4th century roman history
A01=Robert J. Penella
ancient history
ancient literary criticism
ancient roman history
apologetics
Author_Robert J. Penella
byzantium
Category=CFG
Category=NHB
Category=NHC
Category=QDHA
constantinople
eastern roman empire
eq_bestseller
eq_dictionaries-language-reference
eq_history
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
ethics
euphrades
greek and roman philosophy
holy roman empire
imperial panegyrist
late antiquity
morality
orations
pagan ideology
philosophy
political history
private orations
public speeches
rhetorician
roman emperors
roman empire
statesman
teachings
themistius
transformation of the classical heritage series
translated text
Product details
- ISBN 9780520218215
- Weight: 590g
- Dimensions: 152 x 229mm
- Publication Date: 01 Nov 1999
- Publisher: University of California Press
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Hardback
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Themistius was a philosopher, a prominent Constantinopolitan senator, and an adviser to Roman emperors during the fourth century A.D. In this first translation of Themistius' private orations to be published in English, Robert J. Penella makes accessible texts that shed significant light on the culture of Constantinople and, more generally, the eastern Roman empire during the fourth century. The sixteen speeches translated here are equipped with ample annotations and an informative introduction, making them a valuable resource on the late antique period, as well as on Greek intellectual history and oratory. In Themistius' public orations, he played the role of imperial panegyrist, but in the 'private' or unofficial orations presented here, the senator concerns himself with apologetics, rhetorical and philosophical programs, material of autobiographical interest, and ethical themes. The speeches are valuable as evidence for the political, social, philosophical, religious, and literary history of fourth century Byzantium, and as examples of pagan ideology and eloquence in the newly Christianized court.
Themistius argues, among other things, that the philosopher should be involved in public affairs, that the lessons of philosophy should be broadcast to the masses, and that it is appropriate for the philosopher to be an effective orator in order to circulate his teachings.
Robert J. Penella is Professor of Classics at Fordham University. He is the author of The Letters of Apollonius of Tyana: A Critical Text with Prolegomena, Translation and Commentary (1979) and of Greek Philosophers and Sophists in the Fourth Century A.D.: Studies in Eunapius of Sardis (1990).
