[review of] The Landmark Arrian: The Campaigns of Alexander, ed. J. Romm; a new translation by P. Mensch, New York 2010
Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2011.05.58 [http://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2011/2011-05-58.html]
‘Polyaenus Macedo (639)’
[in:] Brill’s New Jacoby, General Editor Ian Worthington. Leiden 2012 [Brill Online: http://www.brillonline.nl
‘Hermogenes of Smyrna (579)’
Brill’s New Jacoby. General Editor Ian Worthington. Leiden 2010 [Brill Online: http://www.brillonline.nl
‘„Chwała, która nie przemija”. Ateny w mowach Eliusza Arystydesa’
Collectanea Classica Thoruniensia 13 (2002), ss. 15-27
"The Agon with Moses and Homer: Rabbinic Midrash and the Second Sophistic", Homer and the Bible in the Eyes of Ancient Interpreters, ed. M. R. Niehoff (Leiden, Boston:Brill, 2012), 299-328
In this paper I propose that the literary agon, which was deeply rooted in rhetorical education and in Homeric... more In this paper I propose that the literary agon, which was deeply rooted in rhetorical education and in Homeric literary activity of the Roman period, may serve as a useful category for understanding contemporaneous rabbinic midrash. Two literary expressions of this agon surface in contemporary literature. On the first level, writers from this period bluntly confront the ancients for their lack of knowledge regarding the texts they handed down and directly refute Homer or Moses as ignorant author-messenger. On the second level, as the sophist and sage adopt a competitive mode they check and revise the canonical text, subsequently offering a more appealing alternative
‘De sofist, de keizerin en de concubine: Philostratus’ brief aan Julia Domna’, Lampas 30 (1997) 74-86.
After introducing the author and the addressee of Philostratus' Letter to Julia Domna, this paper offers a... more After introducing the author and the addressee of Philostratus' Letter to Julia Domna, this paper offers a characterisation of their relationship, a concise analysis of the functions of imperial cultural patronage for the parties involved, the first Dutch-language translation of the letter, and a discussion of its contents. Special attention id given to the place of the letter in the 'querelle des philosophes et des rhéteurs', and to the comparison of Julia Domna with Aspasia implied in the references to Aeschines' dialogue 'Aspasia'.
‘De tweede sofistiek: een portie gebakken lucht?’, Lampas 29 (1996) 135-154.
In 1995 the editors of Lampas, a journal for Dutch classicists, asked me for an introductory article on the Second... more In 1995 the editors of Lampas, a journal for Dutch classicists, asked me for an introductory article on the Second Sophistic. In complying with this request I designed my contribution as an attempt to refute Peter Brunt's contention that imperial sophistic oratory was devoid of any socio-political importance ('The bubble of the Second Sophistic', BICS 39, 1994, 25-52). Borrowing theoretical tools from Thorstein Veblen and Pierre Bourdieu, I argued that sophistic oratory wás important, both as a strategy of social distinction and as an expression of Greek identity.
Die Wanderjahre des Dion von Prusa
In his speeches, Dion Chrysostomos continually reminds his readers of his wanderings during his long years of exile.... more In his speeches, Dion Chrysostomos continually reminds his readers of his wanderings during his long years of exile. But how far did he actually travel?
Attic idylls: hierarchies of herdsmen and social status in Alciphron and Longus.
forthcoming in JHS 132 (2012)
c.8500 words.
intro:
The third century (?) writer of fictional letters Alciphron is surprisingly rarely mentioned in... more
intro:
The third century (?) writer of fictional letters Alciphron is surprisingly rarely mentioned in connection with the reception of Theocritus, despite being as evidently as his fellow sophistic author Longus a reader and adaptor of the Idylls. Alciphron offers an important addition to our picture of the reception and interpretation of Theocritus in the Imperial period. I intend to propose here one important theme in Theocritus and his later reception, namely the interest in hierarchies among herdsmen (and other low characters), of which Alciphron makes significant use in his Rustic Letters (Book 2), probably following a similar appropriation of the theme in Longus’ pastoral novel Daphnis and Chloe; and then to suggest some implications of this intertextuality for reading Alciphron’s concern with hierarchical (social and literary) structures in his work as a whole. The debate on the ‘hierarchy of herdsmen’ in Theocritus’ Idylls began with their earliest readers and critics in the scholia, and continues in modern scholarship: the issue and the contributions to the debate are summarised and augmented in an excellent recent discussion by Daniel Berman (Phoenix 2005), who argues for an established literary tradition of the hierarchy (cowherds, shepherds, and last and least, goatherds) which Theocritus adapts and subverts. I will begin by making some further observations upon the recognition and adaptation of this literary hierarchy by readers of the Idylls and by later writers in the pastoral mode, especially Longus and Alciphron; I will then argue that the prevalence of hierarchies in earlier and contemporary readings of pastoral means that it is extremely important for our reading of Alciphron, as a ‘pastoral’ author and reader of the Idylls, that we view his intertextuality with this genre in light of its potential to alert readers to the theme of social and financial hierarchies among its characters, as a central concern of his Epistles as a whole.
The Euboean discourse of Dio of Prusa as a historical source
Published in: Zbornik radova "Antička kultura, evropsko i srpsko nasleđe", Društvo za antičke studije Srbije, Institut za teološka istraživanja, Beograd 2010, pp. 93-112.
In Serbian, with an English summary p. 112.
The Euboean discourse of Dio of Prusa as a historical source
Public speaker, philosopher and traveler, Dio... more
The Euboean discourse of Dio of Prusa as a historical source
Public speaker, philosopher and traveler, Dio of Prusa is undoubtedly one of the most interesting individuals originating from the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire. Among his many preserved works, the Seventh or the Euboean discourse should be singled out for its unique narrative form and sophisticated moral message. Many peculiar details in this discourse offer potential information for the historians, yet the value of the discourse as a historical source was more often than not dismissed by modern authors, on the grounds of the supposedly fictitious nature of the story. Varied opinions were expressed in this context, including those that the discourse is an ancient novel or an utopia. However, the discourse contains authentic details, such as a shipwreck on the south-east coast of Euboea, near the so-called “Hollows of Euboea”, execution of a powerful local man and confiscation of his property, popular assembly in session that corresponds well with what we now of similar institutions at this time, several remarks on citizens under arms that are also well within the limits of reality, and, finally, a description of agricultural and urban decay of the unnamed Euboean city, generally true for the contemporary Euboea. Corroboration of these details does not, however, mean that Dio’s fable should be accepted at its face value, although the possibility that an actual event lies at the core of the story cannot be excluded. Rather, the discourse in its present shape is a work of Dio’s old age and it clearly has a philosophical (ethical) purpose to fill. But this point does not undermine the value of the Euboean discourse as a historical source. Not unlike ancient novels, with which the discourse is frequently compared, it borrows significant elements from everyday reality. Apparently, Dio does not contrast his mythical idyll of Euboean hunters with another mythical scenery but with the actual city life of his day. Therefore, the use of the Euboean discourse as a historical source is both acceptable and highly desirable.
Keywords: Dio of Prusa, The Euboean Discourse, Historical Source, Second Sophistics, Philosophy, Utopia.
Eubejska beseda Diona iz Pruse kao istorijski izvor
Apstrakt
U bogatoj, mada nepotpuno očuvanoj, književnoj zaostavštini Diona iz Pruse posebno se ističe Sedma ili Eubejska beseda. U pitanju je delo izuzetno po sadržaju, kompoziciji i filozofskoj poruci. Ono pruža mnogo pojedinosti korisnih za istoričare, ali je često odbacivano kao neveredostojno i stoga je samo selektivno upotrebljavano kao historijski izvor. Mnoge detalje iz Dionovog teksta je, međutim, moguće verifikovati oslanjanjem na druge narativne ili epigrafske izvore i na taj nači doći do objektivne slike o značaju besede kao istorijskog izvora.
Ključne reči: Dion iz Pruse, Eubejska beseda, istorijski izvor, druga sofistika, filozofija, utopija.
El orfismo en Luciano y la Segunda Sofística
by Marco Antonio Santamaría Álvarez
A. Bernabé-F. Casadesús (eds.), Orfeo y la tradición órfica: un reencuentro, Madrid, 2008, 1411-1442.
Download (.pdf) Review of Antonino M. Milazzo, Dimensione retorica e realtà politica. Dione di Prusa nelle orazioni III, V, VII, VIII
Gnomon: Kritische Zeitschrift für die gesamte klassische Altertumswissenschaft , Vol. 81, 2009, 556-559
Favorinus von Arelate und die keltische Religion, Keltische Forschungen 1 (2006) 29–58
In der bis heute maßgeblichen Sammlung der antiken literarischen Quellen zur Religion der Kelten von Johannes ZWICKER... more
In der bis heute maßgeblichen Sammlung der antiken literarischen Quellen zur Religion der Kelten von Johannes ZWICKER sind zwei Texte aufgenommen worden, in denen der Rhetor und Philosoph Favorinus von Arelate eine ganz zentrale Rolle spielt. Der eine stammt aus der Feder von Favorinus’ Erzrivalen Polemon, der in seiner Physiognomonik ein gehässiges Porträt eines keltischen Eunuchen zeichnet, dem nebst anderem unterstellt wird, schwarze Magie betrieben zu haben. Es steht außer Zweifel, wurde aber nicht immer erkannt, daß Polemon hier auf Favorinus abzielte, den er mit einem derartigen Vorwurf diskreditieren wollte. Der andere Text ist die kurze Schrift `HraklÁj von Lukianos, in der das Bild des rätselhaften gallischen Gottes Ogmios beschrieben wird, dessen Bedeutung dem Lukianos erst durch die Erklärungen eines namenlosen keltischen Philosophen erschlossen wird. Diesen Philosophen hat man in der Forschung wiederholt als Druiden angesprochen. Dagegen hat Eugenio AMATO in einer jüngst erschienenen Untersuchung überzeugend zeigen können, daß sich hinter diesem Kelten niemand anderer als Favorinus verbirgt. Der Umstand, daß die beschriebene Person an beiden Stellen nicht beim Namen genannt wird, hatte die kuriose Folge, daß in der modernen Sekundärliteratur Favorinus das eine Mal zu einem namenlosen keltischen Magier zweifelhafter Reputation, das andere Mal zu einem gleichfalls anonymen, aber ehrwürdigen Druiden gemacht wurde.
In the to this day standard collection of the ancient literary testimonies on Celtic religion from Johannes ZWICKER two texts were included, in which the rhetor and philosopher Favorinus of Arelate plays a significant rôle. The first is from Favorinus’ arch-enemy Polemo, who in his treatise on physiognomy portrays a Celtic eunuch, who is purported to have practiced black magic. It is beyond doubt, but was not always realized, that Polemo had Favorinus in view, whom he tried to bring into discredit with this kind of accusation. The other text is the short opus `HraklÁj of Lucian, where the picture of the enigmatic Gaulish god Ogmios is described, whose meaning is revealed to Lucian only by the explanations of an unnamed Celtic philosopher. This philosopher repeatedly was identified by scholarship as druid. Contrary to this notion, Eugenio AMATO has convincingly argued in a recently published article that this Celt is identical with Favorinus. The fact that in both texts the names of the described persons aren’t given had the curious result that in modern scientific literature Favorinus was converted into a nameless Celtic magician of dubious reputation respectively into a likewise anonymous but honorable druid.
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