Fiction as History

Nero to Julian

Bibliographic Data

ID3937956
AuthorsJames Allan Evans (corresponding author), G W Bowersock
Year1996
Volume50
Issue3/4
Pages345
Publication date1996-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenuePhoenix (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0031-8299 • E-ISSN: 1929-4883
PublisherJSTOR (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.2307/1192663
OpenAlexW2001123588
LanguageEN
Citations received47

Using pagan fiction produced in Greek and Latin during the early Christian era, this text investigates the complex relationship between historical and fictional truths. This relationship preoccupied writers of the 2nd century, a time when apparent fictions about both past and present were proliferating at an astonishing rate and history was being invented all over again. Here, the author illuminates social attitudes of this period and persuasively argues that its fiction was influenced by the emerging Christian Gospel narratives. While pagan and Christian themes are frequently interwoven here, what makes Bowersock's book particularly effective is its concentration on secular literature and his reconstruction of the social contexts of certain literary motifs. Material from the pagan novels - less familiar to most readers - leads into the familiar Christian material, casting new light on the latter. One is able to see how educated pagans both resisted and assimilated Christian narratives

Art · Classical Antiquity Studies · History · Medieval Literature and History · Religious Studies and Spiritual Practices

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