Citizens of the Earth : Pagans and Their Gods in Augustine's North Africa (Oxford Studies in Late Antiquity)

Gassman, Mattias P.

Oxford University Press Inc（2026/04発売）

• 製本 Hardcover:ハードカバー版／ページ数 336 p.
• 言語 ENG
• 商品コード 9780197805633

Full Description

Citizens of the Earth presents the first comprehensive account of Augustine's engagement with traditional Roman religion. A multifaceted case-study in the Christianization of the Roman Empire, it anchors Augustine's works in their intellectual and social context, narrating political and intellectual renegotiation of the public cults of North Africa from the 390s until after Augustine's death in 430. At the same time, it tests modern conceptions of the role of religious conviction and religious difference in late antique society against the ideas of one of the most influential late Roman thinkers.

Approaching Augustine simultaneously as thinker, practical preacher, and observer of his North African world, Citizens of the Earth synthesizes Augustine's ideas about religion from sermons and treatises, describes how his polemical approach to the Roman gods developed across his career, and reconstructs competing ideas developed by his interlocutors. It emphasizes pagan conviction and lay religiosity, argues that we should see Augustine's polemics as attempts at practical outreach and persuasion, and stresses the importance of conversion for understanding the pagan-Christian boundary.

The book closes with both historical and theoretical conclusions. After proposing that the Vandalic conquest of Carthage (439) marked a final ending point for traditional, public religiosity in North Africa, it considers how Augustine's contributions can still inform modern approaches to late antique religion.

Contents

Acknowledgments

Abbreviations

Introduction

Part I: Rethinking religious difference in Augustine's world

1. A late antique model of religion
2. Between pagan and Christian
3. Debating traditional religion

Part II: A pivotal decade

4. Navigating through the retreat of public cult
5. Charting a place for Rome's religion before City of God

Part III: The gods and the City of God
6. Rethinking Rome after 410
7. Rethinking the nature of the gods
8. Skirting the edge of Euhemerism

Part IV: Historical epilogue and conclusion
9. The end of Roman religion in North Africa

Concluding reflections

Appendix - Chronological survey of Augustine's writing on paganism

Works Cited
Primary sources
Secondary studies