bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The Palmyrene Diaspora
Authors: Schörle Katia 
Published: January 2024

Abstract
This chapter discusses the different forms of diasporas of members of the Palmyrene community during the first three centuries ad within the wider Roman world. Indeed, the Palmyrenes are known as far north as Hadrian’s Wall, India in the east, and the deserts of Africa to the south. But how to discern journeys, individual people or events, and long-term communal or individual settlement? The author proposes that only a case-by-case study can identify such differences, if at all, and that, when possible, scholars should distinguish the different types of newly founded settlements. As a result, different diasporas emerge for reasons that may be mercantile, institutional (esp. military), religious, or of another nature, whether known or simply unknown. Last but not least, identities may be multiple and complex, a fact that Palmyrenes sometimes chose to highlight: cases where Palmyrenes dedicated in bilingual (and more exceptionally) trilingual inscriptions enable scholars to determine their place of origin, at times perhaps better than most citizens of the Roman world.
Palmyrene Trading Networks
Authors: Seland Eivind Heldaas 
Published: January 2024

Abstract
The operation of long-distance trade between the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean was a major economic activity and an important source of wealth for the Syrian desert city of Palmyra. Palmyrene mercantile activities are attested not only in Syria and Mesopotamia, but also in Egypt, Yemen, and Pakistan and are likely to have extended to Rome and the Western Roman Empire. Palmyrene agents seem to have had a hand in all elements of the chain of operation, from financing, organization, and production, to logistics, transport, and trade. Palmyra is unique in the Roman context not only in its well-attested involvement in long-distance trade, but also in the preserved epigraphic record, which allows the reconstruction, albeit imperfect, of its commercial organization and practice in unparalleled detail. This chapter surveys the context, evidence, substance, and historiography of Palmyrene trading networks.
Palmyrenes in Rome
Authors: Schneider Eugenia Equini 
Published: January 2024

AbstractThe Palmyrene community that was already present in Rome by the first century ad grew considerably during the second century and the first half of the third century, owing to the development of commercial relations with the eastern region of the empire. It was located in Trastevere, close to the slopes of Monteverde and the Janiculum Hill, where places of worship and civic life were concentrated. The many related archaeological findings and bilingual inscriptions in Latin–Greek, Palmyrene–Latin, and Palmyrene–Greek confirm the strong bonds between the Roman community and the community’s home city despite the Palmyrenes’ integration into Roman society. Particularly significant with respect to these close relations is the presence of many carved reliefs representing the same deities of the pantheon worshipped in the home city created by stonecutters in Rome using the same traditional figurative motifs.
A Bilingual World?
Authors: Yon Jean-Baptiste 
Published: January 2024

Abstract
This chapter deals with the blooming of the epigraphic habit at Palmyra during the Roman period. Although Aramaic was one of the spoken languages in Syria during the Roman period, Palmyra is unique in its use of Aramaic inscriptions. The balance between Greek and Aramaic inscriptions in the Palmyrene epigraphic corpus is clear. This chapter discusses particularly the use of Aramaic alongside Greek—and Latin—as an official language and the public bilingualism in inscriptions that makes Palmyra an almost unique case in the Roman Empire. It highlights the city’s original Semitic culture as well as its integration into the world of the Greek cities of the Roman East and Syria.
Climate and Environment of Palmyra and the Syrian Desert
Authors: Seland Eivind Heldaas 
Published: January 2024

Abstract
A significant part of Palmyra’s claim to fame both in antiquity and today rests on the apparent contradiction of a flourishing city located deep in the remote and arid region known as the Syrian Desert. In fact, the possibilities and restraints imposed by Palmyra’s geographical situation provide parts of the key to understanding other aspects of Palmyrene history, including the city’s rise to importance in the trade between the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean and the hybrid sociopolitical organization argued by many scholars. This chapter addresses the natural environment of Palmyra and the surrounding region from a historical perspective, including climate and landforms, with brief discussions of their implications for subsistence, trade, and communication.
Domestic Architecture in Palmyra
Authors: Zenoni Gioia 
Published: January 2024

AbstractAlthough the abrupt interruption of fieldwork in Palmyra in 2011 has meant that the gaps in knowledge of various sectors of the city and of certain historical periods cannot be filled at present, it has on the other hand obliged the archaeological missions to publish the results of recent investigations and review the older documentation, with fruitful results that encourage the sketching out of the evolution of the domestic architecture of Palmyra from the Hellenistic to the early Islamic period. This chapter presents the historical frame of research on the domestic architecture of Palmyra, surveying the archaeological fieldwork, scholars, and main perspectives of interpretation. The more significant domestic buildings brought to light in various sectors of the city are presented here with their striking features concerning layout, building techniques, and decoration systems.
Postludium
Authors: Sartre-Fauriat Annie 
Published: January 2024

Abstract
Since the beginning of the war in 2011, Syria has suffered much damage and looting. The site of Palmyra, one of the most beautiful antique sites in the country, was largely destroyed during the fighting from 2012 to 2017 between various groups of combatants and by the massive and deliberate destruction wrought by the Da‘esh horde. Because of this, humanity has lost the traces of many very important historical buildings and artefacts that stood as testimony to the glorious past and civilization of the site in antiquity. Now, many questions arise concerning opportunities for restoration or reconstruction. But before this is contemplated, it is necessary to analyse the situation and consider other methods by which to reconstitute the monuments using the reliable documentation already gathered.
Children in Palmyra
Authors: Bobou Olympia 
Published: January 2024

Abstract
This chapter presents the various epigraphic and iconographic sources available to scholars for the study of children in Palmyra. There is little evidence for the presence of children in domestic or public contexts in Palmyra; however, the funerary sphere can provide us with numerous representations of children alone or with their relatives, usually their mothers, less often their fathers or other relatives. The iconographic choices for the portraits of children reveal that childhood was a distinct period in a person’s life, one in which children could be carefree but also in need of protection. The end of childhood happened in stages that were associated with the assumption of public roles for male children and marriage for female ones.
Hellenistic Palmyra
Authors: Schmidt-Colinet Andreas 
Published: January 2024

Abstract
In the context of this chapter, the term ‘Hellenistic’ is intended in a purely chronological sense, meaning the period between the third century bc and the first century ad. First, all currently known literary, epigraphic, and archaeological data concerning this period are summarized. Then, the results of recent discoveries from the area south of the wadi are presented. Two trenches were opened in that area based on geophysical prospection and magnetogram data. A road system with adjacent dwellings was excavated. There, pottery finds, mostly of goods imported from the west (e.g., Rhodian amphora handles), make it possible to date the first constructions of mud brick walls to the second half of the third century bc. Several construction phases from the late third century bc—including a well dug in the second half of the second century bc—up to the time of the Emperor Augustus may be distinguished.
Palmyrene Identity and Community
Authors: Smith Andrew M. 
Published: January 2024

Abstract
This chapter examines what it meant to be a Palmyrene between the first century bc and the third century ad. Emphasis is placed on those factors involved in how the Palmyrenes constructed and maintained their unique identities and a sense of shared community between empires, particularly in terms of the interplay between their civic and tribal identities. Discussed here as well are Palmyrene responses to external pressures and influences over time that reveal a unique conservatism in their preservation of what ‘being’ a Palmyrene meant over the course of three centuries of instability and changing power dynamics in a volatile frontier zone.
Palmyra and the Third-Century Crisis
Authors: Hartmann Udo 
Published: January 2024

AbstractThis chapter discusses the history of Palmyra in the third century, especially the institutions of the colonia Palmyra, the political and economic crisis of the city after the collapse of the trade network, the establishment of a local dynasty under Odaenathus, and the end of the brief political interlude of the Palmyrene realm in the Roman East. It attempts to characterize the emergence of the Palmyrene realm in the 260s as the result of the political crisis of the third century of the Roman Empire. This eastern realm was an attempt to solve these problems by establishing local Roman rule led by a senatorial family from Palmyra.
Religion, Altruism, and Prosocial Behavior
Authors: Midlarsky Elizabeth , Malik Tanya 
Published: January 2024

Abstract
Altruism and religiousness are two important facets of human functioning. This chapter takes a chronological perspective on their development, from philosophical and rhetorically based discourse that discusses the link between these two phenomena to analyzing the definitions, and then offers a review of the empirical research. The chapter is structured in a way that provides readers with an overview of both these phenomena and the associated empirical research independently, and ultimately a symphony of the two. This platform addresses the question, “What empirical evidence exists about the manifestations of these phenomena and the extent to which they are related to one another?” To answer this, we acknowledge the compound, multifaceted nature of both altruism and religion and argue that exercising cross-disciplinary approaches is pertinent for progress to be made. Simultaneously, the chapter concludes that both altruism and religion are powerful enough to have both salutary and noxious effects that make it critical that they be the focus of research efforts. Suggestions for future research are then offered.
Journey From a Materialist to a Postmaterialist Perspective—A Portrait
Authors: Sperry Len 
Published: January 2024

Abstract
An individual’s professional and personal life tends to evolve over time. Sometimes this evolution involves significant changes in assumptions and premises about science and human nature. Chapter 13 described several facets of this evolution. How this evolution occurs has not been well charted, nor have there been many illustrations of this process in print, particularly of clinician-researchers. In this chapter, the evolution and career trajectory of a clinician-researcher is described. It illustrated three distinct phases that occurred in this individual’s life: materialistic, dualistic, and postmaterialistic. While this is an actual portrait, some aspects of it have been disguised to protect privacy.
Spiritual Aspects of Jungian Analytical Psychology
Authors: Wagenseller Joseph P. 
Published: January 2024

Abstract
This chapter includes a brief description of the life and work of Carl Gustav Jung, with particular attention to his personal experience of the objective psyche and its articulation into a theoretical framework. Special emphasis is placed upon the transpersonal/spiritual dimension of the psyche and the applicability of Jung’s theory and practice to achieve a dynamic relationship with the self. The individual’s experience with the transpersonal aspect of the psyche is illustrated with examples from symptoms, dreams, and the phenomenon of synchronicity. Jung’s psychological equivalent of a spiritual journey, known as the individuation process, is described and illustrated as an option for those for whom other, perhaps more traditional religious faiths and practices are no longer meaningfully effective. In conclusion, recommendations are made for future study and research.
The Spirituality–Physical Health Linkage
Authors: Park Crystal L. , Slattery Jeanne M. , Cao Tingyi 
Published: January 2024

Abstract
A large and expanding literature demonstrates links between religiousness/spirituality (R/S) and physical health; many different mediators of this relationship have been proposed. This chapter focuses specifically on one of these pathways, positive and negative emotions. We briefly review the literature regarding the effects of R/S on physical health and the effects of physical health on R/S, then present a model of the reciprocal influences of R/S and health and how positive and negative emotions may serve as potential mediators of these relationships. The chapter then reviews theory and research findings regarding these links, concluding with suggestions to guide future research.
Spirituality, Religion, Health, and Professional Psychology
Authors: Plante Thomas G. 
Published: January 2024

Abstract
Most people believe in the divine in some form and consider themselves to be spiritual, religious, or both. However, most psychologists and other mental health professionals perceive themselves as not religious and have little if any training or interest in spirituality and religious diversity. Psychologists and other healthcare professionals can use spiritual principles and practices to better serve their clients, even if they do not share the same or any religious or spiritual engagement. Benefits of religious/spiritual engagement for physical, social, and mental health are discussed in this chapter along with religious hazards to health. Spiritual tools commonly found within the major religious traditions are also discussed and suggested for use by psychologists and others. Assessment, intervention, ethical, and research issues are discussed as well.
Transformation of Brain Function Associated With Spiritual Experience
Authors: Newberg Andrew B. 
Published: January 2024

Abstract
This chapter reviews the transformations of brain structure and function associated with various spiritual experiences by considering the current state of neurophysiological investigations of spiritual experiences in terms of brain imaging, neurotransmitter studies, and hormone function. There are currently a number of techniques for studying the brain and its related functions. Such techniques include single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), positron emission tomography (PET), and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). As discussed in this chapter, these imaging techniques can observe the very broad function of different structures of the brain as well as detailed neurotransmitter systems with regard to spiritual experience. Additional studies of various hormone levels, autonomic activity, and other physiological processes can also be integrated into a comprehensive model that can be utilized to help better understand the biological correlates of spiritual experiences.
Neuroimaging and Spiritual Practice
Authors: Beauregard Mario 
Published: January 2024

Abstract
This chapter defines religious, spiritual, and mystical experiences (RSMEs) and then reviews clinical data suggesting a role for the temporal lobe in RSMEs. It may be possible to induce such experiences experimentally by stimulating the temporal lobe with weak electromagnetic currents. The limbic-marker hypothesis is another possibility. The chapter examines the findings of neuroimaging studies of RSMEs conducted to date. Since meditation is often associated with spiritual practice, the chapter reviews neuroimaging studies of diverse meditative states. The phenomenology of RSMEs with respect to the mind–brain problem is an area of discussion, with a special emphasis on near-death experiences. Finally, the chapter provides a few concluding remarks and proposes new opportunities for expanding the neuroscience of spirituality.
Near-Death Experiences and Spirituality
Authors: Greyson Bruce 
Published: January 2024

Abstract
Near-death experiences (NDEs) occur in 10–20% of people who come close to death, and they are similar to mystical experiences occurring in other settings. Their incidence and features are not influenced by prior religious beliefs, although cultural background may affect the interpretation of some of those features. However, NDEs profoundly influence one’s subsequent sense of spirituality, leading to increased compassion, altruism, and sense of purpose in life, and to decreased fear of death, competitiveness, and materialistic interests. They do not necessarily lead to an increased involvement in organized religion but rather tend to foster an internal sense of connection to the divine and to something greater than the self. The mechanism by which NDEs bring about these changes is unclear, but it may be related to their inescapable challenge to the materialistic model of mind–brain identity and the implication that there is a spiritual component to humans that appears, under extreme circumstances, to function independent of the physical body.
Nonlocality, Intention, and Observer Effects in Healing Studies
Authors: Schwartz Stephan A. , Dossey Larry 
Published: January 2024

Abstract
All research domains are based upon epistemological assumptions. Periodic reassessment of these assumptions is crucial because they influence how we interpret experimental outcomes. Perhaps nowhere is this reassessment needed more than in the study of prayer and intention experiments: If positive results from this field of research are sustained, the reality of nonlocal consciousness must be confronted. This chapter explores the current status of healing and intention research, citing a number of major studies and using the “Study of the Therapeutic Effects of Intercessory Prayer (STEP) in Cardiac Bypass Surgery Patients: A Multicenter Randomized Trial of Uncertainty and Certainty of Receiving Intercessory Prayer” as a case study of this line of research. The chapter argues that the dose-dependent model typical of drug trials, and adopted for use in the STEP and other studies, is not the optimal model for intention-healing research, and critiques this approach in detail, citing apposite research from which we draw our recommendations and conclusions. The chapter suggests that the usual assumptions concerning blindness and randomization that prevail in studies using the pharmacological model must be reappraised. Experimental data suggest that a nonlocal relationship exists among the various individuals participating in a study, one which needs to be understood and taken seriously. We argue that it is important to account for and understand the role of both local and nonlocal observer effects, since both can significantly affect outcome. Research is presented from an array of disciplines to support why we feel these issues of linkage, belief, and intention are so important to a successful, accurate, and meaningful study outcome. Finally, we offer suggestions for new lines of research and new protocol designs that address these observer-effect issues, particularly the nonlocal aspects. The chapter finally suggests that if these effects occur in intention studies, they must necessarily exist in all studies, although in pharmacological studies they are often overshadowed by the power of chemical and biological agents.
Spiritual Development During Childhood and Adolescence
Authors: Boyatzis Chris J. 
Published: January 2024

Abstract
This chapter reviews psychological research on spiritual and religious development, with an emphasis on work published since the first edition of this handbook. This research area continues to blossom, with recent refinements in definitions and increased attention to sociocultural factors. A social–ecology model of spiritual development is emphasized here, with a focus on the family and parent–child communication. The contexts of culture and nature are highlighted as potent influences on spiritual development, though the latter has been largely neglected. There is value in studying the interaction of multiple dimensions of religiosity and spirituality on children’s outcomes. The role of religion on adolescent well-being has received extensive attention, with recent surge in interest about spiritual exemplars, adolescents who are viewed by people who know them as extraordinarily spiritual. The conclusion offers a critique of our field’s current paradigm, with calls for more research featuring culturally diverse (rather than largely U.S.) samples, qualitative (rather than quantitative) methods, and longitudinal (rather than correlational) design. The conclusion also calls for a person-centered, intersectional approach that respects the children and youth who are developing as spiritual and religious beings (rather than a variable-centered approach that prioritizes statistical and conceptual relations between variables and often treats participants’ demographic factors as “noise” to be controlled for in analyses). Additionally, our field should recognize other disciplines (namely, cultural anthropology and child theology/religious education) as having value for psychological understanding of religious and spiritual development.
Questions Left Unaddressed by Religious Familism
Authors: Mahoney Annette , Krumrei-Mancuso Elizabeth J. 
Published: January 2024

Abstract
Given the growing pluralism in family structures, this chapter highlights the role of religiousness and spirituality in the formation and maintenance of diverse families. We outline commonalities and differences that exist among major world religions about forming and maintaining family relationships. Consistent with the predominant conceptual model called religious familism, most research on faith and family life focuses on traditional families (i.e., married heterosexual couples with children). We highlight key findings about these families and then turn our attention to emerging studies on religion and spirituality within nontraditional families. Specifically, we address the role of faith for families headed by single mothers, same-sex couples, and cohabitating couples. Overall, evidence suggests that greater religiousness and spirituality can be helpful to parents and partners in traditional as well as nontraditional families, despite their relatively lower participation in organized religious groups.
‘Thrice fairer than myself’
Authors: Austin Britton Dennis 
Published: January 2024

Abstract
This chapter draws attention to the hyper-whiteness of Adonis in Venus and Adonis, arguing that Shakespeare’s epyllion cannot produce a future for racial whiteness because sexual desire is darkened and linked to non-White people. Adonis’s hyper-whiteness points towards asexuality as absence of sexual desire, which, ironically, only makes Adonis more desirable to Venus. His whiteness is repeatedly threatened by Venus, whose body is less white than Adonis’s and darkened by sexual passion. Yet, in Adonis’s disinterestedness in Venus and sexual reproduction, his hyper-whiteness dies with himself. Although his whiteness has no future in the poem, it does in the desires of young, elite, White male readers. This chapter then suggests that the racial futures of whiteness can be traced through the history of reading, in how White readers read, quote, and use Shakespeare’s works.