Hexameron

The term Hexameron (Greek: Ἡ Ἑξαήμερος Δημιουργία Hē Hexaēmeros Dēmiourgia) refers either to the genre of theological treatise that describes God's work on the six days of creation or to the six days of creation themselves. Most often these theological works take the form of commentaries on Genesis. As a genre, hexameral literature was popular in the early church and medieval periods. The word derives its name from the Greek roots hexa-, meaning "six", and hemer-, meaning "day".

This article is about the theological concept. For the collaborative composition by Liszt and others, see Hexameron (musical composition).

The order of creation in Genesis (1,1 to 2,3) is:

  1. Light - first day.
  2. A vault between the waters, to separate water from water called the heavens - second day.
  3. The water ... gathered ... so that dry land may appear ... and ... growing things, ... plants that bear seed, and trees bearing fruit each with its own kind of seed - third day.
  4. Lights in the vault of the heavens - fourth day: sun, moon, and stars.
  5. "Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth" - fifth day.
  6. "Let the earth bring forth living creatures ... and ... let us make human beings in our image" - sixth day.
  7. On the seventh day, having finished all his work, God blessed the day - the Sabbath.

Based on this framework, Christian and Jewish authors have written treatises that cover a wide variety of topics, including cosmology, science, theology, theological anthropology, and God's nature.

Saint Basil wrote an early and influential series of homilies around 370 AD which figure as the earliest extant Hexameron. Basil originally performed the work as a series of sermons, and later collected them into a written work which was influential among early church leaders.

Among the Latin Fathers, Ambrose and Augustine of Hippo wrote some of the earliest extant hexameral literature. Ambrose's Hexameron is heavily influenced by Basil's work of the same name. In contrast, Augustine wrote several works that serve as commentaries on the Genesis narrative, including the final section of The Confessions and The Literal Meaning of Genesis (published in 416). One of the more influential elements of Augustine's writings is his argument that God created the world all at once. At the same time, this instantaneous creation included a progression of events. Thus, creation happened over six days and in one single event.

Following these figures, medieval writers such as Thomas Aquinas, Bonaventure, and Robert Grosseteste wrote hexameral literature.

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