Epilogue: Homeric Durability; Concluding Remarks Throughout this study, we have considered time and temporality—the experience of time, sometimes called “lived time” within the field of phenomenological psychology [1] —in the Iliad, specifically in terms of how the epic represents the “durability” of various bodies and objects. Homer continually represents bodies and objects in the process of decay. The Achaeans’ ships and the… Read more
Appendix: The Semantic Field of ‘Decay’ in Homeric Epic Homer makes use of six separate verbal roots to describe the process of decay as the physical bodies of plants, animals, and humans undergo the degenerative effects of time. These verbs are: φθίω/φθίνω/φθίνυθω ‘to wither, waste away, die’; σήπω ‘to rot, decay’; πύθω ‘to cause to rot, rot, putrefy’; σκέλλω ‘to dry up’; κάρφω ‘to cause to shrivel… Read more
Works Cited Adams, D. Q. 1987. “ Ἥρως and Ἥρα: Of Men and Heroes in Greek and Indo-European.” Glotta 65:171–178. Adams, M. J. 1977. “Style in Southeast Asian Materials Processing: Some Implications for Ritual and Art.” In Material Culture: Studies, Organization, and Dynamics of Technology, ed. M. H. Lechtman and R. Merrill, 21–52. St. Paul. Adkins, A. W. H. Read more
Acknowledgments In memory of Louis Wilson Greenwood (1917–2011) It is my great pleasure to recognize the numerous debts I have acquired in the production of this book. The scholar who has most influenced this project is clearly my doctoral supervisor, Peter Brown. I greatly appreciate his patience with my first faltering steps into the world of Theodore of Mopsuestia and his constant encouragement throughout every stage… Read more
Author’s Note on Citations and Translations The Catechetical Homilies of Theodore of Mopsuestia stand at the heart of this study. Unfortunately, the resources available for doing work on these sermons present certain logistical problems. Scholars have known for many years that Theodore preserved his catechesis. However, the scholarly community did not have access to them until 1932 and 1933, when Alphonse Mingana discovered and published in his… Read more
Abbreviations ACO Acta conciliorum oecumenicorum ANF Ante-Nicene Fathers BO Bibliotheca orientalis CCSL Corpus Christianorum Series Latina CSCO Corpus Scriptorum Christianorum Orientalium CSEL Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum GCS Griechischen christlichen Schriftsteller LCL Loeb Classical Library NPNF1 Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series One NPNF2 Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series Two PG Patrologia graeca PL Patrologia latina PO… Read more
Introduction. Catechesis, Christianization, and Conversion They spend the Saturday night of Holy Week in the church, keeping vigil in prayer and song. They have gathered with the clergy and their baptismal sponsors in order to be initiated as Christians. Very early on Easter Sunday morning, long before the sun comes up, the rites begin. Before they can be baptized, they must declare their fidelity to Christ and… Read more
4. The Apogee of Valentinian Number Symbolism: Marcus “Magus” The most complex number symbolism of any Christian theology in the second century is found in the writings of a Valentinian named Marcus. He was given the epithet magus by ancient heresiologists because of his liturgi-cal alchemy and his interest in ideas normally associated with magical texts. Very little is known about him. Förster, the only modern scholar… Read more
5. Alternate Paths in theEarly Christian Theology of Arithmetic: Monoïmus and the Paraphrase of the “Apophasis Megale” Although the Valentinians provided a great variety of theologies of arithmetic, they were in reality part of a general trend. In this chapter we turn to two unrelated systems, those of Monoïmus and the Paraphrase of the “Apophasis Megale,” both attested almost exclusively in Hippolytus’ Refutation of All Heresies. The… Read more
6. The Orthodox Limits of theTheology of Arithmetic: Irenaeus of Lyons Most scholarly reconstructions of Valentinianism attempt to excise Irenaeus’ interpretation, so as to achieve as uncontaminated an account of the movement as possible. The ultimate goal, a bias-free view of the Valentinians, is misguided. For the unintended consequence—or so I argue in this chapter—of excluding Irenaeus and his writings is to leave the picture of their… Read more
