Le Faussaire et la Ville : la correspondance entre Sénèque et l’apôtre Paul mise à l’épreuve de l’archéologie

In this article the author provides new external evidence demonstrating
that the correspondence between the philosopher Seneca and the apostle
Paul is a forgery. The author compares archaeological data offered
by inscriptions, graffiti and regionarii with information conveyed by the
apocryphal letters. The setting of the epistles, as well as information
about the duration and damages of the Neronian fire, contrast with
the archaeological data, indicating that the text should be considered
a forgery. The contribution shows that the forger worked rather in a
literary mode. Conversely, the only archaeological date (CIL XIV 566)
that scholars have brought to support authenticity is probably not a
Christian inscription and does not prove anything regarding a meeting
between Seneca and Paul or Seneca’s conversion. The origin of the
correspondence should instead be traced to the cult of the apostles
Paul and Peter during the 3rd and 4th centuries.