Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Introduction
- Theme, structure and narrative in Chariton
- The importance of sophists
- Lucian: a sophist's sophist
- The mendacity of Kalasiris and the narrative strategy of Heliodoros' Aithiopika
- The Emperor Julian on his predecessors
- Greek translations of Latin literature in the fourth century A.D.
- The empress and the poet: paganism and politics at the court of Theodosius II
- Pastiche, pleasantry, prudish eroticism: the letters of ‘Aristaenetus’
- The date and purpose of the Philopatris
Introduction
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 06 December 2010
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Introduction
- Theme, structure and narrative in Chariton
- The importance of sophists
- Lucian: a sophist's sophist
- The mendacity of Kalasiris and the narrative strategy of Heliodoros' Aithiopika
- The Emperor Julian on his predecessors
- Greek translations of Latin literature in the fourth century A.D.
- The empress and the poet: paganism and politics at the court of Theodosius II
- Pastiche, pleasantry, prudish eroticism: the letters of ‘Aristaenetus’
- The date and purpose of the Philopatris
Summary
The present volume of Yale Classical Studies is devoted to essays on later Greek literature. The guiding intent which prompted this collection is indicated by the original advertizement for it, which was circulated informally in 1976: ‘A forthcoming volume of Yale Classical Studies will be devoted to “The Second Sophistic and Later Greek Literature”. We hope that the articles in this volume will highlight the literary excellence of undeservedly neglected authors, and help to attract readers and scholars to the riches of this era, which we might roughly define as reaching from Chariton to the Nonnians. Because so many of these later authors have suffered from a “bad press” and pejorative comparison with their classical predecessors, we will give preference to essays which sensibly correct such distortions. The history and text-history of these authors is, of course, relevant to such projects, but we are looking in most cases for solid general interpretations whose clear-sighted enthusiasm will spark interest and provoke discussion.’
The problem we felt then, that much excellent literature written in Greek under the Roman Empire was being chronically underrated, still exists, and it is still our hope that this volume will indeed draw more readers to the rewards and delights of post-Hellenistic Greek literature. The history of Greek literature is very long indeed, an ongoing story whose origins pre-date literacy and whose end is not in sight.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Later Greek Literature , pp. vii - xPublisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1982