Evidence of Greek Philosophical Concepts in the Writings of Ephrem the Syrian

Evidence of Greek Philosophical Concepts in the Writings of Ephrem the SyrianSyriaca.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/MKR22AEN/tei

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CREATED: This bibl record was autogenerated from a Zotero record.UtePossekelEvidence of Greek Philosophical Concepts in the Writings of Ephrem the Syrianhttp://syriaca.org/cbss/MKR22AENhttps://www.zotero.org/groups/a_comprehensive_bibliography_on_syriac_studies/items/MKR22AENhttps://www.zotero.org/groups/4861694/items/MKR22AEN1998The theology of Ephrem the Syrian (ca. 306-373) has often been described as unhellenized and arising out of a predominantly Semitic cultural environment. This evaluation is based partly on the fact that Ephrem wrote in Syriac, a dialect of the Aramaic language spoken by the earliest Christians, and partly on his poetic approach to theology, which illustrates each thought with an abundance of symbols and paradoxes. This evaluation is problematic, however, because it emphasizes language and form over content, and because it overlooks those elements of Ephrem's thought that originate from the Greek world. This dissertation demonstrates that Ephrem was familiar with a variety of Greek philosophical concepts; his theology can therefore no longer be described as Semitic and unhellenized. The first chapter of this study introduces Ephrem's cultural context, the cities of Nisibis and Edessa, and discusses the degree of Hellenization in late antique Mesopotamia. The second chapter examines Ephrem's attitude towards learning, and it suggests how Ephrem might have been educated. Chapter three discusses Ephrem's use of the expressions 'itya and 'ituta, kyana, and qnoma, and compares these terms to the corresponding Greek terminology. The following chapters analyze in detail Ephrem's notion of the four elements (chapter four), atomism (chapter five), space (chapter six), incorporeals (chapter seven), and sense perception (chapter eight), comparing Ephrem's notions with the corresponding concepts in the Greek philosophical literature. Chapter nine summarizes the results. The great number of parallels between Ephrem and Hellenic philosophers shows that he shared in the Greek cultural tradition to a larger extent than has usually been acknowledged. Ephrem self-consciously avails himself of Greek philosophy in order to refute his theological opponents. His occasional polemics against Greek philosophy occur exclusively in the context of his criticism of inappropriate investigation into the nature of the divine. Ephrem's use of Greek philosophy is predominantly Stoic, but also eclectic - like that of many other early theologians. Although the paucity of evidence concerning early Syriac culture does not permit drawing more than speculative conclusions about how the Greek traditions were conveyed to Ephrem, this dissertation shows that they were part of his intellectual heritage. Possekel, Ute. “Evidence of Greek Philosophical Concepts in the Writings of Ephrem the Syrian.” Ph.D. dissertation, Princeton Theological Seminary, 1998. Ute Possekel, Evidence of Greek Philosophical Concepts in the Writings of Ephrem the Syrian (Ph.D. dissertation, Princeton Theological Seminary, 1998).EphremGreek languageGreek philosophyHellenismIV CEloan-words