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Should the word beyond in this text be taken as an antonym of behind?

From his lifetime and beyond through the fourth century AD, Asclepius was worshipped as a Greek God associated with healing.
(Source: Mosby's Pharmacy Technician: Principles and Practice by Teresa Hopper)

Damkerng T.
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user5036
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    Not really. If you want an "antonym" for *beyond* in this context, consider *before* (beyond is a space/distance term commonly used metaphorically in a time-based contexts; behind is rarely used this way, either in the sense of earlier or later). – FumbleFingers Jun 05 '15 at 20:11
  • I would put a comma after "beyond". – Brian Hitchcock Jul 06 '15 at 07:45

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No, beyond is not an antonym of behind. In the context you provided, beyond means "outside the range of (something)."

"From his lifetime and beyond through the fourth century AD, Asclepius was worshipped as a Greek God associated with healing." means that Asclepius was worshipped as a Greek God during his lifetime (when he was alive) and after his death till the fourth century AD (400 CE).

money-printer
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Beyond X means far past or ahead of X.

X and beyond expresses a range that begins with X and ends far past or ahead of X.

From his lifetime and beyond

This means starting from his lifetime and ending far past his lifetime.

LawrenceC
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  • I don't know about the "far" part. "I watched the bird beyond my window" - the bird could be 10 or 100 feet away as long as it is past my window. It's also common to say "far beyond", which would be sort of redundant if beyond already meant far past. – ColleenV Jul 06 '15 at 03:50
  • When you say "I watched the bird beyond my window" to me it seems that the bird is further away from than if you just said "I watched the bird outside my window." - i.e. you might be far away from the window and "double" far away from the bird as a result. – LawrenceC Jul 06 '15 at 12:03
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    I think it's more of an emotional distance than a physical one in most of the senses that it's used. A bird outside my window is just at a location, but a bird beyond my window is on the other side of a barrier. – ColleenV Jul 06 '15 at 12:15
  • I think @ColleenV really nailed that distinction. – TBridges42 Aug 05 '15 at 17:27