The Alexandrian Tradition: Interactions between Science, Religion, and Literature

329 Pages·2014·7.98 MB·English

by  Luis Arturo Guichard

IRIS Ricerche di cultura europea 8 Luis Arturo Guichard, Juan Luis García Alonso
Forschungen zur europäischen Kultur 2
& María Paz de Hoz (eds.)
S
I
R
I
The Alexandrian Tradition
This book is the outcome of the conference “Imperial Alexandria: n
o
Interactions between Science, Religion and Literature”, held at Sala-
i
t
manca University in October 2011. The conference convened a group di
of experts from different fields to address the interrelationship between ra Interactions between Science, Religion, and Literature
T
Science, Religion and Literature in the Graeco-Roman world during

n
the Imperial Period, and especially in Alexandria, situating it within the a
i
context of the long tradition of knowledge that had been consolidating r
d
itself in this city, above all during the Hellenistic era. The encounter’s n
a
main aim was to create a forum for interdisciplinary reflection on x
e
“the Alexandrian model” of knowledge in the Imperial Period and its l
A
background, being attended by philologists and historians specialis-

e
ing in different types of texts (literary, scientific and religious), whose h
T
study requires an interdisciplinary approach, with priority being given

•
to the notion of contact and the relationship between these subjects
)
.
in order to gain a better understanding of the spirit, way of thinking s
d
and moral values of a particularly important era in the development e
(
of ancient culture. z
o
H

e
D

Luis Arturo Guichard, Juan Luis García Alonso and María Paz de Hoz &
are Associate Professors of Greek Language and Literature at the Uni- o
versity of Salamanca. They all three collaborate in the research Project s
n
FFI2011-29180 – “Interactions between science, religion and literature in o
l
A
the Graeco-Roman Mediterranean”, which is financed by Spain’s Ministry

a
of Science and Innovation (MICINN).
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ISBN 978-3-0343-1452-7
r
a
h
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G Peter Lang
www.peterlang.com
IRIS Ricerche di cultura europea 8 Luis Arturo Guichard, Juan Luis García Alonso
Forschungen zur europäischen Kultur 2
& María Paz de Hoz (eds.)
S
I
R
I
The Alexandrian Tradition
This book is the outcome of the conference “Imperial Alexandria: n
o
Interactions between Science, Religion and Literature”, held at Sala-
i
t
manca University in October 2011. The conference convened a group di
of experts from different fields to address the interrelationship between ra Interactions between Science, Religion, and Literature
T
Science, Religion and Literature in the Graeco-Roman world during

n
the Imperial Period, and especially in Alexandria, situating it within the a
i
context of the long tradition of knowledge that had been consolidating r
d
itself in this city, above all during the Hellenistic era. The encounter’s n
a
main aim was to create a forum for interdisciplinary reflection on x
e
“the Alexandrian model” of knowledge in the Imperial Period and its l
A
background, being attended by philologists and historians specialis-

e
ing in different types of texts (literary, scientific and religious), whose h
T
study requires an interdisciplinary approach, with priority being given

•
to the notion of contact and the relationship between these subjects
)
.
in order to gain a better understanding of the spirit, way of thinking s
d
and moral values of a particularly important era in the development e
(
of ancient culture. z
o
H

e
D

Luis Arturo Guichard, Juan Luis García Alonso and María Paz de Hoz &
are Associate Professors of Greek Language and Literature at the Uni- o
versity of Salamanca. They all three collaborate in the research Project s
n
FFI2011-29180 – “Interactions between science, religion and literature in o
l
A
the Graeco-Roman Mediterranean”, which is financed by Spain’s Ministry

a
of Science and Innovation (MICINN).
í
c
r
a
G

,
d
r
a
h
c
i
u
G Peter Lang
The Alexandrian Tradition
IRIS Ricerche di cultura europea
Forschungen zur europäischen Kultur
Herausgegeben von
Italo Michele Battafarano
Band 28
PETER LANG
Bern • Berlin • Bruxelles • Frankfurt am Main • New York • Oxford • Wien
Luis Arturo Guichard, Juan Luis García Alonso
& María Paz de Hoz (eds.)
The Alexandrian Tradition
Interactions between Science, Religion,
and Literature
PETER LANG
Bern • Berlin • Bruxelles • Frankfurt am Main • New York • Oxford • Wien
Bibliographic information published by die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie;
detailed bibliographic data is available on the Internet at ‹http://dnb.d-nb.de›.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data:
A catalogue record for this book is available from The British Library, Great Britain
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
The Alexandrian tradition : interactions between science, religion, and literature /
Luis Arturo Guichard, Juan Luis García Alonso & María Paz de Hoz (eds.).
pages cm. – (Ricerche di cultura europea = Forschungen zur europ?ischen Kultur,
ISSN 0939-6241; Band 28)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-3-0343-1452-7 (paperback) – ISBN 978-3-03-510723-4 (ebook)
1. Alexandria (Egypt)–Intellectual life–Congresses. 2. Learning and scholarship–
Egypt–Alexandria–History–To 1500–Congresses. 3. Religion and science–Egypt–
Alexandria–History–To 1500–Congresses. 4. Religion and literature–Egypt–Alexandria–
History–To 1500–Congresses. 5. Greece–Intellectual life–146 B.C.-323 A.D.–Con-
gresses. 6. Rome–Intellectual life–Congresses. 7. Religion and science–Mediterra-
nean Region–History–To 1500–Congresses. 8. Religion and literature–Mediterranean
Region–History–To 1500–Congresses. 9. Civilization, Greco-Roman–Congresses. 10.
Mediterranean Region–History–To 476–Congresses. I. Guichard, Luis Arturo, 1973-
II. García Alonso, Juan Luis. III. Hoz, María Paz de.
DT73.A4A128 2014
932‘.1–dc23
2014013263
Este volumen ha sido publicado con apoyo del Proyecto de Investigación
FFI2011-29180 “Interacciones entre ciencia, religión y literatura en
el Mediterráneo grecorromano” (MICINN-MINECO).
ISBN 978-3-0343-1452-7 pb. ISBN 978-3-0351-0723-4 eBook
ISSN 0939-6241 pb. ISSN 2235-7017 eBook

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Contents
Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
JOHN LENNART BERGGREN
Mathematics & Religion in Ancient Greece
and Medieval Islam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
JAMES EVANS
Mechanics and Imagination in Ancient Greek Astronomy:
Sphairopoiïa as Image and Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
ANNE TIHON
Alexandrian Astronomy in the 2nd Century AD:
Ptolemy and his Times . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
SÉBASTIEN MOUREAU
Note on a passage of the Arabic translation
of Ptolemy’s Planetary Hypotheses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
LAURENT BRICAULT
Isis, Sarapis, Cyrus and John: Between Healing Gods
and Thaumaturgical Saints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
MARCO ANTONIO SANTAMARÍA
The Song of Orpheus in the Argonautica and
the Theogonic Library of Apollonius . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
LUIS ARTURO GUICHARD
Paradox and the Marvellous in Greek Poetry
of the Imperial Period . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
6 Contents
JANE LUCY LIGHTFOOT
Between literature and science, poetry and
prose, Alexandria and Rome: the case of
Dionysius’ Periegesis of the Known World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
MARÍA PAZ DE HOZ
Lucian’s Podagra, Asclepius and Galen.
The popularisation of medicine in the second century AD . . . . 175
CLELIA MARTÍNEZ MAZA
Christian Paideia in Early Imperial Alexandria . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
JUAN LUIS GARCÍA ALONSO
“When I scan the circling spirals of the stars,
no longer do I touch earth with my feet” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
LAURA MIGUÉLEZ-CAVERO
Nonnus’ natural histories: anything to do with Dionysus? . . . . 245
GIANFRANCO AGOSTI
Greek Poetry in Late Antique Alexandria:
between Culture and Religion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313
Contributors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321
7
Foreword
This book is the outcome of, on the one hand, the conference “Impe-
rial Alexandria: Interactions between Science, Religion and Litera-
ture”, held at Salamanca University in October 2011, and, on the
other, the activities of the research project FFI2011-29180 – Inter-
acciones entre ciencia, religión y literatura en el Mediterráneo greco-
rromano (Interactions between science, religion and literature in the
Graeco-Roman Mediterranean), which is hosted by that same uni-
versity and financed by Spain’s Ministry of Science and Innovation
(MICINN), which also funded the ancillary processes arranged for
these purposes (FFI2010-10326-E).
This conference convened a group of experts from different fields
to address the interrelationship between science, religion and litera-
ture in imperial times in the Graeco-Roman world, and especially in
Alexandria, situating it within the context of the long tradition of
knowledge that had been consolidating itself in this city, above all
during the Hellenistic era. The encounter’s main aim was therefore
to create a forum for interdisciplinary reflection on “the Alexandrian
model” of knowledge in imperial times and its background, being
attended by philologists and historians specialising in different types
of texts (literary, scientific and religious), whose study requires an
interdisciplinary approach; the overriding aim was to open a gate-
way to the understanding of the texts and the cultural expressions of
the time, with priority being given to the notion of contact and the
relationship between science, religion and literature, and explore new
pathways in the focus on each subject in order to gain a better under-
standing of the spirit, way of thinking and moral and religious values
of a particularly important era in the development of ancient culture.
The focal point of our study has been a highly significant period
within this context and one that witnessed major changes, namely,
the imperial era, understanding this to be the chronological arc that
sweeps from the end of the first century BC (the annexation of Egypt
8 Foreword
as a Roman province in 30 BC is the standard date for the beginning
of the period) through to the end of the third century AD, when wide-
spread social upheaval in Alexandria, its decline as an economic power
and the pressure exerted by the barbarian tribes on the Empire’s fron-
tiers clearly signalled the end of an era that was confirmed by the
founding of Constantinople in AD 324/330. It is a period in which
Greek and Latin cultures introduced a new dynamic of communica-
tion that would last at least until the sixth century, based on the Ro-
man Empire’s efficient administrative network. A period, further-
more, in which prestigious cultural centres such as Alexandria and
Rome coexisted alongside Greek cities, which were becoming in-
creasingly richer and more refined, in the Mediterranean and Asia
Minor. In terms of the history of culture, there is a displacement of
the ancient centres of power toward other new ones modelled on
Hellenistic Alexandria. Yet what’s more, and this is the period’s main
feature, there is a transformation in the forms of knowledge based on
the myriad subjects of learning that had developed a remarkable level
of specialisation in the Hellenistic era, as well as in the specific way
such learning circulated and was expressed. In the long run, this trans-
formation of knowledge would lead to a new specialisation that co-
incides largely with the definitions of each branch of knowledge that
survive through to Late Antiquity and even the Middle Ages. The
manner in which the three aforementioned spheres interrelate or dis-
tance themselves from each other is one of the keys for understand-
ing the fundamentals of culture during that period, yet it is a subject
that has never been the focus of a book-lenght study. This confer-
ence, therefore, sought to centre the discussion on the dynamics of
relationship, appropriation, prestige and critique that exists between
different ways of thinking and expression: science, religion and lit-
erature.
The actual content of the papers presented did indeed show us
that it is extremely difficult to make a very neat temporal delimita-
tion, even when certain chronological boundaries may be valid, and
that a book on Alexandria in imperial times needs to be based on the
notion of Alexandrian tradition, which is what truly gives consist-
ency to the topics addressed. Further still, it confirms our initial im-
pression that the axis forming the relationships between science, re-