Paganism in the Roman Empire

Ramsay MacMullen has published several books in recent years which establish him, rightfully, as a leading social historian of the Roman Empire. This volume exhibits many of the characteristics of its predecessors: the presentation of novel, revisionist points of view, discrete set pieces of trenchant argument which do not necessarily conform to the boundaries of traditional history; and an impressive, authoritative, and up-to-date documentation, especially rich in primary sources.

This book looks at Roman paganism as a phenomenon worthy of synthetic investigation in its own right and as the fundamental context for the rise of Christianity.