num_pages: 293
description: To practical modern minds, the idea of divine prophecy is more ludicrous than sublime. Yet to our cultural forebears in ancient Greece &amp; Rome, prophecy was anything but marginal. It was the basic medium for recalling significant past events &amp; expressing hopes for the future. It offered assurance that divinities truly cared about mortals. Prophecy also served political ends &amp; was often invoked to support or condemn an emperor's actions. In Prophets &amp; Emperors, David S. Potter shows us how prophecy worked, how it could empower &amp; how the diverse inhabitants of the Roman Empire used it to make sense of their world. This is a fascinating account of prophecy as a religious &amp; sociopolitical phenomenon. The various systems of prophecy--including sacred books, oracles, astrological readings, dream interpretation, the sayings of the holy--come into sharp relief. Potter explores the use of prophecy as a means of historical analysis &amp; political communication, &amp; he describes it in the context of the ancient city. Finally, he traces the reformation of the prophetic tradition under the influence of Christianity in the 4th century. Drawing on diverse evidence--from inscriptions &amp; ancient prophetic books to Greek &amp; Roman historians &amp; the bible--he's produced a study that will engage all interested in the religions of the ancient Mediterranean &amp; in the history &amp; politics of the Roman Empire.
language: English
title: Prophets & Emperors: Human & Divine Authority from Augustus to Theodosius
titlecomplete: Prophets & Emperors: Human & Divine Authority from Augustus to Theodosius
ratings_count: 3
series: Revealing Antiquity
publisher: Harvard University Press (Cambridge/London)