Philostratus

This book covers the many varied works of Philostratus, the great essayist, biographer and historian of Greek culture in the Roman world.

Ewen Bowie (Edited by), Ja? Elsner (Edited by)

9780521827201, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 16 April 2009

414 pages
23.4 x 16 x 2.6 cm, 0.79 kg

'… [has] sections dedicated to each of Philostratus' writings. These are preceded by three introductory pieces, starting with Ja? Elsner's 'A Protean Corpus'. Elsner … takes a close look at how Philostratus works from within each genre he chooses to appropriate and whose conventions he subtly subverts by turning them 'into the theme of the text'. … In its emphasis on unity in diversity, this is much more than just another summarising introduction; rather, we are invited to adopt a new, holistic perspective on Philostratus.' Listy Filologické

This is the first volume of collected papers to be devoted to the work of Philostratus, the great essayist, biographer and historian of Greek culture in the Roman world, and the most scintillating writer of Greek prose in the third century AD. The papers cover his remarkable range, from hagiographic fiction to historical dialogue, from pictorial description to love letters, and from prescriptions for gymnastics to the lives of the Sophists. The quality of his writing and the concerns within his purview - religion, aesthetics, athletics and education - make Philostratus's writings among the most important documents for understanding Greek culture in the Roman world, and guide us in exploring the maturity of Hellenic cultural identity in the context of the rise of Christianity. Few studies have been devoted to this neglected figure, and this collection will therefore be of great value to scholars and students of imperial Greek literature and art.

Part I. Introductory: 1. A protean corpus Ja? Elsner
2. Philostratus: the life of a Sophist Ewen Bowie
3. Culture and nature in Philostratus Simon Swain
Part II. 'Lives of the Sophists': 4. Narrator and audience in Philostratus's 'Lives of the Sophists' Thomas Schmitz
5. Philostratus and the symbolic roles of the Sophist and philosopher Harry Sidebottom
6. The deaths of the Sophists: Philostratean biography and elite funerary customs Joseph Rife
Part III. 'Life of Apollonius': 7. Virtual visions: 'phantasia' and the perception of the divine in 'The Life of Apollonius of Tyana' Verity Platt
8. The ancestor of my wisdom: Pythagoras and Pythagoreanism in the 'Life of Apollonius' Jaap-Jan Flinterman
9. The odyssey of Apollonius: an intertextual paradigm Gert-Jan van Dijk
Part IV. 'Heroicus': 10. Performing heroics: language, landscape and identity in Philostratus's 'Heroicus' Tim Whitmarsh
11. Black sails to Achilles: the Thessalian pilgrimage in Philostratus's 'Heroicus' Ian Rutherford
Part V. 'Gymnasticus': 12. Training athletes and interpreting the past in Philostratus's 'Gymnasticus' Jason König
Part VI. Letters: 13. Constructing identity in the 'Love Letters' of Philostratus Simon Goldhill
Part VII. Imagines: 14. Colour in the 'Imagines' of Philostratus Sandrine Dubel
15. Absorption and erudition in Philostratus's 'Imagines' Zahra Newby
16. Philostratus and the Narcissus of Caravaggio Stephen Bann
Appendix: Dialexis.

Subject Areas: Classical Greek & Roman archaeology [HDDK], Classical history / classical civilisation [HBLA1], Literary studies: classical, early & medieval [DSBB]