Book Reviews

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texts, the transition in cultures from oral traditions to written literature, and the development of ethnic identity in ancient Israel. Moreover, Smith is meticulous in citing his sources; thus scholarly readers will find a thorough and current bibliog-raphy of each topic he addresses.

Students and interested laypeople ex-pecting to encounter a straightforward dis-cussion of “warriors and warrior culture,” as the book’s title indicates, may be occa-sionally frustrated. The careful discussions of methodology and multiple explorations of loosely-related topics that recommend his book so highly to scholars may not be as welcome to those outside of academic circles. Moreover, from time to time the connections Smith draws between his pe-ripheral concerns and his primary subject matter are not especially clear, as in his several page discussion of the emblematic animal most associated with the goddess ‘Athtart, the lioness (204–08).

In sum, with its breadth of focus and fearless willingness to explore oft-debated topics, Smith’s book is essential for bibli-cal scholars and ancient historians. Oth-ers who are brought to the book by an interest in ancient warfare and warriors will certainly find much of value, although they should be prepared to glean this ma-terial selectively from among an impres-sive panoply of other topics.

Stephen WilsonDuke University

Durham, NC 27708

Crisis and Ambition: Tombs and Burial Customs in Third-Century ce Rome. By Barbara E. Borg. Oxford Studies in Ancient Culture and Representa-tion. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013. Pp. xx + 308. Cloth, $185.00.

The study of Roman antiquity and the study of early Christianity are more often than not two entirely separate fields that seldom cross, though in recent years there has been more effort on the part of schol-ars of early Christianity to interact with those of Roman history in order better to understand the Christian material in its context. While there are many studies of early Christian burial art and practices, rarely does the student of early Christi-anity have occasion to see the Christian material treated by a Roman scholar as one development among many within the broader context of ancient Rome, that is, as something that belonged there. Such is the case here, however, and the result is rewarding for both interests.

Barbara Borg, Professor of Classical Archaeology at the University of Exeter, examines the evidence for burial practices during the third century ce, that impor-tant time between imperial power at its highest and the transition to late antiquity brought on in the fourth century. It so happens that the third century is also an important transition time for Christianity, which appears still in the late second cen-tury as loosely organized in small commu-nities but emerges in the fourth century poised to assume imperial control.

In the third century, two new customs in burial practices begin that will have im-portant consequences later: first, already early in the century an apparent lack of space drives owners of private burial plots to create hypogea, underground chambers in which their family burials continue; second, some so-called “egali-tarian” burials begin to appear, probably first among members of the extended imperial household, whereby burials are not distinguished by status, wealth, or family cohesion, but all receive the same

treatment in space shared by seemingly unrelated persons. A century later, these practices would develop into extensive combined common systems, the Jewish and Christian “catacombs.” At the same time, though, elaborately carved sarcoph-agi continue to be used both above and below ground. One of the puzzles for the scholar today is why so much time and money was sometimes spent on a beauti-fully sculpted sarcophagus to be placed in an underground family vault with very limited viewing access.

Another tendency that appears in third-century burial iconography is a shift away from themes emphasizing the horror of death. Rather, more bucolic or pastoral themes are favored: shepherds, fishermen, and other scenes of happiness. There is also at this period increased use of the clypeus or circular bust of the deceased, a sort of “selfie,” at the center of the sar-cophagus front.

Many of what will later become pre-dominantly Christian burial areas were not so in their beginnings, and the earliest discussions about Christian burials do not suggest an immediate perception of the need for them to be together in exclusive groupings. What towards the end of this period are recognized by scholars as likely beginnings of Christian symbols in burial art, e.g., shepherd, dove, anchor, orante figure with raised hands, and inscription in pace must be seen as characteristically, but not exclusively, Christian, as they do sometimes appear elsewhere, whereas the appearance of undoubtedly biblical themes like the Jonah cycle or Daniel with lions in the late third century can be ex-plained only as Christian appropriation of the biblical stories. After this point, a single shepherd figure may transition from bucolic figure to Jesus as Good Shepherd,

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but this cannot be assumed. The shep-herd figure remains young, unbearded, and wearing a short tunic, just like his earlier pastoral representations. Christian iconography begins only when there are a significant number of wealthy Christians to make their presence visible. In the case of the famous Santa Maria Antiqua sar-cophagus of the late third century with its depiction of Jonah and the sacrifice of Abraham, “traditional motives of pietas and education have obtained a new signif-icance and focus as they might now refer to God and the Scriptures, but the more general ideas of the vita felix still prevail” (259) in shepherd, philosopher, and fe-male orante depicted on the sarcophagus along with the clearly biblical stories.

In summary, for those interested in the history of Christianity, some of the char-acteristics of Christian burials can already be seen in the third century that will pro-vide backdrop for later: the popularity of underground burial, group burials even in older reused tombs and now-dry cisterns, and greater use of images of happiness rather than death itself, all factors more widely developed as distinctive Christian themes emerged.

This is not a book for beginners; it is highly detailed and written for scholars already familiar with the field. But with its extensive discussions and 140 images and plans (some of which are so detailed that a magnifying glass is necessary), it is a feast for the reader who is seriously interested in the development of Roman burial practices, including those that would blossom into early Christianity.

Carolyn OsiekBrite Divinity School, Emerita

St. Louis, Missouri 63108

Didache: The Teaching of the Twelve

Apostles. By Clayton N. Jefford. Salem, OR: Polebridge, 2013. Pp. viii + 75. Paper, $18.00.

This book is the fifth volume in the series, “Early Christian Apocrypha” by Polebridge Press. Previous volumes have presented accessible, well edited editions of The Acts of Andrew, The Epistle of the Apostles, The Acts of Thomas, and The Acts of Peter. In this reviewer’s estimation, it is worthwhile to position the present book in relation to scholarship on the Di-dache. Doing so will indicate the distinc-tive features and utility of Jefford’s latest venture in Didache studies.

The manual of church life known as the Didache or Teaching (of the Lord through the Twelve Apostles to the Na-tions) was discovered in a Greek monas-tery in 1873, though the manuscript itself is dated to 1056. Estimates of the date of the material within the document range from mid-second century to mid-first cen-tury. The latter view is particularly ar-gued by Aaron Milavec, who will be men-tioned further below. English translations of the work appeared first in the 1891 edition by Lightfoot & Harmer, and then Lake’s 1912 version (with parallel Greek text) in the Loeb Classical Library. Lake’s work was substantially revised by Bart Ehrman in LCL’s 2003 version. A basic version by Kleist in the “Ancient Christian Writers” series appeared in 1948, and more substantial presentations were found in Goodspeed’s 1950 edition as well as Kraft’s version in volume 3 of Grant’s 1950 edition. In all of the above, the Didache was bundled together with other early texts of the so-called Apostolic Fathers tradition, typically the Epistle to Barnabas and other non-canonical early Christian texts.

More recently, we have seen the ap-pearance of stand-alone treatments of the Didache. Niederwimmer provided a criti-cal edition and commentary in the excel-lent “Hermeneia” series, 1998. Milavec gave us The Didache: Text, Translation, Analysis and Commentary in 2003. Jef-ford’s book therefore comes ten years after that of Milavec. Both Milavec and Jefford are well-respected, current scholars in Di-dache studies. Each has published articles and substantial books on the subject. How does Jefford’s work differ from that of pre-vious scholars, particularly Milavec?

Milavec provides a page-by-page Greek version with the English translation. In that respect, his book serves as a substitute for the Loeb library edition. Jefford does not provide the Greek text. Jefford and Milavec are similar in that their works each present a short but erudite discussion of the text. Milavec’s book is 112 pages, Jefford’s book has 75 pages. Each has an Introduction, though Jefford’s discussion here arguably is more substantial, particularly relating to manuscript versions in different languages. Milavec provides an effective, brief com-mentary, drawing on his much larger 2003 commentary on the Didache. Each author provides a bibliography. Milavec works closely with his thesis that the Didache is a first-century tradition, though Jefford is not adverse to that estimation. The principal difference between the two books is the use of source manuscripts. Milavec works entirely from the one Greek text, whereas Jefford provides a two-column treatment of the translated Greek alongside the later Latin version of the Apostolic Constitution, along with a variant Greek fragment (P. Oxy 1782) and a few Coptic fragments when relevant. Jefford’s work has an at-tractive page layout, which integrates the various versions, verse manuscript analysis,

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