Courtney J P Friesen
Biographic Data
| ID | 709595 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Courtney J P Friesen |
| GIVEN NAMES | Courtney J P |
| FAMILY NAME | Friesen |
| SIGNATURE | FRIESEN C J P |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Arizona |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 11 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 1 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 11 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2014 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
Lucian of Samosata, Peregrinus Proteus, and the Fiction of Christian Conversion
The nature of religious conversion (and apostasy) is a matter of ongoing historical and theoretical interest. This study takes Lucian of Samosata’s Passing of Peregrinus as an illustrative test case for this phenomenon in the second century. Its eponymous protagonist converts to Christianity temporarily, and after being quickly elevated as an authority and champion, he soon defects to become a Cynic and celebrated sage, then ultimately ends his l…
Hagar on Sinai
Paul’s allegory of Hagar and Sarah in Gal 4:21–5:1 remains a perennial puzzle as its enigmatic chain of associations (two biblical women—two covenants—two geographical locations of Mount Sinai and Jerusalem) has no clear parallel. In this study, I offer a fresh perspective by exploring striking similarities with an allegorical parable that was widely popular across antiquity among Greeks and Romans and within Judaism and Christianity. The so-call…
Acting Gods, Playing Heroes, and the Interaction between Judaism, Christianity, and Greek Drama in the Early Common Era
While many ancient Jewish and Christian leaders voiced opposition to Greek and Roman theater, this volume demonstrates that by the time the public performance of classical drama ceased at the end of antiquity the ideals of Jews and Christians had already been shaped by it in profound and lasting ways. Readers are invited to explore how gods and heroes famous from Greek drama animated the imaginations of ancient individuals and communities as they…
Bible, the Trump Presidency and the Politics of Exegesis
The presidency of Donald Trump exposed and amplified dynamics long active in American religion. Although the overwhelming support of evangelical Christians took many by surprise due to his unconventional religious qualifications, scholars have increasingly established that this political alliance reflects numerous well-established commitments. Accordingly, this study analyses the function of the Bible in the rhetoric of Trump’s Christian supporte…
Make Thebes Great Again
Heracles and Philo of Alexandria
Birthing the Children of God
In depicting an apocalyptic expectation of the revelation of God's children (Rom 8.19–23), Paul personifies ‘creation’: awaiting the revelation of these children, she ‘groans and suffers pains of childbirth’. While Paul's vision is framed with scriptural allusions, Greek and Roman images of Earth Mother also provide a relevant juxtaposition. This study recovers such a context by surveying sources ranging from Hesiod's Gaia to the Roman Terra Mate…
Reading Dionysus
Courtney J. P. Friesen explores shifting boundaries of ancient religions by way of the reception of a popular tragedy, Euripides' Bacchae . As a play staging political crises provoked by the arrival of the »foreign« god Dionysus and his ecstatic cult, audiences and readers found resonances with their own cultural moments. This dramatic deity became emblematic of exuberant and liberating spirituality and, at the same time, a symbol of imperial con…
Reading Dionysus
Dionysos lesen. Euripides und die kulturellen Streitfragen von Griechen, Juden, Römern und Christen
Hannah’s “Hard Day” and Hesiod’s “Two Roads”
In De ebrietate 150, Philo quotes Hesiod’s Works and Days (287, 289-292) in his interpretation of Hannah’s alleged drunkenness in 1 Samuel. These poetic verses contrast the difficulty of the road to virtue with the ease of acquiring wickedness. On Philo’s reading, the misperception of Hannah’s “hard day” by her accuser illustrates the moral lesson of Hesiod, namely, that fools consider virtue to be beyond attainment. In the context of recent inte…
Dionysus as Jesus
A relationship between Achilles Tatius and Christianity has been imagined from at least as early as the tenth century when the Suda claimed that he had converted to Christianity and been ordained as a bishop. Modern scholarship has found this highly improbable; nevertheless, attempts to explore connections between his late second-century c.e. novel, Leucippe and Clitophon , and early Christianity continue. In recent decades, within a context of r…
Hannah’s “Hard Day” and Hesiod’s “Two Roads”
In De ebrietate 150, Philo quotes Hesiod’s Works and Days (287, 289-292) in his interpretation of Hannah’s alleged drunkenness in 1 Samuel. These poetic verses contrast the difficulty of the road to virtue with the ease of acquiring wickedness. On Philo’s reading, the misperception of Hannah’s “hard day” by her accuser illustrates the moral lesson of Hesiod, namely, that fools consider virtue to be beyond attainment. In the context of recent inte…
Dionysus as Jesus
A relationship between Achilles Tatius and Christianity has been imagined from at least as early as the tenth century when the Suda claimed that he had converted to Christianity and been ordained as a bishop. Modern scholarship has found this highly improbable; nevertheless, attempts to explore connections between his late second-century c.e. novel, Leucippe and Clitophon , and early Christianity continue. In recent decades, within a context of r…
Reading Dionysus
Courtney J. P. Friesen explores shifting boundaries of ancient religions by way of the reception of a popular tragedy, Euripides' Bacchae . As a play staging political crises provoked by the arrival of the »foreign« god Dionysus and his ecstatic cult, audiences and readers found resonances with their own cultural moments. This dramatic deity became emblematic of exuberant and liberating spirituality and, at the same time, a symbol of imperial con…
Reading Dionysus
Dionysos lesen. Euripides und die kulturellen Streitfragen von Griechen, Juden, Römern und Christen
Hannah’s “Hard Day” and Hesiod’s “Two Roads”
In De ebrietate 150, Philo quotes Hesiod’s Works and Days (287, 289-292) in his interpretation of Hannah’s alleged drunkenness in 1 Samuel. These poetic verses contrast the difficulty of the road to virtue with the ease of acquiring wickedness. On Philo’s reading, the misperception of Hannah’s “hard day” by her accuser illustrates the moral lesson of Hesiod, namely, that fools consider virtue to be beyond attainment. In the context of recent inte…
Birthing the Children of God
In depicting an apocalyptic expectation of the revelation of God's children (Rom 8.19–23), Paul personifies ‘creation’: awaiting the revelation of these children, she ‘groans and suffers pains of childbirth’. While Paul's vision is framed with scriptural allusions, Greek and Roman images of Earth Mother also provide a relevant juxtaposition. This study recovers such a context by surveying sources ranging from Hesiod's Gaia to the Roman Terra Mate…
Heracles and Philo of Alexandria
Bible, the Trump Presidency and the Politics of Exegesis
The presidency of Donald Trump exposed and amplified dynamics long active in American religion. Although the overwhelming support of evangelical Christians took many by surprise due to his unconventional religious qualifications, scholars have increasingly established that this political alliance reflects numerous well-established commitments. Accordingly, this study analyses the function of the Bible in the rhetoric of Trump’s Christian supporte…
Make Thebes Great Again
Acting Gods, Playing Heroes, and the Interaction between Judaism, Christianity, and Greek Drama in the Early Common Era
While many ancient Jewish and Christian leaders voiced opposition to Greek and Roman theater, this volume demonstrates that by the time the public performance of classical drama ceased at the end of antiquity the ideals of Jews and Christians had already been shaped by it in profound and lasting ways. Readers are invited to explore how gods and heroes famous from Greek drama animated the imaginations of ancient individuals and communities as they…
Hagar on Sinai
Paul’s allegory of Hagar and Sarah in Gal 4:21–5:1 remains a perennial puzzle as its enigmatic chain of associations (two biblical women—two covenants—two geographical locations of Mount Sinai and Jerusalem) has no clear parallel. In this study, I offer a fresh perspective by exploring striking similarities with an allegorical parable that was widely popular across antiquity among Greeks and Romans and within Judaism and Christianity. The so-call…
Lucian of Samosata, Peregrinus Proteus, and the Fiction of Christian Conversion
The nature of religious conversion (and apostasy) is a matter of ongoing historical and theoretical interest. This study takes Lucian of Samosata’s Passing of Peregrinus as an illustrative test case for this phenomenon in the second century. Its eponymous protagonist converts to Christianity temporarily, and after being quickly elevated as an authority and champion, he soon defects to become a Cynic and celebrated sage, then ultimately ends his l…
Art (8 works) · Philosophy (8 works) · Literature (7 works) · Classical Antiquity Studies (5 works) · History (5 works) · Judaism (5 works) · Theology (5 works) · Biblical Studies and Interpretation (4 works) · Christianity (4 works) · Historical, Religious, and Philosophical Studies (3 works)