Review by Choice Review
This collection of essays, originating in a 2009 conference in London, shows how to recover the nature and importance of oratory in the Hellenistic world. The project's novelty and difficulty both stem from the lack of extant speeches. The evasive subject is approached through a wide range of literary and epigraphic evidence, which historians Kremmydas (Univ. of London, UK) and Tempest (Univ. of Roehampton, UK) organize into three areas of investigation: oratorical practice in Hellenistic Greek literature; oratory in the schools and the polis; and influences in Rome and Paul of Tarsus. The essays, by established scholars, are uniformly engaging and informative. The first two sections succeeded best at recovering the practice of Hellenistic oratory. Especially noteworthy are discussions of the use of inscriptions and papyri by Lene Rubinstein, Angelos Chaniotis, and Kremmydas. The section dealing with Roman material is somewhat handicapped by the difficulty of distinguishing Hellenistic from Roman elements. This criticism should not detract from success of the volume. It shows the importance of oratory in the Hellenistic world, its continuity with the classical, and the way to future research. It is a worthy resource for scholars of Hellenistic and Roman literature, rhetoric, and history. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Researchers and faculty. M. L. Goldman Vanderbilt University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
