«THEOPHRASTUS» AND «AMMONIUS». REFLECTION OF EARLY BYZANTINE POLIMICS BETWEEN THE CHRISTIANITY AND ANCIENT PAGANISM IN THE LITERARY HERITAGE OF THE RHETORIC SCHOOLS OF GAZA

Author(s):  Ya.V. Manohin, Belgorod National Research University, Belgorod, Russia, reno2010@rambler.ru

Issue:  Volume 45, №1

Rubric:  Topical issues of world history

Annotation:  Before our time preserved a large number of works reflecting the literary struggle of the representatives of Christianity and the pagan sophists. In the early Byzantine period before the Persian conquest (4-6 cent. A.D.) in Gaza city there was a major Christian theological school, which has played not unimportant role in the formation of Christian dogma. Its members left behind a rich literary legacy. A special place among them is occupied by well-known polemical works of the representatives of the Christian rhetoric of this school that reflects the Christian-pagan disputes. «Theophrastus» of Aeneas of Gaza and «Ammo-nius» of Zachariah Rhetor (also known as Zacharias Scholasticus or Zacharias of Mytilene) represent po-lemical works composed in the form of a dialogue directed against the philosophical doctrines of the Pla-tonists. Their authors were contemporaries and representatives of the same Christian rhetoric school in Gaza. The study of these works and their comparative analysis leads to the conclusion that they are very similar in style and shape and have a lot in common in the content of their works. However, despite this, these works are unique and reflect the characteristics of writing and personal qualities of the authors.

Keywords:  Early Byzantium, Gas, Ammonius, Theophrastus, Aeneas, Zacharias Scholasticus, Christiani-ty, Neoplatonism, and controversy.

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