The Journal of Theological Studies Advance Access originally published online on November 24, 2005
The Journal of Theological Studies 2006 57(1):23-41; doi:10.1093/jts/fli274
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Ezekiel Tragicus and Hellenistic Visuality: The Phoenix at Elim
University of Cambridge
Correspondence: jmfh2{at}cam.ac.uk
The purpose of this article is to bring together discussion of Ezekiel Tragicus’ presentation of the Phoenix at Elim and modern scholarship on visuality, and thus also to point to an area ripe for further research in the broader field of study of the cultural interaction between Judaism and Hellenism. The Phoenix has most often been approached by way of tradition history. It is more true to the literary character of the scene, however, to examine it as a Hellenistic ecphrasis. Building on this observation, I draw into the discussion recent research on the interface between literature and art as evidence for the way people within a particular cultural setting use the sense of sight. This opens up the possibility of exploring Ezekiel's presentation of the Phoenix at Elim as evidence for a hitherto unexamined dimension of his cultural affinities. By comparing the way he depicts the Phoenix chiefly with Graham Zanker's careful study of Modes of Viewing in Hellenistic Poetry and Art (2003), it is argued that Ezekiel Tragicus had a distinctively contemporary and Hellenistic visual imagination.