Lee - Pagans and Christians in late antiquity: a sourcebook

PAGANS AND CHRISTIANS IN LATE ANTIQUITY

In Pagans and Christians in Late Antiquity, A.D. Lee documents the transformation of the religious landscape of the Roman world from one of enormous diversity of religious practices and creeds in the third century to a situation where, by the sixth century, Christianity had become the dominant religious force. Using translated extracts from contemporary sources, he examines the fortunes of pagans and Christians from the upheavals of the third century, through the dramatic events associated with the emperors Constantine, Julian and Theodosius in the fourth, to the increasingly tumultuous times of the fifth and sixth centuries, while also illustrating important themes in late antique Christianity such as the growth of monasticism, the emerging power of bishops and the development of pilgrimage, as well as the fate of other significant religious groups, including Jews and Manichaeans.

This new edition has been updated to include:

additional documentary material, including newly published papyri

an expanded chapter on the emperor Constantine

greater attention to church controversies in the fourth and fifth centuries

thoroughly updated references and further reading, taking into account developments in modern scholarship during the past fifteen years.

Pagans and Christians in Late Antiquity is an invaluable resource for students of the late antique world, and of early Christianity and the early Church.

Doug Lee is Professor of Ancient History at the University of Nottingham. He has published widely on many aspects of Late Antiquity, including his most recent book, From Rome to Byzantium, AD 363 to 565: The Transformation of Ancient Rome (2013).

ROUTLEDGE SOURCEBOOKS FOR THE ANCIENT WORLD

Trials from Classical Athens:Second Edition, Christopher Carey
Ancient Greece:Third Edition, Matthew Dillon and Lynda Garland
Readings in Late Antiquity:Second Edition, Michael Maas
Greek and Roman Education, Mark Joyal, J.C. Yardley and Iain McDougall
The Republican Roman Army, Michael M. Sage
The Story of Athens, Phillip Harding
Roman Social History, Tim Parkin and Arthur Pomeroy
Death in Ancient Rome, Valerie Hope
Ancient Rome:Second Edition, Matthew Dillon and Lynda Garland
Sexuality in Greek and Roman Literature, Marguerite Johnson and Terry Ryan
Athenian Political Oratory, David Phillips
Pompeii and Herculaneum:Second Edition, Alison E. Cooley and M.G.L. Cooley
Greek Science of the Hellenistic Era, Georgia Irby-Massie and Paul Keyser
Women and Law in the Roman Empire, Judith Evans Grubbs
Warfare in Ancient Greece, Michael M. Sage
The Government of the Roman Empire, Barbara Levick
Pagans and Christians in Late Antiquity:Second Edition, A.D. Lee
Ancient Greek Laws, Ilias Arnaoutoglou
Greek and Roman Technology, John Humphrey, John Oleson and Andrew Sherwood
Roman Italy 388 BCAD 200, Kathryn Lomas
The Historians of Ancient Rome:Third Edition, Ronald Mellor
The Roman Army 31 BCAD337, Brian Campbell
The Roman Household, Jane F. Gardner and Thomas Wiedemann
Athenian Politics, G.R. Stanton
Greek and Roman Slavery, Thomas Wiedemann
Women of the Ancient Near East, Mark Chavalas

Forthcoming:
Ancient City of Rome, Christopher Smith, J.C.N. Coulston, Hazel Dodge
Greek Religion, Emma Stafford and Karen Stears
The Historians of Ancient Greece, David Phillips

First published 2000

This second edition published 2016
by Routledge
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2000, 2016 A.D. Lee

The right of Doug Lee to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

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British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record for this book has been requested

ISBN: 978-1-138-02031-3 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-138-02032-0 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-68425-3 (ebk)

Typeset in Baskerville MT
by Swales & Willis Ltd, Exeter, Devon, UK

FOR ANNA

In the fifteen years since the original edition of this sourcebook was published, research on the religious history of Late Antiquity has continued apace. A substantial quantity of new publications has appeared, partly inspired by anniversaries of significant events from the life of Constantine in 2006 and 2012, partly reflecting the sheer quantity of source material from the period which has yet to receive detailed consideration and new questions being asked about more familiar texts and subjects. One of the main aims of this new edition has been to take account of as much of this new literature as possible by updating its bibliography and revising the introductory comments on many extracts.

It has also provided the opportunity to add new extracts. Some of these have involved making good omissions noted by reviewers (so, e.g., more material on Neoplatonism and on church controversies), while the occasional new inscription and papyrus of relevance has come to light and been published since 1999. Some additional images have also been included. At the same time, all the extracts and images from the original edition have been retained, with occasional revisions where new editions or better readings have become available; their numbering has sometimes had to be changed to accommodate the insertion of new material.

All sourcebooks have to be selective, of course, and publishers have to impose word limits, so it has not been possible to include much that I would have liked to add. I hope, however, that the revisions, updating and additions to the original text will help to make the volume of continuing use. To reviewers of the original edition and to users and readers who more recently provided reports on how it might be improved, I would like to express my gratitude for their thoughtful feedback, and apologise for not having been able to incorporate all their suggestions into this edition. Academics tend to be perfectionists by nature, but with every book there comes a point where pragmatism must prevail.

Unsurprisingly, given the inherent fascination of the period and richness of its sources, other sourcebooks have been produced in the interim. Richard Valantasis edited volume Religions of Late Antiquity in Practice also appeared in 2000 and was sometimes reviewed alongside this volume. It adopted a more thematic approach throughout, sought to give equal attention to a range of religious traditions in Late Antiquity, and aimed to include a smaller number of more substantial extracts. In 2004,