Das öffentliche Auftreten des Christentums im spätantiken Antiochia

Christianity gained a foothold in Antioch during the first century and the metropolis became an important centre for the spread of Christianity, although Hellenistic elements did still shape it in the fourth century. A diverse entertainment culture set the tone in public life and ensured the cohesion of the city's heterogeneous population, as Christian preacher John Chrysostom was to find out. An astute observer of his surroundings, he chose metaphors picking up on aspects of city life to intelligibly and engagingly relay his sermons' messages. Frauke Krautheim analyses the strategies he employed to enable Christianity to compete with existing topographical, cultural and religious realities, and thus underpin identity with the Christian faith. She pays particular attention to Chrysostom's use of Agon metaphors, a typical Hellenistic rhetorical device, in a selection of his sermons on the martyrs.