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Philosophical Self-Presentation in Late Antique Cappadocia

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Philosophical Self-Presentation in Late Antique Cappadocia University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 5-2017 Philosophical Self-Presentation in Late Antique Cappadocia Stefan Vernon Hodges-Kluck University of Tennessee, Knoxville, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss Part of the Ancient History, Greek and Roman through Late Antiquity Commons, Ancient Philosophy Commons, Christianity Commons, History of Christianity Commons, History of Religion Commons, Intellectual History Commons, and the Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons Recommended Citation Hodges-Kluck, Stefan Vernon, "Philosophical Self-Presentation in Late Antique Cappadocia. " PhD diss., University of Tennessee, 2017. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/4405 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a dissertation written by Stefan Vernon Hodges-Kluck entitled "Philosophical Self-Presentation in Late Antique Cappadocia." I have examined the final electronic copy of this dissertation for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, with a major in History. Christine C. Shepardson, Major Professor We have read this dissertation and recommend its acceptance: Jacob A. Latham, Maura K. Lafferty, Thomas E. Burman Accepted for the Council: Dixie L. Thompson Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official studentecor r ds.) Philosophical Self-Presentation in Late Antique Cappadocia A Dissertation Presented for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree The University of Tennessee, Knoxville Stefan Vernon Hodges-Kluck May 2017 Copyright © 2017 by Stefan Hodges-Kluck All rights reserved. !ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I could not have completed this work without the academic and personal support of a number of people. First and foremost, my dissertation supervisor Tina Shepardson has consistently encouraged my intellectual development, and has tirelessly read my chapters and advised my progress over the past three years. The rest of my committee, Maura Lafferty, Jacob Latham, and Thomas Burman have also offered useful questions, comments, source recommendations, and advice throughout this process, and I thank them for their willingness to contribute to making this dissertation what it is now. Thanks are also due to Clerk Shaw, who has been an invaluable treasury of knowledge about Plato. Needless to say, any shortcomings in my research are not the result of a lack of direction from the faculty at the University of Tennessee. I have also benefited from the support of faculty at other institutions. In the 2012-2013 academic year, I was fortunate enough to participate in two workshops held by the University of California Consortium on Late Antiquity (UCCLA), in which I was able to cultivate my interests in ancient Greek and Roman education in conversation with experts in this field of study, including Catherine Chin, Edward Watts, Susanna Elm, Beth Digeser, and Lillian Larsen, among several others. Additionally, I have benefited from the comments of and conversations with other historians of late antique Cappadocia, most notably Nathan Howard and Arthur Urbano, both of whom have been most welcoming of my interests. Finally, I am grateful for the input and advice I have received from the working group for Religion, Medicine, Disability, and Health in Late Antiquity (ReMeDHe), particularly from Heidi Marx, Kristi Upson-Saia, Jessica Wright, and Jared Secord. Their extensive knowledge of ancient medicine has helped the progress of my own research, particularly in the first chapter. This dissertation is also indebted to the financial and intellectual support of a number of institutions at the University of Tennessee. In 2015-2016, I completed a significant part of my writing with a Haslam Dissertation Fellowship from UT’s Marco Institute for Medieval Renaissance Studies. During this year, I was housed at the UT Humanities Center, where I enjoyed a stimulating environment for the development of my ideas and received helpful feedback that allowed me to sharpen this dissertation’s focus. Beyond my fellowship, moreover, Marco and the Humanities Center have each offered me funds to travel to both national and international conferences, for which I am very grateful. Additionally, the UT Department of History has provided essential financial support throughout my completion of this dissertation. Lastly, the most important thanks for this dissertation are due to my wife, Katie Hodges- Kluck, and my parents, John Hodges and Pat Kluck. Katie’s brilliance, encouragement, comfort, and support have consistently inspired me to continue with this work, even when it has not been easy. All throughout my life, my parents have encouraged my interests, motivating me to pursue knowledge even when I did not motivate myself. I cannot imagine completing such a work without their love. !iii ABSTRACT This dissertation offers a new perspective to the development of religious orthodoxy in the second half of the fourth century CE by examining the role of the body in the inter- and intra- religious battles between Christians and “pagans” over the claim to the cultural capital of philosophy. Focusing on Cappadocia (modern-day central Turkey), a particularly vital region of the fourth-century Roman empire, I argue that during this time, Greek-speaking intellectuals created and disputed boundaries between Christianity and “paganism,” as well as between “orthodoxy” and “heresy,” based on longstanding elite notions of how an ideal philosopher should look, think, and act. I offer a close reading of the works of three Christian bishops—Basil of Caesarea (d. 378), his friend Gregory of Nazianzus (d. 389/90), and his brother Gregory of Nyssa (d. 394/95)—alongside those of their “pagan” contemporary, the emperor Julian (d. 363). For both Julian and the Cappadocians, I argue, religious orthodoxy—whether Christian or “pagan”—was not simply a matter of doctrine. Rather, these elite authors claimed that correct religion manifested itself in bodily features such as physical appearance and behavioral habits. In the rhetoric of these men, to be a proper follower of the gods entailed not only holding correct opinions and performing correct rituals, but exercising one’s entire being in a way that made piety appear second-nature. Drawing on their common background in classical culture (paideia), the Cappadocians and Julian presented themselves as ideal philosophers, whose grasp of the “correct” knowledge and habits qualified them to serve as religious leaders. The notions of Christian theology and classical philosophy that they constructed were rooted as much in questions of habits, demeanor, and dress, as they were in questions of theology and knowledge. !iv TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................1 CHAPTER ONE .....................................................................................................................52 Molded Bodies: Philosophical Habits and the Wax Tablet of the Soul CHAPTER TWO ....................................................................................................................99 Visible Bodies: Philosophical Appearance and Ascetic Humility CHAPTER THREE .............................................................................................................151 Female Bodies: Philosophy and Authority in Presentations of Ascetic Christian Women CHAPTER FOUR ................................................................................................................207 Community Bodies: Teaching and Learning Philosophy at Annisa CHAPTER FIVE ..................................................................................................................250 Saintly Bodies: Memorializing Orthodox Christian Philosophers CONCLUSION..................................................................................................................... 292 LIST OF REFERENCES ......................................................................................................305 VITA .....................................................................................................................................332 !v LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AA Eunomius, Apologia apologiae Ad adul. Basil of Caesarea, Ad adulescentes Adam. Adamantius, Physiognomica Adv. opp. John Chrysostom, Adversus oppugnatores monasticae vitae Amm. Marc. Ammianus Marcellinus, Res gestae Anon. Lat. Anonymous Latinus, Physiognomica Apol. Apuleius, Apologia Ask. LR Basil, Asketikon (Longer Responses) Ask. SR Basil, Asketikon (Shorter Responses) Audi. Plutarch, De recta ratione audiendi Bas. DV Basil of Ancyra, De virginitate CE Gregory of Nyssa, Contra Eunomium Caes. Julian, Caesares CLT John Chrysostom, Contra Ludos et Theatra Conf. Augustine, Confessiones CTh Codex Theodosianus Dial. Tryph. Justin Martyr, Dialogus cum Tryphone Diss. Epictetus, Dissertationes Divinations Divinations: Rereading Late Ancient Religion DSE Gregory of Nazianzus, De se et episcopis
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