Pagan Inscriptions, Christian Viewers

A must read for anyone interested in the fate of pagan inscriptions in the Eastern Mediterranean in late antiquity. Sitz offers a rich and engaging study of the Christian transformation of the religio-/cityscapes, as she explores architects' re-appropriation and viewers' interaction with ancient inscriptions." - Julien Ogereau, University of Vienna, Austria
Sitz's lively and accessible work will be a welcome inclusion for all interested in the history of religion in late antiquity, the interplay between sacred and secular, and the nature of conversion. * Reading Religion *
Pagan Inscriptions, Christian Viewers constitutes an important contribution to the history of late Roman Christianization, one that should help scholars to see more clearly through some of the distorting, polemical rhetoric of triumphalist Christians as they redescribed the ancient sanctuaries that remained in their worlds. * David Ungvary, Bryn Mawr Classical Review *
Sitz's book illuminates not only the ultimate fates of inscriptions in late antiquity, but opens one's eyes to their 'continued lives' (p. 273). There is much to be learned from this book, and I heartily recommend it. * Gabriel Gabbardo, Bryn Mawr Classical Review *
Pagan Inscriptions, Christian Viewers is another example of how a PhD thesis can be re-focused as an elegant book, and similarly traces the ways in which Christian audiences respond to the 'pagan' past. * , 9780197666432Greece & Rome *
Sitz is to be commended for a nuanced and insightful story about the preservation, reuse, and erasure of a paganpast, which in the eyes of late antique Christians was neither past nor dead, yet quite insistently local. * Georgia Frank, Project Muse *
H.'s comparative approach is original and offers fertile grounds for studies across broader urban environments and cities. Similarly, future studies could include sensory experiences as filtered through social status and gender. Particularly commendable is her focus on public space and her specific treatment of smaller spaces such as restaurants, bars, hostels and grocery stores. This is an interesting book, which asks important questions about the fate of classicalinscriptions in late antiquity. * Ivo Van Der Graaff, Classical Review *
Sitz has provided us with a rich and compelling analysis of epigraphy, and of inscriptions as objects, as key to understanding the urban and religious histories of Late Antiquity. * Mark Humphries, Late Antiquity *
I enjoyed reading the book and the skillful combination of the use of both material and written sources by the author. S. is well read in commentaries on literary sources, knowing how to employ them to illuminate the epigraphical or archaeological material, and is well-aware that one cannot always take the claims of ancient authors at face value - a skill which ensured the success of Louis Robert alongside his exceptional erudition of epigraphical texts. An important contribution to the field is the 'negative' approach to the study of erasure and re-usethrough focusing on preserved and untouched objects. Through her work, S. brought to us one of the most interesting studies on the spatial functioning of inscriptions in recent years. * Pawel Nowakowski, GNOMON *
..well documented and innovative study, which provides a major contribution to the field of epigraphy and will serve as an eyeopener - for this reviewer, at least - to take into account the afterlives of ancient inscriptions and how they could have been viewed in Late Antique contexts. * Jitse H.F. Dijkstra, ARYS *