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The Cult of Saint Thecla

A Tradition of Women's Piety in Late Antiquity

Stephen J Davis author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Oxford University Press

Published:2nd Oct '08

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The Cult of Saint Thecla cover

Thecla, a disciple of the apostle Paul, became perhaps the most celebrated female saint and 'martyr' among Christians in late antiquity. In the early church, Thecla's example was associated with the piety of women - in particular, with women's ministry and travel. Devotion to Saint Thecla quickly spread throughout the Mediterranean world: her image was painted on walls of tombs, stamped on clay flasks and oil lamps, engraved on bronze crosses and wooden combs, and even woven into textile curtains. Bringing together literary, artistic, and archaeological evidence, often for the first time, Stephen Davis here reconstructs the cult of Saint Thecla in Asia Minor and Egypt - the social practices, institutions, and artefacts that marked the lives of actual devotees. From this evidence the author shows how the cult of this female saint remained closely linked with communities of women as a source of empowerment and a cause of controversy.

ISBN: 9780199548712

Dimensions: 216mm x 139mm x 16mm

Weight: 408g

304 pages