Christianity and the Contest for Manhood in Late Antiquity

In this book, Nathan Howard explores gender and identity formation in fourth-century Cappadocia, where pro-Nicene bishops used a rhetoric of contest that aligned with conventions of classical Greek masculinity. Howard demonstrates that epistolary exhibitions served as&&&160;'a locus for' asserting manhood in the fourth century.&&&160;These performances&&&160;illustrate how a culture of orality that had defined manhood among civic elites was reframed as a contest&&&160;whereby one accrued status through merits of composition. Howard shows how the Cappadocians' rhetoric also reordered the body and materiality as components of a maleness over which they moderated. He interrogates fourth-century theological conflict as part of a rhetorical battle over claims to manhood that supported the Cappadocians' theology and cast doubt on non-Trinitarian rivals, whom they cast as effeminate and disingenuous. Investigating accounts of&&&160;pro-Nicene protagonists&&&160;overcoming&&&160;struggles, Howard establishes that&&&160;tropes&&&160;based on&&&160;classical&&&160;standards of gender contributed to the formation of Trinitarian orthodoxy.

'[This book] will be highly useful for scholars interested in the cultural, religious, and intellectual history of late antiquity.' Elizabeth Mattingly Conner, Bryn Mawr Classical Review

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