This introductory chapter sets out the book’s purpose, which is to provide the reader with a contextualized overview of texts that fit the qualifications of an apology, instead of operating from a master list of apologists and their works. The relatively loose definition applied to this literature makes it impossible to provide a comprehensive treatment of all such texts. While this book mentions a number of ancient writings that have been considered apologies, it also shows that they better fit the broader category of polemic that in varied ways address Christian-pagan conflicts, but are not responding to a particular threat. The remainder of the chapter discusses titles of apologies, premodern apologia, and pagans and paganism.