Glossary. a bibliothecis secretaryship within the Roman imperial administration, concerned with imperial libraries

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1 Glossary a bibliothecis secretaryship within the Roman imperial administration, concerned with imperial libraries a studiis secretaryship within the Roman imperial administration, concerned with giving advice on literary matters ab epistulis secretaryship within the Roman imperial administration, concerned with correspondence between the emperor and his officials aetiology reflection on the origins of things. Often used to refer to myths that tell the story of, for example, the first law court agōgē the name given to the education of young Spartans agōn Greek for contest, applied to a variety of activities, including war, athletic games and rhetorical contests; in tragedy it is used to refer to set-piece debates aischrologia Greek for scurrility ; scurrilous verses akribeia precision in expression; an important term in Plato Alcaic a metre, associated first with the poet Alcaeus (3c), then taken up by Horace (10d) allegory symbolic narrative alliteration words beginning with the same letter or sound beginning two or more words in sequence, e.g. veni, vidi, vici analepsis the narrative technique of flashback anaphora words, phrases, clauses or lines beginning with the same word or phrase annalistic historical writing that uses years as its organizing principle (see 5b) antilabē a feature in Greek tragedy in which a line is split between two actors aoidos Greek for singer apeiron literally unbounded ; used by Anaximander to describe the infinite first substance of air apodexis Greek for display but also, in a more philosophical sense, proof aporia being at a loss, completely flummoxed, snookered or at sea apostrophe an address to a specific person or group archaism the use of older words, spellings or phrases

2 Glossary 377 aretē Greek word for excellence or virtue aristeia a sequence of individual combats in which one hero excels. There are a number of such aristeiai in the Iliad Asianism a style of rhetoric, in which Roman orators of the late republic were seen to be imitating elaborate, Greek models assonance the same sound repeated in words close to each other asyndeton lack of conjunctions between phrases or clauses ataraxia the desired Epicurean state in which one can remain indifferent to all external media and stimulation Atticism used to refer to a style of Greek, associated with (mainly Athenian) prose authors of the classical period, and imitated by some Roman orators auctoritas Roman word meaning influence or prestige aulos, aulētris aulos is a musical instrument something like an oboe used to accompany the performance of poetry; aulētris is the player of the instrument boulē council. In democratic Athens the boulē consisted of 500 citizens sortitively elected; see 4a cantica lyric passages delivered by individual actors in Roman comedy catharsis purification, purging or clarification, most famously used by Aristotle in his Poetics when describing the effect of tragedy choliambic similar to an iambic trimeter, but the last foot is a spondee (two long syllables) rather than an iamb (a short followed by a long syllable) chōra literally: country or region. Used to refer to the land in which a polis (city) was situated and over which it had control chorēgia, chorēgos a choregos was a rich individual who, in democratic Athens, was charged with paying for the production costs of tragedies or comedies performed at one of the dramatic festivals; chorēgia was the name of the tax; see 4a clientelae literally clientage. In Rome the relationship between patrons and clients was a feature of social organization: some scholars think it was essential, others marginal. A patron could be as powerful as an emperor and as ordinary as an ordinary free man contaminatio the mixing of material from different sources, something of which Terence is sometimes accused crasis when two vowel sounds are forced together to make one syllable cursus honorum the career path for Roman politicians; see 8a; 9a dialectic collaborative intellectual enquiry through discussion; important in Plato distichomythiai an arrangement of lines in tragedy in which each character in a dialogue says two lines dithyramb hymn sung in honour of the god, Dionysus doxographer writer on the works and ideas of the philosophers (e.g. Diogenes Laertius)

3 378 Glossary ecphrasis literally a description, but often used to refer to descriptions of artistic objects eisodoi one of the entrances onto the tragic stage or into the orchēstra ekklēsia Greek for assembly ; in democratic Athens the sovereign body which all citizens could attend ekkyklēma a sort of trolley used on the stage in Attic tragedy to display dead or dying characters elegiac couplet a metrical scheme in which a hexameter line is followed by a pentameter; see 1c elenchus refutation of an answer to a question; important in Plato elision when one word ends in a vowel and the next word starts with a vowel it is common in Greek and Latin verse for the second vowel to disappear (or to be elided) ellipsis the omission of a word or words normally required for a phrase to make complete sense encomium poem in which a person is praised for his exploits. Pindar is a celebrated composer of encōmia epeisodia the parts of tragedies in which actors spoke to each other or made speeches, for the most part in iambic trimeter. Tragedy moves between such episodes and choral lyrics (or stasima) epic cycle the lost collection of stories which tell the stories of the heroic age, which later poets used and adapted Epicureanism philosophy derived from the writings of Epicurus. The ideal state for an Epicurean was one of ataraxia, namely, a state of complete indifference to all stimuli or a state of being completely undisturbed epideixis display, often used to refer to the rhetorical displays given by some sophists in late fifth-century Athens epinikian a type of poetry most closely associated with Pindar in which someone s victory is praised; see 3c epithets (stock) many Homeric characters are routinely described in the same way with one adjective. Odysseus, for instance, is very often polymētis (meaning with many resources or with much intelligence ) epyllion a miniature epic poem eristic combative verbal dispute performed by some sophists and aimed at winning an argument (rather than showing something to be true) eudaimōnia happiness : an important term in Aristotle s ethics exordium the opening of a speech fabula palliata a play in Greek dress, such as the plays of Plautus and Terence fabula togata a play with characters dressed in togas fabulae Atellanae Atellan farces (Atella was a town in Campania where the farces originated) forms forms (or ideas) are what, for Plato, constitute the real world and include such abstract concepts as justice and truth. The perceivable world is an imitation of the world of forms; see 6d

4 Glossary 379 gnōmē a proverbial statement, an aphorism or a maxim hendecasyllables a verse line of 11 syllables hexameter a verse line of six feet; the meter of epic poetry; see 1c hyporchēmata hymns sung in honour of Apollo, generally of a happy nature iamb, iambic an iamb is a metrical foot in which a short syllable is followed by a long iambic trimeter a verse line of six feet (or three metra) dominated by the iamb; the most common meter in Attic tragedy imperium Latin for power, command, empire Judgement of Paris mythical event in which Paris, the Trojan prince, judged which of Aphrodite, Athene and Hera was the most beautiful goddess. He chose Aphrodite, with devastating consequences (the Trojan War, Hera s hatred of Troy, etc.) kleos Greek word for fame. Homeric heroes are eager to achieve such fame by their deeds kommos in Greek tragedy a lament shared between the chorus and a character kōmos a riotous procession with a ritual dimension involving revellers (called kōmasts) singing, dancing and drinking. Some scholars think that there is a relation between the kōmos and comedy leschē room attached to a smithy where men would gossip; important in Hesiod liturgy the name given to the direct taxation of rich Athenian individuals during the period of the democracy. The most famous liturgies paid for the upkeep of a trireme for a year or for the costs of the production of a tragedian s plays in a year logeion the area in front of the skēnē, possibly raised above the level of the orchēstra, on which actors spoke in Greek theatres logographoi writers of speeches for delivery by prosecutors and defendants in Athenian law courts mēchanē a theatrical device used in Attic tragedy. Something like a hoist or crane, it showed characters often gods high up in the air melos Greek for song metic normally used to describe a free non-athenian resident in Athens metonymy a form of metaphor in which one term (e.g. a part) is used for another (e.g. a whole). An example: Whitehall announced today... militia amoris a feature of Latin love elegy, in which the lover s attempt to capture the heart (and more besides) of his loved one is described in the terms of a military campaign mimēsis Greek word for imitation, used by both Plato and Aristotle to describe works of literature (and art more generally) moira (aisa) Greek words meaning fate monody a solo song

5 380 Glossary mores Latin for customs or values mos maiorum Latin for custom of the ancestors. Romans who claimed to love tradition often used it to evaluate policies or ideas Muses the nine gods in charge of creativity neoterics the name given to the group of Latin poets in the 50s bce, who paraded an interest in Hellenistic and otherwise clever verse. The most famous is Catullus nomos Greek word for custom, convention or law nostos Greek word for the return home ; a dominant theme in the Odyssey nous Greek word for mind or intelligence novus homo a man who, in republican Rome, achieved election to the consulship without being a member of either the patrician or plebeian aristocratic families orchēstra the area in a Greek theatre normally held to be almost circular, in which in tragedy the chorus sang and danced paean originally the name of the doctor to the gods, then an epithet of Apollo. It then comes to mean a hymn to Apollo (or Artemis) and, more generally, a song of thanksgiving or triumph Panathenaea festival held in honour of Athene every four years in classical Athens. There were competitions in the recitation of Homer parabasis the name given to the speech delivered by the leader of a chorus in an Athenian comedy in which it is normally assumed the views of the author are expressed explicitly paradoxography writers who dealt in the unexpected, the unbelievable or the marvellous parodoi one of the names given to the entrances and exits in a Greek theatre, situated either side of the logeion parodos in tragedy the first song sung by the chorus as they enter the orchēstra partheneion choral lyric performed by a chorus of girls on a religious occasion. Alcman, Pindar, Simonides and Bacchylides all wrote partheneia penates one Latin word for household gods pentameter a verse line of five feet; usually the second line in an elegiac couplet peripeteia Greek for reversal [of fortune] ; an important idea in Aristotle s theory of tragedy as outlined in his Poetics periphrasis literally: speaking around, i.e. circumlocution personification a form of metaphor in which a thing or idea is represented as a person philia literally means friendship, but used to refer to all sorts of relationships, whether between family members or political allies phronēsis perception, practical wisdom physis Greek word for nature pietas Latin for piety or reverence for the gods ; important as a characteristic of Aeneas in the Aeneid

6 Glossary 381 polis the Greek word for city and city-state ; the most important unit of social and political organization in the archaic and classical periods in the Greek-speaking world Presocratics the group of thinkers in the sixth and early fifth centuries who sparked the intellectual revolution in Greece; the shared title implies no similarity of beliefs or ideas priamel literary term for a sort of list, as in Sappho s some like x, others y, but I like desire... proconsulare maius imperium Latin phrase meaning greater proconsular authority. Governors of Roman provinces governed by virtue of the proconsular authority granted to them by the senate. In 23 bce Augustus received the greater version of this authority, thereby allowing him to govern through governors or his own legates all the provinces of the empire proem an introduction, prelude or preface prolepsis the narrative technique whereby future events are anticipated one way or another prologos the first speech, or prologue, in a tragedy propemptikon normally a poem that hopes that a friend who is leaving will have a prosperous journey provincia Latin for province recitatio recitation of a work by the author himself recusatio refusal; sometimes used to refer very specific refusals, such as that of Horace when he refuses to write an epic poem reductio ad absurdum literally reduction to absurdity, a technique used to rubbish an opponent s argument rhapsode a professional reciter of Homer sacrosanctitas inviolability; normally used to refer the religious protection granted to tribunes of the people in the Roman republic Sapphic a metre employed by the poet Sappho, later used by Catullus and Horace Saturnians a stress-based metre common in Latin before the adoption of the Greek hexameter senatus consiltum decree of the (Roman) senate servitium amoris literally the slavery of love. A stylistic technique associated with love elegy whereby the poet claims that his love for his girl is akin to slavery skēnē the sort of hut that sat behind the logeion (stage). It was used practically to allow actors to change costumes and masks and symbolically to represent off-stage space indoors Socratic irony Socrates claimed to know that he knew nothing. He often uses this apparent ignorance to probe his interlocutors beliefs and arguments, hoping to get his interlocutors to see the contradictions in the positions they adopt

7 382 Glossary sophists the group of heterogeneous intellectuals and paid teachers who became prominent n the latter half of the fifth century bce stasimon in tragedy, a stanza of a choral lyric stichic metres composed in recurring lines of the same type, such as hexameters stichomythia actors in tragedy speaking one line each in alternation stoicism ancient school of philosophy founded by Zeno of Citium (c. 300 bce), named after the stoa poikilē (a painted colonnade in Athens where Zeno lectured). In stoic theory, virtue and knowledge are intertwined, and the virtuous are indifferent to reversals of fortune and to pleasure and pain strophic metres composed in stanzas syllogism a term in logic: an argument where two propositions (or premises) which contain a common term lead to a third proposition or conclusion syssitia the messes in which Spartan warriors were organized technē Greek word for skill, important in Plato theologeion the space on top of the skēnē used for the appearance of gods (the word means something like divine speaking place ) timē honour or respect : Homeric heroes desire this topos literally place ; used to refer to what in literary criticism we would call a theme or a commonplace triadic verse in which a pair of stanzas in the same metrical form are followed by a third in a related but not identical form tribunicia potestas literally: tribunician power. Tribunes had the power to summon various assemblies, including the senate trochaic a foot in a metrical scheme consisting in a long syllable followed by a short xenia the code or informal set of rules which governed hospitality