Tells the story of Vibia Perpetua's arrest and sentence to death after she converted to Christianity, and details the differences between Christianity and the pagan Roman religions of the early third century

In her study of the life and death of Perpetua, a third-century Christian martyr, Salisbury (history and humanities, Univ. of Wisconsin, Green Bay) examines the cultlike mentality that drove a 22-year-old woman with an infant son to turn away from her family and accept with enthusiasm a horrific death for her faith. Salisbury describes the social, political, and religious climate in Carthage that made Christianity so appealing to its disillusioned youth. In addition, pagan Rome's emphasis on magic and omens combined with the North African tradition of noble suicide to create a social dynamic in which public death in the arena would be viewed as not only acceptable but also desirable. Utilizing Perpetua's prison diary as well as an eyewitness account of her final hours, Salisbury analyzes the martyr's "passion," her recorded dreams and visions, in relation to these existing forces. The impact of her death on those who witnessed the event as well as those who heard about it became apparent in the veneration bestowed on Perpetua by her contemporaries and in the efforts of patriarchal church leaders like Augustine, who tried to minimize her strength and leadership qualities. This remarkably objective, insightful piece of scholarship is highly recommended for all public and academic libraries.?Rose Cichy, Osterhout Free Lib., Wilkes-Barre Pa. Copyright 1998 Cahners Business Information.

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Vibia Perpetua is remembered to this day as a saint and martyr of the early Christian church, who was "condemned to the beasts" in the amphitheater at Carthage in North Africa in 203 A.D. Drawing largely from Perpetua's well-preserved prison journal and an eyewitness account of her execution, University of Wisconsin professor of medieval history Salisbury (Church Fathers; Independent Virgins) reanimates this ancient history. How could a 22-year-old, well-educated, "respectably married" mother walk confidently into the arena to face a violent death? In a refreshing contrast with countless insipid hagiographies, Salisbury's well-annotated look at Perpetua's martyrdom is clear, thorough, insightful and less a portrait of the person than of the socio-politico-religious context in which she lived and died. The last chapter discusses how this martyrdom changed or failed to change the Carthaginian church and the Roman Empire itself. Of particular interest is the development of commentaries and apologetics around the text in later centuries; once Christians were no longer persecuted, theologians like Augustine did their own violence to the martyrs' legacies as they adapted the anti-imperial heroes to a pro-imperial church. Salisbury's sharp analysis strips away generations of patriarchal revisionism to let the young Roman matron speak for herself. What emerges from this thoroughly engrossing study is a sense of how radically different the early Christian experience was, and how that changed over time. Illustrated. (Dec.) Copyright 1998 Publishers Weekly Reviews