Greek literature and the Roman empire : the politics of imitation

__Greek Literature and the Roman Empire__ uses up-to-date literary and cultural theory to explore the phenomenal rise of interest in literary writing in Greece under the Roman Empire. Greek identity cannot be properly understood without appreciating the brilliant sophistication of the writers of the period, whose texts must be considered in the historical and cultural context of the battles for identity that raged under the vast, multicultural Roman Empire. Machine generated contents note: Greek Literature and the Roman Empire Literature, Power, and Culture A Geography of the Imagination Imitation and Identity The Politics of Imitation PART ONE: THE POLITICS OF IMITATIO1 i. Repetition: The Crisis of Posterity A Secondary Society Repetition and Mimesis Rescuing Mimesis Sublime Mimesis Art and Artifice Conclusion: From 'Past and Present' to 'Prior and Posterior' 2. Education: Strategies of Self-Making Strategies of Self-Making Paideia and Social Status Paideia and Gender Paideia and Hellenism Pedagogy, Identity, Power PART TWO: GREECE AND ROME 3. Rome Uncivilized: Exile and the Kingdom Exile and the Kingdom Musonius Rufus, the 'Roman' 'Socrates' Dio Chrysostom: Exile and Sophistry Favorinus: Exile and Literary Alienation Conclusion 4. Civilizing Rome: Greek Pedagogy and the Roman Emperor Staging Philosophy: The Dionic Man The Kingship orations: Performance and/of Power Staging the Self: Sophistry in Motion Greek Pedagogy and Roman Rule Marcus Aurelius: Internalized Pedagogy Dio and Philostratus Conclusion: On Kingship 5. Satirizing Rome: Lucian Satire and Satirical Identity Rome, City of Spectacles The Satirical Show Nigrinus: Yearning for Philosophy The Wrongs of Passage: On salaried posts Conclusion Conclusion Appendices: i. Translation of Favorinus, On Exile (P.Vat. Ii) 2. The Performative Context of Dio's Kingship orations References Index Locorum Index of Greek Words General Index. "Greek Literature and the Roman Empire uses up-to-date literary and cultural theory to make a major and original contribution to the appreciation of Greek literature written under the Roman Empire during the second century C.E. (the so-called 'Second Sophistic'). The central preoccupations of this literature, particularly mimesis and paideia, constitute a crucial test-site for the exploration and dissemination of Greek identity during the period. Focusing upon a series of key texts by important authors (including Dio Chrysostom, Plutarch, Philostratus, Lucian, Favorinus, and the novelists), Whitmarsh argues that the recurrent narratives that stage Greekness as 'culture' and Romanness as 'power' are not innocent reflections of sociological realities, but self-interested and often playful 'performances' of cultural identity. Their authors' rich and complex engagement with the literary past articulates an ingenious and sophisticated response to their present socio-political circumstances. This book is written for those interested in the history of identity and imperialism as well as scholars of classical literature and society. All Greek and Latin is translated."--Jacket

Greek Literature and the Roman Empire uses up-to-date literary and cultural theory to explore the phenomenal rise of interest in literary writing in Greece under the Roman Empire. Greek identity cannot be properly understood without appreciating the brilliant sophistication of the writers of the period, whose texts must be considered in the historical and cultural context of the battles for identity that raged under the vast, multicultural Roman Empire.

Greek Literature and the Roman Empire uses up-to-date literary and cultural theory to explore the phenomenal rise of interest in literary writing in Greece under the Roman Empire. Greek identity cannot be properly understood without appreciating the brilliant sophistication of the writers of the period, whose texts must be considered in the historical and cultural context of the battles for identity that raged under the vast, multicultural Roman Empire. [publisher] In 1964 Bernard van Groningen responded to an invitation to speak on the subject of 'General literary tendencies of the second century AD' at the fourth International Congress of Classical Studies in Philadelphia.