LANGUAGE AND SOCIETY IN THE GREEK WORLD

This lecture course is part of the MA Degree Programme in Antiquities (Philology curriculum). It allows students to further their knowledge and understanding of the historical evolution of Ancient Greek through a specialist lecture course. The course aims to train specialists able to analyse and discuss with competence the diachronic evolution of the language within its socio-historical and cultural context, also in the light of the latest linguistic methodologies.

By attending this course students will be able to:
- FURTHER their ability to recognize and discuss the main linguistic elements characterizing the historical evolution of Greek, from the Hellenistic period to the 2nd century CE;
- FURTHER their ability to critically analyze the details of the main phono-morphological, syntactic and lexical features of Greek, especially as concerns the koine and Atticising Greek;
- FAMILIARITY with the literary language of Imperial rhetoric;
- LEARN how to connect Greek linguistic phenomena to wider historical, cultural, and identity trends;
- ACQUIRE the ability to critically read, interpret and discuss the modern linguistic theories concerning the relationship between language and society;
- ACQUIRE first-hand experience in reading, understanding, commenting, and editing literary and non-literary texts of the Hellenistic and imperial periods.

- Adequate knowledge of Ancient Greek.
- Adequate knowledge of English (the course will be taught in English).
- Some familiarity with the main linguistic concepts (phonology, morphology, syntax, lexicon, semantics).

This year's course focuses on the figure of Aelius Aristides, a rhetor and prose-writer of the imperial age, perhaps the leading exponent of the Second Sophistic movement. The focus of the course will be Aristides' work that has exerted the greatest influence on posterity and modern criticism: the Sacred Tales. Through this work, the figure of Aristides and his place in the cultural climate of the time will be investigated in light of the various modern approaches to the question of his illness, his relationship with Asclepius, and his description of it in the 'intimate diary' of the Sacred Tales. We will explore Aristides' relationship with contemporary medicine, his use of vocabulary, his conception of illness and of the rhetor's 'divine mission,' and the glimpses that this important work opens up on contemporary intellectual controversies. Aristides' work will also allow us to focus on the role of rhetors and their approach to literary language and the broader question of Greek identity in this period, to reflect on the multiple connections between language use (and a certain variety within it) and phenomena of broad cultural scope, such as the representation of power, the role of the intellectual, the self-definition of cultural elites, and the imitation (mimesis) and canonization of texts and figures from the past. In discussing Aristides' stylistic choices, we will ask how the language of the texts reflects the self-representation of an intellectual class living in a moment of crisis and redefinition of Greek identity in the context of the Roman empire. To this end, in addition to the literary texts we will also focus on some epigraphic texts that testify both to the spread of the 'sophistic' movement throughout the Greek-speaking world and to how these figures participated in the life of sanctuaries such as the Asclepieion of Pergamum. These inscriptions are a valuable direct source on the self-representation (by means of topoi, language, and iconographic choices) of the intellectuals of the time.
The figure of Aristides will also be analyzed in light of Philostratus' portrayal of him (Lives of the Sophists 2.9).

A) Greek texts (for alternative translations, into English, please contact the lecturer):

- Philostratus, Lives of the sophists, LOEB Classical Library. The biography to study and translate is no. 9 of vol. 2 (Aelius Aristides). Knowledge of the Introduction (vol. 1) is also beneficial.
The critical edition is C. L. Kayser, Flavii Philostrati opera. Vol. II. Lipsia, Teubner, 1871 (see Moodle).

- Aelius Aristides, Sacred Tales. Translation in Charles A. Behr. P. Aelius Aristides: Orations 17.-53. Leiden: Brill, 1981.
The parts to read in Greek and translate are:
Or. 47 (First Sacred Tale): 1–14 (pp. 376–379 Keil).
Or. 48 (Second Sacred Tale): paragraphs 1–44 (pp. 408–410 Keil).
Or. 49 (Third Sacred Tale): paragraphs 30–36 (pp. 420–422 Keil).
Or. 50 (Fourth Sacred Tale): paragraphs 1–62 (pp. 426-441 Keil).

- further short passages from literary works and epigraphic texts will be provided through handouts on Moodle and will be translated and commented in class.

B) Reading list
- S. Kaczko, La koiné, in A. C. Cassio, a c. di, Storia delle lingue letterarie greche, Firenze: Le Monnier, 2016, pp. 385-423.
- S. Swain, Hellenism and Empire: Language, Classicism, and Power in the Greek World, AD 50-250. Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1996. (especially the chapter on Aristides).
- Chapter 3 of J. Downie, At the limits of art: A literary study of Aelius Aristides' Hieroi Logoi. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2013.

C) Reading list for seminar preparation (see also ‘Methods’)
Parts of the following studies will be recommended as preparatory readings for the seminar work, according to themes (Dreams and their narration; The Sacred Tales and ancient medicine; the fabulous and heroic element; the public figure of Aristides: the ἀτέλεια; the religious dimension and Aristides as a ‘prophet’). Detailed information will be provided to students during the second and third week of the course.

- I. Israelowich, Society, medicine and religion in the sacred tales of Aelius Aristides. Leiden ; Boston: 2012.
- W.V. Harris, B. Holmes (eds.), Aelius Aristides between Greece, Rome, and the Gods. Boston: Brill, 2008.

Further information on the Second Sophistic and its age can be gained from S. Swain, Hellenism and Empire: Language, Classicism and Power in the Greek World, AD 50-250. Oxford: OUP, 1996 (not compulsory).

Oral examination. Questions will concern both the general part and the Greek texts (to be read, translated and commented upon).

All students (including non-attending students) shall prepare an in-depth study (translation and linguistic-literary commentary, relating to the topics covered in class) of a passage of about 40 lines chosen from the passages of the Sacred Discourses not on the programme. Student presentations are organised in groups divided thematically (Dreams and their narration; the Sacred Tales and ancient medicine; the fabulous and heroic element; the public figure of Aristides: the ἀτέλεια; the religious dimension and Aristides ‘prophet’). Bibliographical aids to prepare the brief commentary on the content of the chosen passages will be communicated to each group during the third week of the course.
Attending students present their work and discuss it in a seminar session; non-attending students prepare a written version of approx. 8 pages. This will be further discussed during the examination.
The final grade results from the evaluation of these aspects:
oral presentation of the seminar work (40%)
examination interview (60%)

For non-attending students
written version of the seminar paper (40%)
examination interview (60%)

Lectures with further textual material provided by the lecturer and uploaded on Moodle. Powerpoint presentations.

Italian

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