Review
`Review from previous edition an unusual book on every level ... Here then are missing pieces of two interconnected jigsaws: one, that of the intellectual biography of one of the most striking figures in classical scholarship in the second half of the twentieth-century; the other, that of his contributions to 'Athenian Democratic Origins' and other problems in Greek history ... anyone with a serious interest in either or both of these fields will rejoice in this volume and be grateful to its editors for allowing us to hear again the inimitable scholarly voice of Geoffrey Ernest Maurice de Ste. Croix.' Bryn Mawr Classical Review
`no serious reader, converted or not, could emerge unimpressed by the sheer command of evidence and calibre of argument on display here [in Chapter 1]. The jewel of the volume.' Bryn Mawr Classical Review
Product Description
This volume brings together seven seminal papers by the great radical historian Geoffrey de Ste. Croix, who died in 2000, on early Christian topics, with a special focus on persecution and martyrdom. Christian martyrdom is a topic which conjures up ready images of inhumane persecutors
confronted by Christian heroes who perish for the instant but win the long-term battle for reputation. In five of these essays Ste. Croix scrutinizes the evidence to reveal the significant role of Christians themselves, first as volunteer martyrs and later, after the triumph of Christianity in the
early fourth century, as organizers of much more effective persecutions. A sixth essay pursues the question of the control of Christianity through a comprehensive study of the context for one of the Church's most important and divisive doctrinal decisions, at the Council of Chalcedon (AD 451); the
key role of the emperor and his senior secular officials is revealed, contrary to the prevailing interpretation of Church historians. Finally the attitudes of the early Church towards property and slavery are reviewed, to show the divide between the Gospel message and actual practice.
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