Download text of Athenagoras's Plea Regarding the Christians. (NB: You must be logged into Sakai to download.)
Around the year 177 C.E., a Greek philosopher and Christian named Athenagoras wrote a "Plea for Christians" addressed to the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius and his son, Commodus. Athenagoras's treatise is one of several "apologies" (literally, in Greek, a legal defense) written by Christians in the second century to address criticisms from their non-Christian neighbors.
In an essay of around 1000 words, discuss what role bodies play in Athenagoras's apology: Christian bodies, Roman bodies, imaginary bodies, demonic bodies, divine bodies, social bodies, wherever bodies appear. How are bodies related to morality? How do Christians defend and define themselves through bodily imagery?
You should not do any outside research or reading for this paper, although you may (if you think it is appropriate) draw on other readings we have done for this class. Cite the text of Athenagoras by chapter number parenthetically (Athenagoras, Plea, ch. 4).
Essays should be double-spaced, in a reasonably-sized font, with pages numbers; please use page margins no larger than 1.25" all around.
You may organize the essay in whatever fashion you think is most effective: one long essay, several small topical essays ("On pagan bodies," "On divine bodies," etc.), as long as you provide around 1000 words of analytic prose considering how bodies play into the apologetic definition of Christian identity.
Midterms are due to Sakai Dropbox by 5pm on Thursday, October 26, 2017.
Return to assignments page.
Return to course homepage.