Riot in Alexandria : tradition and group dynamics in late antique pagan and Christian communities / Edward J. Watts.

By:

Watts, Edward Jay, 1975-

Material type: Text

TextSeries: The transformation of the classical heritage | Joan Palevsky imprint in classical literaturePublication details: Berkeley : University of California Press, 2010.Description: xv, 290 p. : ill., map ; 24 cmContent type:

Media type:

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ISBN:

9780520262072
0520262077

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Contents:

The anatomy of a riot -- Personal legacy and scholastic identity -- Past, present, and future in late Neoplatonic historical discourse -- History and the shape of monastic communities -- Anti-Chalcedonian ascetics and their student associates -- Creating the legend of the Alexandrian bishop -- Theophilus and Cyril : the Alexandrian bishop triumphant -- Peter Mongus struggles with the past.

Summary: "This innovative study uses one well-documented moment of violence as a starting point for a wide-ranging examination of the ideas and interactions of pagan philosophers, Christian ascetics, and bishops from the fourth to the early seventh century. Edward J. Watts reconstructs a riot that erupted in Alexandria in 486 when a group of students attacked a Christian adolescent who had publicly insulted the students' teachers. Pagan students, Christians affiliated with a local monastery, and the Alexandrian ecclesiastical leaders all cast the incident in a different light, and each group tried with its interpretation to influence subsequent events. Watts, drawing on Greek Latin, Coptic, and Syriac sources, shows how historical traditions and notions of a shared past shaped the interactions and behavior of these high-profile communities. Connecting oral and written texts to the personal relationships that gave them meaning and the actions that gave them form, Riot in Alexandria draws new attention to the understudied social and cultural history of the later fifth-century Roman world and opens a new window on late antique intellectual life."--Publisher's description.

Holdings ( 1 )
Title notes ( 3 )

Holdings
Item type	Current library	Call number	Status	Date due	Barcode	Item holds
Book - 7-day loan	CYA Library Main Collection	932 WAT (Browse shelf(Opens below))	Available		00000010305

Total holds: 0

Includes bibliographical references (p. 269-284) and index.

"This innovative study uses one well-documented moment of violence as a starting point for a wide-ranging examination of the ideas and interactions of pagan philosophers, Christian ascetics, and bishops from the fourth to the early seventh century. Edward J. Watts reconstructs a riot that erupted in Alexandria in 486 when a group of students attacked a Christian adolescent who had publicly insulted the students' teachers. Pagan students, Christians affiliated with a local monastery, and the Alexandrian ecclesiastical leaders all cast the incident in a different light, and each group tried with its interpretation to influence subsequent events. Watts, drawing on Greek Latin, Coptic, and Syriac sources, shows how historical traditions and notions of a shared past shaped the interactions and behavior of these high-profile communities. Connecting oral and written texts to the personal relationships that gave them meaning and the actions that gave them form, Riot in Alexandria draws new attention to the understudied social and cultural history of the later fifth-century Roman world and opens a new window on late antique intellectual life."--Publisher's description.