Rhetorical Exercises from Late Antiquity: A Translation of Choricius of Gaza's Preliminary Talks and Declamations

by Choricius , Edited by Robert J. Penella , With Eugenio Amato , Malcolm Heath , George A. Kennedy , Terry L. Papillon , William R. Reader , D. A. Russell , Simon Swain

• ISBN13: 9780521848732
• ISBN10: 0521848733
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2009-09-28
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

The first translation, produced by a team of eight scholars, of the Declamations and Preliminary Talks of the sixth-century sophist Choricius of Gaza. Declamations, deliberative or judicial orations on fictitious themes, were the fundamental advanced exercises of the rhetorical schools of the Roman Empire, of interest also to audiences outside the schools. Some of Choricius' declamations are on generic themes (e.g. a tyrannicide, a war-hero), while others are based on specific motifs from Homeric times or from classical Greek history. The Preliminary Talks were typical prefaces to orations of all kinds. This volume also contains a detailed study of Choricius' reception in Byzantium and Renaissance Italy. It will be of interest to students of late antiquity, ancient rhetoric, and ancient education.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Choricius, Preliminary Talks

Choricius, Declamations

Declamation 1 [X]: 'Polydamas'

Declamation 2 [XII]: 'Priam'

Declamation 3 [XIV]: 'The Lydians'

Declamation 4 [XVII]: 'Miltiades'Â

Declamation 5 [XX]: 'The Young War-Hero'

Declamation 6 [XXIII]: 'The Miserly Old Man'

Declamation 7 [XXVI]: 'The Tyrannicide'

Declamation 8 [XXIX]: 'A Spartan Citizen'

Declamation 9 [XXXV]: 'The Child-Killer'

Declamation 10 [XXXVIII]: 'Patroclus'

Declamation 11 [XL]: 'The War-Hero'

Declamation 12 [XLII]: 'An Orator'

Epilogue. The fortune and reception of Choricius and of his works

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