The acclamation "Christians to the lions" that is alleged to have been chanted by spectators in the amphitheatre encapsulates, for many, the pagan impulse to persecute the early church. Employing both text and image, this lecture looks at the phenomenon of martyrdom from the perspective of the Roman authorities and the audience, in order to assess the challenge that martyrdom posed to the value system underpinning Roman society. This lecture is open to the public and made possible by the Beattie Lecture Fund.

Kathleen M. Coleman is the James Loeb Professor of the Classics and Director of Undergraduate Studies at the Department of the Classics, Harvard University.