Maria‐Zoe Petropoulou
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199218547
- eISBN:
- 9780191711503
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199218547.003.0006
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, European History: BCE to 500CE
The chapter summarizes Christian attitudes toward animal sacrifice in the first two centuries AD, with regard to both Greek and Jewish religion, and with a clear distinction between the period before ...
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The chapter summarizes Christian attitudes toward animal sacrifice in the first two centuries AD, with regard to both Greek and Jewish religion, and with a clear distinction between the period before AD 70 and the period after AD 70. As regards the Christian teaching towards pagan addressees, the preaching against the offering of sacrifices mainly comes to the fore in the Apologetics of the 2nd century. Similarly, the Christian objection to Jewish animal sacrifice is explicitly expressed only in the 2nd century AD, but traces of it are found already in the 1st century. Second-century attestations show Christians abstaining from sacrifices, something which played a role in their being arrested or condemned by the pagan authorities. Special attention is also paid to the issue of sacrificial metaphors as a factor contributory to the alienation of worshipers from the practical aspects of animal sacrifice.Less
The chapter summarizes Christian attitudes toward animal sacrifice in the first two centuries AD, with regard to both Greek and Jewish religion, and with a clear distinction between the period before AD 70 and the period after AD 70. As regards the Christian teaching towards pagan addressees, the preaching against the offering of sacrifices mainly comes to the fore in the Apologetics of the 2nd century. Similarly, the Christian objection to Jewish animal sacrifice is explicitly expressed only in the 2nd century AD, but traces of it are found already in the 1st century. Second-century attestations show Christians abstaining from sacrifices, something which played a role in their being arrested or condemned by the pagan authorities. Special attention is also paid to the issue of sacrificial metaphors as a factor contributory to the alienation of worshipers from the practical aspects of animal sacrifice.
Jan N. Bremmer and Andrew Erskine
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748637980
- eISBN:
- 9780748670758
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748637980.003.0024
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Ancient Religions
Greek gods and polytheism as a distinctive feature of Graeco-Roman culture and religion was a favourite theme among the Christian Apologists of the second century AD. This chapter analyses both their ...
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Greek gods and polytheism as a distinctive feature of Graeco-Roman culture and religion was a favourite theme among the Christian Apologists of the second century AD. This chapter analyses both their approaches to Greek deities and the evolution of motifs, which oscillate between the rigid criticism of idolatry based on Jewish lore and a richer rational censure of anthropomorphism originating in Greek philosophy.Less
Greek gods and polytheism as a distinctive feature of Graeco-Roman culture and religion was a favourite theme among the Christian Apologists of the second century AD. This chapter analyses both their approaches to Greek deities and the evolution of motifs, which oscillate between the rigid criticism of idolatry based on Jewish lore and a richer rational censure of anthropomorphism originating in Greek philosophy.
