The search for knowledge of the future and for divine help is found in all ancient Mediterranean cultures. The key question of this book is: What are the interdependences between divination and processes of individualization or de-individualization in the ancient world? Individualization is understood as a process of change on the societal level. In contrast, individuation is a development on the personal level. Discussions about the definition of these terms are continuing. Divination may always have some effects on processes of individuation and individualization. Divination may be a means - and this list does not claim to be exhaustive - of legitimising decisions, to decide competition or to achieve distinctiveness. This book covers aspects from archaic Greece to the High Empire. Not all articles argue along the same lines: nothing highlights better the lively debate and the many open questions in the field of ancient divination.

Veit Rosenberger, geb. 1963. Studium der Alten Geschichte, Klassischen Philologie und Klassischen Archäologie in Heidelberg, Augsburg, Köln und Oxford. Promotion 1992 (Heidelberg), Habilitation 1997 (Augsburg). Lehrtätigkeit an der Universität Augsburg und an der Emory University (Atlanta). Seit 2006 Professor für Alte Geschichte an der Universität Erfurt.

Forschungsschwerpunkte: Triumphe und Siegesfeiern in der Antike, Sterben und Tod in der Antike, antike Chroniken, Religionsgeschichte, Antikenrezeption.

Leseprobe