G. W. Bowersock - Martyrdom and Rome (1995), RZYM
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]