Rise of Christianity

The course offers an overview of the historical, art historial, and archaeological evidence for the development of Christianity and its (material) culture during the first six centuries of our era.

During the four centuries following the death of Jesus of Nazareth, the movement of his followers developed from an obscure oriental sect into the sole legitimate religion of the Roman empire. The goal of this course is to study and to understand this spectacular development. In order to do so, we study the development of the Christian movements in the context of their surroundings, the Roman world. Followers of Christ will be studied in relation to the religion of the Roman state, contemporary Judaism and so-called mystery cults. In addition, attention will be paid to the social composition of the Christian communities, the appeal of the new cult to women and the role of Christian martyrs in the growth and dissemination of the new faith. Last but not least, the role of Constantine and other Christian emperors during the fourth century will be a central issue. Ancient literary sources (in translation), material remains and secondary literature on the subject will serve as the starting point of this course.

Beard, Mary, John North, Simon Price, Religions of Rome, vol I: A History, Cambridge 1998, pp. 364-388

Clark, Gillian, Christianity and Roman Society, Cambridge 2004

Drake, H.A., 'The Impact of Constantine on Christianity' in Lenski, Noel (ed.) The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Constantine, Cambridge 2006, pp. 111-136

Eliade, Mircea, A History of Religious Ideas, vol. 2: From Gautama Buddha to the Triumph of Christianity, Chicago, London 1982, pp. 330-416

Elsner, Jaś , Imperial Rome and Christian Triumph, Oxford 1998, pp. 199-259

---, 'Cultural Resistance and the Visual Image: The Case of Dura Europos' in Classical Philology, Vol. 96, No. 3 (Jul., 2001), pp. 269-304

---, 'Perspectives in Art', in Lenski, Noel (ed.) The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Constantine, Cambridge 2006, pp. 255-277

Fowden, Garth, Empire to Commonwealth, Consequences of Monotheism in Late Antiquity, Princeton 1993, pp. 37-79

Freeman, Charles, The Closing of the Western Mind, New York 2005

--- , A New History of Early Christianity, New Haven, London 2009, pp. 223-326

Harmless, J. William, 'Monasticism' in Harvey, Susan Ashbrook and David G. Hunter (eds.) The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Studies, Oxford 2008, pp. 491-517

Jacobs, Andrew S., 'Jews and Christians' in Harvey, Susan Ashbrook and David G. Hunter (eds.) The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Studies, Oxford 2008, pp. 169-185

Krawiec, Rebecca, 'Asceticism' in Harvey, Susan Ashbrook and David G. Hunter (eds.) The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Studies, Oxford 2008, pp. 764-785

Lee, A.D., 'Traditional Religions' in Lenski, Noel (ed.) The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Constantine, Cambridge 2006, pp. 159-179

Lenski, Noel, 'The reign of Constantine' in Lenski, Noel (ed.) The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Constantine, Cambridge 2006, pp. 59-90

MacMullen, Ramsay, Christianity & Paganism in the Fourth to Eighth Centuries, New Haven and London 1997

Pagels, Elaine, Adam, Eve and the Serpent, Sex and Politics in Early Christianity, New York 1989, pp. 57-97

Partrick, Theodore Hall, Traditional Egyptian Christianity, Greensboro 1996, pp. 1-50

Price, Richard M., 'Martyrdom and the Cult of Saints' in Harvey, Susan Ashbrook and David G. Hunter (eds.) The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Studies, Oxford 2008, pp. 808-825

Rutgers, L., 'Archaeological Evidence for the Interaction of Jews and Non-Jews in Late Antiquity'. In: American Journal of Archaeology, Vol. 96, No. 1 (Jan., 1992), pp. 101-118

KW 05 has detailed knowledge of selected late antique communities, including terminology, theories and methodology in the field of archaeology

KW 09 knows and understands the basic methods of analysis and interpretation of various cultural products appropriate for selected traditions, theories and research schools in the field of archaeology

KW 11 knows and understands the basic methods of analysis and interpretation of information contained in scientific publications.

KW 12 knows and understands the basic methods of analysing ancient, medieval or modern texts.

KU 01 can search, analyse, evaluate, select and use information about archaeological sources and their context using literature and electronic media

KU 02 can search, analyse, evaluate, select and use the information contained in various sources

KU 05 can independently acquire knowledge and develop skills in the field of complexity and the contribution of culture to human evolution

KK 01 is ready to use his knowledge and skills and is aware of the need to confront them with the opinions of experts