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/9780199218547.003.0005
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, European History: BCE to 500CE
This chapter introduces the world of Christians — who came from both the Greek religious environment (Gentile Christians) and Judaism (Jewish Christians) — but also from the group of pagans who were ...
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This chapter introduces the world of Christians — who came from both the Greek religious environment (Gentile Christians) and Judaism (Jewish Christians) — but also from the group of pagans who were ready to convert to Judaism (the so-called ‘God-fearers’). Emphasizing the multiplicity of backgrounds, the chapter aims at warning the reader that conclusions concerning early Christianity and its relation to animal sacrifice cannot be definite, especially as regards the Christians who lived in Jerusalem that is next to the Temple, before AD 70.Less
This chapter introduces the world of Christians — who came from both the Greek religious environment (Gentile Christians) and Judaism (Jewish Christians) — but also from the group of pagans who were ready to convert to Judaism (the so-called ‘God-fearers’). Emphasizing the multiplicity of backgrounds, the chapter aims at warning the reader that conclusions concerning early Christianity and its relation to animal sacrifice cannot be definite, especially as regards the Christians who lived in Jerusalem that is next to the Temple, before AD 70.
John Marenbon
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691142555
- eISBN:
- 9781400866359
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691142555.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Philosophy of Religion
From the turn of the fifth century to the beginning of the eighteenth, Christian writers were fascinated and troubled by the ‘Problem of Paganism’, which this book identifies and examines for the ...
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From the turn of the fifth century to the beginning of the eighteenth, Christian writers were fascinated and troubled by the ‘Problem of Paganism’, which this book identifies and examines for the first time. How could the wisdom and virtue of the great thinkers of antiquity be reconciled with the fact that they were pagans and, many thought, damned? Related questions were raised by encounters with contemporary pagans in northern Europe, Mongolia, and, later, America and China. This book explores how writers — philosophers and theologians, but also poets such as Dante, Chaucer, and Langland, and travellers such as Las Casas and Ricci — tackled the Problem of Paganism. Augustine and Boethius set its terms, while Peter Abelard and John of Salisbury were important early advocates of pagan wisdom and virtue. University theologians such as Aquinas, Scotus, Ockham, and Bradwardine, and later thinkers such as Ficino, Valla, More, Bayle, and Leibniz, explored the difficulty in depth. Meanwhile, Albert the Great inspired Boethius of Dacia and others to create a relativist conception of scientific knowledge that allowed Christian teachers to remain faithful Aristotelians. At the same time, early anthropologists such as John of Piano Carpini, John Mandeville, and Montaigne developed other sorts of relativism in response to the issue. A sweeping and original account of an important but neglected chapter in Western intellectual history, the book provides a new perspective on nothing less than the entire period between the classical and the modern world.Less
From the turn of the fifth century to the beginning of the eighteenth, Christian writers were fascinated and troubled by the ‘Problem of Paganism’, which this book identifies and examines for the first time. How could the wisdom and virtue of the great thinkers of antiquity be reconciled with the fact that they were pagans and, many thought, damned? Related questions were raised by encounters with contemporary pagans in northern Europe, Mongolia, and, later, America and China. This book explores how writers — philosophers and theologians, but also poets such as Dante, Chaucer, and Langland, and travellers such as Las Casas and Ricci — tackled the Problem of Paganism. Augustine and Boethius set its terms, while Peter Abelard and John of Salisbury were important early advocates of pagan wisdom and virtue. University theologians such as Aquinas, Scotus, Ockham, and Bradwardine, and later thinkers such as Ficino, Valla, More, Bayle, and Leibniz, explored the difficulty in depth. Meanwhile, Albert the Great inspired Boethius of Dacia and others to create a relativist conception of scientific knowledge that allowed Christian teachers to remain faithful Aristotelians. At the same time, early anthropologists such as John of Piano Carpini, John Mandeville, and Montaigne developed other sorts of relativism in response to the issue. A sweeping and original account of an important but neglected chapter in Western intellectual history, the book provides a new perspective on nothing less than the entire period between the classical and the modern world.
Gerard O'Daly
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199263950
- eISBN:
- 9780191741364
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199263950.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval, Poetry and Poets: Classical, Early, and Medieval
Prudentius is arguably the greatest Latin poet of late antiquity. This book provides the Latin text, a new English verse translation, and critical reviews on each of his twelve lyric poems, the ...
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Prudentius is arguably the greatest Latin poet of late antiquity. This book provides the Latin text, a new English verse translation, and critical reviews on each of his twelve lyric poems, the Cathemerinon, Poems for the Day, which were published early in the fifth century ad. They reflect the religious concerns of the increasingly Christianized western Roman Empire in the age of the emperor Theodosius and Ambrose of Milan, but they are above all the writings of a private person, and of the ways in which his religious beliefs colour his everyday life. Several of these poems follow the day's course, from pre-dawn to mealtime and nightfall. Others celebrate Christ's miracles, cult of the dead, and the feasts of Christmas and Epiphany. They are rich in biblical themes and narratives, images and symbols. But they are written in the classical metres of Latin poetry, use its vocabulary and metaphors, and exploit its themes as much as those of the Bible. They achieve a remarkable creative tension between the two worlds that determined Prudentius' culture: the beliefs and practices, sacred books and doctrines of Christianity, and the traditions, poetry, and ideas of the Greeks and Romans. A good part of the attractiveness of these poems comes from the interplay in Prudentius' reception of these two worlds.Less
Prudentius is arguably the greatest Latin poet of late antiquity. This book provides the Latin text, a new English verse translation, and critical reviews on each of his twelve lyric poems, the Cathemerinon, Poems for the Day, which were published early in the fifth century ad. They reflect the religious concerns of the increasingly Christianized western Roman Empire in the age of the emperor Theodosius and Ambrose of Milan, but they are above all the writings of a private person, and of the ways in which his religious beliefs colour his everyday life. Several of these poems follow the day's course, from pre-dawn to mealtime and nightfall. Others celebrate Christ's miracles, cult of the dead, and the feasts of Christmas and Epiphany. They are rich in biblical themes and narratives, images and symbols. But they are written in the classical metres of Latin poetry, use its vocabulary and metaphors, and exploit its themes as much as those of the Bible. They achieve a remarkable creative tension between the two worlds that determined Prudentius' culture: the beliefs and practices, sacred books and doctrines of Christianity, and the traditions, poetry, and ideas of the Greeks and Romans. A good part of the attractiveness of these poems comes from the interplay in Prudentius' reception of these two worlds.
Carolyne Larrington
- Published in print:
- 1993
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198119821
- eISBN:
- 9780191671210
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198119821.001.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, Poetry
This is a comparative study of Old Icelandic and Old English wisdom poetry. It examines problems of form, unity, and coherence, and how the genre responds to social change, both reflecting and ...
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This is a comparative study of Old Icelandic and Old English wisdom poetry. It examines problems of form, unity, and coherence, and how the genre responds to social change, both reflecting and shaping the thinking of the communities that originate it. The author analyses the differences between the pagan wisdom of Norse, ranging through everyday practical advice, rune magic, and spells, and the Christian, socially oriented ideals of Old English wisdom poetry, strongly rooted in Christian concepts of ‘natural’ order and hierarchy in God’s Creation. Close reading in primary texts, both runic and magical, lays bare the skilful, structural integration of pragmatic, social wisdom with other kinds of knowledge. The book explores the possibility of Christian influence on Norse texts and demonstrates the impact of Christian learning on the ancient pagan genre. The existence of a gnomic ‘key’ in Norse and English narrative verse is also shown. Far from being platitudinous moralizing, the wisdom poets of the two literatures reveal themselves as comic, ironic, dramatic, and grandiose by turns, exploring a gamut of themes unequalled in any other genre of the period.Less
This is a comparative study of Old Icelandic and Old English wisdom poetry. It examines problems of form, unity, and coherence, and how the genre responds to social change, both reflecting and shaping the thinking of the communities that originate it. The author analyses the differences between the pagan wisdom of Norse, ranging through everyday practical advice, rune magic, and spells, and the Christian, socially oriented ideals of Old English wisdom poetry, strongly rooted in Christian concepts of ‘natural’ order and hierarchy in God’s Creation. Close reading in primary texts, both runic and magical, lays bare the skilful, structural integration of pragmatic, social wisdom with other kinds of knowledge. The book explores the possibility of Christian influence on Norse texts and demonstrates the impact of Christian learning on the ancient pagan genre. The existence of a gnomic ‘key’ in Norse and English narrative verse is also shown. Far from being platitudinous moralizing, the wisdom poets of the two literatures reveal themselves as comic, ironic, dramatic, and grandiose by turns, exploring a gamut of themes unequalled in any other genre of the period.
Martin Goodman
- Published in print:
- 1995
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198263876
- eISBN:
- 9780191682674
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198263876.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion in the Ancient World, Judaism
This book tackles a central problem of Jewish and comparative religious history: proselytization and the origins of mission in the Early Church. Why did some individuals in the first four centuries ...
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This book tackles a central problem of Jewish and comparative religious history: proselytization and the origins of mission in the Early Church. Why did some individuals in the first four centuries of the Christian era believe it desirable to persuade as many outsiders as possible to join their religious group, while others did not? In this book, the author offers a new explanation of the origins of mission in this period, arguing that mission is not an inherent religious instinct, that in antiquity it was found only sporadically among Jews and pagans, and that even Christians rarely stressed its importance in the early centuries. In the first half of the book, he makes a detailed and radical re-evaluation of the evidence for Jewish missionary attitudes in the late Second Temple and Talmudic periods, overturning many commonly held assumptions about the history of Judaism, in particular the view that Jews proselytized energetically in the first century AD. This leads the author on to take issue with the common notion that the early Christian mission to the gentiles imitated or competed with contemporary Jews. Finally, the author puts forward some novel suggestions as to how the Jewish background to Christianity may nonetheless have contributed to the enthusiastic adoption of universal proselytization by some followers of Jesus in the apostolic age.Less
This book tackles a central problem of Jewish and comparative religious history: proselytization and the origins of mission in the Early Church. Why did some individuals in the first four centuries of the Christian era believe it desirable to persuade as many outsiders as possible to join their religious group, while others did not? In this book, the author offers a new explanation of the origins of mission in this period, arguing that mission is not an inherent religious instinct, that in antiquity it was found only sporadically among Jews and pagans, and that even Christians rarely stressed its importance in the early centuries. In the first half of the book, he makes a detailed and radical re-evaluation of the evidence for Jewish missionary attitudes in the late Second Temple and Talmudic periods, overturning many commonly held assumptions about the history of Judaism, in particular the view that Jews proselytized energetically in the first century AD. This leads the author on to take issue with the common notion that the early Christian mission to the gentiles imitated or competed with contemporary Jews. Finally, the author puts forward some novel suggestions as to how the Jewish background to Christianity may nonetheless have contributed to the enthusiastic adoption of universal proselytization by some followers of Jesus in the apostolic age.
Ronald Hutton
- Published in print:
- 1996
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198205708
- eISBN:
- 9780191676758
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198205708.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Medieval History, British and Irish Early Modern History
From the Twelve Days of Christmas to the Spring traditions of Valentine, Shrovetide, and Easter eggs, through May Day revels and Midsummer fires, and on to the waning of the year, Harvest Home, and ...
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From the Twelve Days of Christmas to the Spring traditions of Valentine, Shrovetide, and Easter eggs, through May Day revels and Midsummer fires, and on to the waning of the year, Harvest Home, and Halloween, this book takes us on a journey through the ritual year in Britain. It presents the results of a comprehensive study that covers all the British Isles and the whole sweep of history from the earliest written records to the present day. Great and lesser, ancient and modern, whether performed by Christians or pagans, all rituals are treated with the same attention. The result is an account that illuminates the history of the calendar we live by, and challenges many commonly held assumptions about the customs of the past and the festivals of the present. The first work to cover the full span of British rituals, the book challenges the work of specialists from the late Victorian period onwards, reworking our picture of the field and raising issues for historians of every period.Less
From the Twelve Days of Christmas to the Spring traditions of Valentine, Shrovetide, and Easter eggs, through May Day revels and Midsummer fires, and on to the waning of the year, Harvest Home, and Halloween, this book takes us on a journey through the ritual year in Britain. It presents the results of a comprehensive study that covers all the British Isles and the whole sweep of history from the earliest written records to the present day. Great and lesser, ancient and modern, whether performed by Christians or pagans, all rituals are treated with the same attention. The result is an account that illuminates the history of the calendar we live by, and challenges many commonly held assumptions about the customs of the past and the festivals of the present. The first work to cover the full span of British rituals, the book challenges the work of specialists from the late Victorian period onwards, reworking our picture of the field and raising issues for historians of every period.
Henry Chadwick
- Published in print:
- 1984
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198266730
- eISBN:
- 9780191683077
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198266730.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies
The historian of Western culture cannot travel far without discovering that the roots of many 20th-century questions lie in the ancient dialogue between the early Christians and culture of the old ...
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The historian of Western culture cannot travel far without discovering that the roots of many 20th-century questions lie in the ancient dialogue between the early Christians and culture of the old Classical world. This book takes three Christian thinkers: Justin, Clement of Alexandria, and Origen, and shows what the debate looked like from the Christian side. It draws on the pagan critics of the Church to illustrate the case the Christians had to answer. The examination of the Christian synthesis illustrates the extent to which penetrating criticism of the Classical tradition was combined with a profound acceptance of its humanism.Less
The historian of Western culture cannot travel far without discovering that the roots of many 20th-century questions lie in the ancient dialogue between the early Christians and culture of the old Classical world. This book takes three Christian thinkers: Justin, Clement of Alexandria, and Origen, and shows what the debate looked like from the Christian side. It draws on the pagan critics of the Church to illustrate the case the Christians had to answer. The examination of the Christian synthesis illustrates the extent to which penetrating criticism of the Classical tradition was combined with a profound acceptance of its humanism.
John Casey
- Published in print:
- 1991
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198240037
- eISBN:
- 9780191680069
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198240037.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
This chapter argues that the classical virtues of courage, temperance, practical wisdom, and justice, which are largely ignored in modern moral philosophy, centrally define the good for Man. The ...
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This chapter argues that the classical virtues of courage, temperance, practical wisdom, and justice, which are largely ignored in modern moral philosophy, centrally define the good for Man. The values of success, pride, and worldliness remain an alive, if insufficiently acknowledged, part of our moral thinking. The conflict between these values and our equally important Christian inheritance leads to tensions and contradictions in our understanding of the moral life.Less
This chapter argues that the classical virtues of courage, temperance, practical wisdom, and justice, which are largely ignored in modern moral philosophy, centrally define the good for Man. The values of success, pride, and worldliness remain an alive, if insufficiently acknowledged, part of our moral thinking. The conflict between these values and our equally important Christian inheritance leads to tensions and contradictions in our understanding of the moral life.
John Marenbon
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691142555
- eISBN:
- 9781400866359
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691142555.003.0011
- Subject:
- Religion, Philosophy of Religion
This chapter considers the highly paradoxical position occupied by ancient pagans, who are considered genuinely and outstandingly virtuous and yet at the same are condemned to Hell. This paradox is ...
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This chapter considers the highly paradoxical position occupied by ancient pagans, who are considered genuinely and outstandingly virtuous and yet at the same are condemned to Hell. This paradox is discussed in detail before the chapter goes on to explain Dante's position in this paradox, by looking at Dante's attitude to pagan wisdom and its relation to Christianity, especially his adoption, but transformation, of the position of limited relativism which strictly separates the spheres of philosophical enquiry and Christian doctrine. The damnation of virtuous pagans turns out to be the price required by this approach, which remains deliberately paradoxical, despite Dante's innovation of placing them in a special part of Hell, where there are no physical torments. Furthermore, the chapter looks at another aspect of Dante's discussion of paganism — his treatment of Epicurus and his followers — and links it to a comparison with his great admirer and commentator, Boccaccio.Less
This chapter considers the highly paradoxical position occupied by ancient pagans, who are considered genuinely and outstandingly virtuous and yet at the same are condemned to Hell. This paradox is discussed in detail before the chapter goes on to explain Dante's position in this paradox, by looking at Dante's attitude to pagan wisdom and its relation to Christianity, especially his adoption, but transformation, of the position of limited relativism which strictly separates the spheres of philosophical enquiry and Christian doctrine. The damnation of virtuous pagans turns out to be the price required by this approach, which remains deliberately paradoxical, despite Dante's innovation of placing them in a special part of Hell, where there are no physical torments. Furthermore, the chapter looks at another aspect of Dante's discussion of paganism — his treatment of Epicurus and his followers — and links it to a comparison with his great admirer and commentator, Boccaccio.
John Marenbon
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691142555
- eISBN:
- 9781400866359
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691142555.003.0013
- Subject:
- Religion, Philosophy of Religion
This chapter turns to the first of the three aspects of the Problem of Paganism — knowledge, virtue, and salvation — which is examined here for the period 1400–1700. It begins by looking at ...
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This chapter turns to the first of the three aspects of the Problem of Paganism — knowledge, virtue, and salvation — which is examined here for the period 1400–1700. It begins by looking at discussions, mainly about ancient Greek and Latin pagans and their writings, in and out of the universities, before going on to see how the Problem was complicated and given special relevance, but not fundamentally changed, by contacts, from 1492 onwards, with large groups of contemporary pagans, in America and then in China. Within roughly four decades from 1492, Europeans came into contact with — and all too rapidly made themselves the rulers of — a vast number of previously unknown pagan peoples, in what was before long recognized to be a new continent in the West.Less
This chapter turns to the first of the three aspects of the Problem of Paganism — knowledge, virtue, and salvation — which is examined here for the period 1400–1700. It begins by looking at discussions, mainly about ancient Greek and Latin pagans and their writings, in and out of the universities, before going on to see how the Problem was complicated and given special relevance, but not fundamentally changed, by contacts, from 1492 onwards, with large groups of contemporary pagans, in America and then in China. Within roughly four decades from 1492, Europeans came into contact with — and all too rapidly made themselves the rulers of — a vast number of previously unknown pagan peoples, in what was before long recognized to be a new continent in the West.
John Marenbon
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691142555
- eISBN:
- 9781400866359
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691142555.003.0015
- Subject:
- Religion, Philosophy of Religion
This chapter examines how sixteenth- and seventeenth-century theologians faced a new theological challenge in light of new evidence that there exists millions of virtuous pagans who had had no chance ...
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This chapter examines how sixteenth- and seventeenth-century theologians faced a new theological challenge in light of new evidence that there exists millions of virtuous pagans who had had no chance of hearing about Christianity (labelled here as ‘invincibly ignorant pagans’). This challenge emerged from the discovery of America and other lands at the end of the fifteenth century, revealing yet new territories where, to all appearances, Christianity had never been preached. However the chapter shows that, on some fifteenth-century treatments of pagan salvation, and on seventeenth-century treatments of illustrious ancient pagans, this new challenge was not entirely new, and that the older lines of discussion were continued, though in a modern format.Less
This chapter examines how sixteenth- and seventeenth-century theologians faced a new theological challenge in light of new evidence that there exists millions of virtuous pagans who had had no chance of hearing about Christianity (labelled here as ‘invincibly ignorant pagans’). This challenge emerged from the discovery of America and other lands at the end of the fifteenth century, revealing yet new territories where, to all appearances, Christianity had never been preached. However the chapter shows that, on some fifteenth-century treatments of pagan salvation, and on seventeenth-century treatments of illustrious ancient pagans, this new challenge was not entirely new, and that the older lines of discussion were continued, though in a modern format.
Alan Cameron
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199747276
- eISBN:
- 9780199866212
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199747276.003.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Ancient Religions
This introductory chapter first sets out the main purpose of the book, which is to dismantle the myth that transformed pagan nobles from the arrogant, philistine land-grabbers most of them were into ...
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This introductory chapter first sets out the main purpose of the book, which is to dismantle the myth that transformed pagan nobles from the arrogant, philistine land-grabbers most of them were into fearless champions of senatorial privilege, literature lovers, and aficionados of classical (especially Greek) culture as well as the traditional cults. It then discusses the supposed pagan revival spearheaded by the aristocracy of Rome and the idea of a pagan opposition. An overview of the subsequent chapters is also presented.Less
This introductory chapter first sets out the main purpose of the book, which is to dismantle the myth that transformed pagan nobles from the arrogant, philistine land-grabbers most of them were into fearless champions of senatorial privilege, literature lovers, and aficionados of classical (especially Greek) culture as well as the traditional cults. It then discusses the supposed pagan revival spearheaded by the aristocracy of Rome and the idea of a pagan opposition. An overview of the subsequent chapters is also presented.
Alan Cameron
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199747276
- eISBN:
- 9780199866212
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199747276.003.0009
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Ancient Religions
This chapter examines the anti-pagan poem, Carmen contra paganos (CCP). Since the subject of the poem was both prefect and consul, as Flavian was in 394, the poem was assigned to this year and ...
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This chapter examines the anti-pagan poem, Carmen contra paganos (CCP). Since the subject of the poem was both prefect and consul, as Flavian was in 394, the poem was assigned to this year and interpreted as an attack on Flavian written shortly after his death. The tirade against pagan cults it contains was read as a reflection of the pagan revival he supposedly directed. However, the structure, tenor, and themes of the poem as a whole simply do not fit with what is known of Flavian and his part in the rebellion of Eugenius.Less
This chapter examines the anti-pagan poem, Carmen contra paganos (CCP). Since the subject of the poem was both prefect and consul, as Flavian was in 394, the poem was assigned to this year and interpreted as an attack on Flavian written shortly after his death. The tirade against pagan cults it contains was read as a reflection of the pagan revival he supposedly directed. However, the structure, tenor, and themes of the poem as a whole simply do not fit with what is known of Flavian and his part in the rebellion of Eugenius.
Alan Cameron
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199747276
- eISBN:
- 9780199866212
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199747276.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Ancient Religions
Eusebius' Ecclesiastical History (402/3 CE) gives a vivid account of the confrontation between the Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius and the Western usurper Eugenius. To many, the defeat of Eugenius ...
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Eusebius' Ecclesiastical History (402/3 CE) gives a vivid account of the confrontation between the Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius and the Western usurper Eugenius. To many, the defeat of Eugenius and his pagan followers along the Frigidus River in 394 was the last gasp of a vigorous pagan revolt in the late 4th century, one spearheaded by the Roman aristocracy. This elaborate campaign to derail Christianity, as the story goes, consisted of identifiable pagan literary circles, pagan patronage of the classics, and pagan propaganda in art and literature. Recently, however, scholars have shown this picture to be wanting in accuracy and nuance. This book replaces this view with a detailed portrait of pagan society during the pivotal 4th and early 5th centuries. The subject of the book is the duration, nature, and consequences of the survival of the last pagans. It is widely believed that pagan aristocrats remained in the majority till at least the 380s, and continued to be a powerful force well into the 5th century. On this basis the main focus of much modern scholarship has been on their supposed stubborn resistance to Christianity. Rather surprisingly, these aristocrats have been transformed from the arrogant, philistine land-grabbers most of them were into fearless champions of senatorial privilege, literature lovers, and aficionados of classical (especially Greek) culture. The dismantling of this romantic myth is one of the main goals of this book. If a pagan aristocracy did not mount a defiant political and cultural rearguard action, what did they do? If elite culture at this time was not starkly divided between pagan and Christian, what did it look like? By sifting through the abundant textual evidence the book concludes that the many activities and artifacts previously identified as hallmarks of a pagan revival were in fact just as important to the life of cultivated Christians. Far from being a subversive pagan activity designed to rally pagans, the promotion of classical literature, learning, and art—and its acceptance by many elite Christians—may actually have helped the last reluctant pagans to finally abandon the old cults and adopt Christianity.Less
Eusebius' Ecclesiastical History (402/3 CE) gives a vivid account of the confrontation between the Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius and the Western usurper Eugenius. To many, the defeat of Eugenius and his pagan followers along the Frigidus River in 394 was the last gasp of a vigorous pagan revolt in the late 4th century, one spearheaded by the Roman aristocracy. This elaborate campaign to derail Christianity, as the story goes, consisted of identifiable pagan literary circles, pagan patronage of the classics, and pagan propaganda in art and literature. Recently, however, scholars have shown this picture to be wanting in accuracy and nuance. This book replaces this view with a detailed portrait of pagan society during the pivotal 4th and early 5th centuries. The subject of the book is the duration, nature, and consequences of the survival of the last pagans. It is widely believed that pagan aristocrats remained in the majority till at least the 380s, and continued to be a powerful force well into the 5th century. On this basis the main focus of much modern scholarship has been on their supposed stubborn resistance to Christianity. Rather surprisingly, these aristocrats have been transformed from the arrogant, philistine land-grabbers most of them were into fearless champions of senatorial privilege, literature lovers, and aficionados of classical (especially Greek) culture. The dismantling of this romantic myth is one of the main goals of this book. If a pagan aristocracy did not mount a defiant political and cultural rearguard action, what did they do? If elite culture at this time was not starkly divided between pagan and Christian, what did it look like? By sifting through the abundant textual evidence the book concludes that the many activities and artifacts previously identified as hallmarks of a pagan revival were in fact just as important to the life of cultivated Christians. Far from being a subversive pagan activity designed to rally pagans, the promotion of classical literature, learning, and art—and its acceptance by many elite Christians—may actually have helped the last reluctant pagans to finally abandon the old cults and adopt Christianity.
John Marenbon
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691142555
- eISBN:
- 9781400866359
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691142555.003.0008
- Subject:
- Religion, Philosophy of Religion
This chapter studies accounts of contemporary paganism circulating in Eastern and Northern Europe from the eleventh century onward. In the mid-thirteenth century, when the Mongols had conquered a ...
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This chapter studies accounts of contemporary paganism circulating in Eastern and Northern Europe from the eleventh century onward. In the mid-thirteenth century, when the Mongols had conquered a vast empire, two Franciscan travellers, John of Piano Carpini and William of Rubruk, were received by the Great Khan and wrote about the life and traditions of a pagan society at first hand. Medieval readers also knew a mass of partly fantastical material, much of it inherited from antiquity, about the remote lands of Asia and their pagan inhabitants. In the mid-fourteenth century, an anonymous writer wove this material together with the reports of genuine travellers into The Book of John Mandeville, a medieval best seller which takes a surprisingly deep and original look at the Problem of Paganism. In addition, this chapter takes a look at Willehalm, a Middle High German poem written c. 1210–20 by Wolfram von Eschenbach.Less
This chapter studies accounts of contemporary paganism circulating in Eastern and Northern Europe from the eleventh century onward. In the mid-thirteenth century, when the Mongols had conquered a vast empire, two Franciscan travellers, John of Piano Carpini and William of Rubruk, were received by the Great Khan and wrote about the life and traditions of a pagan society at first hand. Medieval readers also knew a mass of partly fantastical material, much of it inherited from antiquity, about the remote lands of Asia and their pagan inhabitants. In the mid-fourteenth century, an anonymous writer wove this material together with the reports of genuine travellers into The Book of John Mandeville, a medieval best seller which takes a surprisingly deep and original look at the Problem of Paganism. In addition, this chapter takes a look at Willehalm, a Middle High German poem written c. 1210–20 by Wolfram von Eschenbach.
John Marenbon
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691142555
- eISBN:
- 9781400866359
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691142555.003.0010
- Subject:
- Religion, Philosophy of Religion
This chapter explores the different trajectories taken by discussions among (mainly) university theologians of pagan virtue, before turning to the topic of salvation in the rest of the chapter. After ...
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This chapter explores the different trajectories taken by discussions among (mainly) university theologians of pagan virtue, before turning to the topic of salvation in the rest of the chapter. After the discussions on pagan virtue, the chapter turns to the theories devised in the period up to William of Ockham in the early fourteenth century. It then focuses on discussions about the salvation of particular pagans (such as Aristotle himself), before finally moving on to the theoretical developments which took place in the mid- and later fourteenth century and set the stage for the debates which would go on to 1700 and even later.Less
This chapter explores the different trajectories taken by discussions among (mainly) university theologians of pagan virtue, before turning to the topic of salvation in the rest of the chapter. After the discussions on pagan virtue, the chapter turns to the theories devised in the period up to William of Ockham in the early fourteenth century. It then focuses on discussions about the salvation of particular pagans (such as Aristotle himself), before finally moving on to the theoretical developments which took place in the mid- and later fourteenth century and set the stage for the debates which would go on to 1700 and even later.
John Marenbon
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691142555
- eISBN:
- 9781400866359
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691142555.003.0014
- Subject:
- Religion, Philosophy of Religion
This chapter turns to the second aspect of the Problem of Paganism: virtue. The dominant view among scholastic theologians in the late thirteenth and fourteenth centuries was that pagans could be ...
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This chapter turns to the second aspect of the Problem of Paganism: virtue. The dominant view among scholastic theologians in the late thirteenth and fourteenth centuries was that pagans could be genuinely virtuous, although their virtues were not of the sort which could merit salvation. In the period after 1400, mainstream Catholic theologians in the scholastic tradition tended to take the same broad view as their predecessors, but reformulating it to take account of new opponents. By contrast, and surprisingly, writers more influenced by humanism were often more sceptical about pagan virtue, although they presented their doubts in sophisticated literary forms. From 1500, the newly discovered pagans of America presented another side to the problem of pagan virtue, overlooked by most mainstream writers on them, but noticed by Jean de Léry and probed by Montaigne. This chapter looks at each of these approaches in turn.Less
This chapter turns to the second aspect of the Problem of Paganism: virtue. The dominant view among scholastic theologians in the late thirteenth and fourteenth centuries was that pagans could be genuinely virtuous, although their virtues were not of the sort which could merit salvation. In the period after 1400, mainstream Catholic theologians in the scholastic tradition tended to take the same broad view as their predecessors, but reformulating it to take account of new opponents. By contrast, and surprisingly, writers more influenced by humanism were often more sceptical about pagan virtue, although they presented their doubts in sophisticated literary forms. From 1500, the newly discovered pagans of America presented another side to the problem of pagan virtue, overlooked by most mainstream writers on them, but noticed by Jean de Léry and probed by Montaigne. This chapter looks at each of these approaches in turn.
Andrei A. Znamenski
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195172317
- eISBN:
- 9780199785759
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195172317.003.0008
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
This chapter examines how Native Americana, perceived as a source of profound ecological and spiritual wisdom, has contributed to the formation of the neo-shamanism community in the West. The ...
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This chapter examines how Native Americana, perceived as a source of profound ecological and spiritual wisdom, has contributed to the formation of the neo-shamanism community in the West. The controversy that sprang up from the use of Native American symbolism by American and European spiritual practitioners is discussed, along with attempts by members of the neo-shamanism community in the West to move away from the Native American dreamlands and toward their own European indigenous spirituality. The manner in which Carl Jung handled non-Western spirituality offers guidelines which many current spiritual seekers interested in the retrieval of pre-Christian European traditions find useful. Jung implied that Europeans concerned about their roots should look into their own indigenous spirituality and mythology; the alien tradition can be helpful to situate one's spiritual experiences, but the materials should be indigenous.Less
This chapter examines how Native Americana, perceived as a source of profound ecological and spiritual wisdom, has contributed to the formation of the neo-shamanism community in the West. The controversy that sprang up from the use of Native American symbolism by American and European spiritual practitioners is discussed, along with attempts by members of the neo-shamanism community in the West to move away from the Native American dreamlands and toward their own European indigenous spirituality. The manner in which Carl Jung handled non-Western spirituality offers guidelines which many current spiritual seekers interested in the retrieval of pre-Christian European traditions find useful. Jung implied that Europeans concerned about their roots should look into their own indigenous spirituality and mythology; the alien tradition can be helpful to situate one's spiritual experiences, but the materials should be indigenous.
Alan Cameron
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199747276
- eISBN:
- 9780199866212
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199747276.003.0017
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Ancient Religions
Late 4th- and 5th-century western culture was dominated by Vergil. The writings, prose as well as verse, of all educated people, Christians no less than pagans, were steeped in Vergilian echoes and ...
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Late 4th- and 5th-century western culture was dominated by Vergil. The writings, prose as well as verse, of all educated people, Christians no less than pagans, were steeped in Vergilian echoes and quotations. This chapter examines the comments of Servius and Macrobius regarding cult and ritual in Vergil. Since they are by far the best candidates for identifying any sort of specifically pagan scholarship in late antique Rome, it begins by establishing their credentials as scholars.Less
Late 4th- and 5th-century western culture was dominated by Vergil. The writings, prose as well as verse, of all educated people, Christians no less than pagans, were steeped in Vergilian echoes and quotations. This chapter examines the comments of Servius and Macrobius regarding cult and ritual in Vergil. Since they are by far the best candidates for identifying any sort of specifically pagan scholarship in late antique Rome, it begins by establishing their credentials as scholars.
Alan Cameron
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199747276
- eISBN:
- 9780199866212
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199747276.003.0021
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Ancient Religions
This chapter discusses the Historia Augusta (HA), a corpus of imperial biographies from Hadrian to Carinus (117–285) that purports to be the work of six different writers, all otherwise wholly ...
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This chapter discusses the Historia Augusta (HA), a corpus of imperial biographies from Hadrian to Carinus (117–285) that purports to be the work of six different writers, all otherwise wholly unknown, all purportedly writing between ca. 305 and 325. The HA is also alleged to be a covert attack on Christianity, a product of the “pagan reaction” at Rome in or soon after 395. Not only is the HA full of errors, absurdities, and manifestly forged documents, it cites as authorities no less than thirty-five otherwise unknown and for the most part surely bogus historians and biographers. But it was not until 1889 that Dessau branded the entire work a forgery, written by a single author at the end of the 4th century.Less
This chapter discusses the Historia Augusta (HA), a corpus of imperial biographies from Hadrian to Carinus (117–285) that purports to be the work of six different writers, all otherwise wholly unknown, all purportedly writing between ca. 305 and 325. The HA is also alleged to be a covert attack on Christianity, a product of the “pagan reaction” at Rome in or soon after 395. Not only is the HA full of errors, absurdities, and manifestly forged documents, it cites as authorities no less than thirty-five otherwise unknown and for the most part surely bogus historians and biographers. But it was not until 1889 that Dessau branded the entire work a forgery, written by a single author at the end of the 4th century.
