This work charts the significance of death to the emerging religious cults in the pre-Christian and early Christian world. The author analyzes the varied burial rituals and examines the different notions of the afterlife. Among the areas covered are: Osiris and Isis: the life theology of Ancient Egypt; burying the Jewish dead; Roman religion and Roman funerals; early Christian burial; and the nature of martyrdom. Jon Davies also draws on the sociological theory of Max Weber to present a comprehensive introduction to and overview of death, burial and the afterlife in the first Christian centuries which offers insights into the relationship between social change and attitudes to death and dying.