Cover; Title; Copyright; Contents; Acknowledgments; List of classical works; Introduction; The terminology of martyrdom; The ancient theologies of martyrdom; 1 The psychoanalytic study of martyrdom; The psychoanalytic analysis of political power; The specific family romance of Second Maccabees; 2 The family romance as victory story; Second Maccabees as triumphalist history; Persecution as a triumphalist strategy; 3 Theologies of martyrdom recast authority and cult; The problem of too many kings; Temple cult in Second Maccabees: hierarchies of sacredness and power
4 Rereading sacrifice: human blood as a signHow did blood become a sign?; 5 The martyr's new sacrifice: solving the Maccabean sacrifice crisis; Killing within the family: reworking priestly taboos; 6 The happy ending of two wishes fulfilled; Wish #1: Male mothers and child-bearing fathers; Wish #2: The family reunites; Conclusions; Appendix 1: 2 Maccabees 7 :1-6, 20-42; Appendix 2: A speculative note on displacing women in religious myths and rites; Bibliography; Index
