Paideia in the poetry of Gregory Nazianzen

McDonald, James Joseph (2020) Paideia in the poetry of Gregory Nazianzen. PhD thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

In this thesis, I explore Gregory’s conception and use of paideia in his poetry as understood in four main ways: (1) Gregory’s knowledge of, familiarity with, and utilisation/manipulation of the literary tradition. (2) His use of paideia as a communication code for self-fashioning, as well as for fashioning his friends and enemies. (3) His pedagogy, that is, the didactic methods used to teach biblical knowledge and theological doctrine. (4) The place of classical culture in the Christian (ascetic) life. In other words, Gregory’s conception of (a Christian) paideia. This thesis focuses upon particular (groups of) poems by Gregory that explore how exactly he puts into practice the episcopal identity which he forges for himself as prytanis of both sacred and profane wisdom.

• Item Type: Thesis (PhD)
• Qualification Level: Doctoral
• Keywords: Gregory Nazianzen, Paideia, Poetry, Late Antiquity, Second Sophistic, Third Sophistic.
• Subjects: P Language and Literature > PA Classical philology
• Colleges/Schools: College of Arts & Humanities > School of Humanities > Classics
• Funder's Name: Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)
• Supervisor's Name: Stenger, Prof. Jan and Isabel, Prof. Ruffell
• Date of Award: 2020
• Depositing User: Mr James McDonald
• Unique ID: glathesis:2020-81630
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 04 Sep 2020 14:47
• Last Modified: 21 Jan 2021 16:33
• Thesis DOI: 10.5525/gla.thesis.81630
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/81630