The Gospel of Hellas (eBook)

The Gospel of Hellas: The Mission of Ancient Greece and the Advent of Christ

To be reminded in a utilitarian, materialistic age that the ideals of the Greek mind can quicken culture, even today, is refreshing to heart and soul. –R. M. Querido

The Christian civilization of the Western world is built on two columns: the heritages of the Old Testament and that of Hellas. This has been known since the days Clement of Alexandria, the found of the first Christian philosophy in the second century A.D., who was by descent a Greek and by faith a Christian. Clement appraised the dialectic of Plato and the metaphysics of Aristotle to be equally significant with the Genesis of Moses and the books of the prophets. In placing the message of the Greeks on the same level as the revelation of the Old Testament, he laid the cornerstone for building a true history of the mission of Hellas. In fact, it is an integral part of the task of this book to show that besides the events in the lives of the Hebrews there was nothing that more immediately prepared humanity for the coming of Christ than what lived in the spirit of Hellas.

Hence, the story of the heathen heritage becomes the Gospel of Hellas.

About the Author

Friedrich Hiebel (1903-1989) was born in Vienna. He studied German literature, history, and comparative linguistics. He learned of Rudolf Steiner’s work in 1921. After graduation, he became a Waldorf school teacher before moving to the U.S. as a professor of German literature. In 1962, Mr. Hiebel was appointed to the executive committee of the General Anthroposophical Society.