Riot in Alexandria

This innovative study uses one well-documented moment of violence as a starting point for a wide-ranging examination of the ideas and interactions of pagan philosophers, Christian ascetics, and bishops from the fourth to the early seventh century. Edward J. Watts reconstructs a riot that erupted in Alexandria in 486 when a group of students attacked a Christian adolescent who had publicly insulted the students' teachers. Pagan students, Christians affiliated with a local monastery, and the Alexandrian ecclesiastical leaders all cast the incident in a different light, and each group tried with that interpretation to influence subsequent events. Watts, drawing on Greek, Latin, Coptic, and Syriac sources, shows how historical traditions and notions of a shared past shaped the interactions and behavior of these high-profile communities. Connecting oral and written texts to the personal relationships that gave them meaning and to the actions that gave them form, "Riot in Alexandria" draws new attention to the understudied social and cultural history of the later fifth-century Roman world and at the same time opens a new window on late antique intellectual life.

ISBN 0520262077   Pages 312 ISBN13 9780520262072 (What's this?)   Weight (grammes) 571 Publisher University of California Press   Published in Berkerley Imprint University of California Press   Series title Transformation of the Classical Heritage Format Hardback   Height (mm) 235 Publication date 04 May 2010   Width (mm) 159 DEWEY 932   Spine width (mm) 25 DEWEY edition DC22   Academic level Professional / Scholarly

List of Illustrations Acknowledgments 1. The Anatomy of a Riot Part 1. Historical Discourse in Intellectual Communities 2. Personal Legacy and Scholastic Identity Internal Historical Discourse and Its Transmission: The Example of Eunapius Defending Communal Historical Discourse: Porphyry's Life of Plotinus 3. Past, Present, and Future in Late Neoplatonic Historical Discourse The Life of Isidore and its Sources Eating, Drinking, and Learning Neoplatonic History Oral Tradition and Scholastic Identity in the Alexandrian Schools of the 480s Paralius's Beating within its Scholastic Context Fifth-Century Christian Violence in Neoplatonic Communal Memory Teaching Ethics after the Riot Part 2. The Past Within and Outside Late Antique Monasteries 4. History and the Shape of Monastic Communities The Koinonia The Historia Monachorum and Visitors' Exposure to Ascetic Oral Traditions Social Relations and the Power of the Master: Barsanuphius and John 5. Anti-Chalcedonian Ascetics and their Student Associates The Limits of Ascetic Influence Finding the Ascetic and Intellectual Balance The Ascetic and Sophistic Melange of Zacharias Scholasticus A Student Riot and its Commemoration: The "Life of Paralius" Part 3. Defining the Alexandrian Bishop 6. Creating the Legend of the Alexandrian Bishop Mechanisms of Episcopal Power Athanasius and the Politics of Self-Definition Athanasius's Restoration and Redefinition The Athanasian Historical Legacy 7. Theophilus and Cyril: The Alexandrian Bishop Triumphant Theophilus and the Historical Character of Athanasius The Legacy of Theophilus 8. Peter Mongus Struggles with the Past Chalcedon and the Redefinition of the Alexandrian Bishop Peter Mongus and Resistance in an Age of Compromise Peter Mongus and the Beating of Paralius A Riot's Aftermath 9. Conclusion Appendix 1. Dating the Riot Appendix 2. How Much Should We Trust Zacharias Scholasticus? Bibliography Index

"A noteworthy contribution to the study of Late Antiquity."--Bryn Mawr Classical Review (Bmcr) "Watts makes the people and events vivid and relevant to the reader."--Book News "A commendable account of campus life, student Christian activism, and episcopal oversight in Alexandria."--Jrnl of Theological Studies "There is much here to admire."--Church History Stds In Christiany And Culture

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