Forerunners and Rivals of Christianity: Being Studies in Religious History from 330 B.c. to 330 A.d., Vol. 2 (of 2)

Legge's 1915 study reconstructs the chaotic religious world that gave birth to Christianity. Beginning in 330 BCE with Alexander's conquests and continuing through the formation of orthodox Christian doctrine around 330 CE, he maps the collision between Jewish prophecy, Greek mystery cults, and emerging Christian communities. The book centers on Gnosticism: those radical, mystical sects who believed in secret knowledge (gnosis) as the path to salvation, whose ideas so thoroughly permeated early Christianity that the Church was forced to define itself in opposition to them. Legge traces the Essenes and their monastic practices, the Orphic mystery traditions, the Ophite serpent-worshippers, and the notorious Simon Magus, showing how these groups weren't mere background noise but active participants in shaping what would become 'orthodoxy.' The tension between apocalyptic expectation and philosophical accommodation drives the narrative: when the immediate return of Christ failed to materialize, many converts turned to blending their faith with Hellenistic mystery religions. This remains essential reading for anyone curious about how Christianity defined itself by rejecting its closest relatives.