Overview
This study focuses on the apocryphal Acts of Andrew (c. 200 CE), which purports to tell the story of the travels, miracles, and martyrdom of the apostle Andrew. Traditional scholarship has looked for the background of such writings in Jewish and Christian scriptures. MacDonald, however, breaks with that model and looks to classic literature for the sources of this story. Specifically, he argues that the Acts represent an attempt to transform Greco-Roman myth into Christian narrative categories by telling the story of Andrew in terms of Homeric epic, in particular the Odyssey. MacDonald presents a point-by-point comparison of the two works, finding the resemblances so strong, numerous, and tendentious that they virtually compel the reader to consider the Acts a transformative ""rewriting"" of the epic. This discovery not only sheds valuable light on the uses of Homer in the early church but also significantly contributes to our understanding of the reception of Homer in the empire as a whole.
Full Product Details
Author: Dennis Ronald MacDonald (Professor of New Testament and Christian Origins, Professor of New Testament and Christian Origins, Iliff School of Theology)
Publisher: Oxford University Press Inc
Imprint: Oxford University Press Inc
Dimensions:
Width: 23.50cm
, Height: 2.90cm
, Length: 16.20cm
Weight: 0.776kg
ISBN: 9780195087222
ISBN 10: 0195087224
Pages: 368
Publication Date: 14 July 1994
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Professional & Vocational
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: To order
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Reviews
"""Gracefully and graciously crafted....Will be of equal interest to scholars of the classics, ancient history, and early Christianity....This stimulating work is also accessible to upper-division undergraduates and interested members of the general public.""--Choice ""MacDonald is to be commended.""--New England Classical Newsletter and Journal ""Acts of Andrew offers an extraordinary window into the intellectual and social world of its original audience....A bold thesis.""--The Living Church ""[A] provocative and erudite book....Christianizing Homer is not a book to be dismissed.""--The Journal of Religion ""Dennis MacDonald's long-standing involvement with the Acts of Andrew qualifies him admirably for this fascinating investigation....MacDonald has set a new approach to our understanding of at least this apocryphon, and we shall reread the Acts of Andrew with new eyes.""--Novum Testamentum ""Christianizing Homer is an important book.""--International Journal of Classical Tradition ""MacDonald offers a significant innovation.""--Religious Studies Review"
Gracefully and graciously crafted....Will be of equal interest to scholars of the classics, ancient history, and early Christianity....This stimulating work is also accessible to upper-division undergraduates and interested members of the general public. * Choice *
