Spatharas, Dimos (2001) Gorgias

424 Pages·2011·15.81 MB·English

Spatharas, Dimos (2001) Gorgias : an edition of the extant texts and
fragments with commentary and introduction.
PhD thesis.

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Dimos Spatharas
GORGIAS: AN EDITION OF THE EXTANT
TEXTS AND FRAGMENTS WITH
COMMENTARY AND INTRODUCTION
PhD Thesis
University of Glasgow
2001
© Dimos Spatharas
CONTENTS
ABSTRACT 2
PREFACE 3-5
ABBREVIATIONS 6-7
INTRODUCTION 8-60
TEXTS AND FRAGMENTS 61-95
COMMENTARY 96-405
BIBLIOGRAPHY 406-423
ABSTRACT
This thesis is a commentary on G.' s extant works and fragments
which consists in three main parts: an Introduction, the Greek text,
and notes on the text and fragments. a) The Introduction offers an
account of G. 's life which is based on the infonnation provided by
ancient authors, a discussion of the stylistic features of his prose -
along with a presentation of the criticism of his style by ancient
authorities - and an analysis of the recurring argumentative
schemata that underlie G.'s extant work. b) The Greek text, as it
stands, embodies the readings that I adopt. c) The commentary on
the extant texts and fragments is nonnally preceded by short
Introductions, which are pertinent to the main problems of
interpretation posed by the individual texts. The notes themselves
nonnally include: i) a presentation of the textual problems and the
possible solutions which have been proposed by previous scholars,
together with the arguments that support the readings adopted in the
text, ii) explanation of the text and its stylistic characteristics, iii)
discussion of the individual arguments, and their role in the
reasoning as a whole, and iv) where appropriate an analysis of the
philosophical issues raised by the texts themselves.
2
PREFACE
This is the first commentary on Gorgias' work in English, and the
first detailed one in any language; more importantly perhaps this
thesis deals independently with an author who is most frequently
referred to in footnotes. I think that I am justified in believing that
this neglect does not accurately represent the gravity of G. 's work,
and the scholarly work that has been done in the last few years
makes me feel less lonely.
The emphasis in this thesis is mainly placed on the interpretation
of G.' s own preserved speeches, and this explains the order in which
I have presented the texts. It was for this reason also that I did not
see fit to comment on the text of Sextus' summary ofG.'s work On
not Being; yet, it would have been impossible to avoid textual notes
on the De Melissa Xenophane Gorgia, because the readings one
adopts there affect one's own interpretation. Writing a commentary
requires a certain economy of expression; several points could have
been discussed in more detail, but my aim has been to present the
whole of G.'s work. It was also for the sake of economy that I did
not include the Testimonia (section A in Diels-Kranz); it was upon
1
those, however, that I based my Introduction. In complying with the
instructions, the Bibliography includes only the titles of books and
articles that I refer to in my thesis, and consequently I only
reluctantly dropped works that contributed decisively to my
understanding of G.
Commenting on G. is not the same as commenting on a single
work of an individual orator which purports to be cohesive in itself;
like the Sophists' intellectual activity in general, G.'s individual
works touch on a great range of themes. Numerous scholars make
G.'s works appear coherent by systematising the available material
and thus detecting in them theories or doctrines that recur in various
forms. I frequently challenge this view, mainly on the basis of
1 The numbering of the Testimonia in my text follows Buchheim's edition.
3
evidence provided by the texts themselves. I hope that my difficulty
in detecting theories in G.' s work will not be construed as a
difficulty in appreciating his pioneering contribution to the
development of rhetoric and the examination of logos, the two fields
in which his influence was particularly felt.
I am indebted to many people. The first to initiate me into G. was
Mairi Y ossi; it was in her undergraduate seminar on "Prepaltonic
and Platonic Poetics" that I first became acquainted with G. Mairi's
logos echoed ever since in my ears, and when I completed the
writing of my thesis she generously commented on my text in the
penetrating way that she always does. I am very indebted to my
parents; they have been encouraging for years all my educational
undertakings. I am grateful to Georgia Petridou for all her patience,
and for lifting my spirits when I reached the point of posing
metaphysical questions pertinent to the relation between classics and
'real life'. She could not have been more caring. She was also kind
enough to read my work and discuss with me aspects of it which
were closer to her interests. lowe much to Thomas McGrory; he
read carefully my typescript and corrected my English. As if this
were not enough, he was certainly the person who made me feel that
Glasgow was my second home. Special thanks lowe to Prof.
Garvie. In the first year of my studies in Glasgow he gave me the
opportunity to attend his postgraduate seminars on Greek tragedy;
especially his teaching of the Persae made G.' s contention 1€ T'
d/../..OTpiwll TE 1TpaYILaTWIl Kat. a-WILaTWIl EV'TUXLaLS" Kat. OV(J"1Tpayc.aLS"
tOLOll n 1TCi8TfILa OLd. TWll /"0YWll bra8ev '" ljmxfJ more tangible. I
also have to thank him for reading my essay on the relation between
G. and Euripides' Troades. Dr Costas Panayotakis has always been
ready to offer good advice. I am also grateful to :Mr Graham
Whitaker, the classics librarian; Glasgow University Library is an
ideal place to do work in Classics. Many thanks to :Mrs Jennifer
Murray; she is a genuinely kind person. I now feel the need to
express my warmest thanks to my examiners, Dr S. Usher and Dr.
D. L. Cairns: they saved me from serious mistakes and in many
4
cases they offered alternative interpretations which now seem to me
more plausible than the ones that I had originally put forward.
My deepest gratitude lowe to my supervisor, Professor
MacDowell. Without his support this thesis would have been a 'not
being'. I may be the least appropriate person to praise his erudition
and his expertise in the fields of Greek oratory, comedy, and
Athenian law. However, I feel confident in saying that his scholarly
excellence is in harmony with a deeply 3~3ao"KaI\LKTJ nature.
5
ABBREVIATIONS
Ancient authors
Aiskh. = Aiskhylos
Aiskhin: = Aiskhines
And. = Andokides
Arist. = Aristotle
Ar. = Aristophanes
Dem. = Demosthenes
Eur. = Euripides
Hdt. = Herodotos
Hom. = Homer
Is. = Isaios
Isok. = Isokrates
Lys. = Lysias
PI. = Plato
Plout. = Ploutarkhos
Soph. = Sophokles
Theophr. = Theophrastos
Thuc. = Thucydides
Xen. = Xenophon
Frequently abbreviated words and titles
DK = H. Diels, Die Fragmente der Vorsokratiker, 6th edn., rev.
and ed. W. Kranz, vols. 1-3, Berlin, 1951-2.
fro = G. 's Texts and Fragments (section BinDK )
G. = Gorgias
Hef. = G.'s Encomium ofH elen
Loeb = Loeb Classical Library
LSJ = A Greek-English Lexicon, H. G. Liddell-R. Scott, 9th ed.
Rev. H. S. Jones, R. McKenzie, Oxford, 1940.
MXG = [Aristotle] De Melisso Xenophane Gorgia.
ON B = G.'s On not Being (as represented either in the MXG or
in Sextus)
Pal. = G.'s The Defence ofPalamedes
6
Test. = Testimonia (section A in DK; in the present thesis I
employ Buchheim's edition)
Abbreviations of the titles of periodicals in the Bibliography are
nonnally as per L ' Annee Philologique.
7
INTRODUCTION
8