4. The Meaning of Language Difference On misunderstanding language difference In relation to the standards against which he measures himself, the histōr of the Histories possesses a multi-lingual competence that contrasts with the sense of strangeness most Greek-speakers experience when confronted with any barbarian speech. In his narrative of the common origins of the oracles of Zeus-Ammon in Libya and of Zeus at Dodona, [… Read more
Bibliography Alty, J. 1982. “Dorians and Ionians.” JHS 102:1–14. Armayor, O. K. 1987. “Hecataeus’ Humor and Irony in Herodotus’ Narrative of Egypt.” AW 16:11–18. ———. 1978. “Herodotus’ Persian Vocabulary.” AW 1:4. Asad, T. 1986. “The Concept of Cultural Translation in British Social Anthro-pology.” In Clifford and Marcus 1986:141–164. Asheri, D. Read more
Acknowledgments It is a pleasure to acknowledge the many people who have contributed in large and small ways to the development of this book. They are: Susanna Braund, Don Cameron, Jenny Strauss Clay, Erwin Cook, John Miles Foley, Andrew Ford, Michael Gagarin, Traianos Gagos, John Garcia, Simon Goldhill, Richard Janko, Ludwig Koenen, Andre Lardinois, Richard Martin, Gregory Nagy, Jim Porter, Sara Rappe, Ruth Scodel, and Eva Stehle. Some were… Read more
Introduction: Toward an Understanding of Greek Poetic Contestation Denn weshalb soll Niemand der Beste sein? Weil damit der Wettkampf versiegen würde und der ewige Lebensgrund des hellenischen Staates gefährdet wäre. Why should no one be the best? Because then competition would end and the eternal source of life of the Hellenic state would be jeopardized. Nietzsche, Homer’s Wettkampf 1872 The purpose… Read more
Part I. Dramatic Representations of Verse Competition ἀγὼν γὰρ ἄνδρας οὐ μένει λελειμμένους The contest does not wait for men left behind. Aeschylus, fr. 37 TGF 1. Stichomythia Our point of departure will be to survey a variety of competitive verse sequences that are represented in tragedy and Old Comedy, starting with the phenomenon of stichomythia. In stichomythia… Read more
2. The ἀντιλαβή and Aristophanes’ Frogs 1198–1248 Old Comedy furnishes us not only with parallel statements that seem to include virtual definitions of tragic stichomythia (as e.g. above, Clouds 1374–75 with Eumenides 586), but it also provides examples of “stichomythic” exchanges that would lose their point if they were not meant to be understood as modeled on instances from tragedy. Heated confrontations, such as that between the… Read more
3. Stichomythia and σκώμματα: Euripides’ Cyclops, Aristophanes’ Wealth, and Plato’s Euthydemus One of the most interesting adaptations of stichomythia in satyr play and late Old Comedy is that its structure is deliberately made to incorporate ridicule and abuse. Something of the structural formalism of tragic stichomythia remains, but the main point is clearly for one member in the exchange to ridicule the other. The ridicule is enhanced… Read more
A Note on Terminology and Transliteration By way of explanation rather than apology, I should clarify what I mean by the term “literary” in the title of this book. I do not mean to claim that the Life and Miracles is high literature on the level of Homer, the tragedians, or the ideal Greek Romances. However, I would suggest that the difference between the Life and Miracles… Read more
Outline of the Life and Miracles of Thekla (chapter numbers based on the critical text, Dagron 1978:168–412) Life Preface 1–13at Iconium 14outside Iconium 15–24at Antioch 25–26at Myra 27–28from Myra to Iconium, then Seleukeia 29disappearance into the ground; spiritual activities Miracles Preface 1–4 Thekla fights against daimones 5–11various miracles of defending, helping, and healing locals 12two… Read more
Epigraph Et sic proficiscens de Anthiocia faciens iter per mansiones aliquot perueni ad prouinciam, quae Cilicia appellatur, quae habet ciuitatem metropolim Tharso, ubi quidem Tharso et eundo Ierusolimam iam fueram. Sed quoniam de Tharso tertia mansione, id est in Hisauria, est martyrium sanctae Teclae, gratum fuit satis ut etiam illuc ac-cedere, presertim cum tam in proximo esset. Nam proficiscens de Tharso perueni ad quandam ciuitatem… Read more
