A review by me300k_h1st
Pagans: The End of Traditional Religion and the Rise of Christianity by James J. O'Donnell

5.0

This is a great introduction to the prejudices that people can come across when they're new to reading about late Roman and early Christian history. It doesn't assume you have very much background knowledge which is perfect for me. It doesn't sugar coat problems but also tries to be fair to the people who lived in a time period with circumstances that are sometimes foreign and other times all too familiar to inhabitants of the twenty-first century. He tries to contextualize the choices of each individual so that their choices make sense, whether or not any given individual modern would agree with them. It helps me analyze how the history of ideas and discourse affects the way I speak of my own life. I appreciate the author for writing this book.