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Author: Herbert Musurillo
Publisher:
Published: 2000
Total Pages: 328
ISBN-13:
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →"... Reporting the trials of Alexandrian heroes ... an important body of Christian literature, illuminating both the beliefs and practices of the early Christians and the extent of Roman persecutions"--Cover blurb.
Author: Herbert Musurillo
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Published: 1972
Total Pages: 464
ISBN-13:
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →Author: Molly Whittaker
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 1984-11-22
Total Pages: 308
ISBN-13: 9780521242516
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →The aim of this book is to give access to sources which illustrate Graeco-Roman views on Jews and Christians from 200 BC to AD 200. Passages range from longer extracts written by historians to short incidental references by disparate authors which throw light on attitudes towards beliefs and social customs. The pagan religious background, especially the Mystery religions, is also described and illustrated by selected passages, so that the reader may have some idea of the general religious climate during this period. Every quotation is prefixed by a brief biography of the author and all passages have been translated into English, with explanatory comment when necessary. Connecting essays act as summaries and focus the attention on essential issues. These, together with a chronological chart and maps should enable a student coming fresh to the subject, without previous specialized knowledge, to see the period in historical perspective.
Author: G. W. Bowersock
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 2002-10-03
Total Pages: 124
ISBN-13: 9780521530491
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →This book examines the historical context of the earliest Christian martyrs, and anchors their grisly and often wilful self-sacrifice to the everyday life and outlook of the cities of the Roman empire. Professor Bowersock begins by investigating both the time and the region in which martyrdom, as we know it, came into being. He also offers comparisons of the Graeco-Roman background with the martyrology of Jews and Muslims. A study of official protocols illuminates the bureaucratic institutions of the Roman state as they applied to the first martyrs; and the martyrdoms themselves are seen within the context of urban life (and public spectacle) in the great imperial cities. By considering martyrdom in relation to suicide, the author is also able to demonstrate the peculiarly Roman character of Christian self-sacrifice in relation to other forms of deadly resistance to authority.
