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Subject: Kata Markon

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  • From: Charlotte Faber & Dick Koomans <digimuz AT xs4all.nl>
  • To: Kata Markon <gmark AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: homer and mark
  • Date: Thu, 01 Feb 2001 09:55:35 +0100


Dear listmembers,

During the last number of days I have been reading the discussion with
an ever rising amazement.
If one wants to go looking for biblical parallels in beheading at
dinner, there is the beautifully written story of Judith and Holofernes.
That author most certainly had a classical schooling. I have no time to
go into the question myself, but rereading the opening chapter, I was
struck by the feeling of resemblance to the classical Greek literature,
including Homer.

On the other hand, for the last 2000 years, give or take a few, nobody
has been comforted in living or dying by the very well hidden parallels
between Mark and Homer. In other words, what is the point in trying to
find them? As someone else has already mentioned, it would be far more
strange not to find similarities in good stories about life.

And lastly, whether Mark was able to write an educated Greek text is not
the point here. After all, this is as far as the first witnesses are
concerned (f.i. Clemens of Alexandria) a written-down version of Peter's
teaching, lecture notes published on demand as we would say now. It is
thick with allusions to and direct quotations from the Hebrew Bible. One
might say that there is no place left for Gentile additions. Actually, I
think I can make a stronger case in arguing that its overall structure
is modelled after Gen 1 and 2:1-2.

With regards,

Charlotte Faber
Theol. stud. Univ. of Amsterdam




  • homer and mark, Charlotte Faber & Dick Koomans, 02/01/2001

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