Yale University Library Research Guides: Early Christianity and Patristics: Demons, Angels

Introduction to Angels & Demons

Inventing Superstition: from the Hippocratics to the Christians by Dale B. Martin genealogy of the idea of superstition, its history over eight centuries, from classical Greece to the Christianized Roman Empire of the 4th Century A. D. Online available.
Neoplatonic Demons and Angels by Luc Brisson et al. examine, in chronological order, the place reserved for angels and demons not only by Neoplatonic philosophers (Plotinus, Porphyry, Iamblichus, and Proclus), but also in Gnosticism, the Chaldaean Oracles, Christian Neoplatonism, especially by Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite. Online available.

City of Demons: violence, ritual, and Christian power in late antiquity by Dayna S. Kalleres investigates this developing discourse and the church-sponsored rituals that went along with it, showing how shifting ecclesiastical demonologies and evolving practices of exorcism profoundly shaped Christian life in the fourth century.
Evil Incarnate: rumors of demonic conspiracy and ritual abuse in history by David Frankfurter analysis of the mythology of evil conspiracy: "What causes people collectively to envision evil and seek to exterminate it?" and "Why does the representation of evil recur in such typical patterns?"
Demons and the Making of the Monk by David Brakke examines how the conception of the monk as a holy and virtuous being was shaped by the combative encounter with demons. describes the social and religious identities that monastic authors imagined for the demon-fighting monk. interprets accounts of demon encounters. Online available.
Demons and the Devil in Ancient and Medieval Christianity by Nienke Vos et al. approaches the role of demons and the devil in ancient and medieval Christianity from a variety of scholarly perspectives: historical, philosophical, theological as well as philological, liturgical, and theoretical. Online available.

Michael and Christ: Michael traditions and angel Christology in early Christianity by Darrell D. Hannah examines Michael traditions from the Old Testament, Jewish apocalyptic, Qumran, Philo, the Rabbis, Merkabah mysticism, the New Testament, Christian apocalyptic, the New Testament Apocrypha, and the Fathers of the second century.
Angels in Late Ancient Christianity by Ellen Muehlberger explores thee ideas Christians held about angels in late antiquity. in practicing new modes of piety, Christians developed new ways of thinking about angels. Online available.
Angels and Orthodoxy: a study in their development in Syria and Palestine from the Qumran texts to Ephrem the Syrian by R. M. M. Tuschling considers the relation between ideas about angels, especially their function within a monotheistic belief system, and the development of a sense of what it means to be orthodox, in both Judaism and Christianity, from the time of the Dead Sea Scrolls to the late fourth century AD.
Ancient Angels by Rangar Cline: conceptualizing angeloi in the Roman Empire angels (angeloi) were a prominent feature of non-Abrahamic religions in the Roman era. uses literary, inscriptional, and archaeological evidence to examine Roman conceptions of angels, how residents of the empire venerated angels, and how Christian authorities responded to this potentially heterodox aspect of Roman religion. Online available.