Chapter 6: Envy (Continued) This chapter just gives more examples of martyrdom and persecution and points out the basis of persecution is envy. cf. Crossans Jesus and the Violence of Scripture (SPCK 2015), a passage re Nero, not because I support either of these writers in their views of HJ but because it rang a bell regarding the transmission of the (divine?) (A white Muslim convert I knew well in Norwich once said to me, We dont make your distinction between fact and fiction!). Nor does Acts 18:1-3 help the cause, for its reference to Jews expelled from Rome who joined Paul in Corinth does not suggest that they were Christians when they left Rome. Instead, the apostles and the early fathers understood that Jesus came to really take away sin. Overlooked or downplayed in the longstanding debate over the Tacitus passage has been the stark fact that no Christian commentator for over three centuries ever refers to a general anti-Christian pogrom by Nero (beyond the legendary executions of Peter and Paul, which are never linked to the fire). Probably this myth is connected with a ceremony having to do with the worship of waters, and the Danades were water-nymphs. . Even later Roman historians do not reflect the myth, such as Suetonius and Cassius Dio, and Shaws suggested reasons for this are hardly adequate. Auf seinen Befehl hin tteten alle bis auf eine in der Brautnacht ihre jungen Ehemnner, smtlich Shne des Aigyptos, die sogenannten Aigyptiaden. He says: Evidently two developments had taken place prior to his writing the Annales: But I have often been impressed with their grasp of logic and analysis of scholarship. By informal exchanges, in the course of their many known personal communications. ", Callimachus, Hymn 4 to Delos 75 ff (trans. Some authors offer the one version, some the other. I do need to touch on the two women Clement lists, "the Danaids and Dircae." According to the footnote in The Ante-Nicene Fathers, they are either two unknown women or the phrase was possible added later. He nevertheless does not subscribe to the historians account of Neros reign. Another contemporary, Pliny, shared the same negative view of Christians. Looking forward to more segments. Grant) (Roman mythographer C2nd A.D.) : Nonnus, Dionysiaca 44. Mirbt, n.33. Its an interesting hypothesis. For Aegyptus, these fifty marriages appeared as an easy route to acquire the properties of Danaus. As Peter wrote,"I think it is right, as long as I am in this tabernacle [this body], stir you up by reminding you" (2 Pet. ", Nancy Fraser- June 2019 (personal email), "Many thanks for this post, and for the quality of your blog. The rank was true of Tacitus own time, but not of Pilatus own when praefectus was the title held by the governor of Judaea. You can return Home, go to the index of commentaries, or go to my categorized index of artices. 151168. He certainly knew of the Great Fire. Ancient history is obviously less verifiable than recent history, and open to speculative revisions of various sorts, including the use of some presumed legends and forgeries against others, according to taste. Danaus' brother Aegyptus had fifty children as well; in his case, all of them were male. available online @ http://dspace.nwu.ac.za/handle/10394/14213, Your email address will not be published. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. The historian certainly knew the differencebetween governors who were praefecti and those who were procuratores, and elsewhere he notes the distinction. "Dirke (Dirce) danced, spouting her whirling waters along with her father Ismenos (Ismenus).". can be read possibly as Philinna according to Mauricius Schmidt in his annotations of Hyginus. Neil is the author of this post. He wrote of one of several episodes of people in the East gaining following by falsely claiming to be Nero returning to re-claim theempire. ISBN 1-905048-0-68. 64 (2): 231242. Nero had reserved his own gardens for the spectacle. This first letter of Clement (a second letter was falsely attributed to him) was copied by the Corinthian Church and circulated all over the empire, rendering the very first papal encyclical. It was so highly regarded by the universal church that for several centuries the Church in Egypt and elsewhere regarded it as one of the New Testament scriptures. Without doubt, Danaus brought her in front of the Argos court. Further, Tacituss friend Pliny also described Christians in the same terms (the same words), seeing them as a plague spreading throughout the countryside of his province. who had already confessed) a very large number were convicted, less on the charge of having set the fire than because of their hatred of humankind. So, please continue to delve deeply and share this intellectual sustenance with your grateful readers. | About Us Many points in the passage have been closely debated, but as a whole does it reflect reliable history? To read more about Neil, see our. Christian women suffering outrages at the hands of pagans are presented there as 'Danaids and Dirces'. This document is the earliest Christian writing besides the New Testament documents. To these men who spent their lives in the practice of holiness, there is to be added a great multitude of the elect, who, having through envy endured many indignities and tortures, furnished. Aldrich) (Greek mythographer C2nd A.D.) : The historians qualities of veracity and accuracy, within the tolerable limits of the sources available to him, are not generally open to serious question. . They first made a stop in Rhodes, where they founded Lindos town and built a temple to goddess Athena Lindia. In the first great persecution of the Church, begun by the Roman Emperor Nero after the burning of Rome in 64AD, many Christians, including Peter and Paul, were tortured and killed. ", "For an excellent example of generally high-quality scholarship by someone who isnt a biblical studies professor, see Neil Godfreys work posted on the website vridar.org. Cf. Owing to envy, Paul also obtained the reward of patient endurance, after being seven times thrown into captivity, compelled to flee, and stoned. Three were burned to the ground. Cassius Dio(ca 155-235 C.E.) How much further than that you can go has never been defined by law. Let us look steadfastly to the blood of Christ, and see how precious that blood is to God, which, having been shed for our salvation, has set the grace of repentance before the whole world. Through jealousy women were made to appear as Danaids and Dircae, suffering terrible and unholy indignities; they finished the race of faith unshaken and received a noble reward, weak in the body though they were. In Greek mythology, the Danades (/dne.diz/; Greek: ), also Danaides or Danaids, were the fifty daughters of Danaus. This is quite improbable. In any case, Bowersocks unease is well founded. Greeka? (There have been dubious attempts to force some of these writers into supposedly alluding to such an event.). What seems to make the idea so compelling and impossible to dismiss is that it is based on a high quality historical source of apparently unimpeachable fidelity, the, Not by any human resources, not by the benefactions of the emperor, and not by any placating of the gods did. Paul says that he went throughout the world preaching that the Gentiles should repent and turn to God, doing works suitable for repentance" (Acts 26:20). Think about thismany apologists are claiming the disciples and early followers were killed for their belief, and the Bishop of Rome, in either 65 or 95 CE, could only come up with Peter, Paul, Danaids and Dircae. Even in the New Testament, we are told that at the judgment those who patiently to do good will be rewarded in eternal life (Rom. It is worth noting that Tacitus Annals 15 derives from a single manuscript, found in the derives from a single manuscript found in a monastery at Monte Cassino in the 13 or 14th century, that also found its way into the hands of Poggio Bracciolini. According to Hurtado: This may be a new way of thinking for a lot of you. (I imagine the google search in . The Jews from Jerusalem marveled at the precious gift given to the Gentiles, Cornelius being the first, by saying, "So God has granted repentance to life to the Gentiles as well" (Acts 11:18). can be read possibly as Phileas (Phileam) according to Mauricius Schmidt in his annotations of Hyginus, Last edited on 27 December 2022, at 03:05, Learn how and when to remove this template message, Holinshed's Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland, "Interleaved Greek and English text (translation by Gillian Newing)". Given the surprisingly widespread acceptance of the great significance ofthis axial event in Christian history, the thinness of the evidence on all aspects of it is quite striking. 18:30]. certain womenwho were spectacularly executed, dressed up as Danaids and Dircae. The myth says that Danaus had fifty daughters, known as the Danaides, from four different women, while Aegyptus had fifty sons. Most Americans tend to think of religion as something rather fluid. Dirke was originally the wife of King Lykos (Lycus) of Thebes who, as punishment for the mistreatment of her niece Antiope, was tied to a wild bull and torn limb from limb. It is doing God's will that matters, not numbers. Slingerland reaches a proper and salutary conclusion: the burden of proof rests with those who wish to identify Chrestus with Christ, not those who distinguish them (pp 169-217). This oversight has been corrected. There now began a more destructive and savage fire than Rome had ever experienced At the time a rumour had been running about that while the city was burning Nero had mounted his household stage and, in likening the present evils to disasters experienced in distant antiquity, he had sung about the destruction of Troy Of Romes fourteen districts only four remained untouched. Now turn to the Book of Revelation, and we find that the Nero-like figure who is coming to destroy and kill on a cosmic scale is none other than Christ. But then when explaining whom Nero scapegoatedTacitusenters the realm of anachronism. The absence is doubly striking since it was precisely a fire at Nicomedia (two of them, in fact) that caused Galerius and Diocletian to turn on the Christians in the Great Persecution of 303 C.E. ", "I have found your website really valuable as an interpretive filter for Biblical scholarship, especially the origins of Christianity and historicity of Jesus issue. The Roman elites, meanwhile, came to remember Nero as a malicious villain. I like Hurtados works on Christology, but at the same time I have to be alert to the fact that he has conveniently found arguments that support his personal Christian beliefs so one does need to read his critics at the same time. 57 (trans. She, suspecting that her husband had secretly lain with Antiopa, ordered her servants to keep her bound in darkness. Shawnotes that from time to time detailed arguments do appear to claim the following passage is a later interpolation in whole or in part. DIRKE (Dirce) was the Naiad-nymph of the spring of Dirke near Thebes in Boiotia (central Greece). ISMENOS (Callimachus Hymn to Delos, Nonnus Dionysiaca 44.10), Pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheca 3. In November, he took the first steps in composing the Community's own draft programme. We need not recognise all Hocharts arguments as equally sound, yet we must admit that in their entirety and agreement they are worthy of consideration, and are well calculated to disturb the ingenuous belief in the authenticity of the passage of Tacitus. The writer concludes: Thereafter the brethren kept together with one accord, rejoicing and exulting in the Lord. No Tacitean horror spectacle there. The absence is doubly striking since it was precisely a fire at Nicomedia (two of them, in fact) that caused Galerius and Diocletian to turn on the Christians in the Great Persecution of 303 C.E. Irving, TX 75062 In fact, Godfrey is extremely well read and his librarian skills have brought many important academic works to my attention. The Danaids - or the Danaides; also called Belides after their grandfather - were the fifty daughters of Danaus, one of the two twin sons of king Belus of Egypt and the Naiad Anchinoe. Community 's own draft programme suspecting that her husband had secretly lain with Antiopa, her. Greek mythology, the Danades were water-nymphs have been closely debated, but a. Daughters, known as the Danaides, from four different women, while Aegyptus had fifty daughters of Danaus women... Eine in der Brautnacht ihre jungen Ehemnner, smtlich Shne des Aigyptos, die sogenannten.! 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