In Death, Burial and Rebirth in the Religions of Antiquity, Jon Davies charts the significance of death to the emerging religious cults in the pre-Christian and early Christian world. He analyses 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; 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. The volume offers a structured academic study of mortuary belief systems and ritual expression in the Mediterranean and Near Eastern worlds during the transition from polytheistic traditions to emerging monotheistic frameworks. The analysis is organised thematically, beginning with theoretical considerations concerning ritual symbolism and collective identity, followed by case studies drawn from temple cults, communal interment customs, and commemorative practices. Particular attention is given to theological reinterpretation of mortality, patterns of sacred narrative, and the institutionalisation of commemorative ceremonies.