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265 reviews for:
The Darkening Age: The Christian Destruction of the Classical World
Catherine Nixey
3.97 AVERAGE
265 reviews for:
The Darkening Age: The Christian Destruction of the Classical World
Catherine Nixey
3.97 AVERAGE
informative
medium-paced
This book was incredibly informative and captivating. Reading about early Christian destruction of temples and vandalism of statues was very disturbing. The author’s writing is compelling and provocative. What she writes about is something that has been lost over the centuries. Many people do not even know about the way Christians used their religion as a way to destroy everything and anyone who didn’t align with their beliefs. This book is very important in order to understand where this ideology and mindset comes from. It is very sad to imagine the numerous statues, temples, paintings, philosophical writings, artifacts and teachings that have been lost to us because of the annihilation of the classical world. The author reveals illiterate, intolerant and ignorance as the basis of the destruction of the Romans and their lives. Overall, this book is beautifully written, very readable, and thoughtful. It really gives an insight into the rise of Christianity and the terrible cost. It should not be thought of as a triumph but a total annihilation.
informative
medium-paced
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
So I finally finished this book and I actually enjoyed it a lot! My partner had a change of reading it a couple of months ago and he really liked it and recommended it to me. I finally was able to get from the library and give it a go.
I like that the author took care of giving notes and sources for all the information. We can see that the authors type of writing is not a history book and more a journalist approach since she takes a special focus on giving the reader a sense of what happening and making the reader relate to the situations that the people are going through, instead of just presenting the data in an academical fashion. However, I liked this approach and, contrary to what other reviews I've seen say, I don't think this is as biased as they're saying. None of what the author said is a lie. All those things happened and the author takes care to provide sources, whether from classical and religious text or from other academic sources.
Overall I enjoyed this book and I hope to get a copy for myself to add to my personal library.
I like that the author took care of giving notes and sources for all the information. We can see that the authors type of writing is not a history book and more a journalist approach since she takes a special focus on giving the reader a sense of what happening and making the reader relate to the situations that the people are going through, instead of just presenting the data in an academical fashion. However, I liked this approach and, contrary to what other reviews I've seen say, I don't think this is as biased as they're saying. None of what the author said is a lie. All those things happened and the author takes care to provide sources, whether from classical and religious text or from other academic sources.
Overall I enjoyed this book and I hope to get a copy for myself to add to my personal library.
informative
medium-paced
informative
fast-paced
Really enjoyable insight into the effect of Christianity on Roman culture. Felt slightly overblown in places, but the shocking nature made it more gripping I think. I’m going to some more reading around Ancient Rome because I’m a nerd and love mythology.
emotional
informative
sad
Some interesting research but I wasn't sold on the writing style or the thrust of the narrative. Nixey is clearly passionate about early Christian suppression of pagan religions however I found the polemical style of writing a bit off-putting.