Clement of Alexandria’s version of the myth of Eunomos’ harmonization with the chirping cicada at the beginning of his Protrepticus is such a striking feature of the text that explaining its significance has become a popular problem in scholarship. I argue that Clement’s novel introduction of the death of the Delphic dragon into his version of myth of Eunomos is especially important since this snake becomes a pervasive metaphor for the danger that the material world poses to souls and the rot that affects them when they cling to it. The text of the Protrepticus slithers with serpentine imagery as Clement points out how this dragon’s winding coils are wrapped around Graeco-Roman religion, philosophy, and human nature more generally. In light of this reading, we appreciate the real stakes of Clement’s exhortation and find the model of his ideal reader in Eunomos: the sinner who once sang to the dead and rotting snake of evil Greek custom and its inherent materialism now joins in with the pure song of the cicada, who has always sung the cosmic ‘New Song’ to its Creator, the victor over the snake.
The paper is concerned with a passage of the Stromateis of Clement of Alexandria (1.15.71.6), which provides the oldest preserved reference in European literature to the Buddha. The paper argues that Clement does not demonstrate any serious knowledge of Buddha’s precepts. Nevertheless, Buddha’s image in the passage is positive and Buddha is treated by Clement with respect. The paper examines the issue of Clement’s sources on Buddha and accepts that Hellenistic or Roman-era Greek sources might have been proven a useful starting point for Clement’s knowledge on Buddha. On the other hand, it is argued that Clement had oral sources concerning Buddhism in India. This is indicated by the curious indeclinable word BOYTTA used by Clement, a form elsewhere unattested. The paper raises doubts on recent theories which connect BOYTTA to the Parthian language and to Kushan Buddhism. Based on various pieces of evidence (e.g. Clement’s perception of India, Dio Chrysostom’s information on the presence of Indians in Alexandria, epigraphically attested presence of Buddhist Indians in Roman Egypt) the paper stresses the possibility that Clement could have received the information concerning Buddha from Indians living in Alexandria. Particular focus is given to the mime XAPITION (P.Oxy. 413), where whole sections of the plot involve dialogues in unattested forms of south Indian dialects. On the basis of all this evidence, the paper argues that the form BOYTTA could well reproduce the phonology of the word in an obscure vernacular of the Indian subcontinent during the second century AD.
In his Quis Dives Salvetur, Who Is the Rich Man Who Shall Be Saved?Clement of Alexandria interprets the gospel story of the Rich Young Ruler (Mark 10:17-31, Matt 19:16-30, Luke 18:18-30). The pericope has one of the more radical economic messages in the gospels, suggesting that “it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to be saved.” Clement seeks to domesticate this message and make the church safe for well-to-do Christians. He does this through clever exegesis, but also through a very peculiar edition of the biblical text. Clement presents a unique version of the pericope, one that seems to be cobbled together with the goal of stripping the story of its radical edge. This paper examines Clement’s literary techniques and shows that before he has even turned to exegesis, Clement has already drastically changed the meaning of the text through edition.