The aim of this paper is to analyze the effects of demons' actions on the human mind according to Athenagoras and Tatian.
Both of them are second century Christian apologists, but they come from very different backgrounds. Athenagoras' biography is still unknown. The only certain date in his life is 176-7 AD, when he composed his apology, the Embassy for the Christians.
The tradition transmitted by the fifth century Christian historian Philip of Side, that Athenagoras was the first director of the School of Alexandria, is unreliable.[398] It is probably better to accept that Athenagoras was a philosopher from Athens, as attested in the earliest extant manuscript that contains his works. The Athenian background agrees with the philosophical ideas of Athenagoras' Embassy. Nevertheless, it is possible that Athenagoras had some acquaintance with Alexandrian culture, as suggested by the presence of some similarities between his On Resurrection and the Corpus of Philo of Alexandria.[399] He is almost never quoted by the church Fathers, but this does not mean that he is not important in the history of the Christian thought.[400]The identity of Tatian (c.120-180 ad) seems to be better known. Epiphanius and Eusebius, among others, explain that he was an Assyrian who went to Rome and studied under Justin Martyr.[401] After Justin's martyrdom, Tatian apostatized, becoming part of a Gnostic group. The Assyrian origin and connection with Justin is universally accepted. Despite the ancient witness of Eusebius, Epiphanius and Iraeneus, however, his apostasy after the death of Justin is still disputed.[402]
The different origins of the two apologists are reflected in their different attitudes toward apologetic: while Athenagoras aims to identify the philosophical God with the Christian God, by using Hellenistic knowledge, Tatian attacks all Hellenistic knowledge, even the rhetoric traditions, in order to shun as much as possible the pagan milieu.[403] These different attitudes are well evident in their approach to demonology.
In both, there is a well defined demonological passage, where the origin, the nature and the effects of demons are studied in detail.[404] Tatian and Athenagoras are the only apologists who wrote such a demonological passage, and they both use it for a similar purpose.
At first glance, the aim of these two demonological passages is to explain why Christians must not worship demons: particularly in Athenagoras' Embassy, the author wants to demonstrate that “the gods of the nations are δαιμόνια”, in order to defend Christian refusal of the pagan religion.[405] By explaining that demons are not really gods, while the Christian God is more similar to the platonic idea of God, he wants to emphasise that Christians cannot be considered atheists: pagans, who worship gods that are not really gods, are instead the real atheists.[406]
Both Tatian and Athenagoras are aware that common people attribute great power to demons, which can turn believers away from Christianity. For this purpose, demons can affect humans, according to a long tradition which ties demons and illness, and which the two apologists (particularly Tatian) seem to know well. But, as both clearly explain, their effect is only on the human mind, being so powerful to make men believe that their action also affects the body. In analysing the effects of demons on the human mind, body and soul, both of them want to stress that demons can only really affect the human mind, and only if the human mind shows some weakness that ultimately derives from having a weak faith in Christ. Even if their initial perspectives and philosophical backgrounds differ, they are both responding to a common need in the second century AD: they explain not only who demons are and why they hate humans (a topic that is not central) but also how people can protect themselves from their attacks and malevolence.
Above all, humans fear demonic possession, which shows itself as an illness and is well known, in this period, among Jews, Christians and Pagans. The victim of possession appears as wicked in both body and mind. The aim of the two apologists is to show that the demon's action is only apparent and is conveyed to the body only because the mind works as the demon wants. So, Tatian's and Athenagoras' ultimate goal seems to be to assert that, if people can take control over their minds, demons will not affect them.