Startseite Altertumswissenschaften & Ägyptologie Vom Topos zum Ethos: Überlegungen zum Umgang mit tradiertem Gedankengut in den Phalarisbriefen
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Vom Topos zum Ethos: Überlegungen zum Umgang mit tradiertem Gedankengut in den Phalarisbriefen

  • Vinko Hinz
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Abstract

The abundance of quotations, allusions, sententiae and topoi in the 148 epistles which have come down to us under the name of the notorious tyrant Phalaris constitute a feature that any reader will notice immediately. So far it has not been examined as a specific subject, and so Richard Bentleyʼs verdict that the Epistles of Phalaris are a “fardle of common-places” still seems to determine our view on the phenomenon. But can we explain the use of borrowed phrases and ‘preconceived’ thoughts simply by lack of originality or even intellectual insufficiency without at least trying to bring to light which reason(s) may lie behind this tendency to adopt formulations and thoughts from the literary tradition? This paper is a first cautious step towards this direction: it will show that different patterns in the use of these lite­rary elements can be traced which prove to be fruitful for a deeper reading of the text, above all for the implicit characterization of its alleged author.

Abstract

The abundance of quotations, allusions, sententiae and topoi in the 148 epistles which have come down to us under the name of the notorious tyrant Phalaris constitute a feature that any reader will notice immediately. So far it has not been examined as a specific subject, and so Richard Bentleyʼs verdict that the Epistles of Phalaris are a “fardle of common-places” still seems to determine our view on the phenomenon. But can we explain the use of borrowed phrases and ‘preconceived’ thoughts simply by lack of originality or even intellectual insufficiency without at least trying to bring to light which reason(s) may lie behind this tendency to adopt formulations and thoughts from the literary tradition? This paper is a first cautious step towards this direction: it will show that different patterns in the use of these lite­rary elements can be traced which prove to be fruitful for a deeper reading of the text, above all for the implicit characterization of its alleged author.

Heruntergeladen am 3.10.2025 von https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110983739-008/html
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