Public Spectacles in Roman and Late Antique Palestine

378 Pages·2014·3.32 MB·English

by  Zeev Weiss

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PUBLIC SPECTACLES
ROMAN LATE
in and
ANTIQUE PALESTINE
Zeev Weiss
.
Cambridge, Massachusetts London, En gland
2014
Copyright © 2014 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Weiss, Zeev, 1959-
Public spectacles in Roman and late antique Palestine / Zeev Weiss.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978- 0- 674- 04831- 7 (alk. paper)
1. Entertainment events— Palestine—History. 2. Popu lar culture—P alestine—History.
3. Palestine— Social life and customs. 4. Romans— Palestine. 5. Palestine—
Antiquities, Roman. 6. Palestine— Antiquities. 7. Palestine—H istory—
To 70 A.D. 8. Palestine—History—70-6 38. I. Title.
GV31.W45 2014
796.0937—dc23 2013027086
To Hedva

Contents
Preface ix
Introduction 1
1
The Beginning: The Introduction of Public Spectacles
and Competitions into Ancient Palestine 11
2
Shaping the City’s Landscape: Buildings for
Mass Entertainment in Their Urban Context 57
3
Entertaining the Crowds: Per for mances,
Competitions, and Shows 117
4
Financing, Or ga ni za tion, and Operation 171
5
Adopting a Novelty: Jewish Attitudes toward
Roman Spectacles and Competitions 195
6
Public Spectacles and Sociocultural Behavior
in Late Antique Palestine 227
Epilogue 255
Abbreviations 261
Notes 263
Source Index 347
Subject Index 353