ABSTRACT
We know from various sources that Justin Martyr was the teacher of Tatian,1 and it therefore stands to reason that Justin probably exerted a certain amount of influence over his pupil. However, the influence of Justin is an area that many scholars of Tatian have passed over quickly, perhaps anxious to disassociate Justin from reports of Tatian’s later heresies. In fact I suspect that a comparison of Tatian’s ideas with those of Justin may prove him to be far closer to his master’s world view, and the Christian tradition behind it, than that of the Valentinian traditions. In discussing Tatian’s relationship with Valentinianism in Chapter 2, Tatian’s use of Pauline material was considered, so in evaluating the relationship between Justin and Tatian I will first consider Justin’s use of Paul and make a comparison by referring back to that earlier discussion. Other common Christian sources will then be studied before I turn to examine the similarities between Justin and the Oration.
