Tatian's Address to the Greeks

Tatian's "Address to the Greeks," was written around 160-170 A.D. Originally a pagan, Tatian converted to Christianity after encountering Justin Martyr's teachings in Rome. After Justin's martyrdom, Tatian returned to Syria and established an influential Christian school. 

In "Address to the Greeks," Tatian condemns Greek moral decay and philosophical inconsistencies, asserting that many Greek ideas were borrowed from older sources. He argues that Christian doctrine is both morally superior and more ancient than Greek philosophy, claiming that the wisdom of figures like Moses predated and surpassed that of Greek philosophers.

Although Tatian’s work, particularly his Diatessaron which harmonizes the four gospels into a single narrative, is an admirable contribution to Christian literature, he promoted a kind of extreme asceticism unknown to the received tradition. Saint Irenaeus of Lyon, who was a contemporary of Tatian, called such individuals Encratites, noting that they “preached against marriage, thus setting aside the original creation of God, and indirectly blaming Him who made the male and female for the propagation of the human race.” He goes on to claim that this heresy came “springing from Saturninus and Marcion” (AH, 5.28.1). For his part, Eusebius of Ceasarea names Tatian as the author of the Encratite heresy (EH, 4.28–29).

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