"The eleventh volume in this series examines New Testament Apocryphal texts, including the Acts of Paul and Thecla, the Acts of John, the Acts of Peter, the Martyrdom of Perpetua, the Acts of Xanthippe and Polyxena, the Acts of Andrew, the Acts of Thomas, and the Apocalypse of Peter, as well as the Irish apocrypha and the Greek novels. In this diverse collection the contributors utilize a variety of approaches to explore topics such as the construction of Christian identity, the Christian martyr, heterodoxy and orthodoxy, conjugal ethics and apostolic homewreckers, trials and temptations, the rhetoric of the body, asceticism, and eroticism." "This volume includes contributions by Daniel Boyarin, Jan N. Bremmer, Susan A. Calef, Jill C. Gorman, Cornelia B. Horn, Andrew S. Jacobs, Dennis R. MacDonald, Magda Misset-van de Weg, Caroline T. Schroeder, Gail P.C. Steete, Richard Valantasis, and Johannes N. Vorster. There is an introduction by the editor and a comprehensive bibliography. Book jacket."--BOOK JACKET.