The Dynamics of Rhetorical Performances in Late Antiquity

182 Pages·2019·1.517 MB·English

by  Quiroga Puertas, Alberto J.

The Dynamics of Rhetorical
Performances in Late Antiquity
This book argues that narrations of rhetorical performances in late
antique literature can be interpreted as a reflection of the ongoing
debates of the time. Competition among cultural elites, strategies of
self-presentation and the making of religious orthodoxy often took
the shape of narrations of rhetorical performances in which comments
on the display of oratorical skills also incorporated moral and ethical
judgments about the performer. Using texts from late antique authors
(in particular, Themistius, Synesius of Cyrene and Libanius of Antioch),
this book proposes that this type of narrative should be understood as
a valuable way to decipher the cultural and religious landscape of the
fourth century AD. The volume pays particular attention to narrations
of deficient rhetorical deliveries, arguing that the accounts of flaws
and mistakes in oratorical displays and rhetorical performances reveal
how late antique literature echoed the concerns of the time. Criticisms
of deficient deliveries in different speaking occasions (declamations,
public speeches, oratorical agones, school exercises, sermons) were
often disguised as accusations of practicing magic, heresy or cultural
apostasy. A close reading of the sources shows that these oratorical
deficiencies hid struggles over religious, cultural and political issues.
Alberto J. Quiroga Puertas (Ph.D. 2006) is Lecturer in the Department
of Ancient Greek at the University of Granada, Spain. He has been an
Honorary Research Fellow at the School of Archaeology, Classics and
Egyptology at the University of Liverpool, UK (2006–2009), and was
fellow at the Center for Hellenic Studies in Washington, D.C., US (2014–
2015). His main research interests include Greek Imperial literature and
the impact of rhetoric in the creation of cultural and religious identities in
Late Antiquity. He has edited the volumes The Purpose of Rhetoric in Late
Antiquity: From Performance to Exegesis (2013) and Rhetorical Strategies
in Late Antique Literature: Images, Metatexts, and Interpretation (2017).

The Dynamics of Rhetorical
Performances in Late Antiquity
Alberto J. Quiroga Puertas
First published 2019
by Routledge
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© 2019 Alberto J. Quiroga Puertas
The right of Alberto J. Quiroga Puertas to be identified as author of this
work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of
the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
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British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Quiroga Puertas, Alberto J., 1978– author.
Title: The dynamics of rhetorical performances in late antiquity / Alberto
J. Quiroga Puertas.
Description: Abingdon, Oxon : Routledge, 2018. | Includes index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018028644 | ISBN 9781472474599 (hardback : alk.
paper) | ISBN 9781315615776 (e-book)
Subjects: LCSH: Rhetoric, Ancient. | Performance in literature. |
Rhetorical criticism—Rome. | Libanius—Criticism and interpretation.
Classification: LCC PA6085 .Q57 2018 | DDC 808.5/109—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018028644
ISBN: 978-1-4724-7459-9 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-61577-6 (ebk)
Typeset in Times New Roman
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
Contents
Acknowledgments vi
Abbreviations viii
Introduction 1
1 Theory and practice of rhetorical performance from
Classical Antiquity to Imperial times 19
Literature review 19
Theoretical approaches to rhetorical performance
in Antiquity 21
Narrations of rhetorical performances in Greco-Roman
literature 33
2 Charlatans, philosophers and Philostratean bishops
in late antique literature 57
Philosophers, belletrists and charlatans 60
Philostratean bishops 72
3 All the world’s a stage: Libanius’ life as a rhetorical
performance 89
Literature review 89
Becoming a sophist 91
A performable life. The narrations of rhetorical
performances in Libanius’ Autobiography 102
A star is born 107
Homecoming 127
4 Conclusions 160
Index 165
Acknowledgments
The main author studied in this book is the sophist Libanius of Antioch.
Throughout his works he credited the goddess Τυχή, frequently trans-
lated as Fortune, for the enjoyment of many eventful moments of his
life. Whether it is due to a number of years dedicated to the study of the
sophist’s works, or to a process of religious osmosis, I can unhesitat-
ingly say that I would not be guilty of hubris if I also boasted of having
received Τυχή’s favors in many, many respects. But first things first.
From an institutional point of view, I am legally bound to state that
part of the research carried out for this book was possible thanks to a
“Ramón y Cajal” fellowship granted by the Spanish Ministry of Econ-
omy and Competitiveness. Period. This is not the place for a political
manifesto or to voice my opinion about the systematic policy of under-
funding of the Sciences and (what is left of) the Humanities in Spain.
I was fortunate to obtain this fellowship, but a great number of worthy
colleagues have found themselves in very difficult situations because
of senseless and self-interested financial cuts.
On a brighter note, I would like to thank the institution where I work,
the Ancient Greek Department of the University of Granada, for mak-
ing it easy to undertake the research trips during which this book has
been created. I wish to record here that partial versions of this book
were presented in seminars held at The Catholic University of America,
The University of California, San Diego and the University of Sala-
manca. I am very grateful to these universities for letting me present
provisional results of my research. Two institutions from the University
of Oxford (The Corpus Christi College Centre for the Study of Greek
and Roman Antiquity, and the Oxford Centre for Late Antiquity) have
generously granted me access to the Sackler and Bodleian libraries, for
which I am extremely grateful.
When it comes to professional and personal acknowledgments,
I must begin with a caveat: forgetfulness, and not ingratitude, must be
Acknowledgments vii
held accountable for the absence of the names of people whose assis-
tance is not recorded here. The blame for this should be put on Τυχή,
as she has worked wonders by making the list of people that I should
thank incredibly long. Therefore, restraint here is in order lest I end up
writing an autobiographical account à la Libanius. Having eased my
conscience, I would like to thank a number of friends and colleagues
that have been kind enough to read and provide insightful comments on
the manuscript of this book. Danny Evans and Bryson Sewell have not
only taken care of polishing my unpalatable English by correcting it to
meet academic standards but have also given me very valuable feed-
back on the contents of the book. A particular debt of gratitude is owed
to Alex Petkas, whose acumen and suggestions have much improved
the final draft. Over the years that this project has been in progress con-
versations and email correspondence with other colleagues and friends
have made an incredibly positive impact on the arguments of this
book: José María Camacho Rojo (†), Javier Campos Daroca, Raffaella
Cribiore, José Fernández Ubiña, Ryan Fowler, Pedro Pablo Fuentes
González, Lorena Jiménez Justicia, Concepción López Rodríguez,
Laura Miguélez-Cavero, Lorenzo Miletti, Isabel Moreno, Liz Potter,
Alberto Rigolio, Philip Rousseau, Lieve Van Hoof, Peter Van Nuffelen,
Carlo Vessella, Edward Watts and the anonymous referees who read the
manuscript of the book. They are, of course, entirely blameless for the
errors and mistakes that I may have made. Special thanks are due to my
editor, Michael Greenwood. His patience, encouragement and under-
standing are very much appreciated. The help and support of my fam-
ily throughout these years has been continuous. Together with them,
friends must be credited with the type of help that goes way beyond the
realm of academia. Apart from researching, in Oxford I have benefitted
over the years from the friendship of the “Combibos-NOOC Commu-
nity”: the Atienza-Cavero family, Francisco Bosch, Raúl Baeza, Lucía
Díaz-Iglesias, Iñaki Izarra and Leire Olabarria. Given that all the ways
that come to my mind to express my feelings for them would read as a
cheap sentence from a self-help book or an over-sentimental line from
a wedding speech, I will honor their friendship by remaining silent.
Likewise, I feel incapable of putting into words my enormous debt of
gratitude to Angie. Suffice it to say here that this book is dedicated to
her for teaching me and initiating me in the most secret, exclusive and
unparalleled joys of Pilinguilism.
Abbreviations
The abbreviations of the names and works of the ancient authors used
in this book follow those of the LSJ. When the name of an author is not
listed there, I have used modern scholarly conventions to refer to his
name and works.
L&S C.T. Lewis and C. Short, A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Claren-
don Press, 1984.
LSJ9 H.G. Liddell, R. Scott, and H.S. Jones, A Greek-English Lex-
icon, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1996.
PLRE A.H.M. Jones, J.R. Martindale, and J. Morris, The Prosopog-
raphy of the later Roman Empire, 3 vols., Cambridge: Cam-
bridge University Press, 1971–1992.
Libanius’ orations, declamations and progymnasmata have been quoted
following R. Foester’s edition: Libanii Opera, 12 vols., Leipzig: Teu-
bner, 1903–1927.
Translations of Libanius’ orations have been taken from the following:
Or. 1: A.F. Norman, Autobiography and selected letters, 2 vols.,
Cambridge (MA)-London: Harvard University Press, 1992.
Ors. 2, 19: A.F. Norman, Selected Orations. Volume II: 2, 19–23,
30, 33, 45, 47–50, Cambridge (MA)-London: Harvard University
Press, 1977.
Or. 13: A.F. Norman, Selected Orations. Volume I: Julianic ora-
tions, Cambridge (MA)-London: Harvard University Press, 1969.
Ors. 3, 11, 31, 62, 36: A.F. Norman, Antioch as a centre of Hellenic
culture as observed by Libanius, Liverpool: Liverpool University
Press, 2000.
Ors. 35, 38, 55: R. Cribiore, Between city and school: selected ora-
tions of Libanius, Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 2015.
Abbreviations ix
The number and the letter in the references to the sophist’s epistles
reflect their order in the translation of the following scholars:
B S. Bradbury, Selected letters of Libanius: from the age of
Constantius and Julian, Liverpool: Liverpool University Press,
2004.
C R. Cribiore, The School of Libanius in Late Antique Antioch,
Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2007.
F R. Foester, Libanii Opera, 12 vols., Leipzig: Teubner, 1903–1927.
N A.F. Norman, Autobiography and selected letters, 2 vols.,
Cambridge (MA)-London: Harvard University Press, 1992.