Divine Heiress: The Virgin Mary and the Making of Christian Constantinople [Hardcover]

Vasiliki Limberis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 22, 1994 | ISBN-10: 0415096774 | ISBN-13: 978-0415096775 | Edition: 1

Divine Heiress explores the vital role of the Virgin Mary in the cultural and religious life of Constantinople in late antiquity. It shows how she was transformed from a humble Jewish maiden into a divine figure and supernatural protector of Constantinople.
Vasiliki Limberis examines the cult of Mary in the context of the religious culture of the Mediterranean world and the imperial Christianity of the Roman Empire. The author looks at all the evidence for the cult but pays particular attention to the early hymns to the virgin. These hymns preserved the strong indigenous goddess traditions of Demeter/Persephone, Isis, Hecate and Athena. By studying them the author places the cult of Mary in its historical and cultural context.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Vasiliki Limberis is Assistant Professor of Religion at Temple University.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 212 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; 1 edition (September 22, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415096774
• ISBN-13: 978-0415096775
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #737,547 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fun read, which says a lot for church history, June 26, 2008

By 

Aaron J. West - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Divine Heiress: The Virgin Mary and the Making of Christian Constantinople (Hardcover)

I have been reading church history books this summer, and this is by far the best read I've come across yet. Limberis first describes Constantine's founding of Constantinople, and explains how moving the capital from Rome enabled him to create a new imperial civic religion-Christianity hybrid. She shows how imperial civic religion morphed into a Christianized version, and then made its way into the church (as in, into church buildings and services) under Theodosius and especially Pulcheria. She examines previous patristic writings on Mary, the worship of goddesses Rhea, Tyche, and others, as well as imperial panergyic to show that the reverence for Mary which developed in Constantinople was a unique blend of all of them. A good synthesis of a wide range of material.

I a amateur when it comes to Church history, but I found this book exciting, clear, and compelling. I would recommend it. I don't think you would be offended by it even if you are a devout Catholic or Eastern Orthodox, because her focus is not on the veneration of Mary per se, but the form that developed in Constantinople from the fourth century onwards.