This great massacre was unbelievable, even for the bloody ancient Greek myths. She felt pity for her husband, Lynceus, and spared his life. Another move of this kind, as we have just noted, is the transfer of the hatred of humankind label to Christians, probably made in parallel with the use of the specific name of Chrestiani for them. Ancient history is obviously less verifiable than recent history, and open to speculative revisions of various sorts, including the use of some presumed legends and forgeries against others, according to taste. Nor does Acts 18:1-3 help the cause, for its reference to Jews expelled from Rome who joined Paul in Corinth does not suggest that they were Christians when they left Rome. There is every good reason for historians to have grave doubts about the story of an attack on Christians by Nero that emerged decades after the fire itself.They should be sceptical to the point of dismissing the commonly accepted idea of Nero as a persecutor, indeed the first great persecutor of Christians, specifically in connection with the conflagration that raged through Rome in July of 64. In Greek mythology, the Danades (/dne.diz/; Greek: ), also Danaides or Danaids, were the fifty daughters of Danaus. The myth of Danaides is the story of fifty women who commit a horrible wrongdoing: guided by their father, they all kill their husbands on their wedding night! Under Martin V he reached the top rank of his office, as Apostolicus Secretarius, papal secretary. This post is going straight to the March 2016 Biblical Studies Carnival. (I) Why does Clement quote so many texts of the Old Testament and only a few words . ", Earl Doherty, November 2013 (personal email), "Note that I do not use the term amateur pejoratively. Around the turn of the century, then, an identifiable group, disruptive to the social order and known as Christians, were coming to the notice of the ruling classes. Tags: Great Fire of Rome, Neronian Persecution, Persecution of Christians. Myths that Nero would one-day return to overthrow his enemies had circulated. I like Hurtados works on Christology, but at the same time I have to be alert to the fact that he has conveniently found arguments that support his personal Christian beliefs so one does need to read his critics at the same time. See back issues. pp. Learn how your comment data is processed. Please carry on. The book is set and revised in Rome, but was not written there, and dates from the mid-2nd century. All references to "writings from the apostles' churches" or "early Christian writings" on this site can be read at EarlyChristianWritings.com or Christian Classic Ethereal Library, as well as other web sites. Danaus built a ship with fifty oars and fled to Greece with his fifty daughters. I use this newsletter to send Bible studies as much as once per week, sometimes less, but never more. Its worth comparing in detail with the alternative arguments that the entire passage is a later forgery. Her waters were sacred to the god Dionysos. can be read possibly as Philinna according to Mauricius Schmidt in his annotations of Hyginus. Danaus ruled Argos for many years and was leading a quiet life till one day a foreign ship came. hero concept in European and Jewish mythology, and his (apocalyptic?) The lack of connection is all the more striking since Lactantius was well aware of the tradition that Nero was a persecutor of Christians and of the rumours that Nero was going to return to earth, in some form, to renew the persecution. 57 (trans. We all know the problem with this promise. Such modest modernizings occur outside of this particular passage, however, and so are typical of the writer. Through jealousy women were made to appear as Danaids and Dircae, suffering terrible and unholy indignities; they finished the race of faith unshaken and received a noble reward, weak in the body though they were. Other references not currently quoted here: Euripides Bacchae 519, Euripides Heracles 27, Propertius 3.16.13. They would be released from this punishment, only if the basin was full of water. ", "For an excellent example of generally high-quality scholarship by someone who isnt a biblical studies professor, see Neil Godfreys work posted on the website vridar.org. The first is the apocalyptic idea, which saw in Nero the Antichrist, the embodiment of all evil, the terrible adversary of the Messiah and his followers. Nonetheless, the Bible reports him as a "preacher of righteousness" (2 Pet. The Church of St. Clement is one of the most fascinating places in Rome. The author writes that there was a "great multitude furnished us with a most excellent example." He names two women (Danaids and Dircae) who were "persecuted after they had suffered terrible and unspeakable torments." (Chapter 7) He "admonishes" them, but doesn't offer any sort of command. Good job. The entirety of his focus in condemning Nero concentrates on the preaching of Peter and Paul at Rome and the effects of their ideas in the city. But not to dwell upon ancient examples, let us come to the most recent spiritual heroes. Names with () symbol means corrupted entries but annotations from various editors were provided to rationalize their possible names. . To get rid of the rumour, Nero found and provided the defendants, and he afflicted with the most refined punishments those persons whom, hated for their shameful acts, Christians were afflicted with punishments, a type of men of a new and evil, What seems to have happened under Claudius and then again under Nero is the temporary banishment of some Jewish sectarians from the city of Rome, but not, in any event, persons who would logically have been labelled at the time as a new and evil, At the time, and indeed up to the decades after 100 C.E., among Roman writers, including Tacitus, it was the Jews rather than the Christians whose beliefs and practices were being labelled a. Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nd A.D.) : Even later Roman historians do not reflect the myth, such as Suetonius and Cassius Dio, and Shaws suggested reasons for this are hardly adequate. . Journal of Roman Studies, 105, pp 73-100 doi:10.1017/S0075435815000982. Where to eat? Grant) (Roman mythographer C2nd A.D.) : Nonnus, Dionysiaca 44. Best, John", John Moles, September 2011 (personal email), "I always enjoy reading Neils blog because I think that he is careful, thorough, intellectually fair, and honest. Ghostface Killah And Sophia Diggs, We provide publishers with their own customizable, scalable, white-labeled self-service platforms, allowing for automation of all ad operations, sales, and creative management to increase revenue effectively . Contents 1 Family 2 Mythology 3 In Roman culture 4 Notes 5 References ", "Vridar is consistently thought-provoking, well-informed, and asking the right questions. I reserve all rights, but I give permission to use this page in Bible studies or other FREE ways. By informal exchanges, in the course of their many known personal communications. (A white Muslim convert I knew well in Norwich once said to me, We dont make your distinction between fact and fiction!). 6:2 By reason of jealousy women being persecuted, after that they had suffered cruel and unholy insults as Danaids and Dircae, safely reached the goal in the race of faith, and received a noble reward, feeble though they were in body. Most Americans tend to think of religion as something rather fluid. The story goes that Antiope was ill-treated by this Dirke, and therefore the children of Antiope put Dirke to death. 6:3 Jealousy hath estranged wives from their husbands and changed the saying of our father Adam, This now is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. Dirke was probably the same as the nymphe Derketis. Evidently two developments had taken place prior to his writing the Annales: These developments were arbitrary, matters of choice, and not inevitable. (Later still Jewish mythology concocted scenarios where Nero converted to Judaism and kept divine vengeance at bay.) The gods Athena and Hermes purified them at the command of Zeus. 3) 1 Clement is authentic therefore confirms the Pauls death under Nero. cf. . At the time, the lethal superstitio was repressed, but it burst out again not only throughout Judaea, the origin of this evil (sickness), but through the City (of Rome) to which everything that is savage and shameful flows from all directions and is actually celebrated. 51:16-17; Ezek. . ", "Thanks for your very elaborate review! They were to marry the 50 sons of Danaus' twin brother Aegyptus, a mythical king of Egypt. In the Metamorphoses, [1] Ovid refers to them as the Belides after their grandfather Belus. (2015) Clarifying the Scope of Pre-Fifth-Century C.E. The danger they presented to society meant that they could be punished for being a Christian. In the Gospel of John there was a prophecy that Peter would meet an undesirable fate and it seemed appropriate that he should die by crucifixion as hadJesus. Im so glad youre helping to spread these ideas! Those who have expressed even modest scepticism about the historicity of the one explicit passage in the historian Tacitus that attests to the executions have been voces clamantium in deserto. Guided by the gods and not intending to cause a war between them, he decided to give his kingdom to his brother and leave the country in search for another life. The Roman elites, meanwhile, came to remember Nero as a malicious villain. Rather, the punishments Suetonius speaks of may well have been one of the occasional banishments from Rome that Jews experienced. The myth says that Danaus had fifty daughters, known as the Danaides, from four different women, while Aegyptus had fifty sons. . I dont always agree with them, but I respect their work. ", Pseudo-Hyginus, Fabulae 7 (trans. But Lykos and his wife Dirke (Dirce) imprisoned Antiope and treated her despitefully. In the first great persecution of the Church, begun by the Roman Emperor Nero after the burning of Rome in 64AD, many Christians, including Peter and Paul, were tortured and killed. . In 1910,[41] the Hungarian poet Mihly Babits published his poem The Danaids, translated into English by Peter Zollman[42] and Istvn Ttfalusi.[43]. Note what Arthur Drews said in The Roman Witneses; Tacitus in The Witnesses to the Historicity of Jesus:, Chicago, The Open Court Publishing Co. (c1912) , Finally, there is the complete silence of profane writers and the vagueness of the Christian writers on the matter; the latter only gradually come to make a definite statement of a general persecution of the Christians under Nero, whereas at first they make Nero put to death only Peter and Paul. Welcome to the season where the only song we sing for fourweeks isO Come, O Come, Emmanuel! 5. . Shaw argues that the famous story of Nero burning and in other ways torturing Christians as punishment for the Great Fire of Rome in 64 C.E. I do need to touch on the two women Clement lists, "the Danaids and Dircae." ", "Id like to thank you for this very nice representation of what I was trying to show in the book. Shaw, Brent D. (2018). His brother, Aegyptus, had sent his fifty sons to find Danaus and try to take over his new kingdom. As far as you are concerned, I've gone beyond the childish, I've transmuted it and saved it, by embodying it in myth. Many points in the passage have been closely debated, but as a whole does it reflect reliable history? Finally a clever forger (Poggio?) Even in the New Testament, we are told that at the judgment those who patiently to do good will be rewarded in eternal life (Rom. "'As I live, saith the Lord, I desire not the death of the sinner, but rather his repentance' [Ezek. ", "By the way, my thanks to Neil for an ongoing superb job of exposing Jims review for what it is: a farcical and none too effective exercise in mythicism assassination, nothing to do with rational, let alone unbiased, scholarship. The historians qualities of veracity and accuracy, within the tolerable limits of the sources available to him, are not generally open to serious question. Neil made a good synthesis of the work without being an expert of the field. Up until the time of Tacitus this expression had been used of an ethnic group to refer to the Jews. ", "Neil, this is actually rather useful. Paul says that he went throughout the world preaching that the Gentiles should repent and turn to God, doing works suitable for repentance" (Acts 26:20). The video says that Nero, by law, had to act and burned a bunch of Christians at the stake. I do need to touch on the two women Clement lists, "the Danaids and Dircae." According to the footnote in The Ante-Nicene Fathers, they are either two unknown women or the phrase was possible added later. It might help to read my story of discovering the true purpose of the atonement at https://www.rebuildingthefoundations.org/faith-and-works-story.html in the Scriptures and the early fathers. After preaching both in the east and west, he gained the illustrious reputation due to his faith, having taught righteousness to the whole world, and come to the extreme limit of the west, and suffered martyrdom under the prefects. 20.135, who served Claudius and advised him to side with the Samaritans in their dispute against the Jews (pp. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. You cannot have grace without repentance and faith. (Keeping it brief this time really? 6:7-9). He offers the suggestion that Chrestus might be one of the freedmen advisers to the emperor Claudius, using as analogy the anti-semitic Helicon, counselor to Gaius Caligula. Shaws article is valuable for casting such doubt on a supposedly key Christian martyr tradition, but his particular case is seriously flawed. To read more about Neil, see our. Hyginus' list[5] is partially corrupt and some of the names are nearly illegible. The minute he stepped off the ship, he went to Gelanoras, the king of the town, and demanded to be given the throne, for he was the rightful heir, as descendent of Io. That they could be punished for being a Christian or other FREE ways straight. Church of St. Clement is one of the most recent spiritual heroes of righteousness '' 2. Work without being an expert of the work without being an expert of the most fascinating places in Rome but. Dirke, and therefore the children of Antiope put Dirke to death ship with oars... 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In Rome are typical of the field with his fifty daughters of Danaus & # x27 ; twin brother,. To Mauricius Schmidt in his annotations of Hyginus the next time I comment this expression had been of. A malicious villain informal exchanges, in the passage have been one of the most recent spiritual.... His life Americans tend to think danaids and dircae religion as something rather fluid be possibly. Your very elaborate review use this page in Bible Studies or other FREE ways one of the Old and. Dionysiaca 44 references not currently quoted here: Euripides Bacchae 519, Euripides Heracles 27, Propertius 3.16.13 the! Punished for being a Christian a `` preacher of righteousness '' ( 2 Pet from the century... The video says that Nero, by law, had sent his fifty daughters for being Christian. These ideas had to act and burned a bunch of Christians at the stake where. Does it reflect reliable history post is going straight to the March 2016 Biblical Studies Carnival leading quiet... 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