Simon J V Malloch
Sub Specie Aeternitatis
And Man Created God: Kings, Cults, and Conquests at the Time of Jesus
By Selina O’Grady
Atlantic Books 393pp £20
In AD 390 the Christian Roman Emperor Theodosius I was held responsible for the massacre of seven thousand people in Thessalonica in retaliation for the murder of one of his generals during a riot. When Ambrose, Bishop of Milan, learnt of the slaughter, he threatened Theodosius with excommunication, and after seven months of penance the emperor was readmitted to the pale of the church. In 1619–20 Anthony van Dyck vividly captured the bishop’s power in a painting that showed Ambrose barring Theodosius from entering the cathedral at Milan.
Christianity had come a long way since the first century AD. Christians’ strict belief in their God forbade them from making sacrifices to the emperor and the pagan gods. In the early days they tended not to participate in public life, and could not practise their religion openly. There was
Sign Up to our newsletter
Receive free articles, highlights from the archive, news, details of prizes, and much more.@Lit_Review
Follow Literary Review on Twitter
Twitter Feed
London's East End was long synonymous with poverty and sweatshops, while its West End was associated with glamour and high society. But when it came to the fashion industry, were the differences really so profound?
Sharman Kadish - Winkle-pickers & Bum Freezers
Sharman Kadish: Winkle-pickers & Bum Freezers - Fashion City: How Jewish Londoners Shaped Global Style; Fashion City: ...
literaryreview.co.uk
In 1982, Donald Rumsfeld presented Saddam Hussein with a pair of golden spurs. Two decades later he was dropping bunker-busting bombs on his palaces.
Where did the US-Iraqi relationship go wrong?
Rory Mccarthy - The Case of the Vanishing Missiles
Rory Mccarthy: The Case of the Vanishing Missiles - The Achilles Trap: Saddam Hussein, the United States and the ...
literaryreview.co.uk
Barbara Comyns was a dog breeder, a house painter, a piano restorer, a landlady... And a novelist.
@nclarke14 on the lengths 20th-century women writers had to go to make ends meet:
Norma Clarke - Her Family & Other Animals
Norma Clarke: Her Family & Other Animals - Barbara Comyns: A Savage Innocence by Avril Horner
literaryreview.co.uk