The ancient martyrdom accounts of Peter and Paul

"Peter and Paul are the two most famous and arguably the most important of all Christian martyrs. In spite of their notoriety, no contemporary accounts of their deaths survive, so historians depend on later narratives for reconstructing the ends of the apostles' lives. Traditionally the Acts of Peter and the Acts of Paul have been the basis for such reconstructions, but these are not the only ancient martyrdom stories that survive. This book brings together for the first time these and more than a dozen other ancient Greek, Latin, and Syriac accounts, along with over forty references to the martyrdoms from early Christian literature. featuring new English translations with the original text on facing pages, the volume includes an introduction and notes for each text, a bibliography, and an index. At last a more complete picture of the traditions about the deaths of peter and Paul is able to emerge."--Back cover.