Books in the Criminal Practice Series series

An exploration of Boethius' social, political background, his notion of philosophy and its sources, and his understanding of the relationship between Christianity and classical culture.

In this book, Susan Bubbers focusses on the biblical message of the benefits of participation in the Eucharist. Why keep this Feast? Why is Eucharist important? Bubbers ultimately argues that the Feast is a divinely designed paradigm for worship, which is accompanied by a promise of transformational encounters.

'Virgil's Garden' looks at the 'Eclogues' in terms of the relationship between its contents and its cultural context, making connections between the 'Eclogues' and the representational modes of Roman art, Roman concepts of space and landscape, and Roman gardens.

Engages space both as focus in the texts under discussion, but also as analytical perspective. This book explores more specifically how the Bible does not contain one, or even several, notions of sacred/holy space, even if there are undoubtedly many spaces described as such.

The so-called purity laws in Leviticus 11-15 reflect a cultic and social view of the male and female body. These texts do not give detailed physiological descriptions. Instead, they prescribe what to do in the cases of skin disease, delivery and wo/man's genital discharges, but the particular way of dealing with the body and the language used in Leviticus 12 and 15 ask for clarification: how do these texts construct the male and female body? Which roles does gender play within this language? By means of themes such as menstruation and circumcision, Erbele-Kuester unfolds the language used for the body in Leviticus and its interpretation history. Her study provides material for a contemporary anthropology of bodies which relates the human sexed body to God's holiness.

What do people know about the Bible, and how much do they know? The media often discusses the worrying 'decline' in biblical literacy, but what does this really mean, and how can we measure this assumed 'decline'? How can we go about teaching 'biblical literacy', and about teaching teachers how to teach it? Rethinking Biblical Literacy explores the question of biblical literacy, examining the Bible's use, influence and impact in advertising, street art, poetry, popular erotic literature, Irish and UK secondary education, stand-up comedy and The Simpsons TV series to display the different types of literacy and knowledge of the Bible. Katie B. Edwards brings together several specialists in the cultural use, impact and influence of the Bible to examine the contested nature of biblical literacy and to explore the variety of ways of 'knowing' about the Bible. The picture created is one of a broad range and at times surprising depth of knowledge about what remains arguably the most influential collection of texts ever to be published.

Athenian comedy is firmly entrenched in the classical canon, but imperial authors debated, dissected and redirected comic texts, plots and language of Aristophanes, Menander, and their rivals in ways that reflect the non-Athenocentric, pan-Mediterranean performance culture of the imperial era. Although the reception of tragedy beyond its own contemporary era has been studied, the legacy of Athenian comedy in the Roman world is less well understood.This volume offers the first expansive treatment of the reception of Athenian comedy in the Roman Empire. These engaged and engaging studies examine the lasting impact of classical Athenian comic drama. Demonstrating a variety of methodologies and scholarly perspectives, sources discussed include papyri, mosaics, stage history, epigraphy and a broad range of literature such as dramatic works in Latin and Greek, including verse satire, essays, and epistolary fiction.

An investigation of the political imagery found in ancient Greek history, literature and culture.