Death, burial and rebirth in the religions of antiquity / Jon Davies.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Davies, Jon, 1939-

Series:

Religion in the first Christian centuries.

Religion in the first Christian centuries

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Death--Religious aspects--History of doctrines.

Death.

Funeral rites and ceremonies, Ancient.

Future life--History of doctrines.

Future life.

Middle East--Religion.

Middle East.

Rome--Religion.

Rome.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (267 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

London ; New York : Routledge, 1999.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

In Death, Burial and Rebirth in the Religions of Antiquity, Jon Davies charts the significance of death to the emerging religious cults in the pre-Christian and early Christian world. He analyses the varied burial rituals and examines the different notions of the afterlife. Among the areas covered are:* Osiris and Isis: the life theology of Ancient Egypt* burying the Jewish dead* Roman religion and Roman funerals* Early Christian burial* the nature of martyrdom.Jon Davies also draws on the sociological theory of Max Weber to present a comprehensive introduction

Contents:

Front Cover; Death, Burial and Rebirth in the Religions of Antiquity; Copyright Page; Contents; List of plates; Preface and acknowledgements; Introduction; Part I: Death in the Ancient Near East; 1. Osiris and Isis: The life-theology of Ancient Egypt; 2. Zoroaster, Ahura Mazda and Ahriman; 3. Canaanites and Mesopotamians; 4. Mere Texts or living realities?: The possible influence of the older thanatologies on Judaism and Christianity; Part II: From caves and rock-cut tombs to Judaism; 5. The general archaeology of the Ancient Near East; 6. Judaism: Towards the common era

7. Burying the Jewish dead 8. Good luck with your resurrection!: Opening the heavens and raising the dead; Part III: Romans and Greeks: A theodicy of good fortune?; 9. Roman and Greek philosophies of death; 10. Roman religion and Roman funerals; 11. Ovid's 'ever-varying forms': Greek mythologies, sarcophagi and the boundaries of mortality; 12. Ovid's 'bonds of Love and duty': Funerals, epitaphs, orations and death in the arena; Part IV: Christians, martyrs, soldiers, saints; 13. Christian burial; 14. The nature of martyrdom; Epilogue

Sacrificial living and sacrificial dying: Christians in the world Appendix; Bibliography; Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 225-239) and index.

ISBN:

1-134-79271-9

0-203-28864-5

1-280-33090-2

0-203-03050-8

1-134-79272-7

9780203030509

OCLC:

475876507