Browsing by Subject "Romans"
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Item Open Access Paul’s Philonic Opponent: Unveiling the One Who Calls Himself a Jew in Romans 2:17(2021) Rillera, Andrew RemingtonThis dissertation offers a solution to several interpretive problems arising at the beginning of Paul’s letter to the Romans, particularly from Rom 1:18–3:20. Why do these chapters evince a distinct account of the knowledge of God, of the natural law, of sin and human capacity, and of salvation by works of Law. And why do they define a “true” Jew differently from what is found in the rest of the letter? Building on the earlier work of scholars who recognize key dialogical features in Romans that signal the presence of an authorially constructed interlocutor, I analyze these problems in light of the ancient rhetorical conventions for speech-in-character. I argue that the conceptual tensions generated by this text over against what Paul says elsewhere—extending at times to the level of contradictions—were categorized by ancient readers as διαφωνία prompting them to seek a “solution from the character” (λύσις ἐκ τοῦ προσώπου). The reader resolves the tensions, that is, by determining which material was appropriate for each character in a dialogue. This analysis results in (1) a coherent dialogical script for 1:18–3:20 that conforms to the criteria and conventions of ancient dialogues and that resolves the besetting tensions scholars have long wrestled with in this text; and (2) a more reliable body of evidence for the identification of Paul’s interlocutor, the one who “calls [him]self a Jew” (2:17), as a distinctively Philonic Jewish teacher who may also be a proselyte. Numerous Philonic details are recognizable within the argument, and these function in support of the dialogical script proposed.
Item Open Access Visualizing Vulci: Reimagining an Etruscan-Roman City(2021) McCusker, Katherine LynnThe Etruscan-Roman city of Vulci is one of many Etruscan cities which lacks a detailed and holistic understanding of its urban development. Vulci represents a rare site that was not covered by modern structures and thus presents a unique opportunity for a city-scale examination of the transformation of urban space over a millennium of occupation. In order to address this query while most of the site is still unexcavated, an innovative method was created for this project. This ‘n’-dimensional approach layers a series of geospatial and historical data, largely relying on new, non-invasive remote sensing surveys. The main sensors and data sets include a series of older aerial photographs (1954, 1975, 1986), a geological and landscape survey from 2014, multi-spectral aerial images from surveys between 2015 and 2017 ranging from normal-colored to red edge to near infrared bands, and two ground penetrating radar (GPR) surveys from 2015 and 2018. The analyses and interpretations from this multi-modal method builds a more holistic and nuanced understanding of the urbanization and transformation of Vulci. Conclusions from spatial analysis suggest a relative order for the development of the Etruscan-Roman street-grid, offering a new framework for the contextualization of other urban features. Further, evidence points to the northeast area with its unique structure orientation and connection to Northeastern Acropolis as the first settled space on the plateau during the 8th century BCE after shifting away from the Villanovan era settlement on La Pozzatella. Analysis also indicates numerous new features, including multiple public buildings in the Western Forum with major phases of transformation first in the 6th-5th century BCE while under Etruscan control and then again during the early Imperial period while under Roman control. Other features include a ‘basilica’-like/Augusteum structure, at least one additional temple, several administrative buildings, and multiple residential structures with atriums and impluviums. The urban development of Vulci implies a revitalization of the city and re-emergence of power during the Roman Imperial period, contradicting the previous notion that Vulci slowly but steadily declined post-conquest. These conclusions situate Vulci in a new place in not only in Etruscan urbanization but also in period the cultural transformation during Rome’s expansion into Etruria. Furthermore, the success of the multi-perspective, layered approach allows for its use in other studies as well as further refinement and advancement of the methodology.