Synopses of Epic, Tragedy, and the Gospels

by Dennis R. MacDonald

Volume 1 of Synopses of Epic, Tragedy, and the Gospels is an English synopsis like no other. Among its innovations are the incorporation of the lost Gospel Q+ and the rearrangement of the columns to reflect the historical evolution of the Synoptic tradition (Q+ → Mark → Matthew → Luke). What makes it a “MimeticSynopsis” is its concentration on literary imitations of classical Greek poetry to present Jesus as a hero who transvalues characters in the Homeric epics and Athenian tragedy.
Volume 2 is not a synopsis but a syncrisis, a comparison of the Acts of the Apostles with classical Greek literature. By applying the criteria of mimesis criticism, one can detect, for example, how Luke imitated the Homeric epics to rival Vergil’s Aeneid. This volume again contains original translations of the relevant ancient texts and includes Luke’s imitations also of Euripides’ Bacchae and Plato’s Socratic dialogues.
Mimetic Synopsis of Three Gospels of John, Volume 3, compares the three compositional stages that produced the Fourth Gospel: (1) the Dionysian Gospel, which extensively imitated Euripides’ Bacchae; (2) the Anti-Jewish Gospel; and (3) the Beloved Disciple Gospel.

Genres: Religion

572 pages, Paperback

Published December 6, 2022

Reviews

[Allison Cawthon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting collection! The book is separated into three parts, with the first part being the longest. The author categorizes parts by theme, then cross compares between famous Greek works (Iliad, Plato, Odyssey, etc) and bible verses/themes. Very interesting and compelling work. Definitely not for a casual reader; this is a thick textbook-like encompassment of niche Christian and Ancient Greek content.

[Jackie Lantern · Rating 5 out of 5]

Better than ambien for rapid sleep onset and the appropriate size where it can do a proper job as a doorstop or an emergency weapon, just hit an attacker over the head with it!

[Dlorimer]

Big reference book* 12”x9”

Volume 1 ~ 300pgs
Volume 2 ~ 100
Volume 3 ~ 30

Have your copy of The Odyssey ready to go.