The last enemy to be destroyed is Death (1 Corinthians 15:26)
The story of ancient Christianity hinges on the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Early Christian thinkers, whether the authors of the gospels, Paul, authors of martyr narratives, or even later patristic writers, each addressed the topic of death (and thus, bodily resurrection) in their own ways. The gospels treat the death and resurrection of Christ as a part of Jewish tradition; Paul discusses the mechanics of resurrection with his congregations; and martyr narratives participated in the trope of ‘Noble Death’ while simultaneously memorializing the dead. This is all to say, Christian conceptions of death did not emerge out of a vacuum. These discourses on death came from the active discussions of death in the Mediterranean context of ancient Christianity’s emergence.
How does Jewish literature inform Jesus’ death on the cross? How do martyr narratives play into the archetypes of Greek tragedies and Jewish revolt? How did ancient Christians represent Christ’s death in their visual and material cultures? As we explore these topics together, let us learn about ancient ways of dying and the last enemy of ancient Christians: Death.
“Baptistery wall painting: Procession of women” from Dura-Europos, ca. 240-45 AD. Currently on display at the Yale University Art Gallery (1932.1201c). Each woman holds a torch in her right hand and a bowl in her left. It is unclear what they are approaching, but it is possible that they are walking towards the empty tomb of Christ on the day of his resurrection.
How to Use this Website
Each page on this website acts as one instructional unit. These units take the user through the story of ancient Christianity and its relationship with death. Each unit likewise includes visual, material, textual, and sonic pieces of evidence to illuminate the sensorial world of the Mediterranean out of which Christian conceptions of death were born. Furthermore, you will notice that this webpage uses BC (before Christ) and AD (anno domini) rather than BCE (before the common era) and CE (common era). This is a deliberate choice to emphasize the way life and death (namely, Jesus’ life and death) have shaped the very way we count time, and thus, our lives.
The Object Studies page, while undeveloped in this version of the website, serves as a place for weekly blog posts regarding specific objects or images related to the topic of death in the ancient world.
Note on the music: Petros Tabouris is an acclaimed Greek musician who recreates and performs traditional Greek music (and especially, Byzantine music). This is his rendition of a traditional Byzantine funerary mass song.
