| Abstract [eng] |
This master‘s thesis examines proto-images of apocalyptic literature, which appear in book III of the Sibylline Oracles. Sib. Or. influenced authors of the apocalyptic genre, therefore is undeservingly left at the margins of research. Sib. Or. III is the oldest book in the Sibylline Corpus, therefore it provides the deepest roots for apocalyptic images. The images of Sib. Or. III are extensively compared to their apocalyptic counterparts, most frequently in the Book of Revelation, with attention paid to their similarities and differences. Sib. Or. III intertwines Greco-Roman culture with the culture of hellenized Jews, and the text is rich in mythical and political narrative. The text contains a prototype of the Jewish Eschatological Tyrant myth, which aided the formation of the Christian Antichrist myth, which is examined in the first chapter. Sib. Or. III also is a politicallly charged text, foretelling the fall of Rome using ex eventu prophecies – it is studied in the second chapter. The description of the comet in Sib. Or. III differs too much from the portrayals of stars in later texts, for them to be considered related; there is also a lack of convincing arguments in scientific literature. Sib. Or. III is a text of passive cultural resistance, embodying the Jewish dissatisfaction with foreign oppression. The work can be useful to those researching Sib. Or. III, or apocalyptic literature, and it‘s development. The research can be continued by looking into apocalyptic proto-images in other books of the Sibylline Corpus. |
