The Encounter with Christianity

Abstract

This chapter explores how Christians from New Testament times up to late antiquity came to embrace and master classical culture and literary discourse, a process that ultimately transformed both Greek literature and Christianity. Although Christian religion from its beginning was embedded in the Hellenic world, its attitude towards Greek literature and learning, especially rhetoric and philosophy, was marked by ambivalence: on the one hand, it increasingly recognized the enormous benefits of using classical genres and discourses for defending and spreading belief; on the other hand, pagan elements continued to pose serious threats to Christian doctrine. This challenge resulted in a sophisticated, selective appropriation of traditional forms and techniques, until, after a complex interplay, Christian literature became co-extensive with Greek literature.