A progymnasmatic analysis of Himerius's Polemarchic Oration (or. 6 Colonna).

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]