ABSTRACT
Though little remains of them above ground today, the early Christian basilica and cemetery sites in Carthage conrm that Christians in Augustine’s day and beyond sought out the company of the martyrs and saints both in life and in death. In the imaginal postmortem paradise revealed in the visionary realm, martyrs come to occupy a place of some prominence by the middle of the third century in Carthage. In addition to the Good Shepherd and enthroned Lord, Perpetua and Saturus both report the presence of many unnamed martyrs. In the Cyprianic age, martyr visionaries see divine messengers, but also other recently deceased martyrs whom they mention by name, most prominently Cyprian himself. In Marian’s near-death vision, Cyprian accompanies him through beautiful meadows and groves to a crystal spring, where Cyprian, like Perpetua’s Good Shepherd, offers Marian divine, life-giving refreshment. In his near-death vision, James journeys with Marian to paradise, where they join a martyrs’ banquet, which includes the recently deceased Agapius, and another recently executed martyr who wore a rose garland and carried a palm branch. In her vision, Quartillosa had seen her martyred son at the prison water trough, where she received two cups of paradisal milk as a sign of her coming rebirth in paradise.
