Theology
Katharina Waldner
Die Erfindung des Martyriums
Wahrheit, Recht und religiöse Identität in Hellenismus und Kaiserzeit
[The Invention of Martyrdom. Truth, Law and Religious Identity in Hellenism and Imperial Times.]
2023. Approx. 300 pages.
forthcoming in March
forthcoming in March
Studien und Texte zu Antike und Christentum / Studies and Texts in Antiquity and Christianity
approx. 70,00 €
including VAT
including VAT
eBook PDF
ISBN 978-3-16-152652-7
forthcoming
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Published in German.
Katharina Waldner reconstructs the invention of early Christian martyrdom by looking back on a long and contingent history of a discourse. This discourse deals with the relationship between political power, truth, and religion by using (counter) narratives of juridical procedures. The author starts with an analysis of the narrative representation of the trial and death of Socrates by Plato in the context of Athenian religion. A thorough reading of relevant passages in the book of Daniel and 1 and 2 Maccabees then reconstructs the rhetorics of religious conflicts in Hellenistic Palestine. After that, Waldner deals with Jewish and early Christian texts on persecution and martyrdom in imperial times (1st and 2nd century). They can now be understood in a more differentiated way; beyond this, the author provides new insights into the rhetorical construction of an individual and collective religious identity by Jewish, pagan and Christian actors as well.