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The Τhesis has as its starting point the idea expressed by scholars who study values, namely that from Homeronwards the basic problem of Greek ethical thinking was "the need to discover the means of relating δίκαιος toαγαθός and to... more
The Τhesis has as its starting point the idea expressed by scholars who study values, namely that from Homeronwards the basic problem of Greek ethical thinking was "the need to discover the means of relating δίκαιος toαγαθός and to make justice an essential element of the most attractive group of values". The Thesis exploresIsocrates’ contribution to that debate by his use of the concepts of phronesis and justice. Those two values formIsocrates’ ethical basis for his political and educational system and figure prominently among the cardinalvirtues. However, the terms have not been studied and considered systematically, especially from a diachronicperspective which examines Isocrates’ indebtedness to traditional values expressed in epic and lyric poetry andwisdom literature. Additionally, both the Cyprian discourses have not been examined from this perspective.Finally, while Usher has offered a recent commentary on To Nicocles, there is no recent commentary on thediscourse ...
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Ο προβληματισμός της διατριβής αφορμάται από τη διαπίστωση των μελετητών ότι από τον Όμηρο και εξήςτο κύριο πρόβλημα των αρχαίων ελληνικών αξιών ήταν η ανάγκη να συσχετιστεί ο δίκαιος με τον ἀγαθὸν καιτην ἀρετὴ ώστε να γίνει η δικαιοσύνη... more
Ο προβληματισμός της διατριβής αφορμάται από τη διαπίστωση των μελετητών ότι από τον Όμηρο και εξήςτο κύριο πρόβλημα των αρχαίων ελληνικών αξιών ήταν η ανάγκη να συσχετιστεί ο δίκαιος με τον ἀγαθὸν καιτην ἀρετὴ ώστε να γίνει η δικαιοσύνη είτε το όλο είτε μέρος της ἀρετῆς. Η διατριβή εξετάζει την συμβολή τουΙσοκράτη σε αυτό το ζήτημα διαχρονικά αλλά και συγχρονικά. Συμβάλλει στην ισοκρατική έρευνα για τουςακόλουθους λόγους. Πρώτα γιατί αποτελεί έναν υπομνηματισμό των λόγων του Ισοκράτη υπό την οπτική τωναρχαϊκών ηθικών αξιών, και, καθώς ερμηνεύει ακριβέστερα τους όρους ηθικών αξιών και πολιτικήςσυμπεριφοράς, ερμηνεύει ακριβέστερα τους λόγους του Ισοκράτη, τουλάχιστον τα χωρία με τα οποίακαταπιάνεται. Δεύτερον, επειδή δεν υπάρχει αναλυτική μελέτη η οποία να εξετάζει τις έννοιες φρόνησις καιδικαιοσύνη στο ισοκρατικό έργο, ιδιαίτερα μάλιστα υπό την οπτική της επιβίωσης αρχαϊκών ηθικών αξιών στιςσυνδηλώσεις τους και έπειτα, διότι ερμηνεύει δύο λόγους οι οποίοι δεν έχουν εξεταστεί υπό αυτ...
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espanolEste articulo, utilizando como punto de partida el concepto de suplica y solicitud de asilo en el pensamiento arcaico griego, examina los casos de suplica que o tuvieron exito y asi se concedio el asilo, o bien se rechazaron y las... more
espanolEste articulo, utilizando como punto de partida el concepto de suplica y solicitud de asilo en el pensamiento arcaico griego, examina los casos de suplica que o tuvieron exito y asi se concedio el asilo, o bien se rechazaron y las solicitudes de asilo fallaron. El articulo analiza dos casos de drama griego y uno de Oratoria Atica e investiga las caracteristicas de la suplica, la terminologia y la argumentacion que se consideraron cruciales para aceptar la suplica pasando del mundo del mito, el drama y la religion al mundo de la Oratoria, las ciudades estado de Grecia y la identidad civica. EnglishThis article, using as a starting point the concept of supplication and asylum seeking in archaic Greek thought, examines cases of supplication which either succeeded and therefore asylum was granted, or were rejected and the pleas for asylum failed. The article focuses on two cases from Greek Drama and one case from Attic Oratory and investigates the features of supplication, the te...
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The ritual of supplication (ἱκετεία) was a frequent subject of the tragic poetry in 5th century Athens. However, a topic that has not yet been discussed in recent scholarship is that of violence perpetrated by or against the suppliants,... more
The ritual of supplication (ἱκετεία) was a frequent subject of the tragic poetry in 5th century Athens. However, a topic that has not yet been discussed in recent scholarship is that of violence perpetrated by or against the suppliants, especially in cases of dramatic depictions of the institution of ephebeia. The present study focuses on the coexistence of these two social practices in tragedy, as displayed in the characters of Orestes in Aeschylus’ Eumenides and Neoptolemus in Sophocles’ Philoctetes. The central aim is to demonstrate the means through which the aforementioned tragic epheboi, disconnected from their paternal inheritance, contend for their social restitution, while dealing with the violence emerged during the supplication ritual. In the case of Orestes, the violence he perpetrates by reaching the sanctuary of Delphi as a suppliant, polluted by the miasma of bloodshed, in addition to the violence of the Furies are solved by the interventions of Apollo and Athena and the foundation of the Areopagus. In the case of Neoptolemus, the primarily verbal violence is directed either by the suppliant Philoctetes to the addressee of his supplication, Achilles’ young son, or by Odysseus to the infuriated archer of Lemnos. This is a corrupted hiketeia ritual; Neoptolemus, who tricks and deceives, cannot fulfill his mission, while the suppliant Philoctetes, completely isolated from human society, is incapable of comprehending the rules and parameters of his supplication. Faced with this impasse, Neoptolemus prefers to forge a new path by discovering answers in the principles and values of justice, which also induct him into the hoplite’s way of life.
Despite the obvious differences in resolving their issues, Orestes and Neoptolemus both mature by overcoming the trials of ephebeia, which in their cases are intensified under the pressure of the supplication. Orestes becomes a citizen and Neoptolemus an hoplite while political institutions, social practices and rituals are assimilated into a single theatrical image to the delight of the Athenian audience.
Despite the obvious differences in resolving their issues, Orestes and Neoptolemus both mature by overcoming the trials of ephebeia, which in their cases are intensified under the pressure of the supplication. Orestes becomes a citizen and Neoptolemus an hoplite while political institutions, social practices and rituals are assimilated into a single theatrical image to the delight of the Athenian audience.
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This article, using as a starting point the concept of supplication and asylum seeking in archaic Greek thought, examines cases of supplication which either succeeded and therefore asylum was granted, or were rejected and the pleas for... more
This article, using as a starting point the concept of supplication and asylum seeking in archaic Greek thought, examines cases of supplication which either succeeded and therefore asylum was granted, or were rejected and the pleas for asylum failed. The article focuses on two cases from Greek Drama and one case from Attic Oratory and investigates the features of supplication, the terminology and the argumentation that was considered crucial in order for the supplication to be accepted while moving from the world of myth, drama and religion to the world of oratory, city states and civic identity.
Keywords: supplication, asylum, refugees, ancient Greece, drama, oratory, migration, suppliants, asylum-seekers, hospitality, guest-friendship, xenia, reciprocity, Euripides, Aeschylus, Isocrates.
Resumen
Este artículo, utilizando como punto de partida el concepto de súplica y solicitud de asilo en el pensamiento arcaico griego, examina los casos de súplica que o tuvieron éxito y así se concedió el asilo, o bien se rechazaron y las solicitudes de asilo fallaron. El artículo analiza dos casos de drama griego y uno de Oratoria Ática e investiga las características de la súplica, la terminología y la argumentación que se consideraron cruciales para aceptar la súplica pasando del mundo del mito, el drama y la religión al mundo de la Oratoria, las ciudades estado de Grecia y la identidad cívica.
Palabras clave: súplica, asilo, refugiados, Grecia antigua, drama, oratoria, migración, suplicantes, solicitantes de asilo, hospitalidad, amistad, xenia, reciprocidad, Eurípides, Esquilo, Isócrates.
Keywords: supplication, asylum, refugees, ancient Greece, drama, oratory, migration, suppliants, asylum-seekers, hospitality, guest-friendship, xenia, reciprocity, Euripides, Aeschylus, Isocrates.
Resumen
Este artículo, utilizando como punto de partida el concepto de súplica y solicitud de asilo en el pensamiento arcaico griego, examina los casos de súplica que o tuvieron éxito y así se concedió el asilo, o bien se rechazaron y las solicitudes de asilo fallaron. El artículo analiza dos casos de drama griego y uno de Oratoria Ática e investiga las características de la súplica, la terminología y la argumentación que se consideraron cruciales para aceptar la súplica pasando del mundo del mito, el drama y la religión al mundo de la Oratoria, las ciudades estado de Grecia y la identidad cívica.
Palabras clave: súplica, asilo, refugiados, Grecia antigua, drama, oratoria, migración, suplicantes, solicitantes de asilo, hospitalidad, amistad, xenia, reciprocidad, Eurípides, Esquilo, Isócrates.
Research Interests:
ARCHAIC MORAL VALUES AND POLITICAL BEHAVIOUR IN ISOCRATES: PHRONESIS IN TO NICOCLES Eleni G. Alexandri University of Ioannina The paper deals with aspects of isocratic phronesis in relation to the archaic meanings of the term. In the... more
ARCHAIC MORAL VALUES AND POLITICAL BEHAVIOUR IN ISOCRATES: PHRONESIS IN TO NICOCLES
Eleni G. Alexandri
University of Ioannina
The paper deals with aspects of isocratic phronesis in relation to the archaic meanings of the term. In the first part the examination of the term phronesis in Isocrates's work indicates that his method in linking justice to the term ἀρετή ivolves the identification of phronesis with ἀρετή. The adjective φρόνιμος, since it connotes political skill, is used to replace ἀγαθός and to commend the same moral behaviour that ἀγαθός used to do, but the trick is that φρόνιμος can easier commend moral standards, though a non moral term. Something that could not easily happen with the term ἀγαθός, due to the fact that always commended birth, wealth, valor, competition instead of cooperation. But if ἀγαθός could be identified with the φρόνιμος, then, by rhetorical persuasion, cooperative values would be identified with ἀρετή. Isocrates tried to show that φρόνησις is the fundamental virtue that leads to the positive results of traditional values, but that presupposes cooperative values also, and in particular justice.
In the second part the paper concentrates on the discourse To Nicocles, a discourse composed as a hortatory set of maxims and admonitions to Isocrates's pupil Nicocles in order to advise him on becoming a good king. The discourse is actually ideal for studying the continuity of archaic moral values in the classical era, as is forms an ὑποθήκη καθ’ ὅλων τῶν ἐπιτηδευμάτων, ὧν χρὴ στοχάζεσθαι καὶ περὶ ἃ δεῖ διατρίβειν (To Nicocles 6) in order to direct the leader ἐπ’ ἀρετὴν (To Nicocles 8). The paper relates also to Isocrates's explicit references in earlier poetry and illustrates his attempt to equate his wisdom with the wisdom of the poets. Isocrates, unlike Plato who offered a philosophical argumentation for the need to exile poetry, does not banish poetry from the training of the ruler. His concept of virtue and wisdom focus on results, so he cannot reject entirely the competing values of poetry, but he can presuppose the possession of phronesis, which can lead to a noble end.
Eleni G. Alexandri
University of Ioannina
The paper deals with aspects of isocratic phronesis in relation to the archaic meanings of the term. In the first part the examination of the term phronesis in Isocrates's work indicates that his method in linking justice to the term ἀρετή ivolves the identification of phronesis with ἀρετή. The adjective φρόνιμος, since it connotes political skill, is used to replace ἀγαθός and to commend the same moral behaviour that ἀγαθός used to do, but the trick is that φρόνιμος can easier commend moral standards, though a non moral term. Something that could not easily happen with the term ἀγαθός, due to the fact that always commended birth, wealth, valor, competition instead of cooperation. But if ἀγαθός could be identified with the φρόνιμος, then, by rhetorical persuasion, cooperative values would be identified with ἀρετή. Isocrates tried to show that φρόνησις is the fundamental virtue that leads to the positive results of traditional values, but that presupposes cooperative values also, and in particular justice.
In the second part the paper concentrates on the discourse To Nicocles, a discourse composed as a hortatory set of maxims and admonitions to Isocrates's pupil Nicocles in order to advise him on becoming a good king. The discourse is actually ideal for studying the continuity of archaic moral values in the classical era, as is forms an ὑποθήκη καθ’ ὅλων τῶν ἐπιτηδευμάτων, ὧν χρὴ στοχάζεσθαι καὶ περὶ ἃ δεῖ διατρίβειν (To Nicocles 6) in order to direct the leader ἐπ’ ἀρετὴν (To Nicocles 8). The paper relates also to Isocrates's explicit references in earlier poetry and illustrates his attempt to equate his wisdom with the wisdom of the poets. Isocrates, unlike Plato who offered a philosophical argumentation for the need to exile poetry, does not banish poetry from the training of the ruler. His concept of virtue and wisdom focus on results, so he cannot reject entirely the competing values of poetry, but he can presuppose the possession of phronesis, which can lead to a noble end.
