Tomaselli, Davide2026-02-032026-02-032025-09-09Tomaselli, D 2025, 'The Symposium of Methodius of Olympus and the Critique of Fatalism', Religions, vol. 16, no. 9, 1159, pp. 1-16. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel160911592077-1444https://hdl.handle.net/10641/7769Publisher Copyright: © 2025 by the author.This study examines a specific section of the Symposium by Methodius of Olympus, a Church Father of the late 3rd and early 4th centuries, focusing on the critique of astrological fatalism. In Methodius’s Symposium, the virgin Thecla offers a series of rational arguments against the notion of an inescapable fate governing human events, emphasizing the primacy of human free will and responsibility. Notably, Thecla’s refutation of fatalism relies almost entirely on classical philosophical reasoning—citing Homer and echoing Platonic thought—rather than on Scripture, thereby engaging pagan cultural ideas on common ground. The paper highlights how Thecla’s excursus on fate, unique within the dialogue, underscores the centrality of human freedom in Methodius’s theology. Furthermore, a comparison with Methodius’s dialogue On Free Will suggests that the Symposium’s anti-fatalistic arguments are consistent with his broader defence of free will as God’s greatest gift to humanity, which requires the synergistic participation of human freedom alongside divine grace.16410313enghttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Methodius of OlympusSymposiumTechlaastrologyfatalismfree willfreedomvirginityReligious studiesYesyesjournal articleopen access10.3390/rel16091159https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105017313750https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105017313750#tab=citedBy