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(Μελίτων; Melítōn). [German version] [1] Author of a text called "On the Clans in Athens" M. from Athens (?). According to fr. 1 (= Harpocr. s.v. κάθετος) author of a text called Perì tôn Athḗnēsi génōn (‘On the Clans in Athens). Date uncertain, in any case before Harpocratio [2], who lived in the first or second century A.D. Meister, Klaus (Berlin) Bibliography PA 9842 Traill, PAA 639945. [German version] [2] Tragedian, 1st cent. Greek author of tragedies (TrGF I 182); there is evidence of a work called ‘Niobe. Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg) [German version] [3] M. of Sardes Bishop of…

[German version] A. Language Christian Palestinian is a dialect of  Aramaic, more precisely of Western Aramaic, to which belong Nabataean, Palmyrenian, Judaeo-Aramaic, Samaritan and the still extant New Western Aramaic (Maalūla linguistic enclave near Damascus, Syria). As it uses one of the older Syriac- (i.e. Estrangelō, in reality στρογγύλη; stroggýlē) related scripts, in the non-German language area it tends to be called Syro-Palestinian, although it lies closer to the Judaeo-Palestinian Aramaic of some targumim than to classical Syriac. It was evidently used in…

Merkt, Andreas (Mainz) I. History of Theology (CT) [German version] A. Basic Concept (CT) The history of theology (HT) is that area of theological studies which examines the history of the development of theological ideas. The need for this study in the theory of Christianity arises principally from theological and anthropological considerations. First, according to Christian belief, God himself took on an historical form in Jesus of Nazareth; scholarly reflection on this religion demands, therefore, an hist…

[German version] (Παπίας; Papías). Bishop or congregational leader in his home town of Hierapolis [1]. In around AD 125/130, he wrote an 'Exegesis of the oracles of the Lord in five books' (Λογίων κυριακῶν ἐξηγήσεως συγγράμματα πέντε), of which only fragments remain. The information contained in the foreword on the authors of the NT (Eus. HE 3,39,15f.) is significant but controversial. However, P. preferred the oral Jesus tradition; according to Eirenaeus [2] (different in Eusebius [7]), he was a student of Iohannes [1] and a ‘ companion’ (ἑταῖρος) of Polycarpus (Iren. Adversus h…

(Πολύκαρπος/ Polýkarpos). [German version] I. Life P. was one of the most important figures among the second generation of Christian teachers, who still had contact with the members of the first, 'apostolic' generation (Eirenaeus [2] according to Eus. HE 5,20,6). He is described as bishop of Smyrna in the correspondence of Ignatius [1] (Ignatius, Epistula ad Magnesios 15), while another letter is addressed to bishop P. himself ( Epistula ad Polycarpum). He was evidently regarded not only as a representative of the congregations of Asia Minor, but also as a guardia…

[German version] [1] F. Mythographus Christian, about AD 500, author of several prose works (also F. Afer, Fabius Planciades F., Fabius Claudius Gordianus). Several prose works are extant by the Christian F. who lived around AD 500 and whose identification with  Fulgentius [2] is a matter of discussion [3]: De aetatibus mundi et hominis is an episodic outline of world history in which a particular letter of the alphabet is meant to be avoided (lipogram) in each of the planned 23 lemmata (of which only 14 were written). Lemmata 10, 11 and 14 deal w…

(Εὐσέβιος; Eusébios). [German version] [1] Flavius Eusebius Consul AD 347 Mention is made in the statute Cod. Theod. 11,1,1 of AD 360 of the former cos. et mag. equitum et peditum Eusebius. This probably refers to cos. E. of 347, who may perhaps be identified as the father of the empress Eusebia [1] (cf. Julian Or. 3,107d-110d). PLRE 1, 307f. Eusebius (39). Portmann, Werner (Berlin) [German version] [2] Eusebius Roman official about AD 355 Son of E. [1]. Like his brother Hypatius, he enjoyed the patronage of his sister  Eusebia [1] (cf. Julian Or. 3,116a). In AD 355 he was consularis Hellespon…