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09/01/2020

Susan C. Jarratt: Chain of Gold: Greek Rhetoric in the Roman Empire

Chain of Gold: Greek Rhetoric in the Roman EmpireSusan C. Jarratt: Chain of Gold: Greek Rhetoric in the Roman Empire

Southern Illinois University Press, 2019

ISBN: 978-0-8093-3753-8

Barred from political engagement and legal advocacy, the second sophists composed and performed epideictic works for audiences across Mediterranean world during the early centuries of the Common Era. Unlike earlier scholars who dismiss their contributions as vacuous entertainments, author Susan C. Jarratt argues in Chain of Gold that these artfully wrought discourses constitute intricate negotiations with the absolute power of the Roman Empire. Positioning culturally Greek but geographically diverse sophists as colonial subjects, Jarratt offers readings that highlight ancient debates over free speech and figured discourse, and reveal subtly coded commentary on Roman authority and governance.

 

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