Ethnicity and Argument in Eusebius' Praeparatio Evangelica

Erscheinungsjahr 2006
ISBN: 978-0-19-929613-2
Verlag: OUP Oxford

Buch, Englisch, 280 Seiten, Print PDF, Format (B × H): 145 mm x 222 mm, Gewicht: 529 g

Eusebius' magisterial Praeparatio Evangelica (written sometime between AD 313 and 324) offers an apologetic defence of Christianity in the face of Greek accusations of irrationality and impiety. Though brimming with the quotations of other (often lost) Greek authors, the work is dominated by a clear and sustained argument. Against the tendency to see the Praeparatio as merely an anthology of other sources or a defence of monotheistic religion against paganism, Aaron P. Johnson seeks to appreciate Eusebius' contribution to the discourses of Christian identity by investigating the constructions of ethnic identity (especially Greek) at the heart of his work. Analysis of his `ethnic argumentation' exhibits a method of defending Christianity by construing its opponents as historically rooted nations, whose place in the narrative of world history serves to undermine the legitimacy of their claims to ancient wisdom and piety.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Johnson, Aaron P.

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Literaturwissenschaft Klassische Literaturwissenschaft
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Europäische Länder
• Geisteswissenschaften Sprachwissenschaft Einzelne Sprachen & Sprachfamilien
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Europäische Geschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Geschichte der Westlichen Philosophie Antike Philosophie
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Alte Geschichte & Archäologie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

- 1: Discourses of ethnicity and early Christian apologetics: an introduction

- 2: The language of `ethnicity'

- 3: Relocating Greekness: the narrative of Greek descent

- 4: Rewriting Hebrew history: the descent of the ancient Hebrews

- 5: Greek descent revisited

- 6: Rome among the nations: Eusebius' Pareparatio and the unmaking of Greek political theology

- 7: The Church as apologetic: Eusebius' legitimation of Christianity

Über Autor(innen)

Aaron P. Johnson is Lecturer in Classics, Loyola University, Chicago