The Philosopher's Banquet Plutarch's Table Talk in the Intellectual Culture of the Roman Empire

by Klotz, Frieda; Oikonomopoulou, Katerina

• ISBN13: 9780199588954
• ISBN10: 0199588953
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2011-08-15
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

The Philosopher's Banquetis the first sustained study of Plutarch'sTable Talk, a Greek prose text which is a combination of philosophical dialogue (in the style of Plato'sSymposium) and miscellany. The form ofTable Talkwas imitated by several later Greek and Roman imperial authors (such as Aulus Gellius, Athenaeus, and Macrobius), making it a vital part of the early Roman Empire's literary and cultural history. Similarly, the great variety of its contents links it with a broader imperial cultural trend, that of systematizing knowledge, which features increasingly prominently as a subject of scholarly study in both classics and the history of science. The contributors toThe Philosopher's Banquetoffer a range of methodologically innovative and sophisticated readings ofTable Talk's literary form, themes, cultural background, and influence.

Author Biography

Frieda Klotz is a Freelance journalist.

Katerina Oikonomopoulou is Leverhulme Research Fellow, School of Classics, University of St Andrews.

Table of Contents

Notes on Contributors	p. xi
Abbreviations	p. xiii
Introduction	p. 1
Traditions
Plutarch's Table Talk: Sampling a Rich Blend: A Survey of Scholarly Appraisal	p. 35
The Miscellany and Plutarch	p. 49
Topics And Themes
Philosophy in Plutarch's Table Talk: In Jest or In Earnest?	p. 77
Peripatetic Knowledge in Plutarch's Table Talk	p. 105
Symposium, Physical and Social Health in Plutarch's Table Talk	p. 131
Voice And Authority
Imagining the Past: Plutarch's Play with Time	p. 161
Self-Promotion and Self-Effacement in Plutarch's Table Talk	p. 179
Contradictions
Putting the -viv- into 'Convivial': The Table Talk and the Lives	p. 207
Conclusion: Reading (from) the Table Talk in Aulus	p. 233
Bibliography	p. 238
Index	p. 259
Index of Greek Terms	p. 272
Index Locorum	p. 273
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