The Darkening Age: The Christian Destruction of the Classical World by Catherine Nixey takes the story of Christianity’s “triumph” and turns it on its head. The reader is taken on a journey through time where, piece by piece, the pagan Roman world is transformed.

I had always assumed that the rough condition of many ancient statues was primarily a function of age and rough handling by people who did not understand their value. Likewise, I attributed all of the lost literature to time, war, natural disasters, and general human carelessness. I’m sure those factors played a part, but I did not realize how much purposeful destruction was wreaked upon Greek and Roman art during Christianity’s rise to power. I suppose it really should not have surprised me.

After my initial shock, the primary emotions I felt throughout this book were an ebb and flow of grief and rage. For each thing preserved from ancient Rome, a hundred more were destroyed. How many great works of art, literature, and science did we lose? How many decades or even centuries of advancement did they hobble? It saddens me to think of all the books we’ll never read because some preacher or bishop decided to burn them.

Some may find Nixey’s condemnation of the early church heavy-handed, perhaps even a little rage-baity. Indeed, I found myself having to step away from the book at times. But I think it is important to see these events through the eyes of the pagan beholder—and not the victors who wrote the history books. And yet, because so much pagan writing was lost, Nixey must condemn the church fathers largely through their own words.

Speaking of sources; the citations, footnotes, and bibliography for The Darkening Age are extensive. I thought I still had almost half the book left when it ended, only to discover it was all back matter!

The writing itself is very approachable rather than academic or stuffy. The way Nixey weaves the overall narrative of the early church with stories and anecdotes from individual writers is very engaging.

All in all, I would recommend the book to anyone with an interest in the subject matter.