From Ancient Rome to Colonial Mexico

“Fascinating and refreshing, From Ancient Rome to Colonial Mexico will be critical reading for experts in Christian, Mesoamerican, and colonial studies, as well as historians interested in the religious Medieval background of the conquest and evangelization of Cemanahuac.”

—Claudio García Ehrenfeld, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México

“An outstanding reference and a valuable contribution to a scarcely explored field.”

—Jaime Alvar Ezquerra, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid

From Ancient Rome to Colonial Mexico compares the Christianization of the Roman Empire with the evangelization of Mesoamerica, offering novel perspectives on the historical processes involved in the spread of Christianity. Combining concepts of empire and globalization with the notion of religion from a postcolonial perspective, the book proposes the method of analytical comparison as a point of departure to conceptualize historical affinities and differences between the ancient Roman Empire and colonial Mesoamerica.

An international team of specialists in classical scholarship and Mesoamerican studies engage in an interdisciplinary discussion involving ideas from history, anthropology, archaeology, art history, iconography, and philology. Key themes include the role of religion in processes of imperial domination; religion’s use as an instrument of resistance or the imposition, appropriation, incorporation, and adaptation of various elements of religious systems by hegemonic groups and subaltern peoples; the creative misunderstandings that can arise on the “middle ground”; and Christianity’s rejection of ritual violence and its use of this rejection as a pretext for inflicting other kinds of violence against peoples classified as “barbarian,” “pagan,”or “diabolical.”

From Ancient Rome to Colonial Mexico presents a sympathetic vantage point for discussing and attempting to decipher past processes of social communication in multicultural contexts of present-day realities.It will be significant for scholars and specialists in the history of religions, ethnohistory, classical antiquity, and Mesoamerican studies.

Thanks to the support of Spain’s Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness this ebook is available open access.