From the 'Domus' to the 'Spectaculum': Family and Martyrship in Early Christianity

Abstract

Early Christian martyr discourse combines two discursive practices, namely that of the household and the spectacle. How and why these practices are used in martyr discourse is enquired from the perspective of the dominance and pervasiveness of Roman normative culture and its formative effects on emerging early Christianity. Two martyr narratives namely the Passion of Perpetua and Felicitas and the Martyrs of Lyons are analysed to determine how household discourse has been integrated into the framework of the spectacle.