INTRODUCTION

Subsequent chapters take on specific themes that I suggest were profoundly shaped by the accounts of the martyrs. I look at beliefs of immortality, magic, the association of martyrs with warfare, and dreams and visions. The experience of the martyrs also helped shape Western anti-Semitism as well as views of motherhood. This unlikely pairing has nothing in common except to demonstrate how little control we have over the consequences of dramatic acts. Finally, Section 1 ends with a chapter called “The Blood of Sacrifice,” which shows how (for better or worse) the very old idea of blood sacrifice entered into the Christian world.