UC Spark

Dr Alison Bond Griffith

School of Humanities; Classics

Phone: +64 3 364 2987 ext. 8578
 Office: Logie Building (Modern Lang.) 614a

Fields of Research

  • Classical archaeology
  • Egyptian Art and Archaeology
  • Roman art and architecture
  • Roman religion and cults
  • The archaeology of early Rome and Italy
  • Topography of ancient Rome

Researcher Summary

My current research has two foci: Roman religion and cults, and topography of ancient Rome. In both areas I take a holistic approach, using data from a wide range of evidence (from texts, inscriptions, art and architecture, coins and the like). I also use cognitive theory to understand Roman religious motivations and behaviour. I am currently completing a book manuscript on the cult of Mithras in ancient Rome.

Subject Area: Disciplines

Future Research

  • Dining in religious contexts
  • Patronage in Roman religion and cults
  • Cognitive Studies and Roman Religion

Key Methodologies

  • Ancient Greek
  • Latin
  • Integration of archaeological data with other evidence for the ancient world
  • Use of cognitive theory to understand Roman religion

Affiliations

Publications

(Selected outputs for 2000-2010)

Journal Article
  • Griffith, A.B. (2009) The Pons Sublicius in Context: Revisiting Rome's First Public Work. Phoenix 63(3-4): 296-321.
  • Griffith, A.B. (2006) In the Museum: The James Logie Memorial Collection at the University of Canterbury. Scholia Studies in Classical Antiquity 15: 168-173.
  • Griffith, A.B. (2005) Slander Thy Neighbor(s): Mithraism's Escape from Invective Ad Corpora. Collection Latomus 287: 423-432.
  • Griffith, A.B. (2001) Mithras, Death and Redemption in Statius, Thebaid I, 719-720. Latomus 60(1): 108-123.
  • Griffith, A. B. (2000) A New Mithraeum in Hawarti, Syria. Electronic Journal of Roman Mithraism (http//:gama.inesc.pt/Lusitania/ejrm/) 1: 1500 words.
  • Griffith, A.B. (2000) Mithraism in the Private and Public Lives of 4th-c. Senators in Rome. Electronic Journal of Roman Mithraism (http//:gama.inesc.pt/Lusitania/ejrm/) 1: 7000 words, excl. notes.
Chapter in Book
  • Griffith, A.B. (2010) Amicitia in the Cult of Mithras: The Setting and Social Functions of the Mithraic Cult Meal. In K. Mustakallio and C. Kroetzl (Ed.), De Amicitia: Friendship and Social Networks in Antiquity and the Middle Ages: 63-77. Rome: Acta Instituti Romani Finlandiae.
  • Griffith, A.B. (2010) Miracles, Memory and Meaning: A Cognitive Approach to Roman Myths. In P. Pachis and D. Wiebe (Ed.), Chasing Down Religion: In the Sights of History and the Cognitive Sciences: Essays in Honor of Luther H. Martin: 135-150. Thessaloniki: Barbounakis Publications.
  • Griffith, A.B. (2009) Egypt. In J.R. Green (Ed.), The Logie Collection: A Catalogue of the James Logie Memorial Collection of Classical Antiquities at the University of Canterbury, Christchurch: 384-392. Christchurch: University of Canterbury Press.
  • Griffith, A.B. (2009) The 'Modes theory' and Roman Religion: National Catastrophe and Religious Response in the Second Punic War. In L. Martin and P. Pachis (Ed.), Imagistic Traditions in the Graeco-Roman World: 153-178. Thessaloniki: Vanias Press.
  • Griffith, A. B. (2002) Cult and the Ancient Urban Landscape: A Case Study of Mithraism and Roman Topography. In Martin, L. H. and Pachis, P (Ed.), Theoretical Frameworks for the Study of the Graeco-Roman Religions: Adjunct Proceedings of the IAHR XVIII Congress in Durban, South Africa, August 2000: 67-82. Thessaloniki: University Studio Press.
Conference Contribution - Full conference paper
  • Griffith, A. (2010) Dead Religion, Live Minds: Memory and Recall of the Mithraic Bull-Slaying Scene. Toronto, Canada: XXth World Congress of the International Association for the History of Religions, 15-21 Aug 2010.
  • Griffith, A.B. (2009) Multiple Allegiances, Shared Space: The Affinity of Cults and Collegia in Rome and Ostia. Tampere, Finland: Passages from Antiquity to the Middle Ages IV, 20-22 Aug 2009.
  • Griffith, A. (2008) Miracles, Memory and Meaning: A Cognitive Approach to Roman Myths. Christchurch, New Zealand: Australasian Society for Classical Studies, 29th Conference and General Meeting, 27-31 Jan 2008.
  • Griffith, A.B. (2007) Cult, Patronage and Status in the Roman Imperial Period. Newcastle, Australia: 28th Conference of the Australasian Society for Classical Studies (ASCS 28), 4-7 Feb 2007. 10pp.
  • Griffith, A.B. (2007) The Social Functions of the Mithraic Cult Meal. Tampere, Finland: Passages from Antiquity to the Middle Ages III: De Amicitia - Social Networks and Relationships, 17-19 Aug 2007. 12pp.
  • Griffith, A.B. (2006) The Pons Sublicius in Context: Revisiting Rome's First Public Work. Montreal, Canada: 107th Annual Meeting of the Archaeological Institute of America (AIA), 5-8 Jan 2006.
  • Griffith, A.B. (2005) The Imagistic Mode in Roman State Religion. Tokyo, Japan: XIXth World Congress of the IAHR, 24-30 Mar 2005.
  • Griffith, A.B. (2005) The Pons Sublicius: Rome's Extraordinarily Ordinary Bridge. Dunedin, New Zealand: Australasian Society for Classical Studies (ASCS) Conference XXVI, 30 Jan-3 Feb 2005.
Other
  • Deuling, J. and Griffith, A. (2010) A Day in Pompeii: New Books on the Art and Architecture of the Roman Empire. NZACT Bulletin 37(1): 29-36. Review Article.
  • Griffith, A.B. (2010) Battle of Lapiths and Centaurs (side A), Chorus of Stilt-Walkers (side B). In The Art of Ancient Greek Theater: 23. Los Angeles: Getty Museum Publications. Catalogue Entry.
  • Griffith, A.B. (2009) Roger Beck. The Religion of the Mithras Cult in the Roman Empire: Mysteries of the Unconquered Sun Oxford University Press. xvi, 288. University of Toronto Quarterly 78(1): 222-224. Book Review.
  • Griffith, A.B. (2008) Green, C.M.C., Roman Religion and the Cult of Diana at Aricia (Cambridge 2007). American Journal of Archaeology 112(2): 13-14. www.ajaonline.org/index.php?ptype=breview. Book review.
  • Griffith, A.B. (2007) De Grummond, N.T. and E. Simon (eds), The Religion of the Etruscans (Austin, TX 2006). Classical Review 57(2): 464-466. Book review.
Additional Publications
  • Griffith, A. B. (2002) Cult and Place: Mithraism at Center and Periphery in 4th-century Rome. Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA: 37th International Congress on Medieval Studies, May 2002.
  • Griffith, A.B. (2000) Bull-man and bull-woman: the Female Principle in the Roman cult of Mithras. Arlington, TX, USA: UTA Conference on the Suppressions and Reassertions of the Female Principle in Human Cultures, Mar 2000.