Longing for Perfection in Late Antiquity

Johan Leemans, Ph. D (2001), KU Leuven, is Professor of Christianity in Late Antiquity at the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies at the same university. He has published widely on late antique sermons, martyrdom, the Cappadocian Fathers and patristic exegesis. Geert Roskam, Ph.D. (2001), KU Leuven, is Professor of Greek Literature at that university. He has published several monographs and numerous articles on Hellenistic philosophy (esp. Epicureanism) and later Platonism (esp. Plutarch).Peter Van Deun, Ph.D. (1989), KU Leuven, is full professor of Byzantine Studies at that university. He has published widely on Patristic and Byzantine literature, esp. on Maximus the Confessor, Metrophanes of Smyrna and the genre of spiritual anthologies.

• ContentsFigures and Table1 IntroductionJohan Leemans, Geert Roskam and Peter Van DeunPart 1: Human Goal and Divine Perfection in Plato and the Platonist Tradition2 Assimilation to God and Practical Life from Plato to PlotinusPaolo Torri3 The God-like Plotinus and ProclusTwo Neoplatonic Patterns of PerfectionRobbert M. van den Berg4 One Ideal, Various Paths to Perfection‘Becoming like God’ in Proclus’ Commentary on the First AlcibiadesThibaut Lejeune5 More than Perfect?The Distinction between “Completely Perfect” (παντελής) and “More than Perfect” (ὑπερτέλειος) in Proclus’ Description of the Intelligible GodsArthur OosthoutPart 2: Human Goal and Divine Perfection in Early Christian Thought7 Christian versus Pagan PerfectionGeorge Karamanolis7 The Reader, the Bible, and the Path to PerfectionPhilo, Clement & OrigenMarco Rizzi8 Love’s Early Christian LivesSchemata and Scenarios of Love’s Perfecting Work in Representative Greek Patristic and Monastic WritersPaul M. Blowers9 On the Concept of ‘Perfection’ in Maximus Confessor’s Genuine Capita Collections (ThOec, Car, CapXV, CapX)A Lexical SurveyPietro D’AgostinoPart 3: Models of Perfection: Greek and Christian10 Human Perfection in PlutarchFinding the Right Balance between Philosophy and Politics in the Comparison of Aristeides and Cato MaiorLaurens van der Wiel11 Dealing with Models and VirtuePlutarchean Synkriseis and Cappadocian TypologyThomas Valgaeren12 Perfect Imitators of Christ?Saints and Martyrs as Models of (Im-)PerfectionPeter GemeinhardtPart 4: Pursuits of Perfection: Greek and Christian13 Nunc Est SudandumTraining and Exercises in Stoicism and EpicureanismGeert Roskam14 Galen on Human Perfection and EnhancementMorality, Medicine, CosmologyTeun Tieleman15 Perfection in the Two Ways TraditionAspirational or Attainable?Julien C. H. Smith16 A Thousand Pains and a Thousand CrownsPerfection in the Homiletic TraditionOlympe De Backer and Johan Leemans17 The Road to Perfection in the Apocalypse of PaulJan N. Bremmer18 Perfection – a Main (Educational) Topic in John Cassian’s Conferences?Dorothee Schenk19 “The Perfect Imperfect Perfection of the Perfects”Longing for Perfection in the Ladder of John SinaitesMaxim VenetskovIndex