It is a curious fact that the modern Hebrew for ‘atheist’, Tim Whitmarsh notes in passing, is apikoros. The word derives from Epicurus, who set up shop as a philosopher in Athens around 306 BC, but it became so domesticated in Hebrew that the medieval thinker Moses Maimonides, till he found out better, thought it was of home-grown Aramaic origin.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Black Friday sale
Subscribe today and get 10 weeks of The Spectator Australia for just $1
- Unlimited access to spectator.com.au and app
- The weekly edition on the Spectator Australia app
- Spectator podcasts and newsletters
- Full access to spectator.co.uk
Or
Unlock this article
Available from the Spectator Bookshop, £20.00. Tel: 08430 600033
You might disagree with half of it, but you’ll enjoy reading all of it. Try your first month for free, then just $2 a week for the remainder of your first year.
Comments
Black Friday sale
Subscribe today and get 10 weeks of The Spectator Australia for just $1
SUBSCRIBEAlready a subscriber? Log in