The Author's Voice in Classical and Late Antiquity
Anna Marmodoro and Jonathan Hill
Abstract
What significance does the voice or projected persona in which a text is written have for our understanding of the meaning of that text? This volume explores the persona of the author in antiquity, from Homer to late antiquity, taking into account both Latin and Greek authors from a range of disciplines. It contains chapters on pseudepigraphy and fictional letters, as well as the use of texts as authoritative in philosophical schools, and the ancient ascription of authorship to works of art. The thirteen essays are divided into two main sections, the first of which focusses on the diverse form ... More
What significance does the voice or projected persona in which a text is written have for our understanding of the meaning of that text? This volume explores the persona of the author in antiquity, from Homer to late antiquity, taking into account both Latin and Greek authors from a range of disciplines. It contains chapters on pseudepigraphy and fictional letters, as well as the use of texts as authoritative in philosophical schools, and the ancient ascription of authorship to works of art. The thirteen essays are divided into two main sections, the first of which focusses on the diverse forms of writing adopted by various ancient authors, and the different ways these forms were used to present and project an authorial voice. The second part of the volume considers questions regarding authority and ascription in relation to the authorial voice. In particular, the volume looks at how later readers—and authors of later texts—may understand the authority of a text's author or supposed author.
Keywords:
authorial voice,
Homer,
Caesar,
Xenophon,
Greek tragedy,
Cicero,
Pliny,
Horace,
Polybius,
Apuleius,
sphragides,
Plato,
Socrates,
Plotinus,
Neoplatonism,
pseudepigraphy,
Ignatius of Antioch,
visual culture
Bibliographic Information
| Print publication date: 2013 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780199670567 |
| Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: January 2014 |
DOI:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199670567.001.0001 |
Authors
Affiliations are at time of print publication.
Anna Marmodoro, editor
Fellow in Philosophy, Corpus Christi College, University of Oxford
Jonathan Hill, editor
Research Officer, University of Oxford
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