Terms for Eternity: Aiônios and Aïdios in Classical and Christian Texts

by Ilaria Ramelli, David Konstan

What is truly timeless? This book explores the language of eternity, and in particular two ancient Greek terms that may bear the sense of eternal : aiônios and aïdios. This fascinating linguistic chronicle is marked by several milestones that correspond to the emergence of new perspectives on the nature of eternity. These milestones include the advent of Pre\-Socratic physical speculation and the notion of limitless time in ancient philosophy, the major shift in orientation marked by Plato s idea of a timeless eternity, and the further development of Pre\-Socratic insights by Epicurean and Stoic thinkers. From the biblical perspective, the intersection of Greek and Hebrew conceptions is reflected in Septuagint, as well as new inflections in popular terminology in the Hellenistic and Roman periods, and in the role of eternity in the theology of the New Testament. The profound cross\-fertilization of Christian and classical philosophical conceptions in the works of the Church fathers and their contemporaries is explored, bringing the topic into the Patristic period. Christian theology in the first five centuries of the Common Era and its choice of vocabulary prove to be most revealing of larger doctrinal commitments. Above all debate raged on the question of eternal damnation versus the idea (deemed heretical in the Christian church after the formal condemnation of Origenism) of apocastastis or universal salvation \- that is, the belief that the wicked are not condemned to eternal punishment but will eventually be included among the saved. Terminology for eternity is often at the core of how these issues were debated, and helps to identify which writers inclined to one or the other view of the matter.

Genres: Theology

268 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 2007

About the author

A historian, scholarly author, and university professor, a specialist in ancient, late antique, and early mediaeval philosophy, especially the Platonic and Stoic traditions; ancient Christian philosophy, theology, and history (in Greek and Latin sources, partially also Syriac, Coptic and Armenian—with a predilection for Origen of Alexandria and the Origenian tradition down to the Cappadocian Fathers, Evagrius Ponticus, Dionysius the Areopagite, Maximus the Confessor, and John Scotus Eriugena, and including Augustine of Hippo whom she incorporates within the Origenian tradition); Hellenistic Judaism and Jewish-Christian relations; ancient religions and their philosophical interpretations; classics; and imperial and late antiquity. She is deeply interested in the relationship between Theology and Philosophy in ancient "pagan," Jewish, and Christian thought and endeavors to bridge the gap between these disciplines and promote an integrative (but also in-depth and specialistic) study of antiquity and late antiquity, against a tendency to compartmentalize research. She is also very much interested in contemporary philosophy, theology, and social and ethical issues, as her scholarly and popular publications attest.

Reviews

[Fred Kohn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a pretty thorough survey of the Greek terms αἰώνιος and ἀΐδιος. The authors go through their usage pretty much chronologically starting with Plato and ending in the sixth century or so. The problem with αἰώνιος is that it has multiple meanings and it isn’t always easy to tell which meaning is meant. A major flaw with the book is that the author's default translation for αἰώνιος is "pertaining to the coming age." This is wishful thinking on the authors' part. No Greek lexicon that I am aware of translates αἰώνιος in this way.

For a more thorough analysis of this last point, see https://www.reddit.com/r/ChristianUni...