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  • From: Jill and Dale Walker <jilldale AT rcnchicago.com>
  • To: "Corpus-paul" <corpus-paul AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Re: Dignitas and Pauline social values
  • Date: Tue, 26 Mar 2002 20:49:15 -0600


Zoilos of Aphrodisias embodies your question. He is an imperial freedman who
used his wealth to become the major benefactor of his hometown. On his mausoleum
he advertises himself via Greek words, hence TIMH. This is a man infused with
Roman ideas, so he also presents himself as being crowned by PISTIS in the
presence of ANDREIA. This image oozes fides and virtus, or put another way, Zoilos' Greek words
seem to me to be colored by the Roman. Zoilos stradles both worlds and exemplifies
the difficulty of isolating the upper strata of Roman society in Rome. He had moved
in those circles, then returned to Aphrodisias (over the mountains southwest
of
Laodicea). Zoilos clearly was ambitious for TIMH and DOXA and used his wealth
and connections to win it. Would a senatorial family acknowledge his dignitas?
Probably not. Would people in Asia acknowledge his TIMH and DOXA? His
buildings
would have made it undeniable. Getting to Tim's question, it seems to me that
dignitas has a social register and an element of SEMNOS that TIMH may lack.
But in Greek TIMH and DOXA circumscribe the qualities that Tim lists below.

As an aside, I find Zoilos' monument interesting to consider in our thinking about
PISTIS. I've been working on describing Paul's idea of PISTIS in a context of
social and political structures as opposed to our normal psychological reading of the term.
There's loads of evidence and someday I hope I can get it all written down and
worked out.

Dale Walker


At 09:21 AM 3/26/02 -0800, you wrote:
At 4:53 PM +1030 3/26/02, Tim Harris wrote:
Seeing things are somewhat quiet at present on C-P, let me throw out an issue I'm working through as part of my doctorate at present (Pauline notions of humility and deference in Graeco-Roman perspective).

I'm reviewing social values related to notions of status and public standing in Graeco-Roman contexts. Dignitas is undoubtedly one of the most fundamental qualities from a Roman perspective, drawing together genealogical pedigree, city/town, tribe and genus of origin, achievements in public and military life (esp. the cursus honorum), property and wealth, intelligence and rhetorical ability, pride, integrity and reputation. However, dignitas is by definition an elitist notion, and only truly applies to the smallest of minorities in Roman social order. Does it have a Hellenistic equivalent?

I would recommend that you read

J. E. Lendon, Empire of Honour: The Art of Government in the Roman World. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, 2001 (paperback reprint of 1997 work). His bibliography and notes will make clear that status, honor, etc. were concerns that went throughout the Roman empire.

Richard P. Saller. Personal Patronage Under the Early Empire: Cambridge: at the University Press, 1982.

P. Garnsey and R. Saller. The Roman Empire. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Preess, 1987.

Humility was not a virtue among the Greeks Aristotle calls it the characteristic of the slave. It is opposed to parrhesia, the characteristic of the free person.

And, look at the items that Mark Nanos mentioned too!

Edgar Krentz
--
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Edgar Krentz
Christ Seminary--Seminex Professor of New Testament, Emeritus
Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago
1100 East 55th Street, Chicago, IL 60615
Tel: 773-256-0773; home phone 773-947-8105
Phone while in California: 510-540-6838
home e-mail: ekrentz AT earthlink.net
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