Journal of Early Christian Studies

Long associated with religion in the ancient world, obscenity features in the works of both the late-Platonic philosopher Iamblichus and the Christian author Arnobius of Sicca. While Iamblichus is decorous and indirect in his evocation of corporeal matters and Arnobius is exuberant in showing what ought not be shown, it is possible to see both of these authors speaking of the forbidden to render their respective religious agendas more lively and their assertions about the nature of the sacred more authoritative.