The Burden of the Flesh: Fasting and Sexuality in Early ChristianityShaw's rich and fascinating work provides a startling look at early Christian notions of the body - diet, sexuality, the passions, and especially the ideal of virginity - and sheds important light on the growth of Christian ideals that remain powerful cultural forces even today. |
Contents
| 1 | |
| 6 | |
Bodily Practice and Ascetic Theory | 13 |
PHILOSOPHY OF THE BODY AND MEDICINE OF THE SOUL ETHICS DIET AND SEXUALITY IN LATE ANTIQUITY | 23 |
Ethics and Askesis | 29 |
Diet and the Physiology of Sexual Desire | 49 |
Ancient Medical Representations of the Female Body | 60 |
Humanity in the Golden Age | 160 |
Christian Asceticism and the Return to Paradise | 167 |
Fasting and the Return to the Garden | 170 |
Fasting Virginity and Eschatology | 177 |
Basil of Ancyra | 180 |
Gregory of Nyssa | 183 |
Basil of Caesarea | 192 |
Evagrius of Pontus | 194 |
Semen Menses and Milk | 64 |
Mouth Womb and Belly | 70 |
THE PHYSIOLOGY OF ASCETIC FASTING | 75 |
Basil of Ancyra | 77 |
Gregory of Nyssa | 88 |
Jerome | 92 |
John Cassian | 108 |
Food Deprivation and Sexual Function | 120 |
THE MOTHER OF ALL VICE GLUTTONY AND THE HEALTH OF BODY AND SOUL | 125 |
Gluttony in John Chrysostoms Homilies | 127 |
Gluttony and the Passions of the Soul in Evagrius of Pontus | 135 |
Abstinence and the Control of Passion | 155 |
FASTING AND THE RETURN TO PARADISE | 157 |
John Chrysostom | 201 |
Jerome | 205 |
The Body of Paradise | 210 |
FASTING AND THE FEMALE BODY | 216 |
Ascetic Women and Fasting in Early Christian Sources | 217 |
Survey of the Textual Evidence | 218 |
Female Nature Becoming Male and Pleasing the Bridegroom | 231 |
Female Flesh and Future Body | 248 |
BIBLIOGRAPHY | 251 |
Secondary Sources | 260 |
| 281 | |
Other editions - View all
The Burden of the Flesh: Fasting and Sexuality in Early Christianity Teresa M. Shaw No preview available - 1998 |
Common terms and phrases
abstinence angels apatheia argues ascetic ascetic fasting asceticism askesis Basil of Ancyra Basil of Caesarea behavior bodily Body and Society Cambridge chastity Christ Christian ascetic CSEL cultural death demons desert diet dietary discussion early Christian eating Éditions du Cerf Egyptian English translation Epictetus Évagre le Pontique Evagrius of Pontus Evagrius's example female ascetics female body Festugière flesh Frankenberg Galen gender gluttony Greek Grégoire de Nysse Gregory of Nyssa Guillaumont Harvard University Press History Homilia humors Ibid idem Jerome Jerome's John Cassian John Chrysostom Kühn late ancient late antiquity lifestyle Loeb Classical Library lust marriage meat monastic monasticism monks Musonius Musonius Rufus nocturnal emissions Origenist Palladius paradise Paris passions philosophical physical physiological Platonic Porneia practice procreation regimen renunciation Rousselle semen sexual activity sexual desire Soranus soul sources spiritual Stoic Studies texts theory tion trans treatise virg virginitate virginity virtue Vita women writes