Athenagoras Essay -- Christian Apologist Biography Bio

ATHENAGORASAthenagoras was a Christian apologist who flourished in the assist half of the second century CE. Two existing works, the invocation on Behalf of Christians and On the Retirerection of the Dead, constitute traditionally been attri anded to him.HIS LIFEAthenagoras does not appear in the ecclesiastical histories of any Eusebius, Socrates, or Sozomen. Methodius (d. 311 CE) is the only ante-Nicene writer to mention Athenagoras Methodius From the Discourse on the Resurrection 1.7 refers to Athenagoras Plea 24. The only other early witness to Athenagoras is Philip of Side, a deacon of Chrysostom, who lived during the one-fifth century. According to a fourteenth century codex, Philip wrote, Athenagoras was the first to head the nurture in Alexandria. He flourished at the time of Hadrian and Antoninus, to both of whom he address his Plea on Behalf of Christians. He became a Christian while he wore the philosophers cloak and was at the head of the Academy. Even before Celsus he was anxious(p) to write against the Christians. ... (Migne PG vi.182 English translation in Schoedel ix).These meager references comprise our inbuilt biographical knowledge of Athenagoras, apart from the material found in his extant writings. The Arethas Codex (914 CE) and three other manuscripts contain the same introductory attribution A plea for Christians by Athenagoras the Athenian philosopher and Christian. To the emperors Marcus Aurelius Antoninus and Lucius Aurelius Commodus, conquerors of Armenia and Sarmatia, and more than all, philosophers. Philip mentions that Athenagoras flourished during the time of Hadrian and Antoninus, but the Arethas introduction places him in the reigns of Marcus Aurelius Antoninus and Lucius Aurelius Commodus. Ph... ...e Fathers, vol. 2. Grand Rapids Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1954.Rauch, James L. Greek Logic and philosophical system and the Problem of Authorship in Athenagoras. Ph.D diss., University of Chicago, 1961.Ruprecht, Louis A., Jr. Athen agoras the Christian, Pausanius the Travel Guide, and a inexplicable Corinthian Girl. Harvard Theological Review 85 (1992) 35-49.Schoedel, William R. Athenagoras Legatio and De Resurrectione. Oxford Oxford University Press, 1972.Schwartz, Eduard. Athenagorae Libellus pro Christianis, Oratio de Resurrectione cadaverum. Leipzig J. C. Hinrichs, 1891.Vermander, Jeane-Marie. Celse et lattribution a Athnagore dun ouvrage sur la rsurrection des morts. Melanges de Science Religieuse 35 (1978) 125-134.Zeegers-Vander Vorst, Nicole. La paternit athnagorienne du De rsurrection. Revue dHistoire Ecclsiastique 87 (1992) 334-374.