Table of Contents

Contents. Preface. Contributors. Abbreviations. Dedication. 1. Voluntary Associations: An Overview S.G. Wilson 2. Collegia and Thiasoi John S. Kloppenborg 3. Philosophiai: Graeco-Roman, Judean, and Christian Steve N. Mason 4. Ecclesia and Voluntary Associations Wayne O. McCready 5. The Collegia and Roman Law Wendy Cotter 6. Early synagogues as collegia Peter Richardson 7. Philo and the Clubs and Associations of Alexandria Torrey Seland 8. Graeco-Roman Voluntary Associations and the Damascus Document, A Sociological Analysis Sandra Walker Ramisch 9. Voluntary Association and Networks: Aelius Aristides Harold Remus 10. The Mysteries of Mithras Roger Beck 11. The Place of Cult in Voluntary Associations and Christian Churches on Delos B. Hudson McLean 12. Jewish Voluntary Associations in Egypt and the Roles of Women Peter Richardson and Valerie Heuchan 13. Evidence for Women in the Community of the Dead Sea Scrolls Eileen Schuller 14. Where Women Sat in Ancient Synagogues Sharon Lea Mattila Works Cited

About the Author

Stephen G. Wilson, John S. Kloppenborg

Reviews

`the editors of the current volume are to be complimented for facilitating and making public these important contributions to our knowledge of social organizations and alternatives in the Hellenistic world..both in terms of historical desription and in terms of social theory` - Method and Theory in the Study of Religion, 1999