@virginia.edu
University of Virginia
Religious studies, Classics, Language and Linguistics, Information Systems and Management
Scopus Publications
Scholar Citations
Scholar h-index
Scholar i10-index
Mark G. Bilby, Jack Bull, and K. Lance Lotharp
Ubiquity Press, Ltd.
Mark G. Bilby and Jason D. BeDuhn
Ubiquity Press, Ltd.
Mark G. Bilby and Anna Lefteratou
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
AbstractWhile scholars have explored the profound influence of Iphigenia among the Taurians (IT) on Greco-Roman fiction, including Christian apocryphal Acts, the play has yet to be considered seriously as a potential inspiration on the canonical Acts of the Apostles. A close comparison of IT with the story of the Ephesian riot (Acts 19:21–20:1) reveals a compelling relationship in matters of plot, setting, characterization, purpose, and themes. The Ephesus saga in Acts achieves a creatively miniaturized and satirized recasting of this famous Euripidean play.
MARK GLEN BILBY
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
In hymn vi of hisPeristephanon, Prudentius dramatically reworks the plot of thePassio Fructuosi. The poet turns the perpetrators from well-known and dutiful representatives of a transient empire into despicable caricatures of evil and vice, transforms the martyred bishop from a caring pastor into a heroic leader of heroes, re-narrates the roles of Christian family members as anonymous martyr-cult devotees, and shifts the focus from the martyred bishop as a local, beloved model of imitation and encouragement during a time of persecution to the three martyrs together as co-equal objects of worship and patrons and saviours of their region and devotees.