„Da setzen wir noch eins drauf!“: (Selbst‐)Ironie und vielsagende Namen bei Plutarch und ein neuer Blick auf (Ps.‐)Plutarchs Parallela Minora

Marion Theresa Schneider

doi:10.1515/mill-2019-0007

Article

„Da setzen wir noch eins drauf!“

(Selbst‐)Ironie und vielsagende Namen bei Plutarch und ein neuer Blick auf (Ps.‐)Plutarchs Parallela Minora

Marion Theresa Schneider

Published/Copyright: October 21, 2019

Published by

Become an author with De Gruyter Brill

Author Information

From the journal Millennium Volume 16 Issue 1

Abstract

As the interpretation of Plutarch’s prooemium to the Parallel Lives of Sertorius and Eumenes shows, an author’s capacity of irony often lies in the eyes of the beholder: While most historians take for granted that this passage is meant to make fun of Plutarch’s contemporaries for drawing ridiculous conclusions from historical parallels like namesakes or similar external attributes, most translators fail to see its humorous undertone. It becomes clear, though, that it is possible to establish objective criteria for ironic speech in Plutarch that can be found in the prooemium as well, if one takes a closer look at ironic strategies in his polemical or colloquial writings. One of these is the ironic use of allusive names for dialogue partners or even the invention of characters bearing telling historical names. With this special ironic technique in mind one might even reconsider the authenticity of (Ps.‐)Plutarch’s Parallela Minora commonly termed spurious because of its cunning invention of fictitious sources on similar principles as those of the ironic Plutarch.

Online erschienen: 2019-10-21

Erschienen im Druck: 2019-10-21

You are currently not able to access this content.

Articles in the same Issue

https://doi.org/10.1515/mill-2019-0007