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Address to the Greeks

Tatian

Chapter 31

About this work

Tatian attacks Greek claims to cultural and philosophical superiority, defends Christian teaching about God, creation, resurrection, and ethics, and argues for the antiquity of biblical wisdom.

Author: Tatian
Date: c. AD 165–175
Origin: Rome or the eastern Mediterranean
Genre: Apology

The Philosophy of the Christians More Ancient Than that of the Greeks.

But now it seems proper for me to demonstrate that

‹ Chapter 30 Chapter 32 ›

our

philosophy

is

older

than

the

systems

of

the

Greeks

.

Moses

and

Homer

shall

be

our

limits

,

each

of

them

being

of

great

antiquity

;

the

one

being

the

oldest

of

poets

and

historians

,

and

the

other

the

founder

of

all

barbarian

wisdom

.

Let

us

,

then

,

institute

a

comparison

between

them

;

and

we

shall

find

that

our

doctrines

are

older

,

not

only

than

those

of

the

Greeks

,

but

than

the

invention

of

letters

.

And

I

will

not

bring

forward

witnesses

from

among

ourselves

,

but

rather

have

recourse

to

Greeks

.

To

do

the

former

would

be

foolish

,

because

it

would

not

be

allowed

by

you

;

but

the

other

will

surprise

you

,

when

,

by

contending

against

you

with

your

own

weapons

,

I

adduce

arguments

of

which

you

had

no

suspicion

.

Now

the

poetry

of

Homer

,

his

parentage

,

and

the

time

in

which

he

flourished

have

been

investigated

by

the

most

ancient

writers

,

—

by

Theagenes

of

Rhegium

,

who

lived

in

the

time

of

Cambyses

,

Stesimbrotus

of

Thasos

and

Antimachus

of

Colophon

,

Herodotus

of

Halicarnassus

,

and

Dionysius

the

Olynthian

;

after

them

,

by

Ephorus

of

Cumæ

,

and

Philochorus

the

Athenian

,

Megaclides

and

Chamæleon

the

Peripatetics

;

afterwards

by

the

grammarians

,

Zenodotus

,

Aristophanes

,

Callimachus

,

Crates

,

Eratosthenes

,

Aristarchus

,

and

Apollodorus

.

Of

these

,

Crates

says

that

he

flourished

before

the

return

of

the

Heraclidæ

,

and

within

80

years

after

the

Trojan

war

;

Eratosthenes

says

that

it

was

after

the

100th

year

from

the

taking

of

Ilium

;

Aristarchus

,

that

it

was

about

the

time

of

the

Ionian

migration

,

which

was

140

years

after

that

event

;

but

,

according

to

Philochorus

,

after

the

Ionian

migration

,

in

the

archonship

of

Archippus

at

Athens

,

180

years

after

the

Trojan

war

;

Apollodorus

says

it

was

100

years

after

the

Ionian

migration

,

which

would

be

240

years

after

the

Trojan

war

.

Some

say

that

he

lived

90

years

before

the

Olympiads

,

which

would

be

317

years

after

the

taking

of

Troy

.

Others

carry

it

down

to

a

later

date

,

and

say

that

Homer

was

a

contemporary

of

Archilochus

;

but

Archilochus

flourished

about

the

23d

Olympiad

,

in

the

time

of

Gyges

the

Lydian

,

500

years

after

Troy

.

Thus

,

concerning

the

age

of

the

aforesaid

poet

,

I

mean

Homer

,

and

the

discrepancies

of

those

who

have

spoken

of

him

,

we

have

said

enough

in

a

summary

manner

for

those

who

are

able

to

investigate

with

accuracy

.

For

it

is

possible

to

show

that

the

opinions

held

about

the

facts

themselves

also

are

false

.

For

,

where

the

assigned

dates

do

not

agree

together

,

it

is

impossible

that

the

history

should

be

true

.

For

what

is

the

cause

of

error

in

writing

,

but

the

narrating

of

things

that

are

not

true

?

Notes

c30
Comp. Matt. xiii. 44. [Cogent reasoning with Greeks.]