Table of Contents

Introduction; 1. Defining pollution; 2. Birth, sex and bodily margins; 3. Blood; 4. Death and remembrance; 5. Pollution and rhetoric; Conclusion.

Promotional Information

A detailed study of pollution and impurity in Roman religion, offering new theories on a previously neglected, yet vital, subject.

About the Author

Jack J. Lennon is Teaching Fellow in the Department of History, University College London. He is an ancient historian with particular interests in pre-Christian Roman religion and magic, and especially the phenomenon of pollution and ritual impurity. His research frequently aims to integrate the theories of modern anthropology alongside those of ancient history and philology in order to explore beyond the traditional limits of classical scholarship. In addition to studying the nature of pollution within religion, he is also interested in the wider cultural perceptions of dirt and cleanliness across ancient Roman society.

Reviews

'A sweeping religious and historical study.' History Today