The essence of pagan religion in the work of Pseudo-Justin Cohortatio ad graecos

This article is devoted to the criticism leveled by the ancient Church writer Pseudo-Justin the nature of pagan polytheistic beliefs. In this apologetic work, the ancient Church writer seeks to demonstrate the falsity of decrepit paganism and calls upon Hellenic-Roman society to “free itself” (ἀπαλλάττειν) from its religious cults in order to “accept” (αἱρεῖσθαι) the true religion, that is, Christian New Testament dogma, demonstrating the superiority of the religious traditions of the Jews and Christians and their spiritual followers over the Hellenes. The author analyzes two key aspects of polytheistic belief that are part of the core of pagan religion and its origin: Hellenic mythology and pagan philosophy. Unlike St. Justin, the anonymous author of the Cohortatio , does not show sympathy for the philosophical conclusions about the First Cause of all things and poetic legends about the mythological deities of Homer and Hesiod, although he admits the presence of some “particles of truth”, dull “reflections of theology” in their writings, mainly because the leading theologians of paganism borrowed bits of divine saving truths from the “most ancient” Prophet Moses. True and immaculate worship and piety should be sought only in the Old Testament prophetic writings.