Group Survival in the Ancient Mediterranean

Philip A. Harland is Professor in the Humanities Department at York University, Canada. His publications include Dynamics of Identity in the World of the Early Christians (Continuum, 2009). For websites relating to social and religious life in antiquity, see http://www.philipharland.com.Richard Last is Assistant Professor in the Ancient Greek and Roman Studies program at Trent University, Canada.

• List of Figures and TablesAcknowledgementsEpigraphic and Papyrological AbbreviationsIntroduction 1 Who Belonged to Associations? 2 Scenarios of Success, Survival and Decline 3 Starting an Association: Collective and Individual Agency4 Counting the Costs of Communal Life5 Acquiring Resources 6 Communal Collections, Part 1: Fund-Raising and Group Values 7 Communal Collections, Part 2: Associations Devoted to the Israelite God8 Mutual Assistance and Group CohesionConclusion Appendix: Women Participating in Associations, 1st Century bce–2nd Century ceBibliographyIndex of Inscriptions and PapyriIndex of Ancient Literary SourcesIndex of Modern ScholarsSubject Index

This volume is a much-needed supplement to our understanding of communal form of Judaeans and Christians in the first centuries of the Common Era, and to that end, it is overflowing with epigraphical and papyrological comparanda from ancient Mediterranean associations ... Though the study is primarily for specialists, anyone interested in the social history of early Christ groups will benefit from engaging with this book. With its careful structure and lucidly written prose, they will find it a pleasure to read.