The Acts of the Martyrs

This two-volume set includes Herbert Musurillo's critical editions, with translations and commentaries, of ancient martyr literature, survey the development of the genre, discussing the political and historical background which produced it and the relationship between the pagan and Christian Acta. These texts were written in the form of court records reporting the trials of Alexandrian heroes punished by the Roman authorities. Anti-Roman and often violently propagandist in tone, they reflect the political tensions experienced by the Greeks under German rule.