Nomina Sacra? The 'Negative Theology' of Etymology in Clement of Alexandria's Protrepticus

Abstract

In this thesis, I analyse the etymologies of the names and epithets of Greek gods and goddesses found in Clement of Alexandria's Protrepticus. Although scholars have long been aware of Clement's frequent use of etymology throughout almost all of his extant writings, next to no effort has been made to study the particular function of the etymologies of the names and epithets of Greek gods and goddesses. This is a curious oversight, given that Clement is unique among his immediate Christian and Jewish predecessors, contemporaries, and successors for subjecting this category of words to such frequent etymological analysis. In this thesis, I aim to begin the process of rectifying this omission by locating these etymologies within Clement’s peculiar theological and cultural contexts. I contend that Clement turned to etymology as an apologetic technique because he was a thoroughgoing product of the Second Sophistic and recognized the cultural capital that such a literary relic of the classical past carried in the elite intellectual circles of the High Roman Empire. Moreover, I argue that he used these etymologies to contest the divinity of the so-called ‘gods’ and ‘goddesses’ of Greek religion by unveiling their effability.