Not all victims of tyranny and persecution become martyrs,
nor are all martyrs victims of tyranny. What social and political conditions
foster the choice of martyrdom? What cultural values drive this form
of self-immolation? What's worth dying for? In antiquity, the word "martyr"
meant an active "witness." Today, it can mean a passive "victim." Our
approach uses cross-cultural comparisons and psychoanalytic theory to
help understand how martyrdom shaped the history and culture of antique
Europe and Japan. Subjects: Imperial suicides, child sacrifice, political
martyrs, gladiators, Samuri and kamikaze, women martyrs, soldiers, and
virgins.
