From Achilles to Christ: Why Christians Should Read the Pagan Classics [Paperback]

Louis Markos (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 26, 2007

"The heart of Christianity is a myth which is also a fact." --C. S. Lewis In From Achilles to Christ, Louis Markos introduces readers to the great narratives of classical mythology from a Christian perspective. From the battles of Achilles and the adventures of Odysseus to the feats of Hercules and the trials of Aeneas, Markos shows how the characters, themes and symbols within these myths both foreshadow and find their fulfillment in the story of Jesus Christ--the "myth made fact." Along the way, he dispels misplaced fears about the dangers of reading classical literature, and offers a Christian approach to the interpretation and appropriation of these great literary works. This engaging and eminently readable book is an excellent resource for Christian students, teachers and readers of classical literature.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"At a time when our cultural memory seems to have faded away into obscurity--when to say that something 'is history' is anything but a compliment--Louis Markos wisely reminds us of our continuing debt to the great poets and dramatists of the ancient world. Through cogent readings of Homer, Sophocles, Virgil and others, he searches the classics of antiquity for 'traces, remnants and intimations of that wisdom which made us.' Written in a clear and compelling manner, this timely study deserves a wide audience." (Roger Lundin, Blanchard Professor of English, Wheaton College )

"From the earliest centuries of the church and throughout the Middle Ages, Christian thinkers pored over not only the Old Testament but Greek and Roman literature in search of foreshadowings of Christ. Christian readings of the classics fell out of favor in the modern world, but with From Achilles to Christ Louis Markos revives this venerable tradition. Professor Markos knows the difference between the Greeks and the gospel, but his illuminating interpretations of selected classics show that God did not leave the Athenians without a witness and capture the thrilling breadth of the evangelical proclamation that Jesus came 'in the fullness of the times.'" (Peter J. Leithart, Senior Fellow, New St. Andrews College, Moscow, Idaho, author of 'Deep Comedy: Trinity, Tragedy, and Hope in Western Literature' )

"In The Pilgrim's Regress by C. S. Lewis, Father History explains how God sent the pagans pictures to reveal himself to them because, unlike the Jews, they had forgotten how to read. This is Lewis's way of echoing his friend Tolkien who insisted that the pagan myths contained 'splintered fragments' of the one true light that comes from God. Since we also live in an age that has forgotten how to read, we are in need of the pictures, presented by pagan mythology, as a means of seeing the prefiguration of Christ. Through this mythological prefiguration we can better understand the transfiguration of Christ in the Gospels. Christ reveals himself to us in these pagan pictures, and Louis Markos is an excellent guide to the allegorical icons to be found in them. I would go further: Louis Markos is one of the most exciting writers around today and there are few more able to lead us on a tour through God's gallery of myth than he is." (Joseph Pearce, Writer-in-Residence and Associate Professor of Literature, Ave Maria University )

"Louis Markos's From Achilles to Christ is a remarkable work of scholarship and insight, making clear the congruence of ancient Greek myth with Christian revelation. It is a particularly valuable study in a time of widespread amnesia concerning the classical past and its role in shaping Western culture. Markos knows his texts and approaches them with equal poetic and theological skills. From Achilles to Christ is a telling argument for the value of the classics in extending and deepening the Christian imagination." (Louise Cowan, University Professor, University of Dallas )

"This is a much-needed Christian introduction to the classical pagan sources that largely framed the Mediterranean culture in which Paul and other apostles proclaimed the gospel of redemption. The argument of this book would have been obvious to the church fathers, nearly all of whom were thoroughly familiar with the ancient literature that the author recommends to our study." (Patrick Henry Reardon, senior editor, Touchstone: A Journal of Mere Christianity, and author of The Trial of Job )

Product Details

• Paperback: 264 pages
• Publisher: IVP Academic (July 26, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0830825932
• ISBN-13: 978-0830825936
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #754,768 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Louis Markos (www.Loumarkos.com) holds a BA in English and History from Colgate University and an MA and PhD in English from the University of Michigan. He is a Professor of English and Scholar in Residence at Houston Baptist University, where he teaches courses on British Romantic and Victorian Poetry and Prose, the Classics, C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien, and Film. Dr. Markos holds the Robert H. Ray Chair in Humanities and teaches classes on Ancient Greece and Rome for HBU's Honors College. He is the author of six published books (see below) and two lecture series with the Teaching Company (The Life and Writings of C. S. Lewis; Plato to Postmodernism: Understanding the Essence of Literature and the Role of the Author). His A Christian Guide to the Study of Literature and On the Shoulders of Hobbits: What Tolkien can Teach us Today are both due out in 2012. He has also had five dozen articles and reviews published in such journals as Christianity Today, Touchstone, Theology Today, Christian Research Journal, Mythlore, Christian Scholar's Review, Saint Austin Review, American Arts Quarterly, and The City. He is a popular speaker in Houston, and has spoken on such topics as C. S. Lewis, ancient Greece, ancient Rome, and Dante in almost 20 states and in Oxford and Rome. He is committed to the concept of the Professor as Public Educator and believes that knowledge must not be walled up in the Academy but must be disseminated to all who have ears to hear. He lives in Houston with his wife, Donna, his son, Alex, and his daughter, Stacey.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars 3 stars, August 30, 2007

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AK "Bro" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: From Achilles to Christ: Why Christians Should Read the Pagan Classics (Paperback)

C.S. Lewis has called Christianity the one myth that is true, and modern books such as the Gospel According to everyone from Harry Potter to Superman have noted the echoes of Christianity that are replete in today's myths. Typological shadows of the gospel message began to infuse literature as far back as the ancient Greeks. The author examines several classic works, including that of Homer, Vergil, and Sophocles, in light of Christianity. Such detailed analysis, while highly instructive, can at times be dry. However, in the final chapter, he makes the point of the entire exercise abundantly clear in a concise fashion. This is an excellent introduction to Greek classics for the Christian student.

13 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Markos omitted the comedies, thus a key theological focus, March 29, 2009

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Sea Jay (Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: From Achilles to Christ: Why Christians Should Read the Pagan Classics (Paperback)

This book was a great starting point for doing independent study on Greek & Roman Literature for my Masters degree (as recommended to me by my university). Because I was working on my own, "From Achilles to Christ" wonderfully guided me to the texts I needed to read for the module. However, because I was reading the original texts prior to each of Marko's chapters, I did lose the flow of Marko's argument along the way. Hence, I found the book somewhat dry. Yet when I was reading "From Achilles to Christ", I at times found myself agreeing with Markos, and at other times feeling a bit uneasy and even skeptical that maybe Markos is a bit too radical for my liking and pushing a point too far - I never quite got to decide that for myself (maybe a re-reading, now that I've read the texts concerned, would help me appreciate whether to agree or disagree). Nevertheless, my biggest problem with the book is that I found myself asking "What about the comedies?" (Obviously he found a distaste for them, just as Aristotle did.) Because the comedies are completely ignored, I found Marko's argument flawed. If he's going to encourage Christians to read the pagan classics, then he can't ignore an entire major genre. I believe the reason Markos deliberately ignores the comedies is because of their sexual 'vulgarity' and general absurdity - particularly the Old Comedy, which is quite 'peculiar' from a 21st century worldview and distasteful from a conservative Christian perspective. (One might be hard-pressed to justify encouraging Christians to read Old Comedy from a purely theological point of view.) Yet, after reading Marko's book, I had to discover the comedies for myself and was pleased to read Middle Comedy by Menander and New Comedy by Plautus and Terence - even though these newer comedies were still somewhat 'immoral' in that most stories are based on a man sleeping with / raping a girl in the dark, only to later find that the girl he loves next door is pregnant, and through a series of events, at the last minute discovers (through the recognition of a token) he's the father of her child and marries the girl. Doesn't the Bible have a precedent for this very plot in the story of Judah (one of Jacob's 12 sons) sleeping with his childless, twice-widowed daughter-in-law Tamar, and discovering later (through tokens given as pledges) that she was the one he'd slept with in the dark (see Genesis 38) - the result was twins, with Perez (the oldest), becoming an ancestor of Christ, included Christ's geneaogoly at the start of the New Testament! Further, as I'm going from this module to a thesis on Shakespearean Comedy, I found a great view expressed in Essential Shakespeare Handbook on p. 291. Basically, because Christ's death on the cross and subsequent covenant with God assures Christians with a special kind of happy ending, the ultimate generic character of human existence is therefore comic, rather than tragic. Yes, there is sin and death in the world. Markos' book concentrates on epics and tragedies in pagan classical literature - genres which are dominated by sin and death. Yet as Christians, our end is not tragic death. As Christians, we have hope. Just as the comedy genre ends in a marriage (and albeit, after an upside-down twist in the plot), so does this life for Christians. Thanks to God turning the plot of man's story on it's head by sending His own sinless-Son to die in our place (ie our need of redemption being a direct result of the Fall in the Garden of Eden), we have the Bible's promise of the Great Marriage Feast with the Lamb, where Christ will marry His Bride, The Church. Hence, Marko's "From Achilles to Christ" either needs a revision to include comedies, or a sequel which deals with this. Again, I appreciate the Christian fear which leads to an avoidance of pagan comedies (especially those by Aristophanes). But what an amazing theological feature has been missed by such avoidance, especially since the entire gospel-focus is on Christ's substitutionary death altering our eternal destiny, and Christ's ultimate wedding to His Church. As I write, I can't help think of the future-hope and Christ's majesty flavoured in CS Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia, even as portrayed in the movies made thus far. (Surely, Markos could have spent a chapter discussing the basic outline/formula of New Comedy and how it focusses entirely on marriage/weddings.) In summary, "From Achilles to Christ" was a good-starting point (text-wise) to guide a beginner into reading Classical Literature, but it was unbalanced (argument-wise) by entirely missing the Comedy genre all together, and therefore missed focussing in on a key theological doctrine for Christians.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Myth Made Fact!, December 14, 2009

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Achilles (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: From Achilles to Christ: Why Christians Should Read the Pagan Classics (Paperback)

If there was ever a time for us Christians to rigorously examine our traditional roots, it is now in this epoch of radical skepticism and the relentless attack on Western Civilization that is not only eroding our historical, political, ethical and artistic legacy, but turning our religious foundations into sand.
In this excellent book Professor Markos is our tour guide through classics by Homer, Virgil, the Greek Tradedians and in the end Christ, the myth made fact. He shows us that while intellectually we may reside at the bottom of Plato's cave, the Ancient Greco-Roman writers contain a truth that Christian's should not shy away from. He compares their works to candles that might help to light the way out of the cave into the brilliant sunlight of Christ.
Professor Markos' superb scholarship alone is enough of a reason to delight in reading this outstanding book, but his writing style is very accessible,informative, inviting and engaging, these stories, outside of the Bible, are the greatest stories known to man, and you are in capable hands with Professor Markos as your guide. Don't pass this book up!