Intentional history : spinning time in ancient Greece ; [papers ... presented at the Conference "Intentionale Geschichte - Spinning Time" at the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg on September, 14-16, 2006

The contributions assembled in this volume study the social function and functioning of notions and ideas about the past held by groups and individuals, with a special focus on ancient Greece but including comparative contributions on early China and on the function of the classical past in modern European culture. Special attention is devoted to the past as a foundation for collective identities and to the ways in which the goals and needs of specific groups impacted its representation and transmission. Contributions range in time from the archaic age to the Roman Empire, covering aspects such as the representation of the past in visual arts, the function of myth and its representation in literary and visual genres, the relationship of historiography to social memory, and the way that the past features in Greek religion. Monuments, literary texts, and inscriptions are investigated in order to reconstruct the rich texture of Greek social memory and its development over time. Introduction -- Lin Foxhall and Nino Luraghi Representations of the past in Greek culture -- Hans-Joachim Gehrke Myth as past? : On the temporal aspect of Greek depictions of legend -- Luca Giuliani The Trojan War's reception in early Greek lyric, iambic and elegiac poetry -- Ewen Bowie The great rhetra (Plut. Lyc. 6) : a retrospective and intentional construct? -- Massimo Nafissi Collective identities, imagined past, and Delphi -- Maurizio Giangiulio Fish heads and mussel-shells : visualizing Greek identity -- Joseph Skinner Media for Theseus, or the different images of the Athenian polis-hero -- Ralf von den Hoff Ulterior motives in ancient historiography : what exactly, and why? -- Kurt Raaflaub Tragic memories of Dionysos -- Renate Schlesier Connecting with the pat in Lykourgan Athens : an epigraphic perspective -- Stephen Lambert Intentional history : Alexander, Demosthenes and Thebes -- Ian Worthington The demos as narrator : public honors and the construction of future and past -- Nino Luraghi God and king as synoikists : divine disposition and monarchic wishes combined in the traditions of city foundations for Alexander's and Hellenistic times -- Kostas Buraselis "They that held Arkadia" : Arcadian foundation myths as intentional history in Roman Imperial times -- Tania J. Scheer Ethnography of the nomads and "barbarian" history in Han China -- Nicola Di Cosmo Beyond intentional history : a phenomenological model of the idea of history -- Jonas Grethlein Constructing antiquity and modernity in the eighteenth century : distantiation, alterity, proximity, immanency -- Kostas Vlassopoulos. CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 1. INTRODUCTION 2. GREEK REPRESENTATIONS OF THE PAST 3. MYTH AS PAST? ON THE TEMPORAL ASPECT OF GREEK DEPICTIONS OF LEGEND 4. THE TROJAN WAR’S RECEPTION IN EARLY GREEK LYRIC, IAMBIC AND ELEGIAC POETRY 5. THE GREAT RHETRA (PLUT. LYC. 6): A RETROSPECTIVE AND INTENTIONAL CONSTRUCT? 6. COLLECTIVE IDENTITIES, IMAGINED PAST, AND DELPHI 7. FISH HEADS AND MUSSEL-SHELLS: VISUALIZING GREEK IDENTITY 8. MEDIA FOR THESEUS, OR: THE DIFFERENT IMAGES OF THE ATHENIAN POLIS-HERO 9. ULTERIOR MOTIVES IN ANCIENT HISTORIOGRAPHY: WHAT EXACTLY, AND WHY? 10. TRAGIC MEMORIES OF DIONYSOS 11. CONNECTING WITH THE PAST IN LYKOURGAN ATHENS: AN EPIGRAPHICAL PERSPECTIVE 12. INTENTIONAL HISTORY: ALEXANDER, DEMOSTHENES AND THEBES 13. THE DEMOS AS NARRATOR: PUBLIC HONOURS AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF FUTURE AND PAST 14. GOD AND KING AS SYNOIKISTS: DIVINE DISPOSITION AND MONARCHIC WISHES COMBINED IN THE TRADITIONS OF CITY FOUNDATIONS FOR ALEXANDER’S AND HELLENISTIC TIMES 15. “THEY THAT HELD ARKADIA.” ARKADIAN FOUNDATION MYTHS AS INTENTIONAL HISTORY IN ROMAN IMPERIAL TIMES 16. ETHNOGRAPHY OF THE NOMADS AND ‘BARBARIAN’ HISTORY IN HAN CHINA 17. BEYOND INTENTIONAL HISTORY: A PHENOMENOLOGICAL MODEL OF THE IDEA OF HISTORY 18. CONSTRUCTING ANTIQUITY AND MODERNITY IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY: DISTANTIATION, ALTERITY, PROXIMITY, IMMANENCY