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Johan Thom

Stellenbosch University, Ancient Studies, Faculty Member

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I am Emeritus Professor of Classics in the Department of Ancient Studies at Stellenbosch University. My research interests are Pythagoreanism, Greek popular philosophy, and the relation between early Christianity and the Greco-Roman world.
Phone: +27 21 8083137
Address: Ancient Studies
Stellenbosch University
Private Bag X1
Stellenbosch 7602
South Africa

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Catherine Rowett

University of East Anglia

The University of Texas at Austin

Australian Catholic University

Royal Holloway, University of London

Richard P Martin

Stanford University

Phillip Sidney Horky

Durham University

Shaun Gallagher

University of Memphis

Ucla

Manfred Malzahn

United Arab Emirates University

University of Toronto

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Books by Johan Thom

Cosmic Order and Divine Power: Pseudo-Aristotle, On the Cosmos, Introduction, text, translation and interpretative essays

The treatise De mundo (On the Cosmos), dated around the 1st century BCE, offers a cosmology in th... more The treatise De mundo (On the Cosmos), dated around the 1st century BCE, offers a cosmology in the Peripatetic tradition which draws also on Platonic and Stoic thought and subordinates what happens in the cosmos to the might of an omnipotent god. Thus the work is paradigmatic for the philosophical and religious concepts of the early imperial age, which offer points of contact with nascent Christianity. In line with the aims of the SAPERE series, this volume on De mundo is explicitly interdisciplinary by nature, bringing together contributions from scholars from a broad spectrum of disciplines and specialisations which focus on specific topics, each from its own disciplinary perspective. The volume contains a Greek text and translation of De mundo as well as interpretive essays on the language and style, geography, cosmotheology and the reception in or possible influence of De mundo in various intellectual traditions.

Philodemus, On Frank Criticism

by Johan Thom and Clarence Glad

Cleanthes' Hymn to Zeus: Text, Translation, and Commentary

The Pythagorean Golden Verses: With Translation and Commentary

Papers by Johan Thom

Fragmente uit die Ilias

Tydskrif vir letterkunde, 2015

Abraham Malherbe se bydrae tot Hellenistiese filosofie en die vroeë Christendom

HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies, 2015

Abraham Malherbe’s contribution to Hellenistic philosophy and early Christianity. Abraham J. Malh... more Abraham Malherbe’s contribution to Hellenistic philosophy and early Christianity. Abraham J. Malherbe was one of the most influential New Testament scholars of the past half century. He is especially known for his use of Hellenistic moral philosophy in the interpretation of New Testament texts, especially Pauline literature. Whilst the comparative study of New Testament and Greco-Roman material remains a contentious approach in scholarship, Malherbe’s work provides important pointers in how to make such comparisons in a meaningful and reasoned manner, by paying due respect to the integrity of the texts being compared and to the function textual elements have within their own contexts. I discussed the salient features of Malherbe’s approach, focusing in particular on his study of topoi. One of the most significant findings was Malherbe’s emphasis on the dialectical combination of common and individual elements in such topoi, which enabled ancient authors to embed their own texts with...

“Moenie Op Land Seil Nie”: Wysheid en Hermeneutiek in Die Akoesmata Van Pitagoras

Akroterion, 2012

Cosmic Order and Divine Power

Popular philosophy and the New Testament

CITATION: Thom, J. 2014. Populere filosofie en die Nuwe Testament. LitNet Akademies, 11(1):401-42... more CITATION: Thom, J. 2014. Populere filosofie en die Nuwe Testament. LitNet Akademies, 11(1):401-428.The original publication is available at http://www.litnet.co.zaOnlangse navorsing het bevestig dat Paulus en ander Nuwe-Testamentiese skrywers van idees en praktyke gebruik gemaak het soortgelyk aan dié wat in tydgenootlike filosofiese tradisies aanwesig was. Dit is egter problematies om hierdie idees en praktyke na spesifieke tradisies soos die platonisme of stoïsisme terug te voer. Die bron van hierdie filosofiese invloede moet liewer in populêre filosofie gesoek word. Populêre filosofie word egter dikwels te eng opgevat, naamlik dat dit hoofsaaklik van die sinisme of stoïsisme afkomstig is en deur openbare toesprake of pseudepigrafiese briewe verbrei is. Verskeie ander soort tekste kan uitgewys word wat in verskillende filosofiese tradisies ontstaan het, wat die stoïsisme, platonisme, pitagorisme en die peripatetiese tradisie insluit. Hierdie tekste is óf bewustelik met die oog op ...

Daniel Ogden (Ed.), 2007. A Companion to Greek Religion. Blackwell Companions to the Ancient World: Literature and Culture

Gnosis : An Introduction, Christoph Markschies : book review

... Abstract Information. Gnosis : An Introduction, Christoph Markschies : book review. Journal T... more

Cosmic power in Pseudo-Aristotle, De Mundo, and the New Testament

... en die Nuwe Testament Author: Johan C. Thom1 Affiliation: 1Department of Ancient Studies, Uni... more

A Companion to Greek Religion. Blackwell Companions to the Ancient World : Literature and Culture, Daniel Ogden (Ed.) : book review

Despite the number of introductions to Greek religion that have appeared in the recent past, this... more Despite the number of introductions to Greek religion that have appeared in the recent past, this companion edited by Daniel Ogden offers a fresh contribution to the subject. It covers a wide spectrum of topics, but the individual essays do not attempt to provide a summary or survey of the topic involved, but rather focus on questions regarding the topic. It also does not aim at a comprehensive coverage of Greek religion, but allows the individual contributors to select the issues they consider important in the current scholarly debate. In some essays one could have wished for more information about the topic, but on the whole this approach succeeds in stimulating further interest in the subject.

Androcydes’ On the Pythagorean Symbola as Pseudo-Pythagorean Text

Pythagoras redivivus

Op Griekse lier: Vroeë Griekse liriese poësie, vertaal en toegelig

Akroterion, 2012

God the Saviour in Greco-Roman Popular Philosophy

<i>Sōtēria</i>: Salvation in Early Christianity and Antiquity

CITATION: Thom, J. C. 2019. God the Saviour in Greco-Roman popular philosophy. In: Du Toit, D. S.... more

Cleanthes' Hymn to Zeus

Abraham J. Malherbe, Light from the Gentiles: Hellenistic Philosophy and Early Christianity; Collected Essays, 1959–2012, ed. Carl R. Holladay, John T. Fitzgerald, Gregory E. Sterling, and James W. Th

Early Christianity

The Date of the Golden Verses

The Pythagorean <i>Golden Verses</i>, 2000

Wisdom In The Wisdom Of Solomon And Cleanthes Hymn To Zeus

Septuagint and Reception, 2000

Any texts can be compared, but not all comparisons are equally relevant or meaningful. 1 When we ... more Any texts can be compared, but not all comparisons are equally relevant or meaningful. 1 When we compare texts, it is of crucial importance to know why we are doing so, because the rationale for the comparison is going to determine which aspects of the text or textual elements will be the focus of attention. 2 There may indeed be many different reasons for comparing two texts. The texts concerned may have obvious similarities in content that require explanation, for example, whether there is a genealogical relationship between the two texts, or whether the similarities are due to other factors. Texts may furthermore be compared to determine the characteristics of a particular form, genre, or rhetorical strategy. A third reason may be to identify the religio-historical locus of a text in comparison to other texts, or to establish the probable cultural, religious, conceptual and other frames of reference of the first readers of a text. 3 In the case of the latter, further selection criteria have to be applied as well, because any ancient text could conceivably contribute to our understanding of the social and cultural world of early Christianity. 4

Cosmic Order and Divine Power: Pseudo-Aristotle, On the Cosmos, Introduction, text, translation and interpretative essays

The treatise De mundo (On the Cosmos), dated around the 1st century BCE, offers a cosmology in th... more The treatise De mundo (On the Cosmos), dated around the 1st century BCE, offers a cosmology in the Peripatetic tradition which draws also on Platonic and Stoic thought and subordinates what happens in the cosmos to the might of an omnipotent god. Thus the work is paradigmatic for the philosophical and religious concepts of the early imperial age, which offer points of contact with nascent Christianity. In line with the aims of the SAPERE series, this volume on De mundo is explicitly interdisciplinary by nature, bringing together contributions from scholars from a broad spectrum of disciplines and specialisations which focus on specific topics, each from its own disciplinary perspective. The volume contains a Greek text and translation of De mundo as well as interpretive essays on the language and style, geography, cosmotheology and the reception in or possible influence of De mundo in various intellectual traditions.

Philodemus, On Frank Criticism

by Johan Thom and Clarence Glad

Cleanthes' Hymn to Zeus: Text, Translation, and Commentary

The Pythagorean Golden Verses: With Translation and Commentary

Fragmente uit die Ilias

Tydskrif vir letterkunde, 2015

Abraham Malherbe se bydrae tot Hellenistiese filosofie en die vroeë Christendom

HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies, 2015

Abraham Malherbe’s contribution to Hellenistic philosophy and early Christianity. Abraham J. Malh... more Abraham Malherbe’s contribution to Hellenistic philosophy and early Christianity. Abraham J. Malherbe was one of the most influential New Testament scholars of the past half century. He is especially known for his use of Hellenistic moral philosophy in the interpretation of New Testament texts, especially Pauline literature. Whilst the comparative study of New Testament and Greco-Roman material remains a contentious approach in scholarship, Malherbe’s work provides important pointers in how to make such comparisons in a meaningful and reasoned manner, by paying due respect to the integrity of the texts being compared and to the function textual elements have within their own contexts. I discussed the salient features of Malherbe’s approach, focusing in particular on his study of topoi. One of the most significant findings was Malherbe’s emphasis on the dialectical combination of common and individual elements in such topoi, which enabled ancient authors to embed their own texts with...

“Moenie Op Land Seil Nie”: Wysheid en Hermeneutiek in Die Akoesmata Van Pitagoras

Akroterion, 2012

Cosmic Order and Divine Power

Popular philosophy and the New Testament

CITATION: Thom, J. 2014. Populere filosofie en die Nuwe Testament. LitNet Akademies, 11(1):401-42... more CITATION: Thom, J. 2014. Populere filosofie en die Nuwe Testament. LitNet Akademies, 11(1):401-428.The original publication is available at http://www.litnet.co.zaOnlangse navorsing het bevestig dat Paulus en ander Nuwe-Testamentiese skrywers van idees en praktyke gebruik gemaak het soortgelyk aan dié wat in tydgenootlike filosofiese tradisies aanwesig was. Dit is egter problematies om hierdie idees en praktyke na spesifieke tradisies soos die platonisme of stoïsisme terug te voer. Die bron van hierdie filosofiese invloede moet liewer in populêre filosofie gesoek word. Populêre filosofie word egter dikwels te eng opgevat, naamlik dat dit hoofsaaklik van die sinisme of stoïsisme afkomstig is en deur openbare toesprake of pseudepigrafiese briewe verbrei is. Verskeie ander soort tekste kan uitgewys word wat in verskillende filosofiese tradisies ontstaan het, wat die stoïsisme, platonisme, pitagorisme en die peripatetiese tradisie insluit. Hierdie tekste is óf bewustelik met die oog op ...

Daniel Ogden (Ed.), 2007. A Companion to Greek Religion. Blackwell Companions to the Ancient World: Literature and Culture

Gnosis : An Introduction, Christoph Markschies : book review

... Abstract Information. Gnosis : An Introduction, Christoph Markschies : book review. Journal T... more

Cosmic power in Pseudo-Aristotle, De Mundo, and the New Testament

... en die Nuwe Testament Author: Johan C. Thom1 Affiliation: 1Department of Ancient Studies, Uni... more

A Companion to Greek Religion. Blackwell Companions to the Ancient World : Literature and Culture, Daniel Ogden (Ed.) : book review

Despite the number of introductions to Greek religion that have appeared in the recent past, this... more Despite the number of introductions to Greek religion that have appeared in the recent past, this companion edited by Daniel Ogden offers a fresh contribution to the subject. It covers a wide spectrum of topics, but the individual essays do not attempt to provide a summary or survey of the topic involved, but rather focus on questions regarding the topic. It also does not aim at a comprehensive coverage of Greek religion, but allows the individual contributors to select the issues they consider important in the current scholarly debate. In some essays one could have wished for more information about the topic, but on the whole this approach succeeds in stimulating further interest in the subject.

Androcydes’ On the Pythagorean Symbola as Pseudo-Pythagorean Text

Pythagoras redivivus

Op Griekse lier: Vroeë Griekse liriese poësie, vertaal en toegelig

Akroterion, 2012

God the Saviour in Greco-Roman Popular Philosophy

<i>Sōtēria</i>: Salvation in Early Christianity and Antiquity

CITATION: Thom, J. C. 2019. God the Saviour in Greco-Roman popular philosophy. In: Du Toit, D. S.... more

Cleanthes' Hymn to Zeus

Abraham J. Malherbe, Light from the Gentiles: Hellenistic Philosophy and Early Christianity; Collected Essays, 1959–2012, ed. Carl R. Holladay, John T. Fitzgerald, Gregory E. Sterling, and James W. Th

Early Christianity

The Date of the Golden Verses

The Pythagorean <i>Golden Verses</i>, 2000

Wisdom In The Wisdom Of Solomon And Cleanthes Hymn To Zeus

Septuagint and Reception, 2000

Any texts can be compared, but not all comparisons are equally relevant or meaningful. 1 When we ... more Any texts can be compared, but not all comparisons are equally relevant or meaningful. 1 When we compare texts, it is of crucial importance to know why we are doing so, because the rationale for the comparison is going to determine which aspects of the text or textual elements will be the focus of attention. 2 There may indeed be many different reasons for comparing two texts. The texts concerned may have obvious similarities in content that require explanation, for example, whether there is a genealogical relationship between the two texts, or whether the similarities are due to other factors. Texts may furthermore be compared to determine the characteristics of a particular form, genre, or rhetorical strategy. A third reason may be to identify the religio-historical locus of a text in comparison to other texts, or to establish the probable cultural, religious, conceptual and other frames of reference of the first readers of a text. 3 In the case of the latter, further selection criteria have to be applied as well, because any ancient text could conceivably contribute to our understanding of the social and cultural world of early Christianity. 4

Index of Subjects

The Pythagorean <i>Golden Verses</i>, 2000

Title and Authorship

The Pythagorean <i>Golden Verses</i>, 2000

History of Transmission

The Pythagorean <i>Golden Verses</i>, 2000

Genre, Function, and Setting

The Pythagorean <i>Golden Verses</i>, 2000

Book Review:The Chreia in Ancient Rhetoric. Vol. 1: The Progymnasmata Ronald F. Hock, Edward N. O'Neal

The Journal of Religion, 1987

Review of Walter T. Wilson, The Sentences of Sextus

2e Journée d'études sur 'La pseudépigraphie en philosophie'

by Constantinos Macris, Johan Thom, Tiziano Dorandi, and Niketas Siniossoglou

Dans le cadre du projet « Pseudopythagorica : stratégies du faire croire dans la philosophie anti... more Dans le cadre du projet
« Pseudopythagorica : stratégies du faire croire dans la philosophie antique », un programme du Laboratoire d’excellence (LabEx) Hastec, en partenariat avec le Laboratoire d’études sur les monothéismes (LEM – UMR 8584) et le Centre Jean Pépin (UMR 8230)

2e Journée d’études sur « La pseudépigraphie en philosophie »

Vendredi 19 Janvier 2018, 9h30 – 17h30
Maison des Sciences de l’Homme
54, Boulevard Raspail – 75006 Paris

Programme

10h Johan C. Thom (Stellenbosch University, South Africa)
The treatise 'On the Cosmos' attributed to Aristotle

11h15 Tiziano Dorandi (CNRS – Centre Jean Pépin)
La méthode dihairétique d’Aristote et les 'Divisions' attribuées à Aristote

14h30 Régis Burnet (Université Catholique de Louvain)
Pseudépigraphie : les spécificités du corpus paulinien

15h45 Constantinos Macris (CNRS – Laboratoire d’études sur les monothéismes)
Brève note sur les causes de la genèse des faux, d’après les sources antiques

16h15 Niketas Siniossoglou (National Hellenic Research Foundation, Athens)
Searching for meaning in the life and deeds of Constantine Simonides, the greatest forger of all time (1820?- ?)

Organisation :
Constantinos Macris, Luc Brisson et Tiziano Dorandi

Pseudopythagorica, Atelier V, 31 mai et 1er juin 2017

by Constantinos Macris, Tiziano Dorandi, Phillip Sidney Horky, and Johan Thom

Dans le cadre du projet « Pseudopythagorica : stratégies du faire croire dans la philosophie anti... more Dans le cadre du projet « Pseudopythagorica : stratégies du faire croire dans la philosophie antique », un programme du Laboratoire d'excellence Hastec, avec le Laboratoire d'études sur les monothéismes (UMR 8584) et le Centre Jean-Pépin (UMR 8230). Organisation : Constantinos Macris, Luc Brisson et Tiziano Dorandi (CNRS).

Pseudopythagorica, Atelier III, 26 Mai 2016

by Constantinos Macris, Tiziano Dorandi, Johan Thom, and Katarzyna Prochenko

3rd International Workshop of the Project "Pseudopythagorica: stratégies du faire croire dans la ... more