Macquarie University

Pagans, Jews and Christians: Athens and Jerusalem - AHIS353

This unit focuses on the theme suggested in the subtitle, taken from Tertullian's question 'What has Athens to do with Jerusalem?' What has the philosophical Academy of Athens, representing the millennia-old classical tradition, to do with the new philosophy founded on the teachings of Christ, developed by Paul, and embodied in the Holy City, sacred to Jews and Christians? This unit looks in particular at the relationship of the three races—Greeks, Jews, and Christians—from the perspective of the inheritors of the classical tradition, who ruled the Mediterranean from the eternal city: Rome. The unit examines the ways the Roman state reacted to Jews and Christians from the 2nd–4th centuries; from the time when Christianity first came to Rome's attention, through attempts by Rome to remove it (violently or otherwise) from the world, to the triumph of Christianity in the 4th century. It looks at: developments in Roman beliefs and cults in the period; problematises the different response of Rome to Jews and Christians; and examines the relationship between the two monotheistic traditions.

Timetable Information

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