The Christian Invention of Time
Temporality and the Literature of Late Antiquity
Published on 19. January 2022
978-1-009-08007-1 (ISBN)
Description
Time is integral to human culture. Over the last two centuries people's relationship with time has been transformed through industrialisation, trade and technology. But the first such life-changing transformation - under Christianity's influence - happened in late antiquity. It was then that time began to be conceptualised in new ways, with discussion of eternity, life after death and the end of days. Individuals also began to experience time differently: from the seven-day week to the order of daily prayer and the festal calendar of Christmas and Easter. With trademark flair and versatility, world-renowned classicist Simon Goldhill uncovers this change in thinking. He explores how it took shape in the literary writing of late antiquity and how it resonates even today. His bold new cultural history will appeal to scholars and students of classics, cultural history, literary studies, and early Christianity alike.
Reviews / Votes
'Though the essays can be read and appreciated separately, Goodhill has done an excellent job of choosing the essay topics: readers gain a solid appreciation for the Christian influence on the narratives of late antiquity and their significance for the development of concepts of time. ... Highly recommended.' E. Kincanon, Choice '... Goldhill has a huge amount to teach us about the Christianization of literary genres, especially with reference to time in (generally) the fourth and fifth centuries AD ... No review of reasonable length can do justice to the richness of Goldhill's project or its importance.' John Rist, AugustinianaMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
Illustrations
Worked examples or Exercises
File size
5,76 MB
ISBN-13
978-1-009-08007-1 (9781009080071)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
02/2022
Cambridge University Press
€58.20
Shipment within 15-20 days
Person
Content
Introduction; Part I: 1. God's time; 2. The time of death; 3. Telling time; 4. Waiting; 5. Time and time again; 6. Making time visible; 7. At the same time; 8. Timelessness and the now; 9. Life times; 10. The rape of time; Part II: 11. Beginning, again: Nonnus' paraphrase of the Gospel of John; 12. The eternal return: Nonnus' Dionysiaca; 13. Regulation time: Gregory's Christmas Day; 14. Day to day; 15. "We are the times": Making history Christian; Coda: Writing in the time of sickness.
