Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
  1. Home
  2. Search

Refine search

Refine search

Access:
Content type:
Publication date:
Apply   From and To filters
Subject: Show more
Journals Show more
Publishers: Show more
Societies Show more
Series: Show more
Collections: Show more

Actions for selected content:

Select all | Deselect all
  • View selected items
  • Export citations
  • Download PDF (zip)
  • Save to Kindle
  • Save to Dropbox
  • Save to Google Drive

Save Search

You can save your searches here and later view and run them again in "My saved searches".

Please provide a title, maximum of 40 characters.
Cancel
×

1 results

  • 1 - “The Sweat of Eloquence”

  • Nathan D. Howard
  • Book:
    Christianity and the Contest for Manhood in Late Antiquity
    Published online:
    10 November 2022
    Print publication:
    24 November 2022, pp 63-102
    • Chapter
      • You have access
    • PDF
    • HTML
    • Export citation

  • Summary

    Chapter 1 treats the epistolary discourse of the Cappadocians as a simulation of agōn (contest) and as a locus for conspicuous display of aretē (manly virtue). It demonstrates that the Cappadocians staged literary exchanges as athletic and military ventures, enabling them to moderate a discourse on masculinity and to publicize the manhood of themselves and their addressees. The chapter explores how this culture of epistolary exhibition was rooted in the androcentric culture of paideia (education for elite males) and predicated on an ethos of competitive display similar to Second Sophistic oratory. The Cappadocians framed letter writing among intellectuals as an exercise in extreme exertion, one that promoted moral excellence. Unlike portrayals of verbal duels among orators, where winners and losers resulted in a zero-sum outcome, in letter exchanges the Cappadocians promoted character formation for both author and recipient.In orchestrating these exercises in character formation, the Cappadocians cut across religious lines and established themselves as moderators of late-fourth century masculinity.