Mystery Cults in Epiphanius' Panarion Tracing the Link between Heresy, Philosophy and Ritual
The article presents an analysis of the mystery vocabulary in the Panarion of Epiphanius of Cyprus, written in 374377 ce. In this text, the term mysterion refers both to Christian mysteries, the true ones, and to heretic mysteries. From a theoretical point of view, the word has neither a positive no...
| Published in: | Religion in the Roman empire |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Mohr Siebeck
[2018]
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| In: |
Religion in the Roman empire
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| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Epiphanius, Constantiensis 315-403, Panarion
/ Mysteries
/ Ritual
/ Heresy
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| Further subjects: | B
Discourse Analysis
B Panarion B EPIPHANIUS OF CYPRUS B Heresies B Early Christianity B Paganism B mystery cults |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Verlag) Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | The article presents an analysis of the mystery vocabulary in the Panarion of Epiphanius of Cyprus, written in 374377 ce. In this text, the term mysterion refers both to Christian mysteries, the true ones, and to heretic mysteries. From a theoretical point of view, the word has neither a positive nor a negative connotation. Only the context enables us to understand the meaning of these mysteries because, according to Epiphanius, all religions celebrate mystery cults. The aim of the article is to analyse why mysteries form an essential element in the construction of the heretic's image and how Epiphanius strategically uses the negative perception attached to mystery cults against heretics. |
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| ISSN: | 2199-4471 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Religion in the Roman empire
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1628/rre-2018-0025 |