Introduction αἱ δὲ βίον σοφίῃσιν ἐκόσμεον. And some gave life the ornament of their wise arts. Orphic Catabasis, P. Bon. 4, fol. 3r, line 7 This book is a study of the professional, literary, political, and theoretical links between the school of Isocrates and the schools and careers of recognized philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle. Read more
Chapter 1. The Influence of Rhetorical Education on Aristotelian Ethics: Knowledge, Training, and Performance The Nicomachean Ethics gives an account of a virtuous agent’s formation and practice. To appreciate this text fully, it is natural to want to know as much as possible about all the theoretical and technical discourses and ideas that informed Aristotle’s seminal work. This project of contextualization, while it will always be held… Read more
Chapter 2. Plato’s Concession to the Practical Arts in the Phaedrus One of the most important threads running through the intellectual history of the fifth and fourth centuries was the multidisciplinary attack on the question of what kind of art or science could hope to master the complexities of human experience. This was a question of theology, of history, of physiology, of politics, of rhetoric, and of… Read more
Chapter 3. Aristotle in the Afternoon: Rhetoric, Exoterica, and the Compromised Philosopher The surviving Aristotelian corpus, which seems largely to preserve the teachings and discussions conducted by Aristotle within his school, contains multitudes enough for Aristotle’s followers and interpreters. It establishes Aristotle, on the one hand, as the original example of the philosopher who has bequeathed us (inter alia) a system, and any of whose works will… Read more
Chapter 3. Greek Heroes and Christian Martyrs: In Defense of the Friends of God and Heroes of the Faith The account that Theodoret provides concerning the practice of honoring martyrs and their relics occupies a central position in his defense of Christianity. In Dialexis VIII. On the Cult of the Martyrs, he explains the importance of martyrs by suggesting the parallel notion of heroism and the cult… Read more
Chapter 4. Christianity as the Universal Practical Virtue The presentation of Christianity as a way of life maintains a significant thematic resonance throughout Theodoret’s Therapeutikê. Following the long line of Christian authors who from an early stage offered Christianity as a response to pagan polemic, his motivation lay in the conviction that Christianity encompassed and surpassed all that ancient philosophy had attempted to accomplish. While Theodoret devotes… Read more
Chapter 5. Theodoret’s Rhetoric, Style, and Argumentation: Some Literary Considerations The Therapeutikê’s literary features are informed by a set of recognizable historical, religious, educational, and cultural concerns, which have yet to be integrated into a coherent account. [1] More specifically, a number of these features form an integral part of Theodoret’s apologetic program. He makes this explicit in the preface to the… Read more
Conclusion This book has sought to study several aspects of Theodoret’s apologetics. By showing the number of methods that Theodoret employs to engage the larger problems of his period, his dynamism and the urgency of his project have become apparent. Rather than a “stale exercise,” [1] a new assessment of Theodoret’s apologetic program has emerged. This needs to be said in view… Read more
Bibliography Primary Sources Ambjörn, L., trans. 2008. Zacharias of Mytilene. The Life of Severus. Piscataway, NJ. Burguière, P., and P. Évieux, eds. 1985. Cyril of Alexandria. Contra Iulianum. Sources chrétiennes 322. Paris. Canivet, P., ed. 2000–2001. Theodoret of Cyrrhus. Thérapeutique des maladies helléniques. 2 vols. Revised ed. Sources chrétiennes 57. Paris. Canivet, P.,… Read more
Acknowledgments To Farideh and Daryush It is a great pleasure to acknowledge those who have generously afforded me their time and insights during the composition of this study. My gratitude to Prods Oktor Skjærvø, Richard N. Frye, and Ernst Badian for their comments on earlier parts of this book. I owe a great debt of thanks to Clarisse Herrenschmidt, Olga M. Davidson, Daniel T. Potts,… Read more
