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II - Name and nationality

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2010

John Marincola
Affiliation:
New York University
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Summary

Imitation of predecessors may occur in many ways; I discuss briefly here one of those ways, the manner of an historian in the formal introduction of himself to the audience.

Hesiod, of course, is the first poet to name himself in his work. In a similar way Theognis, although beginning with one (or several) prefaces to the gods, inserted his name into the text as what he calls a ‘seal’ (σφραγίς). The nature of this seal has been much discussed, some seeing it as a mark of poetic pride, others as an attempt to guarantee the authentic character of the text itself. Both in fact may be present. Of the other lyric, elegiac, and iambic poets we can single out Alcman, Phocylides, Demodocus, Solon, and Susarion as those who name themselves in their poems, yet we must also recognise that such a procedure need imply neither Dichterstolz nor the presence of the author as a character in the text itself.

Both pride and presence in the text can first be unmistakably seen in the philosophers, who as a group exert the strongest influence on the early historians. Here names are used with evident pride and as an emphasis on the originality of the work.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 1997

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  • Name and nationality
  • John Marincola, New York University
  • Book: Authority and Tradition in Ancient Historiography
  • Online publication: 29 January 2010
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511584831.010
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  • Name and nationality
  • John Marincola, New York University
  • Book: Authority and Tradition in Ancient Historiography
  • Online publication: 29 January 2010
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511584831.010
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Name and nationality
  • John Marincola, New York University
  • Book: Authority and Tradition in Ancient Historiography
  • Online publication: 29 January 2010
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511584831.010
Available formats
×