From the Mysteries to Gnosticism & Beyond:Mediterranean & Middle Eastern Religions in Late…

Catalog description

This course will introduce students to the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern religious situation from the time of Alexander the Great to approximately the time of Emperor Justinian (527-565 CE). Students will examine the influence of the Greco-Oriental mystery traditions, then the Oriental/Asian religious influences that were introduced into Western religious traditions such as Judaism and Christianity, as part of the legacy of Alexander the Great. These combined influences crystallized into Gnosticism, Manichaeism, Mandaeanism, Hermeticism, and other religious doctrines and movements, which will form a central portion of the course.