[B-Greek] Prevalence of holy books
Jeffrey B. Gibson
jgibson000 at comcast.net
Mon Feb 18 12:22:07 EST 2008
Carl Conrad wrote:
> On Feb 17, 2008, at 7:39 AM, Anita Clerke wrote:
>
>
>> I have read that the Greeks and Romans did not have sacred or holy
>> books in relation to their set of beliefs. That there were no books
>> that they regarded as being revelations from the gods. Rather that
>> books on their gods, written by their famous writers, where regarded
>> as informative rather than as authoritative.
>>
>> Assuming this to be true, then I am interested to know how often does
>> the concept of 'sacred books' arise, excluding when these words refer
>> to Jewish or Christian books. Lucian of Samosata writes about the
>> Christians having 'sacred books' by saying:
>>
>> Lucian of Samosata's work "The Passing of Peregrinus" has the
>> following statement on pages 12-13 (paragraph 12), as found in The
>> Loeb Classical Library, Lucian with an English Translation by AM
>> Harmon Volume V, 1972:
>>
>> εῖτα δεῖπωα ποικίλα εἰσεκομίζετο
>>
> should be δεῖπνα
>
>> και λόγοι ἱεροὶ αὐτῶν ἐλἐγοντο,
>> και ὁ βέλτιστος Περεγρῖνος -....
>> EITA DEIPOA POIKILA EISEKOMIZETA KAI LOGOI hIEROI AUTON ELEGONTO,
>>
> should be DEIPNA ... EISEKOMIZETO
>
>> KAIN BELTISTOS PEREGRINOS
>> Then elaborate meals were brought in [to the prison where Peregrinus
>> was interred], and sacred books of theirs were read aloud, and
>> excellent Peregrinus -....
>>
>> Could someone please tell me if this expression, LOGOI hIEROI (sacred
>> books) is ever used in greek sources, to refer to sacred books other
>> than Christian or Jewish ones?
>>
>
> It is used in the sense of a doctrinal formulation -- and where I've
> seen it, it's used of a myth, myths, or a doctrinal formulation of a
> mystery cult. I have not seen it used of Christian or Jewish books at
> all.
>
>
It appears in Philo Judaeus Som 1.70.5;Lucianus Soph.Peregr 12.14;
Eusebius Praep Evang 7.10.3; De martyribus Palaestinae 4.6; Photius Bibl
222.204a.31r. Eccl. et: 1
>> I would also appreciate it if the phrase LOGOI hAGION (holy books)
>>
>
> Is this meant to be LOGOI hAGIWN? or LOGOI hAGIOI -- for my part, I
> don't think I've ever seen that phrase.
>
Searching the TLG E disk I see that LOGOI hAGIWN appears in PsSal 17.43
and Concilia Oecumenica, Synodus Constantinopolitana et Hierosolymitana
anno 3.222, Joannes Chrysostomus In illud: Ascendit dominus in templo
61.739.
There may be more instances in the online TLG.
Jeffrey
--
Jeffrey B. Gibson, D.Phil. (Oxon)
1500 W. Pratt Blvd.
Chicago, Illinois
e-mail jgibson000 at comcast.net
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