Abstract
Abstract This study investigates the medical rhetoric employed in religious legislation of Late Antiquity, arguing that imperial policies against dissidents often resembled infectious disease control measures, such as social distancing and banning gatherings, and were aimed at protecting the vulnerable. The Christian clergy was concerned not just about maintaining their monopoly of sacraments, but also about demonic contagion. This kind of infection rhetoric has its roots in Christian polemical language which is itself based on far older ideas known from Plato and the Neo-Platonists, and the more general view shared by other philosophical schools, on the sympathy of the universe and the concomitant harmony of souls. The Neoplatonic school in particular had developed the view that ‘bad’ souls chose their demons and that these demons were responsible for natural catastrophes and diseases, and infecting the air with their presence. Christian authors endorsed this view. Religious dissidents of Late Antiquity were exiled and deprived of their freedoms of speech, of assembly, and of movement, and this is for several reasons, such as the avoidance of martyrs, forced conversion, and the deterrence of others. The concept of contagion is also among the reasons but has so far been underappreciated.
Published Version
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call