City and Sanctuary challenges some common assumptions about the Near East in the Roman and Early Byzantine periods, by examining the architecture and urban design of five cities: Palmyra, Petra, Gerasa, Caesarea Maritima and Jerusalem. Richardson argues that each city is different, partly as a result of its distinctive history and partly due to, on the one hand, its blend of openness to Roman influences and, on the other hand, its attachment to its own indigenous culture. However, within these differences, each city demonstrates the persistent importance of religion to its life, not merely in the monuments that it constructed but especially in the ways that its sanctuaries influenced the urban shape and dynamic forms of the city in question. The various kinds of religious structures found in each city are examined, including: cult centres of international importance; temples dedicated to the Olympian gods; buildings dedicated to mystery religions; and houses adapted for new religions such as Judaism, Christianity and Mithraism. The resulting survey constitutes a fascinating introduction to Mediterranean religious life by one of the world's leading scholars of architecture and religion in antiquity.
