The ancient aesthetics of deception : the ethics of enchantment from Gorgias to Heliodorus

The concept of mimesis has dominated reflection on the nature and role, in Greek literature, of representation. Jonas Grethlein, in his ambitious new book, takes this reflection a step further. He argues that, beyond mimesis, there was an important but unacknowledged strand of reflection focused instead on the nuanced idea of apatē (often translated into English as 'deceit'), oscillating between notions of 'deception' and 'aesthetic illusion'. Many authors from Gorgias and Plato to Philo, Plutarch and Clement of Alexandria used this key concept to entwine aesthetics with ethics. In creatively exploring the various reconfigurations of apatē, and placing these in their socio-historical contexts, the book offers a bold new history of ancient aesthetics. It also explores the present significance of the aesthetics of deception, unlocking the potential of ancient reflection for current debates on the ethical dimension of representation. It will appeal to scholars in classics and literary theory alike. Cover Half-title Title page Copyright information Contents List of Figures Acknowledgements Chapter 1 Gorgias and the Justice of Tragic Apate 1.1 Gorgias Fr. B 23 DK: Quotation and Meaning 1.2 The Transformations of Tradition in Gorgias Fr. B 23 DK Chapter 2 The Circulation and Significance of Apate in the Classical Era 2.1 Apate beyond Gorgias 2.2 Gorgias Fr. B 23 DK and Aristotle, Poetics 9: Aesthetic Illusion and Fictionality Chapter 3 The Dramatic Entanglement of Aesthetic Illusion with Deceit in Sophocles' Electra 3.1 An Experiential Narrative 3.2 Aesthetic Illusion and Deceit: An Uncanny Entanglement Chapter 4 Immersion and Corruption in Plato's Republic 4.1 The Pernicious Effect of Aesthetic Illusion 4.2 Plato's Reconfiguration of Gorgias' View of Aesthetic Experience 4.3 The Greatest Enemy of Art? Chapter 5 The Void of Hellenistic Criticism 5.1 Pleasure vs Instruction 5.2 Ekphrasis 5.3 Dionysius of Halicarnassus 5.4 Philo of Alexandria 5.5 Reasons for Apate's Fate in Hellenistic Criticism Chapter 6 The Appeal and Challenge of Apate in Imperial Criticism: Plutarch's De audiendis poetis 6.1 Gorgias Fr. B 23 DK in Context 6.2 Immersion Sidelined 6.3 Plutarch and the Hermeneutics of Suspicion 6.4 Immersion as a Means of Edification? 6.5 Plutarch's Resuscitation of Apate in Context Chapter 7 Lucian and the Spell of Philosophy 7.1 Philopseudes: The Spell of Superstition 7.2 The Satire of Conversation in Nigrinus 7.3 The Centaur of Philosophical Discourse in Hermotimus 7.4 Beyond Philosophy: Calumniae Chapter 8 How to Read Ekphrasis: The Tabula Cebetis 8.1 Aesthetics without Ethics: The Philostrati and Callistratus 8.2 The Ambiguity of Apate in the Tabula Cebetis 8.3 A Response to Lucian Chapter 9 Christian Polemics against Idolatry: Clement of Alexandria's Protrepticus 9.1 Between Debt and Critique: Protrepticus and Greek Culture 9.2 Apate and Idolatry Chapter 10 The Aesthetics of Deception Reconfigured in Heliodorus' Ethiopica 10.1 Calasiris' Narration: Aesthetic Illusion vs Deception? 10.2 Thisbe's Plot 10.3 In Plato's Cave 10.4 The Allegory of Apate Chapter 11 From Deepfake to Psychotherapy: The Aesthetics of Deception Today 11.1 The Relotius Scandal: Deceit and Story-Telling in Journalism 11.2 Visual Deception: The Power of Images 11.3 The Idea of Simulation in Hollywood Movies 11.4 Plato in Psychotherapy Bibliography Index Locorum General Index "The concept of mimēsis has dominated reflection on the nature and role of representation in Greek literature. Jonas Grethlein, in his ambitious new book, takes this reflection a step further. He argues that, beyond mimēsis, there was an important but unacknowledged strand of reflection focused instead on the nuanced idea of apatē (often translated into English as 'deceit'), oscillating between notions of 'deception' and 'aesthetic illusion'. Many authors from Gorgias and Plato to Philo, Plutarch and Clement of Alexandria used this key concept to entwine aesthetics with ethics. In creatively exploring the various reconfigurations of apatē, and placing these in their socio-historical contexts, the book offers a bold new history of ancient aesthetics. It also explores the present significance of the aesthetics of deception, unlocking the potential of ancient reflection for current debates on the ethical dimension of representation. It will appeal to scholars in classics and literary theory alike."-- Provided by publisher A bold new history of ancient aesthetics which offers a nuanced understanding of the effects, in Greek literature, of representation. It argues that the key concept of apatē (meaning both 'deception' and 'aesthetic illusion') was used by writers from the Classical to the Imperial periods to entwine aesthetics with ethics.