Hellenism Flashcards
What is hellenism
The cultural and philosophical influence of Greek thought and practices on early Christian communities- shaping their language, ideas and interactions with the Greco-Roman world.
Hellenism and the Roman empire
“Rome conquered Greece, but Greece captured Rome”
Rome was a multi lingual empire e.g greek
The Jewish diaspora were greatly influenced by Hellenism
The OT was translated into Greek in around 250 BC
Emperor worship
there was a tendency to regard the emperor as divine. Augustus was deified after his death
some insisted on divine worship while alive
the same way we talk about Jesus: ‘Saviour’ ‘Good news’ etc were used to talk about the emperor
The groups within Hellenism
Epicureans
Stoics
Gnostics
Platonism
who are Epicureans and what do they believe
Followers of the Philosopher Epicurus
- the greatest good is to seek pleasure and avoid pain
- designed to free people from fears and superstitions
- ‘gods have nothing to do with human existence; death is final’
- a materialistic doctrine where life was about the pursuit of pleasure
Who are stoics and what do they believe
they regard the universe as a single organism energized by a world-soul
alongside the ‘logos’ or divine reason that guides all things
Who are gnostics and what do they believe
used to describe a pattern of religious thought often with christian and jewish elements.
they believed that human souls or spiritual principles do not belong in this material world- they can only be saved by receiving the revelation that they belong to a heavenly realm of light.
this can be achieved through sometimes baptism, elaborate cultist rituals or philosophical reflection
Who are Platonist and what do they believe
the belief that people see only the insubstantial shadows cast by another world of realities where perfect truth and beauty exist
to fulfill their destiny they must escape the material world- the true world is in that other world
