Literary History in the Parian Marble

by Andrea Rotstein

Overview

Inscribed some time after 264 BCE, the Parian Marble offers a chronological list of events with an exceptional emphasis on literary matters. Literary History in the Parian Marble explores the literary and historiographical qualities of the inscription, the genre to which it belongs, and the emerging patterns of time. Endorsing the hypothesis that the inscription was originally displayed at a Parian shrine honoring Archilochus, Andrea Rotstein argues that literary history was one of its main concerns. Though it may be conventional in its focus on the chronology of poets, their inventions and victories, the Parian Marble is nonetheless idiosyncratic in the range of authors displayed. By reconstructing the methods by which information might have been obtained, Rotstein contributes to an understanding of the way literary history was practiced within the local communities of ancient Greece, away from the major Hellenistic centers of scholarship.

The Parian chronicle has not been the subject of a comprehensive study for almost a century. Literary History in the Parian Marble brings to the English-speaking audience up-to-date information about the inscription, including a revision of Felix Jacoby’s Greek text and a complete translation.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780674417236
Publisher:	Harvard University Press
Publication date:	07/11/2016
Series:	Hellenic Studies Series , #68
Pages:	250
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Andrea Rotstein is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Classics at Tel Aviv University.

Table of Contents

List of Plates ix

Acknowledgements xi

Preface xiii

List of Abbreviations xv

The Parian Marble 1

1 Introduction 1

2 The Discovery of the Parian Marble 3

3 Scholarship on the Parian Marble 6

4 The Chronographic System of the Parian Marble 8

5 The Location of the Parian Marble 11

Text and Translation 17

1 Introduction 17

2 Greek Text 21

3 English Translation 38

The Genre of the Parian Marble 53

1 The Chronicle as a Literary Genre 53

2 Miniature Parallels: The Roman Chronicle and the Getty Table 58

The Parian Marble as a Literary Text 67

1 The Language and Style of the Parian Marble 68

2 The Contents of the Parian Marble 73

3 Narrative and Characters 78

4 Mapping Space in the Parian Marble 80

5 Conclusions 83

Time in the Parian Marble 85

1 Perceptions of Time 85

2 Proto-history in the Parian Marble 90

3 Patterns of Time 92

Literary History in the Parian Marble 95

1 The Parian Marble as Literary History 95

2 Four Trends in Literary History 105

3 Literary History in the Parian Marble 126

Final Words 131

Appendix 133

Plates 139

Bibliography 147

Index 163