The Idea of Martyrdom in Stromateis VII. A Proposal for a Reconstruction of Clement of Alexandria’s Philosophy

My paper will explore locating a probable “maturation path” of Clement’s thought within the Stromata. Clement appears to have composed this work over the course of many years, involving a process of clarifying his own thought. An issue that still needs clarification is his doctrine of the soul, and in particular its relation to his eschatology (I shall follow the approach of A.-J. Festugière – namely, of a tri-partite psychology in Middle Platonism: protology, ethics and eschatology –). I shall propose Clement’s eschatology can be clarified by his concept of martyrdom. I think Clement’s concept of martyrdom must be understood in the context of his own experience as teacher (either in 202/203 or in 206 A.C). Clement’s statements about eschatology and martyrdom are best understood in terms of both his personal experience and the larger historical contexts. My study of the idea of martyrdom in Clement is a development of Marco Rizzi’s interpretation of Glen Bowersock’s thesis that martyrs did not necessarily die. My analyisis will focus on texts which were not examined by Rizzi, namely Strom. IV, 76-77 and especially Strom. VII, 66-67. My conclusion is that Strom. VI-VII offer the most definitive statements of Clement’s doctrine of the soul and consequntly of his philosophy.