Greek declamation and the Roman empire / William Guast.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Guast, William Edward, 1987- author.

Series:

Greek culture in the Roman world

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Rhetoric, Ancient.

Oratory, Ancient.

Greek literature--History and criticism.

Greek literature.

Latin literature--Greek influences.

Latin literature.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xiii, 216 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Place of Publication:

Cambridge ; New York, NY : Cambridge University Press, 2023.

Summary:

A Greek declamation was an 'imaginary speech': a fictitious speech composed for a rhetorical scenario set in Classical Greece. Although such speeches began as rhetorical exercises, under the high Roman empire they developed into a full-blown prestigious genre in their own right. This first monograph on Greek declamation for nearly forty years re-evaluates a genre that was central to Greek imperial literature and to ancient and modern notions of the 'Second Sophistic'. Rejecting traditional conceptions of the genre as 'nostalgic', this book considers the significance of Greek declamation's re-enactment of classical history for its own times, and integrates the genre into the wider history of the period. It shows through extended readings how the genre came to constitute a powerful and subtle instrument of identity formation and social interaction, and a site for free thinking on issues of major contemporary importance such as imperialism and inter-polis relations.

Contents:

Exempla and Exemplarity

Declamation, Life, and the Imagination

Text and Performance Context

Identity Parade

Macedon

Strife and Concord.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 28 Jun 2023).

Other Format:

Print version:

ISBN:

9781009297158 (ebook)

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.