Perpetua's Passion: The Death and Memory of a Young Roman Woman - Hardcover

Salisbury, Joyce E.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0415918367 ISBN 13: 9780415918367

Publisher: Routledge, 1997

Synopsis

Perpetua's Passion studies the third-century martyrdom of a young woman and places it in the intellectual and social context of her age. Conflicting ideas of religion, family and gender are explored as Salisbury follows Perpetua from her youth in a wealthy Roman household to her imprisonment and death in the arena.

About this title

Review

..."this book is a very pleasant and engaging read, both for the neophyte and for the expert who has come to relish the clarity, precision, and courage of [Salisbury]."
-"Religious Studies Review
..."a compelling read...."
-"Journal of Women's History
"Salisbury provides well-founded responses to a number of long-standing issues."
-"Trinity Seminary Review
"Salisbury's investigation of a Christian martydom in 203 and its subsequent impact appeals beyond its apparent natural audience of scholars because it is an engagingly told story."
-"Booklist, 10-98
"Salisbury has performed the important work of bringing the story of Perpetua to a much-deserved wider reading audience. She has also invited readers unfamiliar with the ancient world into its vibrancy and complexity, and she has done so with a good deal of insight and lively narrative style."
-"Women's Review of Books, 3/98

Synopsis

In 203 A.D. a group of Christians in Carthage, North Africa, were sentenced to the beasts in the arena. One of these, a 22-year-old young mother, wrote a diary while she was imprisoned awaiting execution; later, this diary was completed by an observer who described her death in the arena. This personal narrative is the focus of this study of the conflict that resulted in the martyrdom of Perpetua. It explores the 3rd-century martyrdom of a young woman and places it in the intellectual and social context of her age. Conflicting ideas of religion, family and gender are examined as the author follows Perpetua from her youth in a wealthy Roman household to her imprisonment and death in the arena. He considers the ideas that shaped Perpetua's experience and the memories that appeared in her dreams and text, including metaphysical reflections, Carthaginian ideas of sacrificial suicide, and early Christian praise of prophecy and passion. The book also encompasses other dilemmas such as family, gender roles and motherhood, using the experience of this young martyr to explore these conflicting ideals.

About this edition

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0415918367
• ISBN 13: 9780415918367
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 238