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The Gospel 'According to Homer and Virgil'
Cento and Canon
Series: - Novum Testamentum, Supplements, Volume: 138
Author:
In the fourth century C.E. some Christians paraphrased the stories about Jesus' life in the style of classical epics. Imitating the genre of centos, they stitched together lines taken either from Homer (Greek) or Virgil (Latin). They thus created new texts out of the classical epics, while they still remained fully within the confines of their style and vocabulary. It is the aim of this study to put these attempts into a historical and rhetorical context. Why did some Christians rewrite the Gospel stories in this way, and what came out of this? On the basis of these Christian centos, it is natural to address the view held by some scholars, namely that New Testaments narratives are imitations of the epics.
Karl Olav Sandnes, Dr. theol. (1988), University of Oslo, is Professor in New Testament at MF Norwegian School of Theology, Oslo, Norway. He has published on the Graeco-Roman background of the New Testament, including
The Challenge of Homer. School, Pagan Poets and early Christianity (2009).
"surely an interesting and very welcome publication.[...] written in accessible language and preserves the rigors of the scientific research. [...]
The Gospel ‘According to Homer and Virgil’ should be read by everybody interested in the relation between the New Testament and the ancient literary culture." – Marcin Kowalski, in:
The Biblical Annals / Roczniki Biblijne 3 (2013)
1 Introduction: The Context of the Study
2 The Rhetorical Context of Biblical Epics
3 Why Imitate Classical Texts?
4 What is a Cento?
5 Faltonia Betitia Proba: The Gospel “According to Virgil”
6 Eudocia Athenais: The Gospel “According to Homer”
7 Summary
2 The Rhetorical Context of Biblical Epics
3 Why Imitate Classical Texts?
4 What is a Cento?
5 Faltonia Betitia Proba: The Gospel “According to Virgil”
6 Eudocia Athenais: The Gospel “According to Homer”
7 Summary
All those interested in how Biblical texts and traditions relate to the Graeco-Roman World; i.e. theologians with an interest in Biblical and patristic studies, classical philologists and historians.