The Tabula Claudiana or Tabula Lugdunensis, unearthed at Lyon in 1528, preserves part of a speech delivered to the senate in AD 48 by Claudius. The emperor pleads to admit the elites of Gallia... Show moreThe Tabula Claudiana or Tabula Lugdunensis, unearthed at Lyon in 1528, preserves part of a speech delivered to the senate in AD 48 by Claudius. The emperor pleads to admit the elites of Gallia Comata to the Roman senate. This article presents a rhetorical analysis of the speech. Modern readers have labeled the style of the speech ‘bombastic’ and ‘pedantic’, while criticizing its many historical examples. An examination of the speech in terms of inventio, dispositio and elocutio, however, demonstrates that Claudius carefully constructs the ethos of a knowledgeable and open-minded authority. It is argued that two moments of rhetorical persuasion could be distinguished: the senate meeting in Rome and the publication of the bronze inscription at the sanctuary of the Three Gauls at Lugdunum. Not much deliberative rhetoric was perhaps needed to persuade the senators to agree with their emperor; the display of the inscription, on the other hand, could be interpreted as a form of epideictic rhetoric, which may have given a significant boost to the confidence of Roman citizens in Gaul. While some senators in Rome may have disliked the lengthy historical exempla as part of the oral speech, visitors of the sanctuary in Lugdunum may have appreciated seeing Gaul included in the long history of Rome. Show less
How should we deal with inconsistencies in ancient literature? Henk Versnel has shown that modern scholars are eager to ‘solve’ such inconsistencies and to ‘save’ the author from embarassing... Show moreHow should we deal with inconsistencies in ancient literature? Henk Versnel has shown that modern scholars are eager to ‘solve’ such inconsistencies and to ‘save’ the author from embarassing contradictions. Versnel himself has argued that we should adopt a tolerant attitude towards the coexistence of contradictory statements. This chapter examines how ancient scholars dealt with inconsistencies in literature. It argues that several ancient philosophers and critics anticipated Versnel in adopting a tolerant attitude towards contradictions in literature. The most striking parallels are found in the Homeric scholia, which draw on the views of the Alexandrian scholar Aristarchus, and Aristotle’s Poetics. Show less
It has often been claimed that Greek literature of the Roman world is obsessed with the (classical) Greek past and detached from the real world in which it was written. This article, however,... Show moreIt has often been claimed that Greek literature of the Roman world is obsessed with the (classical) Greek past and detached from the real world in which it was written. This article, however, argues that Greek texts of the imperial period offer a fascinating glimpse of the polyphonic and multicultural world of the Roman Empire. The Roman Empire was characterized by globalization, migration, and mobility. While Greek was the lingua franca of a large part of the Mediterranean world, especially in the East, writers of Greek literature came from many different places and regions, flexibly moving in a triangular space between local, Greek, and Roman identities. Three different examples are discussed: an epigram by Crinagoras of Mytilene, a passage from Pseudo-Longinus’ On the Sublime, and Lucian’s interview with Homer in True History. In different ways, these texts construct intercultural dialogues, which invite the reader to perceive the world and its literature as more diverse than just Greek and Roman. Show less
Oratie uitgesproken door Prof.dr. Casper de Jonge bij de aanvaarding van het ambt van hoogleraar Griekse Taal- en Letterkunde aan de Universiteit Leiden op vrijdag 7 oktober 2022
This chapter compares two reading lists of Greek literature, one from the Augustan Age and one from the Second Sophistic: Dionysius of Halicarnassus’ On Imitation and Dio of Prusa’s letter On... Show moreThis chapter compares two reading lists of Greek literature, one from the Augustan Age and one from the Second Sophistic: Dionysius of Halicarnassus’ On Imitation and Dio of Prusa’s letter On Training for Public Speaking (oration 18). Although several scholars have argued that the two lists are similar, this chapter argues that they are fundamentally different. Dionysius prefers Homer, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Herodotus and Demosthenes, he ignores Hellenistic and imperial writers, and he demands that his students work hard. Dio recommends Menander, Euripides, Xenophon and Aeschines, he includes orators from the Augustan Age, and he tells his addressee that laborious training is not needed. In many points Dio’s reading list corresponds more closely to Quintilian’s contemporary canon (in Institutio oratoria book 10) than to Dionysius’ On Imitation. Three factors can explain the differences between the reading lists presented by Dionysius and Dio: their audiences, the literary preferences of the Augustan Age and the Flavian Age, and the genres of their works. Dionysius’ reading list is part of a serious rhetorical treatise which foregrounds the ‘beauty’ of classical Greek literature. Dio’s reading list is presented in a light-hearted letter which adopts a more pragmatic (and at times humoristic) approach to rhetorical imitation. Show less
This article argues that the concept of migrant literature, developed in postcolonial studies, is a useful tool for analysing Greek literature of the Early Roman Empire (27 BC-AD 68). The city of... Show moreThis article argues that the concept of migrant literature, developed in postcolonial studies, is a useful tool for analysing Greek literature of the Early Roman Empire (27 BC-AD 68). The city of Rome attracted huge numbers of migrants from across the Mediterranean. Among them were many writers from Hellenized provinces like Egypt, Syria and Asia, who wrote in Greek. Leaving their native regions and travelling to Rome, they moved between cultures, responding in Greek to the new world order. Early imperial Greek writers include Strabo of Amasia, Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Nicolaus of Damascus, Timagenes of Alexandria, Crinagoras of Mytilene, Philo of Alexandria and Paul of Tarsus. What connects these authors of very different origins, styles, beliefs, and literary genres is migrancy. They are migrant writers whose works are characterized by in-betweenness, ambivalence and polyphony. Show less
The sublime plays an important role in recent publications on Greek and Latin literature. On the one hand, scholars try to make sense of ancient Greek theories of the sublime, both in Longinus’ On ...Show moreThe sublime plays an important role in recent publications on Greek and Latin literature. On the one hand, scholars try to make sense of ancient Greek theories of the sublime, both in Longinus’ On the Sublime and in other rhetorical texts. On the other hand, the sublime, in its ancient and modern manifestations presented by thinkers from Longinus to Burke, Kant and Lyotard, has proved to be a productive tool for interpreting the works of Latin poets like Lucretius, Lucan and Seneca. But what is the sublime? And how does the Greek rhetorical sublime in Longinus relate to the Roman literary sublime in Lucretius and other poets? This article reviews James I. Porter, The Sublime in Antiquity: it evaluates Porter’s innovative approach to the ancient sublime, and considers the ways in which it might change our understanding of an important, but somewhat enigmatic concept. Show less
This article discusses the critical comparison (σύγκρισις) of the styles of Demosthenesand Cicero in Longinus, On the Sublime 12.4-5. Many readers have claimed that Longinushere presents... Show moreThis article discusses the critical comparison (σύγκρισις) of the styles of Demosthenesand Cicero in Longinus, On the Sublime 12.4-5. Many readers have claimed that Longinushere presents Demosthenes and Cicero as two different models of the sublime. A detailedanalysis of the passage, however, reveals that while the two are both creditedwith grandeur (μέγεθος), they are in fact not treated on a par with respect to sublimity(ὕψος). While the style of Demosthenes is described with keywords of Longinus’ conceptionof the sublime (ὕψος), Cicero’s style is consistently associated with the qualityof diffusion (χύσις), which is closely associated with amplification (αὔξησις). Longinus’discussion of Cicero may have pleased the Roman readers in his audience, as he ispresented as a canonical author of ‘great’ literature. We argue, however, that in the end,Longinus reserves the status of sublimity for his heroes of classical Greece. Show less
This article examines the rhetorical style of Augustus' Res Gestae. Ancient sources, including Suetonius (Life of Augustus 86), describe Augustus' style in terms of elegantia and temperantia. These... Show moreThis article examines the rhetorical style of Augustus' Res Gestae. Ancient sources, including Suetonius (Life of Augustus 86), describe Augustus' style in terms of elegantia and temperantia. These qualities are indeed characteristic of the style of the emperor's private letters (of which some fragments survive) and the Res Gestae. Augustus' style was influenced by his great uncle Julius Caesar and his Greek teacher of rhetoric Apollodorus of Pergamon. There are striking parallels between the ancient descriptions of Augustus' style and the theories of style in Greek rhetorical treatises of Augustan Rome. In adopting a sober style, Augustus aimed at presenting himself with the authority of a moderate man, who was to be admired throughout the empire. Show less
Cet article étudie les liens entre la critique littéraire grecque et la poésie latine d’époque augustéenne. Les érudits grecs de la fin de la République et du début de l’Empire sont habituellement... Show moreCet article étudie les liens entre la critique littéraire grecque et la poésie latine d’époque augustéenne. Les érudits grecs de la fin de la République et du début de l’Empire sont habituellement étudiés au sein d’une tradition purement grecque ; mais beaucoup d’entre eux travaillaient à Rome et savaient lire le latin. Ces érudits grecs ne font pas explicitement référence à la poésie latine, mais une analyse de leurs discours peut révéler de nombreux parallèles, idées et notions communes, montrant que critiques grecs et poètes latins appartiennent à un même monde intellectuel. L’introduction présente une typologie des interactions et connections entre critique littéraire grecque et littérature latine. Elle est suivie de deux études de cas, portant sur Horace et Denys d’Halicarnasse, et sur Virgile et Longin, l’auteur du traité Sur le sublime. Show less
