From Achilles to Christ: Why Christians Should Read the Pagan Classics"The heart of Christianity is a myth which is also a fact." --C. S. Lewis In From Achilles to Christ, Louis Markos introduces readers to the great narratives of classical mythology from a Christian perspective. From the battles of Achilles and the adventures of Odysseus to the feats of Hercules and the trials of Aeneas, Markos shows how the characters, themes and symbols within these myths both foreshadow and find their fulfillment in the story of Jesus Christ--the "myth made fact." Along the way, he dispels misplaced fears about the dangers of reading classical literature, and offers a Christian approach to the interpretation and appropriation of these great literary works. This engaging and eminently readable book is an excellent resource for Christian students, teachers and readers of classical literature. |
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Page 34
... story nevertheless culminates in order, justice and promise. What Moses' patriarchs come slowly to learn about Yahweh, Hesiod's gods come to learn even more slowly about themselves. Viewed from this perspective, the disturbing sexual ...
... story nevertheless culminates in order, justice and promise. What Moses' patriarchs come slowly to learn about Yahweh, Hesiod's gods come to learn even more slowly about themselves. Viewed from this perspective, the disturbing sexual ...
Page 36
... story of Ilium (another name for Troy).” That is to say, the Iliad purports to tell the tale of Troy and of the Trojan War. And yet, as first-time readers of the epic immediately notice, the Iliad re- counts neither the beginning nor ...
... story of Ilium (another name for Troy).” That is to say, the Iliad purports to tell the tale of Troy and of the Trojan War. And yet, as first-time readers of the epic immediately notice, the Iliad re- counts neither the beginning nor ...
Page 38
... stories and proverbial maxims to his fellow soldiers. Given the vast number of ships and men the Greeks send against Troy (Homer catalogues them for us in Book II), it might seem that the war would be swift and decisive. But Troy has an ...
... stories and proverbial maxims to his fellow soldiers. Given the vast number of ships and men the Greeks send against Troy (Homer catalogues them for us in Book II), it might seem that the war would be swift and decisive. But Troy has an ...
Page 39
... story of Troy, the tensions between god and god, god and mortal, Greek and Trojan, and Greek and Greek have almost reached their breaking point; a multitude of external and internal conflicts have all come to a head. The rubber band is ...
... story of Troy, the tensions between god and god, god and mortal, Greek and Trojan, and Greek and Greek have almost reached their breaking point; a multitude of external and internal conflicts have all come to a head. The rubber band is ...
Page 45
... story, he and his audience would have known that Achilles had been destined to be the son of Zeus and therefore an immortal god. Indeed, Homer seems to allude subtly to Achilles' almost-godhood when he has Thetis address Zeus in these ...
... story, he and his audience would have known that Achilles had been destined to be the son of Zeus and therefore an immortal god. Indeed, Homer seems to allude subtly to Achilles' almost-godhood when he has Thetis address Zeus in these ...
Contents
9 | |
25 | |
27 | |
36 | |
49 | |
A New Ethic | 60 |
From Wrath to Reconciliation | 69 |
Coming of Age | 79 |
The Tragedy of Character | 157 |
The Naïve and the Sentimental | 167 |
Apollonian versus Dionysiac | 179 |
VIRGIL | 191 |
The Sacred History of Rome | 193 |
The Making of a Roman Epic | 202 |
The Fall of Troy | 210 |
Aeneas and Dido | 219 |
Coming Home | 89 |
The Journeys of Odysseus | 100 |
THE GREEK TRAGEDIANS | 113 |
The Birth of Tragedy | 115 |
Pagan Poets and Hebrew Prophets | 124 |
The Human Scapegoat | 135 |
Questions of Duty | 146 |
To Hell and Back | 229 |
Just War? | 237 |
The Myth Made Fact | 247 |
Bibliographical Essay | 251 |
Index | 258 |
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Common terms and phrases
ACHILLES TO CHRIST Aeneas Aeneid Aeschylus Agamemnon allows ancient appears Athens battle become begins body Book characters Christian civilization comes course death desire Dido divine Electra embodies epic Euripides face fact fall father fear find first follow forces give glory gods Greek Greek Tragedies hand heart Hektor hero Homer honor hope human Iliad Italy kill king land leave less live look means mind mortal mother move nature Odysseus Oedipus offers once pagan past play plot poet present Press Prometheus reader remains Roman Rome seems sense ships Sophocles speaks spirit story struggle suffer Telemachus tells things tragedy tragic Trojan Troy true truth turn University Virgil virtues warrior wife women wrath Zeus