‘The question of “popular culture” is one of power relations’, states J.C. Magalhães de Oliveira in the introduction to his chapter on ‘Communication and Plebeian Sociability in Late Antiquity’ (p. 296), the concluding topic of this compendium of analyses on the complexities of popular culture. The issue of power relations repeatedly rises throughout this volume, from M. Canevaro's discussion of Athenian institutions such as the law courts, to T. Hawkins's consideration of popular invective in the transition of Rome to Empire, and within A. Pudsey's demonstration of the culture of children and their relationships with adults in Roman Egypt. Edited by Grig, the book arose through conferences at Edinburgh (2012) and Wrocław (2014), benefiting from a collaborative effort and wider contributions suggested by Cambridge University Press. Its scope ranges from Classical Athens to Augustine's North Africa, moving via Rome as Republic and Empire and concluding with reflections on the late antique period. There is, notes Grig in her introduction, still much work to be done on the question of ‘popular culture’; however, this book makes an excellent contribution to this field, providing a series of keen insights that demonstrate the depth and breadth of the topic. An extensive bibliography supplements this well, as does as an index of well-chosen terms and topics.
Grig's introduction provides a history of scholarship of sorts, examining studies of popular culture and establishing a series of definitions in light of these. Grig moves from the folkloric tales of the Brothers Grimm to the twentieth-century contributions of Theodor W. Adorno and the Frankfurt school, touching additionally on Marxist critiques and Gramsci's theories of cultural hegemony before moving on to Mikhail Bakhtin, whose influence is apparent throughout the book. Citing N. Horsfall's The Culture of the Roman Plebs (2003) as an early example of a key work on the topic, Grig notes that, whilst other historians have been somewhat delayed in engaging with popular culture, it remains a field open to a range of scholarly approaches, from philology to economic history. Establishing four key themes (religion, literature, art and politics), Grig concludes that the aim of the book is to move away from the ‘bread and circuses’ approach to popular culture, thus avoiding taking a ‘top-down’ approach. Canevaro's following chapter, addressing the popular culture of various Athenian institutions, moves to centralise the non-elite of Athens within locations such as the council and the assembly, proposing that these were not controlled by elite citizens and were thus a central part of the life of lower-class citizens. Canevaro consequently places elite culture in opposition to these state institutions, suggesting that it thus becomes subversive, with the culture of the law courts unacceptable in a location such as the symposium. His thesis is an intriguing one, using examples such as Lysias’ For the Invalid and Athens’ adultery laws; as he comments in a final footnote, the experiences of slaves and metics within this system could contribute further to his argument. J. Robson's discussion of Aristophanic comedy and its audience connects well with this, as his analysis of the differing social groups within the theatre engages closely with the status of those elected to public offices. Breaking down various groupings, Robson considers the manner in which responses to humour can cause tensions within an audience, which, he posits, Aristophanes exploited, with this chapter raising interesting questions with regard to social class, intellect and audience reaction.
Moving away from Athens, the following four chapters turn to Rome, with C. Rosillo-López's opening article demonstrating the manner in which nicknames created for public figures can establish a non-elite political popular culture. Considering first the spaces in which non-elite persons circulated, she then engages with some key common nicknames, with the most convincing argument arising from a keen analysis of the name ‘Gracchus’, its social connotations and Cicero's engagement with the name. C. Courrier's contribution, on the culture of the plebs, opens with a consideration of the manner in which sociology and anthropology can aid in constructing notions of group consciousness with regard to the Roman plebs, moving away from earlier arguments that suggest that the plebs lacked collective memory and were in part defined by poverty. As Courrier notes, some more detail is needed in parts; however, overall this contribution provides a thought-provoking insight into plebeian culture and can be read well alongside Canevaro's chapter. Hawkins's analysis of popular invective during Rome's transition to Empire provides a keen consideration of the manner in which rhetorical exchanges between elite and non-elite citizens altered the shape of urban life, illustrating clearly the manner in which the presence of an emperor altered public discourse. Hawkins concludes that popular invective was a key aspect of Roman politics and had the power to influence it, neatly closing his argument by returning to his initial discussion of Pollio's response to the proscriptions of Octavian. The final chapter in this sequence, A. Vincent's reflection on the function of music within the city, is perhaps the most intriguing of the four. Considering the power that music can hold, Vincent focuses not on the music itself, but rather on those who produced it, those who heard it and the locations in which it was performed. As this is a vastly understudied topic, Vincent's chapter provides a captivating insight into the political power that music could hold, deftly utilising the Egyptologist J. Assmann's concept of cultural memory to strengthen his conclusions in areas where popular testimony is lacking.
The following three chapters, under the subheading ‘Greece, Rome and Beyond’, suffer slightly from their positioning within the book, as, whilst each chapter has its own merits, they do not quite function as a collective whole in the manner seen in the previous and concluding sections. J. Toner's exploration of intellectual life among Roman non-elites works to redefine ‘intellectual life’ in light of previous studies such as that of E. Rawson, and additionally in relation to Bakhtin. Aiming to move beyond literacy as a benchmark for intellectual culture, Toner focuses on three aspects of popular culture to demonstrate the presence of intellectual life among non-elites: popular philosophy, pantomime and gambling. Emphasising the necessity of moving away from the notion that elite culture is superior to that of non-elites, the conclusions drawn are highly convincing. Toner's contribution is followed by that of V. Jennings, who provides an evaluation of divination that reflects upon the function of popular religion and its portrayal within non-elite literature. Some forms of divination, she notes, are more elite than others, yet divination can itself be learned and thus performed by individuals externally to organised practices. A close analysis of the Life of Aesop provides an interesting case study, but perhaps could have been framed more clearly within the wider argument and, as Jennings notes, a lack of knowledge regarding the audience of such texts complicates an understanding of their impact. Concluding this section is Pudsey's thought-provoking reflection on the culture of children within Roman Egypt, with popular culture, she argues, providing a ‘springboard’ of sorts for the examination of children and their cultural history. Pudsey takes three main approaches to her discussion, considering the manner in which culture is created through day-to-day experiences, the sharing of culture between children and the transmission of culture from parents to children. Her analysis of material evidence is particularly of note, with a consideration of the function of dolls within play, and the consequent implications of this with regards to gender, standing out.
The final four chapters address popular culture within late antiquity and are perhaps the best edited of the volume, collectively forming a stimulating overview of differing aspects of religious life. Grig opens this section with an in-depth consideration of the Kalends of January, focusing specifically on their celebration in the West. Noting moralising critiques of the festival from ecclesiastical figures such as Augustine, Grig artfully demonstrates the manner in which this celebration has been portrayed somewhat incorrectly by both medieval scholars and modern historians, due to its association with certain Roman and Celtic deities. Her case study thus demonstrates both the manner in which church authors and dominant cultures responded to this immersive and enduring celebration, and the dynamic interactions that existed within popular culture. Following Grig, N. Denzey Lewis looks downward into the catacombs of Rome in her analysis of lived religion, a fascinating discussion that addresses religious acts carried out by individuals for personal purposes. Considering a range of apotropaic objects, Denzey Lewis tries to move away from labels such as ‘Christian’ and ‘non-Christian’, which can at times complicate her argument slightly, but which serve to paint a picture of a diverse and fluid religious culture. Centralising the individual, this contribution provides an insight into religious acts that took place away from the developed Church, demonstrating the manner in which ordinary people addressed their circumstances. Theology, argues J. Maxwell in the following chapter, is not typically associated with popular culture due to the training required for experts within this field. However, as she demonstrates with her examination of theological controversies and the engagement of theologians with laypeople, the sermons of figures such as John Chrysostom show that audiences did indeed understand theological concepts such as heresy, with these notions interspersed with discussions of ‘popular religion’. Reflecting on sermons delivered at the shrines of martyrs, Maxwell notes that these demonstrate the fluidity between popular religion and theology, with theology, she concludes, thus not being separated from the religious life of ordinary Christians. Maxwell's chapter leads well into the final contribution, Magalhães de Oliveira's consideration of popular culture in North Africa during the time of Augustine, a stand-out chapter for this reviewer. Exploring the relationship of social class, popular culture and plebeian communication, this chapter demonstrates the manner in which differing forms of popular culture enabled plebeians to both express their own concerns, and transmit and transform aspects of culture disseminated to them by the elite. Providing an excellent reading of some key passages of Augustine, Magalhães de Oliveira establishes the techniques the Bishop used to invoke popular culture and consequently to utilise this to defend his own position, particularly during crises such as the Donatist schism. Popular culture, he summarises, evolved from the lived experiences of the plebs, but could nonetheless be manipulated by external figures for political and theological purposes.
This book certainly ‘celebrates the richness and diversity of ancient popular culture’, as Grig suggests in her introduction (p. 36), and suggests the potential for this burgeoning field to continue to grow.
