Greek Literature and the Ideal: The Pragmatics of Space from the Archaic to the Hellenistic Age. Oxford 2022 (original) (raw)
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Architectonic and Rural Space in Ancient Greek Tragedy: Examples from Aeschylus and Euripides
Actual Problems of Theory and History of Art No13, 2023
Exploration of space ontology and epistemology, which first emerged in Homer and Hesiod, continued through Pre-Socratic philosophy and the lyric poets. Indicatively, Sappho's poetry reflects a multitude of philosophical and spatial ideas of her time 1. Besides the poetic and philosophical level, this investigation continued to preoccupy ancient Greeks intensively on a mythological and geographical level as well. Specifically, this study examines the geographical and cosmological dimensions of space as ecumene, as cosmos [24], and as a product of the four primary elements' materiality. The research also considered relevant theories such as the theory of content in Plato's Timaeus, Aristotle's theory of topos (Physics II) 2 , as well as Stoic and Epicurean concepts of space and emptiness [1]. The paper intends to explore some spatial archetypes in Athenian tragedy, referring to architectural space, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, to mountainous space as a carrier and receiver of aspects of the divine, as well as the interaction between the divine and the human in two emblematic mountains, Cithaeron and Caucasus, theaters of action or epiphany of Dionysus and Prometheus in Euripides' Bacchae and Aeschylus' Prometheus Bound, respectively. Both of these tragedies unfold in the earthly sphere, even if in Prometheus Bound the troupe is divine [7, p. 96]. The analysis here includes the following: A brief account of the intertwining of myth, without which drama is inconceivable, and space; universal and particular dimensions of mountains as a reflection of the contrasting characteristics of Prometheus and Dionysus; a commentary on Cithaeron and Caucasus as seats of tragic divinity; an interpretation of the role of Thebes, a rival of Athens in the vicinity of Cithaeron, as the theater of most Athenian tragedies, and, finally, the aesthetic categories of the sublime, the uncanny and the beautiful in the two tragedies of reference.
The relationship between the Greek novel and the 'real world' deserves reconsideration. Because the Greek-speaking provinces of the Roman Empire have recently inspired a large number of publications, this paper aims at delivering some remarks relative to the sort of historical informations which can be drawn from these texts, so far improperly characterized as 'ideal novels'.Concerning elite, for instance, wealth appears to be more important than eugeneia, even if it allows to perform prestige through the same social practices of differentiation than before. Secondary roles and even groups of ordinary people (sailors , goatherds) display a large description of Greek civic societies, not restricted to the elite.
By the Elite, for the Elite? The Audience of the Ancient Greek Novel
Journal of historical studies, 2016
Until fairly recently the Greek novel was of little to no interest to historians of antiquity. Within the previous few decades however academic opinion on the genre has steadily grown more favourable to the point where study of the Greek novel has experienced something of a revival, consequentially resulting in the rehabilitation of the genre into the internationally recognized wider corpus of canonical ancient literature. As a result of this invigorated engagement scholars have, quite naturally, deliberated over sociological aspects of the Greek novel within the historical context of its conception. Of paramount importance within this discussion has been the question of the novel’s intended and unintended ancient readership, as it is known that most, if not all, of the Greek novels were circulated widely throughout the Roman Empire, especially within the Greek-speaking Eastern Mediterranean, from the mid 1st century CE to the late 4th century.