The Library
1693 works catalogued century by century, from the literature the Bible was written among to the present — each with a note on what it is, why it lasted, and where to read it.
300–201 BC
1 work
c. 300–200 BC
Hebrew or Greek
Anonymous
A warning to exiles bound for Babylon not to fear the idols carried in procession there. Seventy-two verses of relentless mockery, each closing with a refrain: they are not gods, so do not fear them. Their tongues are polished by carpenters, they cannot save themselves from rust, bats and swallows perch on their heads.
200–101 BC
1 work
c. 150–100 BC
Greek
Anonymous
Daniel proves the idol Bel does not eat by scattering ashes on the temple floor overnight and showing the king the footprints of the priests and their families, then kills a living dragon by feeding it cakes of pitch, fat, and hair.
100–1 BC
1 work
c. 50 BC – AD 20
Greek
Anonymous
Written in Alexandria in the voice of Solomon. The ungodly reason that life is short and set a trap for the righteous man who calls himself a child of God; Wisdom is described as a breath of the power of God and a spotless mirror; and idolatry is traced to a grieving father who made an image of his dead child.
1–100
1 work
c. 70–150
Hebrew, surviving in Slavonic
Anonymous
Abraham smashes his father's idols, then is taken up by the angel Yahoel to see the throne, the fall, and the burning of the temple — with Azazel presiding over the nations and a strange figure worshipped by both Jews and Gentiles.
101–200
1 work
c. 197–200
Latin
De Spectaculis
Tertullian · c. 155–c. 220
An argument that the theatre, the circus, and the arena are inseparable from the idolatry and cruelty that fund them, and that no Christian can attend innocently.
201–300
3 works
c. 203–211
Latin
De Idololatria
Tertullian · c. 155–c. 220
A hard look at which trades a Christian may follow in a city where idolatry is woven into commerce, teaching, civic office, and the making of statues.
c. 247
Latin
De Idolorum Vanitate
Cyprian of Carthage · c. 210–258
A brisk argument that the gods were once men, that demons animate their images, and that the one God is known through Christ — much of it condensed from Tertullian and Minucius Felix.
c. 250
Latin
De Spectaculis
Novatian · c. 200 – c. 258
Against believers who defended going to the games by pointing out that scripture nowhere forbids it — and who cited David dancing and Elijah's chariot as precedent. Novatian answers that idolatry is the mother of all the shows, whatever has since been built on top of it.
301–400
1 work
c. 318
Greek
Contra Gentes
Athanasius of Alexandria · c. 296–373
The first half of a two-part work, arguing that idolatry is a fall from the knowledge of God available through the soul and the order of creation.
601–700
1 work
c. 640; survives in fragments
Greek
Leontius of Neapolis · c. 590 – c. 650
An answer to the charge of idolatry, arguing that Christians do not worship wood but honour what it depicts, as a man kisses a letter from an absent son and honours the son rather than the paper — and pointing to the cherubim God himself commanded for the ark.
1501–1600
1 work
1529
German
Martin Luther · 1483–1546
The same material expounded at length for pastors and heads of households, opening with the claim that whatever your heart clings to is your god.
11 of 1693 works