Becoming female : Marrowy semen and the formative mother in Methodius of Olympus' Symposium
Journal article
LaValle Norman, Dawn. (2019). Becoming female : Marrowy semen and the formative mother in Methodius of Olympus' Symposium. Journal of Early Christian Studies. 27(2), pp. 185-209. https://doi.org/10.1353/earl.2019.0018
Authors | LaValle Norman, Dawn |
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Abstract | In the first half of Methodius of Olympus's dialogic Symposium (c. 290 C.E.), his female interlocutors present three different metaphors involving procreation. Although anchoring their description in an ancient medical belief that semen was a type of liquefied bone marrow, they reject the older reasoning behind this explanation, namely that semen was the vehicle for passing on soul. Instead, they assert that God provides the soul to the embryo while the mother actively forms the child in utero. With this change, Methodius's virgin speakers reorient the gender roles of the parties involved in reproduction, rejecting the forming or ensouling role typically given to sperm. The female interlocutors in the dialogue thereby create an image of the ideal Christian as metaphorically female, united with Mother Church, who, in a constant state of pregnancy, forms new Christians through instruction. |
Year | 2019 |
Journal | Journal of Early Christian Studies |
Journal citation | 27 (2), pp. 185-209 |
Publisher | Johns Hopkins University Press |
ISSN | 1086-3184 |
1067-6341 | |
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.1353/earl.2019.0018 |
Scopus EID | 2-s2.0-85070095806 |
Research or scholarly | Research |
Page range | 185-209 |
Publisher's version | License All rights reserved File Access Level Controlled |
Publication process dates | |
Deposited | 08 Mar 2021 |
https://acuresearchbank.acu.edu.au/item/8v912/becoming-female-marrowy-semen-and-the-formative-mother-in-methodius-of-olympus-symposium
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