Mimesis of characters in the Gospel of Luke in the light of a study of Thucydides, Cornelius Nepos and Plutarch

Abstract

In this dissertation categories of mimesis are developed to conduct a mimetic analysis of characters portrayed in ancient texts. It applies these categories to characters found in selected passages of the Gospel of Luke. Mimesis or imitation refers to the portrayal of literary characters in ancient texts in a way intended to shape the moral behaviour of the implied audience. The mimetic model is developed by identifying and testing categories from the writings of Thucydides, Cornelius Nepos and Plutarch. Sensitivity to the categories provides a way to determine whether a writer praises characters or vilifies them. The characters praised are portrayed for emulation, while those vilified are unworthy of emulation. The categories identified are Plot, Selectivity, Relatability, Illustrative action, Synkrisis, Cause-and-effect, Evaluation by internal audience, Evaluative vocabulary, Narrator’s guided evaluation, and Stock virtue or vice. These categories form the framework for a mimetic analysis of selected passages in the Gospel of Luke. The application of the mimetic categories to the Greco-Roman writings and the Gospel of Luke reveals both similarities and differences. For example, the Greco-Roman writers and Luke are similar in their use of significant characters as exempla; they draw from comparable categories to convey mimesis; the way ancient writers used mimesis does not invite the exact replication of the character’s actions. Differences include the absence of an explicit statement in the Gospel of Luke affirming that mimetic characters are relatable to the implied audience, whereas the Greco- Roman writers explicitly state that their literary characters are relatable. Another patent difference concerns the significance of the divine. By acknowledging the presence of the Holy Spirit and the fulfilment of the Holy Scripture, the divine is significant to Luke. The divine was barely noticeable in the Greco-Roman writers. Unlike the mimetic characters in Greco-Roman writers, Jesus is not a military leader or politician. He is a person of divine origin who accomplishes the plan of God. Their visions of an ideal future differ. While the Greco-Roman authors focus on a better political state, Luke focuses on the accomplishment of the plan of God. Another notable difference is that women are prominent in Luke. The Greco-Roman authors are either silent about women or portray them pejoratively.