Temple and Empire explores the theme of temple piety in Luke-Acts and 1 Clement in historical context. Mina Monier argues that situating both works in Trajanic Rome, and reading them through the lens of Roman imperial ideology explains their peculiarly positive presentation of the Temple as a form of reverence toward ancient worship and ancestral customs that would not offend, but would appeal to traditional Roman sensibilities.

"This publication is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)"--Page v.

In The Danielic Discourse on Empire in Second Temple Literature, Alexandria Frisch asks: how did Jews in the Second Temple period understand the phenomenon of foreign empire? In answering this question, a remarkable trend reveals itself—the book of Daniel, which situates its narrative in an imperial context and apocalyptically envisions empires, was overwhelmingly used by Jewish writers when they wanted to say something about empires. This study examines Daniel, as well as antecedents to and interpretations of Daniel, in order to identify the diachronic changes in perceptions of empire during this period. Oftentimes, this Danielic discourse directly reacted to imperial ideologies, either copying, subverting, or adapting those ideologies. Throughout this study, postcolonial criticism, therefore, provides a hermeneutical lens through which to ask a second question: in an imperial context, is the Jewish conception of empire actually Jewish?

This book examines the development of Roman temple architecture from its earliest history in the sixth century BC to the reigns of Hadrian and the Antonines in the second century AD. John Stamper analyzes the temples' formal qualities, the public spaces in which they were located and, most importantly, the authority of precedent in their designs. He also traces Rome's temple architecture as it evolved over time and how it accommodated changing political and religious contexts, as well as the affects of new stylistic influences.

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 astrologers. 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 could expect to get the joke. Heidi 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 demonstrations 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, particularly 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 innovative forms of religion that flourished in the second and third centuries, including phenomena linked with Persian Mithras, the Egyptian gods, and the Judean Christ. The 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, magic, and philosophy to paint a colorful portrait of religious expertise in early Rome.

***DELAYED PUBLICATION - NEW COVER*** Banteay Chhmar is the second monument of ancient Cambodia's greatest king, Jayavarman VII. This temple, built in the late 12th-Century by one of Cambodia's most original stone carving and architectural workshops, lay in ruins for almost a thousand years under a remote forest halfway between Angkor, the declining capital of the once mighty Khmers and Ayutthaya, the burgeoning new hub of the rising Thai kingdom. At first the remoteness of Banteay Chhmar made it the distant jewel in the magnificent monumental landscape of the Khmers, but after the Khmer Empire declined in the 14th century, the temple's art was left exposed to generations of looters. To uncover the secrets of this large, beautiful and still forest-draped complex, Peter Sharrock has brought together a team of international experts, including Claudes Jacques, Olivier Cunin and Thiery Zephir, to decipher the reliefs of the master carvers, identify the esoteric Buddhist deities and open a new vista on Jayavarman's reign. Lavishly illustrated with 300 specially-commissioned photographs this is the first book devoted to this beautiful, remarkable and important temple. AUTHOR: Dr Peter D. Sharrock is Senior Teaching Fellow in the History of Art and Archaeology at London University's School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS). He experienced the American war in Indochina for four years as the Reuters correspondent and discovered how, as the French said, Indochina 'attaches to the skin'. His doctorate and subsequent publications are on a new interpretation of the esoteric Buddhism and imperial politics of the greatest king of ancient Cambodia, Jayavarman VII, as expressed through the art and architecture of the 'Bayon style' named after the Bayon temple in Angkor. His current research explores Jayavarman's empire beyond Angkor - including his second greatest temple complex of Banteay Chhmar. SELLING POINTS: * First title to be devoted to this important and beautiful temple * Contains contributions from the world's leading Khmer scholars * Features over 300 specially commissioned photographs * Banteay Chhmar is likely to see ever-increasing tourist visits in the next few years and is seeking UNESCO World Heritage Site status * The temple has seen perhaps the worst looting of any temple: as recently as 1999 over 100 sandstone pieces of the Western Gallery were recovered by Thai police following looting 300 colour illustrations

A temple cat in ancient Egypt grows tired of being worshiped and cared for in a reverent fashion and travels to the seaside, where she finds genuine affection with a fisherman and his children.