SuperSummary, a modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, offers high-quality instructional study guides for challenging works of literature. This audio study guide for The City of God by Augustine of Hippo includes detailed summary and analysis of each chapter and an in-depth exploration of the book’s multiple symbols, motifs, and themes such as the failings of paganism, Platonism, and the consolations of Christianity. Featured content also includes commentary on major characters, 25 important quotes, essay questions, and discussion topics. 

Begun in 413 AD, only a few years after the Sack of Rome, The City of God is Augustine’s rejoinder to pagan misconceptions of Christianity. In the aftermath of a disastrous and unprecedented attack on Rome by the Vandals, many Roman citizens blamed Christians, saying that the pagan gods demanded sacrifice and worship that the Christian population denied them. Augustine replies to these accusations not only by pointing out their inconsistency, but by mounting an attack on pagan religion and providing a contrasting account of the consolations and truthfulness of Christianity.

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