Sebastian Hanstein: Advertising the true faith – the refutation of all heresies in its roman context

The so-called ‚Refutation of all Heresies‘ traditionally (yet probably wrongly) attributed to Hippolytus of Rome is usually seen as one of the main sources of 2nd/3rd century Gnosticism introducing a number of hitherto unknown ‘heresies’and their teachings to a bigger audience.Among those, a group of several snake-related ‘heresies’ (the Naassenes, Peratae, Sethians and Justin) stand out decisively as they share a set of identical phrases, ideas and biblical quotations. Those features anda number of other problems concering the value of the work have been known for many decades. They have been subject to controversial debates.My paper examines the possible genus of the work and tries to draw conclusions from it as it appears to be a logos protreptikos, aiming to promote the author’s theological views and refuting his Roman competitors. Through examining the framework set by the genus I aim to reevaluate the source material and the quality of the information given by the author.