ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Chronicle of the Last Pagans Book Review

Updated on January 24, 2009

Chronicle of the Last Pagans by Pierre Chuvin

A Chronicle of the Last Pagans,

by Pierre Chuvin and translated into English by B.A. Archer

Published by Harvard University Press, London, 1990.

This book, written by Pierre Chuvin, who has written on such diverse subjects as Greek mythology, the art of central Asia, the place that women hold in Islam, and Samarkand, comes well founded in the depth of research that only a scholar tends to provide. It is just this research that Chuvin brings to the scholastic table that add the strengths, overall, and some of the weakness to the reading.

First, the weaknesses of the book. It’s simply not for everyone, as it is a somewhat dry read, unless one is completely enamored of such history. However, this is not to say that the book will not lend itself to beginning an interest in the ancient pagans of the western world, or of continuing such pleasure.

Yet while this characteristic may be seen as disparaging by some, it is also the greatest power that Chuvin brings to the book. For in this volume, the reader is able to learn of the continual antagonism between pagans (a broad term for numerous religions, generally of a polytheistic, often nature-oriented mood) and Christians, and even Jews, to a point.

In fact, anyone interested in early Christianity or paganism will find this work replete with authoritative facts, without slanting its view for or against any one religion or viewpoint. This objective stance lends itself to Pagans, Jews, and Christians alike, particularly as it does not seek merely to map the antagonisms between the differing groups, but also the areas where diplomacy and respect also rear their heads.

Of special interest regarding early Christianity are the Arian Heresy and the place that it held in Christianity, much as alluded to by Dan Brown in his controversial book “The DaVinci Code.” In fact, from this reading, which predated Brown’s book by almost 2 decades, it is apparent that Aryanism held great sway on the minds of many of the people, including Christian sacerdotes and emperors, such as one of Constantine the Great’s sons, and also the last pagan emperor, Julian. At one point one realizes that Brown was right about some of his points, such as that Aryanism almost became the status quo in Christian thought.

As a final thought, it is a bit unfortunate that there are no photographs or drawings indicating some of the glorious statuary that pagan sculptors and patrons had created, particularly as Chuvin is something of an expert, at least in certain areas of art, if not of those produced by pagans.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)