Sextus Julius Africanus

{{christianity|1}}
'''Sextus Julius Africanus''' was an early [[Christian]] [[historian]] and theologian known as "the father of Christian chronography".<ref name=cathenc>Fortescue, A. (1910). [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08565a.htm Julius Africanus]. In ''The Catholic Encyclopedia''. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved November 9, 2016</ref> He was probably alive in the 2<sup>nd</sup> or 3<sup>rd</sup> century CE,<ref name=wp>{{wpa|Sextus Julius Africanus}}</ref> which by his reckoning would be around 5700 years after the world's creation. Little of his work survives, but he is chiefly known for his ''Chronography'' (in Greek, ''Chronographiai'' or Χρονογραφίαι), which provided a complete history of the world from the [[Creation]] onwards. This influenced the writings of Eusebius and other later Church historians, despite apparently not being popular enough for anyone to keep a copy or write down any details about Africanus himself.

==Life==
Who knows?<ref name=wp/>

==Extant writings==
His surviving writings amount to 16 pages in one fairly recent edition, including editorial notes.<ref name=ccel>[http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf06/Page_125.html ANF06. Fathers of the Third Century vol 6], Christian Classics Ethereal Library</ref> Aside from the Chronicles, they include a couple of dubiously-attributed works.

===''Narrative of Events Happening in Persia on the Birth of Christ''===
This is commonly reckoned as having been incorrectly attributed to Africanus because it is bollocks. It appears to relate vaguely to the journey of the [[Magi]] from the East. Starting in a temple to Juno in [[Persia]], it includes an account of arguing statues, a prophecy about a king of the Jews, the pagan god Dionysus, and a trip to [[Jerusalem]] to visit the infant [[Jesus]] and [[Mary]].

===''The passion of St Symphoros and her Seven Sons''===
He may have written this.

==''Chronography''==
His ''Chronography'' or ''Chronicle'' was the first "universal history" in the Christian church, a big list of everything that had ever happened from the beginning of time. It is perhaps best known for dating the arrival of Jesus's [[fetus]] on earth to 5500 years after the creation; this contrasts with the traditional date of creation in the [[Hebrew]] calendar of October 7, 3761 BCE; this dating is agreed with Josephus, which he records in ''Antiquities of the Jews'' (AJ Preface 13); which is based off an alternate reading which could be found in the [[Septuagint]] tradition. However, it is still at odds with modern [[science]].

Africanus attempted to unite [[Bible|Biblical]] accounts with [[Greek]], [[Roman]], and [[Jewish]] history. A major influence was Greek histories and chronicles like the ''History of Attica'' by Hellanicus of Lesbos, which covers made-up events like the mythical foundation legend of Athens and real history like the Peloponnesian War. The Greeks were also fond of making lists of priests and priestesses (''The Priestesses of Hera at Argon'' by Hellanicus sounds great fun but is unfortunately now lost) and especially lists of winners of the Olympic Games, in much the same way as the chief literary product of the [[British Empire]] is the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack.<ref>''Apologetic and Chronography: The Antecedents of Julius Africanus'', Richard W Burgess, [https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=EGqpeKykCPQC&lpg=PA19&ots=K_Iek3KFHe&dq=julius%20africanus%20chronicles&pg=PA24#v=onepage&q=julius%20africanus%20chronicles&f=false Julius Africanus und die christliche Weltchronik], Martin Wallraff, Walter de Gruyter, 2006</ref> Everything in ancient Greece is now dated by the Olympiads.

Some excerpts of the ''Chronography'' remain, quoted by later writers.<ref name=ccel/>
* He gives a figure of 5500 years from Creation to the [[Annunciation]], which he says is derived from Hebrew histories.
* A chronology from [[Adam and Eve|Adam]] to [[Noah]]. (Seth was born when Adam was 230; Enos when Seth was 205; Cainan when Enos was 190; Malaleel after 170 more years; Jared after 165 years; Enoch after 162; Mathusala after 165; Lamech after 187; Noah after 188.)
* An account of the [[global flood|Flood]] dated to when Noah was 600 years old, reckoning 2262 years from Adam to the flood.
* [[Abraham]] entering Canaan in the year 3277 after creation. (There's not a full calculation surviving.)
* The death of [[Joseph (Old Testament)|Joseph]] 3563 years after Adam.
* The 70 years of Jewish captivity in Babylon ended when Cyrus became king of the Persians, at the same time as the 55<sup>th</sup> Olympiad (held in 560 BCE by modern reckoning; this is close to modern reckonings of Cyrus's ascent to the throne around 559 BCE<ref>{{wpa|Cyrus the Great}}</ref>).
* Some attempt to date early Greek history from Ogygus (or Ogyges), the mythological founder of Thebes, and various other contradictory legends. In his reign, Greece allegedly suffered a flood, claimed by Africanus to be contemporaneous with the [[Exodus]]. The Greeks dated 1020 years from Ogygus to the first Olympiad, giving (according to Africanus) 1237 years from Ogygus to Cyrus (which we can calculate puts Ogygus around 1796 BCE). Africanus likewise dates 1020 years from [[Moses]] to the first Olympiad, traditionally reckoned at 776 BCE. (Elsewhere, Africanus states that the first Olympiad recorded was actually the 14<sup>th</sup>, so you might want to add 52 years.) Curiously, Africanus does not reckon Ogygus's flood to be the same as the Big Flood in the Bible, presumably because that chronology would not work. Other sources date Ogygus's flood to 9500 BCE (in [[Plato]]), 2136 BCE (Varro's chronology), and 1793 BCE (Africanus).<ref>{{wpa|Ogyges}}</ref>
* Some stuff about the Prophecy of [[Book of Daniel|Daniel]], a mysterious part of the [[Old Testament]] which Christians will use to, depending on reckoning, give a figure of 70 weeks or 490 years till Jesus's death. He reckons 475 Roman years from [[Book of Nehemiah|Nehemiah]] to the time of Jesus Christ, the 2<sup>nd</sup> year of the 202<sup>nd</sup> Olympiad and the 16<sup>th</sup> year of Tiberius Caesar (30-31 CE). That equates to 490 Hebrew years because their calendar is lunisolar.
* Some boring stuff about [[Herod]], [[Augustus Caesar|Augustus]], Antony, etc.
* He briefly attacks the notion that the darkness at Jesus's death was an [[eclipse]] of the [[Sun]] because of the obvious astronomical impossibility of an eclipse at [[Passover]] but overcame his objections to date the [[Crucifixion]] to Passover on the 2<sup>nd</sup> year of the 202<sup>nd</sup> Olympiad as above. (Of course, it's entirely possible that the darkness at Jesus's death never occurred. Our article on the [[Resurrection of Jesus]] goes into much more detail.)
* He claims the Egyptian chroniclers confused months and years in reckoning their own antiquity, which allows him to rearrange [[ancient Egypt]]ian chronology.

==See also==
* [[James Ussher]], a later Christian chronographer whose date of Earth’s creation is the most widely used among Christian fundies.
* [[Age of the Earth]], now with SCIENCE!

==External links==
*[[wikisource:en:Author:Sextus Julius Africanus|Works of Sextus Julius Africanus on Wikisource]]

==References==
{{Reflist|2|90%}}

[[Category:Authors]]
[[Category:Historians]]
[[Category:Romans]]

Categories: Authors, Historians, Romans