Holy Women of the Syrian Orient (Transformation of the Classical Heritage) [Paperback]

Sebastian P. Brock (Translator), Susan Ashbrook Harvey (Translator)

Book Description

Series: Transformation of the Classical Heritage | Publication Date: August 28, 1998

The fifteen hagiographies about holy women of the Syrian Orient collected here include stories of martyrs' passions and saints' lives, pious romances and personal reminiscences. Dating from the fourth to seventh centuries A.D., they are translated from Syriac into accessible and vivid prose. Annotations and source notes by the translators help clarify elements that may be unfamiliar to some readers. This collection bears witness to the profound contributions women made to early Chistianity: their various roles, their leadership inside and outside the church structure, and their power to influence others. A new preface discusses recent developments in the field and updates the bibliography.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"An opportunity to explore the complex social history of an important and very much neglected part of the late antique world: the Syrian Orient, one of the major cultural systems contributing both to the Eastern and Western religious heritage." -- Gail Paterson Corrington, Classical World

About the Author

Sebastian P. Brock is Reader in Syriac Studies at the Oriental Institute at Oxford and is the author of The Luminous Eye: The Spiritual World Vision of Saint Ephrem (Kalamazoo, 1992). Susan Ashbrook Harvey is Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Brown University and author of Asceticism and Society in Crisis: John of Ephesus and the Lives of the Eastern Saints (California, 1990).

Product Details

• Paperback: 215 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press; Updated edition (August 28, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520213661
• ISBN-13: 978-0520213661
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 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: #1,175,744 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Window into lives of ancient women, ancient Syria, April 9, 2008

By 

Brian Rhea (NJ, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Holy Women of the Syrian Orient (Transformation of the Classical Heritage) (Paperback)

Brock and Harvey provide an English translation of fifteen texts recording the lives of ancient Syrian Christian women, along with notes and an introduction. These saints' lives date from the fourth to seventh centuries C.E. The authors include a helpful introduction commenting on the Syrian Orient, the nature of hagiography, and the problem of literature about women.
I found the translations smooth, engaging, and enjoyable, with neither archaic language nor informal breeziness. Despite many recent monastic translations, few are devoted to women. Only two of these lives have previously been translated into English. Brock and Harvey have produced an unusual and needed volume.
The fifteen texts are divided into nine chapters. The first is an extract from the "Life of Abraham" concerning that saint's niece, Mary. A model ascetic, after being viciously raped by a monk Mary turns to a life of prostitution. Her uncle dons the disguise of a soldier to enter her brothel and rescue her. She repents and is saved. Similar themes of sexual sin and repentance sound in the second chapter, the "Life of Pelagia," a renowned prostitute who repents and finds a new life--not only in chastity, but as a transvestite. Disguised as a man, she journeys to Jerusalem to live out her days as the male recluse "Pelagios."
The following chapters are of a different character. Chapter three contains six extracts from different sources concerning female martyrs in Persia; chapter four relates several accounts of female martyrs in Najran, a town in southern Arabia. The fifth chapter contains two selections from John of Ephesus' Lives of the Eastern Saints. Chapter six, within a narrative concerning Abba Daniel of Sketis, tells of the transvestite Anastasia as well as an abbess and a mad nun. Chapter seven, told from the perspective of a woman narrator, relates the trials of a convent undergoing the Diocletian persecution and the martyrdom of the virtuous Febronia. The final eighth chapter is a lavish tribute from the seventh-century writer Martyrios to a spiritual mentor, the elderly Shirin.
This book helpfully provides access to a world few could otherwise explore. Highly recommended.