Watchful Greeks and Lazy Romans: Disciplining Sleep in Late Antiquity

Although sleep asceticism is recognized to have been an important part of Greek monastic culture in late antiquity, there has been little research on the relationship between Christian and secular attitudes toward sleep. A comparison of medical, philosophical, and patristic theories of sleep reveals important differences between Latin and Greek texts, whether Christian or non-Christian. Greek authors portrayed sleep as a pathos that suppressed the rational part of the soul, whereas most Latin authors believed that the mind remained wide-awake during sleep. Also involved are divergent social norms regarding sleep as an expression of elite power.