Looking Ahead

An Introduction

A little painting on the wall of a small house in Pompeii is one of the most delightful artifacts among the many treasures buried by the volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in the late first century. The painting (shown below) depicts two little cupids pulling rings and a mirror out of a jewelry box and examining them with curiosity.

That charming vignette can serve as an analogy of what transpires in this book. Like those two cupids, the chapters of this book pull out selected archaeological resources from the treasure chest of Vesuvian artifacts, examining them for what they reveal about the ancient Roman world. Moreover, when configured in relation to selected texts of early Christianity, those artifacts (graffiti, inscriptions, statues, temples, paintings, tombs, and more) help to foster fresh angles of vision regarding the slow but steady rise of early Jesus-devotion within its earliest historical contexts. Relating texts of the early Jesus-movement to selected Vesuvian resources offers the opportunity to explore ways in which Jesus-devotion was getting a foothold within that world and, at times, infusing fresh resources into it.

Figure Intro.1. Two cupids inspecting jewelry and a mirror (from the House of the Prince of Naples in Pompeii, located at 6.15.8; for an explanation of this numbering system [Fiorelli’s], see chapter 3 under the heading “Designations Frequently Used”)

In the process, readers of this book may learn as much about Pompeii as they do about the early followers of Jesus and the theological library they bequeathed to the world (that is, the New Testament). That will be no bad thing, since understanding how an ancient urban center “worked” will inevitably help to highlight the issues of Christianity’s emergence within similar urban centers throughout the Mediterranean world of the first century.

Figure Intro.2. Mount Vesuvius today rising above the Bay of Naples (see credits)

If readers of this book are anything like the author of this book, they will find what lies ahead to be a stimulating journey of discovery. I am sometimes asked whether I consider myself to be a researcher of early Christianity or of the Vesuvian towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum. Because the two are not mutually exclusive, I usually respond by saying that I consider myself to be a better scholar of early Jesus-devotion precisely because I am also a scholar of the Vesuvian towns. It is my hope that readers of this book will also come to a better understanding of the early Jesus-movement as the Vesuvian towns become increasingly familiar.