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Papers by Wilfred E Major
The Classical Journal, 2007
1 2 (2 0 1 5) ! i! About Didaskalia Didaskalia (!"!#$%#&ί#) is the term used since ancient t... more 1 2 (2 0 1 5) ! i! About Didaskalia Didaskalia (!"!#$%#&ί#) is the term used since ancient times to describe the work a playwright did to teach his chorus and actors the play. The official records of the dramatic festivals in Athens were the !"!#$%#&ί#". Didaskalia now furthers the scholarship of the ancient performance. Didaskalia is an English-language, online publication about the performance of Greek and Roman drama, dance, and music. We publish peer-reviewed scholarship on performance and reviews of the professional activity of artists and scholars who work on ancient drama. We welcome submissions on any aspect of the field. If you would like your work to be reviewed, please write to editor@didaskalia.net at least three weeks in advance of the performance date. We also seek interviews with practitioners and opinion pieces. For submission guidelines, go to didaskalia.net.
Comic Invective in Ancient Greek and Roman Oratory, 2021
Harvard Studies in Classical Philology, 2013
Argumentation and Advocacy, 1998
AGE is a digital resource for students of the 21st century who know English and want to learn Gre... more AGE is a digital resource for students of the 21st century who know English and want to learn Greek. Every explanation and exercise has been designed and tested to make translation from English to Greek (or Greek to English) as smooth and direct as possible. Sometimes we make use of the tools of the nineteenth century, because they are still the most effective tools we know. Understanding the sounds of letters and parts of speech remains straightforward and powerful, but we use these tools purposefully. AGE is a gateway to learning a rich and fascinating language. To promote increased student engagement with the Greek language as they move through the core material of AGE, each lesson chapter includes: A list of key terms and concepts at the end of each lesson chapter, to facilitate an understanding of how Greek works as a language. References to the section numbers in Greek Grammar, by H.W. Smyth (abbreviated as “S”). These references provide interested students and instructors a c...
This appendix collects and catalogues references to "rhetorical" language, its practitioners and ... more This appendix collects and catalogues references to "rhetorical" language, its practitioners and its contexts in fifth-century Greek comedy. In the main text, many of the subjects of these entries are discussed in the context of a chronological progression. Here, entries group all the relevant citations by subject for ease of consultation and reference. This catalog comprises three categories. (1) The first section catalogues terminology in comedy that designates or characterizes "proto-rhetorical" language in the fifth century, i.e., the language that later came to be reckoned as the beginnings of formal rhetoric. By "proto-rhetorical," I mean language that comedy singles out for its unorthodoxy (and usually its ethical dimension as well), but which was not yet focalized in the discipline later known as "rhetoric" (cf. the Introduction). (2) The next section catalogues references to speakers and theoretical explorers of language, including those who later come to be reckoned the pioneers of rhetoric. These practitioners include individuals and groups, sometimes named and sometimes not, from politicians who had to deliver public speeches as part of their activity to philosophers who contributed to the debate and development of rhetorical theory. (3) The last section lists and summarizes passages that describe or dramatize institutions associated with the theory and practice of rhetoric in the political arena (the Assembly, Council, and courts), as well as training or philosophical mechanisms for transmitting and advancing the intellectual exploration that would become formalized as rhetoric. References to political and philosophical institutions focus on how comedy depicts their relationship to rhetoric, but other references to them in comedy are cited as necessary to provide context for the depictions of these institutions more generally.
Rhetoric and Public Affairs, 2020
Choice Reviews Online, 2014
Greek Roman and Byzantine Studies, 1997
M EN ANDER SUFFERED the misfortune of living in interesting times.1 An Athenian by birth, he was ... more M EN ANDER SUFFERED the misfortune of living in interesting times.1 An Athenian by birth, he was still an infant when Philip scored a victory at Chaeronea in 338. He would have been undergoing his ephebic training during the complementary defeats at Amorgos by sea and Cronnon by land, on the heels of which came Athens' unconditional surrender in 322. A few months after Antipater installed a military garrison at Athens-and, by imposing a property requirement for franchise, officially ended the democracy-Menander made his debut with his first play while still an ephebe. 2 Tumultuous events dogged Athens during the next thirty years that encompass Menander's dramatic career. In the wake of the maneuvering after Antipater's death in 319, Athenian democrats took charge briefly and bloodily. Subsequently Cas sander installed Demetrius of Phalerum to rule over and stabilize Athens. A decade later, however, the Athenians rejected this Demetrius in favor of Demetrius Poliorcetes....
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000
Greek Roman and Byzantine Studies, 1997
Classical Greek Rhetorical Theory and the Disciplining of Discourse, 2010
Southern Communication Journal, 1997
Smeltzer organizes his reply under two headings, each a question. We address Smeltzer's argu... more Smeltzer organizes his reply under two headings, each a question. We address Smeltzer's arguments under the same headings. Under the first question," Did Gorgias utilize an identifiable quantitative scheme for arranging his speeches?", Smeltzer misconstrues our claim about Gorgias. He acts as if we believe Gorgias followed no organizational principle whatsoever. Smeltzer originally argued that Gorgias employed the classical quadripartite division of speeches into introduction, narrative, argument, and conclusion. We argued in ...
The Classical Journal, 2007
1 2 (2 0 1 5) ! i! About Didaskalia Didaskalia (!"!#$%#&ί#) is the term used since ancient t... more 1 2 (2 0 1 5) ! i! About Didaskalia Didaskalia (!"!#$%#&ί#) is the term used since ancient times to describe the work a playwright did to teach his chorus and actors the play. The official records of the dramatic festivals in Athens were the !"!#$%#&ί#". Didaskalia now furthers the scholarship of the ancient performance. Didaskalia is an English-language, online publication about the performance of Greek and Roman drama, dance, and music. We publish peer-reviewed scholarship on performance and reviews of the professional activity of artists and scholars who work on ancient drama. We welcome submissions on any aspect of the field. If you would like your work to be reviewed, please write to editor@didaskalia.net at least three weeks in advance of the performance date. We also seek interviews with practitioners and opinion pieces. For submission guidelines, go to didaskalia.net.
Comic Invective in Ancient Greek and Roman Oratory, 2021
Harvard Studies in Classical Philology, 2013
Argumentation and Advocacy, 1998
AGE is a digital resource for students of the 21st century who know English and want to learn Gre... more AGE is a digital resource for students of the 21st century who know English and want to learn Greek. Every explanation and exercise has been designed and tested to make translation from English to Greek (or Greek to English) as smooth and direct as possible. Sometimes we make use of the tools of the nineteenth century, because they are still the most effective tools we know. Understanding the sounds of letters and parts of speech remains straightforward and powerful, but we use these tools purposefully. AGE is a gateway to learning a rich and fascinating language. To promote increased student engagement with the Greek language as they move through the core material of AGE, each lesson chapter includes: A list of key terms and concepts at the end of each lesson chapter, to facilitate an understanding of how Greek works as a language. References to the section numbers in Greek Grammar, by H.W. Smyth (abbreviated as “S”). These references provide interested students and instructors a c...
This appendix collects and catalogues references to "rhetorical" language, its practitioners and ... more This appendix collects and catalogues references to "rhetorical" language, its practitioners and its contexts in fifth-century Greek comedy. In the main text, many of the subjects of these entries are discussed in the context of a chronological progression. Here, entries group all the relevant citations by subject for ease of consultation and reference. This catalog comprises three categories. (1) The first section catalogues terminology in comedy that designates or characterizes "proto-rhetorical" language in the fifth century, i.e., the language that later came to be reckoned as the beginnings of formal rhetoric. By "proto-rhetorical," I mean language that comedy singles out for its unorthodoxy (and usually its ethical dimension as well), but which was not yet focalized in the discipline later known as "rhetoric" (cf. the Introduction). (2) The next section catalogues references to speakers and theoretical explorers of language, including those who later come to be reckoned the pioneers of rhetoric. These practitioners include individuals and groups, sometimes named and sometimes not, from politicians who had to deliver public speeches as part of their activity to philosophers who contributed to the debate and development of rhetorical theory. (3) The last section lists and summarizes passages that describe or dramatize institutions associated with the theory and practice of rhetoric in the political arena (the Assembly, Council, and courts), as well as training or philosophical mechanisms for transmitting and advancing the intellectual exploration that would become formalized as rhetoric. References to political and philosophical institutions focus on how comedy depicts their relationship to rhetoric, but other references to them in comedy are cited as necessary to provide context for the depictions of these institutions more generally.
Rhetoric and Public Affairs, 2020
Choice Reviews Online, 2014
Greek Roman and Byzantine Studies, 1997
M EN ANDER SUFFERED the misfortune of living in interesting times.1 An Athenian by birth, he was ... more M EN ANDER SUFFERED the misfortune of living in interesting times.1 An Athenian by birth, he was still an infant when Philip scored a victory at Chaeronea in 338. He would have been undergoing his ephebic training during the complementary defeats at Amorgos by sea and Cronnon by land, on the heels of which came Athens' unconditional surrender in 322. A few months after Antipater installed a military garrison at Athens-and, by imposing a property requirement for franchise, officially ended the democracy-Menander made his debut with his first play while still an ephebe. 2 Tumultuous events dogged Athens during the next thirty years that encompass Menander's dramatic career. In the wake of the maneuvering after Antipater's death in 319, Athenian democrats took charge briefly and bloodily. Subsequently Cas sander installed Demetrius of Phalerum to rule over and stabilize Athens. A decade later, however, the Athenians rejected this Demetrius in favor of Demetrius Poliorcetes....
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000
Greek Roman and Byzantine Studies, 1997
Classical Greek Rhetorical Theory and the Disciplining of Discourse, 2010
Southern Communication Journal, 1997
Smeltzer organizes his reply under two headings, each a question. We address Smeltzer's argu... more Smeltzer organizes his reply under two headings, each a question. We address Smeltzer's arguments under the same headings. Under the first question," Did Gorgias utilize an identifiable quantitative scheme for arranging his speeches?", Smeltzer misconstrues our claim about Gorgias. He acts as if we believe Gorgias followed no organizational principle whatsoever. Smeltzer originally argued that Gorgias employed the classical quadripartite division of speeches into introduction, narrative, argument, and conclusion. We argued in ...
De Gruyter, Trends in Classics, Supplementary Volumes, 2021
This was a paper that I had drafted and submitted before I resigned from academe, but I share it ... more This was a paper that I had drafted and submitted before I resigned from academe, but I share it here, hoping that its argument and observations will still be of value.
review of Philip S. Peek, Ancient Greek I: a 21st-century approach, 2022
I was asked to review this volume for a prominent review journal, but they later declined to publ... more I was asked to review this volume for a prominent review journal, but they later declined to publish it, first because of the length (exceeding their limit only because of the appendix of corrections) and then criticizing my review for violating their standards in that it judges the volume for not being what I would have written. I disagree with the criticism, but by the time they had communicate it to me, I had decided to depart academe anyway. I share my review here for those who may find my perspective, or at least the list of corrigenda, helpful. I stand by my comments, both negative and positive. I like to think that readers of my work overall, especially of Greek pedagogical materials, find that I am judicious about my judgments, and while I do have ideas that I canvas for, I am not narrowly fixated on others doing things only as I wish. Here I honestly conclude that this volume, in some respects, offers promises that it does not fulfill, and that I find disappointing.]