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Reconfiguring the Universe: The Contest for Time and Space in the Roman Imperial Cults and 1 Peter Submitted by Wei Hsien Wan to the University of Exeter as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Theology and Religion February 2016 This thesis is available for Library use on the understanding that it is copyright material and that no quotation from the thesis may be published without proper acknowledgement. I certify that all material in this thesis which is not my own work has been identified and that no material has previously been submitted and approved for the award of a degree by this or any other University. Signature: ……………………………………………………………………………… Abstract Evaluations of the stance of 1 Peter toward the Roman Empire have for the most part concluded that its author adopted a submissive or conformist posture toward imperial authority and influence. Recently, however, David Horrell and Travis Williams have argued that the letter engages in a subtle, calculated (“polite”) form of resistance to Rome that has often gone undetected. Nevertheless, discussion of the matter has remained largely focused on the letter’s stance toward specific Roman institutions, such as the emperor, household structures, and the imperial cults. Taking the conversation beyond these confines, the present work examines 1 Peter’s critique of the Empire from a wider angle, looking instead to the letter’s ideology or worldview. Using James Scott’s work to think about ideological resistance against domination, I consider how the imperial cults of Anatolia and 1 Peter offered distinct constructions of time and space—that is, how they envisioned reality differently. Insofar as these differences led to divergent ways of conceiving the social order, they acquired political valences and generated potential for conflict. 1 Peter, I argue, confronted Rome on a cosmic scale with its alternative construal of time and space. For each of the axes of time and space, I first investigate how it was constructed in cultic veneration of the emperor, and then read 1 Peter comparatively in light of the findings. Although both sides employed similar strategies in conceptualizing time and space, they parted ways on fundamental points. We have evidence that the Petrine author consciously, if cautiously, interrogated the imperial imagination at its most foundational levels, and set forth in its place a theocentric, Christological understanding of the world. Table of Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................................................. 2 Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................................ 5 List of Abbreviations .......................................................................................................................... 7 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 10 Chapter 1: Contextualizing the Present Study .......................................................................... 13 1.1 Paul, 1 Peter, and Empire ........................................................................................................ 14 1.2 Domination, Resistance, and Ideology .............................................................................. 33 1.3 Time, Space, and the Social Order ..................................................................................... 40 1.4 Converging Lines of Inquiry: The Present Study .......................................................... 60 Chapter 2: The Socio-historical Context ................................................................................... 64 2.1 The Imperial Cults: An Overview ....................................................................................... 64 2.2 1 Peter: Establishing Parameters for Ideological Analysis .......................................... 89 Chapter 3: Time in the Imperial Cults ...................................................................................... 101 3.1 A New Calendar for Asia and the Reinterpretation of Time .................................... 102 3.2 Imperial Festivals: Shaping the Rhythm of Time ........................................................ 114 3.3 “Imperium Sine Fine”: The Future of an Empire Without End ............................... 122 3.4 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................... 132 Chapter 4: Time in 1 Peter ............................................................................................................ 134 4.1 From “Before the Foundation” to “the Last of the Ages” (1.20): A Primopetrine Thesis of Time ...................................................................................................................... 134 4.2 The Power of Now: The Present as a State of Eschatological Urgency ................. 138 4.3 The Past in 1 Peter: Writing Empire Out of History .................................................... 152 4.4 The Future in 1 Peter: Complicating the Things to Come ......................................... 163 4.5 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................... 174 Chapter 5: Space in the Imperial Cults ..................................................................................... 177 5.1 The Location and Prominence of Imperial Cultic Sites .............................................. 179 5.2 Imperial Temples: Ideology in Marble and Stone ....................................................... 182 5.3 The Imperial Cults and Sanctuaries of Traditional and Local Gods ..................... 202 5.4 The Imperial Cults and the Transformation of Civic Spaces .................................. 205 5.5 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 210 3 Chapter 6: Space in 1 Peter ........................................................................................................... 213 6.1 The Spatial Production of Non-belonging ..................................................................... 215 6.2 The Spatial Production of Belonging ............................................................................. 230 6.3 Spatial Imagination, Belonging, Resistance ................................................................... 237 6.4 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................... 241 Conclusion: (Re)Placing the Emperor, (Re)Configuring the Universe ......................... 243 Bibliography .................................................................................................................................... 249 4 Acknowledgements “It takes a village,” the saying goes, “to raise a child.” Though it is labor of a far lesser order, this thesis would not have been possible without a village of my own. I say this because I owe too many people too much to thank them all in any kind of stipulated space. That being said, I would like to mention those who’ve played a special role in helping me bring this work to completion. This project was made possible by the generous funding of the University of Exeter’s International Student Doctoral Award. I still remember the day I faced the Award interview committee with fear and trembling. I owe my gratitude to the committee members—Andrew Thorpe, Francesca Stavrakopoulou, and David Horrell, who would soon become my supervisor—for their graciousness and votes of confidence that day. These last few years have led me to conclude that Dave is something of a super-supervisor—an inspiring synthesis of gentle wisdom, patient humility, and encyclopedic knowledge that’s made him the best mentor I could’ve asked for. Thanks, Dave, for the many cups of coffee, lunches, and hours of encouraging conversation that have kept me going, especially in these last few months when I’ve needed them most. Our Department has definitely been the warm, collegial fellowship Francesca promised it would be during the Award interview! I would like to thank Louise Lawrence, my secondary supervisor, for her encouragement, support, and cheerful spirit throughout the course of my studies, and especially for her helpful feedback on the final drafts of this thesis. Thanks also to Francesca for making everything brighter with laughter and animal videos, and for helping me find my voice as a scholar. To Siam Bhayro and Esther Reed I owe gratitude for their helpful feedback during the upgrade process. While I knew a PhD thesis would be an intellectual endeavor, I hadn’t realized that it would also be (and more so!) a matter of psychological endurance and existential stamina. To my friends I owe my very survival in this marathon: especially to Helen John, Sharanya Murali, James Dyche, and Ryan Sweet for sharing so many happy moments in Exeter; and to Hassan “Eeyore” Ahmed, Tom Stevens, David Perkins, and Charlie Pemberton for vivifying doses of northern spirit these last 18 months. Special thanks also to Evelyn O’Malley and Mark Nesbitt for so generously hosting me during my stays in Exeter after I’d moved up to Manchester. Without my father and my sister nothing would have been possible. Thanks, Erinn, for being