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[German Version] I. History of Religion – II. Greco-Roman Antiquity – III. New Testament – IV. Dogmatics and Ethics – V. Practical Theology I. History of Religion The original meaning of the word, (divine) “joint knowledge, knowledge, consciousness, and self-consciousness” (Gk syneídēsis, Lat. conscientia), had already changed in antiquity to refer to an evaluative consciousness of one's own actions. Western philosophical and theological discourse formed various metaphors: the internal; the inner voiced ( daimónion; daimon), also interpreted as the voice …

[German Version] I. Study and History of Religion – II. Philosophy of Religion I. Study and History of Religion Greek ὕβρις, “pride, infringement, maltreatment, outrage.” The etymology of hybris is obscure (the second syllable may be related to βριαρός/ briarós, “strong”). The popular etymological derivation from ὑπέρ/ hypér, “exceeding (the correct amount),” common since the time of Homer, may not be correct for phonetic reasons. Hubris is the basic mental attitude that causes people to “go too far” when pursuing their own interests, and …

[German Version] I. Term and Genre – II. Old Testament – III. New Testament – IV. Liturgical Studies I. Term and Genre The Greek word ὕμνος/ hýmnos, whose etymology is obscure, originally meant, quite unspecifically, simply “song” (the verb ὑμνεῖν/ hymneín, “ to sing”; cf. Hes. Theog. 11.33; Hom. Hym. 3.178, etc.). Yet, from the ¶ 5th/4th century bce at the latest, it meant “song for a god” (cf. Plato, Leges 700 b 1–2; Xenophanes 21 B 1.13 DK; Xenophon, Cyrupaideia 18.1.23) and thence became the general term for “religious song,” and finally for “festival song,” “song o…

[German Version] from Greek εὐδαιμονία, meaning “happiness, bliss” (Lat. beatitudo). Originally a religious concept ( eudaímōn, “having a good daimon,” “blessed by God”; cf. Euripides, Orestes 667), it was often used in the sense of having great material wealth, and only entered the vocabulary of philosophical ethics in the 6th/5th century bce. The pre-Socratics were the first to strip the term of its material connotations and used the concept of eudaimonía to describe a good inner disposition of the human soul (cf. Democritus in: Vorsokratiker 68 B 77, …

[German Version] was a Hellenistic Jew, presumably from Alexandria, who authored a Greek tragedy, Exagoge ( The Exodus, i.e. from Egypt) following Exod 1–15 (LXX) sometime after 240 bce but surely before 100 ce. The extant fragments (a total of 269 verses) represent the largest ¶ preserved portion of Greek tragedy after Euripides and, simultaneously, the largest preserved portion of Judeo-Hellenistic poetry. The following scenes have been preserved: 1. Moses reports about his fate to this poin…

[German Version] (c. 700 bce), the oldest Greek poet of whom there is authentic information concerning his person. His father, a merchant, was forced to leave the Aeolian city of Cyme and settled down in Boeotian Ascra (Hes. Erga kai hemerai [ Erga] 635–640). After his death, an inheritance dispute broke out between Hesiod and his brother Perses ( Erga 35–39). A first prize in a poetry contest in Chalcis is also documented ( Erga 650–659). Tradition attributes the following works to Hesiod's authorship: Theogonia ( Theogony), Erga kai hemerai ( Works and Days), and the Aspis ( Shield). Signi…

[German Version] A Stoic philosopher and Egyptian priest of the 1st century ce, Chaeremon was probably a grammar teacher in Alexandria before becoming the tutor of the later emperor Nero in 49 ce. Chaeremon is the author of a grammatical essay on hieroglyphs ( Hieroglyphica), of an astrological treatise, and of a stoicizing work on Egyptian history ( Aigyptiakḗ historía). The latter was less a historical account than a mytholo¶ gizing description of the ancient Egyptian priesthood as the perfect embodiment of Stoic ideals. Lutz Käppel Bibliography Fragments: F. Jacoby, ed., Die Fragme…

[German Version] Greek δαίμων, may be etymologically related to δαίω “disperse” (i.e. the fateless?); originally “divine being, divine power” (= ϑεός, “god”) (Hom. Iliad 1.222 etc.), but already in Hes. Erga 121–126 it referred to the “soul of a deceased person.” The two concepts fuse in the image of daimons as punishing avengers (souls of the ¶ murdered execute vengeance as daimons). The concept of the “personal” daimon that influences the fate of the individual appeared from the 6th century bce (Theognis 161–164, Heraclitus 22 B 119 D.-K., Pindarus, Olympia 13.28, 105, Sophoc. Trachin…

[German Version] (c. 485/484 bce, Salamis – 407/406, Pella). With Aeschylus and Sophocles, Euripides was the third great tragedian of classical Greece. Historically reliable information about his life is scanty. He was probably the son of a landowner and a mother from a distinguished family. In Athens he is said to have been a pupil of the Sophists Anaxagoras, Prodicus, and Protagoras, as well as being a friend of Socrates. He first appeared as a tragedian in 455 bce. He went on to produce 92 plays. In his old age, he finally left Athens for the co…