Aristides of Athens (2nd cent. CE) belongs to the generation of Christian writers known as the Apologists (Apologetics). Throughout the 2nd century CE, they worked for the defense of their coreligionists and of their religion during a period in which they perceived Christianity to be quite misunderstood by the civil authorities and the pagan masses. For a long time, Aristides’ name was known only through the testimony of Eusebius of Caesarea (Hist. eccl. 4.3.3; Chron. ad annum 124–125 ed. Karst, ad annum 125 ed. Helm), and hence thro…