The Monster at the End of His Book: Monstrosity as Theological Strategy and Cultural Critique in Tatian's Against the Greeks
In Against the Greeks, Tatian develops a cultural critique by placing himself, his Greek education, and his "barbarian" ethnicity within the scope of the text's argument. I argue that this constitutes a deliberate strategy in which Tatian embodied a cultural monstera hybrid creature...
| Published in: | Journal of early Christian studies |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Johns Hopkins Univ. Press
[2018]
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| In: |
Journal of early Christian studies
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| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Tatianus, Syrus -172, Oratio ad Graecos
/ Cultural criticism
/ Interculturality
/ Paganism
/ Greece (Antiquity)
/ Paideia
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| RelBib Classification: | CH Christianity and Society KAB Church history 30-500; early Christianity ZF Education |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Verlag) Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | In Against the Greeks, Tatian develops a cultural critique by placing himself, his Greek education, and his "barbarian" ethnicity within the scope of the text's argument. I argue that this constitutes a deliberate strategy in which Tatian embodied a cultural monstera hybrid creature that reflected both the mainstream of Greek paideutic values and the barbarian cultures that were antithetical to themin order to secure a self-identity for himself and the early Christian communities for whom he presumed to speak. By performing his monstrosity in this way, he makes the case that Greek paideia is not a pure inheritance from a monolithic cultural tradition. Instead, Tatian posits a cultural theory that reflects his own hybrid self. |
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| ISSN: | 1086-3184 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal of early Christian studies
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1353/earl.2018.0018 |