Ricerc@Sapienza

In Marcion's Gospel the figure of John the Baptist assumes peculiar features: are these compatible to what has been traditionally ascribed to Marcion's theology? This essay explores the portrait of John the Baptist as it is given in Marcion's Gospel and compares it with the one provided by those writings, especially written in the context of Syriac literature (including Tatian's Diatessaron), that seem to promote a reaction to to it.

Our knowledge about the diffusion of Greek philosophy into Syriac culture is dependent on Ephrem's heresiological works as well as on the manuscript tradition of philosophical works in Syriac, especially the famous BL Add. 14658. In the contribution the ideological orientations of these sources are described, then some directions are given to a history of the use of Greek philosophy in Syriac culture, starting from the Bible translations, and dealing with Marcion, Odes of Solomon, Bardaisan, and other early Syriac works.