HISTORY 401, "PAGANS AND CHRISTIANS" Prof. GADDIS
ESSENTIAL INTERNET RESOURCES
Translated primary sources online:
Internet Medieval Sourcebook: Probably the best single site for primary sources in translation; a staggeringly large assortment. Be sure to check out separate sections for Ancient History, Jewish History, Byzantine Studies, Women’s History, etc. In addition to primary texts, also includes helpful essays on critical techniques, methodology, research tools. Spend a good few hours exploring this one! Many of the other sites listed below also cover Christian material well, but this one (esp. the Ancient section) is probably the best place to find pagan and/or secular stuff from the late Roman period.
Perseus Project: Excellent general site for Classics/Ancient History (though not quite as good for late antique/early Christian). Translated texts of Greek and Latin authors. Huge library of images: art, buildings, archaeological site plans, coins, etc.
Pagan Texts: Translations of many ancient texts related to Greco-Roman religion. Note that the modern scholarship linked from this site can be quite out of date.
Fathers of the Church: all 38 volumes of the massive Ante-Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers series. Translations from Christian authors from the first to the sixth centuries, both Latin and Greek. NB: Almost all of the online texts assigned on the syllabus can be found here. Texts arranged preserving the order of the original print volumes. Particular texts may be read online or downloaded as .txt, .zip or .pdf files. Alternate location: same texts, arranged alphabetically.
Additional Selection of Early Christian / Patristic texts.
St. Pachomius Library: many early Christian, Byzantine and Greek Orthodox texts; an especially good selection of saints’ lives. Lots of links both to primary sources and to resources for further study. Use the alphabetical index to find particular figures by name.
Noncanonical Homepage: Apocryphal texts, both Old and New Testament; Nag Hammadi/Gnostic texts; some church fathers.
Gnostic Society Library: A bit New-Agey, but a good source for original Gnostic, Nag Hammadi, Apocrypha, Manichaean texts.
Miscellaneous:
De Imperatoribus Romanis: An online encyclopedia of Roman and Byzantine emperors (search chronologically or alphabetically), with links to maps, portraits and coins, family trees, short biographies, up-to-date bibliography. Currently has excellent coverage for the fourth and fifth centuries, a bit spotty for second and third centuries.
Duke Papyrus Archive: See what papyri documents actually look like, scanned in hi-res. Thousands of them archived, and searchable by period, genre, language, etc; much bibliography. Unfortunately, few translations available online.
Patrologia Latina Database: For those who read Latin. A massive 200-vol collection of just about every word written in Latin by Christians up until about 1200. Now online with amazing word-search capabilities. Free access from anywhere on SU network.
Hypatia of Alexandria: Site devoted to the famous female philosopher murdered by a Christian mob in 415 AD. A lot of garbage has been written about her in modern times, but here you can see what the ancient sources actually say. Note: the website fails to give the dates of the three sources it translates. Socrates is fifth century, more or less contemporary with Hypatia. John of Nikiu is seventh century, and the Suda was composed c.1000 AD but claims to quote or summarize the words of Damascius, who lived c.500. Watch how the story changes over time.
Barlaam and Ioasaph: Watch Christianization and syncretism in action in this unique eighth-century (?) text: the story of the Buddha, retold as the life of a Christian saint.