Athanasius, Jerome and others · AuthorAuthor
Athanasius, Jerome and others
Late antique Christian authors of saints' and ascetics' lives
About Athanasius, Jerome and others
Athanasius of Alexandria, Jerome and other late antique Christian authors wrote lives of saints and ascetics that helped invent Christian biography. Athanasius (c. 296–373) was bishop of Alexandria and defender of Nicene theology; Jerome (c. 347–420) was a biblical scholar and polemicist. Together with related authors, their lives made ascetic practice, temptation and holiness narratable.
On this site
Early Christian LivesAthanasius, Jerome and others
c. 356–420 CE · Ancient · Biography
Early Christian Lives gathers late antique biographies of saints, monks and holy figures, often including Athanasius’ Life of Antony and Jerome’s lives of Paul, Hilarion and Malchus. These works do not present biography as neutral chronology.