Aspects of the Byzantine Literary Appropriation of Classical Culture (original) (raw)

The purpose of this article is to outline how certain figures of the Byzantine ecclesial tradition appropriated (not merely preserved) the philosophical and literary output of ancient Greece and Rome, chiefly to articulate holy mysteries crucial for our salvation. Subsequently, it will examine how Sts Justin Martyr, Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, John Chrysostom, and Theodore the Studite industriously adapted elements of Classical philosophy, mythology, oratory, poetry, and epistolography to make the message of the Gospel more palatable to their audiences, including potential converts. More precisely, it will discuss the literary and cultural renaissance during which Byzantium emerged before evaluating: (i) Justin's positive appraisal of the Greco-Roman philosophical traditions, as suggested by his articulation of the 'logos spermatikos' doctrine during the violent suppression of Christianity by Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius; (ii) the Cappadocians' defence of the Church's share in the Classical inheritance in response to Julian the Apostate; (iii) Chrysostom's role in the transmission of rhetoric and the significance of Libanius the Sophist in this regard; and (iv) the Studite's revival of epigrams and the art of letter writing amidst the iconoclastic controversy instigated by Leo V. The article will therefore highlight key methods used by the Church Fathers to support the new pragmatic paradigms that the Orthodox faith brought to society.