ABSTRACT
Athanasius spent two periods of exile in the West, first in Trier from 335 to 336 and again 362 to 363; the second was of special importance for the development of monasticism and for the cult of saints. Around the year 357, he wrote a life of Antony of Egypt, a year after the death of the saint, and translated it into Latin c. 363. In early Christianity, those who glorified God in their death were venerated, but Saint Antony was not a martyr, he glorified God in the sanctity of his life, as demonstrated by Athanasius. The Vita recounts how as a young man, Antony owned a considerable amount of land and responded willingly on hearing the tale of the ‘rich young man’ who was told by Jesus to ‘Sell what you have and give to the poor, you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.’ (Mark 10:21). Unlike that rich young man who ‘went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions’, Antony did just what Jesus asked, and became a hermit in the uninhabited desert of Egypt c. 285. Athanasius’ Vita Antonii was read by Jerome in the third quarter of the fourth century when he was in Trier, and in 386 Augustine heard from his friend Pontitian about two civil servants who became monks after reading Athanasius’ Vita. In this manner, Antony’s fame spread abroad in the West, inspiring large numbers of young men to enter the religious life.
