Papers
Benjamin Jasnow, Courtney Evans, Jenny Strauss Clay - "Poetic and Geographical Organization in the Catalogue of Ships"
This paper argues that the town-by-town narratives of the Catalogue of Ships are organized according to the realities of local geography. The poet's methodical organization becomes apparent when lists of Catalogue sites are interpreted in light of two previously unnoticed units of oral compositional thought: syntactical and line-by-line groups, which frequently map onto local topographic features. In addition, we argue that the exceptional way that syntactical groups are used in the Boiotian contingent may suggest its origin in an oral-traditional Thebaid.
Catherine Kearns - "Cyprus in the Surging Sea: Spatial Imaginations of the Eastern Mediterranean"
Cyprus was a principal venue in classical antiquity where Greek, Roman, and Near Eastern worlds encountered one another, and yet it remains a type of backwater, excluded from dominant historical narratives of the first millennia b.c.e. and c.e. I argue that this construct reproduces ancient otherings of the island, which developed via persistent yet fluid topoi of liminality. Three registers of etic spatial imaginations – location and distance, economic geography, and royal, urban histories – reveal how its enigmatic depictions endured. I conclude by addressing their durability in modern scholarship, which situates Cyprus outside the ambit of the classical world.
Wei Cheng - "Δυσχέρεια and Ἀπορία: The Formation of a Philosophical Term"
Plato's nephew Speusippus has been widely accepted as the historical person behind the mask of the anti-hedonists in Phlb. 42b–44c. This hypothesis is supported by, inter alia, the link between Socrates' characterization of them as δυσχερεῖς and the frequent references of δυσχέρεια as ἀπορία to Speusippus in Aristotle's Metaphysics MN. This study argues against assigning any privileged status to Speusippus in the assimilation of δυσχέρεια with ἀπορία. Instead, based on a comprehensive survey of how δυσχερ- words were used in classical antiquity, the semantic shift of δυσχέρεια can be explained in an alternative way.
Kassandra Jackson Miller - "From Critical Days to Critical Hours: Galenic Refinements of Hippocratic Models"
This paper addresses the questions of when, why, and to what degree ancient physicians concerned themselves with temporal precision. Taking On Critical Days as a case study, it explores how Galen of Pergamum incorporates hourly timekeeping into his defense and refinement of Hippocratic "critical-day" schemes, designed to help physicians anticipate turning-points in febrile diseases. The paper proposes that Galen, in both his fever case histories and his astronomical explanations for critical days, uses hourly timekeeping to support certain claims about himself, his medical methodology, and the authority of Hippocrates.
Sander M. Goldberg - "Theater without Theater: Seeing Plays the Roman Way"
The Roman plays we know best, the comedies of Plautus and Terence, were first performed when we know least about where and how plays were staged. Greater attention to production values and advances in the study of Roman material culture offer new insights. This essay looks specifically at the Forum Romanum, a documented site for theatrical and gladiatorial shows in Republican Rome, combining textual and material evidence with computer-generated models to explore the possibilities for performances in this area. How the venue may have shaped the extant texts and what those texts may reveal about the venue are also considered.
Tom Keeline - "Model or Anti-Model?: Pliny on Uncle Pliny"
It is often assumed that Pliny the Younger refers to his uncle and adoptive father, Pliny the Elder, with unquestioning admiration. I argue that there is instead a deep ambivalence in the Younger's references to the Elder, especially in the triptych Ep. 3.5, 6.16, and 6.20, but also elsewhere in the Epistles. Far from trying to construct a literary monument to his uncle's memory, Pliny deliberately chips away at that ideal image. In his subtle critiques of the Elder, Pliny justifies his rejection of his uncle's choices in life and literature and instead crafts his own literary monument.
Neil Coffee - "An Agenda for the Study of Intertextuality"
The study of intertextuality has been a central pursuit of scholars of Greek and especially Latin literature. It promises to reveal the meaning of texts for original audiences, trace authorial influence, and illuminate an aspect of literary artistry. Yet inconsistent standards and the scattering of insights across publications have hindered progress. This article proposes restoring momentum toward the goals of intertextual study through an agenda of representing intertexts in a standard digital form susceptible to complex and systematic analysis.
Volume