Buildings for mass entertainment were constructed in the cities of ancient Palestine so that its local inhabitants could enjoy the same per for mances held throughout the Roman world. It was Herod ...the Great who initially introduced Roman public spectacles and competitions in ancient Palestine; however, the cultural repercussions were distinctly felt in the entire region—including the cities of the Decapolis and Arabia—only in the second and early third centuries ce, when every city boasted at least one monumental building for such per for mances.
The organization of competitions, performances, and spectacles, as well as the responsibility for
Adopting a Novelty Weiss, Zeev
Public Spectacles in Roman and Late Antique Palestine,
03/2014, Letnik:
21
Book Chapter
Public spectacles in theaters, hippodromes, and amphitheaters were immensely popular in ancient Palestine, as elsewhere in the Roman East, and attracted large urban populations who attended them ...regularly. At first they were held in only isolated places and few came, but with time they gained popularity among most inhabitants of the ancient Palestinian cities, who viewed these shows with a sense of pride and local patriotism. Dignitaries, ordinary people, women, and slaves streamed to the performances, yet even those who did not frequent the buildings for mass entertainment sensed the festive atmosphere enveloping their city. Noise, excitement, and commotion were
The local population of late antique Palestine had largely assimilated the cultural habits of the empire, including the popular Roman spectacles. The urban authorities were keen to satisfy the ...growing demand of their fellow citizens for such shows and consequently constructed buildings for mass entertainment in their cities. With the conversion of the Roman Empire to Christianity by the fourth century ce, Byzantine society’s attitude toward public entertainment gradually changed, influencing the extent and nature of the shows. The glamour of the Roman competitions under the supervision of gods and Caesars waned, making way for performances now intended for pure
The Beth She'arim necropolis holds a central place in the study of Jewish society in late antiquity. Its uniqueness lies in the number of graves, their variety, and the quality of the finds, which ...include many burial inscriptions in Aramaic and Greek, as well as artistic portrayals in stone and in relief. This rich inventory enables us to sketch in broader strokes the burial customs of the Jews in this period and the scope of influence of the surrounding world on them. This article suggests that the choice of a specific type of grave in Beth She'arim was determined by the socio-economic status of the deceased or his family. As such, it offers an opportunity to look at the social stratification of the Jews in late antiquity from a different perspective. The variety of graves and the basic structure of the necropolis were determined in the days of Rabbi Judah I or immediately after his death. Beth She'arim continued to function actively as the burial estate for the patriarchal family and its close circles, at least until the abolition of the Patriarchate in 429 C.E. It is difficult to determine exactly when burial ceased at Beth She'arim. It is clear that it did not end after the Gallus Revolt in the mid-fourth century, but continued on a large scale also in the fifth and sixth centuries. It seems, in fact, that the cessation of burial was not the result of a single event but rather a gradual process that came to a close some time at the end of the Byzantine period. It is also evident that when grave-robbers had penetrated the necropolis in the early Arab period, there was no one there to supervise the patriarchal cemetery, guard its treasures, or prevent destruction.
