The symbolic use of clothing in Greco-Roman literature and the gospel of Luke : the portrayal of character identity though clothing

2017·5.4 MB·English

by  Ayers, Carl Thomas

THE SYMBOLIC USE OF CLOTHING IN GRECO-ROMAN
LITERATURE AND THE GOSPEL OF LUKE
Abstract
This work investigates the use of clothing in conveying symbolic meaning in Greco
Roman literature and the Gospel of Luke. This investigation considers both the symbolic
meaning conveyed by the clothing regarding literary characters portrayed by that
clothing, as well as the semantic bearing this symbolism has on the story or narrative in
which the characters are functioning.
Utilizing Paul Ricoeur's theory of symbols and Roland Barthes communication
theory of clothing, this thesis considers the cultural and material world of clothing in 1st
century BC to 2nd century AD as it bears on the literary use of clothing symbolism within
the cultural literary world contemporary to Luke's gospel, and the literary-symbolic world
created by the texts under investigation.
This thesis is attentive to potential constraint of culture and literary genre by
investigating key elements of character portrayal through clothing in Virgil's Aeneid,
Suetonius' Lives of the Caesars, and Josephus' Jewish Antiquities. It then moves on to
investigate symbolic elements of clothing in the character portrayals of Jesus and key
portrayals of other figures in the Gospel of Luke. The key aspects of symbolism
portrayed through clothing in these texts as examined by this thesis include portrayals of
virtues and vices, honor and shame, divine power, righteousness, status, and ethnicity.