In praise of Constantius : Greek panegyric in late antiquity / Alan J. Ross.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Ross, Alan J. (Alan James), 1983- author.

Series:

Oxford scholarship online.

Oxford scholarship online

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Constantius II, Emperor of Rome, 317-361--In literature.

Constantius.

Libanius--Criticism and interpretation.

Libanius.

Themistius--Criticism and interpretation.

Themistius.

Julian, Emperor of Rome, 331-363--Criticism and interpretation.

Julian.

Laudatory poetry, Greek--History and criticism.

Laudatory poetry, Greek.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (361 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Oxford University Press, [2025]

Summary:

'In Praise of Constantius' offers historical and literary analysis of eight Greek panegyrics composed by Libanius, Themistius, and Julian in the 340s and 350s CE, and addressed to Constantius II and his wife, the empress Eusebia. Its central concerns are the role that the composition, performance, and dissemination of imperial panegyric played in establishing the careers of the three most prominent Greek pagans of the fourth century; and their development of Greek epideictic literature in an era beyond the Second Sophistic.

Contents:

Cover

In Praise of Constantius : Greek Panegyric in Late Antiquity

Copyright

Dedication

Contents

Acknowledgements

Abbreviations

Introduction

Libanius, Themistius, Julian, and Constantius

Imperial Panegyric and Later Greek Literature

Tradition and Genre: Panegyric and Historiography

Structure

Part I: Provincial Teachers and Imperial Patronage

1: Dyarchy, Dynasty, and Discord (Libanius Oration 59)

Seizing the Moment

Libanius and Constantius in Nicomedia, 346 ce

Writing Constantine

The Greek Constantine, 324-46 ce

Constantine and His Sons in Oration 59 - Exceeding the Model

Historiography between East and West

Libanius and Earlier Orators - Between Theory and Practice

Libanius and Menander Rhetor

Libanius and Aelius Aristides

Conclusion

2: Career Change in Constantinople (Themistius Orations 1, 2, and 20)

Career Change in Constantinople - Themistius' Earliest Orations

Themistius in 355

Constantinople's Competitive Governors

Constantius' New Role for Themistius

Themistius' Initial Response - Oration 20

Rescripting the Terms of Adlection - Oration 2

The End of the Beginning

A Chance Encounter in Ancyra - Oration 1

Constantius in Ancyra, 342

Oration 1

Themistius - A New Eusebius

Revising Dio's Rhetorical-Philosophical Settlement

A Neoplatonic Ascent and Return

Oration 1 within Themistius' Career

Transition 1: Speech and Letter: Themistius and Julian's Responses to Power in 355-6

Themistius' Protrepticus - More of the Same

Julian's Letter to Themistius

Part II: Emperor as Author

3: Eusebia: A Conventional Empress (Julian Oration 2)

Julian as Subject and Author of Panegyric in the 350s

Who Was Eusebia?

Julian's Oration 2 to Eusebia

Thanksgiving and Praise: The Rhetoric of Revelation

Julian's Recusatio.

Eusebia - A Very Conventional Empress

4: The Neo-Flavians' Return to the West (Julian Oration 1)

Julian's Appointment as Caesar

Julian and Lost Latin Panegyrics

Readers of Oration 1 in Gaul, Antioch, and Rome

The Opening of Oration 1 - Julian Against His Predecessors

A New Constantinian Settlement

Westward Momentum

Unified Empire

Dynastic Dominance

Transition 2: A Constantinopolitan Moment (Themistius Oration 33)

Part III: Neo-Flavian Triumph and Epideictic Deconstruction

5: City Panegyric Between East and West (Themistius Orations 4 and 3)

Themistius Oration 4

Themistius in Antioch, 356

Defending Absence - Metaphysical and Actual Presence in Oration 4

Constantinople's Geopolitical Standing ( Orations 4 and 3)

Constantinople in Orations 4 and 3

Magnentius and Vetranio Again

Competition with Rome

Themistius as Praise-giver in Orations 4 and 3

6: Apologia and Invective (Julian Oration 3)

The Enigma of Oration 3

Julian in Gaul - General and Philosopher

Oration 3: The Opening and Audience

Themistius Undermined

Epilogue

Greek Panegyric in the Mid-fourth Century

Beyond Constantian Panegyric

Bibliography

Index Locorum

Index.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource and publisher information; title from PDF title page (viewed on September 1, 2025).

ISBN:

0-19-782756-X

0-19-782757-8

0-19-782755-1

9780197827550

OCLC:

1534888521