G. W. Bowersock - Martyrdom and Rome (1995).pdf - WIP - nekane

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 martyr-

ology 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 consider-

ing martyrdom in relation to suicide, the author is also able to demon-

strate the peculiarly Roman character of Christian self-sacrifice in rela-

tion to other forms of deadly resistance to authority.

THE WILES LECTURES GIVEN AT

THE QUEEN'S UNIVERSITY OF BELFAST

Martyrdom and Rome

MARTYRDOM

AND ROME

G. W. BOWERSOCK

Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton

(CAMBRIDGE

UNIVERSITY PRESS

G. W. Bowersock - Martyrdom and Rome (1995).pdf