00555 - Ancient Christian Literature

Learning outcomes

The course leads the student to know ancient Christian Literature in its historical development, and in its connection with jewish and graeco-roman tradition and with literary genres. The student will learn how to read and analyze ancient Christian texts.

Course contents

The anti-Christian reaction of the Hellenistic-Roman culture.

The course aims to offer an image of the conflict between Greco-Roman culture and the Christian movement, from its origins to the fourth century. In addition to the forerunners of the dispute, in the New Testament writings: three main phases will already be considered: the attack by Celsus (2nd century); that of Porphyry (3rd century), and that of the Emperor Julian (4th century).

– The first module (Module 1; 30 hours) will be dedicated to the ideological premises of the aforementioned conflict, already in the production of Hellenistic Judaism (Bible of the LXX, Philo, Flavius Josephus), then in the New Testament writings, and finally to the attack by the philosopher Celsus, refuted - many decades later - by Origen.

–The second module (Module 2, 30 hours) will instead be dedicated to the anti-Christian writings of the philosopher Porphyry (3rd century) and of the Emperor Julian (4th century).

Readings/Bibliography

1) Studies (common to both units):

a) (Handbook of Early Christian Literature):

– M. Simonetti-E. Prinzivalli, Letteratura Cristiana Antica, EDB, Bologna 2010 (solo le pp.: 11-54; 79-100; 103-224; 502-519; 531-556).

b) (One monograph, by choice; full reading; for both units):

– P. De Labriolle, La réaction païenne. Étude sur la polémique antichrétienne du Ier au VIe siècle, Paris, L'Artisan du Livre, 1942 (verrà caricato tra i materiali didattici);

– M. Zambon, «Nessun dio è mai sceso quaggiù». La polemica anticristiana dei filosofi antichi, Roma, Carocci 2019.

2) For Unit 1, by choice:

– G. Lanata (a c. di), Celso, Il discorso vero, Milano, Adelphi 1987

– S. Rizzo (a c. di), Celso, Contro i Cristiani, Milano, Rizzoli 2006

3) For Unit 2, by choice:

– G. Muscolino – G. Girgenti (a c. di), Porfirio. Contro i Cristiani, Milano, Bompiani, pp. 184-395 (= it. translation only of the Fragments, not the Greek text);

– A. Rostagni (a c. di), Giuliano Imperatore, Contro i Galilei, Torino, F.lli Bocca, 1920

4) Essays by choice (4 = 2 Units, or 2 = 1 Unit) for students who cannot attend the lessons (to be uploaded in the teaching materials):

– E.R. Dodds, Il dialogo fra paganesimo e cristianesimo, in Id., Pagani e cristiani in un'epoca di angoscia, Firenze, La Nuova Italia, 1970 [ed. or. Cambridge 1965], pp. 101-136;

– M. Edwards, Early Christianity and philosophy, in D. Jeffrey Bingham (a c. di), The Routledge Companion to Early Christian Thought, London, Routledge, 2009, pp. 38-50;

– J.C. Fredouille, L’apologétique chrétienne antique: naissance d’un genre littéraire, "Revue des Études Augustiniennes" 38 (1992) 219-234;

– J.C. Fredouille, L’apologétique chrétienne antique: métamorphoses d’un genre polymorphe, "Revue des Études Augustiniennes" 41 (1995) 219-234;

– P. Hartog, Greco-Roman Understanding of Christianity, in: D. Jeffrey Bingham (a c. di), The Routledge Companion to Early Christian Thought, London, Routledge, 2009, pp. 51-67;

– A. Magris, Platonismo e cristianesimo alla luce del 'Contro Celso', in L. Perrone (a c. di), Discorsi di verità. Paganesimo, giudaismo e cristianesimo a confronto nel Contro Celso di Origene. Atti del 2° Convegno del Gruppo italiano di ricerca su Origene e la tradizione alessandrina, Roma, Institutum Patristicum Augustinianum, 1998, pp. 47-79;

– L. Perrone, Fra silenzio e parola: dall’apologia alla testimonianza del cristianesimo nel Contro Celso di Origene, in L’apologétique chrétienne gréco-latine à l’époque prénicénienne, Vandœuvres-Gèneve, Fondation Hardt, 2005, pp. 103-141;

– E. Saponaro, La replica di Origene all'Ἀληθὴς λόγος di Celso: un'analisi lessicale, "Rudiae" n.s. 1 (2015) 133-161;

– G. Sfameni Gasparro, Aspetti della polemica fra Origene e Celso, in: G. Dorival – A. Le Boulluec (a c. di), Origeniana Sexta. Origène et la Bible. Actes du Colloquium Origenianum Sextum, 1993, Leuven, Leuven University Press, 1995, pp. 287-302;

– G.G. Stroumsa, Celsus, Origen and the nature of religion, in Id., Barbarian Philosophy. The Religious Revolution of Early Christianity, Tübingen, Mohr Siebeck, 1999;

– G. van Kooten, Christianity in the Graeco-Roman world: socio-political, philosophical, and religious interactions up to the Edict of Milan (CE 313), in D. Jeffrey Bingham (a c. di), The Routledge Companion to Early Christian Thought, London, Routledge, 2009, pp. 3-37;

– A. Villani, Il posto della retorica nella strategia polemica di Origene contro Celso, "Auctores nostri" 9 (2011) 257-281.

Teaching methods

Lectures; use of bibliographic and electronic databases.

Assessment methods

Oral examination. Students can attend both Units (12 cfu), or only one Unit of their choice (6 cfu). During the test students will:

a) demonstrate that have read the proposed texts in full;

b) know how to identify the main protagonists and characters of the anti-Christian polemic literature of the secc. II-IV in its historical development and in the variety of its literary forms;

c) be able to describe the main lines of the development of ancient Christian literature in the early centuries.

– 1st Unit:

students will study:

– the handbook (see Studies above, point [a]);

– one of the two essays of a more in-depth general introduction to the anti-Christian polemic literature reported above – Studies, point (b) – limited to the pages indicated;

– the commented texts and the notes taken in class;

– the complete reading of Celsus’ Alethes Logos (ed. Lanata, or ed. Rizzo);

– 2nd Unit:

students will study:

– the handbook (see Studies above, point [a]);

– one of the two essays of a more in-depth general introduction to the anti-Christian polemic literature reported above – Studies, point (b) – limited to the pages indicated;

– the commented texts and the notes taken in class;

– the complete reading of the fragments of Porphyry’s Against Christians (tr. Muscolino-Girgenti, pp. indicated) and of Julian’s Against the Galilees (tr. Rostagni);

– The students who cannot attend the lessons, in addition to what is indicated above for attending students, must replace the lecture notes with two essays of their choice (1 Unit, 6 cfu), or with four essays of their choice (2 Units, 12 cfu), between those indicated in the Bibliography, point 4 (which will be uploaded among the teaching materials).

Teaching tools

Projector; PC.

Office hours

See the website of Antonio Cacciari