From Egypt to France: On the Reception of Saint Antony the Great, Comparing the Orthodox Heritage with Gustave Flaubert’s The Temptation of Saint Antony

This work consists in a comparative analysis of St Athanasius’ Life of Anthony and Gustave Flaubert’s The Temptation of St Anthony. We find that these two works present two different Weltanschauungen, each providing important cultural and philosophical input on the philosophical ideas and perspectives of their authors. Accordingly, we shall provide a commentary on the reception of the figure of Anthony in both works, concluding with a summary of the existing differences between the two accounts of the great Egyptian monk.