This book uses the martyrs’ imitation of Jesus in the acts of the martyrs as a window into the history of ideas. It argues, first, that the presentations of the deaths of the martyrs are modeled on portrayals of the death of Jesus in early Christian literature and practice. Given that the martyrs are presented as Christ figures, they serve as narrative reinterpretations of the death of Jesus and can serve as valuable, early sources for the reception history of the New Testament. It also argues that the assimilation of the martyrs to Christ goes further than the narrative contours and stylistic ... More

This book uses the martyrs’ imitation of Jesus in the acts of the martyrs as a window into the history of ideas. It argues, first, that the presentations of the deaths of the martyrs are modeled on portrayals of the death of Jesus in early Christian literature and practice. Given that the martyrs are presented as Christ figures, they serve as narrative reinterpretations of the death of Jesus and can serve as valuable, early sources for the reception history of the New Testament. It also argues that the assimilation of the martyrs to Christ goes further than the narrative contours and stylistic features of their deaths. In the depiction of the salvific value of the martyr’s death, the postmortem functions of martyrs in heaven, and the martyrs’ status vis-à-vis Christ in the afterlife, the martyrs continue to be presented as Christly figures. As a result, the martyr acts can also contribute to our understanding of the development of ideas about Jesus (Christology) and the way in which human beings are saved (soteriology) in the early church in the pre-Constantinian period.