Virgins of God: The Making of Asceticism in Late Antiquity

Description

Many of the institutions fundamental to the role of men and women in today's society have their origins in late antiquity. This revisionist study offers a comprehensive look at how Christian women of this time initiated alternative, ascetic ways of living, both with and without men. The author studies how these practices were institutionalized, and why they were later either eliminated or transformed by a new Christian Roman elite of men now thought of as the founding fathers. Cover Title Preface Contents List of maps Abbreviations Introduction I Asia Minor 1. ‚Virgins of God': Variations of Female Ascetic Life 2. Basil of Caesarea: The Classic Model 3. In the Background: Macrina and Naucratius 4. Homoiousian Asceticism 5. Parthenoi, Widows, Deaconesses: Continuing Variety 6. Symbiosis of Male and Female Ascetics and the Demise of the Homoiousian Model II Egypt 7. Canons and Papyri 8. Desert Mothers and Wandering Virgins: The Apophthegmata Patrum 9. Pachomius and Shenoute: The Other Classic Model 10. „In the Desert andin the Countryside, in Towns or Villages“: The Historia Lausiaca and the Historia Monachorum 11. Athanasius of Alexandria and Urban Asceticism Conclusion Select Bibliography Index Index of Papyri used