From Autothanasia to Suicide: Self-killing in Classical Antiquity

Self-killing was as prevalent in the Graeco-Roman world as it is today, but its sociological profile, its motives and methods of execution were vastly different.From Autothanasia to Suicidedraws on over 1,000 case studies to explore the motivations for suicide, methods of self-killing, and relates them to ancient popular morality as they are represented in various media. Van Hooff debunks popular misconceptions about ancient attitudes toward life and death, and shows how the Christian abhorrence of suicide differs significantly from the classical notion of autothanasia.