Kata Markon

["George Young" <gwyoung AT morgan.ucs.mun.ca>]

******************
J. Gibson wrote:
A very interesting response, I think. But even assuming a Roman provenance
for
GMark, aren't you here confusing the traditions about, and interpretative
models
of, PEIRASMOS that AMark would have been steeped in with those with which
his
readers were familiar?
******************

Forgive my lack of cryptic lingo, but by "AMark" do you mean Alexandrian
Mark, or an Aramaic 'proto-' Mark, or something else?  Also, what 'readers'
are you referring to?


******************
Also, I'm curious about your assertion that there is a tradition regarding
"testing" and/or a use of the "testing motif" in the Greek Novel. Can you
tell
me when and where this appears? And can you tell me whether or not, when it
appears, what the technical language of "testing" is? That is to say, is it
the
noun PEIRASMOS and its verbal cognates PEIRAZW, EKPEIRAZW, etc.,  or some
other
terminology?
******************

Liddell and Scott provide a good start for PEIRASMOS; but with respect to
the Greek Novel (i.e., as love story), perhaps the references are too
obvious to mention! Trial and temptation are themes upon which plot revolves
in many instances, especially the LOVE story. But beyond this, even if one
treads into Greek epic, often the hero's aims or goals are continually
thwarted by the Gods, creating a dramatic trial/test of the hero's
attributes (think of Odysseus [Homer], or Aeneas [Virgil], or Lucius -as
donkey-come-Isis convert [Apuleius], to name but a few).   Furthermore,
there is the ubiquitous use of the labyrinth trope throughout Greco-Roman
literature from ca. 6 century BCE onwards, where the labyrinth-as-process,
i.e., as a bewildering path for the hero fraught with trial, or as a
hermeneutical - read: ethical and/or philosophical -  maze for the reader,
was a mark of poetical brilliance (see the metaphorical use of POLYPLOKOS,
as well as derivatives of the root DAIDALLEIN as instances of poetic
brilliance - much like the master architect Daedalus).  The labyrinth trope
has its origin in the Theseus exploit at Crete, and was a cherished item
within Greek (and subsequently) Roman literature/culture; indeed, so much
so, that Juvenal (1.1-21) complained bitterly of its devaluation among
mediocre poets.

George W. Young, PhD
Assistant Professor of Biblical Studies
Queen's College Faculty of Theology
210 Prince Philip Drive
St. John's  NF
CANADA   A1B 3R6
Tel. (709) 753-0116
Fax. (709) 753-1214
email: gwyoung AT morgan.ucs.mun.ca