Ancient Greek letter writing :: a cultural history, 600 BC- 150 BC /

The book offers a history of the development of letter writing in ancient Greece from the archaic to the early Hellenistic period. At the end of the fifth and beginning of the fourth century a turning point in epistolography takes place, as an epistolary language appropriate to, and standard for, pr...

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Bibliographische Detailangaben
1. Verfasser: Ceccarelli, Paola, 1962- (VerfasserIn)
Format: Elektronisch E-Book
Sprache:English
Veröffentlicht: Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2013.
Schlagworte:
Online-Zugang:Volltext
Zusammenfassung:The book offers a history of the development of letter writing in ancient Greece from the archaic to the early Hellenistic period. At the end of the fifth and beginning of the fourth century a turning point in epistolography takes place, as an epistolary language appropriate to, and standard for, private communication is developed. Highlighting the specificity of letter-writing, as opposed to other forms of communication and writing, the volume looks at documentary letters, but also traces the role of embedded letters in the texts of the ancient historians, in drama, and in the speeches of the orators. While a letter is in itself the transcription of an oral message and, as such, can be either truthful or deceitful, letters acquired negative connotations in the fifth century when used for transactions concerning the public and not the private sphere. Viewed as the instrument of tyrants or near eastern kings, these negative connotations were evident especially in Athenian drama, where comedy and tragedy testified to an underlying concern with epistolary communication. In other areas of the Greek world, such as Sparta or Crete, the letter may have been seen as an unproblematic instrument for managing public policies: inscriptions document the official use of letters by the Hellenistic kings, and by some poleis as well.
Beschreibung:1 online resource (xviii, 435 pages) : map
Bibliographie:Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN:9780191663079
0191663077
9780191757174
0191757179