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This thesis looks at the genre of Greek declamation in the second and third centuries of the Common Era. Communis opinio sees the genre as 'nostalgic', a chance for Greeks dissatisfied with their political powerlessness under Rome to 'escape' to the glorious classical past of a free Greece. I argue, by contrast, that despite its famous classicism of language and theme, Greek declamation remains firmly anchored in the present of the Roman empire, and has much to say to that present. The thesis explores in three sections three contemporary contexts in which to read the genre. Each section is made up of two chapters, the first of which examines the context in question and reconstructs the sort of reading process it requires, while the second illustrates and explores that reading process through extended examples. In the first section (chapters one and two), Greek declamation is read in the context of the extraordinary developments in rhetorical theory that were taking place in this period: I argue that the reading of declamation through rhetorical theory was more widespread than has hitherto been appreciated, and that the relationship between theory and practice in declamation should ultimately be seen as dialogic. In the second and third sections (chapters three to six), the genre is read in its contemporary context more broadly. In the second section (chapters three to four), I explore how we might read declamation as 'mythology', that is, as a sort of safe space for exploring major contemporary concerns. In the third section, I make the case for 'metalepsis' in declamation, which I define as a breaking of the boundaries between a declamation and its immediate performance context, used above all by declaimers to talk about themselves and their careers, and also frequently to make reference to their audience.

This thesis aims to address the Greek attitude to their dream experience in the classical period, as it was conceived in theories and engaged with in dream practices. The emphasis is on the relationship between these elements and the wider cultural frames which surrounded them, in order both to illustrate the manner in which culture influences the conception of dreams, and also to use dreams themselves as a mirror to reflect parts of Greek culture. As a study it has been heavily shaped by the approaches to dreams developed by anthropologists, outlined in Chapter 2, who have emphasised the importance of studying dreams intra-culturally. In Chapter 3 I analyse the language that the Greeks used to express their dreaming experience, drawing from it the important way in which language was both determined by, and determined, the Greeks' understanding of the phenomenon. This forms a base for engaging with dream theories in Chapter 4, both the implicit allusions in literature and explicit explanations proposed by philosophers and medical writers. I then explore the theories at work within Greek culture via dreams as we see them active in the lived religion of the polis: I examine in Chapter 5 the dedications set up by individuals on account of spontaneous dreams, and in Chapter 6 the practice of incubation. I then turn to examine specific relationships: in Chapter 7, the association of dreams with status, i.e. the possibility that powerful people would have equally powerful dreams; in Chapter 8, dreams and gender, assessing the possibility that women considered their dreams to be more important than their male counterparts. In Chapter 9, I position dreams within the context of the other divinatory practices of the period, which allows us to see the unique ways in which dream practices functioned in comparison to the other divinatory forms.

This thesis investigates the construction and reflection of gender identities in the religious sphere, namely the gods, their worshippers, and the rituals which link them. Religiously-interested Greek texts written by Artemidoros, Pausanias, Plutarch and Heliodoros in the second and third centuries A.D. form the basis of four chapter- studies. The introduction explores how deploying gender as a tool for investigating the texts reveals the author's own perceptions of how male and female operate within his discourse, and considers how these perceptions relate to the world beyond the text. Chapter two examines Artemidoros' Interpretation of Dreams: his analytical system of dream interpretation reveals contemporary thought patterns. Artemidoros places striking reliance on gender in his structuring of divine and human power, and employs two differing divine models of gender, which have significant implications for the social construction of human gender. Chapter three emphasizes Pausanias' fascination with the marvellous in his Guide to Greece, and focuses on why he considers female priests more noteworthy than male. The problematic sexuality of female priests is frequently his focus in descriptions of myth and rite. The fourth chapter considers Plutarch's Pythian dialogues and Isis and Osiris. It is the marriage-like nature of their relationship with their gods that makes both human and divine females perfect mediators between worshippers and their male god, the Pythia with Apollo, and Isis with Osiris. Chapter five finds a middle way between opposing views that Heliodoros' An Ethiopian Story is either a religious mystery text or entertainment without religious meaning. It focuses on how the relationship between the two lovers, Theagenes and Charikleia, is patterned by their relationship to their gods, Apollo and Artemis. The concluding chapter draws out the significance of gendered hierarchy amongst the gods, and the importance of gender in the role and function of priests and prophets. It also considers the implications of the thesis' findings and approach for Jewish and Christian texts of the same period.

The material of this thesis is the area of personal humour roughly covered by τὸ ὸνομαστὶ κωμῳ<greek letter>ε<greek letter>ν - the body of jokes which involve reference or allusion to individuals from the contemporary or near contemporary world, and which gave rise to the ancient compilation of κωμῳδούμεν<greek letter>ι. In an introductory chapter I draw on the combined evidence of plays and fragments to give some impression of the role of this type of satire in Old Comedy as a whole in the later fifth century, stressing in particular the overlap between Aristophanes' choice of targets and his rivals', and suggesting that this indicates the genre's capacity to create publicity for its own exploitation. The second chapter analyses the treatment of personal jokes in the scholia on Aristophanes, and shows that this typically involves a questionable model of satire, largely taken over by modern commentators on the plays, as a reflector of the truth about its targets. In the third chapter I argue that we need to adopt a view of Aristophanes as a much more active creator of publicity and of satirical images which may often owe as much to the appeal of popular stereotypes of disapproved behaviour as to the facts about the individuals to whom they are comically attached. Chapter four concentrates on choral jokes, demonstrating in particular the special scope for inventive satirical colour allowed by the separation of the major choral sections from the concerns of the dramatic episodes. The final chapter focusses on a variety of functional, formal and technical aspects of personal jokes: these include the ways in which jokes are integrated into the composition of dialogue; comically expressive uses of antilabe; the importance of the position of a name within the structure of a joke; and visual elements in personal satire. An index of names and references is included.

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The three works of Procopius of Caesarea, the History of the Wars, the Buildings and the Secret History, form a corpus which can be profitably studied as a whole. My thesis is a typology of the visual in Procopius’ corpus, which is embedded in a study of narrative technique. It concerns itself with the representation of material reality and the complex relationship between materiality and the text. It utilises the digressive and the descriptive as an indirect entry point to expose Procopius’ literary finesse and his use of poikilia. In the first half of this thesis, the main object of my study is the representation of the material world in Procopius. The first chapter is devoted to the first book of the Buildings as it depicts the city of Constantinople. The second chapter moves to the representation of space and the third chapter to that of objects of all sizes and kinds. From these three different angles, I demonstrate how the visual is deeply charged with both ideological and meta-textual intentions. The second half of the thesis goes beyond materiality to examine what I discuss as the imaginaire of Procopius. The fourth chapter examines the way violence is depicted in a material and spectacular manner as well as its meta-textual implications, and the fifth and final chapter addresses the omnipresence of the supernatural in the corpus as well as Procopius’ self-representation as narrator and character. While preoccupied to some extent with ideological and political concerns, this thesis is first and foremost centred on the text itself and how its relationship to the description of material culture throws light on a crucial author on the cusp between the classical and the medieval imaginaire, one of the most significant authors in Byzantine literary culture.

Orientador: Gentil de Faria / Banca: Daniel Rossi Nunes Lopes / Banca: Fernando Brandão dos Santos / Resumo: Este estudo aborda a intersecção entre mito, literatura e direito em Édipo rei, de Sófocles, e tem como objetivo identificar os fatores de conexão entre essas áreas do saber na tragédia grega, propondo reflexões em torno dessas disciplinas. Objetiva, ainda, demonstrar como a interpretação literária pode ser útil para identificar a temática jurídica em narrativas literárias, bem como realçar a função sociológica e psicológica do mito, aproximando-o das finalidades do direito, notadamente como modelo de conduta humana e forma de controle social. Adota como ponto de partida as contribuições fornecidas pela teoria dos sistemas autopoiéticos de Niklas Luhmann, da qual se originam os fundamentos basilares para justificar a comunicação entre diferentes nichos do saber e dos teóricos do Law and Literature Movement. A literatura comparada sob a vertente do dialogismo bakhtiniano também reforça a noção de comunicação entre discursos de naturezas diversas (antropológico, literário e jurídico). Os estudos de Frye, Mielietinski e Durand explicam a dupla relação que se estabelece entre o mito e a literatura e pensadores modernos como Nietszche e Lévi-Strauss contribuem para demonstrar que os mitos continuam a ser valorizados e sobrevivem nos dias atuais. O denominado ―prolegômeno de Campbell‖, sobretudo sob a perspectiva da função sociológica e psicológica da narrativa mítica, e a tese de Eliade que encerra a ideia do caráter ritualístico do mito e a sua correspondência a um conjunto de códigos exemplares de conduta estreitam ainda mais as relações do mito com o direito. Na sequência, partindo das considerações teóricas, a pesquisa centra-se na questão da analogia entre o saber de Édipo, consubstanciado na solução do enigma da esfinge e na cura de Tebas, com os problemas da hermenêutica jurídica. Dessa forma, o trabalho se propõe a obter a ampliação e fusão dos horizontes de cada uma das... / Abstract: This study focuses on the intersection between myth, literature and law in Oedipus the King, by Sophocles, and aims to identify the connections between these areas of knowledge in Greek tragedy. It also aims to demonstrate how literary interpretation can be useful to identify the legal issues in literary narratives, as well as enhance the psychological and sociological functions of the myth, approaching it from the law purposes, notably as model of human behavior and form of social control. It adopts as a starting point for the input provided by the autopoietic systems theory by Niklas Luhmann, from which originate the basic foundations to justify the communication between different niches of knowledge and theorists of the Law and Literature Movement. Comparative literature under Bakhtin's dialogism also reinforces the notion of communication between speeches of various kinds (anthropological, literary and legal). Studies of Frye, Mielietinski and Durand explain the dual relationship established between myth and literature, and modern thinkers such as Nietzsche and Lévi-Strauss show that the myths will continue to be valued and survive. The so-called "Campbell prolegomenon", especially from the perspective of sociological and psychological function of mythic narrative and Eliade's arguments that conveys the idea of ritualistic character of myth and its correspondence to a set of exemplary codes of conduct, even more the relation myth and Law. In sequence, starting from theoretical considerations, the research focuses on the issue of analogy between the wisdom of Oedipus, embodied in the solution of the riddle of the Sphinx and in the healing of Thebes, with legal interpretation issues. Thus, the thesis aims to achieve the expansion and fusion of horizons of each of one of the areas of knowledge involved, especially from the point of view of identification and understanding of the law and its resonance in Greek tragedy, and the ... / Mestre

My purpose in this study is twofold. Firstly, I intend to examine the existence of honour in Greek society by an analysis of its presentation in works of Greek literature. In order to achieve this, I shall first examine the values of the Homeric, heroic society so that a picture of the code of honour that was used in those times, might be established. This code of honour provided the foundation upon which later honourable behaviour was based and from which it grew; it is, therefore, a necessary addition in a study such as this. Then, I shall proceed to a study of Euripides' Medea and Hippolytus, two plays that firmly incorporate the motif of honour and revenge. Secondly, I intend to examine a few examples of modern societies. The purpose of this is to ascertain whether any relationship between archaic, classical and contemporary cultures can be established. Shared values and beliefs will be examined in order to determine any possible similarities between cultures and societies that are chronologically separated by hundreds of years. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1998.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-05-17T16:51:09Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2015-05-29. Added 1 bitstream(s) on 2016-05-17T16:54:43Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 000863936.pdf: 1190724 bytes, checksum: 65bada9ba0c7ffbec9009f03e0feec03 (MD5) / Este estudo aborda a intersecção entre mito, literatura e direito em Édipo rei, de Sófocles, e tem como objetivo identificar os fatores de conexão entre essas áreas do saber na tragédia grega, propondo reflexões em torno dessas disciplinas. Objetiva, ainda, demonstrar como a interpretação literária pode ser útil para identificar a temática jurídica em narrativas literárias, bem como realçar a função sociológica e psicológica do mito, aproximando-o das finalidades do direito, notadamente como modelo de conduta humana e forma de controle social. Adota como ponto de partida as contribuições fornecidas pela teoria dos sistemas autopoiéticos de Niklas Luhmann, da qual se originam os fundamentos basilares para justificar a comunicação entre diferentes nichos do saber e dos teóricos do Law and Literature Movement. A literatura comparada sob a vertente do dialogismo bakhtiniano também reforça a noção de comunicação entre discursos de naturezas diversas (antropológico, literário e jurídico). Os estudos de Frye, Mielietinski e Durand explicam a dupla relação que se estabelece entre o mito e a literatura e pensadores modernos como Nietszche e Lévi-Strauss contribuem para demonstrar que os mitos continuam a ser valorizados e sobrevivem nos dias atuais. O denominado ―prolegômeno de Campbell‖, sobretudo sob a perspectiva da função sociológica e psicológica da narrativa mítica, e a tese de Eliade que encerra a ideia do caráter ritualístico do mito e a sua correspondência a um conjunto de códigos exemplares de conduta estreitam ainda mais as relações do mito com o direito. Na sequência, partindo das considerações teóricas, a pesquisa centra-se na questão da analogia entre o saber de Édipo, consubstanciado na solução do enigma da esfinge e na cura de Tebas, com os problemas da hermenêutica jurídica. Dessa forma, o trabalho se propõe a obter a ampliação e fusão dos horizontes de cada uma das... / This study focuses on the intersection between myth, literature and law in Oedipus the King, by Sophocles, and aims to identify the connections between these areas of knowledge in Greek tragedy. It also aims to demonstrate how literary interpretation can be useful to identify the legal issues in literary narratives, as well as enhance the psychological and sociological functions of the myth, approaching it from the law purposes, notably as model of human behavior and form of social control. It adopts as a starting point for the input provided by the autopoietic systems theory by Niklas Luhmann, from which originate the basic foundations to justify the communication between different niches of knowledge and theorists of the Law and Literature Movement. Comparative literature under Bakhtin's dialogism also reinforces the notion of communication between speeches of various kinds (anthropological, literary and legal). Studies of Frye, Mielietinski and Durand explain the dual relationship established between myth and literature, and modern thinkers such as Nietzsche and Lévi-Strauss show that the myths will continue to be valued and survive. The so-called Campbell prolegomenon, especially from the perspective of sociological and psychological function of mythic narrative and Eliade's arguments that conveys the idea of ritualistic character of myth and its correspondence to a set of exemplary codes of conduct, even more the relation myth and Law. In sequence, starting from theoretical considerations, the research focuses on the issue of analogy between the wisdom of Oedipus, embodied in the solution of the riddle of the Sphinx and in the healing of Thebes, with legal interpretation issues. Thus, the thesis aims to achieve the expansion and fusion of horizons of each of one of the areas of knowledge involved, especially from the point of view of identification and understanding of the law and its resonance in Greek tragedy, and the ...