Description:
The Afterlife in Early Christian Carthage explores how the visionary experiences of early Christian martyrs shaped and informed early Christian ancestor cult and the construction of the cemetery as paradise. Taking the early Christian cemeteries in Carthage as a case study, the volume broadens our understanding of the historical and cultural origins of the early Christian cult of the saints, and highlights the often divergent views about the dead and post-mortem realms expressed by the church fathers, and in graveside ritual and the material culture of the cemetery. This fascinating study is a key resource for students of late antique and early Christian culture.
Review Quotes:
- Professor Allen Brent, Professor of Early Christian History and Iconography, King's College, London
"I find what is proposed highly relevant and potentially cutting edge. The study of the 'paradisical imagery in Carthage in particular would be a timely and important contribution by a scholar whose CV shows him to be competent to pursue this topic... You should certainly publish what promises to be a timely and original contribution to a developing area of research."
- Nicola Denzey Lewis, Brown University, USA
"The book is wide-ranging and integrative, pulling together many different strands to consider death, burial, and the afterlife in late antique Carthage. It is nicely written and a good fit for Routledge."