Divine Eros in the Apocryphal Acts of Paul and Thecla

Abstract

Abstract The present study treats one of the most well-known and discussed texts of the apocryphal Bible: the Acts of Paul and Thecla. By analysing the narrative structure of this apocryphal text and the behaviour of its protagonists, I shed light on its philosophical background, which has been largely ignored by contemporary scholarship. More specifically, my analysis focuses on the motif of divine eros, which is continuously present throughout the entire narrative. It goes without saying that the testimonies found in early Christian literature showing the influence of Platonic philosophy on the growing religion constitute the point of departure for a thorough examination of Thecla’s Acts and a systematic treatment of this aspect of their narration. From Ignatius’s epistle To the Romans up to Clement of Alexandria’s Stromata, a period of approximately 100 years passes, during which the Platonic conception of love makes it presence ever more prominent within the ecclesiastical scene, until it is finally identified with the highest expression of faith and reverence towards God in the writings of the Alexandrian theologians. It is no coincidence that it is precisely to this period of time that contemporary scholars date the composition of the Acts of Paul and Thecla.