The Implications of Hephaestus’s Role as the Inventor of Metallurgy in the Chronographia of John Malalas
John Malalas presents Hephaestus as a king of Egypt who was deified as an inventor who made weapons and so provided his subjects with nourishment and strength in war. In the context of the Greco-Roman discussion of the progress of civilization and the identification of inventors, this may seem innoc...
| Auteur principal: | |
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| Type de support: | Électronique Article |
| Langue: | Anglais |
| Vérifier la disponibilité: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | En cours de chargement...
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| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Publié: |
2024
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| Dans: |
Harvard theological review
Année: 2024, Volume: 117, Numéro: 3, Pages: 506-531 |
| Sujets / Chaînes de mots-clés standardisés: | B
Jean, Malalas 490-578, Chronographia
/ Hephäst
/ Métallurgie
/ Bibel. Genesis
/ Création
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| RelBib Classification: | BE Religion gréco-romaine CC Christianisme et religions non-chrétiennes; relations interreligieuses CD Christianisme et culture HA Bible KAD Haut Moyen Âge NBD Création |
| Sujets non-standardisés: | B
euergesia
B inventors and inventions B Hunting B Weapons B Hephaestus B Metallurgy B John Malalas B deification (Christian critique of) |
| Accès en ligne: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Résumé: | John Malalas presents Hephaestus as a king of Egypt who was deified as an inventor who made weapons and so provided his subjects with nourishment and strength in war. In the context of the Greco-Roman discussion of the progress of civilization and the identification of inventors, this may seem innocuous, even a commendation. But this discourse does not unite war and hunting, as Hephaestus’s inventions do. This combination seems to allude by inversion to the biblical ideal of harmony among people and between people and beasts, and so makes Hephaestus an agent of human delinquency. This denigration is confirmed by the magical initiation of Hephaestus’s ironsmithing. It is, however, by implication and allusion, rather than outright denunciation, that Malalas achieves his critique of the traditional gods and their deification. |
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| ISSN: | 1475-4517 |
| Contient: | Enthalten in: Harvard theological review
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1017/S0017816024000208 |