Synopses & Reviews
This book is a study of the transformation of the landscape, civic life, and moral values of the pagan city of Rome following the conversion of the emperor Constantine in the early fourth century. It examines the effects of the rise of Christianity and the decline of paganism in the later Roman empire.
Review
"The author has new insights to offer in every chapter.... An impressive achievement, a work of great learning and meticulous documentation yet never dull and always readable."--Bryn Mawr Classical Review
"The story of Rome's transformation from capital city of a pagan empire to the center of Christian religious authority has been largely neglected.... The appearance of this Oxford dissertation is indeed welcome."--History: Reviews of New Books
About the Author
John Curran is Lecturer in the School of Classics and Ancient History, Queen's University, Belfast
Table of Contents
Part 1: Topography 1. Emperors, Gods, and Violence in Third-Century Rome
2. Conservator Urbis: Maxentius in Rome
3. Constantine and Rome: The Context of Innovation
4. The Christianization of the Topography of Rome, AD 337-384
Part 2: Society
5. The Legal Standing of the Ancient Cults of Rome
6. Paganism, Christianity, and the Imperial Celebrations in the Circus Maximus during the Fourth Century
7. Jerome, Asceticism, and the Roman Aristocracy, AD 340-410
Towards an understanding of 'Christianization' in Rome