The Gospel "according to Homer and Virgil" : : cento and canon / / by Karl Olav Sandnes.

• Superior document: Supplements to Novum Testamentum, v. 138.
• Author: Sandnes, Karl Olav, 1954-
• Place / Publishing House: Leiden [The Netherlands] ;, Boston : : Brill,, 2011.
• Year of Publication: 2011
• Edition: First edition.
• Language: English
• Series: Supplements to Novum Testamentum ; v. 138.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (285 pages)
• Notes: Description based upon print version of record.
• Other title: Preliminary Material /; Chapter One. Introduction: The Context Of The Study /; Chapter Two. The Rhetorical Context Of Biblical Epics /; Chapter Three. Why Imitate Classical Texts? /; Chapter Four. What Is A Cento? /; Chapter Five. Faltonia Betitia Proba: The Gospel “According To Virgil” /; Chapter Six. Eudocia Athenais: The Gospel “According To Homer” /; Chapter Seven. Summary /; Bibliography /; Reference Index /; Subject Index /; Modern Authors /
• Bibliography: Includes bibliographical references and indexes.
• ISBN: 1283119692; 9786613119698; 9004194428
• ISSN: 0167-9732
• Hierarchical level: Monograph
• Statement of Responsibility: by Karl Olav Sandnes.

In the fourth century C.E. some Christians paraphrased the stories about Jesus' life in the style of classical epics. Imitating the genre of centos, they stitched together lines taken either from Homer (Greek) or Virgil (Latin). They thus created new texts out of the classical epics, while they still remained fully within the confines of their style and vocabulary. It is the aim of this study to put these attempts into a historical and rhetorical context. Why did some Christians rewrite the Gospel stories in this way, and what came out of this? On the basis of these Christian centos, it is natural to address the view held by some scholars, namely that New Testaments narratives are imitations of the epics.