The dates of Jesus
Channel: Kiwi Hellenist
Date: 2022-02-21

YouTube version of a paper given at the ASCS 43 Conference, hosted by the Classics Department of the University of Tasmania (online conference).  A written form of the material appeared in Sep.-Nov. 2021 at https://kiwihellenist.blogspot.com/2021/09/dates-jesus-1.html.

The exact dates of Jesus' life are unrecoverable, but what we can do is read what ancient sources have to say, and try to piece together why they said what they said.

The dates that we get in 1st-2nd century sources are extremely vague. Then suddenly, around 200 CE, Clement of Alexandria pops up weighing up dates that are precise to the exact day. What happened?

Short suggested reading list:
Bickerman, E. J. 1980. Chronology of the ancient world, 2nd edition (1st edition 1968). Ithaca (NY).
Brill’s New Jacoby s.v. ‘Thallos (256)’, ‘Phlegon of Tralles (257)’.
Roll, S. K. 1995. Towards the origins of Christmas. Kampen (Netherlands).