Ephrem the Syrian (d. 373) has often been taken to represent an unhellenized Semitic form of Christianity in unbroken continuity with the tradition of Jesus and the apostles. This somewhat romanticized view of Ephrem disregards the fact that Syria had been subject to Greek influence since its conquest centuries earlier by Alexander the Great. Ephrem's own writings however frequently betray a familiarity with Greek philosophical ideas. This book first...