Interaction in the Ancient Mediterranean
 
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Date of Publication:
Number of Volumes: Print PDF
 
Normal price:

Publisher's listprice:
GBP 38.00
Estimated price in HUF:
18 354 HUF (17 480 HUF + 5% VAT)
Why estimated?
 
Your price:

16 519 (15 732 HUF + 5% VAT )
discount is: 10% (approx 1 835 HUF off)
The discount is only available for 'Alert of Favourite Topics' newsletter recipients.
Click here to subscribe.
 
Availability:

Estimated delivery time: Currently 3-5 weeks.
Not in stock at Prospero.
Can't you provide more accurate information?
 
  Piece(s)

 
 
 
 
Product details:

ISBN13:9780691243436
ISBN10:0691243433
Binding:Hardback
No. of pages:392 pages
Size:234x155 mm
Language:English
Illustrations: 27 b/w illus. 3 maps.
621
Category:
Long description:

A provocative account of Jewish encounters with the public baths of ancient Rome

Public bathhouses embodied the Roman way of life, from food and fashion to sculpture and sports. The most popular institution of the ancient Mediterranean world, the baths drew people of all backgrounds. They were places suffused with nudity, sex, and magic. A Jew in the Roman Bathhouse reveals how Jews navigated this space with ease and confidence, engaging with Roman bath culture rather than avoiding it.

In this landmark interdisciplinary work of cultural history, Yaron Eliav uses the Roman bathhouse as a social laboratory to reexamine how Jews interacted with Graeco-Roman culture. He reconstructs their thoughts, feelings, and beliefs about the baths and the activities that took place there, documenting their pleasures as well as their anxieties and concerns. Archaeologists have excavated hundreds of bathhouse facilities across the Mediterranean. Graeco-Roman writers mention the bathhouse frequently, and rabbinic literature contains hundreds of references to the baths. Eliav draws on the archaeological and literary record to offer fresh perspectives on the Jews of antiquity, developing a new model for the ways smaller and often weaker groups interact with large, dominant cultures.

A compelling and richly evocative work of scholarship, A Jew in the Roman Bathhouse challenges us to rethink the relationship between Judaism and Graeco-Roman society, shedding new light on how cross-cultural engagement shaped Western civilization.



"Writing entertainingly and informatively on both archaeology and the Talmud is a rare gift, and the author brings enthusiasm and erudition to his explanations of Roman engineering feats."---Sara Jo Ben Zvi, Segula