ENGLISH

Philosophy, Rhetoric, and Sophistry in the High Roman Empire: Maximus of Tyre and Twelve Other Intellectuals

By Jeroen Lauwers

Book information

Publisher
Brill Academic Publishers
Year
2015
ISBN
9004301526, 9789004301528
ISSN
0169-8958
Language
english
Format
PDF
Filesize
2 MB (1583049 bytes)
Series
Mnemosyne Supplements 385
Pages
viii+330\339
Topic
Literature\\Literary
Orientation
yes
Paginated
yes
Scanned
portrait
Time added
2016-02-21 12:02:32
Medieval Movements Periods History Criticism Liter

Description

How is it possible that modern scholars have labelled Maximus of Tyre, a second-century CE performer of philosophical orations, as a sophist or a ‘half-philosopher’, while his own self-presentation is that of a genuine philosopher? If we take Maximus’ claim to philosophical authority seriously, his case can deepen our understanding of the dynamic nature of Imperial philosophy. Through a discursive analysis of twelve Imperial intellectuals alongside Maximus’ dialexeis, the author proposes an interpretative framework to assess the purpose behind the representation of philosophy, rhetoric, and sophistry in Maximus’ oeuvre. This is thus as yet the first book-length attempt at situating the historical communication process implicit in the surviving Maximean texts in the concurrent context of the Imperial intellectual world.

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