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ETD Abstract Container

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Narratives of Paradise, Decline, and Restoration In Roman and Early Christian Texts: A Comparison

Groene, Ryan
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent169972358464896

Abstract Details

2023, MA, Kent State University, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Modern and Classical Language Studies.
This paper offers a comparison of early Christian and Roman accounts of paradise, decline, and restoration, focusing on writings of the first centuries B.C.E. and C.E. As Christianity arose as a sect within Judaism, my analysis will also include Jewish texts, many of which were written before the first century B.C.E., but which continued to be very influential during the period on which I am focusing. My comparison will be focused on the cultural values that are reflected in such discourses as utopian and eschatological accounts have a lot to tell us about the ideals of their authors. In particular, I will be analyzing the values presented in Christian texts in light of the Roman virtues of virtus, self-restraint, and pietas, as well as Roman views of social hierarchy. In doing so, I hope to highlight not only the similarities between Judeo-Christian and Roman accounts, but also, and perhaps more importantly, the differences. While the Roman writings that I will discuss almost invariably present a view from the “center” of imperial power, the Jewish and Christian writings, at least to a large extent, originate at the “periphery.” This difference, as we will see, has a significant effect on the values of each group, despite superficial similarities.
Jennifer Larson (Advisor)
Radd Ehrman (Committee Member)
Brian Harvey (Committee Member)
117 p.
Biblical Studies; Classical Studies
Early Christianity, Roman, Augustan, Imperial, Golden Age, Iron Age, Pietas, Piety, Virtus, Courage, Self-Restraint, Utopianism, Eschatology, Res Gestae, Fourth Eclogue, Aeneid, Carmen Saeculare, Vergil, Horace, Ovid, Paul, Synoptic Gospels

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Groene, R. (2023). Narratives of Paradise, Decline, and Restoration In Roman and Early Christian Texts: A Comparison [Master's thesis, Kent State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent169972358464896

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Groene, Ryan. Narratives of Paradise, Decline, and Restoration In Roman and Early Christian Texts: A Comparison. 2023. Kent State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent169972358464896.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Groene, Ryan. "Narratives of Paradise, Decline, and Restoration In Roman and Early Christian Texts: A Comparison." Master's thesis, Kent State University, 2023. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent169972358464896

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

kent169972358464896
139
© 2023, some rights reserved.Creative Commons License Narratives of Paradise, Decline, and Restoration In Roman and Early Christian Texts: A Comparison by Ryan Groene is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at etd.ohiolink.edu.
This open access ETD is published by Kent State University and OhioLINK.