On Frankincense-scented Soaps, Peelings and Cleansers or on Cosmetics and Commotics in Antiquity and Early Byzantium

Cosmetology (τέχνη κοσμητική), i.e. a resource of means aimed at maintaining natural beauty of a human, was not frowned upon by the pagans nor by the Christians. What they disapproved of was commotic (κομμωτικὴ τέχνη), defined (by Galen, Clement of Alexandria, Gregory of Nyssa and Theodoret of Cyrus ) as an art of changing the outward appearance to the detriment of nature and one’s health. The present study has been designed to discuss select information, extant in Book VIII of Iatricorum libri by Aëtius of Amida, on what preparations were at disposal of the people of the Mediterranean who cared for their physical cleanliness (as well as health), regardless of their religious proclivities. It is focused on a number of prescriptions for face and body cleansers, though the analysed inventory has been limited to the ones including frankincense. The research material has turned out to be ample enough to draw conclusions on the ingredients used in such agents, their effectiveness, the form of the preparations, their application mode as well as on the addressees of the recipes. It has been also suggested that the formulas were compiled from the body of medical knowledge akin to what was collected by Titus Statilius Crito in his work On cosmetics.

Theodoret of Cyrus and His Exegetical Predecessors: A Study of His Biblical Commentary Prefaces

In this article, I examine the biblical commentary prefaces of Theodoret of Cyrus (d. 458), particularly the exegete’s presentation of his self-image in relation to his predecessors in the Greek exegetical tradition. I contend that in addition to its introductory function, the biblical commentary preface provided the context in which the exegete could rhetorically style himself vis-à-vis the prior tradition, articulating his own skills, credentials, and distinctive interpretive approach. Of Theodoret’s nine biblical commentaries, I focus particularly on the prefaces of his Commentary on the Song of Songs, Commentary on Daniel, Commentary on the Twelve Prophets, Questions on the Octateuch, and Commentary on the Psalms, given that in these five, we find Theodoret remarking explicitly on the prior interpretive tradition. I demonstrate that at times Theodoret engages with the prior tradition with a critical tone, and at others, he shows respectful deference to his predecessors. In every case, however, his comments serve the rhetorical end of presenting himself as both an authoritative exegetical inheritor and curator of the prior interpretive tradition. The overarching argument of this article then is that Theodoret fashions his own identity as an exegete by making his relative late appearance on the exegetical scene work to his advantage, claiming that an authoritative interpreter of scripture is one who inherits and curates the exegetical legacy and traditions of the prior tradition. In other words, Theodoret overcomes the (rhetorical) problem that others have previously produced commentaries on the biblical book by claiming that the true authoritative interpreter is in fact one who knows both scripture and the prior tradition intimately, and that the exegete’s role at this stage in the tradition is to faithfully transmit the most fitting comments of others.

The Monastic Diet in the Light of Medical Science. Theodoret of Cyrus and Medics on Dates and Figs

The aim of this article is to present the menu of early Christian monks in the context of the findings of Greek and Roman medicine in the field of dietetics. It draws from the passages of Historia religiosa by Theodoret of Cyrus about the consumption of dates and figs by Syrian ascetics. Both species of fruit did not comprise the basis of the monks’ limited diet. Figs and dates were treated as additional food by them, which they ate rarely and in small quantities. According to Theodoret, they did so especially when their bodies were weakened, during long and exhausting fasts. According to modern dietetics, this was justified as both figs and dates are calorie- and nutrientrich foods, which consumed even in small amounts can significantly supplement an adult’s daily balance in this regard. The authors of ancient and medical texts stemming from the tradition of Antiquity (Galen, Oribasius, Antimus, Aëtius of Amida, Paul of Aegina and others) also drew attention to the nutritious quality of dates and figs, in addition to numerous others health-promoting properties (especially in the context of the latter species). However, they further noted that excessive consumption of both fruits could lead to some health problems. In the context of these findings, occasional consumption of dates and figs by Syrian ascetics appears justified, as they could provide their weakened bodies with food of high energy value and nutritious content, whose small amount – and, therefore, fitting in the ideal of mortification – would suffice to improve their health condition.

The Rise of the Classical Theory and the Challenge of Christology

This chapter traces the initial reception of the Cappadocian philosophy. In a first section, two major early fifth-century thinkers, Cyril of Alexandria and Theodoret of Cyrus, are shown to presuppose all major principles of the Cappadocian theory. A second section argues that this unique position of the three fourth-century thinkers was related to their role as paradigms of Christian education. The remainder of the chapter turns to the Christological controversy. Remarkably, the Cappadocian theory was applied to a wide variety of doctrinal topics but not initially to Christology. Yet this application became universally shared from the early sixth century onwards. The present chapter therefore examines the roots of this later convention. To this end, two distinct phenomena are examined: the Apollinarian controversy of the late fourth century and the emergence of the so-called double homoousion as an increasingly accepted formula suggesting a conceptual parallel between the Trinity and Christology.

Paideutikos eros

This paper focuses on the figure and the role of Aspasia in Aeschines’ eponymous dialogue, with special regard to the Milesian’s ‘paideutic’ activity and the double bond connecting it to Socrates’ teaching, namely the elenctic method and a particular application of Σωκρατικὸς ἔρως. The study aims to highlight some crucial traits of Aeschines’ Aspasia by examining three key texts, all numbered among the testimonies on the Aspasia: Cicero’s account in De inventione 1.31.51-53 and two fundamental passages from Xenophon’s Memorabilia (2.3.36) and Oeconomicus (3.14). After analysing a set of ancient sources which repeatedly mention the close and personal association between Socrates and Aspasia (Plato, Maximus of Tyre, Plutarch, Theodoret of Cyrus), I will try to reconstruct the dialogical context of Xenophon’s testimonies and to combine them with Cicero’s account. My final aim is to clarify the role of Aspasia in Aeschines’ presentation of the Socratic theory of ἔρως. In pursuing this main objective, in the concluding section I will address two further issues: (1) Aspasia’s connection with the figure of Diotima, as depicted in the same ancient sources and (2) the relationship between Aspasias’ pedagogical use of ἔρως and that made by Socrates in the Alcibiades.

Ancient Natural Philosophy in Byzantine Christology: The Issue of Penetration of Fire into Iron

Introduction. The author shows how the Stoic principle of total blending of physical bodies finds its refraction in the Byzantine Christological teachings on the example of penetration of fire into iron. According to the Stoics, total blending occurs when one body accepts certain qualities of the other, however, remaining themselves, or both mixed bodies acquire qualities of each other preserving their natures. Analysis. The author asserts that Origen’s use of the example of iron incandesced by fire turned out to be paradigmatic for the subsequent Christian literature, and influenced the formation of two directions of using this example at once: in Christological context, as well as to describe deification of man. Further, the author addresses to Christological problematics and claims that using the incandesced iron example in Byzantium literature in properly Christological context began with Apollinarius of Laodicea. The paper also investigates the specificity of the refraction of this example in Christological perspective in (Ps.-) Basil of Caesarea, Theodoret of Cyrus, Cyril of Alexandria, Severus of Antioch, John of Damascus, and Corpus Leontianum. Results. In this context, the author pays special attention to the discrepancy between John Damascus and Leontius of Jerusalem regarding the issue of the complexity of Christ’s hypostasis. The researcher clarifies prerequisites of this discrepancy.

The Old Church Slavonic Version of Epiphanius of Salamis’ Panarion in the Ephraim Kormchaya (the 12TH Century)

The Panarion treatise is a dogmatic and polemical writing that earned Epiphanius his well-deserved reputation of a zealous defender of the Orthodox faith and a “hunter of heresies”. Its list of heresies was translated into Church Slavonic during the 1st Bulgarian Empire at the time of tsar Symeon and quickly spread throughout the Slavic-Orthodox world. It is a part of the oldest Slavonic version of Syntagma of XIV titles without any commentary (Syntagma XIV titulorum sine scholiis), called Efremovskaya Kormchaya. It is a monumental compendium of the centenary heresiological literature, and is the most complete treatise on heresies that the age of the Fathers left us. The paper presents a description of the three books and seven volumes of the Panarion with a list of eighty heresies, sects and schisms – twenty heresies before the incarnation of Christ and sixty of Christian times. Within the work attributed to Epiphanius, a chapter of the Ecclesiastical History of Theodoret of Cyrus and two other chapters of the theological-philosophical work Arbiter or Umpire by Joannes Philoponus have been identified. A number of 103 heresies was revealed, all of them ascribed to Epiphanius. It is presented as a preliminary study of 140 terms used by an anonymous Slavic translator. To the various lexemes, two different criteria have been applied: grammatical and semantic. The research determines 15 ethnonyms and eponyms, 60 anthroponyms formed on the names of the heresiarchs, 30 calques from Greek and 35 compounds. Among the latter, two distinct groups have been distinguished: structural calques, exactly corresponding to the Greek models, and “neologisms”, formally independent of the Greek formations. Adaptation to the original Bulgarian linguistic system was achieved by the translator (or the editor) by using interpretative supplements, i.e. glosses. It is assumed that the translator’s primary objective was to remain as faithful as possible to the Greek original. It turns out that the translator showed excellent knowledge of the comple XGreek models of word formation and exceptional skills in adapting them to the Palaeoslavic linguistic system. The compound lexemes were created for stylistic reasons and are a result of a specific translation technique.

The Topic of Penetration of Fire into Iron in Byzantine Christology

In this article I seek to show in what manner the Stoic principle of total blending, illustrated by the example of the penetration of fire into iron, finds its refraction in Byzantine Christological teachings. According to the Stoics, total blending occurs when one body accepts certain qualities of the other, while remaining itself, or when both mixed bodies acquire qualities of each other while preserving their natures. I argue that Origen’s use of the example of incandescent iron had an effect on the later theological discourse. There it appears in two contexts, Christology and deification. In this article the focus is on Christology. I claim that the example was introduced into the Christological discourse by Apollinarius of Laodicea. Then, I investigate how it was transformed in later theological writings by (Ps.-) Basil of Caesarea, Theodoret of Cyrus, Cyril of Alexandria, Sever of Antioch, John of Damascus, and the Corpus Leontianum. In this context, I pay special attention to the discrepancy between John of Damascus and Leontius of Jerusalem as regards the issue of the complexity of Christ’s hypostasis. I clarify the causes of this discrepancy.