A unique and accessible introduction to an underutilised source, Roman tokens, and their value for ancient social history.

This is a unique and accessible introduction to an underutilised source, Roman tokens, with a focus on those found in Imperial Italy. It explains how tokens can illuminate all kinds of issues such as identity, entertainment, euergetism, imperial ideology, festivals, material culture and everyday life.

The Material Dynamics of Festivals in the Graeco-Roman East explores the various ways in which the experience of civic festivals in the Graeco-Roman East was created and framed by material culture. By the second and third centuries AD, Greek festivals were thriving across the eastern Mediterranean. Much of our knowledge of these festivals, and their associated processions, rituals, banquets, and competitions, comes from material culture-- inscriptions, coins, architecture, and art-works. Yet each of these pieces of material evidence was the result of a conscious act, of what to record, and where and how to record it, with varying patterns discernible across different areas, and in different media. This volume draws attention to the choices made in a variety of different forms of material culture relating to Greek festivals from the Hellenistic to Roman periods, and unpicks the ways in which they encode or forge particular social relationships and power structures, as well as creating senses of community or communication between different groups. These helped to fix ephemeral events into public memory, to present particular views of their significance for the wider community, and to frame the experience of their participants.

Ancient cities were sites of social mobility, the coexistence of different ethnic groups, and many cultural activities. Their politics directly involved citizens. This does not seem to be the case for contemporary cities, especially those in southern Italy. There many small and medium-sized towns are no longer attractive to young people, social life is inert, and cultural activities are almost entirely absent. The Ancient Cities project stems from reflections on the contrast between ancient and contemporary cities and aims to suggest new models for social, cultural, and civic development

Images relating to imperial power were produced all over the Roman Empire at every social level, and even images created at the centre were constantly remade as they were reproduced, reappropriated, and reinterpreted across the empire. This book employs the language of social dynamics, drawn from economics, sociology, and psychology, to investigate how imperial imagery was embedded in local contexts. Patrons and artists often made use of the universal visual language of empire to navigate their own local hierarchies and relationships, rather than as part of direct communication with the central authorities, and these local interactions were vital in reinforcing this language. The chapters range from large-scale monuments adorned with sculpture and epigraphy to quotidian oil lamps and lead tokens and cover the entire empire from Hispania to Egypt, and from Augustus to the third century CE.

Stephen L. Dyson examines rural communities as functioning, largely autonomous societies. Dyson traces the major outlines of community development from the end of the war with Hannibal to the early Middle Ages. He shows how local communities responded to changes in the greater Roman society while still retaining their distinctive identity. He examines the "typical" Roman community during the High Empire and explores the life cycle of rural inhabitants, showing how individuals- the aristocrats, the free poor, and the slaves- developed in relation to society as a whole.

Roman Imperial Profiles is a stunning visual exploration of the emperors of ancient Rome. C.E. Croft and John Edward Lee have created over one hundred and sixty lithographic profiles, enlarged from coins, bringing to life the personalities and features of the most important figures in Roman history. This book will appeal to anyone interested in the art and history of ancient Rome. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.