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No general agreement has yet been reached about the meaning and purpose of Plato's Menexenus. Two mutually exclusive readings have generally been given: Socrates' funeral oration could be either a parody and a satire of Athens' funeral speeches or an example of better, idealistic, maybe even philosophically grounded rhetoric. However, the problem does not only come from the dichotomy present in most scholars' works. It lies, instead, in the ambiguity of the text itself. This paper aims to clarify the serious implications that parody can have. Exemplarity and parody, irony and seriousness should not be considered as mutually exclusive because an imitation that seriously demonstrates how easy it is to write a good epitaph can be understood as a form of parody. In fact, Plato's Menexenus seems to be a school manifesto: it recalls Callicles' charges against the educational value of philosophical practices (Grg. 484c-485d). Therefore, it may be directed against Isocrates' conception of rhetoric as related to education and politics. The mention of the Peace of Antalcidas (245c) will then prove the topical and thus political character of this work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the most common expedients for preventing conflicts, especially from the Hellenistic period onwards, was the recourse to interstate arbitrations. The phenomenon was not restricted only to the great powers of the day; smaller states would often resort to the process in order to pursue their own interests through less demanding, in militaristic and financial, terms. From the Archaic period to the Hellenistic and Roman periods, and from prominent poleis like Athens and Sparta to smaller ones, the past was prominently used in the context of interstate arbitrations to legitimise claims or actual possession of territories. A favourable verdict would offer direct and tangible benefits for the winning side. However, much like its use in the political discourse, the past played a central role in the arbitrating courts. More so, a positive verdict was not only the outcome of compelling argumentation, but it was supported by historical evidence both in the form of mythical and/or historical accounts and of historical memories. Thus, alongside the many practical benefits, there are other, at least equally, important advantages; namely, the effective alteration of the modes of self-representation and the ability to mould civic identities. This paper will discuss various instances of the use of the past within the interstate arbitration corpus and will examine its central position in yet another aspect of the political life of Ancient Greece, especially from the Hellenistic period onwards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lucian, one of the most prolific authors during the Second Sophistic, is famous for his multifaceted and manifold literary production. His works are dealing with different topics such as literary criticism, philosophy and myth, and display a wide range of various stylistic devices such as irony, parody and satire. Especially the art of rhetoric is highly present in his texts. This has been emphasized in different works regarding his theoretical writings. This reflects the importance of the rhetorical handbooks, the progymnasmata, which were flourishing during the Second Sophistic and had a strong influence on Lucian. However, the rhetorical approach in Lucian's shorter dialogues has not attracted much attention. An exhaustive commentary on the dialogues is also missing. This paper focusses on Dialogue of the Dead (28) and analyses the rhetoric used by the figures in this dialogue. It is shown that Lucian - in a playful manner - displays different modes of persuasion (especially logos and pathos) with the help of his figures Protesilaos and Pluto arguing in the dialogue with each other. In addition to this treatment of the dialogue, the influence of the progymnasmata is also discussed. Further, it is argued that the dialogue can be seen as a 'model' for rhetoric in practice. Therefore, the dialogue fulfills two purposes: rhetorical education and entertainment by using myth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Gorgias is frequently read as a dialogue in which Socrates fails to convince especially his last interlocutor Callicles to adopt a philosophical way of life. Instead, Callicles becomes increasingly indignant about the repeated refutation of his personal convictions and eventually refuses to participate in the conversation any longer. In general scholars explain this result by Callicles' recalcitrance. It is supposed that the dialogue illustrates the impossibility of persuasion if an interlocutor refuses to cooperate - which would imply certain limitations of the Socratic elenchus. In contrast, this paper demonstrates that Socrates indeed achieves his aim of shaking Callicles' faith. By decoding the medicine and court imagery, ubiquitous throughout the whole dialogue, it will be argued that, far from being an illustration of failure, the text instead indicates that Socrates' conversation with Callicles is successful - and thus proves the efficacy of the elenctic method even on reluctant opponents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper will investigate a well-attested closural device in Lucretius' De rerum natura: the recurrence of world destruction scenarios as the conclusion both to single literary passages and to single books. The argumentation will be divided into two parts. The former will examine the most important examples of this literary scheme in Lucretius' poem (1.1104-1117; 2.1105-1174; 6.596-607) and will define their models, their aim and their features. The latter will give some further examples of "apocalyptic" closures in Latin literature between I century BC and I century AD. The analysis of these passages will show the persistent presence of allusions to Lucretius' poem, considered as an indisputable auctoritas of cosmic eschatological poetry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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In the modern era of Pindaric criticism, E. L. Bundy (1962) laid emphasis on the rhetorical nature of Pindaric discourse. His method was based on close reading, the par excellence interpretive key tool of New Criticism, and on a tradition of literary criticism using Rhetorisierung, an interpretive method introduced by German classical scholars at the beginning of the 20th century. In the postmodern era of classical studies the momentum of what is nowadays called New Ritualistic Movement (Kowalzig 2007) is urging most classical scholars to focus on a corrective effort. This effort entails that we should at least add a flare of contextualization to the Bundyan model, or at the most abandon it altogether. The appeal of the 'contextual' turn proves to be large. Thus, sketching the principles underlying the two major modern interpretive modes in Pindaric criticism looks as if these two modes represent antithetical poles that almost exclude each another. As a result, the paper focuses on Ol. 12 and selected passages of epinician odes, on which it is attempted to apply the ritualistic interpretive mode in juxtaposition to the Bundyan one. Its goal is to indicate that the best way to approach Pindar's epinician poetry is always to have in mind that our poet is consistently inconsistent, because the hic et nunc of each ode determine and shape the rhetorical devices that the poet has at his disposal and he finally uses in the ode. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Himerius is the primary source of knowledge about the teaching of rhetoric in Athens in the 4th century AD. The Polemarchic Oration (or. 6 Colonna) is the only fictive oration from Himerius preserved in full and the single declamation (μελέτη) survived from antiquity which imitates the Athenian funeral speeches. Despite considerable similarities, the term 'imitation' seems to apply just to a certain extent, for the speech follows the traditional contents quite freely. The passages from the Polemarchic Oration here analysed make it possible to understand how and why the Athenian funeral eloquence became many centuries later a subject suited for the needs of a teacher of rhetoric. This imaginary oration appears to be both a development of two preliminary exercises (προγυμνάσματα) typical of the Greek education in Imperial age, namely narration (διήγημα) and praise (ἐγκώμιον), and a display of Himerius's devotion to the Athenian cultural heritage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to social changes in the eleventh-century Byzantine Empire, extended family bonds strengthened, the importance of the military aristocracy increased, and the Komnenodoukai clan acquired an unassailable position. Contemporary literature also reflected these changes by presenting the motif of a well-trained noble juvenile owning luxurious hunting and military equipment. Its two main elements are noble birth and a manly appearance. The presentation of noble birth varies in Komnenian literature and three different aspects of this theme are identifiable. Historians strive to create imaginary blood lines between young men and mythological, biblical or historical rulers; orators extol youth's affiliation with the Komnenodoukai clan in an increased number of speeches and poems related to family events; and, finally, the same orators cease praising a humble origin in advisory literature. These aspects thereby indicate the increased importance of family bonds. The depiction of a young man's manly appearance occurs in the same context in all genres with closely related elements. A good physical condition results from a commitment to military training and hunting--the latter considered a complementary relaxing activity to engaging in warfare--, which, in turn, assist in perfecting a youth' s character by making him a brave and determined commander . Luxurious equipment complements this image, which embodies the enhanced self-esteem of the military aristocracy and the desire to present a respectable family status. The contribution aims to outline the increased interest of writers in the appearance and physical activities of their heroes, to discuss each element of this motif in detail, and, finally, to associate this motif with changes in the organization of Byzantine nobility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The tension between the two dominant educational disciplines, rhetoric and philosophy, has been a phenomenon of much relevancy in ancient literature ever since the time of Plato. The question of the problematic relationship between the two professions in the era of the so-called Second Sophistic has received much scholarly attention recently, nevertheless, some questions still remain unanswered. This article discusses to what extent, if at all, any strict boundaries exist between rhetoric and philosophy of this era. The evidence material includes mainly the works of Roman representatives of the Second Sophistic movement--Apuleius, Aulus Gellius and Marcus Cornelius Fronto; the Platonic corpus and works of Greek authors are used, as well, to complete the image. These suggest that if there actually is any sign of antagonism between the two disciplines, it has to be perceived as highly artificial and under the influence of the contemporary requirements. The need to provoke a reaction could be another strong motivation of these texts, since any kind of controversy was crucial to the self-presentation of anyone who pursued a career in rhetoric or philosophy. Eventually, there are aspects indicating that rhetoric and philosophy cooperated to anchor the position of the privileged elite as opposed to the new threat of democratization of educational institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]