ABSTRACT
The term apologists – used in order to single out a distinct group of Christian authors of the second century – is of modern provenance. J. C. Th. von Otto was the ¬rst to use it as a term for the authors of a speci¬c set of second-century works.1 If we leave out those authors from whom only a few fragments are extant, von Otto’s “apologists” comprise the following listed with the titles of their apologetic works, and approximate dates:
Aristides of Athens Apology c. 125-150? Justin Martyr of Nablus 1 and 2 Apology c. 150-5 Tatian of Syria Oration to the Greeks c. 170 Athenagoras of Athens Plea on Behalf of Christians c. 177 Theophilus of Antioch To Autolycus c. 180 Diognetus c. 180?
