Edwyn Robert Bevan

Lecturer in Hellenistic History and Literature, King’s College, London

(1) Symbolism and Belief (2) Holy Images

In his first series of lectures, Bevan examines how religious symbols represent divine reality, and how philosophers and theologians interpret them as references to God. Defining a symbol as ‘something presented to the senses or imagination which stands for something else’, he explains that Greek philosophers were convinced that ultimate reality was indescribable, and in contrast, Christian theology asserts that God can be known. His second series makes an inquiry into idolatry and image-worship in ancient paganism.

Biography

Edwyn Robert Bevan was born on 15 February 1870 in London. An ancient historian and philosopher, he was one of the chief authorities on the Hellenistic age. After attending New College, Oxford in 1888, he travelled to India and to the British School of Archaeology in Athens. During the First World War, he worked in the Foreign Office, and afterward, researched as an independent scholar. Due to the post-war economic collapse, he took a paid position as Lecturer in Hellenistic History and Literature at King’s College, London in 1922, retiring due to deafness.

Elected Fellow of the British Academy in 1942, he received honorary degrees from St Andrews and Oxford. Bevan was appointed The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in 1920 and was actively involved in the Society of Jews and Christians. Notable works include The House of Seleucus (1902), Indian Nationalism (1913), The Land of the Two Rivers (1917), Hellenism and Christianity (1921), Sibyls and Seers (1928), The History of Christianity in the Light of Modern Knowledge (1929), and Christians in a World at War (1940).

Published/Archival Resources

Published as Symbolism and Belief, Holy Images.