The Gift in Antiquity

The Gift in Antiquity presents a collection of 14 original essays that apply French sociologist Marcel Mauss s notion of gift-giving to the study of antiquity. Features a collection of original essays that cover such wide-ranging topics as vows in the Hebrew Bible; ancient Greek wedding gifts; Hellenistic civic practices; Latin literature; Roman and Jewish burial practices; and Jewish and Christian religious gifts Organizes essays around theoretical concerns rather than chronologically Generates unique insights into gift-giving and reciprocity in antiquity Takes an explicitly cross-cultural approach to the study of ancient history

The Gift in Antiquity presents a collection of 14 original essays that apply French sociologist Marcel Mauss's notion of gift-giving to the study of antiquity.* Features a collection of original essays that cover such wide-ranging topics as vows in the Hebrew Bible; ancient Greek wedding gifts; Hellenistic civic practices; Latin literature; Roman and Jewish burial practices; and Jewish and Christian religious gifts* Organizes essays around theoretical concerns rather than chronologically* Generates unique insights into gift-giving and reciprocity in antiquity* Takes an explicitly cross-cultural approach to the study of ancient history

Notes on Contributors viiSeries Editor's Preface xPreface xii1 Introduction 1Michael L. Satlow2 Ceremonial Gift-Giving: The Lessons of Anthropology from Maussand Beyond 12Marcel Hénaff3 Alms, Blessings, Offerings: The Repertoire of Christian Giftsin Early Byzantium 25Daniel F. Caner4 Gift-Giving and Power Relationships in Greek Social Praxis andPublic Discourse 45Marc Domingo Gygax5 Fictive Giftship and Fictive Friendship in Greco-Roman Society61Zeba Crook6 Ovid Negotiates with His Mistress: Roman Reciprocity fromPublic to Private 77Neil Coffee7 "Can't Buy Me Love": The Economy of Gifts inAmorous Relations 96David Konstan8 Without Patronage: Fetishization, Representation, and theCirculation of Gift-Texts in the Late Roman Republic 107Sarah Culpepper Stroup9 Roses and Violets for the Ancestors: Gifts to the Dead andAncient Roman Forms of Social Exchange 122Nicola Denzey Lewis10 Graffiti as Gift: Mortuary and Devotional Graffiti in theLate Ancient Levant 137Karen B. Stern11 Marriage Gifts in Ancient Greece 158Beate Wagner-Hasel12 Charity Wounds: Gifts to the Poor in Early Rabbinic Judaism173Gregg E. Gardner13 Barter Deal or Friend-Making Gift? A Reconsideration of theConditional Vow in the Hebrew Bible 189Anne Katrine Gudme14 Neither Mauss, nor Veyne: Peter Brown's InterpretativePath to the Gift 202Ilana F. Silber15 Gifts for God, Gifts for Rabbis: From Sacrifice to Donationin Rabbinic Tales of Late Antiquity and Their Dialogue with EarlyChristian Texts 221Galit Hasan-RokemIndex of Subjects and Names 245Index of Ancient Sources 253