Master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (MA)
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The Abdication Scene in the Syriac Apocalypse of Pseudo-Methodius was influenced by George of Pisidias' In Restitutionem, the only major contemporary testimony to Heraclius' restoration of the...Show moreThe Abdication Scene in the Syriac Apocalypse of Pseudo-Methodius was influenced by George of Pisidias' In Restitutionem, the only major contemporary testimony to Heraclius' restoration of the Cross to Jerusalem in 630 C.E. The importance of Jerusalem and the centrality of Golgotha, the presentation of an idealized Christian emperor who is in conformity with the image of his righteous predecessors, the crown-Cross motif, as well as the subject of the Eschaton, are all crucial themes present in George's poem and which appear to have been adopted by the author of Pseudo-Methodius. Furthermore, the theological framework and the Byzantine imperial ideology within which Heraclius and the Byzantine Empire functioned, is also apparent in the Abdication Scene. This paper breaks from the traditional approach to explaining the scene on the basis of earlier Syriac texts such as the Alexander Legend and the Cave of Treasures. Although these older arguments have their strong points, they are based on the idea that a Syriac composition of the seventh century, must have received its influences from earlier Syriac sources. It does not allow for the possibility of external influences. Furthermore, these arguments attempt to show how themes and motifs found in earlier Syriac works, such as the centrality of Golgotha in the Cave of Treasures, are genuinely Syriac, when in fact they are to be found throughout early Jewish and Hellenistic writings. Thus, contrary to the previous assumptions made, this paper shows through a comparative analysis of the respective texts, that the pivotal scene in the Syriac Apocalypse was directly influenced by the poetical testimony to the restoration of the Cross.Show less
