Work
Stromata
Overview
The Stromata (Greek: Στρώματα), a mistake for Stromateis (Στρωματεῖς, "Patchwork," i.e., Miscellanies), attributed to Clement of Alexandria (c. 150 – c. 215), is the third of a trilogy of works regarding the Christian life. The oldest extant manuscripts date to the eleventh century. The work is titled Stromateis ("patchwork”) because it deals with such a variety of matters. It goes further than its two predecessors and aims at the perfection of the Christian life by initiation into complete knowledge. It attempts, on the basis of Scripture and tradition, to give such an account of the Christian faith as shall answer all the demands of learned men, and conduct the student into the innermost realities of his belief.
The contents of the Stromateis, as its title suggests, are miscellaneous. Its place in the trilogy is disputed – Clement initially intended to write the Didascalus, a work which would complement the practical guidance of the Paedagogus with a more intellectual schooling in theology. The Stromata is less systematic and ordered than Clement's other works, and it has been theorized by André Méhat that it was intended for a limited, esoteric readership.
Overview adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0; see the article history for authors).
Philosophers who discussed Stromata
- Heraclitus
- Alcmaeon of Croton
- Xenophanes
- Diodorus Cronus
- Epimenides
- Critolaus
- Archelaus (philosopher)
- Hecataeus of Abdera
- Aristobulus of Alexandria
- Diodorus of Tyre
- Arete of Cyrene
Related ideas
- Eusebius
- Florence
- Gospel of Luke
- Judaism
- Materialism
- Moses
- Cassiodorus
- Xenophanes
- Brahmin
- Ten Commandments
- Socrates
- Śramaṇa
- Marcionism
- Torah
- Universalism
- The Buddha
- Gymnosophists
- Existence of God
- Clement of Alexandria
- Asceticism
- Epistemology
- Book of Exodus
Place in the tradition
Part of Gnosticism.