Beyond Conflicts (eBook)

Cover 1
Acknowledgements 6
Table of Contents 8
Abbreviations 12
Introduction 16
Luca Arcari: Cultural and Religious Cohabitations in Alexandria and Egypt between the 1st and the 6th Cent. CE 16
1. Methodological issues 16
1.1. Constructing collective “identities” 17
2. Religious and cultural cohabitations in Egypt and Alexandria(1st–6th cent. CE) 20
2.1. A regional approach in light of the integration between different sources 23
2.1.1. “Pervasive” cultural centres 23
2.1.2. Local reinventions of tradition 24
2.2. The limits of the “traditional” taxonomies 25
3. Structure and contents of the book 26
Bibliography 36
Part One: Use, (Re-)Invention And (Re-)Definitionof Discursive Practices 40
Tobias Nicklas: Jewish, Christian, Greek? The Apocalypse of Peter as a Witness of Early 2nd-Cent. Christianity in Alexandria 42
1. The Apocalypse of Peter – Jewish, Christian, or other? 42
2. Results regarding the text’s alleged place and context of origin 50
3. Conclusion 55
Bibliography 57
Philippe Matthey: The Once and Future King of Egypt: Egyptian “Messianism” and the Construction of the Alexander Romance 62
1. The Egyptian origins of the Alexander Romance 62
2. “Apocalyptic” literature in Hellenistic and Roman Egypt 65
3. Apocalyptic elements in the Alexander Romance 69
4. Development of the Graeco-Egyptian “apocalypticism” 73
5. Historical theodicy in Egypt 77
6. Production of “apocalyptic” literature in ancient Egypt. A conclusion 79
Bibliography 81
Antonio Sena: Demonology between Celsus and Origen: A Theoretical Model of Religious Cohabitation? 88
1. Origen’s education and Celsus’ background 89
2. Demonology as an integration proposal 90
3. A model of cultic integration 95
Bibliography 100
Daniele Tripaldi: “Basilides” and “the Egyptian Wisdom:” Some Remarks on a Peculiar Heresiological Notice (Ps.-Hipp. Haer. 7.20–27) 102
1. Contesting authority: the meaning of a literary frame 103
2. Basilides or not Basilides? 105
3. Back to which Egypt? 109
4. A “non existing” source? 116
5. A teacher’s legacy 121
6. Towards a conclusion 124
Bibliography 125
Thomas J. Kraus: Demosthenes and (Late) Ancient Miniature Books from Egypt: Reflections on a Category, Physical Features, Purpose and Use 130
1. Introduction 130
2. The papyrus letter, ancient rhetors, and ?? ??????? (l. 6) 132
3. Ancient rhetors and miniature books – spot onfamous Demosthenes 135
3.1. Miniature books with Demosthenes put to the test 136
3.2. Summary of and conclusions drawn from 3.1. 139
4. Miniature codices as representatives of Graeco-Roman bookculture in Egypt? 142
Bibliography 144
Paola Buzi: Remains of Gnomic Anthologies and Pagan Wisdom Literature in the Coptic Tradition 146
1. Premise 146
2. Classical works in the Coptic language 147
3. The Menandri sententiae 148
4. The Sexti sententiae 154
5. The Dicta philosophorum 155
Bibliography 159
Part Two: Ideological Debates as Images of Culturaland Religious Cohabitations 168
Bernard Pouderon: “Jewish,” “Christian” and “Gnostic” Groups in Alexandria during the 2nd Cent.: Between Approval and Expulsion 170
1. Introduction 170
2. The various groups 170
2.1. Being “Jewish” in Alexandria after 115 CE 170
2.2. Being “Christian” in Alexandria during the 2nd cent. CE 173
2.3. Being “Gnostic” in Alexandria during the 2nd cent. 176
3. The relationships between the groups 180
3.1. “Jews” and “Christians” 180
3.2. “Christians” and “Gnostics” 184
3.3. “Educated” Christians and pagans 187
4. Conclusions 188
Bibliography 189
Adele Monaci Castagno: Messengers from Heaven: Divine Men and God’s Men in the Alexandrian Platonism (2nd–4th Cent.) 192
1. Origen 193
2. Man or God? Discussions about Apollonius of Tyana betweenthe 3rd and 4th cent. 197
3. Pythagoras and Iamblichus 201
4. Conclusion 205
Bibliography 206
Mark J. Edwards: Late Antique Alexandria and the “Orient” 210
1. Preliminaries 210
2. Comparability: Neoplatonism and India 211
3. Continuity: Ammonius the “Saka”? 214
4. Explanatory power: Egyptian Gnosticism 216
Bibliography 219
Ewa Wipszycka: How Insurmountable was the Chasm between Monophysites and Chalcedonians? 222
1. Historiographical sources 223
2. Hagiographical texts and sanctuarial contexts 226
3. The Synodikon of the West Syrian Church (1204) 230
4. At the same table? Monastic environments anddoctrinal controversies 234
5. Homilies and panegyrics 237
6. Conclusions 238
Bibliography 239
Philippe Blaudeau: Vel si non tibi communicamus, tamen amamus te. Remarques sur la description par Liberatus de Carthage des rapports entre Miaphysites et Chalcédoniens à Alexandrie (milieu Ve–milieu VIe s.) 242
Bibliographie 257
Part Three: Cults and Practices as Spaces for Encountersand Interactions 260
Sofía Torallas Tovar: Love and Hate? Again on Dionysos in the Eyes of the Alexandrian Jews 262
Bibliography 274
Francesco Massa: Devotees of Serapis and Christ? A Literary Representation of Religious Cohabitations in the 4th Cent 278
1. Endgame? The destruction of the Serapeum 278
2. Why Serapis and the Christians? 279
3. Qui Serapim colunt Christiani sunt… 282
4. Serapis and Christ: new gods 287
5. And if Serapis was none other than Joseph? 289
6. Shared spaces, stolen spaces 290
7. Return to the destruction of the Serapeum, and conclusion 292
Bibliography 293
Mariangela Monaca: Between Cyril and Isis: Some Remarks on the Iatromantic Cults in 5th-Cent. Alexandria 298
Bibliography 317
Part Four: “Open” and “Closed” Groups 320
Marie-Françoise Baslez: Open-air Festivals and Cultural Cohabitation in Late Hellenistic Alexandria 322
1. The political stake of royal festivities 324
2. The rejoicing festival: a mean of social interplaybetween Jews and Greeks 327
2.1. The Festival described in the book of Judith and the great procession ofAlexandria 327
3. Open-air festivals: a widespread custom 329
4. Criteria and requirements for truly open festivals 332
Bibliography 336
Livia Capponi: The Common Roots of Egyptians and Jews: Life and Meaning of an Ancient Stereotype 338
1. The Jewish-Egyptian association:a stereotype imposed by the conquerors? 338
2. A first argument for division: Philo and the riots of 38–41 340
3. The radicalisation of the conflict: Flavian policies towards Jews and Egyptians 343
4. Josephus’s interlocutor in Contra Apionem 346
5. Conclusion. Strategies of integrationand strategies of resistance 350
Bibliography 351
Hugo Lundhaug The Nag Hammadi Codices in the Complex World of 4th- and 5th-Cent. Egypt 354
1. The Nag Hammadi Codices and monasticism 354
2. Enemies of the “Great Church”? 358
3. The Apocalypse of Peter 360
4. Codex VII 363
5. A complex world 365
6. Conclusion 368
Bibliography 369
Part Five: The Construction of Authorityin Philosophical and Religious Schools 374
Carmine Pisano: Moses “Prophet” of God in the Works of Philo, or How to Use Otherness to Construct Selfness 376
1. Philo and the “biography” of Moses 376
2. The “prophet” Moses between Judaism and Platonism 377
3. Platonism as an exegetical instrument 379
4. Prophecy and divination, or exegesis and self-definition 382
Bibliography 385
Giulia Sfameni Gasparro: Alexandria in the Mirror of Origen’s didaskaleion: Between the Great Church, Heretics and Philosophers 392
1. Catechesis and philosophy:the two aims of Origen’s didaskaleion 392
2. Debates, coexistences, conflicts:classificatory categories and historical complexity 396
3. The Contra Celsum: ideological controversy and socio-political context 399
Bibliography 406
Marco Rizzi: Cultural and Religious Exchanges in Alexandria: The Transformation of Philosopy and Exegesis in the 3rd Cent. in the Mirror of Origen 414
1. A historiographical issue 414
2. Origen’s twofold biography 416
3. Origen, Ammonius and the new shapeof philosophical teaching 421
Bibliography 427
Index of Ancient Sources 430
1. Ancient writers and works 430
2. Hebrew Bible 445
3. Legal and official corpora 446
4. Manuscripts, papyri, ostraka, epigraphic materials 446
5. New Testament 449
6. Septuagint, Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha (“Jewish” and“Christian” texts), Nag Hammadi texts 450
Index of Modern Authors 454
Index of Main Topics 468
List of Contributors 474