The Intellectual Background of Bardaisan, the First Christian Author in SyriacJournal of Classical StudiesSyriaca.org: The Syriac Reference PortalThe National Endowment for the HumanitiesThe International Balzan Prize FoundationDavid A. Michelsoncbsc_adminRecord added to Zotero bycbsc_adminSyriaca.org: The Syriac Reference Portalhttp://syriaca.org/cbss/JD7V6EV3/tei
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CREATED: This bibl record was autogenerated from a Zotero record.SatoshiTodaThe Intellectual Background of Bardaisan, the First Christian Author in Syriachttp://syriaca.org/cbss/JD7V6EV3https://www.zotero.org/groups/a_comprehensive_bibliography_on_syriac_studies/items/JD7V6EV3https://www.zotero.org/groups/4861694/items/JD7V6EV3Journal of Classical Studies592011118-130Bardaisan, the first Christian author in Syriac, whose thought is known mainly from the Book of the Laws of Countries, is often considered as a philosopher, and his thought is very frequently understood in the light of Greek philosophy (e.g. Stoicism). However, scholars who argue for Greek influence on Bardaisan seldom ask whether or to what extent Bardaisan really knew Greek; and curiously enough, some rare evaluations of his knowledge of Greek are rather negative. This problem needs to be solved. The present article addresses the problem by examining the Greek loan words used by Bardaisan in the Book of the Laws of Countries, and also by comparing his knowledge of astrology with that of the astrology as presented in Greco-Roman astrological literature, and argues that his knowledge of Greek was far from extensive and that he should be considered as one of the first thinkers who thought not in Greek but in Syriac.
Toda, Satoshi. βThe Intellectual Background of Bardaisan, the First Christian Author in Syriac.β Journal of Classical Studies 59 (2011): 118β30.
Satoshi Toda, The Intellectual Background of Bardaisan, the First Christian Author in Syriac,Journal of Classical Studies 59 (2011): 118β30.BardesanGreek cultureI-III CEIII CEastrologyloan-words [Greek]