The Ancient Novel and Early Christian and Jewish Narrative: Fictional Intersections

249 Pages·2013·2.835 MB·English

by  Marilia P. Futre Pinheiro, Judith Perkins, Richard Pervo

The Ancient Novel and Early Christian and Jewish Narrative:
Fictional Intersections
ANCIENT NARRATIVE

Supplementum 16

Editorial Board
Gareth Schmeling, University of Florida, Gainesville
Stephen Harrison, Corpus Christi College, Oxford
Heinz Hofmann, Universität Tübingen
Massimo Fusillo, Università degli Studi dell’Aquila
Ruurd Nauta, University of Groningen
Stelios Panayotakis, University of Crete
Costas Panayotakis (review editor), University of Glasgow

Advisory Board
Jean Alvares, Montclair State University
Alain Billault, Université Paris Sorbonne – Paris IV
Ewen Bowie, Corpus Christi College, Oxford
Jan Bremmer, University of Groningen
Stavros Frangoulidis, Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki
Ronald Hock, University of Southern California, Los Angeles
Irene de Jong, University of Amsterdam
Bernhard Kytzler, University of Natal, Durban
Silvia Montiglio, Johns Hopkins University
John Morgan, University of Wales, Swansea
Rudi van der Paardt, University of Leiden
Michael Paschalis, University of Crete
Judith Perkins, Saint Joseph College, West Hartford
Tim Whitmarsh, Corpus Christi College, Oxford
Alfons Wouters, University of Leuven
Maaike Zimmerman, University of Groningen

Subscriptions and ordering
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The Ancient Novel
and Early Christian and Jewish Narrative:
Fictional Intersections

edited by

Marília P. Futre Pinheiro,
Judith Perkins,
Richard Pervo
BARKHUIS PUBLISHING &
GRONINGEN UNIVERSITY LIBRARY
GRONINGEN 2012
Book design: Barkhuis
Cover Design: Nynke Tiekstra, Noordwolde

ISBN 9789491431210

Image on cover: Hartmann Schedel - Registrum huius operis libri cronicarum cum figuris
et ymaginibus ab inicio mundi. (Nuremberge [= Nürnberg] : Anthonius Koberger [=
Anton Koberger], 1493). f. CVII [=107]. Location: PT- Lisboa: Portuguese National
Library (BNP). - INC. 342

Copyright © 2012 the editor and authors

All rights reserved. No part of this publication or the information contained herein may
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Although all care is taken to ensure the integrity and quality of this publication and the
information herein, no responsibility is assumed by the publishers nor the authors for any
damage to property or persons as a result of operation or use of this publication and/or
the information contained herein.
Contents
Acknowledgments IX

Prologue XI

Introduction XV
A THE APOCRYPHAL ACTS 1
JENNIFER EYL
Why Thekla Does Not See Paul:
Visual Perception and the Displacement
of Erōs in the Acts of Paul and Thekla 3

ROBIN J. GREENE
(Un)Happily Ever After:
Literary and Religious Tensions
in the Endings of the Apocryphal Acts of Paul and Thecla 21

PAOLA FRANCESCA MORETTI
The Two Ephesian Matrons:
Drusiana’s Story in the Acts of John
as a Possible Christian Response to Milesian Narrative 35

VINCENT GIRAUDET
Virginity at Stake: Greek Novels, Apocryphal Acts
of the Apostles, and the Dionysiaca of Nonnus Panopolitanus 49

JANET SPITTLER
Wild Kingdom: Animal Episodes
in the Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles 65
VI CONTENTS
B THE JEWISH NOVEL 77

NINA BRAGINSKAYA
Joseph and Aseneth in Greek Literary History:
The Case of the “First Novel” 79

C ANCIENT NOVEL AND EARLY CHRISTIAN FICTIONS:
INTERSECTIONS 107

JUDITH PERKINS
Jesus Was No Sophist: Education in Christian Fiction 109

OLIVER EHLEN
Reading the Protevangelium Jacobi as an Ancient Novel 133

ROSA M. ANDÚJAR
Charicleia the Martyr: Heliodorus and Early Christian Narrative 139

MARTINA HIRSCHBERGER
Marriages Spoiled: The Deconstruction of Novel Discourse
in Early Christian Novel Narratives 153

D NEW TESTAMENT AND HAGIOGRAPHY 169

WARREN S. SMITH
We-Passages in Acts as Mission Narrative 171

PETR KITZLER
Viri mirantur facilius quam imitantur:
Passio Perpetuae in the Literature of the Ancient Church
(Tertullian, Acta martyrum, and Augustine) 189

TIMO GLASER
Telling What’s Beyond the Known: The Epistolary Novel
and the Afterlife of the Apostle Paul in the Pastoral Epistles 203
CONTENTS VII
Abstracts 215

Contributors 221

Indices 225
Index locorum 225
General index 227

Acknowledgements
First of all, a special word is due to my fellow editors, Judith Perkins and
Richard Pervo, two major authorities in the field of Biblical, Early Jewish
and Christian Literature. We have worked very closely together on this vol-
ume over the last two years, and I’m very much indebted to them for their
wise and accurate reading of the papers, for their valuable suggestions and
strong commitment to this project.
The early centuries CE were a period of significant social change, seeing
the evolution of the Roman Empire as well as the rise of Christianity and
rabbinic Judaism. The fictional narratives of the period confronted issues
such as the interrelation of religion and imperial politics, hybridized identi-
ties, colonizer and colonized people in equality of resources. So the study of
these narratives is important and relevant to contemporary concerns.
The editors wish to express their sincere gratitude to all contributors for
their patient and enduring collaboration during the process of producing this
book. Since this volume includes a selection of papers presented at the
Fourth International Conference on the Ancient Novel (ICAN IV), which
was held at Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian in Lisbon, 21–26 July 2008, I
extend my gratitude to its President, Dr. Rui Vilar, and to the Director of the
Gulbenkian Museum, João Castel-Branco Pereira, for the visit to the muse-
um. It would be impossible to enumerate all sponsors, whose invaluable
assistance and generous support made this project a reality. I’ll only mention
a few: the Mayor of Lisbon and Lisbon’s City Hall, Dr. António Costa, and
his councilwoman, Rosália Vargas; the Rector of the University of Lisbon,
Prof. Dr. António Nóvoa; the Luso-American Development Foundation
(FLAD), and its Director, Miguel Vaz; the Fundação Oriente, represented by
Ambassador João de Deus Ramos and João Amorim, for the instructive tour
of the recently inaugurated Museu do Oriente; the Manager of the Lisboa
Convention Bureau, Alexandra Baltazar, for providing us with a memorable
cruise on the Tagus river; the director of the Teatro Nacional D. Maria II,
Carlos Fragateiro, for the theater performances in the ruins of the Monastery
of Carmo and in the National Theatre. I express my profound thanks to them
and to the following institutions: the Instituto Italiano de Cultura de Lisboa,