Discourse to the Greeks

Tatian's Discourse to the Greeks is a polemic work written around 172 CE. In it, Tatian, a Syrian Christian convert and former student of St. Justin Martyr, vehemently criticizes Hellenistic (Greek) learning and philosophy. He argues that Greek polytheistic theology is inferior to the Christian concept of a singular, transcendent deity. Tatian believed that the Judeo-Christian tradition contained all the valuable elements of Greek moral philosophy, but with a greater degree of selflessness. He saw Greek intellectualism as corrupt and preferred the "barbaric" Christian culture. Tatian's work is considered a defense of Christianity and places him among the Christian Apologists of the 2nd century.1