Afterlife in Early Christian Carthage

<p><em>The Afterlife in Early Christian Carthage</em> explores how the visionary experiences of early Christian martyrs shaped and informed early Christian ancestor cult and the construction of the cemetery as paradise. Taking the early Christian cemeteries in Carthage as a case study, the volume broadens our understanding of the historical and cultural origins of the early Christian cult of the saints, and highlights the often divergent views about the dead and post-mortem realms expressed by the church fathers, and in graveside ritual and the material culture of the cemetery. This fascinating study is a key resource for students of late antique and early Christian culture.</p> <p><em>Acknowledgments</em></p><p><em>List of Figures</em></p><p><em>Introduction</em></p><p>Chapter 1: Rebirthing Paradise in the Sacred Space of Vision and Cemetery</p><p>Chapter 2: Ghosts, Graveside Dining, and Dreams of Paradise: Mediterranean Ancestor Cult in the Early Christian Period</p><p>Chapter 3: Mediterranean Ancestor Cult in Carthage: Hungry Ghosts and the Roman Cemetery as Other World</p><p>Chapter 4: Dining, Divining, and Divorcing the Dead: The Age of Tertullian and Perpetua</p><p>Chapter 5: The Age of Cyprian: Burial Clubs and Banquets in Paradise</p><p>Chapter 6: The Age of Augustine: Burial ad sanctos, Graveside Parties, and the Abodes of Body and Soul after Death</p><p>Chapter 7: Christian Burial ad sanctos at Carthage: Pressing on to Heaven in the Paradisal Realm of the Cemetery</p><p>Chapter 8: Refreshment and Reunion in the Garden of Light: Sculpting Paradise at the Grave</p><p><em>Conclusion</em></p><p><em>Bibliography</em></p><p><em>Index</em></p>