The Corpus Ignatianum, usually included in the works of the Apostolic Fathers, is made up of seven letters in koiné Greek, probably written by Saint Ignatius of Antioch. These texts, which have a complicated literary history, are very interesting and original from a linguistic and stylistic point of view. A lexical analysis of the Corpus Ignatianum, in particular, allows identifying first of all a noteworthy lexical creativity. There are indeed some hapax, unusual words and neologisms, which are often compound words. Moreover, in these texts some words already used in classical Greek are first attested in Christian literature. There are also some latinisms. Another noteworthy lexical characteristic of the Corpus Ignatianum is the presence of words and metaphors which are typical of Hellenistic philosophy, especially of Stoicism, and which are present also in Christian literature.
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