Settling a Dispute

Settling a Dispute

Author: Traianos Gagos

Publisher: University of Michigan Press

Published: 1994

Total Pages: 174

ISBN-13: 9780472065905

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Family squabbles and fights over real estate were no less complex in sixth-century Egypt than they are in the modern world. In this unusual volume Peter van Minnen and Traianos Gagos investigate just such a struggle, as described in a two-part papyrus some five feet long. Composed by the ancient equivalent of a notary public, the papyrus describes the outcome (after mediation) of a family dispute about valuable real estate. Traianos Gagos and Peter van Minnen offer an English translation and a clear Greek text of the two papyrus fragments, as well as an important discussion of the nature of such mediation, its role in contemporary society, a consideration of the town of Aphrodito and its social and political elite, as well as many other topics that spring from this kind of document. The use of methodologies from modern jurisprudence and anthropology together with an accessible style of writing mean that Settling a Dispute will be of interest to persons in many fields, including history, Classics, and Near Eastern studies. All Greek is translated, and an extensive commentary offers much helpful information on the text. Traianos Gagos is Associate Archivist of the University of Michigan's papyri collection. Peter van Minnen is Senior Research Associate in the papyri collection at Duke University.


Epitrepontes

Epitrepontes

Author: Menander (of Athens.)

Publisher: Aris & Phillips Classical Text

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 279

ISBN-13: 0856688339

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Though in antiquity the social comedies of Menander ranked second in popularity only to Homer, his plays were for centuries thought to be irretrievably lost. It was only in the 20th century that large sections of his work began to emerge, The Arbitration's major portion published in 1907, The Shield in 1969. With these and other finds we can now gauge in full the skill that Menander brought to his works. In preparing this edition the author has aimed to make accessible to readers some of the consummate sophistication in dramatic technique and use of language that once produced the question, `Menander and Life, which of you imitated the other?'


Two Greek Rhetorical Treatises from the Roman Empire

Two Greek Rhetorical Treatises from the Roman Empire

Author: Mervin Dilts

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2018-07-17

Total Pages: 282

ISBN-13: 9004330313

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

A revised Greek Text (the first in a century) and English translation (the first in any modern language) of the Art of Political Speech by a writer known as the Anonymous Seguerianus (ca. A.D. 200) and the Art of Rhetoric of Apsines of Gadara (ca. A.D. 230), with introduction, notes, and indices. These works provide evidence of how rhetoric was taught in Greek in the early centuries of the Roman Empire and show the continued development of an Aristotelian tradition before acceptance of the reorganization of the subject by Hermogenes. They complement each other in that the Anonymous was especially interested in debates about rhetorical theory, while Apsines' primary interest was in analysis of speeches of Demosthenes and other orators and in teaching declamation.


Menander’s Characters in Context

Menander’s Characters in Context

Author: Stavroula Kiritsi

Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing

Published: 2020-01-06

Total Pages: 349

ISBN-13: 152754494X

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Menander was renowned—and still is—for his naturalistic representations of character and emotion. However, times change, and our ideas of what is ‘natural’ change with them. To appreciate Menander’s art fully, we need to attune ourselves to the expectations of his time, and for this there is no better guide than Aristotle (along with his successor Theophrastus), who described and analysed notions of character and emotion in brilliant detail. This book examines the relevant observations of Aristotle, and explores two of Menander’s comedies in this light. It also discusses how these comedies, which have only been recovered in the past century, were adapted and performed on the Modern Greek stage, where tastes were different and Menander had been virtually unknown. The book’s comparison of the ancient originals and the modern versions sheds new light on both, as well as on cultural values then and now.


Menander 'Epitrepontes' (BICS Supplement 106)

Menander 'Epitrepontes' (BICS Supplement 106)

Author: Menander (of Athens.)

Publisher: University of London Press

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 310

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Epitrrepontes, or 'The Arbitration', which Menander produced around 300 BC, tackles the modern-sounding subject of a broken marriage. Charisios has left his young wife Pamphile over a suspected infidelity and moved in with his neighbour to drown his sorrows in wine and women, specifically, a spirited harp-girl called Habrotonon. The irate father-in-law will not tolerate this waste of a good dowry and demands of his daughter that she divorce. Bravely she holds out against her father's tirades and remains loyal to her husband. A complex and masterly dramatic sequence ensures that by the end 'all's well that ends well' - and Menander has struck a blow for equality of the sexes, for understanding over arrogance and pride. A large portion of the Epitrepontes was recovered from oblivion in 1905. Since then new papyrus finds have continued to fill the gaps. This edition makes available to the reader all known papyri of the play, including the most recent. The commentary aims to explain the printed text, to place Menander's language in the context of Athenian dramatic art and rhetoric, and to appreciate his subtle insights into the psychology of his characters, from the huffy father-in-law Smikrines to the 'little people' of the comedy, the slaves, each with their private agenda.